Raw Story

The reality of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown played out in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday when a Honduran mother was forced to raise her right hand and swear an oath while breastfeeding her eight-month-old daughter—all while masked FBI agents lurked in the hallways.

The Daily Beast's Michael Daly told how Valeria Lopez, whom the Trump administration brands part of an "invading horde," steadied baby Mia against her breast as she complied with Judge John Siemietkowski's request.

Daly sarcastically called it Trump's vision of America's greatest threat: a nursing mother seeking asylum with her husband Edison and their two well-behaved children, 11-year-old Alan and 7-year-old Iker.

Portraits of a glowering Trump, resembling his 2023 mugshot, watched over proceedings, Daly wrote.

While actual criminals on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list—gang leaders, drug kingpins, terrorists—remain free, agents have been reassigned to help Trump "scoop up 3,000 undocumented immigrants a day," Daly wrote.

Their strategy is to position "snatch teams" of masked agents outside immigration courtrooms, the writer stated. When asylum seekers dutifully appear for hearings, the government dismisses their cases, strips their interim protection, and agents immediately pounce. It's "the equivalent of going fishing in an aquarium," Daly wrote.

At least 18 agents in three groups stalked the courthouse corridors this week, Daly saw. On Tuesday, they handcuffed New York City Comptroller Brad Lander when he demanded to see a judicial warrant. The viral video of that confrontation prompted visits from Governor Kathy Hochul and Congressional Representatives Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler.

Siemietkowski provided a stark contrast to the administration's dehumanization, Daly remarked. Marveling at the Lopez children's behavior, he told them: "I want to know your secret for raising such angels." He gave the boys drawing pads, joking, "Who needs Lion King or Wicked when you can come to Courtroom 16?"

When they showed their artwork, he held the drawings up for all to see, leading applause as he declared them "our own Picassos!" He then warned the family about the agents waiting outside: "You may see somebody you know arrested. You yourself may be arrested."

The Lopez family's next hearing isn't until June 2026—part of a crushing 3.5 million-case national backlog.

As they departed Wednesday, 11-year-old Alan offered his assessment of America: "I love school!" Seven-year-old Iker gave a thumbs-up. Only baby Mia, born on U.S. soil, has guaranteed protection from Trump's deportation machine.

This is Trump's "invasion," Daly concluded — a breastfeeding mother, children making drawings for a kind judge, and a family desperately seeking safety while armed agents hunt them like prey.

Mike Huckabee shared a text message he sent urging president Donald Trump to strike Iran, and an Israeli journalist and author said the ambassador's "Bible-thumping, messianic rhetoric" revealed the Christian right's dark ambitions.

Trump's ambassador to Israel called on Trump to join military operations against Iran, saying he was spared from an assassin's bullet by God to be the “most consequential President in a century — maybe ever," and Haaretz columnist Etan Nechin warned that Huckabee and other "Christian Zionists" are calling for war to usher in what they believe will be the end times.

"Huckabee believes deeply in Dispensationalist theology, which holds that modern Israel fulfills biblical prophecy and must be supported until the end of days. He's also not shy about it," Nechin wrote. "In April, standing atop the ancient walls of Jerusalem, the ambassador declared: 'We have the opportunity to be representatives not only of our government, but also representatives of Jesus Christ.'"

"[The ambassador's] text to Trump reads less like strategic counsel and more like the culmination of decades of evangelical doomsday politics toward Israel and the messianic turn of Israeli politics itself," Nechin added.

Israel has quickly intensified its assault on Iran and its officials are openly talking about regime change in Tehran, and Nechin warned that political leadership in both Jerusalem and Washington has fallen into the grips of religious extremism.

"The messianic language claiming to defend democracy heard from both Israeli and American politicians reveals a dangerous irony: They're not opposing theocracy, they just oppose the Islamic kind," Nechin wrote. "They just cloak their own religious fanaticism in terms like 'Judeo-Christian values' and 'the West.'"

Jewish religious Zionists have fused religion and nationalism, and they've come to see Israel as a vessel for redemption, Nechin argued, and they share Huckabee's apparent view that the Al-Aqsa must be destroyed so a third temple can be built, which they believe will usher in the Messiah.

"What's plain in the ambassador's text is this: the U.S. never was an honest broker, and was never meant to be," Nechin wrote. "It is, increasingly, the political wing of a Christian apocalyptic vision with Israel at its center."

"This war is a holy battleground," the columnist added, "and the people of Israel and Iran are a small price to pay for the kingdom of heaven on earth."

President Donald Trump raged at Iran again on Monday afternoon for failing to sign a "deal" he said he told the country to sign.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Monday to attack the country, which has seen at least 224 people killed — the vast majority reportedly civilians — since Israel began its airstrikes late last week. More than 1,400 people have been injured in the country, which has also seen significant damage to civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.

"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life," Trump wrote.

He repeated his declaration that the country cannot have a nuclear weapon.

"I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Trump wrote.

His comments come as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X, "If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential."

"Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu," said Araqchi.

Israel began its surprise strikes Friday, killing nearly all of the top echelon of Iran's military commanders and its top nuclear scientists. Israel has said it controls Iran's airspace and plans to step up its attacks in coming days.

About two dozen people have been killed in Israel as a result of Iran's missile attacks, all civilians.

Supporters of President Donald Trump have flown into conniptions over Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s creation of a task force to study slavery reparations.

Johnson, a progressive mayor whose tenure has been marked with controversy, issued a news release announcing his decision this week, ahead of the observance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating when the final slaves held in Texas were notified of emancipation.

"This Task Force is an example of the Administration’s dedication to co-governance, and in partnership with members of the Aldermanic Black Caucus, the Mayor’s offices of Equity and Racial Justice and Business, Economic and Neighborhood Development, and other key City departments, will conduct a comprehensive study and examination of all policies that have harmed Black Chicagoans from the slavery era to present day and make a series of recommendations that will serve as appropriate remedies," said the mayor's news release.

His announcement enraged the MAGA sphere on X.

"JUST IN: Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is promoting a race-based government funding program in honor of Juneteenth. This is not legal," wrote far-right influencer Chaya "LibsOfTikTok" Raichik, tagging the Justice Department and Trump's civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon.

"JUST IN: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson just announced he will be handing race-based grants ONLY to blacks for 'slavery reparations,'" wrote far-right podcaster Nick Sortor. "This is straight up RACISM! Trump’s DOJ should shut this down NOW!"

"POS Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has announced he will be handing out race based grants to Blacks for reparations," wrote influencer "Gunther Eagleman." "This is blatant racism."

"The Juneteenth flag was unfurled today in Chicago, and @ChicagosMayor's racism was on full display," wrote "Chicago Contrarian." "Reparations and slavery featured prominently in his address. Johnson announced a $4M grant, based on race only, to blacks as a form of reparations. Johnson is a disgrace."

A former Coast Guard lieutenant and sharpshooter has been accused in federal court of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, writing multiple times on social media that he'd be "willing to pitch in $100 for a contract."

Peter Stinson, of Oakton, Virginia, repeatedly threatened to kill Trump in social media posts, court documents filed in a Virginia federal court alleged Monday. The documents were shared on X by CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott MacFarlane.

An FBI affidavit said Stinson posted hundreds of violent, graphic, and escalating threats on the platforms X, Bluesky, Reddit, and Instagram for five years beginning in 2020. Stinson self-identified member of Antifa with a background in national security and emergency operations.

In April 2020, investigators said he posted an explicit call to crowdfund an assassination attempt, writing: “I’d be willing to pitch in $100 for a contract. Who wants to join me? We could solve the solvable part of this problem in a crack.”

He made a similar comment in February 2025, court documents alleged, writing on Bluesky: "Can we crowd source a contract hit?”

The latter post came a day after Stinson posted a violent fantasy on the same platform he "would twist the knife after sliding it into his fatty flesh.”

And in January of this year, Stinson said, “Somebody needs to do it. Somebody with the skills to do it right. Somebody with the experience. Somebody with the right tools.”

Separately, Stinson has said he believes that someone who "kills the President to save the country has broken no laws."

A judge ordered Stinson to remain held in jail pending the outcome of a hearing Wednesday, MacFarlane reported.

Court documents noted that Stinson was a Coast Guard officer from 1988 to 2021, achieving the rank of lieutenant. He received firearms training and was awarded sharpshooter ribbons for both pistol and rifle. He also received extensive training in operations planning and was an instructor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Incident Command Systems, courses taught to prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies.

Additionally, Stinson received a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College, court documents said.

The allegations come after authorities said Vance Boelter, 57, assassinated Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. Police arrested Boelter following a manhunt. He is also accused of shooting and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, at their home.

It also comes after two assassination plots against Trump last year, including one over the summer in which a bullet grazed his ear.

In the wake of the shooting death of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman (D), CNN anchor Sara Sidner pressed Florida Congressman Randy Fine (R) if his own heated rhetoric is part of the problem.

“House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries says he will meet with congressional leaders from both parties this week to discuss heightened security for lawmakers after the politically motivated shootings in Minnesota, calling the violence a ' wake-up call,’” Sidner said before introducing Fine Monday.

“You're hearing from other congressional Democrats who are asking for more police protection after that assassination and attempted assassination of lawmakers in Minnesota,” Sidner said before asking Fine, “Would you vote to grant more security for all members of Congress? “

“I don't agree with Hakeem Jeffries on much, Sarah, but on this I do,” Fine said.

“I do want to talk to you about some of the rhetoric,” Sidner said, “because there's a lot of talk about rhetoric and how this gins people up. A few years ago, you were called out for calling a school board member a whore in a text. You've called one of your congressional colleagues a terrorist. Are you part of the problem here?”

“Well, look,” Fine deflected. “I think what people write in private text messages to each other is one thing. If I had said that in a public message, I'd understand. But I do think there are issues.”

Fine then took aim at a recent Instagram post made by former FBI head James Comey that Donald Trump's allies claimed was a call for the president to be killed, saying, ”I mean, that is a call for violence when people are waving signs that say, 86, 47. I think we've heard this discussion about taking down the temperature after President Trump was assassinated twice, and I don't think people are getting the message." He was actually referring to attempted assassinations of Trump.

“Are you not getting the message, too?” Sidner interjected, “Is it fair to say that the way that you speak to your colleagues, what you say about them, and the fiery rhetoric that you also use, is also an issue?”

“It's a fair point,” Fine said, “but I think fiery rhetoric is different than a call for violence, calling evil for what it is, calling danger for what it is, acceptable. It's when you cross that line and you say, and that person should be killed. That's never a line that I've crossed, nor do I think it should be done.”

Fine later said the problem is that “these people are crazy. This guy in Minnesota, he's going to turn out to be crazy, and when crazy people hear these things, these problems, these problems do well up.”

Sidner replied, “That's something that the courts will have to determine. Obviously, in looking at his history, his friends and family certainly do not think that.”

Watch the full interaction below or at this link.