(José Niño, Headline USA) The ex-boyfriend who filed a complaint against Department of Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary Julia Varvaro has been identified as Robert Bianchi, a defense contractor whose Maryland firm has raked in over $67 million in federalcontracts.
The New York Post reported Thursday that Bianchi owns SDVO Solutions LLC, which performs IT and telecom work for the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, and other agencies. Government records show nearly a third of the company’s contracts came in just fiscal years 2025 and 2026, with 2025 being its biggest year. The firm advertises itself as being run by a service disabled veteran CEO.
Bianchi and Varvaro had a three month relationship that “ended badly,” according to sources. That implosion led Bianchi to file a complaint with the DHS Office of Inspector General alleging Varvaro maintained a profile on the sugar daddy website Seeking and smoked marijuana while serving in the Trump administration.
NEW: We identified the ex-boyfriend of the DHS official who reported her to the government after their breakup. Sources say he was using the report as revenge after the relationship ended. Robert Bianchi, whose firm earned $67 million in government contracts in recent years, did… https://t.co/X6rVDhcXm4
The Daily Mail firstreported that “Robert B.” claimed to have spent “$30,000-$40,000 for vacations, Cartier jewelry, expensive handbags, and various shopping trips” on Varvaro. He complained that she often ordered the most expensive items on the menu when they dined together and took her on lavish trips to Aruba, Italy, and other destinations after they met on Hinge.
Sources dispute key parts of the complaint. One person with knowledge of the relationship claims Bianchi “added a lot of false information” to his DHS filing, including allegations of drug use and claims that sugar daddies paid for Varvaro’s tuition. The source said her parents actually covered her education.
“He was on those trips too and seemed to enjoy them,” the source asserted, noting that Bianchi voluntarily took Varvaro on the vacations. The source also said Varvaro was not suffering from “financial stress” during their relationship.
The age gap between the two has drawn particular attention. Bianchi, who is at least 57, “constantly bragged he dated 21-year-olds” and that Varvaro, 29, “was on the older end of his usual range,” according to the source.
Varvaro wasplaced on leave Wednesday after the complaint triggered an internal investigation. She holds a master’s degree and a PhD in homeland security and worked at FEMA before joining DHS as deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism in May 2025.
There is no indication that Bianchi received federal contracts as a result of his relationship with Varvaro.
“Horrible that it sets a stigma that if a relationship ends badly, the man can try to jeopardize your job and destroy your reputation,” the source told the Post. “For a man to think he has the authority to try and ruin a much younger woman just because he didn’t like the outcome is horrible.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
Drawing on Metals Focus’ widely respected data, which is used by organizations such as the Silver Institute and World Gold Council, Newman offered a detailed look at how geopolitics, monetary policy, and industrial demand are interacting in real time.
The discussion began with the Iran–U.S.–Israel conflict, which has introduced significant volatility across global markets. While many expected a strong safe-haven surge in gold and silver, Newman explained that the metals have not responded as dramatically as some anticipated.
A key reason is the sharp rally leading into late January 2026, when both metals reached record highs before correcting. That pullback left some investors cautious about re-entering the market.
More importantly, the dominant influence has shifted toward Federal Reserve expectations. Before the conflict, markets were pricing in up to two rate cuts in 2026. After hostilities began, expectations quickly changed, at times even suggesting the possibility of a rate increase.
(Interview Starts Around 8:21 Mark)
Inflation Outlook, Fed Policy, and Global Economic Uncertainty
Looking beyond the immediate conflict, Newman described the broader environment as highly uncertain. Metals Focus built its 2026 forecasts on the assumption of a short-lived war, but a prolonged conflict could shift the outlook. Rising energy prices have already contributed to inflation pressures, including a reported 21 percent increase in gasoline prices, which could push the Federal Reserve toward tighter policy.
At the same time, conflicting pressures complicate the situation. High levels of government and corporate debt make sustained higher interest rates difficult. Political dynamics also play a role.
Newman noted that pressure on the Federal Reserve, particularly from President Donald Trump, could raise concerns about central bank independence. If markets begin to doubt that independence, the U.S. dollar could weaken, which would support gold and silver prices.
Geopolitical risks extend well beyond the Middle East. Ongoing tensions involving Russia, Ukraine, NATO, and East Asia continue to add instability. Even if the current conflict ends quickly, other factors such as tariffs, the November 2026 U.S. midterm elections, and shifting political strategies could sustain volatility across global markets.
Retail vs Institutional Investors in Gold and Silver Markets
Another important theme is the divergence between retail and institutional investors. Maharrey pointed out that gold often rises during Asian and European trading hours, then declines when U.S. markets open. This observation aligns with ETF data showing continued inflows into gold funds in Asia during March.
Newman confirmed that retail demand has remained strong, particularly in coins and bars across multiple regions.
In contrast, institutional investors have become more cautious. Increased price volatility and risk management constraints have limited their participation. The correction in late January forced many institutions to scale back exposure, and higher volatility now allows them to achieve returns with fewer trades.
As Newman explained, “The volatility is so much greater that a single trade can perhaps generate a return… compared to six months ago.”
He also noted that much of silver’s rally from mid-October 2025 through January 2026 was driven by retail activity and day trading, especially on exchanges such as the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the CME. This highlights how different segments of the market are reacting in distinct ways to current conditions.
Silver Supply Deficit and Long-Term Market Trends
Newman also discussed findings from the latest World Silver Survey, which includes final data for 2025 and forecasts for 2026. While the 2025 deficit was relatively small, he emphasized that the cumulative deficit over multiple years is far more important.
“What’s more relevant is the ongoing deficit in the marketplace,” he said.
Historical data support this view.
In 2022, the silver market recorded a deficit exceeding 250 million ounces, yet prices averaged below $22 per ounce.
In 2023, a 200 million ounce deficit corresponded with an average price just above $23. These figures show that annual deficits do not directly determine price movements.
Instead, the ongoing drawdown of above-ground stocks gradually tightens the market.
By 2026, cumulative deficits over several years are approaching the equivalent of an entire year of global mine production. This marks a sharp reversal from the 2010 to 2020 period, when silver stocks increased by more than 200 million ounces. The shift illustrates how quickly the supply picture has changed.
Industrial Silver Demand, Solar Thrifting, and AI Growth
Rising silver prices have led to increased efforts to reduce usage, particularly in the solar sector. Newman explained that manufacturers are pursuing thrift strategies because even brief price spikes create concern about future costs.
Technological changes are already reducing silver demand in photovoltaics. In heterojunction technology, silver usage has declined by about 85 percent since 2021 due to the adoption of silver-coated copper. This dramatic shift highlights how quickly the industry can adapt when prices rise.
As a result, photovoltaic demand is expected to fall from about 198 million ounces in 2024 to roughly 151 million ounces in 2026, a decline of around 19 percent. Despite this drop, overall industrial demand remains resilient.
Growth in other sectors is helping offset the decline. The expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, especially data centers, is driving strong demand with little evidence of substitution.
Newman noted that “there is an urgency to get these data centers installed… they don’t want to reduce the silver content.”
Additional support comes from electric vehicles, satellite technology, power distribution systems, and defense applications. Even with reduced solar demand, total industrial silver demand is expected to fall by only about 3 percent and remain above 600 million ounces.
Precious Metals Market Outlook and Investor Takeaways
The conversation makes clear that precious metals markets in 2026 are being shaped by a complex mix of factors. Geopolitical tensions, shifting expectations for monetary policy, technological changes, and structural supply deficits are all influencing price behavior.
Short-term movements are increasingly tied to Federal Reserve policy and interest rate expectations.
At the same time, long-term fundamentals such as tightening supply and steady industrial demand continue to provide underlying support. Regional differences in investor behavior and the growing role of retail participants add further complexity.
As Newman emphasized during the discussion, “The key takeaway is uncertainty.”
Understanding precious metals markets now requires attention to both immediate macroeconomic signals and the deeper structural trends that are unfolding over time.
Investors can also stay connected with Mike Maharrey and the team at Money Metals through the Money Metals podcast and the company’s ongoing market commentary and analysis.
(David Beasley, The Center Square) For a Central Ohio man hoping to continue making whiskey at home one thing now seems certain – the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the case.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that the federal ban against home whiskey distilleries is unconstitutional.
However, a separate appeals court, the Sixth Circuit, issued an opposite decision, upholding the 150-year old federal law.
John Ream, a distiller from Newark, is a plaintiff in that case. He is represented by a nonprofit Ohio-based group, The Buckeye Institute, the organization’s spokeswoman, Lisa Gates, told The Center Square.
“John Ream will seek Supreme Court review of this decision, and looks forward to being vindicated,” Robert Alt, President and Chief Executive Officer of the institute said in a statement.
Andrew M. Grossman, senior legal fellow at the Buckeye Institute said the two different appeals court rulings create a “circuit split.” Those typically are decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We anticipate the U.S. Supreme Court resolving the conflict between the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits,” he said in a statement.
The federal government argued that the law is constitutional because it was enacted to prevent tax evasion and that it would be easier for a distiller working out of their home to conceal the business and therefore avoid paying taxes.
The Fifth Circuit, however, disagreed in its ruling.
“Congress cannot prohibit intrastate activity solely because it might produce products hard to tax.” the court ruled. “Put otherwise, preventing activity lest it give rise to tax evasion places no limit whatsoever on Congress’s power under the taxation clause.”
The Sixth Circuit, however, came to a different conclusion.
The power of Congress to impose taxes does not give it the power to ban home distilleries, the court ruled Tuesday. But another section of the Constitution, the “Necessary and Proper Clause,” does, the appeals court ruled.
“The home distilling ban was lawful when enacted and remains so today,” the court ruled.
The Sixth District ruling also questions whether the courts should second guess Congress on a long-standing law.
“We should not be so eager to police the limits of Congress’s power, that we exceed the limits of our own,” the appeals court ruling said.
(Headline USA) Two buses crashed head-on near a Pentagon bus stop on Friday, injuring 23 people, including Defense Department personnel.
The Omni Ride and Fairfax Connector transit buses struck each other shortly before 7:30 a.m., according to a press release from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Emergency personnel transported 18 of the injured to local hospitals for further medical evaluation. Five were treated at the scene.
Ten of the 23 injured passengers are from the Defense Department.
The Metro Access Road was closed pending an accident investigation.
The accident altered mass transit operations for several hours. Camera footage from the scene showed the two buses colliding.
The Arlington Fire Department confirmed that the crash occurred and that it responded, but it referred questions to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the federal law enforcement agency at the Pentagon.
(Headline USA) A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged with using classified information about the mission to win more than $400,000 in an online betting market, federal officials announced Thursday.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke was part of the operation to capture Maduro in January and used his access to classified information to make money on the prediction market site Polymarket, the federal prosecutor’s office in New York said.
He has been charged by the Justice Department with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction. He could face years in prison.
Van Dyke, 38, was involved in the planning and execution of capturing Maduro for about a month beginning Dec. 8, 2025, according to the federal prosecutor’s office. Even though he signed nondisclosure agreements promising to not divulge “any classified or sensitive information” related to the operations, prosecutors say the Army soldier used this information to make a series of bets related to Maduro being out of power by Jan. 31, 2026.
“This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post to social media.
A telephone number listed for Van Dyke in public records was not in service. There was not yet an attorney listed for him in court documents.
Polymarket, one of the largest prediction markets in the world, said it had found someone trading on classified government information, alerted the U.S. Department of Justice and “cooperated with their investigation.”
“Insider trading has no place on Polymarket,” the company said in a statement.
Second complaint filed against the soldier
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that regulates prediction markets, announced Thursday it had filed a parallel complaint against Van Dyke.
That complaint alleges that Van Dyke moved $35,000 from his personal bank account into a cryptocurrency exchange account on Dec. 26 — a little over a week before U.S. forces would fly into Caracas and seize Maduro.
Van Dyke used more than $32,500 to make a series of bets on when Maduro might be removed from power, according to the complaint. He placed those bets between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, with the vast majority occurring the night of Jan. 2 — just hours before the first missiles would fall on Caracas.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform a photo of the now-captured Venezuelan leader, wearing a gray sweatsuit, headphones and a blindfold.
The bets Van Dyke made on Maduro leaving power resulted in “more than $404,000 of profits,” the complaint said. Bets on three other Venezuela-related contracts netted the solider more than $5,000, according to the document.
“The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way,” said Michael Selig, the commission’s chairman.
The massive profits from the well-timed bets aroused public attention days after the raid and brought bipartisan calls for stricter regulation of the markets where people can wager on just about anything.
Officials allege that shortly after the operation, Van Dyke put most of the money he won in a foreign cryptocurrency vault and then into a new brokerage account. He also asked Polymarket to delete his account, saying he had lost access to his email associated with the account, according to the federal prosecutor’s office.
Trump, when asked about the case Thursday, drew parallels between the embattled soldier and late professional baseball player Pete Rose, who was banned from the sport amid accusations that he placed bets on his own team.
“The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world and Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” Trump told reporters.
The Trump administration has been a key ally of the growing prediction market industry in a critical legal fight with states seeking to ban the platforms. The president’s eldest son is an adviser for both Polymarket and its competitor Kalshi, and a Polymarket investor. Trump’s social media platform Truth Social is also launching its own cryptocurrency-based prediction market called Truth Predict.
Nearly two decades in the Army
Van Dyke joined the Army in 2008 and, in 2023, was promoted to the rank of master sergeant, the second-highest enlisted rank in the Army, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors said he was part of the special forces community and was stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, but their indictment offered little other details about his military service.
The document said Van Dyke was photographed following the raid on the deck of a ship “wearing U.S. military fatigues, and carrying a rifle, standing alongside three other individuals wearing U.S. military fatigues.”
The Pentagon referred questions on the case to the Army and the Justice Department.
Army officials declined to provide Van Dyke’s service record. Typically, the military services are reticent to offer details about members of the special forces and take measures to keep their identities secret.
Bets on geopolitical tensions draw scrutiny
The high-profile indictment comes as bipartisan lawmakers are considering legislation to ban prediction markets from allowing bets on war, assassinations or terrorist attacks.
Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that a group of new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for the new customers. On the same day the AP published the report, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.
On Wednesday, Kalshi fined and suspended three congressional candidates who the company said wagered on the outcome of their own elections.
(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square) After two attempts last week to reauthorize a controversial spy power of the federal government, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has unveiled the text of a three-year extension.
The new proposal, however, fails to include key privacy reforms that dozens of House Republicans are demanding to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires April 30.
“The United States Constitution is NOT a suggestion – the Fourth Amendment is the law of the land,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, posted on X after the bill text dropped Thursday. “Warrantless searches of American citizens are ongoing. We cannot allow this gross abuse of government overreach to continue.”
On paper, FISA Section 702 allows federal intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on foreign nationals of suspicion.
But in practice, the electronic data of American citizens – including emails, text messages, and phone calls – are routinely collected as well.
The major controversy lies in the fact that federal intelligence agents will routinely search through that database without obtaining a warrant, which many critics view as a violation of Americans’ Fourth Amendment Rights.
As part of the overall pushback against warrantless surveillance, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act on Thursday as well.
The bill would not only prohibit federal agencies from searching or obtaining Americans’ metadata without a warrant based on probable cause, but would also allow individuals to sue for damages if the federal government infringes on their Fourth Amendment rights.
“There’s been a lot of talk about FISA and [Section] 702 and warrants for the past few weeks now, but I don’t think that’s where the issue ultimately lies,” Boebert told reporters. “Sure, it is a problem when anyone, any American citizen is looked into without a warrant, but it doesn’t end under FISA, it doesn’t end under 702.”
Declassified government documents and oversight reports show that federal intelligence agencies have performed millions of these so-called “backdoor searches” since FISA Section 702 was created, including 57,000 in 2023 alone.
The House Rules Committee will meet Monday to mark up the three-year extension. Both Democrats and Republicans on the committee are expected to object to the bill in its current form.
(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The cost of the US war with Iran was not included in President Donald Trump’s request for a massive $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, according to a Pentagon budget official.
“This budget was formulated, honestly, before we went into conflict with Iran,” Jules Hurst III, the Pentagon’s acting chief financial officer, told reporters on April 21, according to USA Today.
The record-shattering budget is a nearly 50% increase over this year’s $1 trillion budget, but the Trump administration is going to ask Congress for even more military spending to make up for depleted weapons and other military operations related to the Iran war.
Initial reports said the administration was planning to request $200 billion for the war, but the number may be revised down to $80 billion or $100 billion. Russell Vought, the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told lawmakers last week that he didn’t have a “ballpark” estimate to share.
An Iran war cost tracker using the minimum conservative estimates says that since the US-Israeli war against Iran was launched on February 28, it has cost the US more than $60 billion. In just the first six days of the war, the cost in munitions alone was $11.3 billion.
(Ken Silva, Headline USA) On the heels of FBI Director Kashyap Patel suing The Atlantic for publishing a story that portrays him as a drunkard, The Intercept has revealed that Patel indeed has a record of public intoxication.
The Intercept reported Friday that Patel was twice arrested in the early 2000s—once in 2001 for public intoxication, and again in 2005 for public urination.
Patel disclosed the incidents in a 2005 letter as part of his Florida Bar application.
Describing the 2001 incident, Patel said he was arrested after being kicked out of a University of Richmond in Virginia basketball game for “excessive cheering.”
“Upon exiting the arena, the officer placed me under arrest for public intoxication, as I was not yet of 21 years of age. I had consumed two drinks prior to the game,” Patel said in the 2005 letter.
"We attempted to relieve our bladders while walking home. Before we could even do so, a police cruiser stopped the group. We were then arrested for public urination.” — FBI Director Kashyap Patel https://t.co/fV4fN34zEzpic.twitter.com/WtdVHXcaav
As for the 2005 incident, Patel said he and his friends were celebrating before the public urination incident.
“We went to a few of the local bars and consumed some alcoholic beverages. At the end of the night, we decided to walk home. In a gross deviation from appropriate conduct, we attempted to relieve our bladders while walking home,” he said. “Before we could even do so, a police cruiser stopped the group. We were then arrested for public urination.”
Patel said in his letter that the incidents are not representative of his usual conduct. A spokesperson for Patel told The Intercept that “These attacks are nothing more than an attempt to undermine a process that has already deemed him suitable to serve and a distraction to the record-breaking success of the FBI under Director Patel.”
Along with those incidents from the 2000s, Patel was caught drinking on camera in February, when he was pictured chugging beer with the U.S. hockey team after it won the gold medal in the Olympics. Patel’s antics reportedly displeased President Donald Trump.
“Trump — who does not drink — told Patel he was unhappy not only with that scene, but also with Patel’s use of government aircraft for the trip to Milan,” NBC reported last month.
Despite those public incidents, Patel sued The Atlantic magazine on Monday for $250 million—claiming an article that talked about mismanagement at the agency and his alleged excessive drinking was false and a “malicious hit piece.” The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”
A day after he sued the Atlantic, a judge dismissed a lawsuit Patel filed last year against MSNBC contributor Frank Figliuzzi for saying on air that the FBI director “has been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building.” While Patel’s lawsuit was unsuccessful, MSNBC did retract Figliuzzi’s comment.
Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have written to Patel, asking him to fill out an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)—a 10-question screening tool considered the “gold standard” for assessing harmful patterns of alcohol consumption.
Meanwhile, Democrats have written to Director Kashyap, asking him to fill out a questionnaire about his drinking. It's called the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)—a 10-question screening tool for assessing harmful patterns of alcohol consumption. https://t.co/pfWmoRbfRupic.twitter.com/xgDPPOGcXG
As reported first by NBC News, the AUDIT questions include “How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking,” “How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking,” and “How often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?”
Patel hasn’t publicly responded to the letter, which was signed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and 17 other Democrats.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Popular podcaster Tucker Carlson is at the center of tabloid gossip — not over his criticism of the war with Iran or the government of Israel, but because of an alleged “secret heiress sister” now suing over an inheritance.
Tucker’s stepsister — Dr. Roberta “Bo” Hunt — is attempting to block him and his brother, Buckley, from receiving money from their late mother’s estate, claiming the wealth was intended only for blood relatives, according to a Thursday report by Daily Mail.
Hunt is the only biological child of Patricia Swanson Carlson, the late heiress to the Swanson frozen-food fortune, who married Tucker’s father, Dick Carlson, and later adopted both Tucker and Buckley.
Tucker has rarely, if ever, publicly mentioned Hunt.
Tucker Carlson has a secret sister – and she’s suing him over the family inheritance.
I spoke to both of them for this story. One denied everything. The other brought receipts…
Hunt filed the lawsuit in Nebraska, arguing that Tucker and his brother are not entitled to the roughly $2,414 per month they have allegedly received since Patricia died in 2023.
At the center of the dispute is Hunt’s claim that her grandfather, Gilbert C. Swanson, established a trust to pass wealth to his “lineal descendants,” with language purportedly stating the money would go to grandchildren “born in lawful wedlock.”
Hunt’s lawsuit alleges that this wording excludes Tucker and Buckley because they were adopted.
Notably, Patricia excluded Hunt from her will because she said she had already been provided for by her father’s side of the family.
Hunt stated that her relationship with Patricia became strained because of her long-standing “animosity” toward Tucker’s father.
“She always took their side. Even being older, when they were married, it was always that they did no wrong,” Hunt claimed.
“It was a toxic thing with him being involved,” she added. “I think he married my mom for money, and I will die thinking that.”
She described a fractious childhood with Tucker and his brother Buckley, where she was made to feel like ‘an afterthought’.
Things got so bad that in 2023 when her mother lay dying, Tucker’s dad and brother refused to tell her at which hospital, she claimed.
In response to the Daily Mail’s reporting, Tucker denied being familiar with Hunt, saying he did not grow up in the same house and had “no contact with this person in more than 30 years.”
“I don’t know who this person is really,” Tucker stated, adding: “She’s bonkers.”
The Daily Mail attempted to undercut Tucker’s comments by publishing photos showing Tucker with Hunt in 1982, as well as at family gatherings in 2008 and 2010.
According to Hunt, tensions escalated between her and Tucker years before Patricia’s death, when she and other relatives were allegedly asked to sign paperwork affirming the Carlson brothers’ inclusion in the Swanson family trust.
“They tried to get us to sign off that Tucker and Buckley were family,” Hunt claimed. “I got a cryptic text from my mother, saying, ‘Somebody’s going to call you from the bank, don’t worry about it, just sign it,’” I said, I’m not going to do that. That’s when things went downhill with Tucker and Buckley.”
The case is expected to go to trial in August, according to the Daily Mail.
(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Democratic Party’s “believe women” mantra faces another test in Utah, where a top candidate is accused Wednesday of restraining and propositioning women.
Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, a Democrat and top candidate for Utah’s 1st Congressional District, is accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward fellow Democrats and a former campaign staffer, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.
The accusers — City Council member Victoria Petro, state Rep. Hoang Nguyen, state Sen. Jen Plumb and campaign staffer Maggie Regier — said the incidents occurred at social gatherings before Lopez Chavez was elected in 2023.
Lopez Chavez denied wrongdoing in a lengthy statement on X.
None of the accusers reported the incidents to police, but said they came forward after what they described as Lopez Chavez’s hypocritical response to a rival candidate’s controversy.
Democratic candidate Nate Blouin faced backlash over past social media posts that appeared to minimize sexual assault between 2009 and 2015. Lopez Chavez demanded Blouin withdraw from the race and described herself as a survivor of sexual abuse.
“Our communities deserve leaders who take these issues seriously — not just in rhetoric but in conduct,” she said. “We cannot excuse behavior — past or present — that trivializes or undermines the seriousness of sexual violence, assault and harassment.”
Now, Lopez Chavez herself is under scrutiny, with Salt Lake City Council Chair Alejandro Puy launching a review into the allegations and protections for current staffers.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Petro said that Lopez Chavez once grabbed her by the throat, “pushed me back against a pillar so that my back was against the wall and told me, ‘The only reason I still f— men is because a woman hasn’t shown me what I really want.’”
Another accuser, Plumb, alleged that Lopez Chavez pushed her against a wall at a party in 2022.
“It absolutely was a sexual advance. She leaned into me, grabbed onto my a–, got up in my face and said in my ear, ‘You’re sure you’re straight?’” Plumb said. “I just pushed her away. Come on. Knock it off.”
Nguyen said that Lopez Chavez once “leaned over” during a car ride and held her shoulders down.
“I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And she said, ‘Kiss me,’” Nguyen said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to get off you until you kiss me.’ I gave her a peck and she got off.”
Regier, who uses they/them pronouns, alleged Lopez Chavez pinned her against a wall and refused to let her leave until a friend intervened.
“Leave Maggie alone,” the friend shouted.
The allegations land as Democrats face growing scrutiny over misconduct within their ranks. They also come days after disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned amid multiple sexual misconduct accusations.
