A court has sentenced a former Scottish National Party (SNP) Equalities Officer accused of sexual assault and blackmail to six years in prison. Cameron Downing, 24, who identifies as non-binary, reportedly preyed on six victims for several years.
According to Scottish Daily Express, the police launched an investigation into Downing, a trans rights activist who was the Media and Communications Officer for the SNP’s LGBTQ group, in early 2023. In total, six victims were identified, some male and others female.
One former partner of Downing’s said that he threatened to fabricate a sexual assault claim against him and report him to police if he didn’t continue performing sexual acts as Downing demanded. The 22-year-old victim said he felt “trapped” by the threats.
The victim also told the court that Downing had said he would bring the false rape allegations to his friends, family, and employer if he didn’t comply with his sexual demands.
“You should want that with all your f*****g being because the alternative is losing me from your life and most likely facing a court case for RAPING me,” he wrote to the victim in a text message that was shared in court.
Another female victim said that Downing began to abuse her when she was still a teenager. She told the court that she was intoxicated at a party when Downing encouraged her to take a shower, after which she had no recollection of what happened, but that she awoke in a bed, covered in bruises. She said that Downing later denied touching her, claiming he was gay and wouldn’t want to “look at [her] saggy t**s anyway.”
The trial was held last month at the High Court in Edinburgh where Downing, who uses he/they pronouns, continually denied any wrongdoing. In addition to trying to convince the jury that he did not blackmail one of his victims, Downing said he “was battling ‘complex’ mental health issues at the time of the abuse.”
The jury deliberated for 48 hours and found Downing to be guilty on charges of physical and sexual assaults.
Downing returned to court on July 16 for sentencing, where he was ultimately handed six years in prison. Judge Alison Stirling also ruled that Downing, who blew kisses to his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom by security, be supervised for three years post-incarceration.
“Cameron Downing, on 14 June 2024, at the High Court in Edinburgh you were convicted after trial of 10 charges of assault, sexual assault and domestic abuse against people who were your friends or your partner,” explained Judge Stirling in the ruling.
In addition to outlining the abuse his victims faced, including taking advantage of one of his victims while he was intoxicated and performing oral intercourse on him, Judge Stirling continues by criticizing Downing’s lack of remorse for his actions.
“You did not show remorse, and you did not identify any impact on your victims,” she said.
Highlighting his risk assessment specific to sexual offending, Judge Stirling also utilized Downing’s “hostility towards women, lack of concern for others, sexual preoccupation and deviant sexual preference” as justification for her sentence.
“You have been assessed as being at a high risk of sexual reoffending. You have relationship deficits and have been manipulative, as well as showing a callous disregard within your friendship groups. Your offenses are likely to have caused significant psychological and physical harm to all your victims, and their psychological recovery from your actions could be prolonged.”
Stirling added that, following his release from prison, Downing would be “deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups” and is forbidden from approaching or contacting his victims.
News of Downing’s sentencing was received warmly by gender-critical activists, including bestselling author J.K. Rowling, who noted the predictability of this outcome based on his previous threats.
“Your regular reminder that men who announce publicly they want to beat up women tend not to be very nice people,” she wrote on X.
Your regular reminder that men who announce publicly they want to beat up women tend not to be very nice people. https://t.co/BY79jXZ72v
His posts sparked widespread backlash from gender-critical activists on X, prompting Downing to lock down his social media accounts. He also later resigned from his position with the SNP.
He is a close associate of the Hyper Cacher murderer, Amedy Coulibaly, and was the main defendant in the trials for the January 2015 attacks, to the extent that he was sentenced to life imprisonment on appeal for ‘aiding and abetting terrorist murders’, as the judiciary described him as a man of ‘extreme dangerousness’.
The 39-year-old Ali Riza Polat, who is in solitary confinement in Laon prison (Aisne), is suspected of attacking two prison officers with two pieces of glass early on Tuesday morning while shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ (Allah is great). The two officers had just returned to his cell when the inmate attacked them. One of them was slightly injured in the forearm, while the second was taken hostage by the man running amok. After negotiations, Ali Riza Polat finally loosened his grip, put down his homemade weapons and surrendered.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) took over the investigation into the ‘attempted murder of persons belonging to the public administration in connection with a terrorist project and in a state of legal recidivism’. The investigation was entrusted to the Coordinating Sub-Department for Anti-Terrorism (SDAT), the Zonal Directorate of the National Police (DZPN) in Lille and the General Directorate for Internal Security (Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure). The suspect’s hearing is intended to shed light on the motives for his offence.
‘I never wanted to go out one morning to destroy the lives of these people (…) I am not Coulibaly. (…) I am innocent of the offences I am accused of,’ said Ali Riza Polat, who was born in Turkey and came to France at the age of three, at his last trial. He was accused of providing Amedy Coulibaly with a bag of weapons containing Kalashnikovs and Tokarev pistols. However, the 30-year-old had always denied knowing about the use of the arsenal of weapons and imagined a robbery.
Ali Riza Polat, who was born into a family of Alevis, a branch of Islam, and does not practise, had declared that he had converted to Islam in 2014. However, he had always rejected any extremist practice of his religion and any approval of terrorist theories. ‘I am a Muslim, I am a believer. I pray my five daily prayers, but I also do my rubbish on the side (…) I have never said that I am in a religious struggle. I have no hatred against anyone’.
However, his statements did not convince the anti-terrorist judiciary. ‘The court has no doubt (…) that Ali Riza Polat (…) was guilty, with full knowledge of the facts, of complicity in the terrorist acts committed jointly by the Kouachi brothers and Amedy Coulibaly by providing the latter with constant assistance in the preparation of his crimes and in procuring the means to commit them,’ the judges stated in justifying their decision.
No sooner had new Labour PM Keir Starmer promised a fresh start for a Britain “broken” by 14 years of Tory government than his party was embarrassed by the forced resignation, after just four months in office, of its scandal-wracked First Minister in Wales, where Labour has governed for 25 years.
The First Minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething, has resigned following alleged conflicts of interest. Gething, who became the first black man to lead one of the UK home nations when he was elected in March, announced on Tuesday that he would stand down after four ministers resigned earlier in the day while calling for him to go.
Mick Antoniw, the Welsh Counsel General, told Gething: “It is clear that you no longer command a majority, that you will be unable to enter into the agreements necessary to pass a budget, and for all intents and purposes the Senedd [Welsh legislature] is rudderless.”
Meanwhile, Jeremy Miles, who was Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, said: “We cannot continue like this. It’s essential that we begin to repair the damage immediately, and I have reached the conclusion very regrettably that this cannot happen under your leadership.”
Gething’s proximity to multiple scandals since becoming First Minister led to scrutiny of donations to his leadership campaign and his sacking a minister whom he accused of leaking private messages to the media.
Last month, Gething lost a non-binding motion of no confidence in his leadership. However, he vowed to stay on, calling the motion a “gimmick.” In a statement announcing his resignation on Tuesday, he called allegations against him “pernicious, politically motivated and patently untrue.”
In 11 years as a minister, I have never ever made a decision for personal gain. I have never ever misused or abused my ministerial responsibilities.
My integrity matters. I have not compromised it. I regret that the burden of proof is no longer an important commodity in the language of our politics. I do hope that can change.
Wales has been ruled by the Labour party since the introduction of devolution in 1999, but its increasingly fractious administration has been accused of misrule and of running the health service “into the ground.”
Jürgen Elsässer’s Compact magazine is to be silenced. This would deprive Germany of an important opposition voice. Photo: Alexander Böhm 7 wikimedia commons (CC BY SA 4.0)
Jürgen Elsässer’s Compact magazine has been published in Germany for more than ten years. Now Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has banned the patriotic magazine, as reported by the Tagesschau news programme. Of course, the latter did not skimp on the usual buzzwords. The magazine, which welcomed both right-wing and left-wing positions for discourse, was repeatedly accused of being “right-wing extremist”. Both Jürgen Elsässer’s home and that of his wife and other Compact employees were searched. The reason given was that the magazine is directed against the “free democratic basic order”. Compact has repeatedly called for referendums and direct democracy.
These demands were directed at the FRG government. The ban was based on a “collection of material from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in which the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution is also involved”, according to Tagesschau. Of course, the media outlet fails to mention that the federal and state offices for the protection of the constitution are run by CDU and SPD members.
In fact, the magazine has repeatedly criticised the FRG government and, of course, also allowed opposition politicians to have their say. Now it has been banned by the government. This is intended to silence an opposition voice that reached around 40,000 readers per month with its magazines and in some cases well over 100,000 viewers with its YouTube channel CompactTV.
According to Tagesschau, the Faeser ministry wants to use the ban to ensure “that all formats can no longer be produced with immediate effect, the website is shut down and the assets are confiscated. The content on the YouTube channel must also be removed.” However, the broadcaster conceded at the end that Compact could “take legal action against the ban.” Whether this will be of any use remains to be seen, as the highest judges in Germany are appointed by the ruling politicians.
In what may be the most aggressive move against press freedom since the Second World War, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and had over 200 police officers raid the office and home of the publisher, Jürgen Elsässer, along with the homes of other employees and financial backers.
At 6:00 a.m., masked German police officers raided the home of Elsässer and confiscated hard drives and assets. The magazine has a large readership in Germany and a Youtube channel with millions of views and over 300,000 subscribers. The website and its social media channels have now been erased from the web.
Far-left German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser took to X to celebrate the banning of the publication, which she says she personally ordered.
“Today, I banned the right-wing extremist ‘COMPACT Magazine.’ It agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against Muslims and against our democracy. Our ban is a hard blow against the right-wing extremist scene,” she wrote.
While speaking about the incident, she stated: “We will not allow ethnic definitions of who belongs to Germany and who does not. Our constitutional state protects all those who are persecuted because of their faith, their origin, their skin color or their democratic stance.”
🇩🇪BREAKING NEWS:
Massive crackdown on the press in Germany
In what may be the most aggressive move against press freedom since the Second World War, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and raided the office of the publisher, Jürgen Elsässer.
The press was informed ahead of time of the raid, and was on hand to photograph Elsässer in his night robe while he was surrounded by masked police officers. In addition, his video production company, Conspect Film GmbH was also banned.
It also marked the first time a media outlet of this size has been targeted in such an extraordinary manner,
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leaders, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla issued a joint statement on X, writing:
“The ban on Compact magazine is a serious blow to press freedom. We are watching these events with great concern. Banning a press organ means denying discourse and diversity of opinion. A ban is always the most far-reaching step. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser is abusing her powers to suppress critical reporting. We call on the minister to respect press freedom.”
According to Germany’s Welt, the ban came about because Compact allegedly violated the constitutional order in a “combative and aggressive manner.”
The private homes of various employees were also raided in Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt, including the home of Elsässer in Falkensee near Berlin. In addition, financial backers of the outlet also had their properties raided and digital and personal assets confiscated.
The Nöbeditz manor of former AfD politician André Poggenburg in Stößen near Naumburg was also reportedly raided.
What is Compact Magazine?
Compact has described itself as a “magazine for sovereignty.” As Welt notes, on the magazine’s website, which has now been deleted from the web, along with its social media channels, it wrote that “It does not prescribe a political line, but rather an attitude: That is walking upright, that is the spirit of freedom and pride in our history.”
Welt, which is a mouthpiece of the rival Christian Democrats party, clearly is against the magazine, writing: “What the editors meant by this could be seen on the front pages. Compact presented its readers with doomsday scenarios and racism, conspiracy theories and agitation against politicians from the hated ‘old parties’ — and as a way out of all this misery: the AfD.”
“Compact specifically addressed right-wing extremists, conspiracy theorists and opponents of democracy with well-known narratives: of the ‘lying press’ and ‘high finance,’ of ‘corrupt politicians’ and ‘powerful puppet masters in the background’ who were deceiving them.”
However, Welt does not note how any of this is illegal or even factually incorrect, as high finance exists, there are corrupt politicians, and in the background, there are powerful people who call the shots in many different scenarios. Calling them “puppet masters” may be a theatrical take, and some may take the phrase “lying press” as a harsh term to use against journalists, but the fact that many journalists have lied or distorted the truth has been proven to be correct on many occasions.
It is hard to address many of these allegations, as the entire website has been erased from the web.
Welt also goes on to detail how Compact became highly successful during the pandemic, and was making substantial profit margins on its merchandise sales, which allowed the team to “professionalize” the media outlet’s operations.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) placed the publication under monitoring in 2021, and was listed as a “confirmed extremist endeavor.”
The ban is sure to be met with legal challenges, and even some on the left are questioning the legitimacy of such a ban, as it appears to violate a number of provisions on free speech guaranteed in the constitution.
German media outlet Tichys Einblick writes that “The Compact magazine undoubtedly represents right-wing extremist positions and calls for the overthrow of the government. However, Article 5 of the Basic Law also protects these radical views.”
Speaking with constitutional lawyer and former Federal Minister of Defense Rupert Scholz, he said: “Freedom of opinion enjoys such a high constitutional status that it cannot simply be undermined by an executive decision. A medium can only be banned if it represents a revolutionary position, i.e., calls for the overthrow of the existing order by force. But that would then have to lead to criminal proceedings.”
In other words, Elsässer would first have to be prosecuted and convicted before his outlet could be shut down; however, there are so far no signs that he has even been charged with anything. Nevertheless, his entire publication was targeted for closure before any criminal proceedings even began.
Scholz also stated that in his opinion, the “ethnic concept of the people” that Compact uses, which makes a distinction between ethnic Germans and those simply with German citizenship, is also “not unconstitutional” and is protected constitutional speech. He added that “Faeser’s actions are clearly unconstitutional.”
Other top lawyers took to X to write about the unprecedented raid, including, Carsten Brennecke, a lawyer in the renowned Chancellor Höcker law firm. He stated that among other things, the presence of a press photographer for the raid was clearly a criminal act.
“The Compact magazine is banned and, strangely and of course purely by chance, there are images staged for press effect of the people being attacked, taken by surprise in their private lives and presented to the press. Such ‘coincidences’ are becoming more frequent. Just think of the Reich Citizens’ raid, the search of Zumwinkel or Cardinal Woelki. Of course, leaking search dates in advance by ministries or other authorities for the purpose of self-promotion is not only potentially punishable, it also represents an unlawful infringement of the general personal rights of those affected,” Brennecke writes on X.
In addition, journalists are also pouring on the criticism, including from various mainstream papers. For instance, Zeit journalist Lars Weisbrod wrote on X. “Freedom of the press is so important. I think that in Germany a court should always decide first about banning a medium, not the Interior Minister or the Office for the Protection of the Constitution,” wrote Weisbrod. He also questioned whether such a ban is even constitutionally possible
Faeser herself famously wrote for Antifa Magazine, which was a publication supported by the VVN-BdA, which had been classified by the Office Protection of the Constitution (BfV) as “left-wing extremist.” She wrote the article shortly before she became interior minister.
As for the publisher of Compact, the 67-year-old editor, Jürgen Elsässer, originally aligned with the far left and supposedly coined the phrase: “Never again Germany,” a popular slogan shouted at Antifa events. He wrote for a variety of left-wing parties before he took on a far more right-wing oriented world view and founded Compact in the 2010s.
On Monday morning, July 15, the Notre-Dame-du-Travail church in the 14th arrondissement of Paris was the site of a break-in, anti-Christian tags and damage to property, as reported to us. The offences were committed between 8pm on Sunday July 14 and 7.30am today, Monday. The perpetrator or perpetrators entered through the emergency exit door and wrote on several pillars of the building with black felt-tip pen: ” Infidels should pray five times a day “, ” Bastard Jesus one God allah “, ” The church is consecrated by Satan “, ” The church will be burnt “, ” The last prophet Muhammad “, ” Those who continue will have their heads cut off / I will wage war against you Christian world “, ” We Muslims cannot accept this whore of a religion / Mary is your destiny “, ” Go to hell, Satan burn “.
Cupboard doors were also broken open, the entrance area was ransacked, a small cash box was broken into and papers were burnt, a police source told Valeurs actuelles. Finally, a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary was stabbed in the neck. A complaint was filed. An investigation was opened and taken over by the police (PJ).
As the US presidential elections draw near, former US President Donald Trump has made his pick for Vice President, selecting Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate on Monday.
Trump confirmed Vance’s candidature through a post on social media. “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
After years of scathing criticism of Trump, Vance has embraced the populist ideology of the former president; this choice further elevates him. After getting support from Trump in a fierce Republican primary, Vance, a venture entrepreneur and the author of the best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy”, was elected to the US Senate in 2022, according to CNN.
“J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country. J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….” Trump further said in his post.
“…As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Congratulations to Senator JD Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children. MAGA2024!” the post added.
Notably, in May this year, JD Vance slammed US President Joe Biden for calling India and Japan “xenophobic”. Calling Biden’s foreign policy a “clown show”, Vance said that Biden insulted the US’s two crucial allies in countering China just because they don’t have open borders allowing the influx of immigrants.
“Biden insults our two most important allies in countering China all because they don’t believe in open borders. This guy’s foreign policy is an absolute clown show,” JD Vance posted on 3rd May.
Back in March 2022, the speculations were rife that Biden administration might impose sanctions on India under its Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), over India’s purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia. At that time, Vance had heavily criticised Biden.
“Let’s just be direct: the Biden administration is pursuing a policy of freezing and starving normal Americans. Whether it’s their goal, it’s the obvious effect of what they’re doing. And their reprehensible media cheerleaders are calling it “shared sacrifice”. It’s going to get much, much worse. And there’s no obvious endpoint or goal. Indeed, the stupidity is so extreme it makes you wonder whether it’s stupidity or malicious intent. “Let’s sanction India, which makes 90 percent of our generic pharmaceuticals.” What are they doing?,” Vance posted.
While the Biden administration extended financial and military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, JD Vance has opposed this stand. Vance has said that America should engage in basic diplomacy with Russia for American interests.
Supports Trump’s call for Israel to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas in Gaza
JD Vance has also backed Trump’s call for Israel to “finish the job” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, claiming that relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia can only be cemented after Hamas is defeated in Gaza. In May of this year, Vance explained why he supports Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance advocated for Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, arguing that European countries should take on greater responsibility for military defence, particularly manufacturing, so that the United States may shift resources to Asia to counter an aggressive China. “We want Europe to be successful, but Europe has got to take a bigger role in its own security. You can’t do that without industry, Vance said.
Called UK under Labour party rule as an ‘Islamist country’
Recently, JD Vance said that the United Kingdom will be the first Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon. Vance made these remarks after the Labour Party won a historic mandate in UK general elections.
“I have to beat up on the UK – just one additional thing. I was talking with a friend recently. And we were talking about, you know, one of the big dangers in the world, of course, is nuclear proliferation, though, of course, the Biden administration doesn’t care about it…What is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon? And we were like, maybe it’s Iran, you know, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts. And then we sort of finally decided maybe it’s actually the UK,” Vance said.
“What is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon?
And we were like, maybe it's Iran, you know, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts.
And then we sort of finally decided maybe it's actually the UK.”
Vivek Ramaswamy supports Trump’s choice, says Vance is his friend and classmate
On Monday, Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy expressed joy over Trump picking JD Vance as his running mate and said, “So proud of my friend, classmate, and fellow southwest Ohioan today. We used to watch Bengals games at the bar in law school, it’s awesome we’re now here a decade later with JD joining the strongest presidential ticket in our lifetime. He’ll be an outstanding Vice President and I look forward to everything ahead for him and for our country.”
So proud of my friend, classmate, and fellow southwest Ohioan today. We used to watch Bengals games at the bar in law school, it’s awesome we’re now here a decade later with JD joining the strongest presidential ticket in our lifetime. He’ll be an outstanding Vice President and I…
Marco Rubio of Florida and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, who were considered to be the frontrunners in the race, are now out of it. Vance has been a supporter of Trump in the Senate and frequently casts votes in the former president’s favour.
He echoed Trump’s criticism of increasing aid by opposing a bill aimed at assisting Ukraine earlier this year. He is also close with the former President’s son, Donald Trump Jr, according to a CNN report.
According to the report, Vance–a veteran, author, and former venture capitalist–was one of the contenders who obtained vice-presidential vetting materials from the Trump campaign.
Vance is married to Usha Chilukuri, daughter of Indian immigrants
Vance was born James David Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, to a mother who struggled with addiction and a father who left the family when JD was a toddler. He was raised by his grandparents.
In 2017, Vance returned to Ohio and continued to work in venture capital. He and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, whom he met at Yale, have three children. Usha Vance, born Usha Chilukuri, is an attorney who has carved out a successful career in the legal field.
Born to Indian immigrant parents, she grew up with a strong emphasis on education and hard work in a San Diego, California, suburb. Usha attended Yale University and also graduated from Yale Law School.
While at Yale, Usha served as managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and executive development editor of The Yale Law Journal, according to a biography from Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm. This development comes on the heels of the recent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (July 13).
The Trump campaign says the former president, following his brush with death, will call for unity in the face of tragedy instead of criticising his political adversaries as he faces off with President Biden in a 2024 election rematch.
Assassination attempt on Donald Trump
Trump was on stage at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania’s Butler before gunshots rang out and Secret Service agents stormed the stage. Following the attack on Trump, the Secret Service agents surrounded the Republican candidate and escorted him off the stage, with blood visible across his face. Donald Trump said that the bullet pierced the upper part of his ear. One of the rally attendees was killed, while two more were critically injured. The gunman was also killed by US Secret Service agents.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks. It further said that an investigation is underway into the shooting incident.
Earlier in the day, the classified documents case against former US President Donald Trump was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday, CNN reported.
Cannon said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith “violated the Constitution.”
Trump was indicted in June last year by a federal grand jury in Miami. He was accused of taking classified national defence documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. However, both Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
An 18-year-old migrant has been arrested and charged with killing a 55-year-old man at the famed Hundertwasser train station in the city of Uelzen in Lower Saxony, which has often been described as “one of the 10 most beautiful train stations in the world.”
The killing took place at 1:30 a.m. right after the suspect had been released from police custody for committing a variety of other crimes.
German media is reporting that so far, it appears the victim was pushed or kicked down a flight of stairs at the station for no apparent reason in a random attack. The elderly man from Lüneburg suffered severe traumatic brain injuries and died at the bottom of the steps.
Police officers arrested the migrant inside the station area; the victim, however, died too quickly and rescue workers were not able to aid the man in time.
The Afghan man refused to stop masturbating despite the threat to his life from incoming train traffic. At the same time, the German government is pushing for people to take more public transportation. https://t.co/mHzzUuPeIJ
The Moroccan man was arrested first on Saturday for pickpocketing in the middle of the city and then later for assault at the central bus station. Police took him into custody for the crimes but then released him at 9:00 p.m., just a few hours before he allegedly killed the 55-year-old victim.
He is being charged with manslaughter. Police believe he may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack and took a blood sample.
Knife attacks at German train stations have more than doubled since 2019.https://t.co/q74iGIKXkS
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) released a statement about the incident, writing:
“An unbelievable crime occurred on the night of Saturday in Uelzen, Lower Saxony: An 18-year-old Moroccan kicked a 55-year-old down the stairs of the Hundertwasser train station. The emergency services were called and fought in vain to save the 55-year-old’s life — he died after a severe traumatic brain injury. We cannot accept this: In order to make our train stations safer again, we must immediately deport criminals with foreign citizenship and protect our borders. We cannot wait until the next person is lying dead on the tracks or on the station steps.”
🚨🇩🇪 Nigerian migrant goes on stabbing spree against German police officers, is immediately released by courts.
🔴The Nigerian first grabs a 9-year-old boy in the main Karlsruhe train station. When officers confront him, he bites one officer on his leg and leaves the other 3… pic.twitter.com/jfyqrCFhF4
With crime soaring due to rising immigration numbers, police and security forces are stretched at all levels — not just in the train system. Recently released statistics from the German Interior Ministry show that migrants account for a record 41 percent of all crimes in Germany, with their role in violent crimes such as rape, murder and assault even higher.
A week after the second round of parliamentary elections failed to produce a clear majority, France is still waiting for a new government. The left-wing coalition, which came out on top in terms of number of seats, is tearing itself apart trying to find a consensus candidate for prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, is ploughing his own furrow with no sign of wanting to work with them. The discredit of the French Left risks becoming deeply entrenched.
The left-wing coalition known as the New Popular Front (NFP) managed to win 178 seats with just over 7 million votes, beating the Macronist coalition (150 seats) and the Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies (142 seats). On the strength of this apparent success, the NFP believes it is entitled to form the new government. The problem is that its constituent parties are unable to agree on a candidate for the post.
For the past week, intense negotiations have been taking place between the headquarters of the parties concerned: the communist and socialist parties, the Greens, and La France Insoumise (LFI).
The leading party in the coalition is La France Insoumise. However, its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is attracting strong criticism from both Left and Right for his excesses and ambiguous attitude towards Hamas, which justifies accusations of antisemitism. Presented as a deterrent, his candidacy has been rejected by his allies. Party representatives are annoyed by his supporters’ insistence on pushing for Mélenchon: “LFI is blocking everything, they’re irresponsible people who can’t live up to expectations. They’re bringing out Mélenchon, it’s unbearable,” said a socialist to France Info.
In the space of a few days, a name emerged that was totally unknown to the public: Huguette Bello, president of the Réunion region in the Indian Ocean. The communist party and La France Insoumise managed to agree on her profile, but the choice was not validated by the socialist party, forcing her to give up.
The socialists would prefer to put forward the party’s current secretary general, Olivier Faure. The Greens, for their part, are playing the neutrality card, which is just as irritating to their partners: “The Greens are going to have to get out of their holiday camp leader language and take a stand,” one representative vituperated to France Info. On Monday afternoon, July 15th, the LFI representatives announced their intention to suspend their participation in the negotiations. In response, the socialist party announced in a press release that, together with the communist party and the Greens, it had reached a “proposal for a joint candidacy from civil society for the post of Prime Minister.”
While the discussions concern the imminent appointment of the prime minister, the real issues are further away. Everyone has the presidential elections of 2027 in mind. La France Insoumise has an interest in obstructing and pushing the socialists and ecologists to join forces with the Macronists to form a grand centre-left coalition. This strategy would enable them to undermine their partners’ credibility and present themselves as the only true Left with a view to the presidential election.
The NFP had undertaken to propose the name of a prime minister before the evening of July 14th. It failed to do so and is now putting forward a new date, July 18th, to concentrate on another matter—the election of the president of the national assembly.
For the moment, the internal negotiations within the NFP seem to have had no impact on the path followed by President Macron. He is due to accept the resignation of current Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday, July 16th. Gabriel Attal was elected MP, and appointed leader of the Ensemble pour la République parliamentary group (the new name for the Macronist camp). He currently combines the functions of prime minister and representative in the National Assembly, which is prohibited by the Constitution in the name of the separation of powers. Seventeen other ministers are currently in the same situation, but this does not seem to be troubling Emmanuel Macron.
As for the election of management positions in the National Assembly, Macron’s deputies stated that they wished at all costs to avoid the election to these key positions of members of the RN or La France Insoumise. This means they are simply abstaining to avoid having to vote for one or the other. The situation of deadlock and lack of dialogue between the political forces is not about to be resolved.
An Irish pro-abortion politician was refused Holy Communion by a Catholic priest during a funeral service.
Father Gabriel Burke denied Communion to Fine Gael Minister Colm Burke during a Requiem Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Whitechurch, a village close to Cork City, on July 12. Father Burke told local news outlet Corkbeo that he denied Burke Communion because of his support for abortion and that any politician who votes for pro-abortion laws is “participating in evil.”
The priest said, “He [Minister Colm Burke] put out his hand, and I gave him a blessing, and I told him that nobody was entitled to receive [C]ommunion. I then gave him to the count of three to move on before I went to the next person.”
“He as a senator voted the abortion legislation in – he didn’t have to, he chose to vote for abortion. He didn’t do it in any way to lessen the demand for abortion in Ireland. He could have done differently as a Catholic.”
Father Burke also said this was the third time that Colm Burke was refused Communion in the diocese.
According to the Irish Times, the minister said that Fr. Burke told him, “You have been excommunicated” when he presented himself for Holy Communion.
“I have been in contact with the Cloyne Diocesan Office and I intend writing to Bishop Crean seeking clarification as to my status in attending future Church ceremonies in the Diocese,” the politician said.
Diocese spokesman Fr. Jim Moore confirmed to the Irish Times that Minister Burke had contacted them and that Bishop William Crean would contact the minister the following week.
“As a senator, Colm Burke voted for abortion after the 2018 referendum, and he knows the teaching of the Church that any politician who voted abortion cannot receive [C]ommunion – Archbishop Eamon Martin made that very clear before the vote on abortion,” Fr. Burke told the Irish Times.
“Archbishop Martin said that any politician that voted for abortion in Dáil Éireann [Lower House of Irish Parliament] was ‘co-operating with evil’ and should not present for [C]ommunion and Colm Burke knew that because he was here twice before, and he’s been refused communion on both those occasions,” the priest added.
Mr. Burke claimed that he was unaware of the archbishop’s statement and said, “My understanding is that Canon Law, in fact, doesn’t give him the authority to refuse to give Holy Communion to anyone.”
Contrary to the pro-abortion politician’s understanding, canon law requires priests to deny Holy Communion to “[t]hose who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin.” (Can. 915)
Since supporting the murder of the unborn constitutes a grave sin, politicians who vote in favor of pro-abortion laws without repenting must be denied Communion.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time and would become Pope Benedict XVI a year later, explained in a 2004 memo:
Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.
The cardinal added that when these measures were not effective or not possible and the person persists in sin and “still presents himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, ‘the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it’ (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Declaration “’Holy Communion and Divorced, Civilly Remarried Catholics’ [2002], nos. 3-4).”
Cardinal Ratzinger stressed that this denial “is not a sanction or a penalty” but a response “to the person’s public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin.”
The Catholic Church has always taught that receiving the Holy Eucharist unworthily is a grave sin. In First Corinthians 11:29, Saint Paul writes: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.”
CONTENT NOTICE: This article contains quotes from a legal case in which the graphic sexual abuse of children is discussed. Reader discretion is appreciated.
A trans-identified male in Illinois who threatened to commit school shootings and rape children has been sentenced to 12 months in federal prison. Alexia Willie, who pleaded guilty to his crimes in March, is currently being coded as a “female” inmate by the Bureau of Prisons.
As previously reported by Reduxx, Willie was arrested in Perry County, Illinois after the Springfield-area FBI became aware of a number of disturbing live streams broadcast on social media between March and August of 2023.
In the streams, which were broadcast through social networking platform MeetMe, an individual later identified as Willie was seen making a number of disturbing threats towards schools and local children, specifically indicating he had intentions of targeting local schools and churches.
He explicitly stated his motive was “transgender rights,” and apparent retaliation for discrimination against the transgender community.
Willie expressed a desire to carry out a copy-cat killing of the horrific shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. During that incident, a trans-identified female left 6 dead, 3 of whom were children aged 9, in an act of brutality that left the nation stunned.
“A person in Tennessee walked into one of your schools and shot up a bunch of your Christian daughters. That’s not the last of them if you don’t shut your fucking mouth. Shut the fuck up out here, you understand me?” Willie said, just weeks after the shooting had taken place.
“There’s a lot of transgenders out here that are tired of being picked on and we’re going to go into the schools and we’re going to kill their fucking children out here, and that’s the end of it. We’re at war.”
In another expletive-filled monologue on MeetMe, Willie also claimed to be a “pedophile” with intentions to sexually assault young girls using his access to women’s restrooms.
From the March 20 statement of facts filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
“I guarantee I’ll be in the bathroom raping your Christian daughters and there ain’t nothing you faggots can do about it. You hear me?” Willie said in August of 2023.
“I’m in the bathroom feeling your little girls’ pussies. I love feeling on your little girls’ pussies. You can’t do nothing about it. I don’t care. I’m openly a pedophile. You guys can’t do nothing about us. You can cry. Put me on national television, I don’t care,” Willie boasted.
“I do what the fuck I wanna do you little fucking cunt. You little nasty fucking bitch. You little nasty fucking bitch,” Willie said, seemingly amused by the reaction of another MeetMe user who expressed outrage at his remarks. “Look how nasty you are. Look at you. We’re fucking your children and killing them. We’re fucking them and hurting them and killing them and you faggots can’t do nothing about us.”
Willie had initially been arrested in August of 2023 after Perry County law enforcement was notified of the threats by the Springfield FBI. However, he was released less than 48 hours after being detained on a $0 bond. Speaking to Reduxx in October of that year, Perry County Sheriff Chad Howard explained that regional prosecutors had a difficult time laying charges.
While he was initially charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Perry County, Sheriff Howard said the charges related to the threats against the schools were dropped at the state level due to a lack of specific target.
“Because there was no one individual person or individual school directly threatened, the disorderly conduct did not stick. It was not capable of being filed,” he said. Sheriff Howard also noted that he anticipated that the remaining resisting arrest charge would result in a simple fine.
“Now with the state of Illinois having the SAFE-T Act, which went into effect on September 18 [2023], those types of crimes are no longer containable. You just bring [a suspect] in for booking, processing, and biometrics and then you release them with a court date and it is all handled by the courts from there on out,” he said.
At the time, Sheriff Howard was unaware of any additional action pending against Willie. But though Perry County was unable to see Willie prosecuted at the state level, the FBI had been compiling a case for a federal indictment.
In November of 2023, Willie was charged with 14 felony counts of Interstate Communication of a Threat to Injure at the complaint of the FBI. But, on March 20, an agreement was reached in which federal prosecutors dropped 13 of the counts in exchange for a guilty plea.
Willie had been facing up to 5 years in federal prison, but a new sentencing memorandum released on June 25 and obtained by Reduxx reveals the courts opted to slash that sentence down, handing him 12 months plus one day.
Following his release from prison, Willie will be supervised for a period of three years, during which time he is barred from being in possession of firearms or controlled substances for unlawful use. He is also restricted from leaving the state without official permission, and will have to report regularly to a probation officer.
Additional special conditions imposted by the court include that Willie will be required to undergo mental health and addictions treatment.
Willie has been remanded to the custody of the US Marshal awaiting his transfer to the Bureau of Prisons. While an institution has not yet been declared for Willie, he is now appearing in the BOP register and is listed as a “female” inmate.
This is significant, as the BOP currently has a gender self-identification policy, meaning inmates will be housed in a facility in accordance with their gender identity.
As Willie is legally “female,” there will likely be no hesitation in placing him in a women’s facility.
Willie was referred to by “she/her” pronouns in the court records.
