Uncategorized
Man Charged in Florida for Death Threats Against Jewish Conservatives Referencing Charlie Kirk’s Murder
Charlie Kirk speaking at the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025. Photo: Brian Snyder via Reuters Connect
The unfounded speculations promoted in recent weeks by some right-wing podcast figures of a hidden Israeli hand behind the killing of pro-Israel activist Charlie Kirk have now led to one arrest, with law enforcement in Florida charging a man with 12 counts for allegedly threatening Jewish conservative media personalities who he suspected of being part of the conspiracy.
Florida state Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Monday that his Office of Statewide Prosecution was notified last week of “multiple, specific death threats made to Jewish conservative media members who live in Florida.”
After an investigation, Uthmeier continued, “we obtained an arrest warrant for Nicholas Ray of Spring, Texas. Ray is now in custody and will be extradited to Florida to face charges of extortion, written threats to kill, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”
Ray, who now faces 140 years behind bars if convicted on all charges, allegedly targeted Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer, New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, and far-right podcaster Laura Loomer.
The New York Post reported that the probable cause affidavit it reviewed says that Ray used a “zionistarescum” X account to make the threats between Oct. 8 and 10. The account follows a Dallas Cowboys fan, the neo-Nazi Paul Miller, and Candace Owens, the former Daily Wire host who has reinvented herself in recent years as an independent podcaster focused on a plethora of provocations from anti-Israel conspiracy theories to accusing Brigitte Macron, the first lady of France, of being born male, an accusation which has prompted an international lawsuit.
Police say that Ray wrote that Hammer had “conspired with foreign govt about killing Charlie [Kirk].” Ray allegedly fantasized that Hammer “SHOULD LITERALLY BE KILLED BY A FIRING SQUAD” and labeled him a “TRAITOR.”
Markowicz, Dillon, and Loomer received similar accusations of involvement with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the so-called “genociding” in Gaza. A threat targeting Dillon read, “You’re in on it too bitch don’t think we forgot. Conspired with foreign govt about killing Charlie we f–king know you did bitch. We’re gonna get you I promise maybe not today or tomorrow but you’re living on borrowed time and you know it.”
Uthmeier told “The Ben Shapiro Show” on Tuesday that Ray was “clearly demented” and “was calling for the death of several in conservative media, using antisemitic verbiage in his threats.” He added, “We’re going to throw the book at him and send a clear message: If you call for violence, you will be punished, you will do as much time as possible in the state of Florida. We have zero tolerance for it.”
Earlier this month, Owens promoted the conspiracy theory that Hammer may have had foreknowledge of Kirk’s murder, pointing to a tweet he had made referencing the Aug. 22 death of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a North Carolina train, and doubling down when challenged.
Hammer has in turn considered filing a lawsuit against Owens for the claim.
“I mean, when you put yourselves out there, you’re going to get pushback. But this is not pushback, right? I mean, this is not someone responding to a legal theory of mine or making an intelligent point about the two-state solution or not two-state solution,” Hammer told interviewer Erin Molan. “No, I mean this is literally just picking a Jewish person and calling him sub-human filth, and sickening your band of millions and millions of neo-Nazi zealots on a Jewish person who happens to be a, yeah, like Charlie, happens to be a husband and a father to a young child.”
Hammer continued, “So, I mean it’s just awful, awful stuff. And I guess I will say, Erin, I’m pretty sure I’ve said this publicly already, you know, I’m talking to lawyers. I think — I’m a lawyer with my background. I clerked for a federal appeals judge. I know a thing or two about United States constitutional law. I think that we have a potentially serious case here for defamation, and I’m very much speaking with lawyers. And we’ll see what happens.”
As of Thursday, the “zionistarescum” X account remains live. The most recent posting, from Oct. 15, states, “When Israel is purged it will be biblical.” A warning on X notes that the post has been classified as “Visibility limited: this Post may violate X’s rules against Violent Speech.” It has received more than 5,000 views.
The user also criticizes US President Donald Trump, writing on Oct. 10, “Dude that funded ethnic cleansing and genocide begging for a prize cause his daddy didn’t love him enough #NobelPeacePrize,” a thought which received more than 1,500 views.
Preceding that statement, “zionistarescum” shared a posting from Loomer from Oct. 9 that was critical of Owens.
“F–k @RealCandaceO,” Loomer wrote. “This woman would be in her basement under the name ‘Red Pill Black’ if it weren’t for President Trump. She owes her entire career to President Trump and his family. She even had her wedding at one of his properties. She is the biggest grifter and opportunist. She was always a liberal and she doesn’t speak for me, MAGA [Make America Great Again], or the Trump base. Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for securing many peace deals. Not just between Israel and Hamas. She doesn’t speak for MAGA. She has and always will only speak for herself and the voices in her head. I’m so sick of these ingrate ‘influencers’ attacking Donald Trump after they used him to acquire wealth and fame. F–k this stupid bitch.”
The user responded, “WAHH WAHH PEOPLE GOT RICH AND FAMOUS OFF DONALD TRUMP WAHH DONALD TRUMPS FAMILY IS 100 BILLION RICHER SINCE ELECTED HES THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME. JEW JEW JEW JEW.”
On Wednesday, Loomer shared a clip of Owens on X in which the podcaster apparently stated that Kirk’s murder has “made me fully lose faith in Trump.”
Loomer wrote with the video that Owens “is now implying that President Trump murdered Charlie Kirk. Absolutely unhinged.”
Uncategorized
Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’
Rep Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, on Sunday likened the Trump administration’s immigration rhetoric to Nazi depictions of Jews.
“It reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany,” Omar said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, commenting on a social media post by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, in which he suggested that “migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” Miller, who is Jewish, is the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Omar called Miller’s comments “white supremist rhetoric” and also drew parallels between his characterization of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. to how Jews were demonized and treated when they fled Nazi-era Germany. “As we know, there have been many immigrants who have tried to come to the United States who have turned back, you know, one of them being Jewish immigrants,” she said.
Now serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is central to the White House’s plans for mass deportations and expanded barriers to asylum. During Trump’s first term, Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017, which barred entry to the U.S. for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and pushed to further reduce a longtime refugee program.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “When I think about Stephen Miller and his white supremacist rhetoric, it reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany.” pic.twitter.com/GAjIMqFq26
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
Miller’s comments echoed similar rhetoric by Trump after an Afghan refugee was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one.
Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting last week that Somali immigrants are “garbage” and that he wanted them to be sent “back to where they came from.” The president also singled out Omar, a Somali native who represents Minnesota’s large Somali-American community. “She should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said.
In the Sunday interview, Omar called Trump’s remarks “completely disgusting” and accused him of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the Somali community. “This kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanizing can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.
The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’ appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
Uncategorized
Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.
Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.
Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.
US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.
Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.