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Editor Fired For Calling Gays ‘Gaystapo’ And ‘The Enemy’ Now Claims Religious Discrimination

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A former newspaper editor has filed a federal complaint against his former employer, claiming his religious beliefs were violated when he was fired for writing a blog post that referred to gay people as the “Gaystapo” and “the enemy.”

Back in April, as The New Civil Rights Movement reported, editor Bob Eschliman (image) was fired from his job at the Newton Daily News, a small local Iowa newspaper, after writing a personal blog post ranting against the LGBT community. In that post, as first reported by iconic news media blogger Jim Romenesko, Eschliman referred to gay people as “the enemy,” “the deceivers,” the “Gaystapo,” and “the LGBTQXYZ crowd.”

Eschliman has now reportedly filed a federal complaint against his former bosses with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming he was fired for his religious beliefs. The Liberty Institute is representing him.

“I’d like to talk a little bit about deceivers among us, most notably the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo effort to reword the Bible to make their sinful nature ‘right with God,'” Eschliman wrote, in a post titled, “The deceivers are hard at work.” 

A few weeks ago, I came across the website for the Queen James Bible (because King James was a flaming homo, don’t you know). The editors are very keen to let folks know they didn’t remove passages from the Bible, but instead reworded them to “make it more relevant.”

Eschliman went on to write, “If you ask me, it sounds like the Gaystapo is well on its way. We must fight back against the enemy.”

Shaw Media, which owns the Newton Daily News, on its website says it is “the third oldest, continuously owned and operated family newspaper in the nation,” having been in business since 1851. Its Code of Conduct requires employees to, among other behaviors, “Respect Others,” “Ask Why,” “Be Fair,” and “Be Kind.” 

Noting that the “First Amendment does not eliminate responsibility and accountability for one’s words and actions,” Eschliman’s former bosses wrote an apology to readers, stating that while Eschliman “is entitled to his opinion, his public airing of it compromised the reputation of this newspaper and his ability to lead it.”

In the past week, we have lost some of that public trust that is so vital to our existence. Today, we hope to begin earning it back.

There will be some who will criticize our action, and mistakenly cite Mr. Eschliman’s First Amendment rights as a reason he should continue on as editor of the Newton Daily News.

As previously stated, he has a right to voice his opinion. And we have a right to select an editor who we believe best represents our company and best serves the interests of our readers.

Of course, Todd Starnes, Fox News’ religion reporter who has been described as “a terrible reporter,” writes, “based on my conversations with Liberty Institute attorneys – they’re going to go after the newspaper like a pit bull going after a pork chop.”

“So are Shaw Media and the Newton Daily News anti-Christian?,” Starnes asks. “Do they employ executives who are religious bigots? Should journalists who endorse traditional marriage simply not apply for jobs?”

Jim Romenesko reported at the time that he “asked Eschliman in an email if his paper can cover gay issues fairly and objectively when he’s declared gays the enemy. I also asked if he’d let one of his reporters write a similar blog post.”

UPDATE: ‘Gaystapo’ Editor: ‘I Penned A Theologically Based Article Stating My Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs’

 

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BREAKING NEWS

Trump Indictment Is a Massive 34 Counts: CNN

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When he appears in New York next week, Donald Trump will face a 34-count indictment.

CNN’s John Miller on-air Thursday evening announced, “I am told by my sources that this is 34 counts of falsification of business records, which is probably a lot of charges involving each document, each thing that was submitted, as a separate count.”

Attorney Tristan Snell, who assisted in the successful prosecution of the Trump University case for the New York Attorney General’s Office, responded via Twitter:

“This is WAY more than expected. If this is correct, it could mean that the indictment covers FAR more than the Stormy Daniels hush money — like Karen McDougal hush money or other hush money/catch-and-kill cases.”

READ MORE: Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Says It Is Coordinating With Trump to ‘Surrender’

“My hunch for a while,” Snell adds, “given [David] Pecker’s involvement and the drawn-out timetable of the indictment, plus the TWENTY interviews of Michael Cohen with the DA, showed that something far larger than Stormy might be in the works.”

“May still be wrong, of course. But 34 counts is a LOT!”

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Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Says It Is Coordinating With Trump to ‘Surrender’

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Donald Trump’s attorneys were notified Thursday afternoon a Manhattan grand jury had voted to indict him on felony charges related to his alleged hush money payoff of a porn star he reported slept with.

The ex-president’ attorney recently said if indicted Trump would travel to New York to turn himself in.

The Office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has just issued a strongly-worded statement saying it is “coordinating” with Trump’s attorneys for his “surrender.”

“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” the statement reads.

READ MORE: ‘You Can’t Stand on Fifth Avenue and Just Shoot Somebody’: Donald Trump Indicted – Legal Experts Respond

The Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery posted the statement to Twitter.

NBC News explains the process, noting he is expected to be arraigned next week.

“After the indictment, Trump will be arrested and taken into custody. He will likely have a mug shot and fingerprints taken,” NBC reports. “Trump will then appear in court to be arraigned, where he will hear charges and enter a plea. Two sources familiar with the situation told NBC News that the former president is likely to be arraigned next week. Trump will either be jailed or released while pre-trial hearings take place.”

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'INDICTED FOR HIS BEHAVIOR'

‘You Can’t Stand on Fifth Avenue and Just Shoot Somebody’: Donald Trump Indicted – Legal Experts Respond

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Just past 5:00 PM ET The New York Times broke the news that Donald Trump, the ex-president, had been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on felony charges.

It is a historic moment.

Legal experts are weighing in to help guide Americans through an event that has never before happened in this country.

Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman says the fact that this is the first time in U.S. history a president is facing criminal charges is itself a problem.

“I think it would have not been a novel event,” Ackerman said on MSNBC, “if we had done this 49 years ago with Richard Nixon, and he had not been pardoned, this will not be a big event [that] it is today.”

READ MORE: New Poll Sends Trump Damning Message About 2024 if He’s Criminally Indicted

“Everybody should be held accountable,” Ackerman added, citing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s earlier remarks. Cohen testified repeatedly before the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump late Thursday afternoon after a three-hour session.

Ackerman lamented that despite over 30 people being indicted during Watergate, “Richard Nixon was pardoned, he wasn’t held accountable.”

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Ackerman was referring to Trump’s infamous comments during the 2016 election, when he bragged he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”

Attorney and civil rights activist Maya Wiley, also on MSNBC, said, “It’s important and sobering that we had somebody who had the highest office of this country who has now ben indicted for his behavior, his acts, in order to win that office, but also faces what are more shoes that will drop, I believe.”

“It is a sobering moment for this country, that we are witnessing this happened to somebody who was entrusted with such power who has now had a jury of his peers, because that is what a grand jury also is, say we believe he had to face the music.”

READ MORE: Here’s How Five Republicans in Congress Are Responding to the Mass Shooting of 3 Children and 3 Adults in Nashville (Video)

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, now a professor of law, called this a “moment where we would do well to seriously assess who we are as Americans and who we are not as Americans, because we re all so familiar with Donald Trump’s tactics.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

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