Trump Makes US Copper Mining a Focus of His Domestic Minerals Policy

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Trump Makes US Copper Mining a Focus of His Domestic Minerals Policy

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry’s biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper.

An executive order Trump signed Tuesday calls for boosting the domestic copper industry by investigating the national security implications of imports and weighing tariffs as a response.

“The United States has ample copper reserves, yet our smelting and refining capacity lags significantly behind global competitors,” the order reads.

“A single foreign producer dominates global copper smelting and refining, controlling over 50 percent of global smelting capacity and holding four of the top five largest refining facilities,” Trump continued. “This dominance, coupled with global overcapacity and a single producer’s control of world supply chains, poses a direct threat to United States national security and economic stability.”

Environmentalists will likely try to contest, as they already stalled Twin Metals project near northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, a lake-filled wilderness on the U.S.-Canada border.

U.S. copper use, imports and exports have fluctuated somewhat over the past two decades, according to the Copper Development Association.

While the U.S. in 2024 mined an estimated 1.1 million tons of copper and exported about a third of that in primarily unrefined form, it imported 810,000 tons, nearly all of it refined, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Trump’s noted that China is the world’s leading refiner of copper, with over half the world’s smelting capacity.

How much those numbers might change with rising copper demand to support construction of transmission lines and manufacturing of wind turbines and electric vehicles remains to be seen. Some predict global demand to double by 2030 and keep rising, notes the National Mining Association.

Even before Trump’s plan for copper, the association was encouraged by Trump executive orders promoting mining. One lifts government rules and regulations responsible for “undue burdens” on mining and mineral processing, calls for updating the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of minerals deemed critical to the nation and backs efforts to find and mine new sources of those minerals.

“Made in America, America first, starts with American mining and American miners that supported this president across the country,” National Mining Association president and CEO Rich Nolan said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Social Security Administration Could Cut Up to 50% of Its Workforce

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Social Security Administration Could Cut Up to 50% of Its Workforce

(Headline USA) The Social Security Administration is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000, according to a person familiar with the agency’s plans who is not authorized to speak publicly. The workforce reduction, according to a second person who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, could be as high as 50%.

It’s unclear how the layoffs will directly impact the benefits of the 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries, which include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability benefits. However, advocates and Democratic lawmakers warn that layoffs will reduce the agency’s ability to serve recipients in a timely manner.

Some say cuts to the workforce are, in effect, a cut in benefits.

Later Friday, the agency sent out a news release outlining plans for “significant workforce reductions,” employee reassignments from “non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions,” and an offer of voluntary separation agreements. The agency said in its letter to workers that reassignments “may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.”

The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, run by President Donald Trump’s advisor Elon Musk.

A representative from the Social Security Administration did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

The people familiar with the agency’s plans say that SSA’s new acting commissioner Leland Dudek held a meeting this week with management and told them they had to produce a plan that eliminated half of the workforce at SSA headquarters in Washington and at least half of the workers in regional offices.

In addition, the termination of office leases for Social Security sites across the country are detailed on the DOGE website, which maintains a “Wall of Receipts,” which is a self-described “transparent account of DOGE’s findings and actions.” The site states that leases for dozens of Social Security sites across Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and other states have been or will be ended.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Plans Tariffs on Mexico and Canada for Tuesday, While Doubling Existing 10% Tariffs on China

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Trump Plans Tariffs on Mexico and Canada for Tuesday, While Doubling Existing 10% Tariffs on China

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China.

In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels” and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” the Republican president wrote. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.”

The prospect of escalating tariffs has already thrown the global economy into turmoil, with consumers expressing fears about inflation worsening and the auto sector and other domestic manufacturers suffering if Trump raises import taxes.

The threat of tariffs frightened the stock market with the S&P 500 index falling 1.6% on Thursday. The S&P 500 is now just 1.4% higher than it was after Trump won the election in November, giving up almost all of the gains that the president once cited as evidence of an economic revival.

Trump intends to put 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she hoped to speak with Trump after the Cabinet-level meetings occurring in Washington this week. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday afternoon.

Trump, “as you know, has his way of communicating,” Sheinbaum said. But she said that her government would stay “cool-headed” and optimistic about an agreement coming together to avoid the tariffs.

“I hope we are able to reach an agreement and on March 4 we can announce something else,” she said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country has invested more than 1 billion Canadian dollars to improve border security, adding that his government’s ministers and officials are also in Washington this week.

“There is no emergency for the United States at the border with Canada when it comes to fentanyl, and that is exactly what we are demonstrating at this time,” Trudeau claimed. “If the United States goes ahead and imposes tariffs, we already shared the details of our plan. We have $30 billion worth of U.S. products that will be subject to tariffs. And $125 billion of tariffs that will be applied three weeks later. But we don’t want to be in that position.”

Trump did impose a 10% tariff on China for its role in the manufacturing of chemicals used to make fentanyl, and that tax would now be doubled, according to his social media post.

The 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would amount to a total tax increase on the U.S. public of somewhere between $120 billion to $225 billion annually, according to Jacob Jensen, a trade policy analyst at the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank. The additional China tariffs could cost consumers up to $25 billion.

The potential for higher prices and slower growth could create political blowback for Trump, who promised voters in last year’s presidential election that he could quickly lower the inflation rate, which jumped during Democratic President Joe Biden’s term. But Trump also campaigned on imposing broad tariffs, which he plans to launch on April 2 by resetting them to match the taxes that he determines are charged by other countries on American goods.

“The April Second Reciprocal Tariff date will remain in full force and effect,” Trump said as part of his new social media post.

In an interview with News Nation, Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said progress by Mexico and Canada on fentanyl “was not as impressive as the president had hoped.”

Hassett stressed that the reciprocal tariffs would be in addition to the ones being placed on Canada and Mexico.

Trump indicated Wednesday that European countries would also face a 25% tariff as part of his reciprocal tariffs. He also wants separate tariffs on autos, computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs that would be levied in addition to the reciprocal tariffs.

The president already announced that he’s removing the exemptions on his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs, in addition to planning taxes on copper imports.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

BREAKING: Trump Boots Zelenskyy out of DC: ‘Come Back When He is Ready for Peace’

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BREAKING: Trump Boots Zelenskyy out of DC: ‘Come Back When He is Ready for Peace’

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy over a deal for U.S. access to that country’s rare earth minerals, after determining that a “disrespectful” Zelenskyy wasn’t serious about ending his three-year war.

“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said on Truth Social immediately after the meeting.

“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” he added.

Trump kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House after putting him in his place on live television Friday during an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office, telling him that he’s “gambling with millions of lives” and warning his actions could trigger World War III.

The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy — who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy.

It began with Vance telling Zelenskyy, “Mr. President, with respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to raise his voice and say, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”

“You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,” Trump said.

Earlier in the meeting Trump said the U.S. would continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but said he hoped that not too much aid would be forthcoming. “We’re not looking forward to sending a lot of arms,” Trump said. “We’re looking forward to getting the war finished so we can do other things.”

Trump suggested that Zelenskyy wasn’t in a position to be demanding concessions.

“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said pointing his finger toward Zelenskyy. “With us you start having cards.”

He also accused Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” to the U.S.

“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump told Zelenskyy at one point, as the two leaders talked over each other about past international support for Ukraine.

“Again, just say thank you,” Vance interjected to Zelenskyy, blasting him for litigating “disagreements” in front of the press. Trump, though, suggested he was fine with the drama. “I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on,” he added.

“You’re not acting at all thankful,” Trump said, before adding, “This is going to be great television.”

The pair had planned to sign an agreement and hold a joint press conference. But Zelenskyy instead left the White House.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Biden-Era Natural Gas Tax Faces Repeal after U.S. House Vote

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Biden-Era Natural Gas Tax Faces Repeal after U.S. House Vote

(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square) Legislation repealing Biden-era fees on methane emissions has passed the U.S. House, paving the way for a boon to the natural gas industry.

The Waste Emissions Charge, which Republicans say is the equivalent of a natural gas tax, was authorized by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency in November 2024.

Texas Republican U.S. Rep. August Pfluger’s resolution would rescind that regulation under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA legislation gives Congress the authority to repeal regulations issued in the final months of a previous administration.

“In the latest effort to reverse Biden’s disastrous energy policies, the House passed my bill to nullify the EPA’s rule implementing the ill-conceived natural gas tax,” Pfluger stated after the bill’s passage. “This tax raises costs on production, discourages investment, and increases energy prices across America. I am looking forward to working toward a full repeal of the underlying statute.”

In the 220-206-1 vote, U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Jared Golden, D-Maine, Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Adam Gray, D-Calif., Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., voted with nearly every Republican in favor of the measure.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. was the only Republican who voted against it, and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, voted present.

The American Exploration and Production Council applauded the bill’s passage and urged the Senate to send it to President Donald Trump’s desk.

“While American oil and gas producers are laser focused on continuing to reduce emissions, it’s critical to undo these punitive implementing rules while we will continue to work with Congress to repeal the underlying statute for the tax that risks driving up energy costs,” AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury said in a statement.

Environmental groups argue that the legislation will increase energy costs and pollution.

“This is only the beginning of the process and we will continue to fight this at every step,” David Shadburn from the League of Conservation Voters stated. “These clean energy investments are benefitting both red and blue districts across our country – passing this resolution would set us on a path to increasing costs for hardworking families, halting the boom in manufacturing and jobs, and putting our health and safety at risk.”

An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office shows that “[c]harging for methane emissions leads to an increase in the price of natural gas and a decrease in the quantity of natural gas produced and consumed.”

Three Men on Trial For Stealing Gold Toilet

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Three Men on Trial For Stealing Gold Toilet

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Three men are on trial for stealing a toilet. You didn’t misread that sentence. A toilet.

In his opening statement at the Oxford Crown Court trial, Attorney Julian Christopher called the theft an “audacious raid.” You can watch a security video of the September 2019 theft HERE.

One of the suspects on trial allegedly helped pilfer the potty, and the other two helped sell the spoils, according to authorities.

Why on earth would anybody steal a toilet?

Well, it was made out of gold.

Eighteen-karat gold to be precise.

The golden potty was valued at about $6 million at the time of the crime. The three thieves stole it from Blenheim Palace in England.

Artist Maurizio Cattelan created the solid, 18-karat gold crapper. As the Washington Post describes it, the golden potty is “an interactive work titled ‘America’ that critics have described as pointed satire aimed at the excess of wealth in this country.”

Initially, it was displayed in a public restroom on the fifth floor of the Guggenheim Museum in New York for patrons to use. Such is art in the 21st century! At some point, it was moved to Blenheim Palace in the UK. I have no idea when or why. I could research it and find out, but I have to be honest, I don’t care. I suspect you don’t either. Just know it was there.

According to CNN, the toilet weighed just over 215 pounds and was insured for £4.8 million ($6 million). The value of the gold at the time of the theft was £2.8 million ($3.5 million).

To pull off the heist, the gang of thieves crashed stolen vehicles through the wooden gates of the palace before dawn. They pulled up to the front steps, smashed the bathroom window, and removed the potty.

They never did find the toilet. This raises some questions. Namely, what do you do with a stolen $6 million commode?

I mean, it’s not like you can walk into Bob’s Pawn Shop and cash out. I’m pretty sure a gold potty would raise some eyebrows and most likely the curiosity of the local cops. So, what did our intrepid thieves do with their booty? (Get it? Booty? There’s a subtle joke there. Think about it. Think about it. There it is!)

So, where’s the crapper?

Here are some theories that were floated at the time of the theft in a report by the New York Times.

A gardener at the palace said he thought it was still on the grounds. He speculates that the robbers probably threw it off a bridge into one of two lakes on the property. “It ain’t going to rust, is it? You could wait a year, then get it out.”

Mmmm. OK. Seems like a stretch. I feel like a bunch of dudes trying to wrench a toilet out of a pond might be noticed, even at night.

Another lady said she thought the thieves might have hidden the potty at one of the nearby building sites. Dig a hole, bury it, and come back later. With all the construction and digging, who would notice? That’s a little more plausible, I guess.

On a side note, I can picture some construction workers uncovering it by accident. “Hey, Bubba! Check out this porta-john they put in here!”

Anyway, here’s another pretty fun theory. Some people think Cattelan (the artist) took the potty himself and hid it for publicity.

“It’s a hoax,” retiree Jackie Blake told the Times. She said Cattelan “probably got it sitting somewhere to see what the reaction of us people is.”

This wasn’t an unreasonable theory. Cattelan has been called “eccentric.” That’s the gentle way of saying weird.

In an odd bit of toilet history, the Guggenheim once offered the toilet to President Trump when the White House requested to borrow van Gogh’s Landscape With Snow.  At that time the Washington Post contacted Cattelan and asked why he was willing to offer his work of art to the president. His response was completely incomprehensible.

“What’s the point of our life? Everything seems absurd until we die and then it makes sense.”

He had an equally incoherent comment about the theft. In an email to the New York Times, Cattelan said he wanted “to be positive and think the robbery is a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action.”

So, yeah. This is the kind of guy who would steal his own toilet. I wonder if that’s a criminal offense?

Anyway, I think the most logical guess is that the thieves melted it down and that seems to be the consensus today. Why try to unload a gold toilet when you can just turn it into gold bars and sell them? A retired cop summed it up pretty well. He told the Times the thieves would have melted the crapper down within 24 hours.

“I very much doubt anyone’s stolen this because it’s art. It’s because it was a big lump of gold.”

And you know, who doesn’t want gold?

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for MoneyMetals.com with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

‘Radical Catholic’ Sentenced to 97 Months in Jail

Ken Silva
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‘Radical Catholic’ Sentenced to 97 Months in Jail

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The man who inspired the FBI’s controversial report on “radical-traditionalist Catholics” was sentenced to 97 months imprisonment on Thursday after pleading guilty to terrorism-related offenses, which stem from agents finding Molotov cocktail-type devices in his home in 2022.

The defendant, Xavier Lopez, had asked a judge for a lighter 57-month sentence due to his mental health issues. He also sought a downward variance due to the Justice Department incorrectly labelling him as a gang member—white supremacy isn’t a gang, he noted—but that was unsuccessful for reasons that are unclear. The Justice Department also motioned for an upward variance to 120 months in prison, but that was unsuccessful, too.

Lopez has already filed an appeal.

As Headline USA has detailed, Lopez was on law enforcement’s radar since September 2018, when he attempted suicide. Lopez was 18 years old at the time. The FBI opened an assessment into Lopez about a year later after he allegedly made online statements advocating civil war and the murder of politicians.

Law enforcement continued to monitor Lopez—including while he served a stint in jail for felony vandalism—into early 2022, when he began attending Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel in Richmond, Virginia.

Shortly after Lopez started attending Our Lady of Fatima, the FBI decided to run an informant at him inside the church.

The FBI later expressed concerns to the DOJ Inspector General that Lopez may have been recruiting other Lady of Fatima members to carry out an attack—though that turned out not to be the case. There is nothing in the charging documents against Lopez to suggest that he was recruiting other Catholics for an attack. Rather, the available evidence suggests that Lopez was interested in Catholic church to find a girlfriend.

Lopez was arrested in November 2022 on a slew of state charges, including prohibited paramilitary activity, soliciting someone for a terrorist act and possessing firearms as a felon.

After his arrest, an FBI analyst with knowledge of the investigation worked with another analyst to craft the FBI’s memo about Catholics. That memo would be leaked in early 2023, and would dominate the conservative news cycle for much of the year.

FBI Director Chris Wray has since apologized for the report, which received heavy criticism from GOP lawmakers for—among numerous other reasons—underpinning its findings with information from the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center.

Meanwhile, the man who inspired the entire fiasco, Lopez, is no longer Catholic, he said last September.

“I’m no longer a Christian of any kind, and will never be again for the rest of the days I shall live,” former trad Cath Xavier Lopez told a federal judge in a Sept. 6 motion to remove his attorney.

In that motion, Lopez also expressed a willingness to renounce his American citizenship and leave the country altogether.

Lopez’s current attorney replaced his federal public defender, who said in a memo in 2023 that his client may suffer from schizophrenia.

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

‘Exposed’ Raskin Reacts to Allegations Tying Him to $160M USAID Scandal

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‘Exposed’ Raskin Reacts to Allegations Tying Him to $160M USAID Scandal

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Thursday addressed his ties to Global Communities, a left-wing non-profit that allegedly received millions of taxpayer dollars through USAID, the now defunct federal agency. 

In a statement, Raskin claimed he has no personal connections to Global Communities besides representing the district in which the non-profit is located. Critics, including Elon Musk, noted that Global Communities received $160 million in taxpayer funds and others implied that Raskin is involved in it. 

The allegations stemmed from a post by an X user named “Mila Joy,” asserting Raskin was “the representative for Global Communities, a giant USAID contractor that raked in $160,000,000 in 2023.”

Musk reacted to the post, which has garnered over nine million views, and said that government funding to so-called non-governmental organizations “goes through various money-laundering shell companies until reaching guys like Raskin.”

Raskin countered these accusations, asking Musk, “Are you seriously this detached from reality?” 

He added, “You accuse me of corruption for being the ‘representative’ for Global Communities. What?! I ‘represent’ Global Communities only in the sense that their office is domiciled in my District, along with 800,000 people and thousands of businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups.” 

The Democratic lawmaker said there is “no other relationship with Global Communities.”

Raskin also denounced the viral post, affirming that it “lacks factual backing and smells like a conspiracy theory cooked up to farm engagement on X.”  

He said the post “twists his district’s tie to a legit US aid contractor, Global Communities, into a baseless claim of personal enrichment, with no evidence like financial records or investigations—to support it. It’s more rage bait than reality.” 

Global Communities proudly touted its ties with USAID on its website. In addition to the $160 million in grants from the federal government, the non-profit has secured over $22 million in non-federal grants. 

The organization is led by Carrie Hessler-Radelet, an Obama appointee who served as the head of the Peace Corps from June 5, 2014, to Jan. 20, 2017. 

Headline USA reached out to Hessler-Radelet for comment on the funding, but she forwarded the call to voicemail. A follow-up email was sent to her and Global Communities spokesperson Jane Gotiangco, but no response was received.

Monica Lewinsky Says Bill Clinton Should Have Pulled Out of the Presidency

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Monica Lewinsky Says Bill Clinton Should Have Pulled Out of the Presidency

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) There is no happy ending for Bill Clinton.

Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky is back on a media tour to call out her former lover and ex-President Clinton, insisting that the disgraced Democrat should have resigned from office when their affair first emerged in the late 1990s.

“I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign,” Lewinsky said during an interview on the infamous Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday. 

Lewinsky, a Vanity Fair contributor, added that Clinton could have chosen to stay in office without “lying” or “throwing a young person who is just starting out in the world under the bus.” 

She acknowledged making “mistakes” during the 1990s affair but rebuked Clinton’s actions as “more reprehensible,” though she noted there was “a level of consensuality.” 

Lewinsky was on the podcast to promote her new show, Reclaiming Monica, which she will host in addition to running her anti-bullying work and writing for Vanity Fair.

More than two decades ago, Lewinsky gained national notoriety after admitting to a sexual affair with Clinton, who was then the 42nd president and the most powerful man in the world. 

Clinton attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to deny cheating on then-First Lady Hillary Clinton with Lewinsky, though salacious details of the affair spread like wildfire on cable news and print media. 

Among these details were a semen-stained dress and Lewinsky’s testimony that Clinton once inserted a cigar into her vagina. The two engaged exclusively in oral sex near the Oval Office, with Lewinsky solely performing the act on Clinton. 

Lewinsky stated at the time that she fell in love with the Democratic president, though he did not reciprocate those sentiments.  

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” Clinton infamously said in 1998. These remarks and his false statements to Independent Counsel Ken Starr led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives. 

Clinton never spoke to Lewinsky directly afterward, leaving her to fend for herself against media wolves. During her Wednesday remarks, Lewinsky said the media body-shamed her and fixated on her personal life. She conceded that she had contemplated suicide.  

Clinton’s experience was far different. He went on to secure multi-million-dollar book deals, while his wife successfully ran to become a U.S. senator for New York. Hillary Clinton twice pursued the presidency, only to lose to Barack Obama in 2008 and Donald Trump in 2016. 

Headline USA reached out to the Clinton Foundation, led by Bill and Hillary Clinton, for comment but did not receive a response before this article’s publication.

SJSU Athlete Who Sued over Trans Volleyball Teammate Flees Campus: ‘I Had to Watch My Back’

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SJSU Athlete Who Sued over Trans Volleyball Teammate Flees Campus: ‘I Had to Watch My Back’

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) The former co-captain of San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team was forced to flee due to alleged harassment over her lawsuit regarding a transgender athlete.

Senior Brooke Slusser spoke with Fox News Digital and stated she no longer felt safe remaining on campus.

“I would just be walking, and I’d have people say things to me, like I had one girl just scream ‘f**k you!’ to me,” Slusser told the outlet. “I was in the elevator one time at my apartment and some girls, as they were walking out, were like ‘oh, that’s the girl, you should have slapped her when you had the chance,’ so those types of things happened.”

Slusser originally joined Riley Gaines’s lawsuit in September 2024 against the NCAA where it alleged transgender athlete Blaire Fleming’s gender was hidden from the student athletes.

A few months later, Slusser filed her own lawsuit with 11 other players and her former associate head volleyball coach Melissa Batie–Smoose. The coach was removed from her position after she filed a Title IX complaint regarding alleged favoritism toward Fleming.

“They took away the only safe space we had in the program,” Slusser said in response to her coach being removed. “Because she knew that it was right to stand up for the 18 women on the team.”

Slusser told Fox News Digital that ever since the lawsuit, she felt on edge while being at SJSU.

“I literally just didn’t feel safe. Anytime I left the house, I felt like people were just like staring at me, I felt like I had to watch my back whenever I was on campus,” she noted.

The former volleyball player said she did not report the majority of the incidents as it became her new norm.

Slusser will finish her final year virtually as she went back to her home state of Texas.

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