FBI Ordered Memo Destroyed on 2020-era Chinese Voter Fraud

Luis Cornelio
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FBI Ordered Memo Destroyed on 2020-era Chinese Voter Fraud

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The FBI in the summer of 2020 asked federal intelligence partners to delete evidence of an alleged Chinese plot to rig the presidential race in Joe Biden’s favor, newly released documents showed. 

The records—released Monday by FBI Director Kash Patel to the Senate Judiciary Committee—revealed initial intelligence of a Chinese voter-fraud scheme targeting the 2020 contest between Biden and President Donald Trump. 

Despite that evidence, the FBI issued a recall notice directing agencies to erase and delete copies of the original report, which described how China may have shipped “tens of thousands” of pro-Biden “fraudulent mail-in votes.” 

At the time, the FBI offered no real explanation for the recall notice, only stating it needed to re-interview the source. 

“This report was recalled in order to re-interview the source,” the notice read, as first reported by Just the News on Wednesday. “Recipients should destroy all copies of the original report and remove the original report from all computer holdings.” 

According to Just the News, the notice effectively blocked agents and spy agencies from fully probing the claims. A separate report, this time by Customs and Border Patrol, allegedly corroborated the scheme claims, capturing 19,888 fraudulent driver’s licenses. 

Most of these IDs allegedly came from Hong Kong and China in late July 2020 and were en route to a Midwestern battleground state. 

The memo, released nearly five years later, is puzzlingly, given that the federal government has long insisted there was no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 elections. While the memo remains uncorroborated, it suggests that public assurances of no fraud may have been disingenuous 

The 2020-era document warned its intelligence was raw and that the source was relatively new, as they had “been corroborated for less than one year.” It also claimed that the fake IDs were manufactured using personal data stolen from American TikTok users.  

“In late August 2020, the Chinese government had produced a large amount of fraudulent United States driver’s licenses that were secretly exported to the United States,” the memo read. “The fraudulent driver’s licenses would allow tens of thousands of Chinese students and immigrants sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party to vote for U.S. presidential candidate USPER Joe Biden despite not being eligible to vote in the United States.” 

It added:  

“China had collected private US user data from millions of TikTok accounts, to include name, ID and address, which would allow the Chinese government to use real US persons’ information to create the fraudulent driver’s license. The fraudulent driver’s licenses were to include true ID number and true address of US citizens, making them difficult to detect. China planned to use the fraudulent driver’s licenses to account for tens of thousands of mail-in votes.” 

WATCH: Judiciary Explores Accountability Options over Biden Decline ‘Coverup’

Headline USA Editor
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WATCH: Judiciary Explores Accountability Options over Biden Decline ‘Coverup’

(, The Center Square) No obvious solutions emerged during a congressional hearing Wednesday on how to hold those accountable for the alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden’s mental and cognitive decline, but witnesses did had some suggestions for how to prevent similar situations in the future.

Republicans have been adamant for some time that Democratic lawmakers, the prior administration, the legacy media and those closest to Biden conspired to hide the former president’s mental and cognitive decline from the American people. More recently, allegations have surfaced that some of Biden’s staff or potentially others may have used an autopen – a machine that can replicate signatures – to sign official documents for Biden without his knowledge or consent.

Wednesday’s witnesses agreed that further investigation needs to be done into these questions. Republicans also explored what can be done after the fact and how to prevent similar events from happening in the future. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing into those questions Wednesday’s boycotted by all but one Democrat.

Republicans didn’t miss the opportunity to call them out for it. U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-MO, said Democrats’ absence and their failure to call any witnesses to testify was “deeply disappointing” but “not surprising.”

“Their absence speaks volumes – an implicit admission that the truth is too inconvenient to face,” Schmitt said. “This de facto boycott is not just a refusal to participate. It’s a refusal to serve the American people who deserve answers about who was truly leading their government.”

Much of the hearing’s discussion revolved around proper uses of the autopen, which witnesses testified can only be rightfully used when the president specifically delegates its use to the user. The committee also discussed Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which talks about succession in the case of a president becoming unfit or unable to fulfill the role. The amendment authorizes the vice president and a majority of the president’s cabinet to declare the president unfit, though that declaration has to be validated by a vote from Congress in order to have any effect.

What’s missing, however, is a clear manner of recourse for lawmakers or the public if those around the president fail to act despite plain signs he is incapable of holding office. Republicans wanted to know what they could do to prevent the alleged conspiracy from simply fading into history without consequences for any involved.

“As a government, it is imperative that we have clear contingency plans when emergency strikes, and yes, it is an emergency when we have a sitting president who is unable to discharge the duties of that office,” said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX.

He asked witness Theo Wold, a visiting fellow for law and technology policy with The Heritage Foundation and who worked in the previous Trump administration, if any criminal statutes could be applied to those who are found to have participated in the alleged cover-up.

“In this case, some have suggested that there may be potential crimes committed by members of the Cabinet for failing to act basically, suborning perjury, forging, forging government documents, impersonating a federal officer, making false statements, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of justice, wire or mail fraud…  Do you think there’s any application of any of those criminal statutes to the circumstances of the Biden presidency?” Cornyn asked.

“There very well could be,” Wold said, but he added that it would be “a question for a prosecutor to take up in their discretion.”

While witnesses agreed that anyone participating in a cover-up should be held accountable, the solutions for doing so weren’t as clear as recommendations for how to prevent similar situations in the future.

John Harrison, James Madison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, didn’t see an obvious method of redress for what already happened but suggested that Congress perhaps require greater documentation of presidential actions going forward.

Wold provided additional suggestions, such as a revival of discussion around “other guardrails” that can be imposed on the 25th Amendment. There was lively debate toward the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency about adding a mental health professional to the White House medical team or “whether the surgeon general should oversee the inclusion of medical reporting as part of… the 25th Amendment,” according to Wold. But he said there hadn’t been serious discussion since on how to improve the amendment. He also agreed with Sen. Katie Britt, R-AL, that some of the terms in the amendment, like “unable,” should be more clearly defined.

Reps. Massie and Khanna Introduce Bipartisan War Powers Resolution To Prevent War With Iran

Headline USA Editor
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Reps. Massie and Khanna Introduce Bipartisan War Powers Resolution To Prevent War With Iran

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced a bipartisan War Powers Resolution in an effort to prevent President Trump from going to war with Iran without authorization from Congress.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced a similar War Powers Resolution in the Senate. Americans can contact their House Representative and Senators and urge them to join the efforts to prevent war with Iran.

“The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn’t attacked the United States,” Massie said in a statement on the bill.

“Congress has the sole power to declare war against Iran. The ongoing war between Israel and Iran is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie added.

Khanna said that “no president should be able to bypass Congress’s constitutional authority over matters of war” and that the “American people do not want to be dragged into another disastrous conflict in the Middle East.” A new YouGov poll shows that 60% of Americans and 53% of Trump voters oppose the US getting involved in the Israel-Iran war, and only 16% support the idea.

Fourteen other Democrats are original co-sponsors of the bill, including Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Gregorio Casar (D-TX), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA), Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY).

Khanna is asking other Republicans to join the effort, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has been very critical of the march toward war. “We have 14 progressives. Let us show anti war is no longer partisan,” Khanna wrote on X.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

 

Geolocation Data Exposes Alleged Minnesota Assassin’s Global Movements

Jose Nino
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Geolocation Data Exposes Alleged Minnesota Assassin’s Global Movements

(José Niño, Headline USA) A private oversight organization claims to have tracked the movements of alleged Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter using geolocation data from his electronic devices, revealing a three-year trail spanning from his family farm to locations in Africa, Nepal, Turkey, India, and Dubai.

The Oversight Project, operating under the Twitter handle @ItsYourGov, announced the public release of geolocation data on Tuesday.

The organization claims to have carried out surveillance of Boelter’s family farm in Green Isle, Minnesota, identifying what they describe as a “unique device” that they tracked for three years.

Boelter became the subject of the largest manhunt in Minnesota’s history following his alleged politically motivated attacks on Saturday.

The evangelical Christian missionary and security company owner fatally shot Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their Brooklyn Park home, while also critically injuring state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their residence in Champlin.

Boelter’s international travel history aligns with his documented missionary work, as he was known to have traveled extensively for evangelical purposes. He claimed to have ministered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, southern Lebanon, Brazil, Ukraine, and Honduras, often preaching about Christian values.

In February 2023, he was recorded preaching at La Borne Matadi, an evangelical church in Matadi, near the southern border of DR Congo.

The accused assassin operated two security companies: Praetorian Guard Security Services and Red Lion Group, the latter based in the DR Congo.

Following a manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officers, Boelter was captured on Monday in a wooded area near his Green Isle family farm. He surrendered peacefully after being spotted by neighbors and tracked by law enforcement using drones and tactical teams.

Last year, the Oversight Project released a similar analysis of geolocation data linked to the devices of alleged Trump shooter Thomas Crooksand his “associates,” revealing that a frequent visitor to the Crooks household also travelled to a building in Washington DC—in the same vicinity as an FBI office there.

“Someone who regularly visited Crooks home and work also visited a building in Washington, DC located in Gallery Place,” stated the Oversight Project. “This is in the same vicinity of an @FBI office on June 26, 2023. Whose device is this?”

The Oversight Project hasn’t released any new info on the Crooks matter since then.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino

Tucker Carlson Grills Ted Cruz in Fiery Iran Policy Showdown

Jose Nino
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Tucker Carlson Grills Ted Cruz in Fiery Iran Policy Showdown

(José Niño, Headline USA) Tucker Carlson’s pointed questioning of Ted Cruz’s Iran policy has ignited a fierce debate among conservatives about U.S. military involvement abroad about the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

The incident unfolded during a highly anticipated interview on Carlson’s show on Tuesday, as Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites had triggered a wave of retaliatory missile attacks. The full interview was released a day later.

With President Donald Trump signaling possible direct U.S. military involvement, the Republican coalition found itself split between non-interventionists wary of another foreign entanglement and hawks like Cruz, who advocated for aggressive support of Israel and regime change in Iran.

Carlson, a vocal critic of U.S. military interventions, pressed Cruz on the fundamentals of his Iran policy, beginning with a pointed question: “How many people live in Iran, by the way?”

Placed on the backfoot, Cruz admitted he didn’t know, prompting Carlson to incredulously respond, “You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?”

Cruz responded by putting the question back on Carlson: “How many people live in Iran?”

“92 million,” Carlson answered. “How could you not know that?”

Cruz replied, “I don’t sit around memorizing population tables.”

Carlson shot back, “Well, it’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government.”

The exchange quickly escalated, with Carlson questioning Cruz’s grasp of Iran’s ethnic makeup.

“OK, what’s the ethnic mix of Iran?” Carlson asked.

Cruz responded that Iranians are “Persian and predominantly Shia,” which led Carlson to press him for specific percentages.

“OK, this is cute,” Cruz said, interrupting. But Carlson kept going: “You don’t know anything about Iran—”

Cruz then seemingly mocked him: “I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran—”

After the clip of this exchange circulated on social media, Cruz claimed Carlson had released “a snippet playing a ‘gotcha’ on the population of Iran.” The Texas senator said, “I declined to play that silly game,” and also accused Carlson of going after President Trump.

This wasn’t the first time the two had clashed over major issues. In 2022, Headline USA noted that Carlson had earlier criticized Cruz for describing the January 6 Capitol breach as a “violent terrorist attack,” which led the senator to retract his statement amid backlash from his conservative supporters.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino

DOJ Argues against Judicial Review of National Guard Decision

Headline USA Editor
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DOJ Argues against Judicial Review of National Guard Decision

(, The Center Square) A federal judge was wrong to second-guess President Donald Trump’s federalization of the California National Guard, attorney Brett Schumate argued Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Schumate, an assistant attorney general, made the argument during an appeal of last week’s U.S. District Court for Northern California’s ruling transferring control of the guard back to Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Trump administration immediately appealed, and the 9th Circuit put a temporary stay on the ruling until justices rule on the appeal.

According to media reports, Shumate argued in the 9th Circuit’s San Francisco courtroom that U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, a Biden appointee, improperly second-guessed the president’s judgment on protecting federal property and personnel and that courts had no role in reviewing the decision. Shumate contended Trump had the authority to call in the National Guard and cited Martin v. Mott, a U.S. Supreme Court case that allows presidents, not governors or a federal court, to make such decisions.

The counterargument came from Samuel Harbourt, a deputy solictor general representing California in its effort to retake control of the National Guard. Harbourt said the state’s sovereignty was at stake and that continuing to pause Breyer’s ruling would allow the Trump administration “to further escalate tensions and the risk of violence.”

In a Sunday brief filed by Harbourt, state Attorney General Rob Bonta and others, the California Department of Justice argued Trump’s decision to federalize a state’s national guard despite a governor’s objection was unprecedented. The state argued that the deployment came in “response to local protests and civi disobedience no different from what communities nationwide have experienced dozens of times since the enactment of Section 12406.” Trump invoked Title 10, Section 12406 to justify the deployment.

“And those federalized troops are not merely protecting federal facilities; on defendants’ orders, they are actively assisting ICE officers in the day-to-day enforcement of civil immigration laws on the streets of America’s second-largest city,” according to the brief.

Hearing both sides was a panel that consists of two justices appointed by Trump and one by former President Joe Biden.

Newsom and Bonta sued Trump early last week to take back control of the National Guard, which the president deployed in response to the protests and riots over mass U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Breyer ruled Trump hadn’t properly followed Section 12406 by failing to notify Newsom of the deployment But Shumate argued Tuesday that was a mere “technical violation” of the statute. According to media reports, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the adjutant general of the California Military Department to transfer control of the state’s National Guard to Trump.

Section 12406 allows the president to have sole discretion to federalize a state’s national guard when there’s a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion.” Newsom and Bonta have argued there’s been no rebellion or invasion in downtown Los Angeles.

The 9th Circuit Justices haven’t announced a timeline for their decision. Any decision by the three-justice panel can be appealed to the entire 9th Circuit slate of 11 justices. In the meantime, the justices have placed a temporary stay on the district court ruling until they rule on the appeal.

The court’s full panel is known for its history of liberal decisions. Ultimately the case could be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority that includes three Trump appointees. But the court doesn’t always side with Trump.

CBO: GOP Budget Would Boost Deficit by Trillions When Considering Growth

Headline USA Editor
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CBO: GOP Budget Would Boost Deficit by Trillions When Considering Growth

(, The Center Square) Republican’s massive tax and spending bill would increase the U.S. deficit by $2.8 trillion over 10 years when the economic growth of the bill is taken into account, the Congressional Budget Office says.

CBO previously projected that the budget reconciliation bill would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion without taking the economic impact of the bill into account. Republicans argued that this analysis failed to consider the economic growth the bill’s tax cuts and other Trump administration policies would produce. The booming economy would thus make up for the $2.4 trillion deficit found in the bill, Republicans said.

These numbers by Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper undermine Republican arguments.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan think tank in D.C., released similar analysis Monday. They project that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would add $3 trillion to the debt through 2034.

Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed previous CBO scores, saying that “they’ve always been off.”

The issue of how President Donald Trump’s domestic policy package might add or take away from the U.S. deficit has caused a rift between Democrats and Republicans during the 119th Congress. Democrats see Tuesday’s CBO analysis as a win for their argument.

“Today’s CBO score will disappoint every Republican who hoped tax breaks for billionaires would magically pay for themselves,” House Budget Committee Ranking Member Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said Tuesday.

Concord Action, a fiscal grassroots organization, also weighed in on Tuesday’s CBO estimate.

“With our total debt greater than the size of our entire economy, Congress cannot continue business as usual,” Executive Director Carolyn Bourdeaux said. “There are many ways to pay for this bill or restructure it to be both pro-growth and deficit neutral.”

Differing priorities between Republicans in the two chambers of Congress are slowing down progress toward a final vote on their “big, beautiful bill” by Independence Day.

Vice President J.D. Vance told Republican senators in a closed-door meeting Tuesday that Congress’ August recess is a more likely goal for getting the bill to the president’s desk, according to Punchbowl News. Vance said July 4 should be the deadline for the Senate’s version to be finalized.

Democratic Party-Aligned Group Covertly Working w/ Arizona AG in ‘Fake Electors’ Case, Court Filing Reveals

Ken Silva
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Democratic Party-Aligned Group Covertly Working w/ Arizona AG in ‘Fake Electors’ Case, Court Filing Reveals

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In May 2023, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes hired a non-profit group called “States United Democracy Center” to help target conservatives who dared contest the state’s controversial 2020 election results. About 11 months later, Mayes announced indictments in Arizona’s so-called “fake electors” case.

Fast forward another year, and allegations have surfaced in court that States United is apparently acting as a cutout for the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA)—a group that, in turn, has donated $200,000 to Mayes. In other words, a group closely aligned with the Democratic Party may have paid the Arizona AG to hire its cutout to help target Republicans, according to a court filing from one of the defendants, Christina Bobb.

In the bombshell June 4 filing, Bobb’s attorney said the apparent scheme was exposed due to an “error” from the Arizona AG’s office, which filed a States United legal memo as an exhibit. After the leak, prosecutors have allegedly refused to disclose more info about their relationship with States United.

Bobb, who was Donald Trump’s lawyer when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, now seeks to disqualify both the Arizona AG and States United over what she describes as a tangled web of impropriety.

“The Attorney General and her office have abused the laws regulating the use of outside counsel and has involved herself and her office in irreparable conflicts of interest,” Bobb’s June 4 court filing states. “As a result, she and her staff have violated their oaths of office under the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, while creating a significant appearance of impropriety, and should be disqualified from prosecuting this matter.”

The Arizona AG and States United have yet to respond to Bobb’s filing, which outlines the relationship between States United, DAGA, and the Arizona AG.

A Tangled Web

According to the June 4 filing, Mayes hired States United in May 2023. Several months later, she received a $50,000 contribution from DAGA.

Mayes and States United prepped their case for the rest of 2023 and into 2024, announcing indictments in April of that year against seven former Trump attorneys and 11 Arizona Republicans. Again, Mayes received another $150,000 from DAGA several months later.

“Could Attorney General Mayes have received the two payments totaling $200,000 for a lawful unrelated purpose? Yes. However, there’s a significant appearance of impropriety when the payments come after Kris Mayes is in office [and she] gives a level of prosecutorial authority [to States United] … and the payments just so happen to be around the same time (a) the grand jury investigation was open and then (b) arrests were made of the groups’ political opponents,” Bobb’s June 4 filing states.

“The logical next question is will there be a third payment if she secures a conviction?”

Along with noting the timing of the payments, Bobb’s court filing reveals how States United is essentially a front organization for DAGA.

Indeed, States United, which was founded by Democratic lawfare operative Marc Elias in 2020, says on its website that it’s “an initiative” of the Progressive State Leadership Committee (PSLC). And PSLC, in turn, is an apparent sister organization to DAGA, according to Bobb’s court filing.

“PSLC has the exact same address, president, executive director, and nearly identical leadership team as [DAGA], which is a committee of the Democratic Party. Additionally, DAGA pays the salaries of the PSLC employees, according to their most recently available Tax Form 990,” states Bobb’s June 4 filing, which seeks to disqualify both the Arizona AG and States United from participating in the case further. “PSLC and DAGA are the same people, sitting in the same building in Washington DC, getting paid from the same bank account.”

Bobb’s filing also notes that Mayes’ predecessor Republican Mark Brnovich, had declined to pursue the matter, referring it to the Justice Department instead.

Her filing further suggests that Mayes, who won her own controversial election by a 280-vote margin in 2022 following irregularities in Maricopa County and elsewhere, needed the contributions from NAGA so that she could pay legal fees associated with the election challenge brought by her opponent, Abraham Hamadeh.

Other Case Updates

Meanwhile, Mayes is also dealing with other roadblocks to her case. Last month, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers ordered the case be sent back to a grand jury to determine whether there’s probable cause that the defendants committed the crimes.

The decision, first reported by the Washington Post, centered on the Electoral Count Act, a law that governs the certification of a presidential contest and was part of the defendants’ claims they were acting lawfully.

While the law was discussed when the case was presented to the grand jury and the panel asked a witness about the law’s requirements, prosecutors didn’t show the statute’s language to the grand jury, Myers wrote. The judge said a prosecutor has a duty to tell grand jurors all the applicable law and concluded the defendants were denied “a substantial procedural right as guaranteed by Arizona law.”

Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for AG Mayes, said last month in a statement that prosecutors will appeal the decision. “We vehemently disagree with the court,” Taylor said.

In all, 18 Republicans were charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy. The defendants consist of 11 Republicans who submitted a document claiming Trump won Arizona, two former Trump aides and five lawyers connected to the former president, including Rudy Giuliani.

Two defendants have already resolved their cases, while the others have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trump wasn’t charged in Arizona, but the indictment refers to him as an unindicted coconspirator.

Most of the defendants in the case also are trying to get a court to dismiss their charges under an Arizona law that bars using baseless legal actions in a bid to silence critics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

ICE Doubles Reward in Manhunt for Two Escaped Illegals

Luis Cornelio
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ICE Doubles Reward in Manhunt for Two Escaped Illegals

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday that the reward for information leading to the capture of two illegal aliens who escaped a New Jersey detention center last week has been increased. 

The FBI, in collaboration with ICE, is now offering $25,000 for information on Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes, 20, and Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon, 25—both of whom were previously apprehended on violent charges.  

The bureau initially offered $10,000 for their arrest.

The men, along with two others who have since been arrested, broke through an interior wall, then an exterior one, and escaped through a parking lot on June 12. 

Bautista-Reyes, a Honduran national, was initially arrested on charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and possession of a weapon. Mogollon, a Colombian national, was apprehended for residential burglary and possession of burglary tools. 

The FBI said both men face federal arrest warrants. 

Authorities described the individuals as potentially dangerous given their past arrest records. However, the illegal aliens received support from some protestors who gathered outside the detention center to riot against alleged poor conditions inside. 

Known as Delaney Hall, the facility is privately owned and was leased for $1 billion under a 15-year contract. It contains 1,000 beds. 

‘No Kings’ Volunteer Fatally Shot an Immigrant at Utah Protest

Headline USA Editor
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‘No Kings’ Volunteer Fatally Shot an Immigrant at Utah Protest

(Headline USA) A military veteran who inadvertently fatally shot a demonstrator at a Salt Lake City “No Kings” rally while trying to stop an alleged gunman was a “safety volunteer” for the protest, according to police and organizers.

The safety volunteer, who has not been identified publicly, fired three rounds at Arturo Gamboa, 24, who allegedly brandished a rifle at Saturday’s crowd. The gunshots hit both Gamboa and the protester, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, police said.

Gamboa did not fire the rifle, and no formal criminal charges have been filed against him. However he was arrested on suspicion of murder and accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death, police said. He remained in custody as of Tuesday, according to jail logs.

It is unclear what Gamboa intended to do with the rifle. His father, reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, declared his son’s innocence.

“My son, Arturo Gamboa, is an innocent guy. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Albert Gamboa said in a brief phone call.

The investigation includes whether the safety volunteer was justified in shooting, the Salt Lake City Police Department said Monday.

Utah is an open-carry state, meaning people who can legally own a firearm are generally allowed to carry it on a public street.

Police said the permit for the protest did not specify that there would be armed security and event staffers’ roles and responsibilities were being investigated. The protest of some 10,000 people was otherwise peaceful.

Here’s what is known so far about the shooting:

How did it unfold?

Thousands of protesters were marching through downtown Salt Lake City when, around 8 p.m., the veteran and another man said they spotted Gamboa, who was wearing all black clothing, move behind a wall and withdraw a rifle from a backpack, according to a police news release.

The two men drew their handguns and ordered Gamboa to drop the rifle, but witnesses said he instead moved toward the crowd and held his rifle in a “firing position,” according to police.

The safety volunteer shot three rounds, hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo. Gamboa’s wound was relatively minor, and he was arrested nearby by police, who found a rifle, gas mask and backpack in the area.

Ah Loo died after being taken to a hospital. Police said they do not yet know why Gamboa had the rifle or allegedly disobeyed the orders from the two men.

The protest was one of hundreds nationwide Saturday against President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, which marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.

What are safety marshals for demonstrations?

The Utah chapter of 50501 Movement, which helped organize the “No Kings” protest, said in a statement Monday that the man who confronted Gamboa was a “safety volunteer” meant to help maintain order and a military veteran.

“Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed there was an imminent threat to the protestors and took action,” organizers said.

The group did not give further details on the person’s training or explain why he was armed. Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for 50501 Movement, which helped organize the “No Kings” protests across the country, said all attendees, including those in safety roles, were asked not to bring weapons.

It’s extremely rare for safety teams, often called safety marshals, to be armed. Instead, they rely on calm demeanor, communication skills and relationships with police and protesters to help keep order, said Edward Maguire, an Arizona State University criminology and criminal justice professor.

“Arming marshals or peacekeepers is widely discouraged, as it tends to create more problems than it solves,” Maguire said.

Who was the protester who was killed?

Ah Loo was a successful fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands.

Benjamin Powell, a friend of Ah Loo’s, said the 39-year-old was born in Samoa but lived in Utah for about a decade.

Ah Loo, a self-taught designer known to many as Afa, devoted his life to doing “good things for his neighbors and community,” state Rep. Verona Mauga, a close friend, told The Associated Press. Their families were both from the small village of Lotopa in Samoa, she said.

Ah Loo leaves behind a wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.

Powell said he and Ah Loo were working on an August fashion show, which Powell said will now honor Ah Loo’s unwavering commitment to his community.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press



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