January 1, Justice Department unveils anti-gun trafficking initiative

Good morning Americans,

The DOJ launched anti-gun trafficking strike forces that will be “focused on disrupting illegal firearms trafficking networks,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. The strike forces will be in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, the San Francisco Bay area, and Washington, DC– all known locations of illegal firearms trafficking and use in deadly crimes. “We obviously always want to go after the individual who is pulling the trigger that’s costing lives in our communities, but we also need to go after the networks, the very illegal trafficking networks that are putting those guns in the hands of those criminals in the first place,” Monaco said. Year-to-date, there has been a spike in crime nationwide.

The Justice Department certainly has its hands full. Ohio resident Tres Genco, 21, was charged in federal court this week for plotting to kill women and illegally possessing a machine gun. According to prosecutors, Genco identified as an “incel” or an “involuntary celibate,” a community harbors extreme resentment toward women because they believe women owe them sexual or romantic attention. Genco wrote a manifesto wherein he detailed his plans to “slaughter” women. Police later found a cache of weapons in Genco’s vehicle and bedroom. Attempting to commit a hate crime is punishable by up to life in prison, according to prosecutors.

Nancy Pelosi says that the committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection “will do the job it set out to do” and move forward without GOP members. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had said earlier this week that Republicans would refuse to participate after Pelosi rejected two of his five appointees. “It is my responsibility as the speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth of this, and we will not let their antics stand in the way of that,” Pelosi said. Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the two that Pelosi rejected, are allies of former President Donald Trump, which would pose a conflict of interest in the investigation. It is unknown if Pelosi will add any additional members to the committee.

The US imposed sanctions on Cuba’s defense minister and special forces brigade for suppressing peaceful protests. President Joe Biden issued a warning to the Cuban government that it won’t stop there. “This is just the beginning – the United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people,” Biden said. The sanctions bar payments between the US to Cuban Defense Minister Alvaro Lopez Miera and the special forces. “We stand with every Cuban seeking a government that respects the human rights and dignity of the Cuban people,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in a statement.

Newly released documents indicate that the FBI failed to properly investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a group of Democratic senators said on Thursday. Senators say they received a letter from FBI Director Chris Wray that shows the bureau received over 4,500 tips relating to Kavanaugh without any apparent further action by investigators. “The admissions in your letter corroborate and explain numerous credible accounts by individuals and firms that they had contacted the FBI with information ‘highly relevant to … allegations’ of sexual misconduct by Justice Kavanaugh, only to be ignored,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Wray.

A Michigan Catholic school took legal action against mask mandates, claiming that they violate religious freedom by covering “God’s image and likeness.” Resurrection School in Lansing brought the lawsuit last fall when the state still had a mask mandate. “Unfortunately, a mask shields our humanity and because God created us in His image, we are masking that image,” the school argued. In December, the school was denied a preliminary injunction with the judge ruling that mask mandates did not unfairly target religious schools. The case will be heard by an appeals court next week. Ingham County health officer Linda Vail said the lawsuit should be dismissed because the county has no plans to issue any further mandates.

Stay safe,

Fraser Dixon

Sources

• DOJ creates gun trafficking strike forces in five cities to crack down on sources of firearm-related crime
• Police Foiled An Ohio Incel’s Plot To Kill Women In A Mass Shooting, Prosecutors Say
• Pelosi says Jan. 6 panel to move ahead without GOP’s choices
• U.S. sanctions Cuban officials over crackdown on protests as Biden warns: ‘This is just the beginning’
• FBI failed to fully investigate Kavanaugh allegations, say Democrats
• Michigan Catholic school argues in lawsuit mask mandates violate religious liberty by hiding ‘God’s image’