by Matthew Holloway | Jul 26, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Reporting from The Post Millennial’s Senior Editor Andy Ngô revealed this month that on July 4th, a “pro-Palestinian” protester shot and killed Paul Franco, 51, after a fight broke out between him, his girlfriend Stephanie Renteria, and protesters in Phoenix, AZ.
According to Ngô, Renteria said Franco was killed defending her. “I just remember a black shadow just walking up to Paul and then shooting him,” she said.
Phoenix police reportedly served a search warrant on the home of a person of interest in the murder, widely reported as woman. However, Ngô reported Wednesday, “the person being investigated for allegedly shooting dead the 51-year-old Latino father is Muslim trans Antifa member Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin.”
Ngô added that Muslim groups who had previously defended Austin cut him off after discovering his identity as a ‘transgender’ man.
In a report posted to X, Ngô went on to reveal that Austin has historically been involved with BLM-Antifa extremism dating back to the widespread 2020 riots adding that he is a “a fundamentalist Muslim sympathetic to radical Islam,” and has sued the Phoenix Police Department in the past for removing his Muslim facial covering during an arrest. Austin has reportedly claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Franco. Shared video footage from 12News and footage from a June 15th action that found Austin, now known as Sumayyah Dawud taking part of a mob action against a Scottsdale restaurant.
Resist the Mainstream posted that “Sumayyah Dawud, a man previously known as Britney Erica Austin and originally, Eric Austin, has a long history of far-left extremism and is sympathetic to radical Islam, according to Ngo,” and posted social media comments of “Dawud” extolling the virtues of armed extremism saying, “radical folx (sic) who get in the streets & engage in high risk direct actions and /or do direct confrontation against fascists/white supremacists need to be armed.”
Per AZFamily, Franco and Renteria were walking home from the Fabulous Phoenix Fourth event at Steele Indian School Park and Renteria became embroiled in an argument with the protesters near Camelback Road and Central Avenue. The verbal dispute then devolved into a physical altercation. Within minutes, Paul Franco was shot several times in front of the apartment complex where he lived. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
AZFamily, citing Phoenix PD, reported “a woman they believed was involved in the shooting was taken in for questioning, then released without any charges being filed, claiming self-defense.”
As reported by ABC15, cell phone video obtained by the outlet shows Franco and Renteria shouting at the pro-Palestine protesters near Steele Indian School Park that evening. Both Franco’s family and Austin claim they were acting in self-defense. Another man, one of the protestors was reportedly stabbed.
In an interview with 12News, Renteria explained that after Phoenix Police broke up the initial argument with the protesters, she and Franco returned to their apartment. The protesters followed them. She told the reporters, “We threw eggs, and they threw rocks at us. And after they threw rocks, some of them jumped the wall.” She said that several of them followed a car into the complex’s private property and that she was confronted and punched by an unidentified woman.
“I just remember a lady coming up to me, and she said, ‘You threw a f’ing egg at me,’ and then she hit me.”
According to Phoenix PD, Austin stated that he fired on Franco in self-defense. Renteria however adamantly told 12News that Franco did not fire first and was shot and killed defending her.
“It was them. It was them that fired first. I just remember a black shadow just walking up to Paul and then shooting him,” she said.
Renteria told 12News “People could just come into your property and claim self-defense. It’s scary.” She added, “I want the people that assaulted us to be charged. I want some type of justice.”
In a post to X, Ngô wrote, “The family of the Phoenix man shot dead by a trans Antifa member following a Palestine direct action believe the @PhoenixPolice are afraid of charging him.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 25, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Tuesday, Maricopa County Elections officials held a press conference on the expectations voters can have over the next weeks as primary votes are cast and tabulated in the July 30th election. The performance of the Arizona election system will likely presage the General Election experience we can expect in November. Amidst the CrowdStrike outage and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump looming over the proceedings the officials took questions from several outlets and briefed the press on projected turnout.
Maricopa County District 3 Supervisor Bill Gates began by addressing the increasingly tense atmosphere to the gathered reporters saying, “Unfortunately we’re talking about and thinking about political violence and our country right now in a way that we haven’t in a long time.”
He continued citing security concerns on election day, “We know that’s on people’s minds and that’s why we are committed to providing a safe and secure experience both for our elections workers as well as those people who go to vote .”
Gates added, “It’s very important that everybody understands that me and my colleagues on the board are committed to safe, secure and transparent elections.”
Responding to questions about the impact of CrowdStrike’s Friday outage on the election system, Fields Moseley, the Maricopa County Communications Director, told 12News, “We feel like we had a fairly low impact. Still, almost 400 people voted on Friday. We opened at 9 a.m. with four vote centers open and had a rolling opening all day long as those were fixed and 40 were opened before the end of the day. None of the tabulators were affected by this. They’re on an air-gap system. They’re not connected to the internet.”
The Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Arizona sent a joint letter to the Maricopa County Elections Director expressing their concerns following the disruption.
“The most recent occurrence is extremely worrisome due to the online nature of the issue and the implications if this were to happen on Election Day,” the state and national GOP said in part.
AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda said in a statement accompanying the letter:
“Following the discovery that the global CrowdStrike outage had affected elections systems in Maricopa and Pima counties in Arizona, the RNC, AZGOP, and Trump Campaign’s election integrity department have sent a letter to every county in the state. We are demanding information on any other systems affected, if vulnerabilities were exploited, and full evidence demonstrating that there were no breaches to determine the extent of the issue. Most importantly, we must have complete assurance that this will not happen again and that the elections systems are not susceptible to these threats during our country’s most important election. These breaches highlight alarming fragilities in the voting system, and we need confirmation that there was no nefarious activity. How was this allowed to happen in a critical battleground state during the primary election?
Voters must have full confidence their ballots are protected. We will uncover the evidence and pursue every avenue needed to ensure the system is secure.”
Moseley replied, “We’re aware of the letter from the RNC. We will respond to the RNC at the appropriate time.” He continued, “We already publicly explained what happened to our ballot on demand system on Friday during the day. We opened at 9:00 a.m. with four vote centers open and had a rolling opening all day long as those were fixed and 40 were open before the end of the day. None of the tabulators were affected by this. They’re on an air gap system. They’re not connected to the internet.”
Addressing concerns for the General Election, Jennifer Liewer, the Maricopa County Deputy Elections Director for Communications told the conference, “We will have over 240 vote centers open, so if a vote center does go down, people are able to choose from a different vote center, but we will have increased resources, increased technology personnel.” She added, “We are prepared should something occur on Election Day to be able to be responsive without knowing that what exactly might happen and obviously you can um do the best you can to plan for things. And I think our staff being flexible responsive.”
She continued, “Our IT staff were up in the middle of the night on site at MCTEC helping get computers rebooted. It was really all hands on deck and Maricopa County voters can know that we are dedicated and even if that means getting up in the middle of the night and coming into work, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that everybody who wants to cast a vote has the ability to do so.”
Moseley, describing the impact of the CrowdStrike outage, noted, “Friday was a pretty unique event,” even quipping: “I mean let’s ask Delta Airlines.” Responding to a question on converting to a different system he told reporters, that he couldn’t say for sure if the county is “re-evaluating,” its use of CrowdStrike for cyber security or Microsoft’s products, which he referred to as “ubiquitous.”
The officials noted that the county is anticipating 623,000 ballots to be cast in total by mail, dropbox, or in-person for the primary election with approximately 94,000 of those being in-person on election day. Approximate projections for total turnout are from 718,000-894,000 or about 30% of the electorate.
Assistant County Manager Zach Schira stressed the staffing levels and heavy investment the county has made in elections stating, “Good people ran lawful elections in Maricopa County in 2020 and 2022 and are doing so in 2024. Our full-time election staff, supplemented by thousands of members of this community, are trained to ensure we are following the law.” He added, “Over the past year, the Board of Supervisors has invested heavily in elections: more than $15 million in new money towards resources and equipment that directly impact the efficiency and security of our operations. Bottom line: we are well resourced, well planned, well trained for next Tuesday’s Primary and the entire 2024 cycle.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 24, 2024 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Thursday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a non-partisan ethics watchdog group filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel under The Hatch Act of 1939 against Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. FACT has alleged that Cardona violated the Act by sending out a political email to federal student loan borrowers in his official capacity. The HATCH Act of 1939 limits certain political activities of federal employees to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace.
According to a press release from FACT, an email sent in July 2024 to an estimated 43 million “citizens who are federal student loan borrowers,” originated from an official government email address, was written on an official Department of Education letterhead, and was signed by Cardona with his official title. The foundation noted, “This type of political advocacy from the government targeting citizens who interact with an agency is exactly the type of politicization the Hatch Act is designed to prevent.”
Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT, said in a statement, “Secretary Cardona appears to have been caught making an overtly political pitch to student loan borrowers in an election year. The uniqueness and magnitude also need to be noted, as this case goes far beyond a standard Hatch Act violation of making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity.
What looks to have happened here is an extremely partisan message was widely distributed using data the federal government had compiled on citizens who have student loans—a universe that could be 43 million people. We urge the Office of Special Counsel to immediately act and investigate whether Secretary Cardona violated the Hatch Act and, if so, the true scope of it.”
In the text of the email from Cardona, revealed by FACT, several statements from Cardona are explicitly political in nature, addressing Republicans as adversaries to the department. For example:
- “Republican elected officials who are siding with special interests and trying to block Americans from accessing all the benefits of the most affordable student loan repayment plan in history . . .”
- “President Biden and I are determined to lower costs for student loan borrowers, to make repaying student debt affordable and realistic, and to build on our separate efforts that have already provided relief to 4.75 million Americans – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”
- “While we disagree with the Republican elected officials’ efforts here to side with special interests and block borrowers from getting breathing room on their student loans . . .”
The complaint submitted by FACT lays out the HATCH Act case against Cardona clearly and in simple terms: “(1) the email was a blatant political communication and (2) it was sent in Cardona’s official capacity using taxpayer funded resources.” In campaign or marketing terms, the email list owned and maintained by the Department of Education is a resource that is potentially worth billions of dollars and is off-limits for anything but official government use. As Arnold noted, “the email sent by Cardona was a blatant political communication. When read in its entirety it is clear the only purpose for sending the letter was a political one and its content was primarily political. The email made political arguments and numerous times specifically identified the political party by name that Cardona opposes in a disparaging manner to generate opposition to the political candidates and party.”
As reported by The Daily Mail, the modern interpretation of the HATCH Act prohibits the sending or forwarding of partisan political emails while an official is on duty or in the workplace or even engaging in political activity like attending a meeting while in uniform or driving a government vehicle.
Arnold writing on behalf of FACT concluded, “While this is an obvious case simply based upon the facts above, it goes far beyond the standard violation of just making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity. While he certainly did make a political remark in his official capacity, he also proactively used data the government had on student loan borrowers for political purposes. Quite clearly this is a severe breach of the citizens’ trust and is inexcusable.
The government endorsement of a political position and use of taxpayer funded resources to do so is the exact political behavior that is forbidden by the Hatch Act.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 23, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Congressman and former Navy SEAL Sniper Eli Crane (R-AZ) visited the rooftop perch of attempted presidential assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks with his team on Monday and shared footage of his professional assessment. Crane’s perspective carries particular weight given his five combat deployments during his 13-year military career.
Crane wrote, “I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA, where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump. As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable. Many questions still remain.”
According to Crane’s congressional website, the congressman was a post-9/11 enlistee in the U.S. Navy from Arizona, who worked his way up to the Naval Special Warfare Command, joining SEAL Team 3 based out of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California. Three of his wartime deployments were to Iraq. He was a SEAL for nine of his thirteen years in uniform.
The first video at just over a minute long presents Crane’s damning assessment of the tactical realities at the site of the attempted assassination, that directly conflicts with the narrative being presented by Director Kimberly Cheatle of the United States Secret Service.
He explained, “All right guys, I’m up here on the building where the supposed sniper took his shot. It’s not that steep at all. We just had a 70-year-old man back here climb up on the roof easily.”
Cheatle drew wide criticism when she justified the lack of Secret Service presence on the rooftop to ABC News saying, “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof.” She added, “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
Crane noted that, if snipers were posted on a nearby water tower overlooking the building and the entire venue, “This guy wouldn’t have made it 5 feet up this roof. He would’ve been taken out.”
The Congressman also noted second floor windows in an adjacent building where Secret Service were “supposedly in the second floor of this building behind.” He added that it, “makes you wonder why they weren’t able to quickly dispatch the individual.”
In a subsequent post to X, Crane presented the vantage point from the second-floor windows that the Secret Service had access to. He wrote, “This video was taken from one of the windows the Secret Service had access to, overlooking the entire roof. As you can see, they had complete coverage. Makes you wonder how on earth they allowed the shooter to access the roof, let alone crawl up it & fire several shots.”
Crane’s assessment seemed to concur with that of Gene Petrino, a former SWAT commander for Florida’s Plantation Police Department, who questioned in an interview with Fox News why snipers were not stationed at the water tower that “would have had a vantage point of all the roofs,” and called out “the audacity for her to say that there was an issue with the sloped roof when her men were already on a sloped roof.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is testifying in front of the House Oversight Committee Monday. During these proceedings Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has accused Cheatle of perjuring herself and stonewalling members of the Committee, according to Fox News. Crane has a seat on the House Homeland Security Committee and the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability.
“I will say this. It is very frustrating. And I’ve talked to my colleagues, and we’ve said it to your face that you have been up here basically stonewalling our ability to get the answers to the American people. And what I will also say is that every single member of Congress does not feel safe with you in charge. You have heard that. And I think that we are all sitting ducks with you and directing the Secret Service currently,” Luna said.
She then issued a formal request for Cheatle’s resignation: “But more importantly, it sends a message to our adversaries that we are not protected, and we are one of the strongest countries in the world. So, you have essentially made us a less safe country because of it. As a result of that, I’m asking you to formally step down.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 22, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Hispanic Vote Coalition is seeking to drive voter registration in Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado with a series of upcoming pastor events and a Bless the Ballot campaign according to a press release obtained by AZ Free News.
The coalition explained that the Bless the Ballot Campaign was launched this past week with Hispanic, Christian pastors in several battleground states where the group has assessed that the Hispanic vote will decide the outcome of the 2024 election.
The press release explained, “The coalition, launched in April by Hispanic-led organizations — Job Creators Network, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Bienvenido — is engaging, informing, and encouraging Hispanic voters to harness their immense power by registering them and getting them out to vote for the values they believe in — faith, family, and freedom.”
Mary Thomas, Executive Director of the Hispanic Vote Coalition, said in a statement, “Hispanics and Christians can no longer sit on the sidelines, while our values are being attacked. We are engaged in a spiritual battle, and the faith and Hispanic community must not be intimidated. We must rise up and exercise our duty as Christians and Americans to vote for biblical values. By working with our network of 42,000 Christian pastors, the Hispanic Vote Coalition is helping as many Christians and Hispanics as possible fulfill their moral responsibility to vote their values and help determine the outcome of the election.”
According to a Pew Research study, approximately 31% of Latinos in Arizona are either registered or lean Republican. Gallup in 2022 showed that Democrat support among Latinos had hemorrhaged four-points on a national level from 32% to 28% since 2020. In April 2024 an APP/OnMessage poll reported by Newsweek indicated that a “seismic realignment is happening with Hispanic voters across the country,” and added, “If Hispanic voters split in either Arizona or Nevada, Trump will win the state. That’s a near statistical certainty.”
“The Hispanic and Latino evangelical community is staying silent no more,” Pastor Robert Albino, Jr., National Chapter Director of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference said. “Across the country, there is a civic awakening that is a result of dangerous, anti-Christian policies that are being pushed on our schools and businesses and posing a grave threat to economic opportunities that make our communities and families strong. The Hispanic Vote Coalition is dedicated to equipping, educating and engaging our community with one resounding message that is clear and direct: Hispanic evangelicals are not committed to the agenda of the donkey or the elephant, we will vote our Christian values and advance candidates that represent and defend the agenda of the Lamb.”
The coalition’s move is happening in the context of an increased outreach from the Arizona GOP to Latino voters which saw the AZGOP launch a Spanish-Language ad that aired during the 2024 Copa América Tournament which concluded July 15th in Miami.
The ad featured West Valley Republican State Rep. Steve Montenegro with AZGOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda and runs at 30 seconds featuring the Arizona legislator explaining in Spanish:
“In Arizona, we face several challenges. High prices for food, gasoline, and even for a family home. High crime in our neighborhoods. Protecting family rights in deciding what is the best education for their children. We can do things better. The Arizona Republican Party is committed to protecting the American Dream. Together we can do it. We will achieve a better economy for our families here in Arizona.”
The AZGOP shared the ad in a post to X with the comment, “We’re committed to lowering the cost of living, empowering parents with education freedom, and making homeownership affordable for all Arizonans.”
As of this report, the Hispanic Vote Coalition has not announced details for the upcoming events. As they are announced, information will be available on their website.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
