The case of Colonel Leslie Zyzda-Martin, an Air National Guard officer removed from command at Wisconsin’s Volk Field Air National Guard Base in 2021, exemplifies the troubling ambiguities surrounding jurisdiction and accountability within military structures.

The circumstances of her removal, which coincided with her disciplinary action against a subordinate for distributing explicit images, have raised questions about the motives behind her removal.

On August 1, The Gateway Pundit reported on the incident. In the subsequent years, attempts to uncover the reasons behind her removal have met with silence from officials at the Pentagon and Wisconsin state lawmakers, including the governor. The Department of War (DoW) has brushed aside the issue, suggesting that they either have no sway over the National Guard or fully disregard pleas for assistance.

What could lead them to assert that they have no control over the National Guard? As stated in federal statutory law under 10 U.S. Code § 10501, “There is in the Department of Defense the National Guard Bureau, which is a joint activity of the Department of Defense.” Can it be written more clearly that the War Department would have authority over the NGB, given that the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force operates within the War Department?

Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that the authority over the Guard varies based on whether the units are operating under state or federal jurisdiction. When the Guard is federalized for national defense, the President of the United States has supreme authority. In contrast, during local state operations, each state governor acts as the commander-in-chief.

Title 10 establishes federal command and control when National Guard members are ordered into federal service. Title 32, by contrast, operates as a federal-state hybrid model: Guard members remain part of the federally recognized National Guard and its federal reserve-component structure, while everyday command and control is exercised through the governor and state adjutant general.

This arrangement does not make Title 32 service purely state-controlled. Federal law, regulations, funding, standards, and oversight continue to govern significant aspects of Guard administration and operations, while the state adjutant general exercises day-to-day authority within that federal framework.

Federal officials, therefore, cannot reasonably invoke the National Guard’s state status as though it creates a blanket jurisdictional wall.

According to 32 U.S. Code § 314, “the adjutant general of each State…shall make such returns and reports as the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe, and shall make those returns and reports to the Secretary concerned or to any office designated by him.”

In this context, consider the process of promotions in the Guard. The governor, through the state adjutant general, first promotes an officer at the state level. However, this promotion must receive formal federal recognition (emphasis mine), which is approved by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate (or the Secretary of Defense, depending on the rank) to be considered valid under federal law.

This system highlights the nature of authority in the promotion process, as evidenced by an examination of a memo regarding the promotion status of a member of the Army National Guard. Notably, the letter originated from the Department of Defense rather than the National Guard itself. Consequently, in this example, it is clear that promotions within the Guard are ultimately confirmed at the federal level.

The balance of authority is further illustrated by an incident in California. In June 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported that a California National Guard officer under investigation by the Inspectors General of the California Guard had displayed conduct unbecoming of an officer.

However, a phone call from the Pentagon changed everything. The Secretary of the Air Force’s (emphasis mine) Inspector General (SAF/IG) overturned the findings, and the officer involved was subsequently promoted. It was noted that “the office has the authority to overrule decisions by state inspectors general, but California Guard officials say that rarely happens.” Nevertheless, it does happen, once again demonstrating who has ultimate authority.

The Gateway Pundit spoke to Lt. Col. Ryan Sweazey (USAF-Ret.), the founder of Walk the Talk Foundation, an organization dedicated to advocating for and safeguarding whistleblowers. The former F-16 fighter pilot previously served as an Inspector General in the Air Force. In his perspective, “The assertions being made by current DoW and Air Force leadership that they have no purview over matters within the National Guard are, at best, half-truths and, at worst, intentional misrepresentations of fact in order to deflect responsibilities in this and other important matters.” For him, “The former Air Force Inspector General’s unsolicited intervention in the aforementioned California Guard case is very recent and very irrefutable proof of that.”

To provide another example of federal intervention, The Gateway Pundit also spoke to an unnamed Guardsman who had submitted a Religious Accommodation Request (RAR) concerning the 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate. Initially, the request received approval from the state, traveling through the National Guard before reaching the Department’s Surgeon General (emphasis mine) where it was ultimately denied. Who had the final authority? Was it the state or the federal apparatus? Furthermore, who bears the burden of correcting this injustice? It’s the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR/NR), a federal (emphasis mine) administrative review body.

Additionally, in 2021, former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin responded to an inquiry from Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt. Regarding the unlawful 2019 COVID-19 shot mandates for members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard and Air National Guard, he instructed that all members of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard must adhere to the COVID-19 vaccine compliance deadlines and requirements set by the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force (emphasis mine), as mandated by Presidential authority under title 32, U.S. Code, section 110.

What distinguishes that exercise of federal authority from a request to review a contested command relief that produced zero substantiated findings?

Apart from these examples, what about a military line of duty (LOD) determination? It is a formal inquiry that assesses whether a service member’s injury, illness, or disease occurred while they were on duty, thereby determining their eligibility for medical care, disability compensation, and veterans’ benefits. Examples of determinations for Guard members provided to the author illustrate that the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force (emphasis mine) intervene when it chooses to, and when it prefers not to, it claims it’s a matter for the Guard. It’s the same within the Inspector General system.

Another anonymous Guardsman pointed out, “Governors would have no militia without the fully federally funded Title 32 technicians and Active Guard Reserve, [adding that] state leaders like to wave their ‘state rights’ hand in protest but fail to push the protest far enough to fund it themselves.” This sentiment underscores the troubling dynamic in the relationship between state and federal powers.

What stands out most in each situation is the unsettling reality that, when it serves their interests and proves convenient, federal agencies appear to play both sides.

In the case of Zyzda-Martin, this raises questions about the integrity of their actions. Could there be something in her situation that might cause embarrassment for the Department of the Air Force—or the Wisconsin governor—if they intervened? Were laws and regulations genuinely adhered to concerning her investigations and her removal from command?

As the investigation unfolds, it is imperative that both the Department of War and state officials recognize their roles and responsibilities, ensuring that transparency prevails over ambiguity. At this point in time, the Wisconsin Air National Guard is effectively undermining the Department of the Air Force by operating under a thin guise of autonomy. Given the numerous instances of federal involvement in Guard affairs, there is no justification for their lack of response.

J.M. Phelps emailed a series of questions directly to Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, SAF Inspector General Lt Gen David Lyons, National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Steven Nordhaus, and others.

The inquiries were as follows:

Skip to PDF content

Responses were not received by press time.

 

 

 

The post Hierarchy of Power: National Guard vs. Department of War in the Matter of Colonel Leslie Zyzda-Martin—and Countless Others appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Fox News correspondent and America Reports co-anchor John Roberts has publicly acknowledged that he developed pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart, after his third COVID-19 shot, and that the condition worsened after he took a fourth dose.

The startling disclosure appeared in a newly circulated video clip, with Roberts recounting the sequence in his own words.

After years of mandates, booster campaigns and lectures from Washington’s so-called experts, another prominent media figure is now publicly describing a serious medical condition that arose following vaccination.

And the history here is impossible to ignore.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported in October 2021 that Roberts deleted a post questioning the long-term effectiveness of COVID vaccines following Colin Powell’s breakthrough infection and death.

After receiving immediate backlash, Roberts defended the vaccines and declared: “I plan to get a booster as soon as possible.”

Now Roberts says pericarditis developed after his third shot and worsened after the fourth.

“I remember when I got the boosters, I developed pericarditis, and then that went away. Then, when I had the second booster, it came roaring back again. So, you know, the body reacts differently to these things depending on who you are,” Roberts said.

WATCH:

The admission, circulating widely from on-air comments and related discussion, lands years after federal officials and corporate media spent 2021–2022 aggressively pushing mRNA boosters while downplaying or delaying clear warnings about myocarditis and pericarditis risks.

Roberts, who has previously disclosed heart issues including a pacemaker implanted in early 2022 and later treatment for atrial fibrillation that he linked in part to “that whole COVID thing,” described the inflammation appearing after the third shot and intensifying following the fourth. He has taken four doses total.

The post Fox News’ John Roberts Admits He Developed Pericarditis After His Third COVID Shot — and It Got Worse After the Fourth appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

An anti-rent activist named Tracy Rosenthal, who has direct connections to the Zohran Mamdani campaign and administration, grew up in a million dollar apartment in Manhattan with her father, a Grammy winning recording artist.

Rosenthal now lives in a $2,300 dollar a month apartment in Brooklyn, but has not paid rent for years. Her previous landlord was foreclosed on, and now the bank is trying to remover her and other tenants for living in the building as squatters.

Meanwhile, Rosenthal makes videos and public appearances where she teaches people how to screw their landlords out of rent.

She is another communist nepo-baby who has lived a life of total wealth and privilege, while pretending to be a working class hero.

The New York Post reports:

A rent-striking, rising-star radical orchestrating the Mamdani administration’s socialist housing agenda is the daughter of a famed music studio owner who recorded rock legends like David Bowie, the Ramones, Blondie, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, the Foo Fighters and Coldplay, The Post has learned.

While framing herself as a champion of the proletariat, Tracy Rosenthal grew up in a trendy $1.7 million NoMad pad with elite access to the music industry — attending the Grammys at least twice with her dad, four-time winner Steven Rosenthal.

Her father recorded hit albums by some of the world’s biggest artists at the Magic Shop, the SoHo studio he founded in 1988, including Coldplay’s 2008 “Viva la Vida,” which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide; the Foo Fighters’ 2014 “Sonic Highways,” for which he was interviewed in the band’s HBO docuseries; and Bowie’s final album, 2016’s “Blackstar.”

Yet despite her first-class upbringing, she’s been on a four-year “rent strike” since moving back to New York City after a stint in Los Angeles — because the Bolshevik bugged out after spotting a cockroach in her hip $2,300 a month Bed-Stuy apartment…

She said the landlord refused to hire an exterminator, and after finding out the building had more rental units than were legally approved and was facing foreclosure, she organized with the other tenants to eventually stop paying rent, stiffing the owner of at least $108,000 on her unit alone.

In the video below from Stu Smith, Rosenthal talks to an audience about methods for not paying rent:

Tracy Rosenthal’s Strategy: Build Toward a “General Rent Strike” and Create a Crisis Big Enough to Force Concessions

This is one of the more revealing Tracy Rosenthal clips because she is explaining how she thinks the movement can force systemic change.

Asked what mass rent nonpayment would actually look like, Rosenthal describes a “long term strategy” of building enough scale to create the kind of “crisis” necessary to extract major political concessions.

“One way of thinking about abolishing rent is a permanent and general rent strike.”

Watch:

Tracy Rosenthal’s Strategy: Build Toward a “General Rent Strike” and Create a Crisis Big Enough to Force Concessions

This is one of the more revealing Tracy Rosenthal clips because she is explaining how she thinks the movement can force systemic change.

Asked what mass rent… https://t.co/3nrJG3r9jE pic.twitter.com/JYcoEJcp7f

— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) August 10, 2026

These people are so entitled. She thinks she has a ‘right’ to live in an apartment that doesn’t belong to her and not pay rent.

And she’s another child of privilege. Why are so many of them like this?

The post OF COURSE: Mamdani Linked Anti-Rent Activist Grew Up as a Child of Wealth and Privilege (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Last week, a World Health Organization (WHO) warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine, was “struck and destroyed,” according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO.

In a statement published on X, Tedros claimed that no casualties had been reported and that a team of “a WHO staff member and drivers” was able to evacuate 130 of approximately 300 pallets” earlier in the day, suggesting that the WHO potentially knew of the attack before it occurred.

The warehouse is said to have “held humanitarian medical supplies intended for frontline health facilities — primarily WHO emergency health supplies.”

Last Friday, the @WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro, #Ukraine, was struck and destroyed.

At this time, no casualties have been reported. A WHO staff member and drivers had been on site earlier in the day supporting the evacuation of supplies. The team had succeeded in… pic.twitter.com/m1sRnJTsXc

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 9, 2026

A community note was added to the post attributing the attack to Russia; however, the WHO statement on the attack fails to identify a specific attacker.  The sources cited by X Community Notes link to Politico, Ukrainska Pravda, Kyiv Independent, The Independent, and Liga.net, but none cite any specific source attributing the attack to Russia.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, posted on X that “Russia struck a WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro storing essential medicines intended for hospitals and frontline areas.  Russia must be held fully accountable for such attacks.”

The WHO appeared to have had foreknowledge of the attack, as it had initiated an evacuation of supplies beforehand; however, the WHO statement makes no mention of the source of the attack.  A “bot swarm” of accounts responded to the WHO’s statement, calling for the WHO to name Russia as the perpetrator, but to no avail.

BRICS News on X, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Watcher.Guru account, posted, “JUST IN:  Russia Strikes WHO warehouse in Ukraine,” but did not cite a source for the claim.

JUST IN: Russia strikes WHO warehouse in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/A8ivcz17hK

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) August 10, 2026

President Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization when he reassumed the Oval Office on January 20th, 2025, with Executive Order 14155, saying, the “World Health Organization ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States.  It’s not going to happen anymore” in reference to the roughly $500 million the United States had been contributing, compared to China’s $39 million.

The post World Health Organization Warehouse Destroyed in Dnipro, Ukraine – WHO Had Already Begun Evacuations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Who are these drones spying for, in the end?

The Royal Navy is fighting a war with Britain, to have resources to modernize and expand the much-diminished forced, said to be the smallest-ever.

But even when modernization efforts do come, they are not without issues, as we’ve learned this week.

It’s been widely reported that the Royal Navy spy drones used by Britain’s elite special forces had cameras suspected to be secretly sending sent data to China, The Telegraph can reveal.

The UK Ministry of Defence has launched an emergency security response after discovering that Chinese-made cameras on the Royal Navy’s K3 Scout drones were secretly transmitting data to an IP address in China.

The 27-foot, £12 million uncrewed vessels are used by Royal… pic.twitter.com/7hclAG1o6e

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 10, 2026

The Telegraph reported:

“The cameras on the K3 Scout surveillance drones had components made in China which were transmitting information to a device in the country.

The Royal Marines have been using the £12m fleet since March and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was forced to remove all internet connectivity from the cameras after discovering the breach.

The revelation raises fears that Beijing has been attempting to spy on Britain’s military after years of security warnings about the threat from the country.”

— Chinese-made components in cameras aboard Royal Navy K3 Scout surveillance drones were found transmitting data to an IP address in China, The Telegraph reports.

The £12 million drone fleet, used by the Royal Marines since March, was sending “heartbeat communications”… pic.twitter.com/TcJNA0UU5F

— Military Summary (@MilitarySummary) August 10, 2026

British defense contractor, Kraken Technology Group, sourced the cameras from a ‘third party’ who had ‘given assurances’ about their security.

“An investigation into the drones revealed that the cameras were transmitting ‘heartbeat communications’ – data to confirm they were online and functioning normally – to an IP address in China. The MoD insisted that there was no evidence that any sensitive data or systems had been sent abroad.”

However, it didn’t take long for the British military authorities to deny any of this is taking place.

BBC reported:

“The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said there is no evidence to suggest a systems or data breach after the Royal Navy’s new sea drones were found to include a Chinese-made component.

‘A thorough investigation found no evidence of MoD data or systems being accessed, compromised or transmitted externally’, an MoD spokesperson said.

Our assurance and testing processes are designed to identify and address potential vulnerabilities early, and we continue to undertake routine security activity across our systems and equipment’, the MoD added.”

Read more:

DISCOUNT DEFENSE: British Royal Navy To Scrap New Destroyers for ‘Smaller, Cheaper Warships’

The post British Royal Navy’s Spy Drones Have Cameras Suspected of Sending Back Data to China appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Just days after taking office, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella and his foreign minister announced two major diplomatic decisions: Colombia recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and became the second country in the world, after the United States, to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The moves represent a dramatic break with former President Gustavo Petro’s foreign policy, which strengthened ties with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and adopted a sharply critical position toward Israel.

But Colombia is not simply breaking with Petro. A bigger question is emerging:

Is Colombia pursuing an independent foreign policy—or moving increasingly into the geopolitical orbit of President Donald Trump and his key allies?

Petro broke diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 and established a Colombian embassy in Ramallah. De la Espriella, by contrast, promised to restore Colombia’s historic alliance with Israel.

Now Bogotá has gone considerably further.

On August 10, the Colombian government announced its recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, arguing that the territory is strategically important to Israel’s defense and regional security.

Israel welcomed the decision. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly thanked Colombia, while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the recognition “historic.”

The Golan Heights: A Major International Dispute

The Golan Heights is not an ordinary territorial dispute.

Israel captured the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and extended Israeli law and administration there in 1981. The U.N. Security Council subsequently adopted Resolution 497, declaring Israel’s decision to impose its laws and administration on the territory legally invalid under international law.

I thank Colombia and my good friend, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella @ABDELAESPRIELLA, for his historic decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, following our meeting in Barranquilla, Colombia, last Thursday.

With this, one of his first… https://t.co/wisVitfs8J

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) August 10, 2026

For decades, that remained the dominant international position.

Then came Donald Trump.

In 2019, during his first presidency, Trump formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The United States stood virtually alone in doing so.

Now Colombia has joined Washington.

Supporters argue that Israel needs defensible borders and that the Golan provides a critical strategic position against threats from Syria and other regional actors.

Critics argue that Colombia is legitimizing a territorial change resulting from war that much of the international community continues to regard as an occupation.

Western Sahara: Another Major Shift

Colombia has also recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, abandoning its previous recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Colombia congela relaciones diplomáticas con la entidad denominada como “República Árabe Saharaui Democrática” (RASD). pic.twitter.com/GN3VKgi8FQ

— Cancillería Colombia (@CancilleriaCol) August 10, 2026

The territory’s final status remains disputed. Morocco controls most of Western Sahara, while the Polisario Front claims independence.

The United Nations has classified Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory since 1963. In 1975, the International Court of Justice concluded that the evidence presented to it did not establish territorial sovereignty between Morocco and Western Sahara that would override the principle of self-determination.

Morocco, however, has gained increasing international support for its autonomy proposal.

Trump also recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020.

A Stronger U.S.-Colombia Alliance Makes Strategic Sense

There is a strong case for Colombia strengthening its relationship with the United States.

Washington is Colombia’s most important partner in areas including security, counter-narcotics, intelligence, trade and military cooperation.

Israel also offers significant expertise in intelligence, defense technology, border security and counterterrorism—areas of obvious importance to a country confronting drug trafficking, armed groups and organized crime.

From a conservative perspective, deeper cooperation with both countries can be justified on clear national-security and economic grounds.

But there is an important distinction between being an ally and being a follower.

An ally can say “yes” to Washington when interests align—and “no” when they do not.

That is the question now facing Bogotá.

In two of the world’s most controversial territorial disputes, Colombia has adopted positions closely aligned with those previously championed by the Trump administration.

That raises for many a legitimate question:

How much of Colombia’s new foreign policy is being driven by Colombia’s own national interests—and how much by Washington’s geopolitical priorities?

Colombia and Israel

Supporters of De la Espriella argue that Petro went too far in confronting Israel and that Colombia sacrificed valuable strategic opportunities.

They point to Israel’s expertise in intelligence, security and defense as a potential benefit to Colombia.

That argument deserves serious consideration.

But critics warn that if foreign policy becomes a binary choice—with Israel and Washington or against them—Colombia risks abandoning an independent diplomacy in favor of bloc politics.

Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights has already drawn strong regional opposition. Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar have condemned Bogotá’s decision.

Statement | Qatar Condemns Colombian Government’s Recognition of Israeli Occupation’s Sovereignty over Occupied Syrian Golan Heights

Doha | August 11, 2026

The State of Qatar condemns the government of the Republic of Colombia’s recognition of Israeli occupation’s sovereignty… pic.twitter.com/hQyJ9HeVhx

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 11, 2026

The move could carry a diplomatic cost.

Colombia maintains important relationships with Arab countries and has traditionally sought to preserve flexibility in its foreign policy.

If Bogotá begins to be seen as one of Washington and Israel’s most reliable allies, it could lose some of its room for maneuver in the Middle East.

That matters for a country also seeking investment, trade and greater international influence.

#Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and denunciation of the Government of the Republic of Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. This step contravenes international law and relevant… pic.twitter.com/1RtovABBqX

— Foreign Ministry (@KSAmofaEN) August 11, 2026

Colombia First

Colombia’s closer relationship with Washington and Jerusalem does not necessarily mean Colombia is surrendering its sovereignty. Strong alliances can advance a country’s national interests.

But sovereignty also means having the freedom to disagree with your allies.

If Petro’s mistake was allowing ideology to dominate Colombian foreign policy, De la Espriella should avoid making the opposite mistake: allowing the priorities of Trump, Israel or Morocco to define Colombia’s foreign policy.

De la Espriella came to power promising “Colombia First.”

Now comes the real test: Will Colombia put its own national interests first—even when they differ from those of its closest allies?

The post Colombia First? Bogotá’s New Foreign Policy Brings Country Closer to Trump and Israel appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Many apologists for Islamic extremist violence blame the U.S. for Islamic extremism. But throughout the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa, extremist groups cite specific religious texts directly in their founding and operational documents. This provides them with scriptural justification for killing and even frames killing as an adherent’s duty.

Al-Qaeda’s 1998 fatwa, the “World Islamic Front Statement” published under bin Laden’s name, opens by invoking Quran 9:5, the “sword verse.”

It closes its central ruling by citing two further verses: “fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,” and “fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah.”

From these citations, bin Laden derived the ruling that killing Americans, civilian and military, was “an individual duty for every Muslim.”

The fatwa’s theological lineage runs through Ibn Taymiyyah, the 14th-century jurist whose ruling that Mongol rulers weren’t true Muslims because they didn’t govern by sharia became the reference point for modern takfir, and more directly through 20th-century Salafi-jihadist thinkers like Sayyid Qutb.

Qutb’s writings frame the modern world, including nominally Muslim governments, as having reverted to jahiliyyah, pre-Islamic ignorance. That framing obligates jihad to restore true Islamic rule.

A decade after the 1998 fatwa, Ayman al-Zawahiri issued his own ruling, laid out in a work called “Exoneration.”  It went further than bin Laden’s, pre-justifying a future mass-casualty attack on the United States. It cited fellow jihadist ideologue al-Fahd on the religious duty of waging jihad beyond any single battlefield.

Zawahiri backed the ruling with a published list of radical clerics who endorsed it, an appeal to religious authority meant to answer doubts about his own standing to issue a fatwa.

A quantitative academic study of all 28 issues of Islamic State’s Dabiq and Rumiyah, its English-language propaganda magazines, found a similar pattern at an industrial scale.

The names are drawn from Islamic apocalyptic prophecy. Dabiq, a town in northern Syria, is foretold as the site of a final battle against “Roman” forces before the end of times. After ISIS was driven out of the town in 2016, the magazine was renamed Rumiyah, Arabic for Rome, the next prophesied target.

Only about 9% of the Quran was quoted at all. The passages used were consistently stripped to their most violent fragments. They were isolated from surrounding verses that provide historical and legal context. Terrorism researchers describe this pattern as cherry-picked rather than representative of mainstream Quranic exegesis.

A separate corpus study of Dabiq’s first 14 issues found three-quarters of the 624 verses quoted or referenced were cited only once or twice.

That is consistent with selective mining of scripture for specific rulings rather than systematic exegesis. Academic analysis of the five most-cited verses across all 28 Dabiq and Rumiyah issues found they serve two functions: establishing al-wala wal-bara, loyalty to fellow jihadists and disavowal of everyone else, including other Muslims, and justifying violence against those so disavowed.

Hamas’s 1988 founding charter is the most explicit in citing scripture toward a specific outcome.

Article Seven quotes a hadith, attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and recorded in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim, stating that “the Hour of Judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: ‘Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,’ except for the Gharqad tree.”

The same charter cites Quran 2:120 to frame reconciliation with non-Muslims as a betrayal of faith. It declares in its preamble that “Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Quran its Constitution, Jihad its path.”

Boko Haram’s theological justification draws on the same Ibn Taymiyyah lineage cited in the Al-Qaeda section above. Ibn Taymiyyah’s rulings provided a basis that later extremists used to justify declaring self-identified Muslims apostates, a practice known as takfir. Founder Mohammed Yusuf built the group’s original mosque, the Ibn Taimiyyah Masjid, around this framework.

His successor, Abubakar Shekau, expanded it into a doctrine under which Muslims who voted, held government IDs, or sent their children to secular schools could be branded unbelievers and killed as such. This is the theological basis for the group’s name, which translates roughly to “Western education is forbidden.”

Shekau’s version of the doctrine traces back to an 18th-century concept from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, “nawaqid al-Islam,” or nullifiers of Islam. It also draws on the work of the modern radical ideologue Diya al-Din al-Qudsi, whom Shekau is reported to have quoted verbatim in his sermons.

The broad application of the doctrine became the fault line that split the movement. In 2016, ISIS’s central leadership formally removed Shekau specifically over his “Takfir al-Umum,” takfir applied broadly to the general Muslim population rather than specific enemies. ISIS installed Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the leader of its ISWAP faction in his place.

ISWAP’s own doctrinal position was laid out in a book by Barnawi. It explicitly rejects Shekau’s application of takfir to justify killing ordinary civilians, Muslims, and even fellow commanders. The internal dispute is over how far to extend a shared premise, not whether takfir itself is legitimate.

The Islamic State’s 2014 caliphate declaration drew on a similar takfiri lineage but applied it with an added claim of restored Islamic sovereignty: the “convert, pay jizya, or die” ultimatum ISIS issued to Iraq’s Christians in June 2014.

Against Yazidis specifically, a 2014 Dabiq essay titled “The Revival of Slavery Before the Hour” (Dabiq, Issue 4, pp. 14–17) cited classical jurisprudence to argue Yazidis were pagans whose enslavement was religiously sanctioned. Lawfare’s analysis documents that ISIS treated this ruling as settled law. ISIS accounts for more minority deaths in this survey than any other single group.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adheres to Twelver Shia Islam, which holds Muhammad as the final prophet of Islam, the same position held by Sunni Islam.

What separates them is a governance doctrine: wilayat al-faqih, “guardianship of the Islamic jurist,” formulated by Ayatollah Khomeini and installed as the constitutional basis of the Islamic Republic of Iran after 1979.

The doctrine holds that in the absence of the Twelfth Imam, whom Twelver Shia belief holds to be in occultation rather than dead, supreme religious and political authority passes to a qualified cleric, currently Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The IRGC’s hostility toward Israel is tied directly to Mahdism, the doctrine that removing obstacles to the Twelfth Imam’s return is a religious obligation. Middle East Forum reports the IRGC regards Israel’s existence as the “greatest barrier” to that reappearance, making its destruction a religious prerequisite rather than a strategic objective.

Hezbollah’s founding 1985 Open Letter explicitly pledges obedience to the faqih as its ultimate religious and political authority.

The same document brands Israel “the hated enemy that must be fought until the hated ones get what they deserve.” The group was formed in 1982 with direct organizational and doctrinal support from an IRGC delegation sent to Lebanon for that purpose.

Hezbollah frames armed struggle against Israel as jihad. Specifically, it frames the struggle as fard ayn, an individual religious duty rather than a collective option, once Muslim land is deemed under occupation.

Martyrdom in that struggle is presented as a path to eternal reward. Hezbollah has used this doctrine to religiously sanction its fighters’ operations against Israel since the group’s founding.

Islamic extremism has been blamed on the U.S., economics, geopolitics, and a number of other alleged causes. But much of the Islamist violence is justified by the religious ideology of the terrorist organizations themselves.

The post Middle East Peace Impossible: The Religious Justifications for Islamist Violence appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Milwaukee is at it again.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, as Wisconsin primary results were still coming in, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutierrez admitted that five of the nine USB flash drives delivered from the city’s central count facility to the county contained audit logs instead of the actual election results.

“It’s a human error,” Gutierrez said. When asked by WISN 12 if it was as simple as somebody pressing the wrong button, she replied, “Correct.”

Officials were forced to return to the operations center at central count to re-download the correct results from five machines. Those results then had to be transported back to the Milwaukee County Courthouse for re-uploading. Gutierrez said nearly 15,000 ballots were still outstanding at the time of the admission.

Read that again: on five of the nine USB drives used in a critical election-night transfer, officials copied the wrong files.

WATCH:

Milwaukee says due to human error, 5 out of 9 USBs were missing election results. Oops! pic.twitter.com/cLFRALff5p

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 12, 2026

This is not the first election-night controversy involving Milwaukee, flash drives, and delayed results.

Gateway Pundit readers will remember the 2020 presidential election, when then-Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall-Vogg “lost” one of the flash drives containing critical absentee ballot results in the middle of the night, right as Milwaukee dumped a massive wave of ballots that helped deliver Wisconsin to Joe Biden.

Officials insisted the drive was never truly lost and that everything checked out. While in transit, Woodall-Vogg realized she forgot to bring one of the physical flash drives plugged into a tabulation machine. She allegedly called a senior staff member remaining at the facility. The employee retrieved the drive from the machine and handed it directly to a police officer, who delivered it to Woodall-Vogg.

Skeptics were not convinced, and the episode became a flashpoint in the broader debate over chain-of-custody failures in Democrat-run cities.

In 2024, Milwaukee election workers left tabulator doors unlocked and unsealed for hours while processing tens of thousands of absentee ballots.

Officials again called it “human error” and, out of “an abundance of caution,” zeroed the machines and reran more than 30,000 ballots, pushing results deep into the early morning.

Different election. Different personnel. Different procedural failure. Same city. Same late-night uncertainty.

The post Milwaukee Election Officials Blame “Human Error” After 5 of 9 USB Drives Arrive WITHOUT Election Results appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The Gateway Pundit recently reported on a group of supposedly ‘Republican Moms’ who claimed they were crossing over to vote for far left Texas senate candidate James Talarico. It looked very suspect.

Now we are learning that a group called ‘Republicans for Talarico’ is a completely fake scam.

Who could have predicted such a thing?

The Daily Wire reports:

‘Republicans For Talarico’ Exposed As Complete Scam

Leftist outlet MS NOW aired a segment featuring three Texas women who identified themselves as Republicans and vowed to cross over for James Talarico — but records show at least some of them have voted in Democratic primaries and donated to liberal candidates and causes.

Talarico, who has sparked backlash for his fringe views on Christianity, affection for transgender children, and disdain for the American flag, is banking on Republican crossover support to become the first Texas Democrat elected statewide in decades.

“Republicans for Talarico is as real as the six genders that Talarico claims exist, but has yet to explain what they are. This lame rebrand of White Dudes for Kamala is full of lifelong Democrat donors, activists, and other losers,” RNC spokesman Zach Kraft said in a statement to The Daily Wire.

That “rebrand” was put on display earlier this month when MS NOW aired a segment from the political show “Long Play,” featuring three white women from Tarrant County who portrayed themselves as disgruntled conservatives eager to vote for one of the most liberal candidates in Texas to run for federal office. The exchange went viral after Talarico’s campaign seized on the segment, dubbing the women “Republican Moms.”

During the segment, former school board candidate Mindy McClure described herself as a “moderate Republican,” but as the saying goes, follow the money. Federal Election Commission filings show McClure has repeatedly given through ActBlue to Democratic candidates and anti-Trump groups dating back to 2018, including the Lincoln Project and Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.

Polls promoted by the liberal media continue to show Talarico ahead in this race, despite the fact that he is an absolute train wreck of a candidate.

The polling for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, which showed him winning by double digits was completely wrong. Same goes for Francesca Hong in Wisconsin.

It’s almost like the media and the pollsters are trying to influence races in favor of the far left. Almost.

The post BUSTED: Turns Out Group Called ‘Republicans for Talarico’ Was a Completely FAKE SCAM appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Tucker Carlson interviewed Hunter Biden this week for his podcast for some reason.

We knew the two were friendly from previous contacts Tucker and his wife had with Hunter in 2014 when Tucker asked for help getting his son into Georgetown University.

During the interview Tucker Carlson tied the Hunter Biden laptop story to Israel for some reason.

And as Steven Crowder reported after watching the interview, Hunter claimed the Ukrainians were “shopping the laptop story to Rudy Giuliani in 2018.”

CLAIM: “Hunter didn’t drop off the laptop.”
TRUTH: Yes he did.
-On April 12, 2019, Hunter signed a receipt for an $85 repair on 3 MacBook Pros.
-His own legal team has never denied he dropped it off.

CLAIM: “Ukraine was shopping the laptop to Giuliani in 2018.”
TRUTH: This… https://t.co/Z4jMo3MvaB pic.twitter.com/EMPwEV2vb1

— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) August 11, 2026

This was flat out wrong. The Gateway Pundit reported extensively at the time on how Rudy Giuliani ended up with the Hunter Biden laptop.

Hunter Biden dropped off his laptops in 2019 at The Mac Shop, a computer repair business in Delaware run by John Paul Isaac. There are receipts written out for the repair work.

When Hunter did not return to pick up his computers John Paul contacted the FBI, but first made a copy of the contents on the computers.

The FBI took the laptop and buried it someplace in 2019 and it never saw the light of day. The deep state was pleased that this would end the story.

Back in April 2023, former Gateway Pundit contributor Larry Johnson, explained how Rudy Giuliani received a copy of Hunter’s laptop.

In October 2020, on the eve of the last Presidential debate, 51 U.S. intelligence luminaries published a letter intimating that the Hunter Biden laptop had all the earmarks of a diabolical Russian intelligence operation. I knew it was a lie then and wrote accordingly (see below). But now, thanks to former CIA Director Mike Morrell, we know that the letter was a political op by Clinton operatives working on behalf of Joe Biden.

Matt Taibbi has a superb substack on the latest news. Here are a couple of salient points:

In that letter, which is not easy to find, you’ll see three snippets of dialogue from questioning of Morell, who appears to have organized the open letter. In the first snippet, he explains that the idea originated with a call from Blinken, then of the Biden campaign, and that absent that call, Morell wouldn’t have done what he did:

I

A letter published today (Monday, October 19, 2020) with the signatures of 50 “former intelligence” officials is a self-inflicted wound of comedy and absurdity wrapped in the specious claim of special expertise. Thank God none of these clowns still hold a position anywhere in the national security bureaucracy. Their inability to grasp basic facts and engage in simple reasoning perhaps explains why the Obama team abandoned American military and intelligence officials at Benghazi in September 2012 and why they considered ISIS as “a junior varsity” team.

Basically, this group of mediocrities are sure that the Hunter Biden emails are part of some nasty Rooskie plot:

. . . we write to say that the arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.

There is only one teeny, tiny problem. They have no facts to back up their deluded judgment, supposedly based on years of experience. Just goes to show that experience without real intelligence is no substitute for competence.

Let us start with the facts that are documented:

1. Hunter Biden signs a work order on 12 April 2019 with The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware to recover data on the hard drive of a Mac Laptop damaged by water.

2. The repair is completed on the 17th of April. Hunter Biden is notified by email and phone that the laptop and hard drive are ready to be picked up. Total cost–$85. Hunter did not respond.

3. In September of 2019, the owner of the Mac Shop talked with his dad about the Biden computer and the fact that it had material that might be relevant to the Ukraine issue. Father and son decided the best course of action was to approach the FBI. The father, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, volunteered to make the approach.

4. Steve Mac Isaac, father of John Paul Mac Isaac, goes to the FBI field office in Albuquerque in mid-September and offers the hard drive and work order to the FBI. The FBI only makes a copy of the work order and asks Mr. Mac Isaac to leave. The FBI volunteers no further actions on the part of the Mac Isaacs.

5. November 2019, the FBI suddenly reaches out to the Mac Isaac’s and visits the shop in Wilmington, Delaware. John Paul Mac Isaac asks the FBI to take the computer and the hard drive. They refuse and leave.

6. Early December 2019, the FBI returns to the Mac Shop and presents a grand jury subpoena for the computer and the hard drive. John Paul Mac Isaac happily surrenders the items to the FBI.

7. John Paul Mac Isaac watched and wondered from December 2019 thru August 2020, expecting the FBI would do something with the information on the computer and the hard drive. But nothing happened. John Paul turned over a copy of the hard drive to Rudy Giuliani’s attorney in early September 2020.

The New York Post stories based on the contents of the hard drive came from Rudy Giuliani and his team, not from John Paul Mac Isaac.

The Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, declared on the record on Monday, October 19th, that the info on the Hunter Biden computer is not Russian disinformation. He specifically stated that there was no intelligence to support such a conclusion.

Today (Tuesday, October 20) the FBI and the Department of Justice confirmed the DNI’s declaration:

ONE senior federal law enforcement official says:

1-The FBI and DOJ concur with DNI Ratcliffe’s assessment that Hunter Biden’s laptop and emails in question were not part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

2-The FBI DOES have possession of the Hunter Biden laptop in question.

If this was a Russian operation, it would mean the Russians have the most amazing and powerful intelligence capability in the world. Specifically, it would mean the following:

• If the emails published from the material Rudy Giuliani supplied to the New York Post differed from those on the lap top and hard drive in the possession of the FBI, it would be easy to discredit Rudy. The FBI would simply have to state that no such emails exist on the Hunter Biden computer and hard drive.
• There is no evidence that John Paul Mac Isaac acted at the behest of any outside power to give the Hunter Biden hard drive to Rudy Giuliani. What we do know is that John Paul Mac Isaac never tried to sell the hard drive to the tabloid media nor did he try to give it to any member of the press. John Paul is a true patriot. He trusted the FBI and thought the system would do the right thing.

So there you have it. Proven liars like Jim Clapper and John Brennan, along with the likes of Mike Hayden, are claiming without one shred of evidence that emails validated by the FBI are somehow a magical Russian disinformation campaign. As I noted at the outset, it would be laughable were the claim not so dangerous to the security of the United States. They are the ones meddling in the Presidential election by using their status as former top intel officials as a platform for spreading a lie about Russian interference in hopes of persuading uninformed voters to accept this mendacity as fact.

This has nothing to do with Russians, except for the millions a wealthy Russian oligarch paid to Hunter. The truth of the matter is the Joe Biden used his son, Hunter, to enrich himself and his family. While Democrats continuously insist that Donald Trump is corrupt and unethical, the Hunter Biden emails provide devastating evidence that it is the Bidens, not the Trumps, who are engaged in corrupt and slimy business deals. Those are the facts.

UPDATED CONCLUSION — John Paul Mac Isaac has filed a defamation suit against Democratic operatives and media who spread the lie that the he was part of a Russian intel operation:

The Delaware computer repairman who blew the whistle on Hunter Biden’s laptop filed a multimillion-dollar defamation suit Tuesday against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, CNN, the Daily Beast and Politico, saying they falsely accused him of peddling Russian disinformation. . . .

“After fighting to reveal the truth, all I want now is for the rest of the country to know that there was a collective and orchestrated effort by social and mainstream media to block a real story with real consequences for the nation,” the 45-year-old Mac Isaac told The Post.

“This was collusion led by 51 former pillars in the intelligence community and backed by words and actions of a politically motivated DOJ and FBI,” he continued. “I want this lawsuit to reveal that collusion and more importantly, who gave the marching orders.”

Thanks to Mike Morrell, J.P. now has the proof that this was a conspiracy and that the 50 intelligence officers colluded in that illegal act. I would not be surprised to learn that those intelligence officers will find themselves added as defendants to Mac Isaac’s lawsuit. I am enjoying the irony that the former head of the CIA has now implicated himself and his cohorts in a genuine conspiracy. And this conspiracy is not a theory. It is a fact.

And here is how Larry Johnson became involved with the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.

Larry wrote this in 2022:

John Paul, acting under Delaware law, understood that Hunter’s computer became the property of his business 90 days after it had been abandoned.

At no time did John Paul approach any media outlet or tabloid offering to sell salacious material. A person of lesser character might have tried to profit. But that is not the essence of John Paul Mac Isaac. He had information in his possession that he learned, thanks to events subsequent to receiving the computer for a repair job, was relevant to the security of our nation. He did what any clear thinking American would do–he, through his father, contacted the FBI. When the FBI finally responded to his call for help, John cooperated fully and turned over all material requested.

So here is where I enter the story. I got a call from Mac on 15 October 2020 and he was very worried about his son’s safety. Even though I had never met or spoke to JP prior to this night, Mac thought I could persuade JP to take necessary steps to protect himself. Here is JP’s account of that night (it is an excerpt from the early manuscript of the book coming out on Tuesday):

“JP, I’m Larry Johnson. I’m on the phone with your dad. Old Friends.
Trying to do a three way call.” read the text. I only knew my father to have 2
best friends, and Larry Johnson was not one of them. I hesitantly respond, “OK”
and waited. Soon my phone rang from the same number, “Hi JP, This is Larry
Johnson, I think I have your father on the call, as well. Colonel Mac, are you
there?” next my father barked, “I need you to shut up and listen to what this guy
has to say. He has experience in these situations and you need to do what he
says.” I replied, “I will.” In which my father yelled, “ He has killed people, have
you killed people? You will do more than “I will”.” I responded, “Yes sir. ”

Larry made his introduction and then asked how I was holding up. After a brief
description of the last two days, Larry started in, “It is very important we get you
security and protection, your life is in danger and we need to make sure you are
safe.” I explained that I asked Bob for security last night, but yet to hear back
from him. I was instructed by Larry to call Bob immediately after I hung up and
demand I get someone to my house, Now!. Larry went on to warn me that I
couldn’t trust anyone. People would find a way to record me, catch me saying or doing something that could be twisted and used to attack me. If I was out in
public, don’t talk about anything. I was never to be left alone at the shop or on my
way to and from. Larry concluded, “Above all, get Bob to provided you with the
security he promised. He owes you that.”

We hung up and at 12:31AM. I texted Bob, “ I know it’s late, but I have been advised to get some security personal down to me soon. Nothing is imminent, but things are getting heated. Also, I think it’s time I get a lawyer. If you can assist, that would be fantastic. Again, sorry to bother you this late. Cheers!” So much for a quiet and relaxing early night.

John Paul learned the hard way that the FBI cannot be trusted. Pains me to say that. The FBI dropped the ball and, by extension, the Department of Justice. Sadly, this is becoming a disturbing, repeating theme–the FBI through incompetence or malfeasance is not doing its job.

Here is a video where John Paul Mac Isaac tells the full story of his interaction with the FBI and their negligence. It is worth seven minutes of your time.

As you saw in the video, the FBI was inept, at best, in exploiting the Hunter Biden hard drive. And this is indirectly damning of Bill Barr’s incompetence in this matter I am sad to say. A Special Counsel is warranted when the son of President, is embroiled in serious allegations of tax fraud and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and possible bribery by a foreign power.

I do not know if justice will ever be done. But JP has persevered and written a book that tells his side of the story and will remind readers that there are still some decent people in the United States. JP Mac Isaac is one of the best.

Larry was contacted by John Paul’s father – the rest is history.

The post Hunter Biden Says Ukraine Was Shopping Laptop to Rudy Giuliani in 2018 – We Know This Was a Lie Because a Gateway Pundit Writer Was Involved in This Historic Scandal from the Beginning appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.