Nation
Riots: Trump Warns Governors To Deploy National Guard Or He Will Dispatch U.S. Military
This story is developing
President Donald Trump warned governors across the United States Monday evening to deploy the National Guard to control the ongoing rioting throughout the country that has escalated into violence over the past three days, and if they won’t he will dispatch the U.S. military in its stead.
The unprecedented action was announced during a short Rose Garden press conference at the White House, and Trump stated that “we are putting everybody on warning on 7 p.m. curfew.” He took no questions.
The announcement has led to speculation that Trump’s decision verges on Martial Law, where the “U.S. military is in control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to a temporary emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.”
White House officials could not be immediately reached and the White House switch board said there was no one in the communications department to immediately take the call.
“Where there is no law, there is no opportunity. Where there is no justice, there is no liberty. Where there is no safety, there is no future,” said Trump. “I take these actions today with firm resolve and with a true and passionate love for our country.”
He warned organizers the protests that they “will face sever criminal penalty” including arrest and those will stay in place until law and order is “fully restored.”
“We must never give in to anger or hatred,” said Trump. “I take these actions today with firm resolve.”
Ohio’s National Guard Takes Over Columbus
National Guard troops have lined the streets of Columbus, Ohio since Saturday, and in Washington D.C. a military police battalion consisting of 200 to 250 military personnel is expected to be in the nation’s capital as soon as evening, according to reports.
In Columbus, some residents who spoke to SaraACarter.com by phone said “it looks like Marshall Law” as law enforcement officials prepare for the worst but hope for the best since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
In Columbus Monday, most businesses remained closed amid concerns that the riots and protests would escalate into violence later tonight. The past three days protesters have gathered outside the Ohio Statehouse but the protests escalated into violence, with looting and robberies in the downtown Columbus and surrounding areas.
A resident shared a video with SaraACarter.com of downtown Columbus Monday, describing it as appearing more like a war zone than an American city, with armed National Guard troops lining the empty city and businesses boarded up to protect from the rioters.
National Guard Arrives In Washington D.C.
In Washington D.C. several trucks of National Guard troops arrived near Lafayette Park across Pennsylvania Avenue. The area was filled with large groups of protesters the past three nights and some instigated fires leading to the destruction.
According to CNN two defense officials said the troops being deployed to Washington D.C. will be coming from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Jennie S. Taer contributed to this story.
Elections
IRS Whistleblower Receives Retaliation After Speaking Out on Hunter Biden Tax Case
A whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax investigation, IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, is facing harsh repercussions from the IRS after revealing alleged misconduct within the agency. Shapley, who gained widespread attention following an interview with investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, claims to be under intense pressure to accept a demotion or resign after publicly disclosing his concerns.
National Review reports on the recent developments, shared by Shapley’s attorney, Tristan Leavitt, reveal that the IRS had apparently been withholding a punitive decision until after Herridge’s interview went viral. “Less than an hour after @C__Herridge posted this story yesterday about the retaliation against the IRS whistleblowers, the IRS sent SSA Shapley this notice telling him he had 15 days to choose whether to be demoted or to resign,” Leavitt tweeted, noting that the agency appeared to have delayed this decision by at least two weeks.
On October 15, the IRS officially informed Shapley of a planned reassignment, notifying him he would be moved from his role as a Supervisory Special Agent in the criminal division to a Senior Analyst position—a demotion. Shapley was given the option to either accept the downgrade or, if he chose not to, request a lower-level special agent role or leave the agency entirely.
In response to the alleged retaliation, Shapley’s attorney sent a formal letter to Congress on Thursday. Addressed to House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Leavitt’s letter highlights a history of punitive treatment Shapley claims to have faced since he first disclosed his findings.
“From the moment USA Weiss received access to SSA Shapley’s protected whistleblower disclosures and contacted IRS leadership, the IRS has treated SSA Shapley differently,” Leavitt wrote in the letter. He also added that “the illegal reprisal increased after SSA Shapley made clear he intended to blow the whistle to Congress and others. And it continues to this day, when the IRS knows it can retaliate against SSA Shapley simply by waiting out the clock for him to be forced into the position of resigning or being demoted.”
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is currently investigating the allegations of retaliation, not only against Shapley but also against another IRS whistleblower, Joseph Ziegler, who had similarly come forward regarding the Hunter Biden case. Leavitt has requested that the OSC intervene to prevent what he calls an apparent case of retaliation and has urged congressional Republicans to ask for a briefing on the progress of the OSC’s 17-month-long investigation.
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