Because he doesn’t like it and wants it to not only stop but to go away forever from his world he thinks it is OK to threaten and intimidate. Doing violence in the name of god and morality. This is the world that trump normalized. We must fight again to make this terrorism unacceptable in a decent society again. Hugs
A Bayport man who had mailed letters threatening mass shootings and bombings to those affiliated with LGBTQ+ organizations and businesses was sentenced in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday, officials said.
Robert Fehring, 74, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for mailing more than 60 letters to LGBTQ-affiliated individuals, organizations and businesses. Many of those letters contained threats to kill, shoot and bomb the recipients.
Fehring had pleaded guilty to the charge in February.
“There is no room for hate in the Eastern District of New York. Today’s sentence makes clear that threats to kill and commit acts of violence against the LGBTQ+ community will be met with significant punishment,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
“We will use the full power of our office to bring to justice those who threaten to kill or hurt people because of who they are, and to ensure everyone in our district is able to live authentically, safely and in peace,” Peace added.
Fehring sent the letters from at least 2013 to 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In the letters, Fehring threatened to use firearms, explosives and more against the recipients. Two of the letters threatened an attack on an LGBTQ+ event in Huntington that would be similar to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, according to officials.
Another letter threatened that radio-controlled explosives would be planted at a beach club in Long Beach that had hosted a LGBTQ+ event, officials said. In another letter sent in June 2018, Fehring threatened the operators of a water ferry service from Sayville to Fire Island, warning that they should “screen everyone coming on board with a metal detector” and that “a thorough search of your boats would be in order.”
A letter to the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan read, “we will blow up/burn your establishments down. We will shoot those who frequent your dens of [expletives].”
And a letter to an African American-owned barbershop affiliated with the LGTBQ+ community in Brooklyn claimed to be from “People Who Hate Gays … and In Particular [n-word] Gays” declared “your shop is the perfect place for a bombing … or beating the scum that frequents your den of [expletive] into a bloody pool of steaming flesh.”
The FBI Civil Rights Squad and New York Joint Terrorism Task Force executed a search warrant in November at Fehring’s home in Bayport. There, they recovered copies of threatening letters, supplies used to mail threatening letters, 20 LGBTQ+ Pride flags that were stolen from flagpoles in Sayville in July 2021, and reconnaissance-style photographs from the Eisenhower Park Pride event, officials said.
During the search, the FBI recovered electronic devices owned by Fehring that contained internet searches for his victims and related LGBTQ+ affiliated events and businesses. Law enforcement officers also recovered two loaded shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, and a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBTQ+ affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird, officials said.
At the sentencing hearing, six victims addressed the court and described the fear that Fehring’s threats instilled in them.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the investigation.
Please notice how the church people disregarded or disobeyed the parent of these kids. Horrible abuse in the name of religion. Being gay is not a disease to be cured, it is a inborn condition that can not be changed, and the attempt is torture against those it is done to. Hugs
CBC News has learned police, Crown investigating complaints from 18 Christian Centre Academy students
Sean Kotelmach, Coy Nolin, Caitlin Erickson, Cody Nolin and 14 other former students of Saskatoon’s Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, allege they were subjected to exorcism, violent discipline and other abuse there. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
Coy Nolin and his mother say they had no idea the four people in their living room were about to conduct a violent exorcism to cast out Coy’s “gay demons.”
Coy says that three days earlier, in an office at Saskatoon’s Christian Centre Academy, the school’s director had interrogated him for several hours after informants told the director Coy is gay. Coy, who was 16 years old at the time, says the director called him “evil” and “an abomination.”
Coy was suspended and told they would try to “cure” him.
“He told me I’d have to take it like a man,” Coy said.
Coy and his mother, Carilyn, say they agreed to the home visit in May 2004 assuming they would discuss the suspension.
But almost immediately after they walked into the house, the four officials from the school and adjoining Saskatoon Christian Centre church placed their hands on Coy. They began yelling, grunting and making other unintelligible sounds known as “speaking in tongues.”
“I was no longer in control. I was pushed aside,” Carilyn said.
After more than an hour, with Carilyn crying in the corner of the room, they stopped.
Coy says the director then grabbed his large wooden paddle, bent Coy over his lap and spanked him hard enough to leave him bruised and limping.
“That was one of the worst days of my life. Even now, just thinking about it, I go numb,” Coy said.
“This was abuse. This was a hate crime.”
Coy Nolin says he’s still scarred by the abuse he suffered while attending Saskatoon’s Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, but he is now proud of his identity and finding ways to heal. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
CBC News has learned Coy and 17 other former students have filed criminal abuse complaints. After a 12-month investigation, Saskatoon police handed the file to Crown prosecutors in April to consider possible charges, according to police emails to students. It’s unclear when the Crown will make a decision.
The complaints include frequent paddlings, many of which allegedly occurred after the Supreme Court of Canada outlawed corporal punishment by educators in early 2004.
There are also allegations of coercion, traumatizing rituals and solitary confinement.
Many of the former students — and some of their parents — have agreed to tell their stories publicly for the first time to CBC News. They shared diaries, police statements and other documentation.
They say the physical, financial, social and emotional control from school and church officials was absolute, and that it has taken years to regain their dignity and sanity. Some say they’re still struggling.
“It’s taken a long time for people to speak up. I mean, it was a cult. It was essentially a cult,” said Caitlin Erickson, the first student to come forward to police.
Caitlin Erickson was the first of 18 former students of Saskatoon’s Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, to go to police. She says the degree of control exerted by school and church officials was similar to a cult. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
Officials with the adjacent Legacy Christian Academy — the name was changed from Christian Centre Academy (CCA) in 2013 — initially agreed to an interview and said they’d answer all questions. The next day, they emailed a written statement and declined to answer any further questions.
“We are grieved to learn of former students who feel they were subjected to abuse during their time at CCA. We encourage and support any former student who feels this way to file a report with the police so these matters can be investigated and dealt with properly and legally,” the statement said.
Many of the alleged incidents involved leaders and staff of both the school and adjoining Saskatoon Christian Centre, now known as Mile Two Church. The two institutions have long shared a building in Saskatoon’s Lawson Heights neighbourhood, and the school’s current handbook notes they are guided by the “doctrinal beliefs” of Mile Two Church such as the infallibility of the Bible.
Mile Two Church officials declined repeated interview requests.
Erickson and other students say they’re skeptical. They say some of the same people are still working at the school and church, and that there has been no effort to apologize or make amends.
“They simply changed the name. It’s just a rebranding,” Erickson said.
Manual details ‘scriptural discipline’
Christian Centre Academy opened its doors to students in 1982, but it didn’t receive provincial accreditation allowing students to enter university or college until 1994. Like other private schools, parents pay tuition and participate in fundraising. It has also been receiving Saskatchewan government funding for the past decade.
Most of the former students who’ve come forward attended between 1995 and 2010, but there is no time limit on legal complaints of this nature involving minors.
Students and experts interviewed say all government subsidies and tax breaks for the church and school must be halted until police and prosecutors have dealt with the complaints and the government has conducted a full investigation of the school’s current practices.
They agree some key staff have left, but the former principal and school director are now teaching at other Christian schools in Saskatchewan.
“Oh my god, this makes my stomach turn. How could this happen?” said University of Regina professor emerita Ailsa Watkinson, who was involved in the 2004 Supreme Court case to ban corporal punishment in schools.
“Religion was used to torment, to discriminate. It’s cruel. This is torture. Anyone with common sense knows this.”
CBC News has obtained an 85-page, eight-lesson manual called The Child Training Seminar, written by the father of the current pastor. Students say that, during their time at the school, it was sold in the gift shop along with bibles and a selection of hand-made wooden paddles of various sizes. Students say it was used by school staff and strongly recommended for parents.
More than 20 pages are devoted to the benefits and practical applications of “scriptural discipline.”
It states “ungodly” professors, researchers and psychologists who opposed corporal punishment are “influenced by the devil” and should be ignored.
“Sometimes, spanking will leave marks on the child. If some liberal were to hear this, they’d immediately charge us with advocating child-beating,” states the handbook.
It gives detailed instruction on the types of infractions that warrant paddling, such as riding a bicycle while “forbidden.”
“Have him bend over and apply the paddle firmly. Don’t permit any wiggling around or jumping around. Don’t allow any pre-discipline howling and sniveling. Don’t let his crying and begging diminish the severity of punishment,” the handbook says.
For parents, it states fathers are the head of the household and must ensure the discipline is unemotional and consistent. It warns against using verbal discipline and says “mothers need to particularly guard against this.”
It’s unclear whether any of the handbook remains in use. The current student handbook makes no mention of corporal punishment in its “forms of discipline” section.
‘I was so scared’: former student
Sean Kotelmach, who attended the school from 1996 to 2008, said he had difficulty keeping up with the largely self-directed curriculum, which relied heavily on memorization and obedience. In his frustration, he began to talk back.
“They made me think I was stupid,” he said.
Kotelmach said he endured a punishment akin to solitary confinement as a 13-year-old. He was forced to arrive at school 15 minutes before other students, work alone at a desk in a small, windowless room for the entire day, then leave 15 minutes after his classmates had departed. He said this continued for two weeks.
He said he was also paddled multiple times. Kotelmach said he and others would “pad” their buttocks with up to nine pairs of underwear to soften the blows. If discovered, the student would be forced to remove the underwear and punishment would increase.
“Every part of me wanted to walk to the police and simply pull down my pants and show them what was done to me,” Kotelmach said. “[But] I was scared. I was so scared. I worried my parents would get in trouble for sending me to that school.”
Sean Kotelmach says Christian Centre Academy officials employed forms of solitary confinement. As a 13-year-old, he was placed a small, windowless room with only a desk for 10 consecutive school days, prohibited from speaking to anyone. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
Later in life, medical tests would reveal Kotelmach’s dyslexia. He’s now creative director for a local marketing and media company, but said the emotional scars remain.
Kotelmach said he found the courage to file a police report last year after speaking with Erickson.
“I was tired of living with rage. I wake up in the middle of the night screaming. That’s no way to live. I want it to stop. I needed to do my part and say something,” Kotelmach said.
‘Criminal law applies to all of us’: law professor
The former students say many of these incidents, including Coy Nolin’s exorcism and paddling, occurred after the Supreme Court ruling in 2004.
In the ruling, the court limited corporal punishment to parents, and only under narrow circumstances. It must be proportional, can only be done on children between the ages of two and 12, and no implements are allowed.
It banned all other officials from doing so, and specifically mentioned teachers and school officials.
Queen’s University law professor Lisa Kelly said any teacher paddling a student after Jan. 30, 2004, was clearly committing an assault.
“That applies in any school, public or private. Criminal law applies to all of us. It is crystal clear,” Kelly said.
Kelly said any corporal punishment before 2004 could also be a concern for police and prosecutors. She said spanking, paddling or strapping a child hard enough to leave marks has long been considered by judges as excessive force.
Caitlin Erickson shared a story about her and the rest of the senior girls’ volleyball team being accused of whispering during a weekend church service in the fall of 2003.
They say that the following Monday at school, they were lined up in the auditorium and yelled at by the director, the principal and their female coach.
One by one, they were taken into a side room where one of the two male staff paddled them, they say.
“It looked like a canoe oar,” said Christina Hutchinson, the team’s captain. “Adult men doing that to a bunch of teenaged girls? It was so cruel. They were all crying, but I was so angry I didn’t cry.”
Like Erickson, Hutchinson said the school and church operated like a cult.
“Everything is based on constant fear — fear of being paddled, fear of going to hell,” she said.
They say most girls ended up with marks and bruises on their buttocks that spread as far as the back of their knees.
“I remember a week later, we were comparing bruises [in the locker room] and saying, ‘Oh, he must have been tired on you because yours isn’t nearly as bad as mine,'” Hutchinson’s sister, Stefanie, said.
She said some sessions were so vigorous that paddles broke and had to be duct-taped back together.
Erickson and other students say officials were acutely aware of the law. She said the school’s director handed out waivers in late 2003 in anticipation of the Supreme Court ban, asked parents to allow staff to continue paddling their children. Some parents refused to sign the document.
Kelly said waivers would be useless as a defence in court. A parent cannot consent to another person applying punitive physical force on their child.
One year after the Supreme Court ruling, the Saskatchewan government passed legislation banning corporal punishment in public schools. Kelly and Watkinson said this was “redundant” because the Supreme Court ruling already applied across Canada.
The Saskatoon Police Service has completed an investigation of alleged assaults and other abuse suffered by students at Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy. The file has been handed to Crown prosecutors to consider possible charges, according to police emails to students. (CBC)
Academics said corporal punishment actually makes things worse. In a 2012 meta-analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, authors found that children who were spanked, paddled or strapped are more likely to have mental health issues, are more prone to violence and have lower quality relationships than those raised in a non-violent manner.
“Virtually without exception, these studies found that physical punishment was associated with higher levels of aggression against parents, siblings, peers and spouses,” stated the summary.
One of that paper’s authors, University of Manitoba professor Joan Durant, said the accounts of the Saskatoon students are heartbreaking.
“All of those things you describe are degradation and abuse. Intentionally instilling fear, isolation — none of that is acceptable. It never was,” said Durant, author of the book Positive Discipline in Everyday Life.
‘She doesn’t have a demon — she’s just shy’: parent
In their written statement to CBC News, school officials say paddling hasn’t been used there for two decades. When asked for specifics, they declined.
They said exorcism “has never been practised in our school, and we are unaware of any instance where this might have occurred.”
Former students say that’s not true.
On top of the exorcism described by the Nolin family, Hutchinson said they also took place on school property.
Hutchinson said when she was eight years old, she was asked to say the school prayer for the class. She was nervous and froze. She said that, for a week, the teacher kept her inside during recess. The teacher would sit Hutchinson on her lap, firmly squeeze and rock her repeatedly while speaking in tongues, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson told her parents, who told administration, “She doesn’t have a demon — she’s just shy.”
In the statement, officials said any homophobia alleged by Coy Nolin and others does not exist at the school today.
“Our position on LGBTQ issues is that all students are welcome in our school, and we strive to provide a safe place for every student to grow and learn who God created them to be…we are committed to creating an environment where everyone is valued and treated with dignity, love, and respect. Therefore, we would never discipline students for their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said the statement.
They say the school is a different place than it was even a few years ago, with many new staff and leaders.
“We would welcome conversations with any students who might wish to come and revisit the school and, hopefully, find an opportunity for reconciliation,” it said.
Caitlin Erickson, Sean Kotelmach, Coy Nolin, Christina Hutchinson and others say many of the longtime staff and their relatives remain in key positions, from the pastor to the school principal.
They say no effort has been made to apologize publicly or privately.
Students waiting for justice
The students say their anxiety is growing as they wait to hear from police and prosecutors.
It’s unclear when Crown prosecutors will decide whether charges are warranted. In an email to a student, a Saskatoon police investigator said abuse files involving only a single complainant and accused can take six weeks for prosecutors to decide on possible charges. She said this file had been passed to Crown prosecutors and a decision on possible charges could take until April 2023.
A Saskatchewan Justice official declined to give details on the file and recommended asking the Saskatoon Police Service. A Saskatoon police official said they can’t comment because the investigation is ongoing.
Former students of the Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, say all government subsidies and tax breaks for the school and adjacent Mile Two Church must be halted until police and prosecutors have dealt with their abuse complaints and the government has conducted a full investigation of the school’s current practices. (Jason Warick/CBC)
Students say the people who committed the abuse must be held accountable, but that there were many other adults who witnessed it and did nothing. They wonder why this systemic abuse was ignored for so long.
That’s why they want the provincial government to investigate the school itself, freezing any funding and cancelling any tax breaks until all questions are answered.
In a written statement, a provincial Ministry of Education official said three on-site inspections are now conducted annually on independent schools, and the most recent one at Legacy Christian Academy occurred June 8.
It also said the Ministry of Education “has not received any complaints regarding LCA since funding for Qualified Independent Schools (QIS) began in 2012.”
Erickson says that’s not true. She shared a June 20 email exchange with Education Minister Dustin Duncan’s assistant.
Erickson emailed Duncan to say she “reached out to your office a number of times and received no response.” She identifies herself as a former student of Christian Centre Academy, now Legacy Christian Academy, and informs him of the criminal investigation underway.
“You have been told time and time again the damage these schools do,” she said before calling on the minister to de-fund LCA and other private Christian schools.
The provincial government says it hasn’t received any complaints about Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy. But former students say that’s not true, and provided CBC News with recent email exchanges with Education Minister Dustin Duncan’s office. (Kirk Fraser/CBC News)
The minister’s assistant wrote back “on behalf of Minister Duncan” and acknowledged receipt of Erickson’s email.
“The Minister’s response will be forthcoming. Thank-you for taking the time to write,” stated the email.
Erickson said she knows of at least one other former student who recently told Duncan to de-fund LCA.
‘I’m proud of who I am’: Coy
Coy and his mother Carilyn say that following the exorcism in their home, officials declared Coy would be sent away to a special school in Edmonton to be “cured” of being gay.
Carilyn said she had ignored other warning signs over the years — including officials forcing Coy and the others to attend protests against gay marriage legislation — because her extended family, friends, finances and children’s futures were all connected to the church and school.
But the exorcism was too much. She stayed up all night writing a letter to the director and placed it on the windshield of his car.
“I thought this would be a wonderful school, but this was ridiculous. I am not sending my child away,” she said.
“We left and never looked back. It was like a thousand-pound weight lifted from my chest. It was the best thing I ever did.”
After graduating from a public high school a year later, Coy Nolin spent a couple of years in Banff, terrified to admit he was gay even to his own mother.
He eventually told her in a phone call.
“I know. I love you. Come home,” she said. Coy did.
Now working in a Saskatoon department store and in a loving relationship, the 34-year-old said life is still a struggle but he has many reasons to be grateful.
“It took a long time,” he said. “But I’m proud of who I am.”
CBC News has learned 18 former students of a private Christian school in Saskatoon have filed criminal complaints for alleged abuse, including paddling, coercion, traumatizing rituals and solitary confinement. https://t.co/WLO9nqaia7
CBC News has learned 18 former students of a private Christian school in Saskatoon have filed criminal complaints for alleged abuse, including paddling, coercion, traumatizing rituals and solitary confinement. https://t.co/WLO9nqaia7
It’s been 422 days since I came forward to police about the abuse that went on at the K-12 Christian School I attended in Saskatoon. #saskatoonhttps://t.co/Hj5dxpDIpw
Caitlin Erickson was the first of 18 former students of Saskatoon's Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, to go to police. She says the degree of control exerted by school and church officials was similar to a cult. pic.twitter.com/oPrBff5d6Y
Saskatoon police have completed an investigation of alleged assaults and other abuse suffered by former students of Christian Centre Academy. The file has been handed to Crown prosecutors to consider possible charges, according to emails to students from police obtained by CBC. pic.twitter.com/CkyH0zo6Ar
The Sask. government says it hasn't received any complaints about Christian Centre Academy since it began receiving provincial funding in 2012. But former students say that's not true, and provided CBC with recent email exchanges with Education Minister Dustin Duncan's office. pic.twitter.com/ejKUSaYOZH
The Sask. government says it hasn't received any complaints about Christian Centre Academy since it began receiving provincial funding in 2012. But former students say that's not true, and provided CBC with recent email exchanges with Education Minister Dustin Duncan's office. pic.twitter.com/ejKUSaYOZH
This is going to happen much more often. As more people are unwilling to risk being shot groups are not going to hold events, and people are not going to be willing to go to them. That part of the economy shutters to a stop due to ammosexuals needing to stroke their egos to feel the tough man over any other right or desire of anyone else to simply be safe in public. Hugs
The long-running Music Midtown festival at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, scheduled for Sept. 17-18 with headliners My Chemical Romance, Future, Jack White and Fallout Boy, has been called off.
The likely cause, industry sources tell Billboard, are recent changes to Georgia gun laws that prevent the festival from banning guns on to the publicly owned festival grounds.
Gun rights groups had been emailing and posting comments of the festival’s social media page for several months, hinting at potential legal challenges.
The festival has been held at the city-owned Piedmont Park since 2011. A 2014 Georgia law allowed residents to carry guns on publicly owned land.
That right was expanded by a Georgia Supreme Court ruling in 2019 that held that businesses with short-term leases on public land (e.g., festivals) can’t supersede the statewide right to carry.
This is complicated because artists don’t usually want to perform at venues teeming with guns.
The event didn’t take place in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID.
Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival Canceled After Court Ruling Made It Illegal to Keep Guns Out of Event https://t.co/UD35qrSbkr
It won’t be just the artists resisting having an armed audience, but events like this always have to carry indemnity insurance, and the carriers probably all said, “Fuck no, the risk is too high.”
Get used o it America It’s what your country has become The rights of a precious few dictate the policies of the masses To allow the few denies the many Its is all about the tail wagging the dog as America seems willing to let it happen
Speaking as someone in the music biz there’s no fucking way I’d work any festival/show/event with open carry allowed. I’ve seen enough violence just from unarmed people getting out of control who’d want to be there if they’ve got fucking guns??!
So what happens when the NRA or GOP next holds a convention in the area, since both infamously ban guns at these events wherein they demand an end to gun restrictions….?!?!
That’s sorta the point. Since they support these laws allowing firearms in public spaces, they should be forced to explain why they won’t hold their own rallies there.
Per their own logic, those should be safest places on the planet with all those guns… right?
The Christian conservatives are thrilled by this – they won on guns and they won on shutting down a music festival that wasn’t Christian entertainment. I wonder if the open carry law applies to the football stadium? Because nothing goes together like armed fans who are drunk off their ass.
No singer or band wants to perform behind a bullet-proof shield or have to wear bullet-proof vest. It’s not worth it. They can perform in “blue” states where sanity prevails for the most part.
For an event like the Midtown Music Festival, the sponsors have to purchase liability insurance which is very expensive as it is. When you add guns to the mix, the cost soars and/or the insurance carrier doesn’t want the financial risk of having a mass shooting where the claims would run into the millions of dollars. Stupid Republicans!!
Ya hear that music superstars… you play in these states with these crazy gun laws and you may get assassinated on stage by a crazed NRA gun toting American looking to prove his manhood because they dont like your message or music. Think that is far fetched. Have you checked the headlines lately
This is just the beginning. As people on here have posted, the number of guns in public will affect people’s decisions to attend events like this, travel on vacation, or even go to y store. That’s great for the economy. Good job Republicans.
An Oath Keeper from Idaho in Bozeman, Montana. William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images
An alleged Oath Keeper was charged with sedition following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Police discovered Thomas Caldwell had a ‘death list’ that included the name of a Georgia election official.
Caldwell’s lawyer argued the list was part of a “doodle pad” that should be excluded from evidence.
While searching alleged Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell‘s home following the attack on the US Capitol just three days prior, police found a “death list” that included the name of a Georgia election official and their family member.
But in court documents viewed by Insider, Caldwell’s lawyer, David Fischer, argued the list is a “doodle pad.”
“From the search, law enforcement recovered a document that included the words “DEATH LIST” hand-written across the top with the name of a Georgia election official, a purported family member of that official, and the county and state associated with that official all hand-written underneath,” read the government’s motion regarding trial evidence.
The document also included hand-written notes relevant to the defendants’ preparations in advance of January 6, according to the government motion.
“This document is not a ‘list’ but, rather, a doodle pad. The words ‘death list’ are written in all caps, whereas the balance of writing on the doodle pad is written in upper and lower case letters,” read the defense’s motion to exclude the note pad evidence.
“Moreover, the words ‘death list’ are separated from the names of the election workers by scribbled writing, and were clearly written with a different pen. There are no other names on the ‘list,’ because it is not a list. Importantly, the names written on the doodle pad were not, as the Government claims, election ‘officials’ but, rather, temporary election workers.”
Fischer added that because the evidence would “highly prejudicial” to the defendant, there is “no need” for it to be introduced to a jury.
Caldwell is one of nine alleged Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He is also charged with obstructing an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and unlawful entry on restricted buildings or grounds.
In its case against Caldwell, the government argues the Navy veteran — who once worked as a section chief for the FBI — holds a leadership role in the far-right anti-government militia called the Oath Keepers and was known to members as “Commander Tom.”
On January 6, Caldwell reportedly started a Facebook Live video taken from inside the Capitol building. According to charging documents, He also sent multiple Facebook messages to others reading, “We are surging forward. Doors breached” and “inside.” He described the experience as “storming the castle.”
Caldwell has denied being a member of the Oath Keepers, as well as all charges against him.
David Fischer, attorney for Caldwell, did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Freeman and Moss are the two election workers, of course, who were the subject of extraordinary threats after Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and their allies falsely accused them of election fraud. Both appeared at a public hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee last month.
He does this repeatedly. He gets told it is illegal and does it anyway. It is time he face some serious punishment. He is not the president and he doesn’t get to use that seal. If you and I were to do that we would face legal trouble. Hugs
Former President Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., was spotted continuing to use the presidential seal despite an ethics complaint and federal law potentially banning its use of the seal at the venue.
Photos taken Thursday while Trump hosted an event for the LIV Golf tournament, a Saudi-backed golf league that has faced controversy in light of the Saudi government’s alleged human rights abuses, showed the seal on various items, including golf carts.
The seal was plastered on towels, golf carts and other items as the former president participated in the pro-am event of the Saudi-sponsored tournament Thursday. It is against federal law to use the presidential and vice-presidential seals in ways that could convey “a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States.”
While violating this law could result in imprisonment of “not more than six months,” a fine or both, these punishments are rarely doled out. Trump has faced criticism from the survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their family members for hosting the Saudi-backed golf tournament at his New Jersey resort — 50 miles from Ground Zero.
It would be bad enough for Donald Trump to be cozying up with Saudi Arabia. It’s worse that he’s also apparently breaking the law again at the same time. https://t.co/9kFrcGfYAm
A law is only a law if it’s actually enforced and when there are consequences for breaking it.
Really fucking sick and tired of this fat clown-painted spawn of Baron Harkonnen constantly getting away with blatant crimes simply because no prosecutor feels like dealing with him.
“It is against federal law to use the presidential and vice-presidential seals in ways that could convey “a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States.” Well let whoever is responsible for doling out the punishent for this get off of their ass and do it. We have had 4 years of this asshole flaunting laws and getting away with it. Enough!
The DeathSantis kingdom of Florida. DeathSantis is the warlord / feudal lord who wants to be king of the country. He thinks his kingdom is above the federal government. He has fought Biden on every measure to protect the public from Covid going so far as to demand businesses not follow federal rules then either. No matter how the courts ruled against him like his mentor TFG he claimed he won and was still the king. Hugs
Florida is advising school districts to ignore protections for LGBTQ students that President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to implement
ByBRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press
July 29, 2022, 5:28 PM
Florida advised school districts to ignore protections for LGBTQ students that President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to implement, saying the anti-discrimination language is not binding law and following the guidance could result in breaking state law.
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz wrote to school districts Thursday saying they should not change current practices because of proposed new rules under Title IX that would extend sexual discrimination protections to students based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
“Nothing in these guidance documents requires you to give biological males who identify as female access to female bathrooms, locker rooms, or dorms … or to allow biological males who identify as female to compete on female sports teams,” Diaz said.
He added that doing any of those things would “jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of Florida students and risk violating Florida law.”
But Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat and whose agency overseas school lunch programs, said the matter wasn’t just about bathrooms, but also about feeding students. The United States Department of Agriculture requires schools to put up a poster on nondiscrimination in order to receive federal money for lunch programs, she said.
“This is a fictitious culture war that they have created that is going to deny kids food,” Fried, who hopes to challenge Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, said at a news conference. “I will do everything possible to ensure that Florida’s kids are not victimized by the DeSantis administration and denied their meals.”
Fried’s department recently told schools they should hang posters with the new language. The Diaz letter told schools to disregard that guidance because it could violate state law.
Last year, DeSantis signed a bill banning anyone assigned male at birth from participating in girls’ or women’s sports. This year, he signed a bill that prohibits discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools at least through grade 3.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Tennessee blocked implementation of the proposed new federal protections after 20 states sued over the issue.
Florida's commissioner of education, Manny Diaz Jr., told school districts to disregard federal guidance aimed at protecting LGBTQ students https://t.co/1GEB6HMxGS
Florida advised school districts to ignore protections for LGBTQ students that President Joe Biden's administration is trying to implement…https://t.co/GQGCnpWyUA
Their public schools are already cratering (by design for privatization) because the teachers are retiring and leaving in droves, leaving a massive deficit – they’re hiring veterans with no teaching experience at dozens of elementary schools (and that’s just one example)
The (public) schools need both federal and state dollars. The FL DoEd under DeSantis doesn’t give shit the bind that they’ve created for the schools or the students. They’re just in a partisan pissing match.
When I was younger, I thought, well, I’ll wait until the prejudice old people die off, then maybe retire to Florida. Sadly, I’m a senior now, and nothing has changed in that state. It’s like hate, prejudice, and religion really kick in down there when someone turns 50.
Scottie's Playtime 