In a tweet defending Donald Trump’s plan to deport 20 million migrants, Roy said he wants to deport “white progressive Democrats – with a special bonus for rich ones with an Ivy League degree.”
Congressman Chip Roy speaks during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican whose district includes a swath of North San Antonio, called for the “cleansing” of progressives in a rant posted Friday on social media platform X.
The GOP congressman, who’s made inflammatory comments part of his political brand, fired off the tweet in a defense of Trump’s plans to deport some 20 million migrants if elected president. Some on social media have said Trump’s plan amounts to ethnic cleansing.
“Tell you what – I do want to ‘ethnic cleanse’ by deporting white progressive Democrats – with a special bonus for rich ones with an Ivy League degree,” Roy tweeted. “I really do not like ‘those people.'”
Tell you what – I do want to “ethnic cleanse” by deporting white progressive Democrats – with a special bonus for rich ones with an Ivy League degree. I really do not like “those people.” https://t.co/oFiUd1uS31
For what it’s worth, Roy earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Not exactly Ivy League, but pretty prestigious schools just the same.
Roy’s comment came in response to a tweet by Will Stancil, an attorney and research fellow at the Institute of Metropolitan Opportunity in Minneapolis. In his tweet, Stancil railed against Trump’s deportation plan.
“Deporting 20 million people is absoluletly ethnic cleansing,” Stancil wrote. “That’s litteraly the population of New York State, or half the Midwest. It’s 6% of the whole population! Someone from every classroom, workplace, or street. It’s small children, working mothers, whole families.”
Although academics have debated the meaning ethnic cleansing, it generally refers to the forced removal of a specific ethnic group or minority. Perhaps surprisingly, it isn’t recognized as an independent crime under international law, according to the United Nations.
Ethnic cleaning isn’t the same as genocide, which refers to the extermination of a specific ethnic group and is a violation of international law.
Either way, a call for “ethnic cleansing” by a sitting U.S. Congressman — even if made in jest — ignited angry responses on X.
“Disgusting racist! Shame on you!” user @DavidSmuts tweeted in response to Roy.
“Being this bitter all the time isn’t healthy, Congressman,” chimed in user @isaiahmartin.
Even so, some agreed with Roy’s remark.
“We’re with you brother,” user @ chrischownyk commented. “It’s time to take back our constitutional republic.”
It’s not the first time Roy — a firebrand who once served as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief of staff — has made outrageous statements on social media or in front of a microphone.
Last month, during an outburst on the House Floor, Roy warned that the Biden White House’s migration policies will lead to “Sharia Law” soon being “forced upon the American people.” And during Passover in 2020, Roy compared COVID stay-at-home orders to “Nazi Germany” during an appearance on a conservative talk show.
This is incredible the video. I got it from Ten Bears who often posts grand stuff. I wish I could add the link here but I will lose all I am typing so I will have to add it later. But really does anyone who comes to my blog not know Ten Bears and his site? Any way what I want to highlight is the admission the Heritage guy makes at about 4:58 where he openly admits the reason they want to destroy the civil servant part of the government and put all government employees under the whim of the president … presumably the republican president is because … 95% of the civil servants donate to political parties and 80% of them donate to democrats. The guy panics when he realizes what he said on a not right wing show and tries to cover it up, but the truth is they want to destroy the civil working system that keeps the government running for the public is because the majority donate to democrats. How openly dictatorship the republicans have become. Hugs. Scottie
A trip to Mar-a-Lago taken by former President Donald Trump that aides allegedly “kept quiet” just weeks before FBI agents searched the property for classified materials in his possession raised suspicions among special counsel Jack Smith’s team as a potential additional effort to obstruct the government’s classified documents investigation, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The previously unreported visit, which allegedly took place July 10-12 in the summer of 2022, was raised in several interviews with witnesses, sources familiar with the matter said, as investigators sought to determine whether it was part of Trump’s broader alleged effort to withhold the documents after receiving a subpoena demanding their return.
MORE: Special counsel questioned witnesses about 2 rooms FBI didn’t search inside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence: Sources
At least one witness who worked closely with the former president recalled being told at the time of the trip that Trump was there “checking on the boxes,” according to sources familiar with what the witness told investigators.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get them back. His longtime aide, Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira pleaded not guilty to related charges.
Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
Gathering evidence
Several witnesses who spoke to investigators described the trip as highly unusual, given that Trump typically spends the summer months at his Bedminster club in New Jersey, and because Trump’s living quarters at his Mar-a-Lago property were under construction at the time of the visit, sources said.
Other witnesses who were questioned by Smith’s team said they were led to believe that Trump returned to check on the status of the renovations, said sources.
In this June 9, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump is shown at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE
Just weeks before the trip, as ABC News has previously reported, Trump allegedly had the lock on a closet in his residence changed while his attorney was in Mar-a-Lago’s basement searching for classified documents in a storage room that he was told contained all such documents. The FBI failed to check the locked closet in Trump’s residence when they searched the estate in August 2022, which some investigators later came to believe should have been done.
The trip came as investigators were gathering evidence that Trump continued to possess classified documents, and followed a separate subpoena in late June 2022 seeking surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago that showed aides to Trump moving boxes between a storage room in the resort and his residence.
The trip also followed a similar instance of unplanned travel to Mar-a-Lago by Nauta, where, according to a superseding indictment, he is alleged to have conspired with Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira to attempt to delete security camera footage.
Contacted by ABC News, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, without providing evidence, accused prosecutors of lying and illegally leaking material.
“The entire documents case was a political sham from the very beginning and it should be thrown out entirely,” Cheung said in comments to ABC News.
A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.
‘Keeping this one quiet’
At the time of Trump’s trip in July 2022, some staff expressed confusion as to where Trump would even stay on the property, sources said, given the renovations that his living quarters were undergoing.
“They were keeping this one quiet … nobody knew about this trip,” one witness with direct knowledge of the trip told investigators, according to sources familiar with the witness’ statements.
Trump left New Jersey on July 9, 2022, for a campaign rally in Anchorage, Alaska, and was scheduled to return to New Jersey following that event, according to aircraft manifests described by sources to ABC News. But the plans changed in the days immediately leading up to the trip and he decided to fly to Florida instead, updated aircraft manifests of the trip show.
According to sources, investigators involved in the case identified what they believe to be a series of unusual steps taken by Trump and members of his inner circle to ensure the trip stayed under the radar.
Nauta, who traveled with Trump on the trip, sent a number of text messages to close staff members indicating that the Florida visit was to be kept quiet, according to sources familiar with the contents of the messages.
“I’m pretty sure [Trump] wants minimal people around on Monday,” Nauta texted one longtime Trump employee just one day before Trump arrived in Florida, according to a message sources detailed to ABC News.
And on July 8, when one Trump Organization employee reached out to Nauta wanting to confirm rumors of a Trump visit so proper preparations could be made, Nauta made clear he wanted the trip to remain “discreet,” sources familiar with the communications said. The sources said Nauta sent a text message to the employee that included emojis with zippers over the mouth, which is often used to convey a secret.
MORE: Trump’s attorneys seek to invalidate appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith
Nauta also wrote a message to De Oliveira on July 7 that said “Coming down to FL soon” with shushing emojis to indicate the visit be kept quiet, according to another text message described by sources.
De Oliveira initially told investigators that he had no knowledge of Trump’s trip to Florida — but the special counsel has evidence that supports the allegation De Oliveira was well aware of Trump’s travel plans, corroborated in part by security camera footage that shows Trump and De Oliveira together, according to sources familiar with De Oliveira’s meetings with investigators.
De Oliveira later told investigators he recalled seeing the former president very briefly during that trip, sources said.
Smith’s interest in the trip adds to the list of instances in which investigators appeared to suspect Trump was seeking to obstruct their probe.
Last month, a court filing from Smith’s team revealed additional steps prosecutors believed Trump and his associates had taken to obstruct their probe, alleging that after Trump was informed by his attorney of a government subpoena for video footage from Mar-a-Lago, Trump instructed aides to return several boxes they had previously removed from the storage room in the club’s basement — without being caught on camera.
This is another example of Christian love. Seriously this is what the LGBTQ+ face in the attempt to turn the US into a Christian theocracy. How is he different from the Taliban? How does he differ from the Iranian moral vice police? Is this really the world you want to live under? Where your friends, maybe your child is being singled out for death because they were born gay and don’t fit the leader’s idea of what is good for god? My god this is what passes for statesmanship, for leadership, for civil discourse in the republican party. Think how far we have fallen to even think this rhetoric is acceptable in public. I don’t like what you are doing so I think it is OK to kill you. One last thought, why is a pride flag or rainbow sticker on the door or wall of a classroom indoctrination but the Christian religious symbols / ten commandments are not? WTF. Hugs. Scottie
“Our nation is at a crossroads. Our enemies are operating in plain sight. Evil is on the march and they’re not even trying to hide it. Satanic forces are taking over our schools, preying on our children with transgender surgeries and Drag Queen Story Hours.
“South Carolina is being invaded by terrorists and drug cartels. Our enemies in China are waging economic warfare against every American, making it impossible to afford to live here, to buy groceries, gas, or even pay the light bill.
“And traitor Joe Biden’s far-left Department of Defense is working to destroy our military from within.
“D.C. is taking our tax dollars and using it to fund the takeover. Let me say that again: American taxpayers are paying for the destruction of their own nation.
“Look at Iran and Afghanistan. We must hold responsible those elected officials who take our hard-earned dollars to use them to do battle against us.
“It is treason, plain and simple.” – South Carolina pastor Mark Burns, in a final ad before tomorrow’s GOP primary runoff, the winner of which will surely become a US House member.
In 2022, Burns, who has been endorsed by Trump, laid out his plan for executing LGBTQs for “grooming” during an appearance on the show hosted by Holocaust denier Stew Peters.
MAGA pastor Mark Burns released an ad before his GOP runoff election in S.C. tomorrow and it's predictably bonkers: "Any country that would spy on Christian church attendance is just one step away from all-out gun confiscation and totalitarian communism." https://t.co/ngj36AMc0Apic.twitter.com/JAe5q9qVtt
“D.C. is taking our tax dollars and using it to fund the takeover. ….”
Sure Jan.
South Carolina receives $4.51 back from the government for every $1 residents pay in federal tax, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Census Bureau, USAspending.gov and Bureau of Labor Statistics
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday signed into law a measure prohibiting ethics investigations from being launched until they are prompted by a complaint from someone with personal knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing. The measure (SB 7014) was widely opposed by government watchdog organizations who warned it will undermine state ethics laws at both the state and local levels.
“Let’s be clear: This has never been about minimizing frivolous complaints; this is about making complaints almost impossible,” said Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida, after DeSantis’s action. “Governor DeSantis says he believes that Floridians deserve protection from corruption, but his actions today speak otherwise,” she added. Those who backed the measure said complaints have been “weaponized” against candidates.
Born in the Senate Ethics Committee, the legislation purportedly seeks to limit time frames for investigating ethics complaints. It also requires public complaints be based entirely on a filer’s personal knowledge of wrongdoing, which sponsors said was to discourage “frivolous” complaints.
But critics say the bill will gut ethics enforcement completely, eliminating the ability to file anonymous complaints or tips that lead to investigations and uncover legitimate wrongdoing.
Jose Arrojo, Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission, voiced concerns that the new law could limit means of even bringing ethics concerns to the attention of officials. “No more anonymous whistleblowers. No more employees referring information to us,” Arrojo said.
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs legislation that makes it harder to file ethics complaints https://t.co/koNYW7oXBE
DeSantis just signed a controversial ethics bill that will result in less oversight in a state government where ethics are as rare as competent governors. https://t.co/v02kBswNtm
— Lesley Abravanel 🪩 (@lesleyabravanel) June 22, 2024
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed a bill weakening the state's ethics laws.
SB 7014 will require all future ethics complaints to be based upon "personal knowledge."
It will also stop any local government ethics office from ever again self-initiating investigations.
DeSantis just signed a bill which restricts the ability for ethics boards to launch their own investigations, giving a green-light to public corruption in a state already plagued by public corruption scandals. He also did it late on a Friday night to minimize media coverage. https://t.co/6EDfAf4FaY
DeSantis Has been systematically undermining Florida sunshine laws during his entire tenure as governor. Of course he’s going to sign such a law—he, along with his Reputation legislature, is unethical.
“If I do it (my party does it), it’s ethical, & don’t you dare question it” Definitely “small government,” of “we the people” & not at all the controlling “deep state” they always blame on the other side…/s… “How dare you ask for my (a public servant) travel & meeting records…”
“Personal knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing” is a fancy name for giving themselves a license to commit ‘white collar crimes’, such as bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, wage theft, etc.
The sort of thing where the only person who knows of the offense itself is the person(s) committing it, but everyone else can certainly bear witness to the after effects of it.
The national political soap opera continues as former President Donald Trump prepares for his July 11 sentencing in the hush money criminal case. As expected, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to play the top supporting role by vowing to restore Trump’s voting rights as a felon so he can cast a ballot in Florida’s November elections. DeSantis plans to get the Florida Clemency Board to restore Trump’s right to vote in the Sunshine State, irrespective of any court rulings in other states.
In 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for felons (not those convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses), but since DeSantis took office, he has been slow-walking any progress. DeSantis should apply the same rules he plans to use to help felonious Trump to all the people who qualify under the constitutional amendment that voters approved six long years ago. That would be equal justice.
DeSantis added: “The bottom line is that Donald Trump’s vote this November will be one of millions that demonstrate Florida is now a solid Republican state!”
What people don’t understand about these fundamentalist Christians is they don’t accept the rights and feelings of anyone else. They are the maximum in selfishness. They cry rivers about their feelings not being respected, such as Jordon Peterson claiming it hurt him to use a person’s preferred pronoun, but he couldn’t give a shit about the pain of the misgendered person he just insulted. The Alito’s are the same, their feelings are very important and must be respected. But not yours, not anyone who disagrees with them, those people are to be disregarded entirely. Hugs. Scottie
“I’m often reminded that the most important thing in my life – which is my marriage, and my family and the two beautiful children that my husband Chasten and I are raising – that that marriage only exists by the grace of the single vote on the United States Supreme Court. That expanded our rights and freedoms back in 2015 and made it possible for somebody like me to get married.
“And, you know, Supreme Court justices have an unbelievable amount of power and – by the nature in the structure, the Supreme Court – there’s no supervision over that power. They are entrusted with it literally for as long as they live. And part of that trust is we expect them to enter into those enormously consequential decisions that that shape our everyday lives with a sense of fairness.
“I also hope that most Americans can understand the difference between a flag that symbolizes you know, love and acceptance and signals to people who have sometimes feared for their safety that they’re going to be okay – and insurrectionists symbology, I’ll just leave it at that.” – Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, on Martha-Ann Alito’s condemnation of “shameful” Pride flags.
The cult is raging.
WATCH: Pete Buttigieg insinuates that Justice Alito and his wife support "insurrection symbology." pic.twitter.com/yRIeVUPhHH
Our Pride flag hangs outside of our house 365 days per year and one day a non-binary teenager who was having a crisis knocked on our door and asked for safety. We hung out with them and chatted and kept them warm and comfortable until they felt ok to go back home.
THAT is what the Pride flag means. Love, safety, and a shoulder to cry on if you need it.
I wish I could do that. However in this neck of the Oklahoma outback, I would be taking my life and putting into their hands — and, at 88, I don’t feel that reckless. My pride flag sits in the drawer beside the door, where it has been for many years – just waiting for the time when it is safe. I know there will be criticism on this site for this, but down here, it is what it is. I am proud — just not stupid.
Those of us who’ve lived through decades of anti-gay violence understand completely.
When you’re in danger of attack from religious assholes for putting up a pride flag – keep safe, and see what other, less public, things you can do to help local LGBT people.
Anyone who criticizes you for this is young and living in a bubble in some big city, and can’t believe the awful things that have been done to many of us over the decades. I hope they’re never beaten up or burned out of their home for being gay. I wish that would end for everyone, but it hasn’t stopped yet in many parts of the country.
Why are we letting a few off the rails people ruin everything for the rest of us normal people. Can anyone tell me why these people are making decisions for everyone else kids when they don’t have children on those schools, that go to those libraries, or are in public office? See how they act behind the scenes to get a law past to “protect the children” so they can then exploit them to push their fundamentalist extreme agenda on everyone. I hate this. We need to find a way to fight back. Hugs. Scottie
A book about book bans has been banned in a Florida school district. Ban This Book, a children’s book written by Alan Gratz, will no longer be available in the Indian River county school district since the school board voted to remove the book last month.
Gratz’s book, which came out in 2017, follows fourth-grader Amy Anne Ollinger as she tries to check out her favorite book. Ollinger is told by the librarian she cannot, because it was banned after a classmate’s parent thought it was inappropriate.
In a peculiar case of life imitating art, Jennifer Pippin, a parent in the coastal community, challenged the book. Pippin is also the chair of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, a far-right organization that has been behind many of the book bans that have swept across the US in recent years.
Gratz, its author, called the Indian River County decision “incredibly ironic.” “They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning,” he said in an interview. “It feels like they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re somewhat ashamed of what they’re doing and they don’t want a book on the shelves that calls them out.”
Board members Jacqueline Rosario and Gene Posca, who voted in the majority, were backed by Moms for Liberty during their campaigns, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. The third “yes” vote came from Kevin McDonald, who was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The title itself and the theme challenges our authority. And it even goes so far as to not only to mention books that are deemed inappropriate by school boards, including ours, it not only mentions them but it lists them,” McDonald said.
As you’ll see in the many tweets below, Ms. Pippin is as batshit crazy as you’d expect. She last appeared here in March 2023 when she successfully pressured the same school board to ban a book about a Holocaust survivor.
The @IRCSchools Board voted against the committee decision to retain @AlanGratz’s Ban This Book. They banned a book because it mentions other banned books.
— Florida Freedom to Read Project (@FLFreedomRead) June 2, 2024
Oh, #Florida! School board bans book about school book bans, accusing it of "teaching rebellion of school board authority." The name of the book: "Ban This Book." https://t.co/ubQ4SSUN9p via @DouglasSoule
Jennifer Pippin, the chair of a FL chapter of Moms for Liberty, succeeded in getting Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation banned. She also appeared on TruNews, an antisemitic livestream, & has since refused to apologize for speaking on the show. https://t.co/FkPoH7FMaqpic.twitter.com/GbYXzp2Sx3
3. As a result, In The Night Kitchen was removed from school libraries. Jennifer Pippin, the local @Moms4Liberty chair who filed the challenge, says she then met with the district Superintendent. They agreed to resolve the complaint by adding clothes to Sendak's drawings. pic.twitter.com/1EqBHTE3QL
Hey look at IRC M4L boss Jennifer Pippin calling school shootings a hoax https://t.co/fTXrAvdwSM
— Jen Cousins 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇵🇸 (@JenCousinsFL) April 20, 2023
A Moms for Liberty chair who previously fought a library for having an adaption of Anne Frank’s diary recently promoted her organization on a network that warns viewers about “seditious Jews,” “Jewish tyrants,” and how Jewish people “have forsaken God” https://t.co/2010q1ogjFpic.twitter.com/kHCc7A72Ep
This @EducationFL library training meeting is wild. M4L Jennifer Pippin, who had her two kids out of wedlock, only wants books in schools that promote abstinence until marriage ☠️ pic.twitter.com/LHcqeMN0Z2
It’s true it’s ironic, to those of us on the outside. But according to the DeSantis appointee to the board, they felt the need to ban the book because it challenged their authority! So they have a completely political agenda, having nothing to do with religion or morality. One wonders if they will next ban the local newspaper that wrote about this incident.
Likewise, kids’ access to books and topics in school that make Christian nationalists and white supremacists uncomfortable, appropriate medical care including reproductive and gender-affirming care, and so on, and so forth, are not about parental rights. They’re about THE KIDS’ RIGHTS as people in their own right, whether or not their individual parents support them.
It should come as no surprise that Alan Gratz, whose book on book banning Pippin wants banned, has won a National Jewish Book Award. So like Anne Frank and Holocaust survivors, he has “forsaken God.”
Scottie's Playtime 