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Nothing to See Here: Dallas Police Chief Denies Partnership With Anti-Gay Church

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Statement Contradicts Previous Accounts of Department’s Relationship With Megachurch

In response to concerns from LGBT groups, Dallas police Chief David Brown is denying that his department has a formal relationship with bigoted Pastor Robert Jeffress and his Southern Baptist megachurch. Jeffress is also a Fox News contributor and has a long history of anti-LGBT statements.

On Saturday, we reported that LGBT groups were calling on Brown to end the partnership, in response to Jeffress’ latest hateful tirade, in which he asserted that pro-LGBT business are a bigger threat to the United States than the terror group ISIS. 

Shortly after our story was published, the police department posted the following item titled, “A Message from the Chief,” on its blog: 

“As Chief, one of my greatest worries is the physical and emotional well-being of officers as they put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens of Dallas. We encourage and support all of our officers who seek out services offered to maintain their physical, emotional, and spiritual health regardless of their religious affiliation.”

On April 17, 2016, First Baptist Dallas held a Back the Blue Event to show support for officers and offered free services to officers and their families.

There is no agreement or relationship between the Dallas Police Department and First Baptist Dallas to provide services to officers.

Brown’s statement appears to contradict previous accounts of the partnership. On April 13, Brown attended a press conference with Jeffress to announce the upcoming “Back the Blue Event.” 

“This is not just a one-day photo op with the Dallas Police Department,” Jeffress said at the press conference, according to WFAA-TV. “This Sunday signals a beginning of an ongoing relationship with the Dallas Police Department.” 

According to The Dallas Morning News, Jeffress said the congregation would fund scholarships for officers’ children to attend Bible camps, host a weekly Sunday School service for officers, and provide free counseling to officers and their families. The church also planned to create a fund for Brown to take his officers out to show thanks. 

“We are very grateful and thankful to First Baptist Dallas for all that they are doing, and we are really, really excited about this Sunday and the many, many Sundays thereafter where this church will be supporting our officers,” Brown said at the press conference, according to a video clip later posted by the church:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8tf-e-CNkA

In another video promoting the event, Brown stood alongside Jeffress and said: “I’m excited about this special opportunity that First Baptist Dallas is offering to each of us and our families. Not only will the church be showing their support with a special breakfast reception, gifts and more, but they are going to provide an ongoing network of support like never before.”

Jeffress’ brother happens to be a longtime Dallas police officer, and some have speculated that Brown’s decision to partner with the church was politically motivated. Amid rising violent crime rates, the chief has recently faced calls to resign, including from major police officer groups. 

The spike in violent crime has included a string of anti-gay attacks in Oak Lawn, the city’s traditional LGBT neighborhood, and advocates have accused the department — which has made no arrests in connection with the incidents — of failing to adequately respond to the problem. 

Brown’s statement on Saturday appeared to have done little to alleviate concerns about the partnership. 

“They had a week, and the best they could come up with is ‘These aren’t the droids you’re looking for?'” Councilman Philip Kingston, a staunch LGBT ally who represents part of Oak Lawn, wrote on Twitter. 

Gay bar owner Lee Daugherty, whose employees have been among the victims of the anti-gay attacks, called Brown’s statement “pandering.”

“I still don’t have clarification on the relationship between FBC and DPD,” Daugherty wrote. “Staying silent on hate speech, is the same as promoting it. Take a stand Chief, Dallas isn’t this, and won’t be. We are better than this.”

Dallas crime watchdog Avi Adelman said he’s filed a public information request for details about the partnership, but the department told him it would take nearly a month to compile the records. 

“If you think for one moment that is a truthful statement, then I have a bridge over the Trinity River I want to sell you,” Adelman wrote of Brown’s statement. “I am sure a strong attempt to cover the documents is already in the works.”

 

RELATED:

Fox News Contributor: US Christians Being Persecuted Just Like Jews Before Holocaust (Video)

Fox Freak Out: ‘If Biblical Truth Is Defined As Hate Speech, America As We Know It Ceases To Exist’

Megachurch Pastor Preaching In Congress: God ‘Has Rendered His Opinion’ On Gay Marriage

 

Image: Screenshot via First Dallas/Vimeo

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Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”

“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.

Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.

“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).

The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.

A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.

“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.

“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”

READ MORE: MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions

Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”

In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”

Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”

“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”

The original video is here.

See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.

Caution: the video is disturbing.

READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.

While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.

But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.

READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”

CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”

The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.

“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”

 

 

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RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

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Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.

“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”

READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report

“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.

“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”

One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.

But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”

Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”

Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.

“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.

“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”

Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won

 

 

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