Month: April 2026

New York City just drew a bright line between public service and private liability—and it could change how every future mayor sleeps at night.

The Court Motion That Turns a Personal Allegation Into a Public Policy Fight

New York City’s Law Department asked a judge to let it stop representing former Mayor Eric Adams in a civil sexual assault lawsuit filed by Lorna Beach-Mathura. Her claim reaches back to 1993, when Adams served as a police officer, and alleges he demanded a sexual favor tied to career help. The city’s position is straightforward: even if Adams wore a badge then, the alleged conduct was not city business, so taxpayers should not fund his defense.

That framing matters because municipal defense is not a courtesy; it’s a legal and ethical gatekeeping function. City lawyers typically step in when an employee’s actions connect to official duties, protecting the city’s interests as much as the individual’s. When the Law Department argues “outside the scope,” it signals more than penny-pinching. It signals the city believes the alleged facts describe personal misconduct, not a job-related act, and therefore the city has no obligation to underwrite the fight.

Why Adams Had City Lawyers Before—and Why That Changed

The twist is that City Hall once took a very different stance. Under Adams’ own administration, the city’s top lawyer called the accusation “ludicrous” and still provided representation, treating the matter as sufficiently related to his city work to justify a city-funded defense. Now, under Mamdani’s administration, the Corporation Counsel is reversing course in court. That reversal is rare and politically combustible because it looks like a judgment not only about legal scope, but about whether the city wants distance from its former leader.

Adams’ side has leaned into that combustible optics. His spokesperson has said Adams remains confident the facts will vindicate him, and the broader message from his camp has been that he has weathered storms before. The political subtext writes itself: a former mayor forced to pay private counsel can claim persecution; a new mayor can claim fiscal discipline and legal consistency. The city, for its part, insists the decision reflects independent legal judgment, not the mayor’s personal vendetta.

The Adult Survivors Act: The Legal Door That Reopened the Past

This case also sits inside a bigger legal moment: New York’s Adult Survivors Act created a one-year window allowing adults to file civil suits for sexual assault claims that would otherwise be time-barred. Beach-Mathura filed her lawsuit in 2023 during that window, turning a decades-old allegation into a live courtroom dispute. These revival laws carry an obvious tension: they aim to offer justice where silence and statutes once blocked it, but they also challenge defendants who must contest claims with faded memories and missing records.

Readers over 40 recognize the practical problem immediately. A 1993 claim asks courts to assess credibility and context across three decades of life changes, job histories, and shifting cultural standards. That doesn’t mean the claim lacks merit; it means the evidentiary burden gets harder to weigh fairly. Conservative common sense says two things can be true at once: victims deserve a path to be heard, and defendants deserve procedural fairness that doesn’t tilt simply because time passed and politics shifted around them.

Scope of Employment: The Taxpayer Line Most People Actually Care About

Strip away the personalities and the question many New Yorkers will quietly ask is simple: when should taxpayers pay? The “scope of employment” test exists because public funds should defend public actions, not personal behavior. If a city employee makes a mistake while doing city work, the city may defend them because the city directed the work and benefits from officials acting without fear of personal ruin. Alleged sexual coercion in a car, tied to personal leverage, is the opposite of that premise.

That’s why the city’s filing lands with force. If the alleged conduct is personal, funding a defense can feel like asking working families to subsidize a private scandal. If the alleged conduct is job-related, refusing representation can feel like the city abandoning a public servant for political convenience. This is where the Mamdani administration must be precise: the cleanest argument is not “we dislike Adams,” but “the city cannot lawfully treat this as official conduct, regardless of who the defendant is.”

The Political Riptide Under the Legal Surface

Politics still shapes how people interpret the move because the Adams-to-Mamdani transition reportedly came with open rivalry. Adams attacked Mamdani as an out-of-touch liberal, Mamdani painted Adams as tied to corruption and Trump-era dynamics, and the city now appears to be withdrawing legal support not only in this case but also from Adams allies in other matters. Even if each decision stands on its own legal footing, patterns invite speculation—and speculation becomes ammunition in the next campaign.

Conservatives should resist the lazy version of that story—the automatic assumption that everything is payback—while still demanding transparency. A city that can flip positions with each administration risks turning legal defense into partisan spoils. The remedy is boring but essential: clear written standards, consistent application, and a public explanation rooted in law, not press-office spin. If the Mamdani team can’t explain the reversal cleanly, Adams will frame it for them.

Ex-Mayor Adams accuses Mamdani admin of playing politics as he seeks taxpayer-funded defense in sex assault suit https://t.co/ZKBpdciyZq pic.twitter.com/C9zam66dP3

— New York Post (@nypost) April 23, 2026

The immediate consequence is practical: if the court allows withdrawal, Adams likely needs private counsel, and the bills can get steep fast in a case with high stakes and high visibility. The longer consequence is structural. Future officials will watch this and ask, “If I leave office, will the city still stand behind me?” That question cuts both ways: it may deter abuse of office, but it may also deter decisive action if officials fear personal exposure for contested calls.

Sources:

Mamdani administration wants to pull legal support for Eric Adams in sex assault lawsuit

NYC balks at taxpayer-funded defense in Eric Adams sex assault case

Eric Adams is set to lose city-funded lawyers in sexual assault case

A Florida couple who gave birth to a child not biologically related to them after an alleged fertility clinic error confirmed they have identified their daughter’s genetic parents. The discovery marks a painful milestone in a heartbreaking situation that raises serious questions about medical oversight and the fate of their own missing embryos.

Fertility Clinic Error Creates Family Crisis

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills filed a lawsuit in January against the Fertility Center of Orlando and Dr. Milton McNichol. The couple alleged another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus in April 2025, leading to the birth of their now four-month-old daughter, Shea. Both parents are Caucasian, but genetic testing confirmed the baby shares no biological connection to them. The mix-up occurred despite the couple having three viable embryos stored at the facility since 2020.

Parents Face Uncertain Future

Score and Mills said they developed an intense emotional bond with Shea during pregnancy and will continue raising her as their daughter. Their attorney, Jack Scarola, confirmed the biological parents have not requested custody. However, critical questions remain about the whereabouts of the couple’s own embryos and whether another woman might have been impregnated with their biological child. The couple plans to keep the biological parents’ identities confidential while pursuing compensation for expenses and severe emotional trauma.

Clinic Shutting Down Operations

The Fertility Center of Orlando announced earlier this month it will close by May 20, following what leadership described as thoughtful consideration. The timing comes amid the lawsuit and raises concerns about accountability. Attorney Scarola indicated the legal proceeding will remain open to address unresolved questions about the missing embryos. The case highlights alarming gaps in fertility clinic protocols designed to prevent precisely this type of devastating error.

Broader Implications for IVF Industry

This case exposes vulnerabilities in fertility treatment oversight that affect thousands of American families pursuing in vitro fertilization. The couple’s situation underscores fundamental questions about medical accountability, parental rights, and the need for stronger safeguards in reproductive medicine. While Score and Mills have committed to raising Shea regardless of genetics, their missing embryos represent potential biological children whose fate remains unknown. The closure of the clinic may prevent them from ever getting answers about what happened to their genetic material.

Tiresome Harry had words for Trump and Putin – does anyone care?

More than just another celebrity visiting war-torn Ukraine for clout, British Prince Harry’s third trip to Kiev can be understood as another episode of his ‘shadow’ campaign of ‘quasi-Royal family’ visits that is reportedly raising eyebrows back in London.

Prince Harry trying to stay relevant makes an unannounced appearance in Kiev pic.twitter.com/TpAEjdhJDO

— RT (@RT_com) April 23, 2026

Relying on the same dubious interpretation of history that Volodymyr Zelensky has spread for five years, Harry called on the US to ‘honor its international treaty obligations’.

According to the Duke of Sussex, Americans have an obligation to help stop Moscow’s invasion ‘after Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in 1994 in exchange for assurances from the US, UK and Russia’.

In fact, the nuclear weapons belonged to the Soviet Union and were naturally passed on to Russia – but the narrative seems good enough for Harry.

The New York Post reported:

“’This is a moment for American leadership. A moment for America to show that it can honor its international treaty obligations’, Harry said. ‘Not out of charity, but out of its enduring role in global security and strategic stability’, the prince added.

[…] ’Because what is happening here is not simply a war about territory’, he added. ‘It is a war about values. About sovereignty. About whether the principles that underpin our shared democracy still hold meaning’.”

Boring Harry goes to bat for a regime whose leader’s mandate ended in 2024, a regime that is corrupt to the core, that censors the press, arrests the opposition, hunts citizens like beasts to send them to the meat grinder front.

But hey – ‘democracy’.

Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, calling for an end to the war and expressing support for Ukraine in its fifth year of conflict with Russia https://t.co/NGRf8o9OYc pic.twitter.com/OF1ylLuMrQ

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 23, 2026

“President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment now to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike and to choose a different course.

I am not here as a politician. I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences.”

Read more:

JUST IN: African Charity Sentebale Sues Estranged Founder Prince Harry for Libel

The post HARRY GOES TO KIEV: Prodigal British Prince Wades Again Into the Ukraine War (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that the White House has accused China of conducting what it calls “industrial-scale” theft of American artificial intelligence technology.

Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in a memo seen by the FT that “foreign entities, principally based in China, are engaged in deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns to distil U.S. frontier AI systems,” referring to a process whereby AI scientists extract the capabilities of an existing model to create a new one.

The administration will also pursue measures “to hold foreign actors accountable,” Kratsios wrote, according to the FT.

The Chinese government denied the allegations, with embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu calling the accusations “pure slander.”

Kratsios previously served on the board of Scale AI, a data-labeling company. Company presentations described Scale as the “ammo factory” for “AI wars.”

U.S. AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI earlier this year said that efficiency gains by Chinese AI companies were due to distillation.

The post U.S. Accuses China of ‘Industrial-Scale’ AI theft appeared first on The American Conservative.

Note: The information provided here or in any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice. Gateway Pundit benefits from purchases made through our sponsors.

by Rachel Gearhart, Publisher, The Oxford Club

A very small stock just made a MASSIVE deal.

Six years.

75,000 metric tons of one key resource going straight to Tesla.

The deal is so big, America’s Economist himself immediately bought 10,000 shares of the company.

Good investing,

P.S. The key resource Tesla wants so bad?

80% of the supply is controlled by Russia, China, and Indonesia.

That’s why America’s Economist believes the Trump administration will take a stake in this tiny $5 company.

The post Elon Musk Signs MASSIVE Six-Year Deal with Tiny Company appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

In a Thursday morning Truth Social post, President Donald Trump said he has ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill” any boat “that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.”

The White House on Wednesday denied reports from Axios that Trump has a three-to-five-day deadline for Iran to accept a deal. “The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting we’ve seen today,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

Leavitt said that Trump “is satisfied with the naval blockade.”

Iran’s speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X Wednesday that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “impossible” while the U.S. and Israel continue “flagrant breaches of the ceasefire,” citing “the maritime blockade” and Israel’s “warmongering across all fronts.”

On Thursday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. has “total control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran on Wednesday released a video of its seizure of a container ship, which Tehran says occurred earlier that day.

Iran’s second deputy speaker of parliament, Hamidreza Haji Babaei, said Thursday that the first revenues from Iran’s Strait of Hormuz toll system had been deposited into the country’s Central Bank. The Financial Times previously reported that Iran is charging tankers $1 per barrel of oil as a transit fee under its toll system, to be paid in crypto and other alternative currencies.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that it has intercepted at least four Iranian oil tankers in waters near India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, redirecting them as part of its naval blockade targeting Iran. The fourth vessel, the Guyana-flagged M/T Majestic X, was seized overnight, en route to China.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel is ready to resume fighting against Iran, and is waiting for a “green light from the United States” to target Iran’s leadership and energy sites. He said Israeli attacks “will be different and deadly.”

Prominent Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed on Wednesday in southern Lebanon by what appeared to be a targeted Israeli strike. When a vehicle close to Khalil was hit by a drone, she and photojournalist Zeinab Faraj took shelter in a house, which was then bombed by Israel.

The price of Brent crude oil rose above $102 on Thursday morning while gas prices remained elevated. AAA reported the national average price of gas at $4.03. 

The post Ceasefire Day 16: Trump Orders Navy to ‘Shoot and Kill’ Mine-Laying, Iranian Boats appeared first on The American Conservative.

The AFC Champion New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks in February.

Now, as they build their 2026 roster, the Patriots must take a crucial step without embattled head coach Mike Vrabel.

According to ESPN, Vrabel will step away from the team during this weekend’s NFL Draft to seek counseling as he deals with the fallout, both private and public, from a scandal involving NFL reporter Dianna Russini.

“As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend,” Vrabel said late Wednesday. “This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”

The coach added that he regards counseling as essential for him both personally and professionally.

“I have always wanted to lead by example, and I believe this is what I have to do to be the best husband, father and coach that I possibly can be,” he said. “This is not an easy thing for me to admit, but it is one that I know will make me a better person. I appreciate the support that everyone has given me and promise a stronger resolve as a result.”

Earlier this month, the New York Post’s Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini, both married to other people, spending time together at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.

The eyebrow-raising photos showed the pair together in the pool and side-by-side in a hot tub. They also hugged and stood facing one another with their fingers interlaced.

After the Page Six story broke, both Vrabel and Russini denied that anything inappropriate occurred.

Last week, however, Russini resigned from her job at The Athletic, though she did so via a defiant-sounding resignation letter.

Then, on Tuesday, Vrabel admitted that the photos forced him to have “difficult conversations” with people close to him.

Compounding the issue was a new story published Thursday in the New York Post’s Page Six, which contained images purporting to show the two kissing in a New York City bar, reportedly in 2020.

Vrabel and his wife of 26 years, Jen, have two sons together. The coach will spend this weekend with his family outside Massachusetts, according to ESPN.

Meanwhile, the Patriots will turn to executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden to conduct part of the draft in Vrabel’s absence.

The NFL Draft will begin Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rounds two and three will be held Friday.

On Saturday, the draft will conclude with rounds four through seven.

New England holds 11 picks, including eight from pick number 125 and later, which fall on Saturday, ESPN reported. Vrabel, therefore, will not be in attendance for the vast majority of his team’s selections.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Disgraced NFL Coach to Step Away from Team in the Middle of Draft appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump on Thursday released a statement on ousted Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan.

John Phelan on was reportedly fired by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.

Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced.

Full statement from Sean Parnell:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.

STATEMENT:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 22, 2026

At first it was unclear if John Phelan was fired or resigned but Fox News later reported that he was indeed fired.

NEW: Navy Secretary John Phelan has just been ‘FIRED’, reports Fox’s @JacquiHeinrich pic.twitter.com/8yT324P8mT

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) April 22, 2026

On Thursday, President Trump’s statement suggested Phelan departed on his own accord.

Full statement from President Trump:

John Phelan is a long time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job serving as my Secretary Of The Navy for the last year.

John helped my Administration rebuild Sleepy Joe Biden’s rapidly depleted, and almost abandoned, Navy. Now, because of John, and all of the Great Men and Women lovingly and tirelessly involved, we have the strongest Navy in the World — BY FAR!

John Phelan is smart, tough, and respected by all, and although he has decided to move on from his position as Secretary Of The Navy, I very much appreciate the job that he has done, and would certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future.

A very special thank you to John for his service to the United States of America! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Wednesday’s firing is part of the latest shakeup at the Pentagon.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, earlier this month, ordered Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down.

Last summer, Hegseth fired the general in charge of the agency that released the dubious ‘top secret’ intelligence assessment about the US’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse was fired as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Last year, Hegseth formally terminated the service of every member sitting on the Department of Defense’s advisory committees.

The post President Trump Releases Statement on Ousted Secretary of the Navy John Phelan appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Mojtaba is reportedly in bad shape, but alive and mentally alert.

Iran’s new Supreme Ruler, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, hasn’t been seen or heard since his appointment in March.

Power is being exerted by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders on matters of security, war, and diplomacy.

The New York Times has published a new report on Mojtaba’s health woes:

“Mr. Khamenei, who was selected by a council of senior clerics as the new supreme leader, has been in hiding since American and Israeli forces bombed his father’s compound on Feb. 28, where he also lived with his family. His father, wife and son were all killed.”

Mojtaba Khamenei has undergone three surgeries on one leg and may require a prosthetic.

He is recovering from hand surgery, while severe burns to his face and lips have made speaking difficult. Plastic surgery is expected.

Source: NYT pic.twitter.com/RftbTeWHf4

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 23, 2026

The NYT sources say access to the Ayatollah is extremely limited, now.

No senior officials visit him, lest Israel trace them to his location and kill him.

“Though Mr. Khamenei was gravely wounded, he is mentally sharp and engaged, according to four senior Iranian officials familiar with his health. One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic.

He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery.”

Messages to Mojtaba ‘are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and relayed via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next’.

The New York Post reported:

“Although the report describes Khamenei as difficult to reach, it also cites the Iranian officials as saying the country’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and health minister, Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi, ‘have both been involved in his care’.

The report supports Trump administration officials’ contention that peace talks are inhibited by slow communication and uncertainty about whether foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are able to speak for their nation.”

Read more:

Iran’s New Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei Reportedly Left Crippled and Disfigured by Airstrike That Killed His Father

The post Severely Injured Iranian Supreme Leader Is Waiting for Prosthetic Leg, Will Need Face Surgery: NYT appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

In yet another damning example of how radical Islamic terror infiltrates America under decades of failed open-border and refugee resettlement policies pushed by Democrats, a 23-year-old Somali migrant-turned-naturalized citizen from Minneapolis was sentenced yesterday to a mere 102 months, that’s just 8.5 years, in federal prison for actively trying to join ISIS and cheering the savage New Orleans jihad attack that slaughtered 14 innocent Americans.

U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, appointed by Bill Clinton, handed down the sentence to Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan on Tuesday in Minnesota federal court, along with 15 years of supervised release.

Hassan pleaded guilty last September to one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.

Federal Election Commission records show Hassan made contributions to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s campaign committee, which operates in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District. In the same community, Hassan lived and promoted ISIS propaganda.

By December 2024, Hassan was all-in. He quit his job, drained his savings, bought a one-way ticket to Somalia, and posted: “I will become ISIS straight away.”

FBI surveillance caught him trying to board a flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on December 13. Turned away for lacking proper documents, he simply rebooked and tried again on December 29. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped him in Chicago, where they discovered his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma in his bag.

During questioning, Hassan admitted his support for ISIS, rejected democracy, and declared America’s justice system “terrorism.”

Undeterred after being blocked from reaching the caliphate, Hassan doubled down once back in Minnesota. He praised the January 1, 2025, ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, where a jihadist mowed down 14 Americans and injured dozens more, calling the killer a “Muhaajid” and “the legend that killed the Americans.”

In late February 2025, he filmed his own ISIS propaganda videos: driving at night with a homemade black ISIS flag in one hand and an open long-bladed buck knife on his lap. When the FBI arrested him on February 27, agents found the same knife on his person and the ISIS flag in his vehicle.

Press release from DOJ:

A federal district court yesterday sentenced Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, of Minneapolis, MN, to 102 months’ (or 8.5 years’) imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for his attempts to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, known as “ISIS,” announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. ISIS has been duly designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State since 2014.

According to court documents, Hassan began consuming information from and about ISIS and other State Department designated foreign terrorist organizations in at least 2024. For example, Hassan obtained and reposted ISIS propaganda articles and videos (some of them extremely violent) on his various social media accounts.

He downloaded multiple files from a known media wing of ISIS, with names like, “The life of a Mujahideen,” “The month of Jihad,” “The return of the Caliphate,” and “The path of jihad.” He obtained online manuals written in Arabic on how to make highly explosive materials such as C4, urea nitrate, HMTD, and hexamine.

He openly posted his desire for jihad and an Islamic caliphate on his various social media accounts. He also obtained manuals on ammunition-making and sniper-training skills, contacted an online school specializing in gunsmithing and drone technology, and conducted online research on topics such as gun ranges, ISIS supporter, Somalia weapons, and various articles related to ISIS-inspired attacks and terroristic acts on an interactive map.

According to court documents, Hassan had frequent and extensive social media communications with ISIS media wings and recruiters operating in Somalia.

In November 2024, Hassan reached out to one such account that was spreading ISIS propaganda in Somalia and expressly calling for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and the overthrow of the Somali government, and Hassan requested help contacting someone in ISIS-controlled areas in Somalia. He also referred to persons he communicated with as “commander” and “uncle” and referenced the “battlefield” in Somalia.

After several weeks of regular communication with accounts operated by ISIS members, Hassan prepared to leave behind his life in the United States in December 2024 and posted “I will become ISIS straight away.”

Hassan quit his job, liquidated his savings, and bought a one-way plane ticket for travel from Minneapolis to Somalia, to join and fight on behalf of ISIS.

On December 13, 2024, FBI agents surveilled Hassan attempt to fly to Somalia from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Lacking proper travel documents, however, he was turned away. After acquiring additional travel documents, Hassan rebooked the same one-way itinerary to Somalia, and on December 29, 2024, he flew from MSP to Chicago, enroute to Somalia.

Prior to boarding his international flight in Chicago, Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Tactical Terrorism Response Team interviewed Hassan about his intentions, which prevented his onward travel.

Inside Hassan’s only carry-on bag, CBP agents found his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma. During the interview, Hassan initially denied any nefarious intent but later professed his belief in ISIS, his consumption of ISIS propaganda, and his hopes for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, telling the CBP agents that he did not believe in democracy and that America’s justice was in fact terrorism.

Upon returning to Minnesota, Hassan continued researching ISIS attacks and activities and making social media posts espousing ISIS, including his praising the perpetrator of the January 1, 2025, ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, who killed 14 people and injured dozens more, referring to the perpetrator as a “Muhaajid” and “the legend that killed the Americans.”

In late February 2025, Hassan created and posted his own ISIS-inspired videos, including of him driving his vehicle at night, while holding a homemade black ISIS flag in his hand, and displaying an open, long-bladed buck-style knife on his lap.

The FBI arrested Hassan on February 27, 2025 on a Complaint-Warrant filed with the U.S. District Court. At the time of his arrest, Hassan had the same knife described above on his person and the homemade ISIS flag in his vehicle.

On April 29, 2025, a grand jury returned an Indictment charging Hassan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, a qualifying “Federal crime of terrorism.”

On September 29, 2025, Hassan pleaded guilty to that charge before Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court.

On April 22, 2026, following a hearing in U.S. District Court, Judge Frank sentenced Hassan to 102 months’ imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release with special conditions.

“Abdisatar Hassan took active steps in an attempt to join and support ISIS—a brutal foreign terrorist organization responsible for the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people,” said FBI Minneapolis Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson.

“Hassan celebrated the 2025 murder of 14 innocent Americans in New Orleans—a senseless attack on American soil, attempted to travel in order to take up arms on behalf of ISIS, and when unable to get to his destination, promoted ISIS and al-Shabaab propaganda encouraging others to fight against the United States. The sentence handed down today takes a would-be terrorist off the streets and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will unremittingly pursue anyone seeking to join or support a foreign terrorist organization.”

The post Somali Jihadist and Ilhan Omar’s Donor Gets Slap-on-the-Wrist Sentence — 8.5 Years for Plotting to Join ISIS, Praising New Orleans Massacre That Killed 14 Americans appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.