14 House Dems Vote w/ GOP on Resolution Blaming Biden, Mayorkas for Border Crisis

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14 House Dems Vote w/ GOP on Resolution Blaming Biden, Mayorkas for Border Crisis

(Headline USA) More than a dozen House Democrats joined their Republican colleagues this week in voting for a bill blaming President Joe Biden for the crisis at the southern border.

Introduced by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, the measure blasted Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for creating “the worst border security crisis in the nation’s history.”

It also said Biden “systematically dismantled effective border security measures and interior immigration enforcement” by repealing dozens of Trump-era immigration policies.

The result has been an “open borders agenda,” the resolution said, adding that Biden must use his executive authority to end “catch and release,” expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants, and make reforms to the asylum system.

The measure passed the House in a 226-193 vote, with 14 Democrats, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, voting to pass the measure. Thirteen members did not participate in the vote. 

The other Democrats who backed the bill were Reps. Yadiar Caraveo of Colorado, Angie Craig of Minnesota, Sharice Davids of Kansas, Donald Davids of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Susie Lee of Nevada, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Frank Mrvan of Indiana, Mary Peltola of Alaska, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Eric Sorensen of Illinois.

Cuellar was also a part of a Democratic group that launched a border security task force on Tuesday.

“Cities across the country are now feeling the consequences of the humanitarian crisis at the border—something border communities have been dealing with for years,” Cuellar said in a statement. “This crisis is unsustainable, and Democrats need a forum to approach border security policy as the GOP continues to play partisan politics with the issue.”

Biden, however, confirmed this week that he did not plan to use executive action to address the border crisis, claiming he expected border security to “happen on its own” if Congress takes action.

Oakland Businesses Threaten to Cut Off Taxes Until City Fixes Crime

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Oakland Businesses Threaten to Cut Off Taxes Until City Fixes Crime

(Headline USA) Business owners in Oakland, Calif., threatened this week to stop paying taxes until the city takes action to combat rising crime rates.

José Ortiz, owner of La Perla Puerto Rican cuisine, said he and several other local entrepreneurs were rallying businesses in the area to agree to stop paying taxes.

“We’re proposing not to pay taxes to the city until you give me the services that we deserve,” he explained.

Ortiz told local outlet KNTV-TV that business has dropped in his restaurant by 25% over the past two years because customers no longer feel safe venturing into the neighborhood. La Perla has been robbed at gunpoint twice, he added.

“We’re not the only ones,” he said. “We’re all in the same boat all across the city of Oakland. The city needs to immediately, effectively do something about it.”

Paul Phan, owner of Dimond Cafe, joined Ortiz’s movement and shared surveillance video showing one of four recent incidents in which his restaurant was burglarized.

“I feel like we need to start somewhere. It’s ridiculous. It seems like it’s getting worse,” he said.

Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo said he understands the business owners’ reasoning.

“The owner is absolutely correct,” Gallo said. “Why do we keep just elevating taxes, but we’re not providing the services for safety?”

But a spokesperson for Oakland Mayor Shen Thao dismissed the entrepreneurs’ concerns, claiming property crimes have dropped in recent months. Thao’s office also said it has been proactive in hiring new police officers to fill existing vacancies.

“My question is where are they? Because I don’t see them!” Ortiz responded.  “I want service. I want police officers to patrol the streets of Oakland. I want the streets to be clean!”

This would not be the first time Oakland businesses took matters into their own hands in an effort to get the city’s attention. Back in September, more than 200 Oakland business owners took part in a one-day “strike” to protest, shutting their doors to bring attention to the lack of action by city officials.

Calif. Bill Would Use Taxpayer Funds to Cover Legal Services for Violent Illegals

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Calif. Bill Would Use Taxpayer Funds to Cover Legal Services for Violent Illegals

(Headline USA) California lawmakers introduced a bill this week that would use taxpayer funds to pay for legal aid for illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.

The bill—called the Representation, Equity and Protections (REP) for all Immigrants Act—would remove restrictions on grant funds for legal services, so that those services could be offered to illegals convicted of violent or serious felonies.

The grant funds are a part of the One California program, which provides free immigration legal services to “immigrant communities,” including those facing deportation and those applying for asylum. But it bars those legal services from being offered to illegals convicted of certain crimes.

The REP for all Immigrants Act would lift those restrictions and expand the services provided by the program to include interpreters, social services and litigation costs.

In a statement, Assemblyman Reggie Jones–Sawyer, who introduced the bill, argued he did so because the current One California program “has failed to match California’s commitment to equity, as the program prohibits funds from being used to assist certain individuals who had past interactions with the criminal legal system.”

Violent illegals also deserve a “second chance,” Jones–Sawyer argued.

“For as long as I have been in state office, I have worked towards ensuring people are given a second chance and have championed efforts to prevent people from being treated as second-class individuals,” he continued. “The REP for All Immigrants Act ensures racial justice and truly equitable access to crucial immigration services for all—not some.”

California Republicans blasted the bill as “completely unacceptable” and slammed Democrats’ priorities.

“Why do they want to prioritize immigrant rapists & murderers over everyone else??” Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez tweeted.

“It blows my mind,” Sanchez added in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. “Honestly, it was one of those bills that you have to read two to three times, and it was shocking all the way through.”

Biden Says He’s ‘Counting on’ Border Security ‘Happening By Itself’

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Biden Says He’s ‘Counting on’ Border Security ‘Happening By Itself’

(Headline USA) President Joe Biden backpedaled on earlier hints that he might use executive action to address the border crisis, adding that he was “counting on” border security “happening by itself,” Fox News reported.

Biden was asked on Monday whether he plans to sign any executive orders related to the crisis following reports earlier this month that he was considering several potential actions. But the president again blamed Congress and said he would not take action until lawmakers did.

“I’m counting on the border action happening by itself, them passing it,” he said of Congress.

A bill passed by the House, HB 2, has been indefinitely stalled in the Senate with Democrat Majority Leader Chuck Schumer refusing to take it up. More recently, the Senate approved a massive spending measure with support from several RINO Republicans that lumped in a nominal amount of border funding along with a much larger provision for Ukraine.

House lawmakers slammed the measure, saying it would have done little to address the underlying issue of enforcing the existing immigration laws, as Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have failed to do.

When a reporter reminded him that the bill had failed already, Biden suggested one was still possible. 

“Well, they haven’t yet,” he said. “They haven’t yet. I’m helping them.”

During his first week in office, Biden revoked dozens of Trump-era immigration orders, including the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy and an order ending “catch-and-release.” He has since deflected all blame for repealing these policies.

“No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez claimed last month. “We continue to call on Speaker [Mike] Johnson and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border.”

Johnson, however, hit back at the White House, arguing Biden could end the border crisis the same way he started it: with his executive authority.

“The President could stop at section 212 F of the Immigration and Nationality Act [which] the Supreme Court has already acknowledged gives the President broad executive authority. He could close the border literally overnight,” he said last month.

Johnson also reminded the White House that the House did pass a comprehensive border package last year, which Democrats have refused to touch.

“In the nine months since that bill has sat on Chuck Schumer‘s desk collecting dust, 1.8 million illegals have been allowed into this country. Welcomed into the country, sent around the nation into every community. And that is a catastrophe,” he added.

CIA Responded to Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Threat, New Records Show

Ken Silva
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CIA Responded to Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Threat, New Records Show

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The non-profit transparency group Judicial Watch released new records Wednesday, revealing that CIA explosives technicians were part of the response to the pipe bombs placed outside the RNC and DNC headquarters ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.

The revelation about the CIA bomb techs was included in 88 pages of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives records obtained by Judicial Watch via the Freedom of Information Act.

“[ATF] records include a series of text messages under the heading ‘January 7 Intel Chain’ in which two separate references to participation by the CIA are made. One states that ‘two CIA bomb techs’ are assisting with ‘a pipe bomb scene on New Jersey and D ST SE.’ Another references ‘several CIA dog teams on standby,’” Judicial Watch said on its latest batch of records.

The revelation that the CIA was a part of the pipe bombs response adds to the mystery of a case that remains cold more than three years after the fact.

An issue ignored by mainstream media, conservative outlets such as Revolver News have shown the improbability that the explosive devices could have been sitting outside the DNC and RNC headquarters for some 17 hours.

And according to former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, the bureau might be suppressing information about the pipe bomb suspect’s identity.

Seraphin, who worked on the Jan. 6 investigation before being suspended from the FBI in April 2022, told the Washington Times earlier this year that investigators linked the suspect to a D.C. MetroRail SmarTrip card. The card indicated the individual got off at a Northern Virginia stop after planting both devices on Jan. 5.

“So they tagged the entrance time and the exit time to that card to that guy. And then they found out who bought the card. And the guy who bought the card was not the guy who was using it,” Seraphin told the Washington Times.

“The card had never been used before. It was bought a year prior by a retired chief master sergeant in the Air Force, and he was a security contractor. So, he held a security clearance,” he reportedly said.

Additionally, Seraphin has alleged that the J6 pipe bombs were built with inert material and were incapable of detonating.

On the No Way, Jose podcast last May, Seraphin explained the implications of his disclosures.

“Here’s why that’s interesting: The feds are never going to give you a real bomb. If they’re going to set you up with something, it’s not going to be real. It’s going to be to set you up,” he said.

“And there’s no reason why we should not have run this person into the ground and found out who it was. And that person should have been charged. The only reasonable thing I can think of is: Somebody doesn’t want that person to be found, and the most likely reason is that person is or was a federal source for some agency at some point,” he said.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Judge Dismisses Counts against Trump in Fulton Lawfare Case

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Judge Dismisses Counts against Trump in Fulton Lawfare Case

(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump in the Fulton County case that accuses the former president of a racketeering conspiracy for his efforts to challenge the 2020 election.

It followed shortly after a bombshell report by The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway last week revealed that the entire case was largely predicated on a phone call that was illegally recorded out of state by Jordan Fuchs, a staffer in the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

It also comes as Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis faces harsh scrutiny and the prospect of dismissal over allegations that she violated ethics by hiring her lover as lead counsel in the case and then benefitted from overpayments to go on luxurious vacations with him. Both may subsequently have perjured themselves by lying about their reletionship in testimony before the court.

McAfee dismissed six charges in the indictment, including three against Trump, due to a lack of detail that he said was “fatal.”

But the ruling doesn’t end the case against Trump. Trump still faces criminal charges, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges that underpin the prosecution’s case.

“The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants—in fact it has alleged an abundance,” McAfee wrote. “However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal.”

Nonetheless, the judge wrote that the case was far from over.

“This does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed,” he wrote in a footnote.

“The State may also seek a re-indictment supplementing these six counts,” he added. “Even if the statute of limitations has expired, the State receives a six-month extension from the date of this Order to resubmit the case to a grand jury.”

McAfee’s latest ruling did not address the potential disqualification brought against Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade by the defendants. The judge said he would rule on that issue by the end of the week. McAfee has said elsewhere that the decision already has been made and that the pressure from a recently announced primary challenge would not impact it.

Willis and Wade claim their personal relationship started after Willis hired Wade to prosecute the case. But a significant amount of evidence, including phone records, indicates otherwise.

One witness told the judge the relationship began in 2019 after the pair met at a judicial conference and long before Willis hired Wade in 2021.

Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.

Report: Capitol Hill Stormer Linked to Satanic Accelerationist Cults

Ken Silva
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Report: Capitol Hill Stormer Linked to Satanic Accelerationist Cults

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A consortium of media outlets released a slew of reports Wednesday on an a network of chat groups that promote Satanism, Nazism and pedophilia.

Much of the information revealed by the media consortium—which included Wired, The Washington Post and Der Spiegel—was already reported by Headline USA weeks ago (see here, here and here).

However, the leftist publication Unicorn Riot did report new information linking the network of online Satanist chatrooms to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising.

Riley Williams. PHOTO: FBI affidavit
Riley Williams. PHOTO: FBI affidavit

According to Unicorn Riot, one of the demonstrators, Riley June Williams, was affiliated with the Satanic network—which includes groups such as the Order of Nine Angles, 764 and CVLT.

As Headline USA has reported, O9A was founded by a neo-Nazi militant linked to Operation Gladio, a Cold War-era CIA program that sponsored neo-Nazi stay-behind militias in Europe—ostensibly to prepare for a possible Soviet Union invasion, though the militias wound up terrorizing local citizens instead.

More recently, O9A fomented several neo-Nazi terrorist plots, an O9A-linked neo-Nazi participated in the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, and one of the network’s leaders, Joshua Caleb Sutter, was revealed to be a longtime FBI informant. Groups such as 764 are offshoots of O9A, according to the Justice Department.

Now, according to Unicorn Riot, O9A may be linked to Jan. 6.

“Riley Williams stole then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop,” Unicorn Riot incorrectly reported—Williams did not steal Pelosi’s laptop, but allegedly encouraged others to do so (Unicorn Riot corrected this error after being notified by this reporter). “Williams was also part of an international, abusive extortion network.”

According to Unicorn Riot, members of pedophile chatrooms asked about Williams when she was arrested.

“Whys riley in jail,” one account reportedly asked, to which another account responded “The boy or the girl? … I think the girl isn’t anymore. She stole nancy pelosis laptop.”

Unicorn Riot reported on other affiliations Williams allegedly had.

“In fact, several of the photos from the FBI Statement of Facts in her case are from a Cvlt-related Discord server where she boasted about stealing the laptop among other things. She also shared two separate videos of herself saying ‘Heil Hitler’ as well as photos of her fansigning BERSERKR across her chest,” Unicorn Riot reported.

“Williams also spent time in other accelerationist Telegram channels including Hammer run by the notorious neo-Nazi Chris Polhaus.”

Court records from Williams’s case do show her affiliation with accelerationist groups. They also show that she deleted a trove of evidence about her participation in such groups once she realized she was wanted by the FBI.

“Stored in the defendant’s iCloud account and Discord accounts, and posted on social media, the Government found images, videos, and messages concerning … her adoption and use of imagery associated with the Groyper Army, Accelerationism, Pepe the Frog, prior violent protests, alt-right views and leaders, and claims about election fraud related to the 2020 Presidential election,” DOJ prosecutors said in a Sept. 22 filing.

“She discussed the ‘stolen’ election and the January 6 deadline on social media with others, including with those she befriended on Discord and only knew online, such as then-16-year old Jonah Thomas,” prosecutors later said in a February 2023 sentencing memorandum.

Corroborating Jade Parker’s Research

Unicorn Riot’s report sheds new light the research of counterterrorism analyst Jade Parker, who has researched the accelerationist O9A group.

Parker has said that accelerationists exploited the Jan. 6 crowd. She discussed this on her July 2021 appearance on the popular national security podcast, The Team House.

On that show, she said she had been trying to warn the U.S. intelligence community for years about the accelerationist threat, but no one listened to her.

After the events of Jan. 6, some researchers began paying attention to accelerationism, she said. However, they were mistaken to declare Capitol Hill protestors to be an accelerationist threat, she said.

The more likely scenario is that the Jan. 6 crowd was exploited by accelerationists to further divide the country, according to Parker.

Along with researching O9A and affiliated groups, Parker has claimed to have identified the suspect who placed pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC headquarters ahead of the Jan. 6 event. Headline USA reached Parker by email last month, but she declined to comment on the matter and said she wants to maintain her privacy.

Meanwhile, Williams is scheduled to remain in prison until next March. She was reportedly convicted last year six counts: felony civil disorder, resisting and impeding certain officers and four misdemeanor charges. According to NBC News, The jury deadlocked on a count of obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as on the question of whether Williams aided and abetted the theft of Pelosi’s laptop.

Williams did recently file for a six-month reduction in her 36-month sentence. The DOJ is opposing that motion, and a judge has yet to rule on the matter.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Trump, Biden Both Change Tunes on TikTok Ban

Molly Bruns
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Trump, Biden Both Change Tunes on TikTok Ban

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) As Congress this week mulled the possibility of a nationwide ban on the China-owned social-media platform TikTok, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump simultaneously flip-flopped their stances, with Biden endorsing plans to ban the platform and Trump coming out against it.

On Wednesday, in a bipartisan bill that appeared to come as a shock to some, the House voted 352-65 in support of a ban on the popular video-streaming platform.

Many speculated that it faced certain defeat in the Senate, its final backstop following Biden’s earlier pivot.

“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Biden said Friday after the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposed legislation calling on ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest ownership of the platform or face banishment from the United States, according to NBC.

Biden never explicitly endorsed the platform, but he did join the fun this past February despite the app being banned in the White House. It was unclear why he altered his view on the matter.

However, a lobbying effort by billionaire ByteDance investor Jeff Yass was reportedly behind efforts to block the bill—and among those Yass had met with was Trump, according to New York magazine.

Shortly thereafter, Trump came out in opposition to the bill, arguing that TikTok’s exile from America would give Mark Zuckerberg and his company, Meta, free license to do as they pleased.

“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better,” he added. “They are a true Enemy of the People!”

Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Instagram—along with other social-media publishers like Twitter—colluded with U.S. intelligence agencies to promote disinformation ahead of the 2020 race while censoring truthful information on several important topics.

Moreover, Zuckerberg himself spent more than $400 million on electioneering efforts funneled through two nonprofits that were used to influence the actual election outcomes in key swing states by coercing local offices to modify their policies and procedures in return for extra funding.

Many conservatives pushed back against Trump’s recent change of heart, arguing that the safety of Americans’ data superseded the desire to control Facebook’s influence.

But The Federalist suggested that Trump’s recent relationship with Yass, a GOP megadonor may have had something to do with the former president’s recent backpedaling.

Trump secured the GOP nomination for president on Tuesday, with elections in Georgia, Washington state, Mississipi and Hawaii putting him over the top for his required number of committed delegates.

Nonetheless, he remains in financially rocky straits due to the ludicrous legal verdicts in several New York cases, demanding that he put up roughly half a billion dollars while appealing the decision in a lawfare case waged by state Attorney General Letitia James or risk forfeiting his property assets.

The Trump campaign does not post on TikTok, but conservative influencers routinely engage young voters on the platform.

The Nelk Boys, a popular podcast and entertainment group on TikTok, hosted Trump on their podcast twice. The group has 4.6 million followers on the app.

“MAGA content does very well on TikTok. And Meta is suppressing MAGA content on both Facebook and Instagram,” said GOP strategist Alex Bruesewitz.

Trump originally launched the campaign to ban the platform in the U.S. over security concerns due to Chinese collection of American data.

Nearly half of all states banned the app on government devices; some states banned the platform altogether.

But some opponents of the ban, including Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams, argued that TikTok’s American arm does not share any of its data with China.

Nonetheless, there is clear evidence that the company has exerted a pernicious political influence, such as its decision to allow human traffickers to stream videos that target those trying to violate U.S. immigration law.

There have further been indications that TikTok, like other social-media platforms, may be used to undermine election integrity by communicating information to individuals on how to surreptitiously coordinate illegal ballot-harvesting operations.

And as sites like Libs of TikTok have been quick to note, much of the U.S. content is a cesspool of woke toxicity that has allowed the rapid propagation of things like transgenderism and mental illness among American teenagers.

After the announcement of a possible ban on Thursday, thousands of users called in to Congress to defend the platform.

“There were numerous reports of these TikTok defenders making death threats and callers suggesting they would kill themselves if the app goes away,” The Federalist reported. “In many ways, these uniformed users proved the app is essentially a propaganda arm of the CCP.”

Five Traps to Avoid When Buying and Holding Precious Metals

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Five Traps to Avoid When Buying and Holding Precious Metals

(Joshua D Glawson, Money Metals News Service) Average investors may find their first purchase of physical gold and silver a little intimidating.

To be sure, bad actors have sold metals with lower purity or less precious metal content than claimed. Sometimes it requires special equipment or knowledge to detect such fraud. And there are other ways for novice investors to be scammed.

Here we reveal the five biggest traps to avoid. Heeding these warnings will save you time, money, and stress for you and your loved ones.

TRAP #1: Cable TV Ads, Celebrity Spokesmen, and the “Bait and Switch”

If you watch any of the cable news channels, you are certain to have seen advertisements to buy gold or silver coins, especially inside a retirement account.

The companies behind the ads typically use a celebrity spokesman and appear simply to be promoting a basic investment in gold or silver. However, when they get someone on the hook, they will try to make an upsell into so-called rare, special, limited edition, proof, or collectible (numismatic) coins.

Unfortunately, for anyone duped into buying these supposedly special coins – usually at the hands of high-pressure salespeople – it may be decades (if ever) before the victim sees a return on their investment.

Because the prices charged are so high above the actual market value of the gold or silver, metal prices often must double before the break-even point.

The celebrities hired for these TV ads may not even realize they are complicit in a swindle. Like many others, they might not know enough about the precious metals industry to understand what is a good value and what is not. (Although naivete is no excuse for their involvement with such sellers; celebrities get paid a fortune for their endorsements.)

The reason these TV-based dealers can afford to pay the celebrities, as well as their aggressive commission-based sales team, is that the profit margin in dubious rare coins is far above the margins for competitively priced bullion.

TRAP #2: Individual Scammers

Over the past few years, there have been many cases of scammers and thieves in the precious metals market. Several public warnings have been issued by the CIA, FBI, and NSA, regarding scam syndicates and terrorist organizations operating in this space.

Some of the scammers will prey on the elderly, calling and harassing them into buying gold bullion bars or coins, sometimes using a fake business front to acquire cash or precious metals… or to get people to sell valuables for cash.

There have also been a variety of money laundering schemes.

At times, scammers may even present themselves as the IRS, the police, or another government authority and demand valuables to be turned over to them. While the federal government has confiscated precious metals in the past, there is a low probability of such an event today.

Another common type of fraud is committed by random sellers online. They will simply steal the client’s payment and deliver nothing, or fulfill orders with fake or adulterated metal.

The above scenarios underscore the importance of buying, selling, or trading through reputable online dealers such as Money Metals Exchange.

A reputable company will be easy to contact or communicate with. They provide confirmation as the transaction moves through to completion, they get positive reviews from clients online, and they have established a good rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).  (That said, even dishonest companies have managed at times to maintain a good BBB reputation.)

Please note, however, almost all other review websites besides BBB are NOT credible. Some are either affiliate marketers or for-profit “reputation management” firms that provide services to “enhance” a business’s online ratings for a fee. Others are misused by a company’s competitors to try to damage competitor reputations with fake bad reviews.

TRAP #3: The Crooked Depository

Over the years, there have been multiple incidents involving corrupt depository operators that either raided a customer’s storage account or never deposited the metal the customer sent in the first place.

When storage customers finally want their metals to be returned to them, these corrupt depositories can operate as pyramid schemes. They manage to meet withdrawal requests until those requests outnumber new deposits.

When they do send metals, there can be long delays consisting of weeks or months. This is a red flag that signals the depository doesn’t actually have the customer’s metals on hand. They are working to acquire the metals needed to make the client whole.

A good rule of thumb is to only buy, sell, or store using a reputable precious metals depository that has an established public profile and good ratings.

Look for comments in the BBB reviews and complaints that indicate long wait times or a pattern of other problems.

Again, almost all other review websites besides BBB are NOT credible. Some are either affiliate marketers or for-profit “reputation management” firms that provide services to “enhance” a business’s online ratings for a fee. Others are misused by a company’s competitors to try to damage competitor reputations with fake bad reviews.

TRAP #4: Phony Dealers that Fail to Deliver

There have been numerous instances of fake dealers that sell precious metals but never actually send the metals. Instead, they pocket the money.

The following are signs to be wary of…

  • Newly created websites.
  • Companies selling at popular online auction sites with no verified transaction history.
  • Sellers who are based in a different country.
  • Sites that look and sound a lot like other companies (but are not actually them).
  • Sellers who only want to receive payment in cryptocurrency or cash.
  • Random ads found on public forums.

If you buy precious metals online, you should receive tracking information on your shipment within a few days of your payment clearing. Long delays are a major red flag.

TRAP #5: Home Invasions and Thieves

When you own bullion of any amount, especially significant amounts of precious metals such as gold bullion bars, gold coins, silver bars, silver coins, gold rounds, silver rounds, or even jewelry, it is always a good idea to not publicly brag about it. Keep it to yourself.

A home invader can access your home while you are there. They will threaten violence or death to compel you to turn over your valuables.

A thief will wait until you are not home and take your precious metals collection without directly threatening you.

There have been countless examples of precious metals enthusiasts being robbed.

To reduce your chances of being robbed or having your valuables stolen, do not post pictures and videos of your collectibles online, and do not talk openly about what you own.

Owning precious metals is a great way to build a personal store of value, hedge against inflation, and maintain wealth over long periods. And when you own a lot of it, you feel more financially secure for your future.

It is normal to want to show it off, to be proud of your achievements, and to encourage others to get started. However, it’s safer to keep your investments private.

If you have a significant amount of precious metals, it is a good idea to store at least some of them in a reputable depository, such as the Money Metals Depository. This is a low-cost option (starting at less than $100 per year) that safely protects your valuable investments and reduces the risk of thieves, robbers, and home invaders.

When storing your metal collection in a proper depository, they are protected in a dedicated facility with top-of-the-line secure architecture, technology, and staff. And your metals will be fully insured against loss – something that may not be possible when storing at home.

Joshua D. Glawson is the Content Manager for Money Metals Exchange and is a writer on such topics as politics, economics, philosophy, finance, and personal development. He has a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of California Irvine. 

DOJ Threatens to Sue Utah over Inmate Who ‘Removed Her Own Testicles’

Ken Silva
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DOJ Threatens to Sue Utah over Inmate Who ‘Removed Her Own Testicles’

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department has threatened to sue Utah’s Department of Corrections after alleging that the state violated an inmate’s rights by refusing to provide treatment for gender dysphoria.

The DOJ said in a report released Tuesday that the inmate, who wasn’t named, did not receive gender dysphoria treatment for more than 15 months after requesting it. By then, the inmate had already self-mutilated, according to the report.

“After enduring repeated delays and denials of her requests for disability-related care and reasonable modifications, Complainant performed dangerous self-surgery and removed her own testicles,” the DOJ said, identifying the biological male as a woman.

The DOJ blamed the messy debacle on Utah’s “protracted, multistep process” to receive gender dysphoria treatment. The DOJ also noted that the inmate was denied the request to move to a female prison.

The DOJ is now asking Utah to implement reforms, including new policies to ensure inmates have access to gender-related healthcare. If Utah fails to do this, the DOJ threatened to sue.

“We hope to work together with you to resolve this matter cooperatively through a court enforceable consent decree that brings UDOC into compliance with the ADA. If we are unable to reach such a resolution, the Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit,” said Rebecca Bond, the head of the DOJ’s disability rights section.

In response to the DOJ’s findings, Utah’s DOC said it was “blindsided.”

“We have been working to address this complex issue, and were blindsided by today’s public announcement from the Department of Justice. We have also taken steps on our own, and as a state, to address the needs of inmates while maintaining the highest safety standards,” said DOC Director Brian Redd in a statement issued Tuesday evening.

“We fundamentally disagree with the DOJ on key issues, and are disappointed with their approach.”

The DOJ’s legal threat against Utah is its latest move in an apparent campaign to promote transgenderism in prisons.

DOJ Lawfare

Last month, the DOJ filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit from transgender inmate Jonathan C. Richardson, who now goes by the name “Autumn Cordellionè” and is serving a 55-year sentence for killing Richardson’s infant stepdaughter.

Richardson, who identifies as an “Islamic-practicing transwoman,” first sued the Indiana Department of Correction last August in federal court after the state passed a law banning prisoners from receiving sexual reassignment surgery. The baby-killer’s lawsuit is being litigated by the American Civil Liberties Union, with the support of the DOJ, which filed a statement of interest in support of their motion to block Indiana’s law.

While Richardson’s lawsuit didn’t involve any removal of testicles, the inmate did disclose that “I have soiled myself rather than go to the bathroom, as I just do not want to see or deal with my genitals.”

The DOJ’s support of Richardson follows a similar move in Georgia, where prosecutors filed a brief in January to support a lawsuit filed by an unnamed inmate against the Georgia Department of Corrections. Details of the inmate’s crimes weren’t included in the filing.

Additionally, the DOJ settled a lawsuit last June from a federal inmate—former Neo-Nazi bank robber Pete/Donna Langan—who sued the Bureau of Prisons in late 2021 to obtain a sex change. Langan became the first federal inmate in history to receive a sex change in January 2023, but continued to sue the BOP to also cover facial hair removal surgery.

The details of Langan’s settlement have not been made public.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

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