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Last October in a suburb of Jacksonville, police arrested an 18-year-old Donald Trump supporter they accused of brandishing a machete outside an early voting location, targeting two women.

He was charged with voter intimidation, aggravated assault on persons 65 or older, and improper exhibition of a firearm.

Caleb Williams,18, was booked at the Duval County Jail on Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo courtesy Neptune Beach Police Department)

Last week the state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville announced she would not prosecute the teenager, identified as Caleb Williams, and would drop all charges against him.

That decision has angered a coalition of 16 voting and civil rights groups in the Jacksonville area and around the state, and on Monday they wrote a letter to Jacksonville State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Assistant State Attorney Octavius Holliday Jr., saying their decision to drop all charges against Williams “sends a dangerous message” that voter intimidation “is tolerated rather than prosecuted.”

They also want their office to reconsider the decision to drop the case.

“The facts of this case as publicly reported appear very compelling: a man wielding a deadly weapon approached a polling location and engaged in threatening behavior towards supporters of one of the presidential candidates on the ballot,” reads a portion of the letter.

“The victims, two women ages 71 and 54, were subjected to an act of intimidation that no one at a polling location should ever have to endure. Your office’s dismissal of this case undermines public confidence in the justice system and fails in its duty to protect Florida voters.”

Among those groups signing the letter were the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter, and the League of Women Voters of Florida.

The letter goes on to cite several state statutes regarding voter intimidation that the groups believe clearly shows that Williams had broken the law when he brandished the machete.

Nevertheless, Holliday wrote in a disposition that the state would not prosecute Williams, adding that the police and the victims “concur” with the decision.

‘To protest and antagonize’

Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said last October that Williams and seven other teenagers — all supporters of Donald Trump — drove to the polling place specifically “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side, according to the Associated Press.

“Every eligible voter in Florida has the right to cast their ballot free from threats, coercion, or fear of violence,” reads another portion of the letter signed the voting and civil rights groups.

“Your decision not to pursue justice in this case directly contradicts that principle. Failing to prosecute voter intimidation weakens our democracy and puts all Floridians in danger. We strongly urge you to reconsider this decision, uphold the law, and take the necessary steps to ensure that voter intimidation is prosecuted to the fullest extent in this case.”

A request for comment to the state attorney’s office was not immediately returned.

Vice President J.D. Vance suggested Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama ordered the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) "not to hire" white people.

During a Sunday interview on Fox News, Vance said the Trump administration would "do a better job at the policy so that we make sure that aviation is as safe as it possibly can" after a recent deadly plane crash near Washington, D.C.

"And that does, I think, mean that we have to talk about the DEI policies," he opined. "And in fact, there have been a number of lawsuits from people who would like to become air traffic controllers against the Obama and Biden administration, who were basically said, we were told not even to apply because of the color of our skin, because they were white people."

"Under the DEI regime of the Biden administration, they weren't welcome," the vice president added. "It means that we don't have the best and the brightest sometimes in these positions."

"We knew for years that we had a shortage at air traffic control," Fox News host Maria Bartiromo noted.

"Well, part of the reason why we had a shortage in air traffic control is because we were telling our air traffic controllers not to hire people because of the color of their skin," Vance insisted. "That is a scandal. And it is a scandal, thankfully, that has stopped under the leadership of President Trump."

Bartiromo pressed Vance on his claims.

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"Do you have any evidence that any of those hires that were there at the control Wednesday night were DEI hires?" she asked.

"This is not saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire, but let's just say, first of all, we should investigate everything, but let's just say the person at the controls didn't have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons," the vice president asserted. "There is a very direct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air traffic controllers."

"That has to stop."

Watch the video below from Fox News or at the link. .

CNN's Jake Tapper pressed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for evidence Sunday that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives were responsible for last week's mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., that claimed 67 lives.

At a press conference after an American Eagle Flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided mid-air with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, Wednesday night, Trump said that DEI hiring practices "could have been" the cause of the tragedy.

"We have to have our smartest people" as air traffic controllers, Trump said. "It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. ... They have to be talented, naturally talented. Geniuses. Can’t have regular people doing their job. We can’t have regular people doing this job. They won’t be able to do it, but we’ll restore faith in American air travel."

Tapper asked Duffy, "Is there any specific evidence that backs up Donald Trump's claims, President Trump's claims that DEI or FAA hiring practices are responsible in any way for this tragedy at Reagan National?"

"So, Jake, I think the better question is, 'Am I going to guarantee the American people that only the best and the brightest serve in this incredibly important body of the department of transportation? That they're driven by safety, and DEI doesn't matter?" Duffy said.

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He continued, "I do know that in the last administration, they were focused on not safety, but they were focused on changing the name from 'cockpit' to 'flight deck'...They focused on EVs and sustainability and racist roads, things that don't matter in regard to safety. Our mission since the start has been safety, and they've lost that mission. And we see when you don't focus on safety and you focus on social justice or the environment, bad things happen."

Tapper tried again to get some evidence.

"The head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says that all air traffic controllers are subject to rigorous training and that, quote, 'The standards to achieve certification have nothing to do with race or gender or anything else,'" Tapper said. "So, it sounds like you're saying that there isn't any evidence right now that affected the accident because it's so early -- you'll let us know if there is any. But I just don't know of any evidence. And if there is some, please tell us that DEI had anything to do with the tragedy itself."

"Under the Obama administration, they they did change the recruitment standards and brought more people in, but less people were certified," Duffy said. "That caused a shortage in the system, but also they lowered -- this is the Obama or the Biden administration -- they lowered the entrance exam scores to get people into air traffic control. We only have so many slots in the academy. I want to get the best people into the academy that can pass the test, get into towers and not wash out."

Watch the clip below via CNN or at the link..

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem refused to rule out housing women, children, and families at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

During a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker asked Noem about President Donald Trump's plan to expand Gitmo detention facilities for immigrants and migrants.

"There are a lot of questions about the announcement this week that Guantanamo Bay will be used as a detention facility for migrants," Welker noted.

"We've always had a presence of illegal immigrants there that have been detained," Noem said. "We're just building out some capacity."

"Is it possible, Madam Secretary, that people could be held at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely?" Welker wondered.

Noem insisted that indefinite detentions were "not the plan" but did not answer firmly.

"Could women, children, and families be held there at Guantanamo?" Welker pressed.

"You know, if you look at what we are doing today is targeting the worst of the worst," Noem dodged again. "The priority of this president is to go after criminal aliens that are making our streets more dangerous."

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"But I guess, Madam Secretary, my question, would you rule out that women, that children, that families could be held at Guantanamo Bay?" Welker asked again. "Do you rule that out?"

"You know, Kristen, we're going to use the facilities that we have," Noem said, dismissing the question. "And I think you're well aware we have other detention facilities, other places in the country."

Watch the video below from NBC or at the link..

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the path for former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to become Donald Trump's director of national intelligence took a major hit after she was confronted by senators from both sides of the aisle about Edward Snowden who stole U.S. secrets before fleeing to China and then ending up in Russia.

During Gabbard's hearing she was grilled by both Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Michael Bennet (R-CO) and notably refused to label the former intelligence analyst a "traitor."

According to the Journal's Dustion Volz, those two exchanges may lead to the embattled ex-Democrat not even making it to a full Senate vote.

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The report states, "... her testimony stunned some lawmakers and aides in both parties, who thought she would more definitively break from her past positions," adding, "Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Todd Young of Indiana, who both serve on the intelligence committee, are among the Republicans who have yet to say whether they will support Gabbard. Only one Republican would need to oppose her to block her nomination from being reported favorably to the full Senate, assuming all Democrats oppose her. "

Observors note that the equally embatttled FBI director nominee,Kash Patel, may slide through but they are less bullish on the DNI nominee.

“Kash is in. Tulsi, we’re not so sure," one predicted with another calling Gabbard's path to confirmation "trickier."

The report adds, "Heading into Thursday’s hearing, congressional aides saw Gabbard’s past advocacy for pardoning Snowden—most notably during a May 2019 podcast interview with Joe Rogan—as a likely liability."

You can read more here.

Longtime CNN host Michael Smerconish butted heads with one of Donald Trump's biggest fans in the House on Saturday morning over the firing of key FBI officials late Friday to be followed by what is being called a "purge" of the department.

On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, who previously served as part of the president's legal team in a criminal case in New York where Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts related to business fraud, oversaw the firing of key FBI officials and then demanded the names and titles of all the FBI employees who took part investigating the insurrection at the nation's Capitol on Jan. 6.

Speaking with the CNN host, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said he saw no problem with cleaning house at the FBI which led Smerconish to note it sounds like something disgraced Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) attempted in the 1950's.

ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy

"Who in the world, in the FBI, if this takes place, is going to be willing to investigate any malfeasance alleged within this administration," the CNn host prompted his guest. "People are going to say, if 'I now pursue what is reported as someone breaking the law who works for this president, I’m going to lose my job.'”

The Florida Republican protested, "No. That’s simply not true because there’s a difference between you have actual evidence that would lead towards an investigation versus –– no pun intended, ––trumped up evidence, which is exactly what took place as far back as the Russia collusion scandal."

Claiming FBI officials "...led to the FISA courts knowingly to open up an investigation into President Trump’s first presidential campaign," Donalds maintained, "You have to deal with the fact that, yes, during this current presidential campaign, the Biden administration and the DOJ were either working with or allowing these indictments, which were silly."

"Everybody knew they were political, but they were allowed to continue. They brought in Jack Smith. They raided Mar-A-Lago. I mean, I can go on," he added, as the CNN host attempted to interrupt his guest's harangue.

"Real quick and I want to add this point," Donalds exclaimed. "I would add for the rank-and-file FBI agents who do their job every single day, they were shaking their heads, saying, 'What the hell is going on?' So we need this place cleaned up.”


"I myself have been plenty critical of [former attorney general] Merrick Garland and [ex-special counsel] Jack Smith and this whole process over several years and I'm not thinking about them," the CNN host countered. "I’m thinking about a woman, a man in a DC field office who played no policy role and was given an assignment to go out and conduct an investigation whose name now shows up on a list."

"It sounds awfully McCarthy-like and they might lose their jobs," he added.

You can watch below or at the link.

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