Former Obama Secretary of State was seen dining with several Iranian regime officials.
An onlooker snapped this photo as Kerry left the restaurant.
Jason Osborne, a former Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump’s campaign, posted this tweet earlier today:
So John Kerry just left a meeting @ L’Avenue in Paris w/3 Iranians. A friend was sitting next to their table and heard JK blasting @realDonaldTrump. The Iranians had a 5 person security detail and left in diplomatic vehicles. Is he FARA registered? @seanhannity @TuckerCarlson
So John Kerry just left a meeting @ L’Avenue in Paris w/3 Iranians. A friend was sitting next to their table and heard JK blasting @realDonaldTrump. The Iranians had a 5 person security detail and left in diplomatic vehicles. Is he FARA registered? @seanhannity@TuckerCarlsonpic.twitter.com/vVYwDQTPNb
ISIS-K has intensified recruitment efforts, targeting disaffected Muslims in the United States and other Western countries with a multilingual propaganda campaign across social media and the dark web. Photo courtesy of Kurdistan24.
The jizya is a tax historically levied on non-Muslims living under Muslim rule, understood as a fee for protection, exemption from military service, and permission to practice a non-Muslim faith. Historically, jizya was imposed by Muslim countries across the Middle East, South Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia, a practice that has been abolished in most Muslim nations.
With the exception of Taliban-governed Afghanistan, no internationally recognized nation-state in the Islamic world currently imposes jizya by name or in formal legal code. However, it is being actively imposed today by jihadist groups operating as de facto governing authorities across West Africa, Central Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East.
The most well-documented active cases are in Mali and the broader Sahel, where JNIM (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin), an al-Qaeda affiliate, controls large rural areas beyond the reach of the Malian government. In August 2024, church leaders in the Dougouténé area of southern Mali were summoned to a meeting with JNIM militants and given new rules the entire community was required to follow.
The group subsequently imposed a tax of 25,000 CFA francs, roughly $40 to $41, on all Christians over the age of 18 in Douna-Pen, the largest Christian village in eastern Koro, Mopti. Payment was set as a condition for the free practice of religion. Those unable or unwilling to pay were warned their churches would be closed. Militants collected the money openly and without resistance.
The practice began in Dougouténé and spread to Douna-Pen, with local sources warning that more communities would face the same demands. In the La Tapoa region near the Niger–Burkina Faso border, jihadists announced that all males 15 and older who refused to convert must pay jizya, with Christians told they would “live as slaves” if they paid.
Open Doors analysts assess that these cases are not isolated but part of a wider plan, with families who refuse or cannot pay being driven from ancestral lands. One Christian told Aid to the Church in Need, “We are supposed to be living in a secular state, where such practices should not take place, but unfortunately this is becoming our new reality.”
The 25,000 CFA franc monthly payment represents more than half the monthly income for many families in one of the world’s poorest countries.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), operating as ISIS’s Central Africa Province (ISCAP), has imposed jizya as part of a documented campaign against Christian communities. Around late 2022, ISIS’s Al-Naba newsletter first began imploring Congolese Christians to pay jizya to be spared from ISCAP violence. By June 2025, the group was presenting Christians in Ituri Province with three choices during preaching campaigns: conversion to Islam, payment of jizya, or death.
An August 2025 Al-Naba editorial stated: “If the Christians of Africa want to feel safe and escape the cycle of killing, then they must know that our true Islam provides them the freedom to choose between three options, Islam, jizya paid humiliated and subdued, or death and displacement.”
These options were repeated in videos published on YouTube and TikTok in Swahili, Lingala, and French by ISCAP ideologue Zakaria Banza Souleymane, known as Bonge La Chuma. Locals and ISCAP defectors confirmed to Bridgeway Foundation personnel that the group systematically gathered farmers to register and tax their access to fields while requiring attendance at Islamic lectures. An ISIS December 2025 article warned that fighters would continue to slaughter Congolese Christians who refuse to pay, framing the violence as permitted by Islamic law.
The UN report assessed ADF at approximately 2,000 members, including families and dependents, with 600 to 700 active fighters. ADF leader Musa Baluku was located in Madina camp in Epulu National Park, Mambasa Territory, Ituri Province. The report states that ADF enjoys complete freedom of operation within its designated area, as M23’s occupation of key cities has diverted Congolese military resources.
The report names Abu Waqas, listed as Ahmad Mahmood Hassan, as responsible for 300 deaths in and around Lubero Territory since June 2025 alone, including the massacre of 50 churchgoers at a church in Oicha and 70 mourners at a funeral in Ntuyo village in August and September, respectively. ADF has adapted to satellite communications as a force multiplier, enabling fighters to transmit propaganda directly to ISIS central media from the bush and to convert cryptocurrency into mobile money without access to conventional cellular networks.
In Pakistan, TTP and Lashkar-e-Islam have applied jizya in tribal border areas where state authority is absent. In 2009, TTP forced the Sikh community in the Peshawar region to pay after occupying their homes and kidnapping a Sikh leader. Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs in villages along the northern Afghan-Pakistani border, including Bara, Chora, Karamna, and the Tirah Valley in the Khyber Agency, have been collectively required to pay jizya, with some Sikh families in Feroze Khel forced to pay 20 million rupees. In Orakzai, TTP took over stores and houses owned by Sikhs. Some families paid while others abandoned their homes and the area rather than comply.
ISIS imposed jizya on Christians in Raqqa in 2014, the city it controlled as its de facto capital, and summoned Christian leaders in Mosul to negotiate payments. Hudson Institute scholar Nina Shea documented that imposition of jizya by ISIS consistently preceded dispossession, violence, rape, murder, kidnapping, and enslavement. Experts note ISIS imposed jizya even on Muslims, which Islamic law strictly forbids, reflecting financial desperation rather than doctrinal consistency.
ISIS’s territorial caliphate collapsed in 2019, but its provincial affiliates in the DRC, West Africa, and Mozambique continue the practice. The debate over whether Coptic Christians should pay jizya has also surfaced periodically in Egypt since the 1980s.
From August 2025, Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh reportedly began collecting jizya from Hindus and other religious minorities following a political transition that brought increased radical Islamic influence.
Of the several groups currently imposing jizya on Christians and other non-Muslims, the most expansionist and dangerous are ADF/ISCAP and ISIS and its affiliates. ADF/ISCAP poses a regional threat, while ISIS and its affiliates are expanding not only across Africa and the Middle East but also into South Asia, Europe, and the United States.
In this context, jizya serves multiple purposes. First, it pressures poor populations to convert to Islam if they cannot afford to pay, which in turn creates a larger recruitment base for extremist armies. Second, it generates revenue that is used to fund expansion.
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 Jeff Brown
Everyone’s waiting for SpaceX to go public.
That’s the mistake.
IPOs are liquidity events.
They’re not ground-floor opportunities.
By the time the bell rings:
• Early capital is already multiplied
• Institutions are already positioned
• Valuation has already expanded
This isn’t new.
Amazon. Google. Tesla.
Opening day buyers didn’t build generational wealth.
Early positioning did.
What if you could compress a lifetime of wealth-building…
Attorney Ty Clevenger identifies HUGE blunder by FBI which he hopes will mandate discovery in Seth Rich case. Someone please get this to FBI Director Kash Patel. Attorney Ty Clevenger … Read more
Rep. Brandon Gill delivered a blistering takedown of the DIGNIDAD Act during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” slamming the immigration bill backed by some Republicans as a reward for illegal aliens that ignores the suffering of American citizens.
Gill did not hold back as he slammed arguments that the legislation helps illegal aliens “living in fear,” instead pointing to the real victims of open-border policies.
“The people who are ACTUALLY ‘living in fear’ are the Americans who are sending their kids to schools that are FLOODED by fentanyl because of our open borders and because of what illegal aliens have done!” Gill stated.
The congressman continued: “The people who are living in FEAR are the Americans who can’t put food on the table because their wages have been suppressed because of illegal aliens who are in this country or who have lost their jobs altogether!”
“And THOSE are the people that we ought to be looking out for. Those are the Americans that we represent. We don’t represent illegal aliens. We represent American citizens!”
“Those are the people whose interests we should be pursuing, not amnesty bills like this. Illegal aliens are not in the shadows. They’re right out in the open,” Gill added. “They’re transforming our communities, tearing our social fabric apart, and absolutely undermining the economic independence of American citizens.”
WATCH:
JUST IN: Rep. Brandon Gill just OBLITERATED the DIGNIDAD amnesty Act that some Republicans are pushing for
“The people who are ACTUALLY ‘living in fear’ are the Americans who are sending their kids to schools that are FLOODED by fentanyl because of our open borders and… pic.twitter.com/BtKskdXIPP
The DIGNIDAD Act (H.R. 4393) was introduced by Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar and co-sponsored by Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, along with roughly 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats.
Among the Republican cosponsors are Reps. Michael Lawler, David Valadao, Dan Newhouse, Mike Kelly, Brian Fitzpatrick, Gabe Evans, Marlin Stutzman, Don Bacon, Young Kim, Mario Díaz-Balart, and others.
The bill would create a “Dignity Program” granting renewable legal status to illegal aliens who have been in the U.S. for more than five years, provided they pass background checks, pay restitution and back taxes, and meet other requirements.
Gill and other America First conservatives have repeatedly called the legislation a “grotesque betrayal” that would undermine President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda and reward illegal immigration.
Gill has also criticized the bill’s Spanish title as an “added insult” to American voters.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Gill wrote, “It’s actually not called the ‘Dignity Act’ It’s called the ‘DIGNIDAD Act’ It’s in a foreign language for added insult.”
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) April 7, 2026
In another post, Gill wrote, “The clearest way for Republicans to tell our voters we viscerally hate them is passing the ‘Dignity Act’ or any other amnesty bill.”
The clearest way for Republicans to tell our voters we viscerally hate them is passing the ‘Dignity Act’ or any other amnesty bill.
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) April 7, 2026
“The Dignity Act is mass amnesty and would constitute a terrible betrayal of our voters,” Gill added.
The Dignity Act is mass amnesty and would constitute a terrible betrayal of our voters.
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) April 7, 2026
The bill has picked up momentum in recent weeks with the formation of a “Dignity Coalition” of business, faith, and community leaders, but it has triggered sharp backlash from MAGA lawmakers who say it violates the clear mandate voters delivered in 2024 for strict enforcement and deportations.
U.S. refugee admissions have narrowed sharply under President Donald Trump, with nearly all new arrivals being persecuted white people from South Africa.
Government data shows 4,499 refugees have been admitted since October 2025, with all but three originating from South Africa.
The only exceptions were three individuals from Afghanistan.
The shift follows Trump’s decision to suspend most refugee admissions while allowing Afrikaners and others, the administration says, who face unjust discrimination to apply.
Under the Biden regime, the U.S. admitted 125,000 refugees from 85 countries in a single fiscal year.
Meanwhile, over 10 million people entered the country illegally, often using fake or baseless claims for asylum to protect them from deportation.
The current policy has reduced overall numbers while concentrating admissions in one group.
Legacy media has identified a group of people being let into the country that enrages them.
It’s not millions of unvetted illegals from around the globe.
Numbers increased significantly in early 2026, with 2,848 arrivals recorded in February and March alone.
Refugees have been resettled across multiple states. Texas has the largest concentration, with 543 individuals, according to available data.
Trump has pointed to conditions in South Africa, including concerns about attacks and racism against white farmers, as justification for the policy shift.
South Africans chant call to genocide against White people.
“Kill the boer, the farmer…”
This is the reason America is granting refuge to White South Africans.
The administration has also said the changes are aimed at tightening the refugee system, cutting legal immigration, and strengthening national security.
Since moving to America to escape the extreme violence against white people in South Africa I’ve managed to grow a nice flock of sheep to supply my family and community with quality grass fed lamb…
South African officials have pushed back against claims of persecution and have publicly criticized the decision to prioritize Afrikaner applicants.
Tensions between the two countries have been rising since the policy was introduced, with Trump previously confronting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over the claims.
President Donald Trump forces the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa to watch numerous videos in the Oval Office showing calls to violence against white farmers in the country.
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to intervene on behalf of a “Republican” candidate who was kicked off the GOP ballot after evidence surfaced tying him directly to the Democrat Party.
Samuel Ronan, a progressive who ran for Chair of the Democratic National Committee back in 2017, thought he could sneak onto the GOP primary ballot in Ohio’s solidly conservative 15th Congressional District.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison ruled that the Franklin County Board of Elections acted within its authority when it voted to remove Ronan from the ballot, clearing the path for incumbent Rep. Mike Carey.
Judge Morrison ruled that Ronan allegedly lied about being a Republican.
We WILL be challenging this in court, and mark my words, we will not stop until the Voices of the People are given a chance to be heard!
DEMOCRACY demands, that all voices get to be heard by the electorate, not the few that the Establishment chooses! https://t.co/sR0siVPRsD
In an order filed April 6, U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison allowed the Franklin County Board of Elections to remove Ronan from the race. The two Republican members of the four-person county board voted last month to kick Ronan out of the race while the two Democrats voted to keep him on.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose later broke the 2-2 tie and sided with his fellow Republicans against Ronan’s candidacy. Ronan appealed the decision in federal court, and Morrison initially issued a temporary restraining order allowing him to remain in the race. That order is now vacated.
Ronan already appealed Morrison’s decision to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with Morrison. Ronan is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. A response to his application for an injunction is due by noon on April 8.
[…]
Franklin County GOP Central Committee member Marc Schare filed the protest against Ronan’s candidacy, pointing to past statements from Ronan while he was a longshot candidate for chair of the U.S. Democratic National Committee and a recent Facebook comment Ronan made.
Ronan told The Dispatch his statements are being mischaracterized. Ronan argues that he should be allowed to present his progressive ideology as a Republican and let the GOP voters decide.
However, SCOTUS refused to intervene, leaving the lower court’s ruling in place.
According to MS NOW, “None of the justices noted any dissent from the denial and… the court did not provide any explanation.”
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Secretary of State Frank LaRose didn’t hold back.
“This is political transgenderism, and it’s a longstanding problem with Ohio’s primary process. We had to go all the way to the nation’s highest court to fight a blatant attempt by a self-declared Democrat to hijack a Republican primary contest.
“This individual took advantage of an open primary process that’s far too vulnerable to trickery and fraud and used it to advance his dishonest campaign to “run Democrats as Republicans.” We stopped it this time, but it’s time to adopt a closed primary process and partisan voter registration before this happens again.”
This is political transgenderism, and it’s a longstanding problem with Ohio’s primary process. We had to go all the way to the nation’s highest court to fight a blatant attempt by a self-declared Democrat to hijack a Republican primary contest.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer observes an illegal alien arrival flight at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, May 30, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Nadia K. Rossin)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has just dealt a crushing blow to open-borders activists.
The full Fifth Circuit REFUSED to grant en banc rehearing in the critical case Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, locking in its earlier February 2026 panel ruling that upholds the Trump administration’s full authority to detain illegal aliens without bond hearings while their deportation proceedings move forward.
No dissents. No hesitation. Just pure, unadulterated common sense from the court.
Big win for President Trump on immigration. Can President Trump detain illegal immigrants during the deportation process? Every Circuit court to reach the merits has answered that question “Yes.” Today, the full Fifth Circuit declined to rehear the case. No Judge dissented. pic.twitter.com/4FTk2vVKTm
As we reported right here at The Gateway Pundit back in February, the original 2-1 panel decision, written by Judge Edith Jones and joined by Judge Kyle Duncan, correctly held that illegal aliens who entered without inspection are “applicants for admission” subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b).
Even long-term illegal residents who snuck in years ago get no automatic bond hearings to waltz back into American communities.
This victory comes on the heels of similar wins, including the Eighth Circuit’s recent ruling siding with the Trump administration on detention without bond.
The 8th Circuit overturned a Minnesota activist district judge’s outrageous ruling that would have handed bond hearings to illegal aliens like Joaquin Herrera Avila, a repeat border invader from Mexico who snuck into the U.S. illegally in 2006 and again in 2016.
The 8th Circuit ruled that aliens present in the United States without lawful admission are “applicants for admission” and “seeking admission” under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), meaning ICE can detain them without bond while removal proceedings grind forward.
A senior Pentagon official summoned the Vatican’s top diplomat for a “bitter lecture,” boasting U.S. military might and demanding Pope Leo align with Trump’s foreign policy—or face consequences that echo historical papal subjugation.
Pentagon Meeting Sparks Diplomatic Firestorm
In January 2026, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States, to the Pentagon. Vatican officials described the encounter as a “bitter lecture” where Colby emphasized U.S. military superiority, stating America possesses the power to do “whatever it wants.” He invoked the Avignon Papacy of the 1300s, a period when French kings held popes captive, as a precedent for expected papal alignment. This unusual confrontation underscores efforts to bring the Holy See in line with administration priorities. Tensions had simmered for four months over papal critiques of migrant policies deemed “deadly” and “inhumane.”
Pope Leo Challenges Trump’s Assertive Foreign Policy
Pope Leo XIV, elected as the first American-born pontiff coinciding with Trump’s second term, delivered his January 2026 State of the World Address. He directly challenged the “Donroe Doctrine,” rejecting “diplomacy based on force” in favor of “dialogue and consensus.” On April 7, 2026, after Trump threatened on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran missed a deadline, Leo denounced it as “completely unacceptable.” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops echoed this, stating threats to civilians cannot be morally justified. These positions reflect longstanding Catholic emphasis on peace over escalation.
Escalating Tensions and Internal Responses
Trump’s April 6 White House briefing warned Iran could be “taken out in one night,” prompting Leo’s public rebuke and a prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11 calling for rejection of “conflict, domination, and power.” Leo canceled a planned meeting with Trump. VP JD Vance, a Catholic convert and Colby ally, announced an investigation into claims a U.S. official threatened Pierre. The Pentagon countered with a denial, describing the session as “respectful and reasonable” while holding the Holy See in “highest regard.” This dispute highlights conflicting accounts of the same event.
Power dynamics pit U.S. military and political strength against Vatican moral authority. The administration seeks Vatican support for its Iran stance, while church leaders prioritize dialogue. Over 60 million U.S. Catholics face divided loyalties between national security and faith principles.
Implications for Religious Freedom and Diplomacy
Short-term fallout includes fractured Catholic backing for Trump policies and public bishop rebukes. Long-term risks involve diplomatic isolation, with one Vatican official suggesting Leo may never visit America under this administration. The episode questions executive pressure on religious institutions, potentially eroding church autonomy—a core conservative value rooted in the First Amendment. International views on U.S. religious freedom could suffer. While facts confirm the meeting occurred, tones remain contested between Vatican briefings and Pentagon statements.
Layoffs are coming to Disney as it tries to fight competition from tech companies in a vicious streaming entertainment market.
As many as 1,000 jobs could be cut in the coming weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Disney’s marketing department, where various parts of the company have been combined, is expected to feel the brunt of the layoffs, the Journal reported.
Staff of Disney+ and Hulu are also being merged.
Disney is facing a two-pronged threat. The world of streaming services delivers smaller profits than the days of cable or over-the-air television, The Wall Street Journal noted.
Further, tech companies such as Amazon and YouTube are fierce competitors. That means Disney needs to find money to invest in the digital future.
Although the layoffs will be the first under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, they continue a pattern set by former CEO Bob Iger beginning in 2022.
Since then, Disney has cut more than 8,000 jobs, mostly in its entertainment and corporate areas, along with ESPN. Employment has risen at its theme parks and on its cruise ventures.
At the end of its 2025 fiscal year, Disney had 231,000 workers.
Disney joins Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery in making cuts, with more jobs losses likely if Paramount is able to complete a buyout of Warner.
Sony, in fact, announced Tuesday that it would cut hundreds of jobs, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The report noted that Disney is also facing losses from theater revenue, and fears a potential drop in international visitors to its theme parks.
NEW: Disney is reportedly planning to cut up to 1,000 positions in the coming weeks, with many of the cuts in the recently consolidated marketing division as part of a cost-cutting effort code-named “Project Imagine,” according to @JBFlint and @benfritz.https://t.co/85wfytODyOpic.twitter.com/ygMTSt4qr3
The news comes as Disney toils through years of bad publicity linked to its insistence on inserting leftist, “woke” angles into projects that would have once been geared toward simply entertaining the ticket-buying public.
In addition, as noted by the entertainment-focused website Deadline, layoffs have hit many large media companies.
For example, CBS announced the end of CBS News Radio after 99 years in business.
Epic Games, which produces video games, announced in March it would lay off 1,000 workers. Starz last month laid off 7 percent of its workforce.
Amazon cut 1,600 workers at the end of January, while in late 2025, Paramount cut 2,000 jobs.
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi dies from injuries sustained in US-Israeli strikes. pic.twitter.com/KyZaLEPAyB
JUST IN: Rep. Brandon Gill just OBLITERATED the DIGNIDAD amnesty Act that some Republicans are pushing for
