Leftist Activist/Pally Man pleads not guilty to double murder of DC Israeli staffers

Rodriguez yelled 'Free Palestine' during the shooting, and told cops: 'I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza'

Man, 31, pleads not guilty to murdering two Israeli Embassy staffers outside Washington Jewish museum

The man accused of shooting dead two Israeli Embassy staffers while shouting 'Free Palestine' has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, asked for a jury trial through his public defender on Thursday, when he appeared in court to face nine federal criminal charges for the May 21 murders of Yaron Lischinsky, 30 and Sarah Milgrim, 26, The Hill reports. 

He has been charged with murder of a foreign official in the shooting outside of the Capital Jewish Museum, which carries a possible death sentence.

Rodriguez is also facing two first-degree murder charges and two counts of hate crime resulting in death. 

In court on Thursday, US District Court Judge Randolph Moss acknowledged the 'serous nature' of the charges against him - and reminded him that he could face the death penalty if he were to be convicted.

Moss even emphasized to Rodriguez's attorneys that they would need time to undertake the 'investigative work' necessary in a possible death penalty case.

His public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, ultimately agreed with the government to delay the case until December in order to review what she describes as 'trillions of gigabytes' of evidence turned over by federal prosecutors, Forward reports.

Throughout the brief hearing, Rodriguez seemed engaged in the proceedings, answering to the judge and his lawyers.

Rodriguez is accused of murdering Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky, 30 and Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside of the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21

Rodriguez flew from his home in Chicago one day before the American Jewish Committee reception at the Capitol Jewish Museum with a handgun in his checked luggage.

Rodriguez then bought a ticket to the Young Diplomats event held at the museum just three hours before it kicked off. It had been advertised online as a 'special event' in Washington DC to 'bring together young Jewish professionals' aged between 22 and 45.

But the precise address of the event was not made publicly available amid mounting security concerns about the safety of patrons at the venue. 

To get access to the location, interested parties had to buy tickets to attend. 

Surveillance footage from the scene then showed Rodriguez walking towards the museum as Lischinsky and Milgrim - who were about to be engaged to be married -  prepared to enter a crosswalk.

'Rodriguez is captured on the video extending both his arms in the direction of the decedents and firing several times, as indicated by the muzzle flashes.

'Once the decedents fell to the ground Rodriguez is captured on the video advancing closer to the decedents, leaning over them with his arm extended, and firing several more times.'

Milgrim 'attempted to crawl away' but Rodriguez 'followed behind her and fired again.'

Prosecutors say he shot Milgrim repeatedly as she crawled in the road 

An onlooker watches draped in an Israeli flag as police investigate the scene in the immediate aftermath of the shooting

He then paused for a brief moment to reload his handgun, at which point Milgrim sat up, prosecutors say.

But once the firearm was reloaded, Rodriguez fired several more times at his victim.

Following the shooting, Rodriguez was captured on video 'jogging' back to the museum entrance. 

There, one witness reported seeing him throw his gun away after it stopped firing. Another recalled how well-meaning security guards allowed him inside the building, wrongly assuming he was a victim of the shooting.

Once inside the building, however,  Rodriguez unfurled a red keffiyeh and yelled 'Shame on Zio-Nazi terror.'

He also told police, 'I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed.'

Rodriguez then waived his Miranda rights, and openly told officers he admired a 25-year-old Air Force engineer who self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy last year.

He described Aaron Bushnell as 'courageous' and labeled him a 'martyr.' 

He is a far-left activist who worked as an 'oral history researcher' on African American communities at educational non-profit TheHistoryMakers, participated in anti-capitalist demonstrations, and has been a member of the party for 'socialism and liberation.' 

Rodriguez may now face the death penalty for the shooting

As the investigation into the shooting continued, prosecutors said they uncovered a manifesto Rodriguez published online before the killings.

It claimed: 'Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they'll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they're doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.' 

The manifesto also explained that those Rodriguez deemed 'perpetrators and abettors' of Israel's war in Gaza had 'forfeited their humanity,' prosecutors say.

They say he has also expressed his support for violence against Israel online as early as January 2024.

It remains unclear whether the federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case against Rodriguez, but Attorney General Pam Bondi has previously said the Department of Justice will secure the 'most severe possible punishment.'

In the meantime, Judge Moss ordered both parties to submit a joint status report by December 5 outlining their next steps. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15068039/Elias-Rodriguez-not-guilty-plea-Israeli-Embassy-staffers.html

African Scammers Target British Women as Revenge for Colonialism

Asante Ceremonial Crown

African scammers are 'targeting British women to get revenge for colonialism'

African romance fraudsters justify targeting British women as revenge for colonialism, a new study has found. 

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is known as a hub for organised groups including the notorious 'Sakawa Boys', who specialise in online crimes, including romance scams. 

Typically, they spend months grooming vulnerable women on social media before asking for money for imaginary medical emergencies or family crises. 

Far from feeling guilty about their actions, fraudsters perceive tricking Brits and other Westerners as 'morally acceptable' and 'retribution' for the slave trade [Britain was the first country to outlaw the African Slave Trade, around 1805].

Dr Suleman Lazarus, a criminologist from the London School of Economics, said this pattern was common in other West African countries, including Nigeria, leading to a belief that taking part in online romance scamming is a 'commendable civic virtue'. 

'Online romance fraudsters, within this context, often hold esteemed positions within their communities, earning a revered reputation for their prowess as con artists,' he wrote in the journal Deviant Behaviour alongside his co-author, Nigerian academic Kaina Habila Garba.

The pair drew his findings from interviews with 13 romance scammers and five police officers in Ghana, which was officially colonised by the British in 1874 following the defeat of forces from the Asante Empire. 

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is known as a hub for organised groups including the notorious 'Sakawa Boys', who specialise in online crimes, including romance scams.

Dr Lazarus drew his findings from interviews with 13 romance scammers and five police officers in Ghana, which was officially colonised by the British in 1874 following the defeat of forces from the Asante Empire

A collection of 32 items - including rings, knives and a ceremonial cup - were recently loaned to Ghana by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) 150 years after they were taken from the palace of an Asante king. 

The academics said that scammers liked to pose as 'agents of historical retribution' who justify their crimes 'as acts of resistance against the enduring economic inequalities rooted in colonial legacies'.

They quoted one scammer, called Kojo, as saying: 'We thank God for business today! We are finally making it at last. You see, there was a time… a time not too long ago… when our ancestors were stripped of their dignity and freedom. 

'Back then, the white colonialists came with promises of trade and progress, but what did they deliver? Chains. Enslavement. Humiliation. But today, here we are… smarter! [paused] We're not in chains anymore, are we? 

'No! Now we carry the codes, the format, and the skills, you know. We are the architects of a new era, an era where we turn the tables and reclaim what was taken from us by the white people. This is not just a game, o! This is history reclaiming itself.'

A second criminal, ironically named Justice, echoed this sentiment.

'They took more than just the gold, cocoa, and the riches of our land. They took our people, bound them, and shipped them across ocean,' he said. 

'Now, we are bringing back dollars from overseas. You see! You know the history? They broke our forefathers and turned their spirits into commodities, crushed under the weight of the empire.'

Known as the Gold Coast, the territory's mineral resources were heavily exploited, with precious gold objects also taken from local rulers. Pictured is a ceremonial cap taken from an Asante ruler that is being loaned back to Ghana by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) 

A total of 32 Asante gold items are set to be loaned to the current king for three years, including this Asante gold torc (left) and ring (right)

Members of the Black Watch patrol the forests of Ashanti in central Ghana, during the British-Ashante war of 1873-1874

Ghana became independent in 1957 and was last year rated the 13th worst nation globally for cyber crime, according to the World Cybercrime Index. 

The country was included in a recent Interpol operation that led to the arrest of 1,209 cybercriminals operating across Africa. 

Operation Serengeti 2.0 brought together investigators from the UK and 18 African countries to target a variety of online offenders, including romance scammers. Officers seized more than £72million. 

Interpol has identified West Africa as a regional hub for 'online scam centres', which train individuals in the art of tricking vulnerable victims.

Last month, a woman told of being conned out of £200,000 by a romance scammer who bombarded her with gushing messages every day for two-and-a-half years. 

Elizabeth, who is in her sixties and lives in rural England, handed over her life savings, took out a loan and remortgaged her home to meet the man's ever increasing demands for money. 

Sharing her story in public for the first time, she bravely revealed how she fell victim to an elaborate catfishing plot orchestrated by a fraudster posing as an oil industry consultant from Texas. 

In reality, the criminal was based in Nigeria and had stolen photos of a real man before concocting a string of crisis scenarios to trick the kindhearted mother of two. At one point, he even pretended he had a daughter who had lost her newborn baby.

Ava Waller, 76, was duped out of £67,000 by a Nigerian romance fraudster 

The scammer posed as a charming American oil-rig worker named 'David West'. In reality, this photo shows an American doctor whose photo had been stolen

During the whole period of the scam, he repeatedly promised to pay back the money and even delivered a fake cheque to her home for $1.832million dollars.

Elizabeth, who did not want to give her real name for privacy reasons, said she 'can't believe' she fell for his evil lies, but was vulnerable at the time after breaking up with a 'toxic' partner. 

Hers was only the latest account of the misery being caused by romance scammers, who conned British victims out of more than £88million last year. 

Another victim, 76-year-old Ava Waller, was duped out of £67,000 by a similar scam involving a fraudster posing as a charming American oil-rig worker named 'David West'.

In reality, 'David' was using stolen photos of a real man whose image has often been used by scammers - Dr Mark Smith, a chiropractor in Indiana - while spinning tales of hardship, delayed flights and desperate emergencies that Ava felt compelled to help with.

'He told me he was in an oil rig in the middle of the sea somewhere,' she said. 'I've since learned that's a favourite job for these people to pretend they have.'

What began as a harmless online friendship in 2018 - sparked when he complimented her photos on Facebook - soon turned into a daily lifeline. 

Ava, a mother of two with three grandchildren, divorced and grieving the loss of her mother, admitted the attention became a comfort.

Some scammers have started using deepfakes to make it seem like women are talking to a young, attractive man 

One woman, Elizabeth, was sent this fake check in what he said was an attempt to pay her back for the money she had given him 

'I think we'd been talking maybe six months and then he was coming home,' she recalled. 'And he told me he got stopped at the airport – something to do with his drilling equipment - and needed money to sort himself out.'

Desperate to help the man she believed was flying back to start a new life with her, Ava sent her first payment of £250. It was the first of many requests before her son intervened and called police. 

Forces typically refuse to pursue scammers based abroad due to the cost and complexity of these investigations. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15034619/African-scammers-targeting-British-women-revenge-colonialism.html

Democrats Plan to Distribute White Owned Land to Minorities

Democrat state plans to take farmland from white owners and redistribute them to minorities to 'help rebuild stolen wealth'

California legislators are set to hear plans to take farmland held by white owners and redistribute it to minorities in an aim to 'help rebuild stolen wealth.' 

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's agricultural equity advisers are reportedly set to finalize the plans, which would redistribute farmland to non-white Californians and Native American tribes through land transfers and financial assistance programs. 

The report will come as part of a two-year plan being put forward by the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force to Newsom and the California legislature by the end of the year. 

The plans would specifically aim to deploy state resources to give non-white Californians help in acquiring the farmland. 

It also calls for specialized programs for Native Americans, and would 'adopt indigenous knowledge practices for land management', per the Free Beacon. 

The task force has been set up to solve what it brands as an 'agricultural land equity crisis' in California, and cited a statistic in its latest draft report that '82 percent of privately held farmland in California is owned by producers who identify as white.' 

California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's agricultural equity advisers are reportedly set to finalize plans to redistribute farmland minorities to 'help rebuild stolen wealth' 

In another policy set to be put forward by the panel, programs would be set up to provide low-interest loans, down payment assistance, and grants to fund land acquisition to black farmers.

Per the latest draft report, the task force will redistribute large swaths of farmland based on the colonization of Native Americans and the slave trade. 

'The wealth of the U.S., including that of its agriculture industry, has been built on stolen land and the forced labor of California Tribal Nations, enslaved African Americans, and other exploited communities, who have been systematically excluded from land ownership and wealth-building opportunities,' the report says. 

'Addressing these past and continuing harms requires active efforts to ensure that all people have secure and affordable access to viable land for the care and cultivation of food, fiber, medicine, and culturally valuable resources, free from systemic barriers and racial disparities.' 

The California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force was set up over two years ago by Newsom's climate innovation office, and has held over a dozen meetings to hear feedback from activists. 

It includes Darlene Franco, a member from the Wukchumni Tribe, Doria Robinson, an official with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Dorian Payan, Director of Holistic Land Relations at the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) in Oakland. 

The task force has been set up to solve what it brands as an 'agricultural land equity crisis' in California, and cited a statistic in its latest draft report that '82% of privately held farmland in California is owned by producers who identify as white.' Pictured: Farmland in Susanville, California 

The task force includes a member from the Wukchumni Tribe, Doria Robinson (left), an official with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Dorian Payan (right), Director of Holistic Land Relations at the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) in Oakland

In its most recent meeting cited by the Free Beacon, activists put forward even more extreme measures that have not made it into the draft report. 

This included calls from Adam X, the CEO of Original Manufacturing, a Los Angeles group that describes itself as 'warriors for systemic justice'. 

He said the panel should 'recommend a restorative land access pilot for black farmers model alongside existing land return initiatives.' 

In a statement following reports of the task force's recommendations, the California Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation noted that the panel does not implement policy and that its report is only recommendations.

'The views and recommendations expressed in the draft report are those of the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force and do not reflect an endorsement by the California Strategic Growth Council or the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,' a spokeswoman said. 

It is unclear how the far-left policy recommendations will fall with Newsom, who has notably tacked away from many liberal positions in recent times as he prepares for an expected presidential run in 2028. 

This has included slamming DEI policies, and declaring he is against transgender women competing in biological women's sports, despite both practices being instituted across California during his six-year governorship.  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15059351/California-Newsom-redistribute-farmland-whites-minorities-native-americans.html