Free Republic

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said federal agents in Portland “will not retreat” as law enforcement grapples with demonstrations and violent protests in Oregon’s biggest city. At a press conference Tuesday, Wolf staunchly defended the Department of Homeland Security’s mission in Portland amid criticism over reports of officers in unmarked vehicles arresting demonstrators without identifying themselves. “What is occurring in Portland in the early hours of every morning is not peaceful protesting,” Wolf said. “We have been forced, because of local law enforcement presence, to take measures such as arrests to protect our officials.” “While I look forward to...

Overnight protesters in Portland, Oregon decided to set fire to the city’s famous downtown Elk statue. The sculpture was donated to the city by Mayor David Thompson in 1900 and was created by American artist Roland Hinton Perry. The fountain and sculpture are officially designated as Portland Historic Landmarks by the city’s own Landmark Comission. The installation is formally known as the David P. Thompson Fountain

Yet, we seem to have moved on from Minneapolis, or at least covering the extend to the destruction of the city. Michael Tracey decided to venture into Mill town, braving threats of violence from Antifa. Tracey, who conducted interviews with folks sifting through the rubble of their community, noted that minorities hate Antifa, but that’s beside the point. In a lengthy Twitter thread a few days ago, he documented the aftermath and it’s eye-opening. We knew it was going to be based off what Rosas saw the night all of this went down. Julio is a veteran of covering such...

President Trump is posting wanted Antifa and BLM members to his Twitter feed.I am sure this is going to upset the Democrats. I love it!!! https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump    

MADISON - Fury exploded outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday night as protesters smashed windows at the statehouse, attacked a state senator, and tore down two iconic statues — including one of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War. The unrest began earlier Tuesday following the arrest of a Black man who was arrested after bringing a megaphone and a baseball bat into a Capitol square restaurant. It followed weeks of mostly peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a white police officer During the melee...

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday morning that he has “authorized” the federal government to arrest those who may vandalize or destroy federal property in accordance with existing laws. “I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent,” Trump tweeted. “This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!” he...

I'm sick of hearing how black lives matter. Black Lives Matter is a Stalinist domestic terrorist group comprised of bigots, racists, anarchists and terrorists with three things in common: 1) They all hate America; 2) they're funded by taxpayer money and Soros money; and 3) they're all going to hell when they die, if they do not confess their sins, repent and turn from them, and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. The factual truth is that lives do not matter, be they black, white, gray or chartreuse, until a black person dies during a confrontation with white police officers....

America is in chaos with rioters creating mayhem all around the country, and you can thank the left for the resulting death and destruction. First of all, please understand the difference between protesters and rioters. This whole thing started out as legitimate protests by peaceful people exercising their First Amendment rights against a terrible injustice.

France: Vandals cut down monumental and iconic iron cross, “symbol of the entire Languedoc region” MAY 16, 2020 2:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER This attack could have perpetrated by militant atheists, angry ex-Catholics, any number of people. But such people have been in France for years, and there have not been incidents of this kind. However, France has seen a large influx of Muslim migrants in recent years, many of whom believe that it is an insult to Allah to say that Jesus is the Son of God (cf. Qur’an 19:35), and that Jesus died on the cross (which the...

A farmer has discovered one of the largest hauls of Roman coins to ever be found in Poland. Mariusz Dyl had been looking for abandoned antlers in a field near Cichobórz, south of Hrubieszów, Lublin, when he stumbled upon the 2,000-year-old coins scattered across 100 metres of the field. After calling in experts, the 1,753 coins weighing 5.5kg and which were found in 2019, were taken to the Hrubieszów Museum where they have now been analysed and their authenticity confirmed. Director of the Museum Bartlomiej Bartecki said... all the coins, had been originally placed in a wooden box or leather...

The 4th through 7th centuries are often considered periods of decay and decline for the Roman Empire. I view them, however, as times of crisis and regeneration, as the previously pagan Empire was transformed into an amazingly resilient Christian Empire which persisted for another millennium despite attacks on all sides and myriad convulsions from within. Who were the most effective rulers during this period? Opinions vary, but here are my choices. Portraits of all, taken from antiquity, may be found in the above image: Constantine the Great (AD 306-337). Constantine may be considered the founder of the Christian Roman...

Climate change activists' plan to spray fake blood on the Treasury did not get off to the best start. Extinction Rebellion protesters used a hose from an old fire engine to spray 1,800 litres liquid at the 100 year-old building, but they quickly lost control of the powerful water jet. Protesters say they are "highlighting the inconsistency between the UK government’s insistence that the UK is a world leader in tackling climate breakdown, and the vast sums it pours into fossil fuel exploration". The Met Police said five men and three women had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

On August 18, in anno Domini 472, the powerful generalissimo of the Western Roman Empire, Ricimer, passed from this life. A barbarian of noble birth, half Visigothic and half Suevian, Ricimer first appears in history as a soldier in the Western Roman army under the command of Flavius Aetius. It is in this capacity that he became allied with Majorian, another follower of Aetius. Both men, it seems, participated in the campaigns of Aetius against the Franks, though Majorian later had a falling out with the great commander prior to his famous victory over Attila. After the assassination of Aetius...

Vandals ravaged a Christian school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving behind more than $50,000 in damages. All of the Showers of Blessings Christian Academy's 10 classrooms were damaged. The Sun Sentinel (https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-ne-christian-academy-vandals-20190528-ersh2k7v4vfbtdktbte6gowbii-story.html) reports all of the school's windows were shattered, graffiti was written on the walls, bookcases and desks were overturned, laptops and toilets were also broken. Every window in the school's bus was also smashed. Classes were canceled on Tuesday, so teachers and staff could clean up the mess. "We had to cancel because we had glass everywhere," Britnay Ewald, the school's director told...

Is it a news story if a church is set on fire or vandalized in some other way? What about if it’s part of a string of incidents? What if it happens five times? How about 10 times? What if there are flames pouring out of one of the world’s most iconic cathedrals and it’s Monday of Holy Week?We will come back to the flames over Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in a moment.The answers to the earlier questions are yes, yes, yes, yes and, of course, yes! As someone who worked as a news reporter (and later a editor)...

After his stunning re-conquest of Roman north Africa, and destruction of the Vandalic kingdom, Belisarius returned to Constantinople late in AD 534. He left prematurely because a conspiracy had sprung up accusing him of seeking to usurp the imperial power and set himself up as king of Africa. To defuse suspicion, he packed up his household and returned to the capital, his ships laden with the Vandal royalty as captives and the legendary Vandal treasure. Once in Constantinople, Belisarius received a traditional Roman triumph. But while the imperial court celebrated, the situation in Africa deteriorated. Belisarius had left his former...

An Etruscan hypogeum which is 'considered exceptional within the western Mediterranean' has just been discovered within this ancient cemetery on Corsica... which is believed to date all the way back to between the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. According to Forbes, this burial ground in southern Aléria was first spotted after a new home was slated to be built. However, it was swiftly discovered that this was already the enormous home to the many people who had been buried here thousands of years ago. ...at one point in time it was much larger, with a history that stretches straight back...

DUNN, NC (WNCN/CNN) - Authorities said vandals wanted to express their opposition to Confederate monuments by targeting a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The problem is, they went after the wrong statue. Gen. William C. Lee was the commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, and his statue stands in front of his namesake museum, the William C. Lee Airborne Museum. Authorities say someone recently tried to set the statue on fire. “This is a hometown grown boy here that turned out to be an international hero in World War II, but to come...

A site in New Orleans where the statue of a Confederate leader once stood continues to elicit controversy, this time relative to the modern controversy over the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration laws. At some point late Tuesday or early Wednesday (July 4), vandals spray-painted the pedestal that once held P.G.T. Beauregard equestrian statue near the City Park entrance at Esplanade and North Carrollton avenues. The messages "Defend Kids Not Fascism" was written on one side of the base, and "NOLA is Preaux Migrant" was on the other. "Melt ICE," referencing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was sprayed on the front...