Free Republic

The top police official in Washington, D.C., pressured commanders to lower classifications of crime and retaliated against those who reported spikes, creating a widespread culture of fear and distorted public data, according to a new congressional report. An interim report from the House Oversight Committee released on Sunday claims that outgoing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting. The Republican-led committee alleges that Smith, who is expected to remain in the position through the end of the year, pressured commanders on numerous occasions, and...

Video Sen. John Fetterman broke with Democrats on Sunday, siding with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham as he accused members of his party of embracing antisemitic rhetoric after a deadly terror attack during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia over the weekend. Appearing on "Sunday Morning Futures," Fetterman, D-Pa., said he agreed "with virtually everything" Graham, R-S.C., warned about earlier in the program. Graham had raised concerns about empowering Hamas by moving toward Palestinian statehood. "It’s an absolute betrayal for Israel and for the worldwide Jewish community," ...

The House voted 231-195 on Thursday to pass legislation that would nullify President Trump’s efforts to strip more than 1 million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, sending the measure over to the Senate, where its prospects are less rosy. Twenty Republican lawmakers broke ranks to support the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) on the floor. Introduced by Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., the measure effectively nullifies Trump’s March executive order barring unions at more than 40 federal agencies under the guise of national security and bars federal agencies from terminating any union contracts that...

Video. In an interview on "The Katie Miller Pod," Elon Musk said DOGE, the Department of Governmental Efficiency, was a "somewhat successful" venture, but he wouldn't do it again. KATIE MILLER: You are in the Roosevelt Room, if you remember this, getting sworn in, and they hand you a computer and a phone. I want to go back to what happened next. I think the story of DOGE, from your perspective, has never been told. What was your first thought on how DOGE was going to proceed? ELON MUSK: Well, I guess I couldn't believe I was there, for the...

Jonathan Franklin, a current University adjunct professor & former NPR correspondent who built his career on issues of race, culture, & justice, was recorded making openly racist remarks during an undercover date with James O’Keefe. Franklin, scheduled to teach a Georgetown course on interviewing & sourcing, labeled Black conservatives such as Candace Owens, Lawrence Jones, & Clarence Thomas as “coons,” & mocked his colleagues, saying he “works with stupid white people.” During the confrontation, Franklin attempted to assault an OMG cameraman before fleeing. Georgetown University records confirm Franklin is currently teaching students how to “interview sources effectively,” even as he...

During a meeting in Washington between Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a first-of-its-kind global parliamentary initiative was launched: an international effort to recommend former and current U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also participated in the meeting. At its conclusion, Ohana and Johnson signed an official letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee calling for Trump to be selected as the 2026 laureate. The initiative follows a plan announced by Ohana during Trump’s recent visit to Israel and a speech Johnson delivered in Congress the...

When news broke that the FBI had finally arrested a suspect who placed pipe bombs at RNC and DNC headquarters in January 2021, I offered this prediction: "this will turn out to be unrelated to the J6 riot or law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but will be a rando nutcase anarchist." I could have also predicted that the Protection Racket Media would attempt to make the perp into a right-wing MAGA nutcase who voted for Donald Trump. I didn't have "pretend he's a white guy" on my Bingo card, but you can't win 'em all. Otherwise, my predictions have held...

A picture is beginning to emerge about the suspect accused of planting two pipe bombs next to Democratic and Republican headquarters on the eve of the 2021 Capitol riot, following his arrest on Thursday. Neighbours and family members described Brian Cole Jr, 30, as "naive" and a "quiet guy" who often walked a chihuahua in their Washington DC suburb. He also told investigators he thought the 2020 election was "rigged", US media reports say. Authorities arrested Mr Cole and charged him with attempted malicious destruction with explosive materials. The bombs did not detonate. He was arrested without incident, US Attorney...

An Appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump can continue deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C. The Washington D.C. Court of Appeals order is an administrative stay, not a ruling on the merits, according to the Dec. 4 order. “Ordered that the district court’s November 20, 2025 order be administratively stayed pending further order of this court. The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion.”

FOX News has identified the man reports say was arrested by the FBI in connection with pipe bombs planted in Washington, D.C., the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot as Brian Cole. FOX says Cole was living in Virginia at the time of his arrest on Thursday morning. FOX 5 has confirmed that he was a resident of Woodbridge. No other details were immediately available, including possible charges.

Justice Elena Kagan emerged as an unexpected critic of New Jersey’s position Tuesday as the Supreme Court weighed whether a faith-based crisis pregnancy center may challenge a state subpoena in federal court. Her pointed questioning suggested she may join the court’s conservatives in siding with First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which argues that New Jersey’s investigation threatens its First Amendment rights. Why It Matters The case stems from a subpoena issued by Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s consumer-protection division, seeking information from First Choice—including a list of its donors—as part of a probe into whether the center misled women about...

With Tuesday’s White House Cabinet meeting chugging past the two-hour mark, President Donald Trump ‘s eyes fluttered and closed. His budget director busied himself doodling a fluffy cloud. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was lucky enough to speak early, but the title on his nameplate was misspelled. The sleepy, and occasionally slipshod, gathering nonetheless ended with a flurry of news. Trump declared that he didn’t want Somalis in the U.S. and Hegseth cited the “ fog of war ” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in September. The president started things off by...

The Washington Post @washingtonpost and Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe used to occupy this desk inside the Pentagon Press room. Now it’s mine!

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, may have been radicalized after entering the United States, AFP reported. Lakanwal, 29, faces a first-degree murder charge in the November 26 attack that killed 20-year-old guardsman Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded another. “I will say we believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. In another interview on ABC’s This Week, she added, “We do believe it was through connections in his home community...

...In the wake of the shooting, the mainstream media rushed to defend Afghans in the U.S., saying we shouldn’t “condemn” an entire population based on one man’s criminal actions...

Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the US under special immigration protections following the US withdrawal from the country in 2021Afghans living in the US have condemned Wednesday's "deeply tragic" deadly shooting attack in Washington DC, while stressing that the suspect - who moved to the US from Afghanistan four years ago - does not represent them.The alleged gunman, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered America under a programme that offered special immigration protections to Afghans who worked with the US in the wake of the its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed in Wednesday's...

The shooting of two National Guard members the day before in Washington hung over President Trump’s Thanksgiving events at Mar-a-Lago, where he held a call with members of the military to thank them for their service on the holiday. At the beginning of the call, he revealed that one of the Guard members, Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, had died. “It’s just happened,” Mr. Trump said. “She was savagely attacked. She’s dead. Not with us.” The other victim, he said, was “fighting for his life.” Later, a White House official said that the president had spoken with the family of the...

Just heartbreaking news.Moments ago, President Donald Trump announced that Sarah Beckstrom, one of two members of the National Guard who were shot in a terrorist attack on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., has tragically passed away from her injuries.God Speed Sarah Beckstrom.The 20 year old West Virginia National Guard member succumbed to gunshot injuries from the Afghan shooter per President Trump.There is evil among us; stop dehumanizing people. pic.twitter.com/jCaAQuYVcC— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) November 27, 2025U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro shared a little bit of background on Beckstrom on X:Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom...

The Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members just blocks from the White House previously worked with multiple U.S. government entities—including the CIA—while serving with a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem said entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era resettlement program launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Lakanwal had an established relationship with various entities in the U.S. government, including the CIA, due to his role with a partner...

The suspect in the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday reportedly had his asylum application approved by the Trump administration earlier this year, according to CNN. “What we know is that he comes here from Afghanistan. Now, this is a guy who’s been living in Washington state, not Washington, D.C. On the other end of the country,” reported CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller: