‘Scared’ and ‘traumatized’: Walz’s support for trans women in Minnesota women’s prison ‘endangering’ inmates
Inmates in Minnesota’s sole women’s prison report feeling “scared” and “traumatized” by the presence of transgender women in their living quarters – a situation that arose after Gov. Tim Walz’s endorsement of a controversial “sue and settlement” arrangement with a left-wing organization last year. Rebeca Warmbo, a former inmate at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Shakopee, who spent more than a decade in and out of prison on drug and robbery charges, now considers herself an advocate for her friends still behind bars. Warmbo, 50, keeps in regular contact with several women, who’ve written to her about their experiences ever since the trans inmates were transferred in. “They’re in fear, and they’re scared all the time, and they feel traumatized,” Warmbo told Fox News Digital. “Because [some of] these men are sex offenders, and a lot of the women in there have been abused or had sex offenses done against them.” She added: “They do sexually suggestive things to them, and it’s making them all very uncomfortable.” WALZ ADMINISTRATION SETTLES LEFT-WING GROUP’S TRANS INMATE LAWSUIT, COSTING MINNESOTA TAXPAYERS NEARLY $500K There are 48 transgender people reported across all Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities, according to a release last year from the Minnesota DOC. Fox News Digital identified at least four transgender inmates in the women’s prison. The state’s total incarcerated population is just under 10,000. Nathan Charles Johnson, Bradley Richard Sirvio, Sean Windingland and Elijah Thomas Berryman are currently serving sentences in the women’s facility for felony charges. According to DOC records, Sirvio is serving a life sentence for homicide, Windingland is serving 24 years for criminal sexual conduct, Berryman is serving a 26-year sentence also for criminal sexual conduct, and Johnson, charged with aiding and abetting a burglary, is set to be released in February 2025. Warmbo – a self-professed Christian who says she is now sober and studying to be a psychologist – said she has written several letters to her local representatives in Congress and to the Biden-Harris administration about the added “endangerment” incarcerated women now face living in close quarters with biological males. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB In addition to Warmbo, Fox News Digital spoke with an inmate currently in prison who spoke on condition that her name be withheld from publication. The inmate detailed how the prisoners are often too intimidated to speak out about encounters with the trans women, fearing administrative repercussions and having their privileges revoked. She also told Fox News Digital the trans women get their own rooms, while the other prisoners are placed two to a cell. All the prisoners virtually share the same open living spaces, including the showers. The inmate told Fox News Digital in a phone call that graphic instances of sexual harassment occur in the facility, though Fox News Digital could not independently confirm. “It’s just going to be a huge mess I see for Minnesota because of Tim Walz and his agenda on this,” Warmbo said. Last week, a longtime teacher at the Minnesota women’s facility, Alicia Beckmann, resigned out of protest at the new policy, the Independent Women’s Forum reported. Beckmann was reportedly “blindsided” leading up to her 10th anniversary working at the facility, when inmate Sirvio and Craig Lusk – who goes by the name Christina – arrived. “The women are scared to speak up. Many women are incarcerated because of the men they spend their time with, and we all have freedom of choice, but I guarantee that probably 75% of our population committed a crime because there was violence against them by a man, or they felt coerced into doing something for that man,” Beckmann told the organization. According to the DOC’s policy guidance issued to staff in April, trans inmates are granted certain privileges. “Incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary may request a single-cell assignment,” and they must be “given the opportunity to shower separately in a manner so as to prevent viewing by other incarcerated people.” “Facility staff must provide incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary state-issued undergarments consistent with their gender identity including any combination of those items up to the allowable limit if requested,” the document also states. When it comes to security checks, “pat and unclothed body searches of incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary must be done in accordance with the gender of the facility in which they are assigned,” meaning if a trans inmate is housed in a male facility, the search should be conducted by male staff. If they are in a female facility, the search should be conducted by female staff. VIOLENT CONVICT’S TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGE CHALLENGED BY STATE AG AFTER JUDGE’S APPROVAL “The department provides incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary with appropriate gender-related mental health and medical services throughout their incarceration. The DOC provides medical care in accordance with WPATH standards of care,” the memo noted. Nearly $500,000 in taxpayer money was paid last year by Walz’s administration in what effectively was a “sue and settlement” scheme by a left-wing interest group, Gender Justice, which represented Craig “Christina” Lusk one year after the organization filed a sex discrimination complaint against the Minnesota DOC. As of Jan. 31, Lusk was released from state custody and placed under supervision. The settlement reached in this case involved a total of $495,000 distributed among three parties. Lusk received $245,903.72, Gender Justice was allocated $198,000 and Robins Kaplan LLP received $51,096.28 for legal fees. In 2023, records provided by OpenTheBooks indicate that Gender Justice received $448,904, which includes payments from the DOC and the $5,000 from the Minnesota Department of Education, though further details about the latter amount were not explored. The complaint alleged the DOC discriminated against a Lusk for not placing the inmate in a women’s prison and rejecting requests for sex-change surgeries. Prior to an arrest in December 2018 after being charged with
Pro-Harris super PAC warns against messaging that focuses too much on ‘Trump fascist’ label
The leading super PAC funding Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is warning Democratic political operatives that messaging that focuses too narrowly on former President Donald Trump’s fascist label and character flaws is far less effective than messaging that focuses on policy differences between the two presidential candidates. Future Forward USA Action, which has contributed more than $56 million to the Harris campaign, reportedly circulated an email Friday insisting that “attacking Trump’s fascism is not that persuasive,” according to the New York Times. The email was part of weekly “Doppler” messages that the fundraising behemoth sends out with guidance on messaging strategies and other tactics that the group has insight on. “Purely negative attacks on Trump’s character are less effective than contrast messages that include positive details about Kamala Harris’s plans to address the needs of everyday Americans,” the Doppler email read. HARRIS BREAKS SILENCE AFTER GOP LEADERS SAY ANTI-TRUMP RHETORIC ‘RISKS INVITING’ ANOTHER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “Focusing on Trump’s disturbing, ludicrous and outlandish behavior can be an effective lead-in to talking about substantive policy, but is not effective at moving vote choice on its own,” it also said. The email pointed to Harris’ response to remarks made by Trump’s former Chief of Staff John Kelly, who said in a series of interviews last week that the former president “met the definition” of a fascist, and claimed Trump had praised Adolf Hitler on multiple occasions. The Doppler email noted that Harris’ comments were only in “the 40th percentile on average” in terms of moving voter choice. Meanwhile, Harris’ remarks on “The Howard Stern Show” about promising to expand Medicare to help the elderly pay for in-home care, tested in the 95th percentile, the email pointed out. ‘THE WORST THING I’VE EVER HEARD’: HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR BLASTS HARRIS FOR COMPARING TRUMP TO HITLER “They’ve been launching these attacks and lies against President Trump for eight years and every poll shows he’s more popular today than ever before,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. “Tells you everything you need to know.” Fox News reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive an on-the-record response. The president of Future Forward, Chauncey McLean, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment either; however, he did issue a rare statement to the New York Times. HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: VP CONTINUES TO DOMINATE THIS CRUCIAL CAMPAIGN METRIC DAYS BEFORE 2024 ELECTION “Don’t over-read this,” McLean said. “This is just one of our regular emails sharing testing results from thousands of pieces of earned and social media content. It shows people that the most effective way of using Trump’s words and behavior is tying them to consequences in voters’ lives. That’s what Kamala Harris does every day by comparing her to-do list with his enemies list, for example.” Meanwhile, the Harris campaign released a memo over the weekend, according to the Times, which insisted Harris’ “economic message puts Trump on defense.” “As voters make up their minds, they are getting to see a clear economic choice — hearing it directly from Vice President Harris herself, in her own words,” the memo declared.
Trump, Vance meet with family of Marine veteran killed off Mexican highway by suspected cartel members
Former President Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, met with the family of the U.S. Marine veteran who was killed along a Mexican highway by suspects believed to be cartel members earlier this month. Nicholas Douglas Quets, a 31-year-old Marine veteran who worked for Pima County, Arizona, on water reclamation projects, was shot and killed along the Caborca-Altar Highway in northern Mexico on Oct. 19. His family said Quets was driving with friends down to Rocky Point for a beach trip. The shooting happened approximately 30 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Sonora Attorney General’s Office said a vehicle pulled up alongside Quets’ pick-up truck and opened fire in a “direct attack,” according to KVOA. An armed group had tried to stop Quets’ truck at an illicit checkpoint and followed after them when they did not pull over, a Sonora official confirmed to Tucson.com. JD VANCE SAYS TRUMP CLASHED WITH FORMER OFFICIALS FOR REFUSING TO ENGAGE IN ‘RIDICULOUS WAR’ Quets’ father and brother-in-law described to the Washington Examiner private meetings the family had with Trump and Vance last week while the Republican running mates were campaigning in Arizona. “I did not know what to expect because he’s a TV star, billionaire, populist,” Quets’ father, retired Army Lt. Col. Warren Douglas Quets, told the Examiner. “He looked at me, looked at the picture of Nick. He had a tear in his eye, and said, ‘Tell me what happened.’ And he was actually angry as we told him the story…. He said, ‘Tell me what I can do for you and your family.’” Quets’ father said the family has not heard from any elected officials in the Biden-Harris administration. “A U.S. military veteran transiting Mexico was executed and four days into this and no official, outside of the consulate in Mexico, has made any effort to contact us or provide us with an update of what’s happening,” the elder Quets told the Examiner last week. “What we want is an investigation and prosecution within the United States. We want the U.S. to take over the prosecution.” “If my case for my son is not worthy of the highest level of attention from the U.S. government, then what is?” he added. “How can this be that this Marine gets killed 30 minutes south of the border?” “I haven’t heard from anybody, elected or appointed government officials, at all,” he added. “And I begged for that to the point where, yesterday, I wrote the consul and said, ‘Don’t worry about it anymore. I’m going to go ahead and contact [President Claudia Sheinbaum] in Mexico and ask for her help in getting the U.S. involved.’” TRUMP APPEARED ON JOE ROGAN’S PODCAST FOR NEARLY THREE HOURS: HERE ARE THE TOP MOMENTS “I have no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States was briefed on Saturday morning in his presidential brief that a United States Marine veteran was killed in Mexico. I have no doubt,” Quets’ brother-in-law and best friend, retired Air Force Capt. Philip Sweet, told the Examiner. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Harris campaign for comment on Sunday but did not hear back. “We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Nicholas Douglas Quets in Mexico,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased. Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones during this difficult time, we have no further comment.” Trump met with the Quets family and posed for a photograph with the slain veteran’s portrait in Tempe, Arizona, last week. Vance, a fellow Marine veteran, met with the Quets family in Tucson before mentioning the veteran by name on stage. “Over the next couple of weeks, we all need to work to apply pressure on the cartels who murdered this innocent, young Marine and try to put pressure on Kamala Harris to do something about it,” Vance told the crowd. “Here is my solemn promise to you, while you’ve been ignored, by your own government in the last four days in the midst of this unbelievable tragedy,” Vance said. “I promise you, the cavalry is coming, and when Donald Trump is president, we’re going to kick the cartels’ a–es and we’re going to do it for you and for every person in this room.” Quets’ father recalled the family’s private meeting with Vance beforehand, telling the Examiner, “[Vance] says, ‘You’re talking to me as JD. I want you to tell me exactly what I need to know, and I want you to tell me how I can help you. That’s what he said. So it was a really classy move, and it was sincere.” “As an apolitical guy, you want the best for the country, which is what I’ve devoted my life to,” he added. “I left the meeting thinking I was ready to follow Vance any place.” “My family feels more comfort in this horrible, horrific event that we’ve been dealing with,” Sweet told the Examiner. “To feel comfort from somebody that we’ve never met, but felt like he was a member of our family, and he cared about us, truly cared about us.”
‘Brij Bhushan Singh will definitely be punished’: Vinesh Phogat accuses BJP in viral video of…
Phogat said BJP is trying to save former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, but she believes that he will definitely be punished.’
Apparent Harris rallygoer screams at baby in stroller in shocking viral video
A video of a woman screaming at a toddler outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’ celebrity-packed Houston rally is going viral on social media as critics slam the shocking behavior seen toward a child. Harris’ Texas rally Friday was joined by celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jessica Alba and Willie Nelson to make a last-ditch appeal to voters in the red state ahead of next week’s election. A video posted to social media shortly after the event shows a woman in a light blue T-shirt standing outside what appears to be the Houston Metro station walking over to a little girl in a stroller among the throngs of people decked out in Harris-Walz apparel. The woman in the light blue shirt is seen leaning down to the toddler in the stroller and screaming in her face. It is unclear what the woman said and what provoked the incident. HARRIS RIPPED BY TRUMP CAMPAIGN AFTER BEYONCÉ DOESN’T PERFORM AT PACKED RALLY: ‘THEY LIED TO BUILD A CROWD’ A man, likely the young girl’s father, quickly picked up the toddler and removed her from the woman’s direct line of ire. The shocking video then shows another woman quickly confronting the screaming woman, pulling her away from the girl and admonishing her for the outburst. “Not at the baby, not at the baby,” the woman who intervened was seen telling the screaming woman. The girl’s father was holding a microphone during the exchange and was later heard asking the screaming woman: “Are you not ashamed at all? Look at her face!” It is unclear if the father was a counter-protester at the rally or why he had a microphone. The video has racked up more than 22 million views on X alone as of Monday morning. Social media commenters lambasted the screaming woman, while praising the other woman who intervened. FROM ‘JOYFUL’ TO ‘FASCIST’ – WHY KAMALA HARRIS ADOPTED BIDEN’S PLAYBOOK ON BLASTING TRUMP Harris’ rally on Friday included 30,000 people, as word spread that Beyoncé was slated to appear at the rally. The pop star officially endorsed Harris during her appearance but did not perform any songs. VANCE RIPS HARRIS IN BATTLEGROUND GEORGIA: ‘STOP TELLING AMERICANS THEY’RE BAD’ FOR WANTING ‘SECURE BORDER’ “It’s time for America to sing a new song,” Beyoncé said. “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, loud Texas welcome to the next president of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris.” Ahead of the rally, media outlets such as MSNBC reported Beyoncé would not only appear, but would also likely perform at the rally. Beyoncé did not perform, sparking the Trump campaign to argue that Harris “lied” about Beyoncé’s appearance at the rally in order to “build a crowd.” TEXAS POLITICOS LAUNCH FULL-COURT PRESS AGAINST HARRIS AHEAD OF HER BORDER STATE CAMPAIGN RALLY: ‘APOLOGIZE’ Trump also slammed the event during his own rally in Michigan on Saturday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Beyoncé went up and spoke for a couple of minutes and then left, and the place went crazy,” Trump told a crowd in Michigan. “They booed the hell out of everybody. They thought she was going to perform. What happened was my opponent got up and started speaking, and they booed the hell out of her. It’s crazy. They have to use people to get people to come, and then they send buses. We don’t send buses. Everybody comes. We’re just going to make America great again. It’s very simple.” Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Bad Bunny endorses Harris after Trump rally comedian jokes Puerto Rico is ‘floating island of garbage’
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Sunday, shortly after a comedian at former President Trump’s sold-out Madison Square Garden rally joked that Puerto Rico equated to a “floating island of garbage,” and made other unsavory jokes about Latinos. Bad Bunny, whose official name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, shared a video backing Harris with his 45 million Instagram followers on Sunday shortly after Tony Hinchcliffe made the crude jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos. A representative of the artist confirmed to the Associated Press that he is supporting Harris. Harris, who visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in North Philadelphia to court Hispanic and Latino voters in the pivotal battleground state of Pennsylvania earlier Sunday, said in the video shared by Bad Bunny that “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico.” In showing support, Bad Bunny shared several times another part of the clip Harris made on Puerto Rico, saying, “I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader.” WALZ REPEATS CLINTON ATTACK THAT TRUMP MADISON SQUARE GARDEN EVENT MIRRORED 1930S NAZI RALLY Bad Bunny also shared a part of the clip showing Harris saying Trump “abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.” The remarks at the Trump rally by Hinchcliffe were promptly disavowed by the Trump campaign, with campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez issuing a statement afterward that “the joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” JD VANCE SAYS TRUMP CLASHED WITH FORMER OFFICIALS FOR REFUSING TO ENGAGE IN ‘RIDICULOUS WAR’ Bad Bunny, a 30-year-old Puerto Rican recording artist, who has popular songs such as “Dakiti” and “Titi Me Preguntó,” has won three Grammy Awards. He was the most streamed artist on Spotify in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and was only surpassed by Taylor Swift in 2023. He was named Artist of the Year by Apple Music in 2022. The Puerto Rican vote is sizable in Pennsylvania, which is arguably the hardest fought of the swing states in the 2024 election. Other Puerto Rican singers such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony had already expressed support for Harris. Trump has also attracted support from other popular stars from the island such as Anuel AA and Nicky Jam. Bad Bunny has been vocal about criticizing Puerto Rico’s electric system, which was razed by Hurricane Maria. In a 2022 music video for his song “El Apagon,” the artist called out the company Luma Energy, which handles transmission and distribution, for the constant power outages that plague the island. One of his most recent songs, “Una Velita,” is also a protest against the government response following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. In 2020, Bad Bunny allowed the Biden campaign to use one of his hits, “Pero Ya No,” in a TV ad. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Another Achievement for Kanpur MP Ramesh Awasthi, Appointed Member of Key Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry Committee
This committee plays a vital role in shaping policies that directly or indirectly impact every citizen across the nation. The news of his appointment has sparked joy among his supporters.
Battleground state voting data reveals over 200K votes cast in red counties impacted by hurricane
Voting figures from North Carolina – a pivotal battleground state – indicate that despite the severe impact of Hurricane Helene, more than 200,000 votes have already been cast in counties that traditionally lean Republican. Early voting in North Carolina set a statewide record of over 350,000 ballots cast on Oct. 17. Over 2.8 million ballots have since been cast in North Carolina, which represents 36% of the registered voters population in the state, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections (NCSBE). Of the ballots cast, 2.5 million were early votes, while 151,000 were absentee ballots. The data represents an increase in early voting since the same time in 2016, eight days before the election, which saw 1.6 million ballots cast. However, 2020 saw 3.1 million early votes during that time in the cycle, in big part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. DEMS NEED TO RAMP UP EARLY VOTING EFFORTS TO MATCH GOP MOMENTUM IN NORTH CAROLINA: ANALYST Data also shows that 1.42% more Democrats than Republicans have cast their vote, as of Sunday. After Hurricane Helene made a deadly sweep across western North Carolina, concerns over ballot box access prompted state lawmakers to adjust their voting rules ahead of early voting in the state. BALANCE OF POWER: HELENE COULD SHIFT POLITICAL WINDS TOWARD TRUMP, NORTH CAROLINA LAWMAKERS SAY The NCSBE identified 13 counties as being most impacted by Hurricane Helene, but Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state Board of Elections, told reporters on Friday that the affected areas are seeing “tremendous turnout.” Since early voting started, over 218,000 have already been cast in the western counties, despite damage from the disastrous storm. To ensure voting access for residents in the affected areas, North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday to require that the 13 counties open one early voting site per 30,000 individuals. Those identified in western North Carolina as most impacted have seen tens of thousands of votes cast, as of Sunday: Ashe [7,541], Avery [3,823], Buncombe [78,645], Haywood [19,079], Henderson [31,158], Madison [6,036], McDowell [11,205], Mitchell [4,224], Polk [7,270], Rutherford [14,873], Transylvania [11,804], Watauga [16,993], and Yancey [5,477].
China will double its nuclear arsenal to over 1,000 warheads by 2030, according to US intelligence
China is expected to double its nuclear arsenal to 1,000 warheads over the next five years, according to a new Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report. In 2020, the DIA assessed China had acquired 200 nuclear warheads and would double that by the end of the decade. Now, the intelligence agency says China has already reached 500 warheads and will have more than 1,000 by 2030. “China is undergoing the most rapid expansion and ambitious modernization of its nuclear forces in history,” the report said, while noting China’s capabilities are still far behind that of the U.S. or Russia. At the same time, China carried out another “combat control” near the island over the weekend as Beijing threatens countermeasures for the U.S.’ $2 billion arms deal with Taiwan. That deal included, for the first time, an advanced air defense system battle-tested in Ukraine. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 19 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighter jets, carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan in conjunction with Chinese warships starting on Sunday morning. CHINA GOING AFTER DOWN-BALLOT RACES: REPORT REVEALS WHICH LAWMAKERS ARE IN THEIR CROSSHAIRS The report confirmed findings in the Pentagon’s 2023 report on Chinese military power. Russia has about 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 2,000 non-strategic warheads, according to the report. Behind China are France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. “Compared to the PLA’s nuclear modernization efforts a decade ago, current efforts dwarf previous attempts in both scale and complexity.” The PLA, or People’s Liberation Army, is China’s military force. U.S. officials have tried to question Beijing about the purpose of their rapid expansion, and haven’t gotten clear answers, according to the report. China under President Xi Jinping has been locked in a strategic competition for global power with the U.S. Beijing has long upheld a non-first-use (NFU) policy and called for talks among other nuclear powers about a joint commitment to do the same. But, the new report warns: “Chinese nuclear thinkers could be reconsidering their long-standing view that nuclear war is uncontrollable.” PUTIN WELCOMES IRAN, INDIA, CHINA TO BRICS SUMMIT TO DISCUSS ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’ TO CHALLENGE THE WEST The agency predicted China could resort to nuclear weapons if a war over Taiwan, which Beijing views as its territory, posed an existential threat to the CCP. China may accept “greater risk” as its capabilities mature, according to the report. The nation is also pursuing low-yield nuclear warheads to be used for “proportional” responses to conflict. “Coupled with PLA officers downplaying the risks of imperfect information management during crises, inexperience managing nuclear crises, and their perceptions that they can elicit intended adversary responses while maintaining sufficient battlefield awareness, Beijing may accept greater risks as its nuclear doctrine and capabilities mature.” The Pentagon has lately been grappling with how to prepare for 2027 – the point at which Chinese leaders have told their military they should have the capability to invade Taiwan. As Iran continues to enrich uranium at rapidly expanding rates and surveillance finds new activity at nuclear sites, Tehran “almost certainly” does not yet have nuclear weapons capability, according to the report. North Korea, meanwhile, is now fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine – prompting global concerns that Moscow could be providing support for Pyongyang’s nuclear programs.
Virginia appeals to SCOTUS to reverse judge’s ruling putting potential noncitizens back on voter rolls
The state of Virginia filed an emergency stay application to the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday in an 11th-hour bid to overturn a lower court ruling that halted its removal of likely noncitizens and restored about 1,600 residents to voter rolls. The appeal came hours after the Fourth Circuit of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction granted Friday by U.S. Judge Patricia Giles on Friday, which ordered Virginia to halt its process of removing potential noncitizens from its voter rolls and to reinstate all voters that had been removed in the last 90 days. The appellate court upheld Giles’s decision in ruling that the removals had in fact been “systematic,” not individualized, and thus violated federal law – a blow to Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other Republicans in the state. At issue is a provision in the National Voter Registration Act (NRVA), which requires all states to halt systematic voter roll maintenance for a 90-day “quiet period” before the election. YOUNGKIN VOWS TO APPEAL ‘TO SCOTUS’ AFTER US JUDGE ORDERS 1,600 VOTERS BACK ON BALLOT The Justice Department sued Virginia over its program earlier this month, arguing the removals were conducted too close to the Nov. 5 elections and violated the “quiet period” provision. Justice Department officials also cited concerns that eligible votes may have incorrectly been removed from the rolls without adequate notice, or enough time to correct the mistake. In the Supreme Court appeal, Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares objected to the decision on several grounds. First, that the NRVA applies to noncitizens, which he said could render the primary basis for the lawsuit obsolete. Even if the NRVA does apply, Miyares argued that the state still has an “individualized process” conducted by the Department of Motor Vehicles and local registration offices. The process compared its Department of Motor Vehicles’ noncitizens list against its list of registered voters. Those without citizenship were then informed that their voter registration would be canceled unless they could prove their citizenship in 14 days. BATTLEGROUND STATE’S HIGH COURT REJECTS GOP CHALLENGE TO PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULES Youngkin has insisted the voters were removed legally and is based on precedent from a 2006 state law enacted by then-Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat. “Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls,” Youngkin said in a statement Friday. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.