San Diego officials are accused in a federal class action lawsuit of violating the constitutional rights of homeless people when they cleared out encampments and threw away their possessions. 'They just keep wanting to keep kicking people while they're down ... It is crushing.' The lawsuit says that encampment sweeps violate due process rights of the homeless as well as equal protection rights. Officials ordered that encampments be cleared out in East County, but homeless people say they were not given enough notice to protect their possessions. Among the property cited in the lawsuit was a woman's walker and the cremated ashes of her son and husband. In another instance, a woman claimed that workers trashed birth certificates, photographs, jewelry, and her daughter's first tooth. Others said that police officers performing the sweeps sometimes sorted through the possessions in order to steal valuable items. “Defendants’ actions are making the homelessness crisis worse,” claimed the lawsuit, which added that officials' “constant and relentless threats of criminal punishment upon Citizens for being poor and unhoused are a cruel and ineffective approach that betrays a deep, willful misunderstanding of the problem.” Homeless advocate Michael McConnell applauded the lawsuit. "They just keep wanting to keep kicking people while they're down," McConnell told KFMB-TV. "It is crushing, and I've seen everything. I've seen them throw away people's wheelchairs and walkers and bicycles and IDs and medications." The lawsuit says that homeless people are ordered to remove their property, but they're not given any other options. "I don't think in any part of the region is there enough shelter for folks to get off the streets and have a safe place to store their belongings, so it's not like there's options for people, and there certainly isn't enough affordable housing for people," McConnell explained. 'Unfortunately, it just does absolutely nothing to help solve this issue.' The officials named as defendants in the lawsuit did not offer any comment about the matter. The litigation asks for the possessions to be returned and for unspecified compensation. The lawsuit may be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to decide a similar case later this year. "Unfortunately, it just does absolutely nothing to help solve this issue, and it just puts people in more dire straits trying to get out of it," McConnell said. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A former Biden White House appointee and current Democratic candidate for county commissioner in Fort Bend County, Texas, has just pulled a Jussie Smollet. Taral Patel was arrested for online impersonation last week after allegedly creating a fake social media account to post racist comments about himself. Patel aimed to garner sympathy and discredit his opponent. “They have to make up the hate crimes because they don’t exist,” Sara Gonzales comments, annoyed. “Gee, I wonder who’s going to win,” she scoffs. Patel had created a lengthy Facebook post in September in which he painted himself and his family as victims of a vicious, race-based smear campaign perpetrated by his opponent’s supporters, complete with made-up messages. In the messages, Patel called himself “monkey” and “subhuman” and attacked his own Hindu faith. “I would like Mr. Patel to know that this is MAGA country,” Blaze Media digital strategist Logan Hall laughs, referencing Jussie Smollet’s faux hate crime from years past. “Right, like did you not learn from Jussie?” Gonzales asks. “Their number one card is identity politics, and it does remain the undefeated champion. I mean, apparently, the greatest sin in America is if someone is known or says something racist,” Hall explains. “If someone utters a naughty word that is on the wrong side of the political spectrum, it is a national scandal,” he adds. Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A man kidnapped and murdered in Doral, Florida. Two New York City police officers shot. A sex-trafficking ring that spanned several states broken up by law enforcement in Louisiana. These are some examples of the crimes being committed by a brutal Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua.TDA was formed in the state of Aragua in Venezuela, and its members have followed the wave of Venezuelans who have illegally crossed into the United States during the border crisis triggered by President Joe Biden. In Venezuela, the gang has ties to the Nicolás Maduro regime, often acting as enforcers. They control the vast majority of the criminal underworld and the money-making schemes associated with it.Venezuelans have been one of largest groups of people who have illegally crossed the southern border under the Biden administration. While many had directly come from Venezuela, others had been living in other Latin American countries since Venezuela's economic downturn. With the initial exodus, TDA members followed. 'These are gang members who exhibit obvious signs of affiliation, ... but it’s fear of action.'For example, Chile’s Justice Ministry has accused the criminal organization of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a former Venezuelan soldier in Santiago in 2021, according to El País. While TDA was nearly unheard of by the general public in 2022, recent actions of TDA members are being noticed by both law enforcement and the mainstream media.The Biden administration was made aware of the growing threat of TDA, but the issue was not taken seriously, according to a source within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The worry about the growing presence of Latin American gangs within the United States is only heightened with the cases of illegal immigrants with ties to various terrorist groups who have also taken advantage of the border crisis."It’s frustrating that no matter the indicators we have about possible TDA members or affiliates, the emphasis on processing, and not enforcement, remains the same. Why is that?" the source told Blaze News."We don’t need direct derogatory information like we would for terrorists. These are gang members who exhibit obvious sings of affiliation, ... but it’s fear of action. Fear of appearing to be wrong where Trump was right," the source added.TDA has a lot in common with El Salvador's MS-13, like the brutality shown to victims, but unlike the gang that terrorized the Central American country for decades, TDA members do not cover themselves head to toe in tattoos. While there are a few tattoos that TDA members wear, they are more often than not hidden or are seemingly generic.U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens warned on X in April, "Watch out for this gang. It is the most powerful in Venezuela, known for murder, drug trafficking, sex crimes, extortion, [and] other violent acts," while showing off an illegal immigrant arrested by Border Patrol in Texas with TDA tattoos. — (@) NBC Chicago reported local law enforcement agencies currently have over 100 criminal cases in Illinois and Indiana that are connected to suspected members of TDA. At least two members have been arrested in Cook County for narcotics- and weapons-related charges.The "vetting" process the Biden administration often touts as a way to reassure Americans of the people it is releasing within the country is hamstrung by Venezuela not sharing criminal histories with Customs and Border Protection, if they even have a history. It is a deadly combination with TDA members who are taking advantage of the border crisis and Democratic jurisdictions who have soft-on-crime policies.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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In the middle of the day of Wednesday, June 19, a group of Just Stop Oil protestors sprayed several stones of the ancient Stonehenge monument with orange paint. Video footage has been captured showing the two individuals in question wearing Just Stop Oil shirts while running up to the monoliths with the canisters of paint, spraying the stone. To stop the two vandals from defacing the stones, members of the public were seen intervening. These videos can be found on social media. The Just Stop protestors have been identified as Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old Oxford student and Rajan Naidu, a 73-year-old from Birmingham; both of which have been arrested by police for damaging the protected ancient monument. Was Orion the Heavenly Overlord of Stonehenge? Stonehenge and Nearby Stone Circles Were Newcomers to Landscape worked by Ice Age hunters Sharing the video, the Just Stop Oil group posted on X demanding: “…the incoming government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.” Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyRead Later 

Former first lady Michelle Obama marked Juneteenth on Wednesday by issuing a "critical" get-out-the-vote message on social media.