As RedState’s Ward Clark reported Friday, Donald Trump has instructed the U.S. military to basically wipe out the Islamic Republic of Iran should they succeed in assassinating him.

His statements come on the heels of a Thursday Wall Street Journal report alleging that Israel had informed the U.S. that Iran was mulling a new plot to kill him in retaliation for his 2020 decision to remove bloodthirsty IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani from the earth. Well, that and Operation Epic Fury, which sent former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the freezer.

On Friday night, the president got even more specific in a social media post describing exactly what the still-breathing mullahs can expect if they succeed in their murderous fantasy. The United States is “locked and loaded,” he warned:

1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME! Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH! President DONALD J. TRUMP

‘#1 on the Kill List’ — Is That Why Trump Ditched the Brand-New $400M AF1 for NATO Departure?

Pro-regime mourners at the very dead Khamenei’s funeral have been anything but shy about their dreams of inflicting pain on the United States:

Banners vowing revenge against Trump were on full display in Tehran this week as Iranians prepared to bury late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war.

One placard, held by dozens of Khamenei’s sycophants during a burial ceremony Thursday, read, “WE WILL KILL TRUMP.”

Elsewhere, crowds shouted, “I swear by the blood of the Supreme ‌Leader, Trump, ⁠we will kill you!”

“WE WILL KILL TRUMP.”

That message has been displayed on massive banners and signs as thousands gather for slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial ceremony in Iran.

The crowd repeatedly vowed revenge for Khamenei’s death, with signs also threatening Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The threats and calls to avenge Khamenei come after he was killed in Israeli strikes in February, which also reportedly killed several family members and wounded his son, Iran’s current leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

The Iranian Islamic government is known for its bellicose rhetoric that often isn’t matched by its ability to carry out its threats. That being said, we’ve seen at least three assassination attempts against Trump since 2024, so complacency is not an option.

Trump is well aware of the danger, as he noted at the recently concluded NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey:

“They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows?” Trump said at the summit. “And you know what? I may be gone too. Because I’m their No. 1 target — it’s out all over the place. Because they’re scum.”

“That’s the way they act and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years,” he added.

“PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” the president wrote at the end of his Friday night post in a clear troll aimed at Iran’s embattled leadership. Whoever is in control over there right now, though, doesn’t seem to be listening to threats, and they keep violating the terms of the “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) and heightening tensions with their continued attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hopefully, it won’t take 1,000 missiles — with “thousands of more to immediately follow” — to convince them that their days of terrorizing the world are over. But if that’s what’s needed in the end, that’s exactly what Trump is vowing to deliver.

Bob Hoge, Red State

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A 30-year-old woman is accused of biting two people and punching a security guard during a violent altercation at a Northwest Portland bar.

For the third time in recent months, Portland police have made an arrest at the River Pig Saloon. The latest incident happened on July 2, when police were contacted about a woman who had been detained by security at the bar.

According to court documents, a woman told officers she was dancing with friends when the suspect bumped into one of them and pulled her by the hair.

When the suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Kayla Wiebe, was confronted, she allegedly tried to pull another woman’s shirt down to expose her breasts.

Wiebe then allegedly pulled the woman to the ground and bit her in the face.

When security tried to detain Wiebe, she punched a security guard in the face and bit him on the hand, according to court documents.

Police say that after she was arrested, Wiebe allegedly kicked the patrol car door more than 100 times.

Wiebe pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Monday to two counts of assault, three counts of harassment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court July 24.

Court records show Wiebe was convicted in Washington County in 2024 of assaulting a public safety officer and criminal mischief. She was sentenced to probation.

Earlier this year, a woman sued River Pig, alleging inadequate security after she was stabbed at the bar last December.

Court records also show Wiebe was convicted in Yamhill County in 2022 of harassment and fourth-degree assault. She was sentenced to probation and one day in jail.

In 2020, Wiebe was convicted in Washington County of DUII and reckless endangerment. She was sentenced to probation, and her driver’s license was suspended for one year.

Jeffrey Kirsch

President Trump just put Iran on a very short clock.

By Saturday, the regime is expected to publicly acknowledge that the Strait of Hormuz is open and pledge that commercial ships will not be attacked.

Washington is demanding more than another foggy diplomatic promise. Tehran must say the words in public, where the entire world can hold the regime to them.

Axios reported that the demand was delivered both directly to Tehran and through regional mediators, according to three U.S. officials who briefed reporters Friday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to meet Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in Muscat on Saturday. U.S. officials expect a public statement from Iran after that meeting.

That makes Saturday more than another round of diplomatic theater. It is the first hard test of whether Tehran can control its own armed factions and honor even the most basic part of the agreement it signed only weeks ago.

Axios also reported that Iranian representatives reached out after two days of clashes and sought to resume talks. One U.S. official said Tehran’s message was essentially an admission that it had made a mistake.

In plain English: Iran wants negotiations to continue, but Washington wants proof that Iranian promises mean something.

The Associated Press independently reported that President Trump has given U.S. negotiators only a limited window to reach a deal and that the administration has a wide range of options if the talks collapse.

The same report described the battle at the heart of the dispute. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations insisted that opening, demining, and managing the Strait rests exclusively with Iran.

The AP noted that roughly one-fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway before the war. Iran’s effort to dictate passage has already contributed to an energy crisis, even though oil prices have fallen from their wartime highs.

U.S. officials also said there will be no final nuclear agreement while Iran refuses to honor the simpler ceasefire terms. Any nuclear deal would require Tehran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran’s exclusive-control claim is one the United States flatly rejects.

CENTCOM said Iran does not control the Strait and noted that U.S. forces have helped facilitate more than 800 successful ship transits since early May.

The distinction matters. Iran is trying to turn an international waterway into a tollbooth backed by missiles and drones.

The Trump administration is demanding that Tehran publicly abandon that claim.

Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas moved through the Strait. Any regime that believes it can decide which ships pass and which ships get fired upon is holding far more than the Gulf hostage.

CBS News reported earlier this week that the administration revoked a waiver allowing Iranian oil sales after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked three tankers in the Strait.

The waiver had been issued only two weeks earlier under the 60-day U.S.-Iran memorandum. Treasury replaced it with a narrower license that bars new Iranian oil sales while allowing already pending transactions to wind down through July 17.

The original arrangement tied every benefit to Iranian performance. It required safe passage for commercial ships, paused the fighting while nuclear talks continued, and allowed Iran to sell oil only while it kept its side of the bargain.

The tanker attacks broke that bargain. CENTCOM answered with retaliatory strikes, the administration shut down new oil sales, and President Trump declared the ceasefire over.

CBS also reported that the dispute immediately moved energy markets. Brent crude rose to $75 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate reached $71 after the waiver was revoked.

The stakes were already familiar to American drivers. Gasoline had climbed above $4.50 a gallon in May when shipping through the Strait was effectively choked off.

Now even Iranian officials reportedly admit that their side blew it.

If that account is true, Tehran’s next move should be easy.

Say publicly that the Strait is open. Promise that commercial vessels will not be attacked.

Then rein in the hardliners who tried to wreck the deal.

If Iran refuses, nobody should pretend the problem is a misunderstanding. It will be a choice.

Saturday is the deadline. The world is about to find out whether Iran wants a deal or another round with President Trump.

100% Fed Up

Issues & Insights ^ | July 10, 2026 | I & I Editorial Board

“Michael, we’re bigger than U.S. Steel.” — Hyman Roth, “The Godfather Part II“

======================================================================================

The mobsters in “The Godfather” set their sights way too low. If they really wanted to make it big time, they should have targeted federal entitlement programs instead of gamblers and drug addicts. Not only does it pay better, but you can count on one political party to look the other way.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) figures that fraudsters make off with more than $500 billion of federal taxpayer money a year, plus another $184 billion in “improper payments.”

That isn’t just bigger than U.S. Steel. That’s five times as big as the entire steel industry.

Every day, it seems, there are reports of fraud, most of it involving federal entitlement programs. Everyone knows about the massive fraud uncovered in Minnesota, Ohio, and California. But the stories just keep trickling in.

* Just last month, the Justice Department charged 455 defendants for what amounts to $6.5 billion in alleged false medical claims.

* Around the same time, Herbert Leon Kimble was arrested in the Philippines on charges that he ran a $1.2 billion Medicare fraud conspiracy.

* Investigators in Alaska charged 15 people with close to $2 million in Medicaid fraud.

* A Brooklyn, N.Y., retailer has been charged with stealing more than $640,000 in food-stamp benefits from people in Ohio.

The truth is, we have no idea how much fraud there is. The GAO estimate is more of a guesstimate than a reliable figure, and the top number on its range is probably too low, given the lackadaisical efforts states put into fighting fraud. In New Mexico, for example, a state with the highest share of people on food stamps, a legislative report found that the state followed up only 3% of the tips it received about fraud.

But even if the GAO is right, the amount of fraud rivals the output of several major U.S. industries, as a new paper from the Advancing American Freedom Foundation shows in an eye-opening chart.

Given that more than $4 trillion of the federal government’s $7.4 trillion budget is in the form of transfer payments, the scale of fraud shouldn’t be surprising.

What is surprising is how determined Democrats are to keep the fraud going.

When evidence of widespread fraud emerged in California and Minnesota, for example, the governors of both states attacked the Trump administration for pointing it out, while pretending that they are dealing with the issue.

When Trump moved to deny Medicaid funds to states rife with fraud, “Democrats slammed the crusade as a smokescreen for … Trump’s war against blue states, and an attempt to divert attention from GOP cuts to healthcare programs.”

When Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asked states to turn over food stamp enrollment data and offered to partner with them to root out fraud, 21 Democrat-controlled states refused to do so on spurious privacy grounds.

When Republicans in New Mexico pointed out that the Democrat-controlled state “rarely verifies, seldom audits, and barely investigates fraud” in its food stamp program, Democrats responded that fighting fraud threatened to “restrict eligibility.”

And, as we noted back in December, Democrats attacked DOGE — which was a modest attempt to find waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies — with such ferocity that it sparked violent protests.

The problem is that, even without opposition from Democrats, the government’s anti-fraud efforts are like bailing out a sinking ship with a spoon. There’s too much money available to fraudsters. There are way too many holes in the programs that make them easy to rip off. And catching the thieves takes time and effort.

Rachel Greszler, who authored the Advancing American Freedom report, says that Congress has the opportunity this year to seal the gaps by including several provisions in a new reconciliation bill.

“A comprehensive package built around full benefit reporting, eligibility verification, accurate measurement, mandatory cooperation, and skin-in-the-game accountability would help protect taxpayers, preserve benefits for those truly in need, and reduce the hundreds of billions of dollars currently lost to waste, fraud, and abuse each year.”

The only people who could be opposed to these commonsense reforms are the criminals and their patrons in the Democratic Party.

— Written by the I&I Editorial Board

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have ordered government employees, judges, police and members of the military to stop using smartphones under a directive that took effect June 16. The order threatens violators with confiscation, destruction of their devices and punishment (which are not specified).

The use of what are known as feature phones — with calling and texting options but no touch screen and no photo or recording capabilities — is permitted.

The ban does not yet apply to private phone ownership by ordinary Afghan civilians. But in some provinces, restrictions have already moved beyond government offices and into hospitals, schools and universities, raising fears that the policy could become an early test for broader limits on public smartphone use.

The restrictions began as a verbal order from Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and were later formalized in a military court directive circulated to court heads, police commanders and intelligence chiefs across the country’s eight administrative zones. The directive says anyone caught using a smartphone will have the device smashed and face “legal and sharia punishment.” Exemptions require a written decree from Akhundzada himself. A separate court order covers “all officials of the military and civilian institutions, including judges.”

The Taliban have also created monitoring lists recording employees’ names, positions, workplaces, mobile carriers and phone numbers. Security officials have instructed members to destroy their own smartphones and submit proof on a designated form.

At Kabul University, the leadership council ordered a complete smartphone ban for professors, staff and students effective June 21. The decision was announced at an academic council meeting where members were not permitted to ask questions. At Herat University, notices posted at the entrance warn that no one may enter with a smartphone, and the restriction extends into student dormitories, where Wi-Fi service has also been suspended. In Baghlan province, students carrying smartphones have been turned away at the university gate.

In Kandahar, the provincial Education Department said its own ban on students and teachers was rooted in a “sharia perspective” and warned that smartphones risked “the destruction of the future generation.” The Taliban’s higher education minister has called smartphones “one of the three main enemies of Muslims” and last October restricted their use on university premises to only the most senior administrators.

The timing of the order followed protests in Herat in early June, after Taliban forces arrested women and girls accused of “improper hijab” — not meeting the dress code of covering the face and body in the prescribed manner and not wearing makeup. Witnesses said Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing at least one person. Video of the shooting spread online before the Taliban could contain it.

The Taliban administration did not respond to a request for comment.

Fatima Faizi, NPR

By Katrina Lantos Swett
July 10, 2026

Like many of my fellow Americans, I have spent much of this year contemplating the meaning of America’s 250th birthday. I have participated in fantastic events to mark this momentous occasion, and I have read dozens of reflections on America that range from passionately patriotic to sharply critical and everything in between. Yet, out of everything I’ve seen or read, I am most moved by the words of my own late father, which I revisited just before the Fourth of July holiday last week.  

My father came to the United States out of the horrors of the Holocaust. He lost most of his family during the Nazi’s “Final Solution” in Hungary, and he only survived by escaping a forced labor camp and returning to his native Budapest, where he joined the underground resistance. After the war, he won a scholarship to study at the University of Washington and, with a grand total of $5 and a small piece of Hungarian salami in his pocket, he arrived at New York Harbor on Aug. 23, 1947. He wrote the following letter to his surviving relatives back in Hungary: 

“Upon seeing the Statue of Liberty, I felt that the gates of a new, free, more humane and joyous world were opening to me. I spent approximately two hours with the passport office and at 2:30 pm, finally I stepped onto the soil of America. No one who has not experienced it can understand the feeling of release and liberation which the first contact with this wonderful land engendered in me; to be in bodily contact with this ground was sheer joy. Everyone I met with seemed so friendly, so helpful and so generous.” 

His kind hosts took him on a nighttime tour of the city, and his wonder at the sights and the gifts he received is full of wide-eyed charm. 

“The night was like a dream. Millions of giant neon lights illuminated the streets and millions of well dressed happy people crowded the streets. It was hard to believe that there existed so many lucky people in the world. Then there were the theaters, the movies and the restaurants in unbelievable quantity and quality. I have never eaten so much food in my life, and I saw more and felt more joy than in all my previous life combined”. 

Over three decades later, my father, Tom Lantos, somewhat miraculously, would be elected to Congress. He was the only Holocaust survivor ever to achieve this distinction. In a fortuitous bit of foreshadowing, one of the first people he met upon arrival to the U.S. was a member of Congress. I smile every time I read his description of that encounter: 

“My first new acquaintance (besides the welcoming committee from B’nai B’rith) was a Congressman from New York. He asked me many questions and treated me with such respect and friendliness; further evidence of the warm-hearted friendliness of Americans, even of such an important member of the government.” 

As a first-generation American and the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, I have a particular brand of patriotism – the variety that is not only grateful for the many blessings of life in this country but also keenly aware of how different my story would have been if America had not opened her doors to my father, and then my mother, almost 80 years ago. 

 As I read the enthusiastic, grateful observations from a 19-year-old Hungarian Holocaust survivor who would go on to found the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and serve as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I find myself asking: What would Tom Lantos say to America at this memorable hinge of history? 

My father was certainly clear-eyed about our country’s many shortcomings and often spoke of the need, in his words, to “close the hypocrisy gap,” namely, the chasm between our magnificent founding ideals and the many ways we have fallen short as a nation. At this moment, he would be horrified by the normalization of antisemitism in our politics and the resurgence of white nationalism and other forms of hate in our society. He would lament the dearth of basic civility in our society and the unwillingness to engage constructively with those with whom we disagree. He would be baffled by the growing popularity of socialism among too many young Americans, and he would be deeply disturbed by signs of democratic backsliding.

Despite his alarm, I believe he would still tell his fellow Americans, those born in the USA and especially those lucky “Americans by choice,” that we are blessed beyond measure to be part of this extraordinary American quilt. He would tell us that we have a privilege and sacred responsibility to channel our gratitude for America into tireless, unceasing efforts to make her better, for our own families and for all citizens. Indeed, that is what he did in his own life. He did not merely build the American Dream for our family; he went into public service and for nearly three decades in Congress he worked to make the American Dream possible for all people. He even went beyond that and, as one of Congress’ most passionate and eloquent advocates for human rights, he worked to create a freer, more just world for everyone.  

In his last public statement before he succumbed to cancer, my father said, “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never fully be able to express my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”  

My father knew that it is important, even vital, to be grateful for what we have been given as citizens of this great country. But he also knew that gratitude without action, without applying ourselves to the ongoing work of this great American experiment, is just sentiment. As we move toward the next 250 years of America, I will often think of my father as a 19-year-old, newly arrived immigrant to the United States, and I will try to channel his sense of wonder and thankfulness. And I will also think of his example of throwing his whole self into the task of forming a more perfect union. I hope you will, too. 

Dr. Katrina Lantos is former chair of the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.

The preliminary hearing in the Tyler Robinson trial has been going on this week in a Utah courtroom. Robinson is accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University (UVU) on September 10, 2025. Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, were able to face Robinson in court during the hearings. Throughout the week, the prosecution has laid out a very clear case that Tyler Robinson is the man responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk, including video and DNA evidence linking Robinson to the crime.

Robinson turned himself in to the authorities at 9 p.m. on September 11, 2025, a day after the shooting. Robinson was formally arrested at about 4 a.m. the next morning. Today, prosecutors also introduced a recording of an interview with Lance Twiggs, the ‘transgender’ man Robinson reportedly had a relationship with. In that interview, Twiggs allegedly told investigators that Robinson confessed to the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled to wrap up tomorrow, and then the judge will decide if there is enough evidence to warrant sending Robinson to trial, where prosecutors say they will push for the death penalty. So while we don’t yet know if Robinson will face trial, it seems highly likely.

That’s why it’s all the more appalling that Candace Owens seems to be doing her best to help the defense clear Robinson of this crime. For months, Owens has blamed everyone and anyone for the assassination except the one man towards whom all evidence points: Tyler Robinson.

Back in February, Owens claimed Robinson was arrested ‘without a shred of evidence.’

Candace Owens in February: “They’ve got Tyler Robinson WITHOUT A SHRED of evidence. They’re the ones going off vibes and a dream.”

As everyone’s timelines fills up with evidence of Tyler Robinson being Charlie Kirk’s killer.

This should be the week Candace Owens’ entire grift dies.

pic.twitter.com/CtCVGukURU— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) July 8, 2026

Now, she’s gone so far as to offer her services to the Robinson’s defense team.

🇺🇸Candace Owens is publicly urging Tyler Robinson’s defense team to contact her as the preliminary hearing in the Charlie Kirk assassination case gets underway.

Owens has repeatedly told her audience she believes Robinson is innocent and says she wants to help his defense.

Her comments have sparked fierce backlash online, with critics accusing her of interfering in a high-profile criminal case and calling for YouTube to investigate her platform activity.

Here’s what Owens’ post says (emphasis added):

Because as I demonstrated on my show, there were MANY young men that all woke up and decided to dress in maroon shirts and light shorts on the day of the Charlie’s assassination [sic]. The footage can be any one of these young men and in my opinion is likely multiple of them.

If Tyler Robinson’s defense would like to contact me — I’d be happy to supply them the folder of the maroon boys that I began archiving when I noticed the bizarre fashion trend.

I have thus far ID’d two of them, but will focus on IDing the rest of them when I am back on air.

I have maintained that the Feds had multiple decoy maroon boys on the ground that day. Without a clear image, they certainly cannot declare it is Tyler Robinson which is why all the Zionist influencers are hoping they can simply hypnotize the public into trusting blurry images and videos.

For such an ‘open and shut case’ they have thus far provided ZERO evidence of anything outside of a criminal government conspiracy, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the JFK assassination.

The evidence, of course, contradicts Owens’ many claims. 

Candace Owens is now offering to help Tyler Robinson’s defense team! We can all agree that she’s a monster, but the real dirtbags are Charlie’s “friends” like Tucker, Megyn Kelly and Jack Posobiec who refused to call her out and come to his wife’s defense after Charlie’s death

This includes sworn testimony from David Hull, the lead investigator, on July 6.

🚨Candace Owens’ conspiracy slop is IMMEDIATELY EXPOSED on Day 1 of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing.

Candace Owens, repeatedly the last nine months: “Tyler Robinson has never even set foot on UVU’s campus.”

VS.

Lead investigator, under oath today: “We were able to establish that Mr. Robinson had been on campus approximately four times throughout the day. Twice before the shooting, at the time of the shooting, and then again after the shooting, later that evening and into the early hours of the 11th.”

pic.twitter.com/BynGLsHeJT— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) July 7, 2026

“We were able to establish that Mr. Robinson had been on campus approximately four times throughout the day. Twice before the shooting, at the time of the shooting, and then again after the shooting, later that evening and into the early hours of the 11th,” Hull said.

Reminder that Candace Owens has repeatedly claimed Tyler Robinson was never even on campus that day (she just repeated this on the Shawn Ryan podcast)…

Everything she has said about this case has been a lie. https://t.co/wovhAx0EOY— AG (@AGHamilton29) July 6, 2026

Everything has been a lie.

The defense fought hard to hide this video of Robinson on the UVU campus.

The video compilation (exhibit 12.4) of Tyler Robinson visiting UVU campus four times on 9/10 (the last visit stretching into the early morning hours of 9/11) will be submitted as evidence and broadcast to the media.

Here’s the video.

When you watch it, you’ll understand why the defense fought so hard against allowing it to be seen by the public.

pic.twitter.com/niPw0Nbcdj— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) July 7, 2026

The video is damning.

“If Tyler Robinson’s defense would like to contact me…”

Candace Owens is not only tripling down on her insane conspiracy theories that Tyler Robinson didn’t kill “her best friend” Charlie Kirk, but now she’s begging for his defense team to use her material to free the alleged… https://t.co/BTo9de8OzW— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) July 9, 2026

-Tyler’s mom: “Tyler did it.”
-Tyler’s dad: “Tyler did it.”
-Tyler’s boyfriend: “Tyler did it.”
-Law enforcement: “Tyler did it.”
-The evidence: “Tyler did it.”
-Tyler: “I did it.”

Candace Owens: “No you didn’t.” pic.twitter.com/65UpvAdm2v— Trumps Nephew (@ForgiatoBlow47) July 9, 2026

Yet despite this mounting evidence, Candace Owens continues her months-long campaign to not just question the facts, but to actively assist the defense in securing Robinson’s acquittal. From archiving “maroon shirt” footage she claims shows federal decoys to publicly urging Robinson’s legal team to contact her for her compiled “evidence,” Owens has positioned herself as a de facto advocate for the accused killer, while dismissing DNA, videos, and admissions as part of a vast “criminal government conspiracy” reminiscent of the JFK assassination.

This is not skepticism, and it’s not ‘just asking questions.’ It is a deliberate effort to undermine justice for Charlie Kirk, his grieving widow Erika, and his family, who sat in that Utah courtroom facing the man charged with his murder. It’s also a deliberate effort to undermine and minimize violence against other conservatives.

While Robinson’s guilt will ultimately be decided in court, Owens’ crusade, carelessly built on shifting conspiracies, selective blindness to evidence, and offers of aid to the defense, reveals a disturbing and almost pathological desire to prioritize narrative over truth. In the end, Owens’ actions do more than defend the indefensible; they dishonor a man she claims was her ‘best friend,’ turning personal agenda into a public betrayal at the expense of a grieving family and a nation where conservatives face increased political violence.

Amy Curtis, Townhall

I can’t stand to watch coverage of the Charlie Kirk killer’s trial. He looks smug and complacent, not just because he’s a sociopath, but because he knows he has the academics, the corporate elites, the political-media class, the entertainment Establishment, and what passes today as civilization on his side. Because it’s Utah, and not New York, California, Illinois or Colorado, there’s a chance he will be convicted. But he knows that we know that Charlie Kirk’s tragic end will be America’s too, unless the decent forces of our lost civilization reassert themselves way, way, way more than they already have.

You don’t have to know or care much about Charlie Kirk’s specific ideas and attitudes to grasp that the stakes are very high. Charlie Kirk was murdered for his ideas alone, and according to the leftist perspective, this was OK if not admirable. This alone puts us one click above concentration camps. If Kirk’s killer were actually acquitted or given a light sentence, expect the concentration camps soon.

Put simply: It’s not good for freedom, truth and justice when the most evil persons alive are so smug and comfortable. And it’s bad when there’s any hint of friendliness to the idea that people deserve to be killed for their ideas, especially when those ideas, while controversial to some, are entirely peaceful. Get to know your leftist friends and family: they’re more on board with this than you may realize, and it’s truly chilling.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

Increasingly, I think the best way to battle leftism is to defy it and isolate it. Red states should simply refuse to enforce national leftist laws or policies. After all, that’s how blue states and cities are handling ICE, DEI and everything else. They simply ignore Trump’s actions and do their own Communist, pro-criminal thing. We must fight them on the terms they, the Democrats, have created. Don’t try to tell me this will divide America and obliterate our Constitution–because the Democrats have already done that.

The other way to fight leftists is to isolate them. Rural, Republican and moderate counties in New York, Illinois, Washington state, Oregon, and California, etc. should do everything they can to isolate the super leftist cities. Do everything possible to make it harder for them to survive, try not to do business with them — just distance, disassociate, treat them as you would treat an enemy country (which they are, be real). Let them suffer the consequences of their own insane policies. It’s a fantasy to think they will reform or get better. Get to know a hard core leftist. They are not reasonable, and they are not your friends. If we let people like this determine the course of our whole nation, we will be living under a total dictatorship in 2-3 years. Mamdani is their direction. They’re not going away, and they will not be reforming. So why not prepare to break with them now, rather than a few more years down the road? Postponing the inevitable is foolish.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason

A seasonal railway conductor for Tennessee’s Incline Railway at Lookout Mountain has been fired after making now-viral comments, wishing riders a happy Independence Day, which triggered some passengers.

The conductor, identified as Jack Peterson, is clearly fed up with mass migration policies that are ruining our country. He hilariously told passengers on the Fourth of July, “To the very, very few Americans in here, happy Independence Day.”

He continued, “To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.”

It is unclear how many foreigners were on board the train.

The conductor was fired almost immediately after father Charles Scherer and son Nathan Scherer caught the moment on camera and promptly reported Peterson to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), which operates the train.

Nathan Scherer described the comments as “disparaging remarks about foreigners” in an interview, adding, “Even if you were critical of the country, the idea that you have to leave if you have any complaints… the whole thing is weird to me.”

“He doesn’t really know who is American and who’s not just by the way they look, so that kind of floored us,” Nathan’s father, Charles, said. While discussing Peterson’s immediate firing on the same day as the incident, Charles said, “That made me feel really good about CARTA and about their responsiveness to this and believing it should have been handled.

Peterson declined to comment on the incident.

According to Fox News, CARTA Chief of Staff Scott Wilson told News 9, “I want to apologize directly to the passengers who experienced this, and to everyone who has seen the video and felt its sting. It should never have happened.”

“We have zero tolerance for language that demeans or excludes anyone who rides with us. For 131 years, the Incline Railway has welcomed visitors from Chattanooga and from around the world. Every passenger who boards our railway deserves to feel respected and welcome, and we are committed to making sure that is always the case,” Wilson added.

The Gateway Pundit ^ | July 8, 2026 | Jordan Conradson