Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn resigned amid drone controversies.
Today I informed the men and women of the @SecretService that I will be transitioning out of my role as Deputy Director. Director Curran and I have been working on a thoughtful transition plan for months now. Proud of the men & women of the USSS and all your accomplishments!
— U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn (@SecretSvcDepDir) October 16, 2026
According to Real Clear Politics, Matt Quinn worked for a company that manufactures
Matt Quinn served as a Secret Service Agent for 23 years until 2021 when he left the agency.
Quinn returned to the agency after he worked for DroneHunter.
Per Real Clear Politics:
Secret Service sources want answers and tell RCP an agent or officer took out the agency’s own drone, which then fell on or near I-395.
Quinn, a longtime veteran of the Secret Service, also worked for Fortem Technologies, which manufactures the DroneHunter, before returning as deputy director last year.
The DroneHunter is known to have several technical issues, which have prevented or delayed its full implementation by the Secret Service.
What role did Quinn play in the agency’s purchasing decisions regarding the DroneHunter?
@RCPolitics EXCLUSIVE: FULL STORY behind the resignation of the Secret Service’s No. 2 today — Deputy Director Matt Quinn — among a series of drone controversies.
Did the Secret Service shoot down its own drone over the Army-Navy football game last year in a friendly-fire incident, then try to sell it to 60 Minutes as a win?
Secret Service sources want answers and tell RCP an agent or officer took out the agency’s own drone, which then fell on or near I-395.
Quinn, a longtime veteran of the Secret Service, also worked for Fortem Technologies, which manufactures the DroneHunter, before returning as deputy director last year.
The DroneHunter is known to have several technical issues, which have prevented or delayed its full implementation by the Secret Service.
What role did Quinn play in the agency’s purchasing decisions regarding the DroneHunter?
READ THE FULL @RCPolitics story in the link below.
In an interview Thursday, President Trump said the United States may need to strike Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground site believed to play a key role in Iran’s nuclear program. “We’re looking at Pickaxe Mountain,” the president told Newsmax. “We may have to go there. We’ll take a shot at that one. We’ll knock it out fast.” Trump also addressed reports that he was considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB; popularly known as the “mother of all bombs”), refusing to rule out the weapon’s deployment against Iranian targets.
On Friday, Saudi military spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki announced the interception of multiple missiles and drones targeting Saudi forces and infrastructure. This follows a deadly Houthi attack Thursday on the presidential palace in Aden, the Saudi-backed government’s de facto capital. Fighting also reportedly continued around Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, which is currently held by the government but encircled by Houthi forces.
Also on Friday, Iran’s army chief suggested that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen if U.S. forces withdrew. In a post on X, General Mohammad Akraminia wrote that “if America leaves the region, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and collective security will be established with the participation of the region’s countries, and the global economy will improve.” He added that “if [the U.S.] doesn’t leave, we’ll expel it.”
Brent crude was trading at around $106 per barrel Friday morning. AAA reports that the average price of regular gasoline in the United States is $4.33 per gallon, and the average price of diesel is $6.33 per gallon.
After a wave of extortion, organized crime and high-profile political assassinations, Peru’s conservative president is pursuing deportation cooperation with Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez.
Keiko Fujimori is moving to strengthen immigration enforcement, announcing plans to coordinate deportations of all illegal Venezuelan immigrants directly with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The announcement comes as Peru confronts a serious public security crisis, with authorities battling extortion networks, contract killings and transnational criminal organizations, including Venezuelan-origin gang Tren de Aragua.
¡NOTICIÓN DEL DIA!
Felicitaciones a gobierno de presidente Keiko Fujimori por paso ESTRATEGICO de DESTRABE de expulsiones de ciudadanos venezolanos en situación irregular o delincuentes.
¡AHORA SI PODRÁN SER EXPULSADOS O REPATRIADOS!
¡Punto para el gobierno!¡Punto para… pic.twitter.com/fiGhEgNvHC
Yesterday, Fujimori announced that she had spoken with Rodríguez to coordinate the expulsion of illegal Venezuelan nationals and support Venezuela’s Vuelta a la Patria (“Return to the Homeland”) repatriation program.
The two countries’ foreign ministries are working on protocols for air transfers. The governments have not yet announced the number of people targeted or a date for the first flights though.
The message to illegal immigrants and foreign criminal gangs from Keiko is a significant shift toward a more aggressive enforcement strategy.
Peru’s security crisis puts immigration enforcement at the center of the debate
Police and prosecutors have documented criminal networks linked to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and its factions operating in the country, with investigations involving extortion, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, weapons and drug offenses.
This past January, Peru’s Interior Ministry announced that police had arrested more than 50 people during an operation targeting a faction linked to Tren de Aragua in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima. Authorities said the organization was connected to extortion, drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession.
In April, prosecutors announced the preliminary detention of 25 people allegedly connected to two criminal networks associated with Tren de Aragua, including investigations into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
These cases illustrate why organized transnational crime has become such an urgent issue for Peruvian authorities.
The new Peruvian president is clear that criminal organizations will be targeted for their crimes, and illegal immigration will be addressed through enforcement of the law.
A candidate was murdered during the election campaign
One of the most shocking cases highlighting Peru’s current security challenges occurred this past September, when journalist and regional gubernatorial candidate Susy Aponte Polo was shot dead during a campaign appearance in a market in Caraz, in the Áncash region.
The killing was captured on video. Aponte had previously reported receiving threats, and a Venezuelan national was detained as a suspect in connection with the attack. The investigation remains crucial to establishing individual responsibility and the motive for the killing.
The murder sent a chilling message about the dangers facing political candidates, journalists and ordinary citizens in a country struggling with violent crime.
In separate cases, Peruvian authorities have reported attacks against public officials and operations against criminal organizations involved in extortion and violence.
Also this past May, Mayor Víctor Hugo Febre of the Veintiséis de Octubre district in Piura was murdered in an attack that prompted an immediate police response. Fujimori, then a leading political figure, publicly condemned the killing and warned against normalizing a reality in which organized criminals operate with impunity.
These incidents have intensified public demands for a government capable of restoring order.
Fujimori won the presidency amid widespread fear of crime
Fujimori’s rise to the presidency came amid growing public anxiety over extortion, organized crime and violence.
The Associated Press reported that she won Peru’s 2026 presidential runoff by a narrow margin, with public security among the central concerns shaping the election. Her campaign emphasized a tougher response to organized crime, stronger security measures, new prisons and greater use of state security forces.
The electoral result gave Fujimori a mandate to pursue the security agenda she campaigned on.
Peru’s cooperation with Venezuela could help address one part of that problem by establishing procedures to return all illegal Venezuelan citizens subject to expulsion.
What wis Tren de Aragua doing in Perú?
Tren de Aragua originated in Venezuela and has developed into a transnational criminal organization. Authorities in Peru have linked its factions to serious offenses, including extortion, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Last August, the Peruvian government announced the expulsion of three Venezuelan nationals associated with Tren de Aragua after they had served eight-year prison sentences for offenses involving illegal weapons and other public-order and public-health crimes. They were transported to Caracas aboard a Peruvian Air Force aircraft.
The latest agreement could broaden cooperation beyond such individual cases, although the precise scope of the new protocols remains to be announced.
These new developments in Peru might set another example on he importance of intelligence sharing, secure borders, cooperation with countries of origin and effective deportation procedures.
The next phase will determine whether Fujimori’s announcement becomes an effective deportation policy.
The governments must finalize procedures for air transfers, clarify which cases qualify for expulsion and establish how many people could be affected. As of today, the public announcement confirms diplomatic coordination, not the beginning of a comprehensive deportation operation.
The challenge now is to turn those commitments into action.
A teen accused of gunning down three children and a teacher at an Oregon elementary school on Thursday has been identified as John J. Griffin II, three senior law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told NBC News.
It was not immediately clear if the 16-year-old alleged gunman had a connection to Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where officials said an armed bystander fatally shot the teen and interrupted the shooting spree.
Two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the teen’s mother purchased the long gun he used around his birthday in August.
Victims included children ages 5, 8 and 11. A 7-year-old and a teacher were critically injured.
President Trump speaks to reporters at the White House
President Trump on Friday said that he told his new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, to reconsider her role in the press office as the media treats her “very badly” and “very unfairly” as she reportedly came to the decision to step down.
Since Katie’s first day, the knives have been out, with the media trashing her performance and questioning her law credentials after she accurately presented herself as a lawyer with a Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University. The attacks were even coming from within the administration, with officials trashing her to the mainstream media.
Sean Hannity also grilled Zacharia during an appearance on his show on Thursday night.
WATCH:
Trump was asked on Friday about Zacharia not passing her bar exam to become an attorney and her performance in her first press briefing on Tuesday, and he said the media has treated her “pretty nastily.”
“Katie’s been treated very badly by the media, very, very badly, very unfairly, I think, and I just spoke to her about it,” Trump said.
“I said, ‘Katie, is this for you?’ because, you know, she’s been treated very rough, and she’s a nice person, very nice person. I’ve watched her for years on television, but I said, ‘Is this for you, Katie? Because honestly, you don’t need this. You don’t have to be treated that bad.’”
Trump added that it’s not only the leftwing media but also Fox News’s Sean Hannity and the Fox and Friends panel this morning were “tough” on her.
“She’s been treated, I would say, pretty nastily, and I said to Katie just two minutes ago, I said, ‘Katie, you know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want,'” he said.
“She said, ‘This is a lot tougher.’ I said, “Welcome to the world of Trump.”
WATCH:
Trump later in the gaggle told reporters, “when I get back, we’re going to talk because I don’t think that Katie should be made to suffer like she’s suffering at the hands of the press.”
“So, I will talk to her as soon as I get back,” he added.
WATCH:
Now, Fox News reports that Zacharia has told Fox’s Peter Doocy that she is “transitioning out” of the new role after less than a week.
A senior White House official tells @pdoocy Katie ZACHARIA is “transitioning out” of the press secretary position.
The New York Times is reporting that Zacharia has been “fired,” but this appears to be false. The Gateway Pundit has reached out to Zacharia for more information.
As the midterms approach, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith sounded the alarm on what is in store if Democrats regain power.
“Here’s where the problem lies,” Smith stated. The Democrats have already shown us it’s not going to stop there.”
“The Democrats have already put us on notice that if they regain power, they’re going to start talking about stuff like packing the Supreme Court.”
“They’re going to entertain opening the borders, at least to some degree.”
“Not going to be as bad as Biden did it. Not gonna let 15 to 20 million people cross the border illegally. That’s true. But in the same breath, they ain’t gonna have it fully closed either.”
“And in the process of all of that happening, while they’re doing that, they’re facilitating those things transpiring.”
“They’re also going to spend They’re also going to re-engage in identity politics. And you know the stupidest thing they’re going to do?”
“They’re going to go after Trump. They’re going to try to impeach him. Impeach him, impeach Pete Hegseth, Lord knows who else.”
Watch:
NEW: Stephen A. Smith *SOUNDS ALARM* over what Democrats will try to do if they regain power
– Pack Supreme Court
– Open borders
– Identity politics
– Impeach Trump
– Impeach Pete Hegseth
– Impeach other Trump Admin officials
The Democrat agenda isn’t to improve the lives of Americans.
Instead, they will lurch far left and obsess over attacking Trump and his administration if they regain power.
Many Democrats are pretending to focus on “affordability” — but their policies are what drove up prices.
Others have made it clear they will wage lawfare and push radical policies.
It’s not a good sign for Democrats that people like Smith are aware of this and warning that this is their true platform.
Smith also lambasted Kamal Harris for talking about the left’s radical plans so close to the election.
“What the hell is former Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris doing, three weeks before the election, talking about expanding the Supreme Court?”
JoCasta Zamarripa/Image via JoCasta Zamarripa/Facebook
During an interview with reporter Vanessa Kjeldsen on WMTV, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Secretary of State JoCasta Zamarripa made it very clear what her number one priority is… and it isn’t for the benefit of citizens.
Zamarripa told Kjeldsen that her number-one priority, should she win the election, would be to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented Wisconsinites.
“So I really want to sit down and talk with him a bit about pro-immigration policies that I hope that he’ll be supportive of,” Zamarripa stated.
“And I feel confident he will be. But I just want to have that conversation so I can say it, you know, definitively as I go around the state to talk to Latino Wisconsinites about why, if they have the right to vote, they should be voting for David Crowley on November 3rd.”
Kjeldsen asked, “What would you like to see in Wisconsin?”
Zamarripa replied, “My number one priority is to see the governor sign driver’s licenses for undocumented Wisconsinites into law. And I hope that that governor will be David Crowley.”
Kjeldsen followed up, “And have you heard at all from David Crowley on that specific item or waiting to connect with him?”
Zamarripa answered, “We’re going to talk soon, but I feel confident. I know as a legislator, he was supportive of my— that was my legislation when I was in the State Assembly. I know that he was supportive. I believe that he’ll be supportive as our next governor.”
“But I want to have that conversation to be able to say it definitively. But driver’s licenses for undocumented Wisconsinites is going to improve the public safety of all Wisconsinites, whether they’re 5th generation U.S. citizens or brand new, newly arrived immigrants, because it’s going to mean more folks with a driver’s license driving on our roads, more folks accessing affordable auto— automobile insurance.”
Watch:
Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Secretary of State JoCasta Zamarripa: “My number one priority is to see the governor sign driver’s licenses for undocumented Wisconsinites into law. And I hope that that governor will be David Crowley…” https://t.co/flOhsit4Qo
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wisconsin’s population is approximately 5.97 million residents. Roughly 97.3% are citizens.
Undocumented/unauthorized immigrants: Estimates for Undocumented/unauthorized immigrants generally range from about 70,000 to 110,000. The Migration Policy Institute lists about 69,000.
Zamarripa’s number one priority is focused on less than 2% of the state’s population.
The always great Victor Davis Hanson recently appeared on the Sean Hannity show and talked about the apparent shift in some of the midterm races that seems to be benefiting Republicans.
Hanson noted that this already does not look like a ‘blue wave’ election.
He also points out that the polls have been off in many recent election cycles, almost always underestimating the Republican vote.
SEAN HANNITY: All right, joining us now with reaction to the race in Maine and other critical races across the country. We have Hoover Institution’s senior fellow, Victor Davis Hanson, is here. I will tell you, if you look at Mike Rogers and his debate, Darline Graham and her debate, Susan Collins and her debate, Bruce Blakeman and his debate, Republicans are crushing it in these debates, and I think they’re helping themselves a lot.
OK, if you believe the polls, Abdul El-Sayed would have won the primary in Michigan by 20 points. He won by barely a point. If you believe the polls between 20 and 30 points, Francesca Hong would have won. I am telling people not to trust the polls, but I will ask you, the great Victor Davis Hanson, as you look at Maine and New Hampshire and North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, as you look at Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Alaska, what are you seeing? Iowa would be another one.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Something’s definitely going on. I mean, for a supposed blue wave, Sean, there’s these races in Minnesota and Maine and Michigan and Oregon and New York, whether Senate or gubernatorial, they shouldn’t be so close. And when you add in the second factor that in the last three elections, the pollsters have been off by three to five to the detriment of Republicans.
So I think it’s a question of time. Can the Republicans get the right message out, and they’re doing pretty well? Do they have enough time, and do they have enough money? And one thing that’s in their favor is, at least they’re authentic. They’re not erasing their social media accounts. They’re not trying to double back and say, I really didn’t mean that.
They are what they are. But their opponents are starting to panic because, basically, they have an agenda that’s about 40% approval, and they know it, and they know if they can get elected, then they will announce what they said in the campaign and reveal their true self. So the challenge for the Republicans is, can I show the people who they really are?
And these are not authentic people during the campaign, and they stand for positions and issues and ideologies that are incompatible in the United States.
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska did not hold back during Thursday night’s high-stakes “Debate for the State” in Anchorage when he spotted his Democrat opponent, former Rep. Mary Peltola, appearing to read from scripted notes or answers.
Sullivan appeared suspicious after observing Peltola consulting her notes and suggested that her responses looked suspiciously prepared.
“We weren’t supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?” Sullivan asked the moderators from Alaska Public Media and Alaska’s News Source.
The moderator replied firmly: “Neither one of you got questions beforehand. Absolutely not.”
Sullivan didn’t let it go. “Okay, I’m just watching my opponent read from questions that seem to be answered.”
Peltola’s response was pure Democrat confidence: “I’m prepared.”
WATCH:
Sen. Dan Sullivan: We weren’t supposed to get these questions beforehand, were we?
Moderator: “Neither one of you got questions beforehand. Absolutely not.
Sullivan: Okay, I’m just watching my opponent read from questions that seem to be answered.
Mary Peltola: I’m prepared. https://t.co/sckOlkwsAx
This is the same race where The Gateway Pundit previously reported on Peltola’s campaign descending into “complete chaos” after she abruptly fired multiple senior staffers just before the August primary, turning to a Chicago firm tied to Obama adviser David Axelrod.
TGP also covered former acting DNI Ric Grenell calling out Peltola as a “hypocrite” after reports that former aides accused her of using homophobic slurs, including toward her own gay staffers, along with other crude language.
And TGP documented the Democrat-linked effort to place a similarly named candidate on the ballot in an apparent bid to confuse voters and siphon support from the real Sen. Sullivan.
Peltola, who lost her House seat to Republican Nick Begich in 2024 after briefly holding it, is the national Democrats’ top recruit to flip this seat. The race is viewed as pivotal for Senate control, with President Trump making a rare campaign stop in Alaska just days earlier to boost Sullivan.
A Cook County judge ordered the 19-year-old Palatine, Illinois, Taco Bell cashier held without bail on Wednesday after he was charged with plotting a racist mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Aurora, but the same order ensures that he will continue receiving hormone injections for gender transition while he sits in jail awaiting trial.
Alexandros Paporakis, a self-described white supremacist and neo-Nazi from Palatine, Illinois, was ordered held in custody by a Cook County judge on Wednesday, October 14, as he awaits trial on felony charges stemming from an alleged plot to massacre worshippers at a Hindu temple in Aurora.
But the judge also issued a healthcare order addressing the suspect’s ongoing medical treatment, including hormone injections associated with gender transition, according to the New York Post.
The order also addresses medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety.
The ruling has brought renewed attention to the provision of medical treatment for defendants accused of violent crimes while they remain in taxpayer-funded custody.
Meanwhile, disturbing details emerging from the investigation suggest the alleged attack could have turned into a bloodbath if the suspect’s weapon had not malfunctioned.
According to prosecutors, Paporakis spent years fantasizing about carrying out mass murder and had allegedly identified the Hindu temple as a target months before the planned attack.
Investigators say the teenager traveled to the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple in Aurora on Sunday, October 11, armed with an AR-style rifle.
Prosecutors allege that Paporakis attempted to fire at a man from a vehicle, but the rifle jammed, preventing the shooting.
The suspect allegedly fled the scene.
According to WBEZ Chicago, prosecutors say Paporakis had planned a mass shooting for approximately two years and had focused on the Hindu temple for the previous two months.
Even more chilling, prosecutors revealed that Paporakis allegedly circulated an eight-page manifesto titled Why I Fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto).
In the document, the suspect reportedly described himself as:
“a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day.”
The manifesto allegedly expressed violent hatred toward Indians, Jews, and Black Americans, with plans to kill as many people as possible.
Authorities also revealed that Paporakis worked at a Taco Bell restaurant, where coworkers became alarmed by his extremist statements and increasingly disturbing behavior.
One coworker contacted authorities after receiving threatening communications about the alleged attack.
Police subsequently searched the suspect’s residence and recovered an unserialized AR-style rifle, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, tactical equipment, and materials displaying Nazi symbolism.
Investigators also discovered a gas canister marked with an anti-South Asian racial slur, according to Reuters.
Paporakis now faces one count of making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony, and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon involving a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, a Class 3 felony.
The FBI is assisting local authorities with the investigation.
The teenager’s next scheduled court appearance is October 30.
@RCPolitics EXCLUSIVE: FULL STORY behind the resignation of the Secret Service’s No. 2 today — Deputy Director Matt Quinn — among a series of drone controversies.
(@JasonJournoDC) 
