The Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington D.C. went under lockdown Wednesday morning. A hazmat team from the U.S. Capitol Police arrived at the scene, NBC News reports. JUST IN – RNC HQ in DC on lockdown: Hazmat team on scene at Republican headquarters. — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 22, 2024 “RNC Headquarters near Capitol Hill is currently being evacuated. Reports of a suspicious package with hazmat teams and a large police presence on Capitol Hill,” Global Press wrote. WATCH: RNC Headquarters near Capitol Hill is currently being evacuated. Reports of a suspicious package with hazmat teams and a large police presence on Capitol Hill. pic.twitter.com/XFsaNcUJb3 — Global Press (@GlobalPressCorp) May 22, 2024 “It sounds like vials of blood were sent in a package and something broke open,” one source told the New York Post. RNC headquarters in DC on lockdown after ‘vials of blood’ reportedly sent in package https://t.co/5IWnjYH0jc pic.twitter.com/8X9gbGQzwp — New York Post (@nypost) May 22, 2024 From the New York Post: There were no immediate reports of any injuries. A hazmat unit was on site at the Capitol Hill building. Multiple sources told The Post an “all clear” had been given around 9:40 a.m. and the employees were allowed to go back into the site. WATCH: BREAKING: RNC HQ in Washington DC on lockdown, hazmat on scene pic.twitter.com/Mx1WJkWm2p — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) May 22, 2024 Per NBC News: The suspicious package was cleared, the Capitol Police told NBC News. But one of the sources familiar with the situation said the building was still on lockdown and the blood was being tested. It is unclear if a suspect is in custody. This is a developing story. 

The Biden administration has filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma, seeking to block a law that permits local authorities to arrest migrants who are in the state illegally. Biden’s Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against Texas and Iowa over similar laws. “The lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City challenges a law that makes it a state crime — punishable by up to two years in prison — to live in Oklahoma without legal immigration status,” the Associated Press reports. This is CRAZY. Crooked Joe Biden is punishing states for enforcing the law! 'Biden administration sues Oklahoma over new law allowing arrest of illegal migrants'https://t.co/hkPPPlD8Xy — Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) May 22, 2024 Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 4156 into law last month, making it a crime for illegal migrants to enter Oklahoma. “The Justice Department today filed suit against the State of Oklahoma to challenge House Bill 4156 (HB 4156) under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and Foreign Commerce Clause,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a press release. “The Constitution assigns the federal government the authority to regulate immigration and manage our international borders. Pursuant to this authority, Congress has established a comprehensive immigration framework governing noncitizens’ entry, reentry and presence. Because HB 4156 is preempted by federal law and violates the U.S. Constitution, the Justice Department seeks a declaration that HB 4156 is invalid and an order enjoining the state from enforcing the law,” it continued. “Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton. “We have brought this action to ensure that Oklahoma adheres to the Constitution and the framework adopted by Congress for regulation of immigration,” he added. From the New York Post: The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, listed Stitt, state Attorney General Gentner Drummond and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton among the defendants. The new law against “impermissible occupation” goes into effect July 1. A first offense would result in a misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $500 fine. Migrants convicted of illegally entering the US would be required to leave the state within 72 hours. A second offense would result in a felony charge, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $1,000 fine. In May, the Biden administration sued Iowa over a law which allows state authorities to arrest migrants who were previously denied entry or deported from the US. The Biden Justice Department also sued Texas in January over a law which authorizes state authorities to arrest, jail, prosecute and deport migrants who enter the country between ports of entry. “President Biden’s DoJ is now suing Oklahoma for a state law that simply imposes criminal penalties for aliens who are living ILLEGALLY in our state. Congress needs to use the power of the purse to hold President Biden’s rogue DoJ accountable!” Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) said. President Biden’s DoJ is now suing Oklahoma for a state law that simply imposes criminal penalties for aliens who are living ILLEGALLY in our state. Congress needs to use the power of the purse to hold President Biden’s rogue DoJ accountable! https://t.co/pMIV94FsZb — Congressman Josh Brecheen (@RepBrecheen) May 21, 2024 The Associated Press noted: The federal action was expected, as the Department of Justice warned Oklahoma officials last week that the agency would sue unless the state agreed not to enforce the new law. In response, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the DOJ’s preemption argument “dubious at best” and said that while the federal government has broad authority over immigration, it does not have “exclusive power” on the subject. “Oklahoma is exercising its concurrent and complementary power as a sovereign state to address an ongoing public crisis within its borders through appropriate legislation,” Drummond wrote in a letter to the DOJ. “Put more bluntly, Oklahoma is cleaning up the Biden Administration’s mess through entirely legal means in its own backyard – and will resolutely continue to do so by supplementing federal prohibitions with robust state penalties.” Texas was allowed to enforce a law similar to Oklahoma’s for only a few confusing hours in March before it was put on hold by a federal appeals court’s three-judge panel. The panel heard arguments from both supporters and opponents in April and will next issue a decision on the law’s constitutionality.

There's no one in the metal scene quite like Paledusk right now

The prosecution and defense rested in the Donald Trump felony trial without citing a felony. Donald Trump doesn’t know what crime he committed, so he could not defend himself against it. Brad Smith, the FEC expert Donald Trump planned to call, said Alvin Bragg wants to imprison former President Trump for a maximum of 136 […] The post Trump Felony Trial Goes to Closing with No Felony Cited appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The FBI issued a statement saying that when Joe Biden’s administration authorized the “use of deadly force” during the 2022 raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, it was largely in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) — but former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino argued that there were other factors involved. According to a report published Tuesday by Fox News Digital, an “Operations Order” was handed over as part of the discovery process in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Trump — and that order included a “Policy Statement” that said, “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.” The goal of the FBI’s raid on Trump’s property, according to that same order, was to execute a search warrant “to seize classified information, NDI, and US Government records.” Agents were also reportedly instructed to dress in such a way as to hide “law enforcement equipment” despite being authorized to “Standard Issue Weapons, Ammo, Handcuffs, and medium and large sized bolt cutters.” The documents also laid out a series of contingencies, according to a Newsweek report, including having a paramedic at the scene and providing details about the nearest trauma center in the event that anyone involved was to be “injured” during the raid. Contingencies also suggested that agents on the scene “will be prepared to engage with” both the former president and his Secret Service detail if he had returned to Mar-a-Lago while they were still on the property. The FBI responded to reports concerning the newly unsealed documents, saying that the agents who were part of the raid at the former president’s home were acting under SOPs. “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.” But according to Bongino, the fact that the raid took place on the home of a former president made it anything but standard — and potentially pitted two federal agencies with equal and competing authorities against each other: the FBI/DOJ who were charged with executing the search warrant and the Secret Service, charged with protecting the former president. “This is absolutely a big deal. Don’t buy the bulls**t otherwise,” Bongino posted via X. “It was not a standard op. The MAL raid was an unprecedented action with significant potential for confusion and blue on blue issues and conflict. It also involved competing equities between federal agencies (FBI & USSS) with equal statutory claims to interrupt the other’s activities. Anyone telling you otherwise is either dumb, or playing dumb. I’ve done more deconfliction with Russians in a foreign op I did for the USSS than the FBI did in their search warrant at MAL. Only a dumba** would pitch the ‘it’s the standard paperwork’ line. Go serve a search warrant at the White House in the cocaine case while filling out your ‘standard paperwork’ and see how that works out for you. Wake up.” Trump responded to the report, which broke while he was in court in Manhattan for his ongoing hush-money trial, sharing his reaction to the news in a post on Truth Social. “WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the ‘Icebox,’ and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE. NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY,” Trump posted, adding, “HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE — 25TH AMENDMENT!” Trump’s trial was previously scheduled to begin on Monday, but Judge Aileen Cannon announced on May 7th that it would be postponed indefinitely. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture—before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and [Classified Information Procedures Act] issues remaining and forthcoming—would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court, critical CIPA issues, and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury,” Cannon wrote in her decision.

Senate Democrats plan to gin up the abortion issue as the nation nears the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in an effort to win voters in potentially crucial swing states. “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is planning to zero in on reproductive rights next month,” Axios reported.  Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said, “We are certainly going to be talking a lot about [abortion].” “I imagine that there’ll be some more policy legislation that will be discussed — whether it’s on the floor or through committee gatherings,” Sen. Ben Ray Lújan (D-NM) echoed. Democrats went on the attack after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled in mid-February that embryos are children, thus imperiling the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Within a week, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the ‘‘Access to Family Building Act,’” which would protect the right to IVF treatment; she asked for a unanimous consent vote on her bill, which could have let the bill evade the normal process of review. The bill was blocked by Senate Republicans, who felt the legislation was too broad. “If passed, the AFBA would give any adult the statutory right to create a child using any reproductive technology, including the cloning and genetic editing made possible by CRISPR,” the Heritage Foundation noted. “Indeed, the bill ‘pre-empt[s] any state effort to limit such access,’ meaning that states would be helpless to pass common-sense regulations for IVF that guard against ethical abuses. Colorado’s prohibition on anonymous gamete donation and Louisiana’s embryo protection law, for example, would be in jeopardy if Duckworth’s bill becomes law.” But the Alabama GOP-dominated legislature then passed a bill in early March, signed by Governor Kay Ivey, that protected in vitro fertilization providers from any potential legal liability, making it a moot issue. On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced the IVF Protection Act. An interviewer for Bloomberg asked them why they were introducing a national bill after the Alabama legislature had effectively blocked the state’s Supreme Court ruling. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen a number of people try to fearmonger on this very issue,” Britt responded, referring to the Democrats’ response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling. “And so Ted and I came together and we believe this effort should be bi-partisan.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Cruz then said of Duckworth’s bill, “That bill is a different bill. That bill really seeks to backdoor in broader abortion legislation, which is where the Democratic are, but that’s not IVF … It was ostensibly about IVF, but it was written to give the federal government authority over abortion, potentially to strike down laws governing abortion in states all across the country. I get that’s the Democrats’ agenda.”

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is demanding answers from the FBI on reports the bureau contacted Americans on behalf of the Brazilian government. Jordan sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday seeking answers on reports out of Brazil that suggest the FBI may have played a part in the Brazilian government’s crackdown on critics and journalists. The chairman gave the FBI a deadline of 5 p.m. on June 4. “In Brazil, news outlets have recently reported that the FBI, on behalf of the Brazilian government, reached out to two U.S. residents, including a journalist targeted in some of the censorship orders by Brazilian courts,” says Jordan’s letter, obtained by The Daily Wire. The Ohio Republican then went on to point out the bureau’s recent history of working with the Ukrainian intelligence community to flag the social media accounts of U.S. citizens. “The FBI’s recent outreach raises concerns about whether the FBI is again helping to facilitate a foreign government’s censorship efforts. Free speech, including free speech on digital platforms, is a fundamental and necessary part of democratic and just societies,” Jordan continued. Brazil’s Supreme Court has launched an investigation into speech alleged to be hateful or subversive to law and order, targeting the social media critics of the government and others, including former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. “[T]o understand the nature and extent of the FBI’s interactions with the Brazilian government regarding its censorship efforts and to assist the Committee in its oversight,” Jordan wrote, the Judiciary Committee is requesting the FBI turn over a number of documents and communications related to the bureau’s reported dealings with the Brazilian government. Wealthy tech entrepreneur Elon Musk was wrapped up in the court’s investigation after he said that his platform, X, was being threatened with fines and his employees threatened with jail time unless they comply with court orders to take down some accounts. Musk, a self-proclaimed supporter of free speech, has called the court orders illegal and threatened to release all of X’s communications with the court for the Brazilian public to see. Last month, Musk promised to defy the court’s orders once X employees were in a “safe place.” The federal Supreme Court justice behind the censorship purge, Alexandre de Moraes, then swept Musk into the investigation. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian Justice, incitement to crime, public threat of disobedience to court orders and future lack of cooperation by the platform are facts that disrespect Brazil’s sovereignty and reinforce the connection of the intentional criminal instrumentalization of the activities of the former Twitter,” de Moraes wrote in a court order. The FBI did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.