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assassination
Secret Service Kills Armed Man at Trump's Mar-a-Lago
"The individual was observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can," according to US Secret Service.
Feb 22, 2026
This is a developing story… Please check back for updates…
The US Secret Service announced Sunday that its agents fatally shot a man armed with a shotgun overnight at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, while the president and first lady were at the White House.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony said the suspect is from North Carolina and was recently reported missing by his family. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Associated Press reported that investigators have identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin.
A statement posted on social media by Guglielmi says:
On February 22, around 1:30 am, a male in his early 20s was shot by US Secret Service agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) following an unauthorized entry into the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago.
The individual, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced deceased. The individual was observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.
US Secret Service agents and a PBSO deputy confronted the individual and shots were fired by law enforcement during the encounter. No US Secret Service or PBSO personnel were injured. There were no Secret Service protectees present at the location at the time of the incident.
The incident, including the individual's background, actions, potential motive, and the use of force, is under investigation by the FBI, the US Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. In accordance with agency policy, the involved Secret Service agents will be placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
During a press conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said that the suspect, a white man, "was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position. At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat."
Trump has faced multiple security incidents during his two terms and three campaigns, including an assassination attempt during a July 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another the following September at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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Democrats Demand Trump Provide Legal Justification for Extrajudicial Murder of Alleged Drug Runners
"Congress has the sole constitutional responsibility to declare war and to authorize the use of force," notes a joint letter to the president. "You have failed to secure such authorization for these strikes."
Oct 08, 2025
Top Democratic members of key committees in the US House are demanding President Donald Trump come clean on the legal justification for extrajudicial bombings of alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea over recent weeks, attacks which international law experts have called "patently illegal" and "murder" by executive fiat.
In addition to providing any legal justification for the lethal attacks, which have reportedly killed 21 individuals, a letter signed by five Democratic lawmakers demands to know which so-called "drug trafficking organizations" have been identified explicitly by the Trump administration for these targeted executions on the high seas.
"Congress has the sole constitutional responsibility to declare war and to authorize the use of force. You have failed to secure such authorization for these strikes," the letter states. "Further, the Administration’s severe lack of transparency and failure to share critical information with Congress prevents Congress from conducting constitutionally ordained oversight of the Executive Branch."
The one-page letter sent to the White House Tuesday was signed by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
The letter to Trump states:
Per your Administration’s sparse reporting to Congress, you have determined that certain cartels are “non-state armed groups,” that you have “designated them as terrorist organizations,” and that you have “determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the United States.”
However, your Administration has not identified any of the specific organizations you have determined to be included as designated terrorist organizations, nor the criteria or process used for making such determinations. You have also failed to specify the authority under which the Administration is able to designate affiliates of certain drug trafficking organizations as enemy combatants for the purpose of undertaking lethal strikes. We request that you immediately provide a list of all designated terrorist organizations to Congress, along with the associated determination criteria or methodologies used. In addition, you have not provided Congress with details regarding the intelligence associated with these strikes.
During a hearing before the US Senate on Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions about any legal guidance the Trump White House may have received from the DOJ about the bombings.
"I'm not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have given or issued at the direction of the president on this matter," Bondi told Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who sits on both the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees.
Trump openly confessed to the terrorizing effects the US bombings are having in Venezuela by saying that local civilians have now abandoned the maritime region where the bombings have occurred.
“We’re so good at it that there are no boats—in fact, even fishing boats,” Trump said last week during a speech to military leaders at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia. “Nobody wants to go into the water anymore.”
The letter from the five House lawmakers argues that the Trump administration "has not provided significant details with respect to the legal justification for these strikes beyond vague assertions of Article II powers."
While the lawmakers acknowledge that a president's authorities under Article II are significant, "they are not limitless."
"It is our understanding that the Department of Defense has determined strikes against designated terrorist organizations are legal on the basis of a legal opinion produced by the Department of Justice," the letter states. "We ask that you provide that legal opinion to Congress immediately."
Legal scholars have said there should be grave concern about the nature of the extrajudicial attacks, the latest of which occurred last week, killing a reported four people on board.
"The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics—headed to America to poison our people," Hegseth claimed in a social media post on Oct. 3. Hegseth's pronouncement included no evidence whatsoever to back up his claim, but did include an unclassified video that captured the moment the vessel was struck:
Earlier this morning, on President Trump's orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the… pic.twitter.com/QpNPljFcGn
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 3, 2025
Hegseth vowed such US bombings "will continue until the attacks on the American people are over," but again offered no clear legal argument for how boats traveling on the open sea constitute an attack on Americans living thousands of miles away.
As Matthew C. Waxman, an adjunct senior fellow for law and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Tuesday, the attacks "could mark a major shift in US counternarcotics policy and raise legal and diplomatic questions by blurring the lines between law enforcement, interdiction, and war."
Amnesty International USA, in its assessment of the latest bombing on Oct. 3, expressed a significantly higher degree of alarm. "This is murder," the group declared. "The US government must be held accountable."
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WSJ, Media Outlets Slammed for Spreading Feds' False Claim That Kirk Shooter Expressed 'Transgender Ideology'
"What a truly disgusting week for American journalism," said one transgender writer.
Sep 12, 2025
The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets are facing widespread criticism after publishing a false report that the assassin who shot right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this week had left behind symbols of "transgender ideology" at the scene of the crime.
On Thursday, with the assassin still at large, the Journal published a news update stating that "investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk." The report did not identify what these markings were nor the source of the report, instead attributing it to "an internal law enforcement bulletin and a person familiar with the investigation."
The New York Times reported hours later that the bulletin came from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), but noted that "a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation cautioned that the report had not been verified by ATF analysts, did not match other summaries of the evidence, and might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted."
It was later revealed that the Wall Street Journal's source of the initial unconfirmed bulletin was Steven Crowder, another far-right influencer known for his antagonism of transgender people.
On Friday, officials revealed the identity of the suspect, a 22-year-old cisgender white man named Tyler Robinson, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) described the marked engravings in detail.
As Erin Reed, a transgender journalist who reports on LGBTQ+ rights, explained, "none were 'transgender' or 'LGBTQ' symbols":
The bullet that killed Charlie Kirk was engraved with the phrase “notices bulges owo what’s this”—a furry and anime meme that has circulated online for a decade, generally meant as a joke about something unexpected. Three other unfired casings were recovered: “hey fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓↓↓,” a reference to the Helldivers 2 video game code used to drop the 500kg bomb; “O bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,” the Italian anti-fascist folk song; and “If you read this you are gay lmao,” a trolling insult common in meme subcultures.
In other words: internet detritus. Not a single engraving had anything to do with “transgender symbols,” let alone the trans community.
Data shows transgender people are no more likely to commit acts of gun violence than any other group. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive from the past decade analyzed by The Trace in July, out of more than 5,300 mass shootings, just four of them were committed by a person who identified as transgender or nonbinary.
Despite this, many right-wing activists online have attempted to foment the narrative of a "transgender violence epidemic," often preemptively blaming trans people for shootings that turn out to be perpetrated by others.
This narrative has reached the Trump administration, with the Department of Justice reportedly considering a policy to strip transgender people of the right to own firearms following a school shooting in Minneapolis in August, that was carried out by a transgender person.
Following Kirk's assassination, Donald Trump Jr. said in a Fox News interview, "I frankly can't name a mass shooting in the last year or two in America that wasn't committed by a transgender lunatic that's been pumped up on probably hormones since they were 3-year-olds."
Even after law enforcement and the Journal had begun to walk back the initial report that "transgender ideology" had influenced Kirk's murder, Reed wrote, "the damage was already done, with the falsehood ricocheting across the internet." By this point, numerous media outlets, including the Daily Beast, the New York Post, The Telegraph, and others, had already repeated the claim.
As Reed noted, "conservative influencers flooded social media blaming the killing on transgender people," in some cases using dehumanizing rhetoric.
One conservative activist, Joey Mannarino, who has nearly 640,000 followers on X, and often interacts with elected Republicans, wrote: "If the person who killed Charlie Kirk was a transgender, there can be no mercy for that species any longer. We’ve already tolerated far too much from those creatures."
The falsehood even reached Capitol Hill. Even as law enforcement said Thursday it still had no identity for the shooter, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told reporters, "It sounds like the shooter was a tranny, or pro-tranny."
Trump Jr., meanwhile, continued to assert that there was "trans paraphernalia written on the cartridges of this rifle that killed one of my dearest friends in life." He described being transgender as "an absolute sickness."
The Journal is now facing harsh criticism for spreading an unverified report that has further fueled the right's demonization of transgender Americans.
"The FBI and Wall Street Journal doing a 'whoops, our bad' after spending a day saying they had evidence it was a trans antifa shooter is so deeply messed up," wrote Ryan Grim of Drop Site News on X.
Charlotte Clymer, a transgender writer, called it a "truly disgusting week for American journalism."
"Nearly 48 hours of relentless anti-trans propaganda and news reports over the murder of Charlie Kirk, and all of that for not a single shred of evidence that trans people or trans rights had anything to do with it," Clymer said. "When do we get a retraction from the Wall Street Journal for erroneously claiming the assassination was related to trans people? When do we get apologies from every journalist who spread that disinformation?"
As criticism has continued to mount, the Journal added an editor's note to the initial article, acknowledging that Cox "gave no indication that the ammunition included any transgender references."
Jeet Heer, a columnist for The Nation wrote in response that the Journal's reporting on this issue was "a scandal."
"The news section of the Wall Street Journal has tarnished its great reputation," Heer wrote. "The only way to recover is to appoint a public editor to review this and explain how it happened to readers."
NOTE: This article has been updated to include the Wall Street Journal's editor's note and subsequent criticism from Jeet Heer.
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Left Voices Speak Clearly on Horror—and Dangers—of Charlie Kirk Assassination
"In scenarios dominated by factional bloodshed, it no longer matters who has the most appealing political program or the largest potential constituency."
Sep 12, 2025
In the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's assassination on Wednesday, some prominent left-wing voices not only condemned the killing, but also explained why no progressive should cheer or support such violence against a political opponent.
In an essay in Jacobin, Ben Burgis and Meagan Day described Kirk's death as "a tragedy and a disaster" that also carries ominous implications for any supporter of left-wing politics.
First, they argued that murdering anyone for their political views is morally wrong, full stop.
"No one should be killed as punishment for political expression, no matter how objectionable," they wrote. "In addition to our basic abhorrence of violence, we are also proponents of democracy, which depends on free speech and open inquiry. Without them, collective self-governance is impossible and tyranny becomes inevitable. Imposing silence on political opponents by brute force... undermines a principle that democratic socialists have always held dear."
Burgis and Day then warned that any kind of descent into violence would not benefit the left in any way.
"In scenarios dominated by factional bloodshed, it no longer matters who has the most appealing political program or the largest potential constituency—only who has the most militant and heavily armed ideologues with the least reluctance to kill," they said. "The left will not win that battle."
In conclusion, they argued, "there is nothing to celebrate here" but "there is much to fear."
Burgis and Day weren't the only left-wing voices to forcefully condemn Kirk's assassination. Writing in The Nation, Jeet Heer warned that Kirk's shooting could be the start of a spasm of political violence across the country akin to the infamous "Years of Lead" in Italy.
Additionally, Heer warned that President Donald Trump appears to be a uniquely dangerous figure to lead the US through this time given that he has long relished pouring gas on fires rather than trying to turn down the temperature.
"In terms of political violence, he's an arsonist, not a firefighter," Heer wrote. "He mocked the assault on Paul Pelosi and joked about 'Second Amendment people' going after Hillary Clinton. He has hailed the January 6 rioters as heroes... There's every reason to think that, as he did in recent National Guard deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, Trump will use the Kirk killing to justify an authoritarian crackdown."
Heer ended his piece by writing that the "killing of Kirk was an atrocity that should be condemned without reservation," before warning that "Democrats have to be prepared to resist any onslaught against civil liberties, not least because a crackdown will only increase the likelihood of far worse violence."
Noting the attacks on Pelosi and various others—including Trump, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband—US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned in a Thursday video that Kirk’s assassination “is part of a disturbing rise in political violence that threatens to hollow out public life and make people afraid of participating” in a democracy.
Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman, the co-presidents of Public Citizen, decried the assassination of Kirk as antithetical to a free and democratic society, while also warning of dangers that it presents to progressives.
"Every act of political violence threatens a worsening cycle that is fundamentally antithetical to democracy and popular rule," they said. "Murder does more than illegitimately silence the voice of the targeted person. Heightened threat levels make others pull back or drop out. Rational if heated discourse is displaced by fear and intimidation. Chaos is used to justify political crackdowns. Ultimately, guns rule instead of the people."
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Right-Wing Crusader Charlie Kirk Assassinated During Utah Event
Kirk, the founder of the right-wing youth group Turning Point USA, was widely known for his often inflammatory political rhetoric and his fierce loyalty to President Donald Trump.
Sep 10, 2025
[Warning: This post includes graphic footage that some may find disturbing.]
Update (7:00 pm): This article has been updated to include reporting that Charlie Kirk has been confirmed dead and there is a person of interest in custody.
The far-right political leader Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday afternoon during a speech at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social late Wednesday afternoon that Kirk, a top political ally and commentator who founded the right-wing youth group Turning Point USA, had died after he was shot in the neck by a gunman.
"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," the president wrote on Truth Social.
The university initially reported that the shooter had been taken into custody. But according to the New York Times, "officials determined that the person they had detained—who can be seen in videos posted online—was not the gunman."
Utah Valley University spokesperson Ellen Treanor confirmed that no one had been arrested and said the university police, Orem Police, Utah Department of Public Safety, and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the fatal shooting. FBI Director Kash Patel and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox later announced that a "person of interest" is in custody and being interviewed by authorities.
A video circulating on social media shows the moment of the attack, which occurred during a question-and-answer session with students.
The Guardian reported that Kirk had been discussing gun violence just before he was shot:
Videos circulating on social media showed an attender asking Kirk: "Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" In response, Kirk says: "Too many," as the crowd clapped.
In a follow-up question, the attender asks: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?" Kirk replies: "Counting or not counting gang violence?" Seconds later, Kirk could be seen struck in the neck as he falls back in his chair.
Close-ups of the shooting showed the bullet entering Kirk's neck, and many who witnessed the bloody footage online expressed disbelief that Kirk would be able to survive the attack.
While no motive has yet been made public, Kirk—the founder of the right-wing youth group Turning Point USA—is widely known for his often inflammatory political rhetoric and his fierce loyalty to Trump.
In recent weeks, he has stoked controversy by echoing Trump's persistent claims that the Jeffrey Epstein files are a "hoax" and by championing the president's militarized crackdowns of US cities.
"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," Trump wrote. "He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
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From Minnesota to the US Capitol: Tracing the Threat of Christian Nationalism
It’s safe to say that Vance Boelter’s actions were at least partially motivated by sycophants and political figures who twisted the Gospel and scripture for their benefit.
Aug 17, 2025
It’s easy to look at Vance Boelter, who pleaded not guilty to federal charges for murdering a Minnesota state representative and her husband, and think of him as a deeply unwell individual who took out his personal anger and frustration on civil servants. But there’s more at play here.
The ideology reported to have likely contributed to Boelter’s violence is the same set of beliefs espoused by elected officials across the country, including US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who flies a flag symbolic of those beliefs outside his office.
Boelter graduated from Christ for the Nations Institute, a nonaccredited Bible college in Texas, that is reported to be a “stronghold of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the charismatic movement that teaches that Christians are called to take over the US government.” Adherents are taught “to see themselves as agents of the supernatural”—a belief Boelter seems to hold about himself based on correspondence with the New York Times. Notable alumni of the Institute include Lance Wallnau and Dutch Sheets. In addition to their roles as self-appointed NAR prophets, both are influential within MAGA circles and were big proponents of the Big Lie, preaching violence to win power.
The NAR, and the related Seven Mountain Mandate theology championed by Wallnau in particular, is a push for total control of society through any means necessary. The Appeal to Heaven flag, propped up by Sheets and associated with the movement, was proudly flown on January 6, 2021 by insurrectionists storming the Capitol building and infamously outside the home of US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Its presence outside the speaker’s office makes a clear declaration about Christian nationalism and the dangerous NAR as ever-present forces in the highest offices of power, shaping policies that impact the lives of millions of Americans.
Always painting political opponents as enemies of God and your work as God’s will, and calling on adherents to take up arms—even if the intent is metaphorical—leads adherents to being more open to violence.
Wallnau regularly appeared on Christian media outlets and platforms to prop US President Donald Trump up as a holy savior and has called for “spiritual warfare” and expressed support for political violence in support of Trump. Meanwhile, Sheets’ daily YouTube broadcasts reached more than 200,000 views a day to spread the Big Lie. In fact, Matthew D. Taylor, religious studies scholar and Christian nationalism expert, writes, “No Christian leader did more to mobilize Christians to be in DC on January 6 than Dutch Sheets.”
Though we don’t know how closely Boelter followed Wallnau and Sheets, it’s safe to say that his actions were at least partially motivated by sycophants and political figures who twisted the Gospel and scripture for their benefit.
Certainly, neither of these men told Boelter or anyone else to assassinate anyone or take violent action. However, always painting political opponents as enemies of God and your work as God’s will, and calling on adherents to take up arms—even if the intent is metaphorical—leads adherents to being more open to violence. Nonpartisan research organization PRRI, finds that support for Christian nationalism and adherence to right-wing authoritarian views correlate with acceptance of political violence.
For years, men like Wallnau and Sheets have joined the likes of Michael Flynn, David Barton, Sean Feucht, Charlie Kirk, Lara Locke, Alex Jones, Mike Lindell, Jackson Lahmeyer, current Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Kash Patel, and sitting elected officials, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), touring the country through events like ReAwaken America and the Courage Tour. At each stop, they’ve framed their work as a “holy war,” offering speeches steeped in hateful, harmful rhetoric that created a permission structure for violence.
In the immediate aftermath of a tragedy, as happened in Minnesota, when we rush to characterize the perpetrator as a lone wolf, as crazy, we miss the forest for the trees. We begin to normalize the ideologies and conditions that contributed to the violence, risking more harm as they seep more deeply into our culture.
For example, proud evangelical and self-proclaimed “amateur historian” David Barton once called “the most influential evangelist you’ve never heard of,” has secured the ear of lawmakers, both local and national, and has had his fingerprints on “28 bills that have cropped up before 18 states this year,” including my home state of Oklahoma. He’s also one of the leading voices behind the movement to dismantle the US Department of Education—an initiative straight from the pages of Project 2025, which has become the Trump administration’s policy roadmap.
I’ve watched first hand as Oklahoma became a testing ground for Project 2025 and our schools dropped to among the worst in the nation. State Superintendent Ryan Walters has pushed for legislation requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom. Walters even went so far as to buy Bibles branded with Trump’s name, which he intended to place in every classroom in the state, while seeking to force teachers to teach liturgy instead of literacy.
We cannot, therefore, divorce what happened in Minnesota from the actions on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures, or at school board meetings across the country, for they are bound by an ideology that preaches power by any means necessary.
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Democratic State Rep. Assassinated in Minnesota
Police found a manifesto in the suspects car that identified the lawmakers as the intended targets
Jun 14, 2025
DEVELOPING STORY...
A gunman pretending to be a police officer assassinated a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota and killed the lawmaker’s husband in “an act of targeted political violence,” Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday. The assailant also shot and injured another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, officials said.
Current State Representative and former Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, died in the attack at their home in the Minneapolis suburbs. Democratic State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times at their house in a nearby suburb, but remained alive as of Saturday morning.
“When we did a search of the vehicle, there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials. We immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.
“When we did a search of the vehicle there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials, we immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley added.
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Hezbollah's Nasrallah Says Israel Crossed 'All Red Lines' With Remote Bombings
The Hezbollah leader stressed that "the only way" to peace "is by stopping the aggression in Gaza and the West Bank" and "not escalation" or "all-out war."
Sep 19, 2024
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday accused Israel of having "violated all red lines" by killing at least 37 people and injuring thousands more in surprise bombings of pagers, walkie-talkies, and other devices across Lebanon, calling the audacious attack "an act of war" that will not go unpunished.
In a televised speech during which Israeli warplanes flew over the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Nasrallah condemned the attack as "a major terrorist operation, an act of genocide, and a massacre," adding that it "amounts to a declaration of war."
"The enemy used a civilian method used by a large segment of society and did so again on Wednesday by blowing up wireless devices without caring who was carrying them," the chief of the Iran-backed political and paramilitary group said.
Numerous figures including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres decried the weaponization of civilian objects.
"There is no doubt that we have been exposed to a major security and humanitarian blow, unprecedented in the history of the resistance in Lebanon," Nasrallah conceded.
⚡️⭕️[ENGLISH] Hezbollah secretary general Sayed Hassan Nasrallah speech commenting on Israel's Cyber Terror Operation live stream https://t.co/011jOGgYpp
— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) September 19, 2024
Lebanon's Ministry of Health said that in addition to killing at least 37 people—including two children, ages 9 and 11—the bombings, which occurred in two waves on Tuesday and Wednesday, wounded around 3,500 others, 287 of them critically.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, media reports cited Israeli and U.S. officials who attributed the bombings to Israeli military and intelligence operatives.
Nasrallah said that Hezbollah has received "messages through official and unofficial channels saying that the aim of the strike was to stop supporting Gaza."
"Our answer is, in the name of the martyrs and the wounded, that the Lebanon front will not stop until the aggression against Gaza stops, regardless of the sacrifices," he added.
Hezbollah—whose arsenal and military capabilities dwarf those of the Lebanese armed forces or Hamas—launched limited but destructive attacks on northern Israel the day after the October 7 assault on Israel led by its Palestinian ally Hamas. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have traded cross-border fire that has killed dozens of people and displaced tens of thousands more.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallantsaid Israel's war—which has killed or wounded more than 146,000 Palestinians in the besieged enclave and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case—has entered a "new phase" focused on Lebanon.
"The center of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of forces and resources," said Gallant, who along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and multiple Hamas leaders faces the prospect of a possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
The Israeli remote attack has fueled fears of a wider war and prompted warnings against further escalation.
On Wednesday, Jordan's Foreign Ministry accused Israel of bringing the region to the "brink of war," which would likely involve Iran, whose leaders have yet to publicly retaliate for the July assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel also assassinated Hamas deputy political chief Saleh Arouri in a drone strike in Beirut earlier this year.
Some critics contended that Israel is seeking a wider war. Ronen Bergman, an Israeli expert on targeted assassinations, told Britain's Channel 4 News Wednesday that if his country is behind the Lebanon operation, it is "trying to signal to Hezbollah" that it "is ready for escalation."
Addressing the prospect of a regional war, Nasrallah said during his speech that "the only way" to peace "is by stopping the aggression in Gaza and the West Bank."
"Not escalation," he added. "Not all-out war."
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Trump Bloodied But 'Fine' After Assassination Attempt
"Political violence is absolutely unacceptable," said Sen. Bernie Sanders after the shooting in which one campaign attendee was killed and the alleged gunman was shot and killed by law enforcement.
Jul 13, 2024
This remains a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Update (9:45 pm):
President Joe Biden spoke on Saturday evening about the shooting at former President Donald Trump's campaign rally, saying the attack, like all political violence, was "sick" and "one of the reasons we have to unite this country."
"We cannot condone this," said Biden. "The bottom line is, the Trump rally was a rally that should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem... Everybody must condemn it."
When asked if he believed the shooting was an assassination attempt, Biden said, "I have an opinion, but I don't have any facts."
Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim said on social media on Saturday night that law enforcement agents had recovered "an AR-style rifle" at the scene. Later police identified the gunman killed at the scene as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Cooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a town about 35 miles from where the events in Butler took place.
Earlier:
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was reportedly in "fine" condition after being wounded in an apparent assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The former president appeared to be bleeding from near his ear as he was hurried off stage after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots were heard at the event. The Secret Service then brought him to his motorcade.
A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was being examined at a local medical facility.
Richard Goldinger, district attorney for Butler County, Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press that the suspected gunman was dead and that at least one rallygoer had been killed.
The apparent shooting happened just minutes into the campaign event, where Trump had been talking about border crossings and immigration just before the shots rang out.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident at about 7:15 pm.
Police cordoned off a section of the bleachers at the rally after the apparent shooting, and the New York Times reported that the Secret Service began "kicking out the press and declaring it a crime scene."
Shortly after the incident, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle issued statements condemning the apparent act of violence against a presidential candidate.
"Violence has NO place in our democracy," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a surrogate of the Biden campaign. "My thoughts are with President Trump and everyone impacted at the rally today."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the attack "absolutely unacceptable."
"I am absolutely appalled by the gunshots fired at Donald Trump," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). "Violence is never acceptable in our democracy. I pray he was not seriously hurt and for our deeply divided nation."
Federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were mobilizing Saturday evening to assist the Secret Service in responding to the incident.
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Far-Right Prime Minister of Slovakia Shot in Assassination Attempt
Robert Fico was in "life-threatening condition" after the shooting.
May 15, 2024
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Robert Fico, the right-wing prime minister of Slovakia who has aligned himself with Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was in "life-threatening condition" Wednesday after being shot "multiple" times in what the government called an assassination attempt.
Fico was shot in the town of Handlova after attending a government meeting and greeting supporters.
Slovakian outlet Aktuality reported Fico had two gunshot wounds in his arm and one in his abdomen.
Fico was first elected prime minister in 2006, and has faced corruption allegations during his political career. He resigned in 2018 during mass protests over the killing of an investigative journalist who was conducting a government probe, and was again elected last September.
The prime minister has opposed mainstream European Union policies and sending military aid to Ukraine, and Slovakia became the first country to halt such aid in October after Fico took office.
Stunned reactions poured in from leaders in Slovakia and around the world, with President Zuzana Čaputová, a staunch defender of Ukraine, condemning the shooting "in the strongest possible terms."
Orbán said he was "deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend."
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