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Ugandan Lesbian Facing Certain Deportation Death Wins Temporary Reprieve

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Ugandan lesbian Brenda Namigadde tonight won a temporary reprieve from likely deportation to Uganda — and subsequent certain death — when a British High Court judge granted an injunction temporarily staying her scheduled deportation to Kampala, on the same day slain gay rights leader David Kato was buried in his ancestral home of Namataba, Uganda.

Read: “David Kato’s Death Result Of Hatred Planted By U.S. Evangelicals”

Namigadde had already boarded the aircraft at Heathrow International Airport when the injunction came down from the High Court, according to a late-breaking report by The Guardian. Namigadde is scheduled to appear in a hearing before the High Court tomorrow morning. Numerous members of the UK Parliament and Andy Slaughter, the shadow justice minister, expressed “grave concern” over the fate of Namigadde, who lives in his constituency.

Namigadde claims she is afraid for her personal safety and feels her life will be over if she is forced to return to Uganda, arguably the most homophobic country on the continent of Africa, fueled by the overt influence of extreme right-wing American Christian evangelicals known as “The Family,” exposed in 2008 by author Jeff Sharlet.

But it appears at this late hour the government of Prime Minister David Cameron led by Tory-Liberal Party coalition, declined to send Namigadde back to Uganda, despite their professed doubts about her sexual orientation. In the last 48 hours, the UK’s  highest ranking relgious leader Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Roland Williams, condemned the murder of Kato and urged the British government to offer protection to gay and lesbian people seeking asylum in England.

International pressure was also ramped up Wednesday in a quickly-formed transatlantic joint collaboration between All Out in Britain and GetEQUAL in the U.S., who combined their organizational prowess and online operations by soliciting signatures from around the world by supporters to a statement calling on U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May to stop Namigadde’s deportation. All Out and GetEQUAL claim at least 40,000 signatures representing 160 countries.

GetEQUAL declared a temporary victory, issuing a statement at 5:55 p.m. EST under managing director Heather Cronk’s signature, stating, “After a few really tenuous days and a really close call, Brenda Namigadde has been granted a temporary reprieve! The details are still coming in, but Brenda has left Heathrow airport in London and is returning home. She’s not out of the woods, but we’re thrilled that YOUR pressure has bought her some extra time for legal wrangling and, hopefully, safety.”

Talk about a close call!  As of 5 p.m. GMT in London, the UK  Border Agency issued the following statement directly to The New Civil Rights Movement on behalf of Matthew Coats, Head of Immigration:

“Ms Namigadde’s case has been carefully considered by both the UK Border Agency and the courts on two separate occasions and she has been found not to have a right to remain here. An Immigration Judge found on the evidence before him that Ms Namigadde was not homosexual.

“The Government has made it clear that it is committed to stopping the removal of asylum seekers who have genuinely had to leave particular countries because of their sexual orientation or gender identification. However, when someone is found not to have a genuine claim we expect them to leave voluntarily.”

When this reporter pressed the media officer for a statement beyond a prepared one, he declined. It would have been unimaginable to deport Namigadde, whose legal counsel has submitted three affidavits signed by family members attesting to her lesbian sexual orientation, to the UK’s border agency. Namigadde fled Uganda after her relationship with a Canadian woman was discovered a number of years ago. They were both beaten and their house was burned down in retribution for being in a lesbian relationship.

Ironically, in reviewing the Home Office’s website, this reporter discovered a golden nugget of information that perhaps bodes well for Namigadde’s future in the UK: Stonewall, a national gay and lesbian organization in Britain, recently awarded the UK Home Office its Equality Index award for the best workplace in the country for lesbian, gay and bisexual people to work. The Home Office has the Stonewall award press release proudly posted on its website.

Lastly and quite deliciously, GetEQUAL also annouced in their victory statement that they are organizing a “Breakfast without Bigotry” in honor of “The Family” on Februry 3, on the occasion of the National Prayer Breakfast to be held at the Washington, D.C. Hilton Hotel.  Anyone choosing to attend The Family’s annual breakfast better be prepared for indigestion and a dish of shame.

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Fox News Host Suggests Trump ‘Force’ Court to Throw Him in Jail – by Quoting Him

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April 19, 2024

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The Fox News host who targeted a juror serving on Donald Trump’s criminal New York trial is now suggesting the ex-president should violate his gag order and “force” the court to throw him in jail, by quoting the Fox News host.

Jesse Watters came under fire earlier this week for profiling juror number two, sharing possibly identifying information published by a myriad of reporters but then using that information to pass judgment on her ability to serve.

“I’m not so sure about juror number two,” Watters concluded on Fox News.

Jurors, at the judge’s direction, were to remain anonymous, for their protection and the protection of the trial.

The judge excused her, after she said she felt she was not able to be impartial because friends and family were calling her asking if she had been chosen to serve on the Trump trial, after the media blitz.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan admonished the press for reporting the information, but some news outlets appeared to ignore his warning.

Watters on Wednesday “did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were ‘stealth liberals’ who would be out to convict Trump,” the Associated Press reported.

READ MORE: Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

Trump later posted Watters’ quote on his Truth Social platform, leading some, including New York prosecutors, to ask the judge to cite him for allegedly breaking his gag order.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to not mention witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff, CNN has reported.

New York prosecutors told Juge Merchan Trump has violated the gag order at least ten times.

“Prosecutor Christopher Conroy described the ‘most disturbing’ example as a social media message Trump posted on Wednesday evening quoting a Fox News host as saying, ‘They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,'” Politico reports.

That host was Jesse Watters.

RELATED: ‘Afraid and Intimidated’: Trump Trial Juror Targeted by Fox News Dismissed

Friday afternoon, Watters appeared to egg Trump on, urging the ex-president to violate the gag order.

“I would make them put me in jail,” Watters said on Fox News. “I would have a tweet about something perhaps I said on ‘The Five’ or ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ and I would force them to throw me in jail.”

Watch Watters’ remark below or at this link.

 

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Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

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April 19, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says some of his fellow House Republicans would “take a bribe” to throw the razor-thin GOP majority to the Democrats if a far-right faction calls up a motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, allowing Democrats to hand the gavel to the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. he warned if that happens, Democrats would immediately declare Trump ineligible to be President, pack the U.S. Supreme Court, and pass numerous laws like the American Rescue Plan.

“I do believe in a one seat majority there could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would take a bribe in one form or another in order to deprive the Republicans of a majority at all,” Gaetz said Friday on his podcast (video below.)

He added, “the risk that one or two of my corrupt Republican colleagues might take a bribe, take a walk, feign an ailment and flip this thing to the Democrats is a risk that is too high for me at this time.”

Gaetz’s fellow far-right Florida Republican member of Congress, Anna Paulina Luna, told listeners, “I heard that when, if and when the motion vacate is introduced, that there will be immediate resignations of a couple of more moderate members of Congress. And in the event that that happens, that ultimately means it does go to a Democrat speaker.”

RELATED: Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last month filed a “motion to vacate,” which she can use at any time to force a vote to oust the GOP Speaker, Mike Johnson. U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY) and just today, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has signed on as co-sponsors.

Congressman Gaetz told listeners if Democrats do take the House through a force vote to remove Johnson, Democrats would “be declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist and setting up a barrier to him being able to become the president United States.”

“That’ll be their leadoff hitter, and then the chaser to that shot will be a massive spending package that looks a lot more like the American Rescue Plan. They will blow past every concept of every cap ever imagined. You’ll be looking at Universal Basic Income, you could be looking at packing the Supreme Court.”

Watch a short clip of Gaetz’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

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Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

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15 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

 

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