It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, September 29, 2023
John Fetterman Has A 1-Meme Response After Senate Passes Formal Dress Code
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) relaxed the Senate’s voluntary dress code last week, easing a policy that called on senators to wear business attire or coats in the upper chamber.
The formal dress code resolution came from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
Fetterman, who often votes by popping his head through the doorway of the Senate, responded to the formal dress code requirement with a meme of the “King of Queens” actor smirking with his hands in his pockets.
The “King of Queens” promotional image, which has gone viral over the past week, features James on the set of the hit sitcom and is “often paired with captions about being confident and cheeky,” according to KnowYourMeme.
The meme has since grabbed the attention of “King of Queens” star Leah Remini as well as James, who seemingly quipped that he’s “gearing up” for a “Double Hands In The Pocket” stand-up tour.
“Though we’ve never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward,” he said.
“I deeply appreciate Senator Fetterman working with me to come to an agreement that we all find acceptable, and of course I appreciate Sen. Manchin and Sen. Romney’s leadership on this issue.”
Star GOP Witness Immediately Pours Cold Water on Biden Impeachment
Josh Fiallo
DAILY BEAST Thu, September 28, 2023 Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Republicans’ long-shot attempt to impeach President Joe Biden got off to a rocky start Thursday, with their star witness, legal expert Jonathan Turley, outright saying he doesn’t see any evidence to support impeachment.
“I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” he testified.
Turley, a Fox News legal analyst and D.C. lawyer who argued against Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment, was called on by House Republicans to testify in the first hearing of an inquiry into whether Biden should be impeached. Republicans have been desperately searching for evidence of wrongdoing since well before Biden was elected, and the inquiry gives them the ability to obtain materials like bank records.
While he conceded there was no evidence to support impeachment, Turley did say that he believed the House had “passed the threshold” for holding an inquiry. He speculated that information could emerge if an official impeachment inquiry was launched. This, he said, should be enough for Republicans to launch an official probe.
The less-than-convincing comment was seized on by the Biden campaign, which shared a video of the quote to its social channels. And Turley’s comment clearly irked some GOP officials, one of whom reportedly told CNN that Thursday’s hearing was an “unmitigated disaster.”
“You want witnesses that make your case,” the unnamed Republican told CNN. “Picking witnesses that refute House Republicans' arguments for impeachment is mind-blowing.”
Turley wasn’t the only GOP witness to say there’s no evidence to support articles of impeachment. Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant called on by Republicans, said, “I am not here today to even suggest that there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing. In my opinion, more information needs to be gathered and assessed before I would make such an assessment.”
Dubinsky said there was a “smokescreen” surrounding the finances of Hunter Biden—who is not a government employee—that needed to be uncovered before an impeachment decision could be reached. Turley agreed, saying he’d vote against impeachment if it was his job to make a decision based on the evidence they have today.
Republican’s decision to call Turley as their first witness appeared to irk Steve Bannon, the ex-Trump adviser and conservative pundit, who called out House members for not vetting Turley enough. Speaking on Real America’s Voice, Bannon, citing Turley’s doubts about impeachable evidence, said “that’s maybe not a witness I call initially to lay out the case.”
“Why don’t we maybe we bring him in in a couple of weeks,” Bannon said, insinuating Republicans should have chosen someone who would have spoken harsher on Biden. “Maybe we don’t start with him. It’s just an idea.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) flamed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) over the apparent witness gaffe, mocking him with Bannon’s comments.
“What a day we are having here,” said a laughing Moskowitz. “I mean, listen, as a former director of emergency management, I know a disaster when I see one. I mean, if you don’t believe me, just ask Steve Bannon. Your guy just went on and said perhaps the Republicans shouldn’t have started with a witness—talking about Professor Turley—who was going to say right off the bat that there wasn’t an impeachable offense.”
Impeachment talks have swirled for nearly a year, with a cohort of Republicans centering their claims around Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings and so-far-unsubstantiated suspicions that his father engaged in corruption and abuse of public office.
Earlier this year, a former business associate of Hunter’s told House Republicans in a closed-door interview that Hunter often sold “the illusion of access to his father” and often spoke to his dad during business meetings. But Devon Archer said those conversations were about but trivial matters and he was “not aware of any” wrongdoing by the president.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) tried to have that latter part of Archer’s testimony entered into the record on Thursday as proof that Biden didn’t personally meddle in, or benefit from, his son’s business dealings. But Comer, who is leading the inquiry along with Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jason Smith (R-MO), blocked the effort.
It prompted Goldman and Comer to get into a heated argument, yelling at and interrupting each other for nearly five minutes until Comer moved on to the next line of questioning.
The testy interaction was one of many on Thursday. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Democrats’ key witness, Michael Gerhardt, also sparred when McClain took issue with Gerhardt’s comparison of Hunter Biden’s federal gun and tax charges to that of a speeding ticket that shouldn’t involve his father.
Instead, McClain likened Hunter’s alleged crimes to that of a murder and insinuated his father could have been an accomplice—despite zero evidence.
“If a criminal pulls a trigger for a murder, he’s guilty, right?” McClain said to Gerhardt. “But don’t you also agree with me if somebody ordered that hit, we would also charge him, too?”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) pointed to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was given a plum White House job and later made a reported $2 billion business deal with Saudi Arabia, as proof that a president’s relatives can make business deals separate from the office of the president.
“Would it be fair to attribute all of that to Donald Trump? Because it’s his son-in-law? No, not without any evidence,” Raskin said. “The principle of American law is that people are responsible for their own conduct and not the conduct of their adult children.”
Raskin grilled Republicans for concocting what he claimed is a phony inquiry based on lies peddled by Trump and Rudy Giuliani in the last election cycle.
“If Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today,” he said. “They’ve got nothing on President Joe Biden. All they can do is return to the thoroughly demolished lie that Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump launched five years ago.”
GOP’s Own Impeachment Witnesses Admit They Can’t Offer Evidence of Biden Crimes
Nikki McCann Ramirez Thu, September 28, 2023
As a government shutdown that could affect millions of Americans looms over Congress, House Republicans are busy launching their impeachment inquiry circus against President Joe Biden.
On Thursday, the House Oversight Committee held its first hearing of their official impeachment inquiry investigation of as-yet-unproven allegations of “abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption,” by President Biden.
The GOP invited three witnesses to testify before the committee: Justice Department official Eileen O’Connor, law professor Jonathan Turley, and forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky.
If Republicans were looking for a bombshell first hearing, they didn’t get it. All three witnesses agreed that they would not be presenting “any first-hand witness account of crimes committed by the president of the United States.”
Turley, who is also a legal analyst for Fox News, went so far as to say that despite generally supporting the inquiry, he does “not believe the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” against the president.
Dubinsky emphasized that he was not present at the hearing “to even suggest that there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing,” adding that in his opinion“more information needs to be gathered and assessed before I would make such an assessment.”
O’Connor, stated that she feels the inquiry is justified, but affirmed when asked that she was not a material witness and had no evidence to provide to the committee.
Democrats on the committee ripped the GOP in response.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the spectacle an “embarrassment,” and pointed to the fact that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had circumvented a floor vote authorizing the inquiry, a vote that has typically been taken in past impeachment proceedings before moving forward with public hearings.
Ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shared her sentiment. “They don’t have the votes because dozens of Republicans recognize what a futile and absurd process this is,” he said.
“They present us no basis [for impeachment] at all today, even after eight months of investigation. They invited three witnesses to testify today, not one of them an eyewitness to a presidential crime of any kind. Not one of them is a direct fact witness about any of the events related to Ukraine and Burisma. If the Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol they would be presenting it today. But they’ve got nothing on Joe Biden.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) sparred with Chairman Comer when he declared that “these witnesses are not giving any basis [for this hearing].” Comer disagreed, cutting Frost off, but the Democrat persisted. “These witnesses are not giving any answers,” he exclaimed. “They’re just asking more questions.”
Despite how Comer may see it, Republicans on and off the Hill are already recognizing how badly the hearing flopped. According to CNN, one GOP insider called the display an “unmitigated disaster.”
“You want witnesses that make your case. Picking witnesses that refute House Republicans’ arguments for impeachment is mind-blowing,” the anonymous source said.
Fox News, Republican’s primary propaganda outfit, tried to minimize the damage, cutting away from the proceedings and allowing anchors to inject their own spin during Democrats’ speaking time, and resuming the direct feed during Republican testimony.
Even the Biden administration signaled that they had no concerns over the proceedings. In a statement, the White House wrote that the government was hours away from shutting down “because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern.”
“The consequences for the American people will be very damaging — from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, deliver disaster relief, provide food assistance, and more,” the White House added. “Nothing can distract from that.”
Should House Republicans not reach a funding deal before 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, the government will enter a shutdown.
Rolling Stone
Dem Congresswoman: ‘Little Hands’ of Trump All Over ‘Sham Impeachment’
Justin Baragona
DAILY BEAST Thu, September 28, 2023
C-SPAN
The House GOP’s first impeachment inquiry hearing got off to a rocky start on Thursday, as even the Republicans’ witnesses conceded there wasn’t enough evidence yet to support impeaching President Joe Biden.
Besides pointing out that Republicans had yet to provide any “smoking gun” linking the president to any criminal wrongdoing when it came to his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, Democrats also repeatedly called out their GOP colleagues for doing the ex-president Donald Trump’s bidding with the “sham impeachment.”
And they also weren’t above doing a bit of trolling of the former president, which included bringing up the one insult that really gets under his skin.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) explicitly made this point during her line of questioning on Thursday afternoon. Armed with props, the lawmaker noted that the twice-impeached former president has taken to his social media accounts to demand that Republicans impeach his successor.
“We know that Donald Trump has called for this impeachment inquiry because we have the direct evidence from his own social. You can see it right here,” Stansbury exclaimed while a staffer held up a large image of a Truth Social post. “He says impeach!”
Adding that TheNew York Timeshas reported that members of the House Oversight Committee have been “directly coordinating” with Trump and “briefing” him on the inquiry, Stansbury said the ex-president has also urged them to support a government shutdown.
“We also know that if Donald Trump does not get his way, he wants his loyalists to shut down the government. How do we know that?” Stansbury declared. “Because he posted it, right here on his social media. And his loyalists in this committee, who are doing his bidding for him today, retweeted it!”
With a staffer holding up another image of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sharing Trump’s call for a shutdown, the congresswoman continued: “In fact, it actually says right here, the reason they want to defund the government and impeach is because this is the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me.”
Claiming that “this is not a serious inquiry,” the New Mexico Democrat added that “the witnesses here don’t even believe there is enough evidence to impeach” before taking a personal swipe at the former president.
“We see the long arm—but little hands—of Mr. Donald Trump, whose fingerprints are all over this hearing and this sham impeachment,” she concluded. “We know that the American people are smart, they will not be fooled by what is happening here today, especially as they shut the government down in two days with catastrophic impacts for our communities.”
GOP HATES PUBLIC EDUCATION Julia Mueller Thu, September 28, 2023
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie for “disgusting, misogynistic” remarks about first lady Jill Biden during the second GOP debate on Wednesday night.
“It’s disgusting, misogynistic, and if Republicans want to continue pissing off an entire nation of women, please be my guest. We’ll see you at the ballot box,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Christie during the debate had blasted President Biden for “sleeping with a member of the teachers unions,” arguing the president wouldn’t take on teachers unions because of his wife’s status.
Asked on “CNN This Morning” why he made the remark, the former New Jersey governor said the first lady is “a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union” and said he brought it up because “no one else is willing to say it.”
He responded to the congresswoman’s criticism by stressing he’s “standing by the wording,” and knocked Ocasio-Cortez as a “hypocrite.”
“Let her accuse me of whatever she wants. When you look at the kind of hypocrite that she is, the kind of things that she does and lives her life as, as opposed to what comes out of her mouth. Please, I’d be happy to be accused of anything by AOC,” Christie said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, also on the Simi Valley debate stage on Wednesday night, referenced Christie’s comment about the president’s wife later in the event.
“My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure,” Pence said.
Christie takes swipe at DR. Jill Biden during debate
Julia Manchester Wed, September 27, 2023
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took a swipe at first lady Jill Biden’s status as a teachers union member at the GOP debate Wednesday.
“This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” Christie said. “Randi Weingarten and her crew, they are absolutely strangling — they are taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.”
“And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers unions, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day. They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for their students to be the best they can be.”
“A president of the United States has to take on the teachers union. I did it in New Jersey, and I will do it as president of the United States.”
The comments came during a portion of the debate that was focused on education. Later in the debate, former Vice President Mike Pence referenced Christie’s comment about the president’s wife.
“My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure,” Pence said.
The first lady is a member of the National Education Association. Biden himself has called himself the most pro-union president and attended the United Auto Workers picket line Tuesday.
Christie dismisses criticism of debate swipe about DR. Jill Biden
Lauren Sforza Thu, September 28, 2023
GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie is dismissing criticism of his jab at first lady Jill Biden in Wednesday’s presidential debate.
When asked why he took aim at the first lady, Christie pointed to a recent book put out about President Biden. It details conversations the president supposedly had with Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“It talks very, very specifically about how Joe Biden told Randi Weingarten, ‘I told you, you’d have an advocate here in the White House for you, starting on day one, when they moved into the White House,’” Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said on CNN. “That’s the history. Joe Biden has been a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union.”
“And that’s why I brought it up because no one else is willing to,” he added. “No one else is willing to say it.”
Christie continued, arguing that Biden was advocating for “the worst” by allowing school lockdowns to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after saying “he would have them open within 100 days of his presidency.”
“He didn’t do that because of the pressure from his wife and from Randi Weingarten,” he argued.
During the debate Wednesday night, Christie blasted teachers’ unions by claiming they control the schools, instead of the public. He pointed to the first lady, who serves as a professor and a member of the teachers union, as the reason.
“This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” the former governor said. “Randi Weingarten and her crew are absolutely strangling — they’re taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.”
“And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away from the teachers union,” Christie added. “Every day, they have an advocate inside the White House — every day, for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped Christie’s jab as “disgusting” and “misogynistic,” saying “if Republicans want to continue pissing off an entire nation of women, please be my guest. We’ll see you at the ballot box.”
When asked about the congresswoman’s criticism, Christie again dismissed it and called her a “hypocrite.” He said he is “standing by the wording,” noting that Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism is “probably the highlight of my day so far.”
Fox News Crime Segment Ends in Humiliation for Brutally Roasted Reporter
Edith Olmsted Wed, September 27, 2023
A Fox News producer had his segment derailed by Seattle residents who challenged the network’s narrative that the city is a “progressive hellscape.”
Johnny Belisario, an associate producer on Jesse Watters Primetime, was openly mocked during a segment about how crime and drugs have become expectations in Democratic cities, and that Seattle had become a dangerous place to live.
“I’ve never seen any crime in Seattle. I’ve never seen any of it. I’ve seen fun and laughter, and laughter and fun,” one interviewee said.
“Crime is a social issue that could be solved by giving people their basic needs,” said another interviewee.
Another woman claimed she had “never heard of anyone getting robbed.”
She went on to question Belisario. “People don’t just come up and try to rob people on the street. Do you walk around everyday just like, ‘Someone’s gonna rob me’ every second?”
“Seattle decriminalized drug use and then they criminalized it again!” Belisario cried in response.
“Who are you getting these facts from?” the interviewee asked incredulously.
Belisario went on to say he’d seen “a lot of people shooting up” on his way to the interview.
“Oh, did you? OK. And were they bothering you?” she responded. When Belisario said he’d actually been in a car, the woman cringed. “Oh no! You were in a car,” she said, feigning distress. “They were hurting you so bad! Oh no!”
Back in the studio, Jeannine Pirro said she was shocked by the “arrogance and ignorance” and called the residents “clueless.” Host Jesse Watters concluded that the residents of Seattle believe that “criminalizing crime is racist.” Fox News hosts bewildered after residents roast reporter: “Who are you getting your facts from?"
Gabriella Ferrigine
SALON Thu, September 28, 2023 Jesse Watters Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
Fox News hosts were floored after a recent man-on-the-street interview with Seattle, Washington residents seemed to indicate that they were unconcerned about alleged drug use and crime.
"The arrogance and the ignorance of Seattle residents that Johnny interviewed is shocking," said "The Five" co-host Jeanne Pirro in reaction to a clip of Johnny Belisario, an associate producer on "Jesse Watters Primetime," this week. "I mean, how could they be clueless?"
Belisario interviewed numerous people who seemed to mock the premise of his questions on crime and homelessness in the city.
"Who are you getting these facts from?" one person pushed back on Fox News.
"I've never seen any crime in Seattle. I've never seen any of it. I've seen fun and laughter, and laughter and fun," one interviewee told the network.
"People don't just come up and try to rob people on the street. Do you walk around everyday just like, 'Someone's gonna rob me' every second?" said another.
On "The Five," co-host Jesse Watters was left sputtering trying to explain the segment gone wrong.
"Well, they're in denial," Waters insisted. "And if you look at the demographics of the city, it's understandable. It is a very, highly educated city. Very white, very LGBTQ, very secular. And they all believe in the same thing, which is, criminalizing crime is racist. There is someone, a victims' advocate, who just quit after 25 years because she said crime victims are being pressured by courts to recommend non prison sentences. So if you get assaulted, you're supposed to want that person to go to rehab instead of prison, and they're being bullied into doing this. It's about white guilt and it's about people learning from these professors that in order to make everybody equal, they can't punish criminality. And it's gotten so bad that criminals are now coming into the city. We did it with sex offenders. We used to see these sex offenders go to places like Vermont or California, where they know they can get away with preying on children because they know that there's soft sentences. They're doing the same thing here and it's predatory."
In the segment which aired as part of “The Five,” Seattle residents were asked about their level of concern over crime in their city. Most of the responses asserted that narrative may be overblown.
“I saw a lot of people shooting up on my way here,” a Fox News reporter pointed out.
“Oh, you did you? And they were bothering you?” said a Seattle resident, now known across social media as “Green Jacket Lady.”
Others seemed similarly skeptical.
“I’ve never seen any crime in Seattle -- I’ve never seen any of it,” another person said. “I’ve seen fun and laughter.”
“Crime is a social issue that can be solved by giving people their basic needs,” said a third person.
Fox News pundits in the segment argued that the responses they garnered from the three people they spoke to demonstrate how “residents in blue cities are embracing the decay.” They went on to highlight the recent news that two Seattle Targets will be closing, after the company cited concerns over retail crime and safety.
Worker dies after being trapped under 8 feet of dirt in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A worker died after he was trapped in a collapsed trench and buried under dirt and concrete in San Francisco, the San Francisco Fire Department said. The victim was working on a sewer line when between 8-10 feet of debris fell on top of him.
The fatal incident happened at a worksite in the Lower Haight neighborhood on the corner of Divisadero and Oak streets. The victim had been working below ground on a sewer upgrade project for the city’s public utilities commission, Rachel Gorden of San Francisco Public Works told KRON4.
Fire crews immediately launched an effort to dig down and rescue him around 10:30 a.m. and 50 rescuers were on scene. The worker was trapped in the trench for two hours before his lifeless body was found, the SFFD said.
According to the San Francisco PUC, the victim was a private contractor working on a city sewer line.
Video from SFFD showed fire crews near a hole in the ground with ropes nearby and rescuers digging dirt. Department of Public Works crews, the SFFD Medical Director, and tracking K-9s assisted in the recovery. Fire officials said specialized tools such as tripods, shoring equipment and a vacuum truck were utilized.
A worker was buried in a collapsed trench and killed in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2023. (Image courtesy SF Fire Department)
It’s unclear why the trench suddenly collapsed. There are multiple agencies investigating this death, including Cal OSHA.
As of Thursday afternoon, the victim’s identity had not yet been released by officials.
(Photo: SFFD)
Authorities are asking people to avoid the area and to take alternate routes.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
NAZI CULT OF ARYAN SATANISTS
A 23-year-old was arrested for gun possession. It led the FBI to a global Satanic cult
Ali Winston Thu, September 28, 2023
An arrest on gun possession charges in Queens, New York, in November 2021 has led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a pedophilic, Satanist extortion cult that has victimized dozens if not hundreds of minors, according to law enforcement documents, court records and sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Law enforcement discovered the organization, known as 764 and a range of aliases, while investigating alarming social media posts made by Angel Almeida, a 23-year-old resident of Astoria, Queens.
On 12 September 2023, the FBI issued a public warning about 764, noting the group is “deliberately targeting minor victims on publicly available messaging platforms to extort them into recording or livestreaming acts of self-harm and producing child sexual abuse material”. The advisory is the first formal mention of 764 by any American law enforcement agency.
The group appears to target children between the ages of eight and 17, the advisory notes, and particularly focuses on young people of color, youth identifying as LGBTQ+ or youth who struggle with mental health issues. Researchers familiar with 764 indicate the group’s members cultivate ties with minors through a wide range of platforms: either in wildly popular games like Roblox or gaming communications platforms like Discord and Twitch, as well as curated playlists on the streaming service SoundCloud. The group’s main form of communication is on Telegram, which has long been the platform of choice for many far-right extremists.
Members “use threats, blackmail and manipulation” to get youth to record videos showing acts of self-harm, animal cruelty, sexual acts and even suicide, the authorities warn. The footage is then circulated among members to extort victims further and exert control over them. In the group’s channels, members share violent “gore” videos depicting torture, lethal violence and other such acts, in an effort to desensitize viewers to acts of ultra violence.
The key motivators for the group, according to authorities, is “to gain notoriety and rise in status within their group”.
Documents and sources familiar with 764 indicate the group is an offshoot of the Order of Nine Angles (O9A), a violent, subversive amalgam of esoteric Hitler worship, Satanism and Wiccan tenets that American authorities recognize as a terrorist ideology and that has been connected with murders and attempted terrorist attacks in countries including the US, Britain, Germany, Canada and Russia.
Sources with knowledge of investigations into 764 indicate the group has a network of a couple thousand participants and hundreds of highly active members who generate and disseminate the bulk of the child pornography and gore videos found in the group’s channels on Telegram, Discord and more obscure platforms like Matrix.
Like many online-based extremist organizations, 764 involves people around the world, including people in the UK and Germany. A German teenager who is accused of murdering his foster family in Romania is suspected of participating in 764, according to reporting from Der Spiegel and Romanian outlet Libertatea.
Prosecutors allege Almeida convinced a girl to cut herself, record the act on camera and send it to him.Photograph: Department of Justice
The FBI was directed to Almeida by an anonymous tipster flagging his social media accounts, which contained images of violence against children and violence against animals. In one of the posts, Almeida expressed support for Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who massacred African American churchgoers in Charleston in 2015. Another showed him toting a shotgun while shirtless, and wearing a skull mask and crossed bandoliers of rifle ammunition across his chest with a flag in the background featuring an Order of Nine Angles symbol.
While searching Almeida’s apartment in New York, investigators recovered a 9mm handgun, bandoliers of rifle ammunition, books pertaining to the Order of Nine Angles, and a flag bearing the insignia of an American O9A offshoot, the Tempel ov Blood, according to a November 2021 detention memorandum filed by federal prosecutors.
The most telling item was an O9A “blood covenant” featuring a blood-smeared drawing of a hooded figure with glowing red eyes surrounded with sigils for four O9A deities and the caption Vindex, Nythra, Satan and Abatu. At the bottom of the page is an oath: “A covenant signed in blood. May the DEVIL walk with you always – SATANAE MANIBUS” (“by Satan’s Hand” in Latin). Similar indicia have been found in possession of O9A-influenced killers in Britain and Canada.
Almeida, who had served an 18-month sentence in Florida for third degree burglary in 2018, was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm and detained in Brooklyn’s metropolitan detention center. In February 2023, federal prosecutors in the eastern district of New York filed a superseding indictment tacking on child pornography and child exploitation charges related to his activities in 764 and the hundreds of thousands of digital files recovered from four separate devices in his apartment. In the new charges, prosecutors allege Almeida coerced a teenage girl into having sexual relations with an older man and convinced another girl to cut herself, record the act on camera and send it to him.
Almeida was deemed fit for trial earlier this month, despite repeated violent behavior in the court room, including attempts to attack a justice department staffer in the audience and his own court-appointed counsel on separate occasions in June and September. His court-appointed counsel – the fourth attorney who has represented Almeida since his arrest in 2021 – did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations against his client.
The trial is currently scheduled for 4 December. If convicted, Almeida faces a potential maximum of life in federal prison.
Seabound bandits terrorize San Francisco Bay; some residents blame surge of nearby homeless camps
Chris Eberhart Wed, September 27, 2023
Burglars have been raiding yachts and houseboats in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary in a surge one resident compared to the pirate movie "Captain Phillips."
They steal anything of value, then either sink the ships or dump the remnants of plundered boats miles away in the Oakland Harbor or along its shorelines, said Dan Hill, who lives on his boat like many other families in the 800-foot waterway.
Each "attack" can cost the owner thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, Hill said.
Some in the tight-knit boating community have talked of arming themselves as jurisdiction question marks and eroding law enforcement staffing levels complicate the issue.
Thieves have been stealing boats or using old, abandoned dinghies to board large ships and yachts in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary, Dan Hill said.
"It's probably the most popular boating area in San Francisco Bay," Hill told Fox News Digital of the Alameda side of the estuary. "The weather's great. It's a lovely little place that the people love going to. It's protected. It's beautiful."
But since the summer, he and many other residents believe the homeless encampments in and around Oakland overtook the estuary and wreaked havoc on their daily lives.
"We're in this little, lagoon area, where the water comes in. There's a condo complex, beautiful parks," Hill said. "We started to see homeless people camping out there. That's never happened before.
"That being said, these guys are finding old abandoned boats, stealing them and anchoring out illegal boats. And they're taking dinghies (small recreational boats) and riding around and stealing s--- off people's boats."
Examples of stolen items from one of the "hits" on a boat in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary.
Hill described his personal run-in with some of the harbor bandits after he chased them across the harbor.
"Our friend confronted this guy because he looked super suspicious, and he called me and said they are coming your way," Hill said. "We saw him come by, and I jumped in my dinghy with my wife, and we chased him.
"He was much faster than us. We lost him. Turns out it was the boat stolen from the Alameda Community Sailing Center, which had four boats stolen from them."
WATCH HILL CHASE THE BANDITS
Alameda Community Sailing Center didn't return Fox News Digital's call.
Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said his department is taking a "regional approach" by partnering with Oakland PD and the Coast Guard, which has a base in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary, to increase patrols and crack down on these crimes.
"In the waterways, it's very difficult to draw a line," Joshi told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. "There are no roadways or fence lines, so we all have a shared interest, much like crime as a whole, to deal with this as a regional approach."
The partnerships are vital, the police chief said, because Alameda doesn't have its own marine unit and lost about 30% of its police department from years of attrition.
While they replenish their ranks, Alameda Police are working with Oakland PD, which has a marine unit, to make sure there are eyes on the area around the clock.
"We have officers that are trained to handle marine patrols, and we stepped up a standing additional patrol in our marinas," Joshi said.
Before and after photos from an alleged thief attack in the Oakland Estuary.
Powerboats were allegedly stolen by thieves after they were docked in the Oakland Harbor area
The city of Alameda is an island with a population of just under 80,000 and is rated as one of the best suburbs to live, according to niche.com.
"Living in Alameda offers residents an urban suburban mix feel, and most residents rent their homes," niche.com says. "In Alameda, there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks … The public schools in Alameda are highly rated."
It's a stark contrast to its neighboring city of Oakland, which is where many residents believe the thieves are coming from.
The city has been crippled by an "exploding" homeless crisis that a neighborhood advocate told Fox News Digital in a previous interview had made it "unlivable."
Hill said going from Alameda to Oakland is "like stepping into a third-world country."
Joshi said he didn't know for sure if that's the case, but he's heard that theory from many residents.
"We've not done a deep dive into identifying what particular group in society is committing these crimes," Joshi said.
"But I do think that certainly that anyone who is in a challenged position will turn to crime when they're desperate."
There isn't enough information to statistically show what effects the increased patrols and crackdown have had.
Joshi said he believes there was a recent arrest on the Oakland side but none on the Alameda side.
The Oakland PD didn't return Fox News Digital's calls and emails for more information and interview requests.
Hill said he hasn't personally seen the increased patrols, but the theft "seems like it’s calmed down a bit."
But it took months of table pounding at municipal meetings, letters and calls to officials and amplifying their voices through social media and news outlets to get to this point.
Hill, who moved to Alameda with his family a few years ago, said it was a hassle to get law enforcement involved at first. It was a "frustrating" situation for months.
