The FBI redefined domestic “violent extremism” to target Trump supporters
Also, a dad’s fight against his son’s sex change
Editorial Team
October 20, 2023
The FBI’s redefinition of a key term illustrates their new priority: punish Joe Biden’s political opponents.
Today we’re covering:
🕵️ The FBI targets Trump Supporters
👪 A dad’s legal battle for parental rights
🇨🇳 China’s role in the Israel-Hamas war,
And everything else you need to know.
☕️ Welcome back. I’m Ari, and this is Upward News. Every day, our team scours 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won’t find in the MSM—all in 5 minutes. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up here.
IN AMERICA
How a California teen received sex change surgery against his father’s will
What’s happening: Ted Hudacko, the father of a boy who underwent sex change surgery without his knowledge and in violation of a custody agreement, is asking a California court to hold his ex-wife and others in contempt.
Why it matters: Hudacko’s story serves as a case study of a legal system that strips the rights of parents who refuse to raise their children as transgender. From the beginning, Hudacko has been powerless against a radical judge who supports transitioning children with experimental, life-altering procedures.
How we got here: Judge Joni Hiramoto had allowed Hudacko’s ex-wife to transition their son as long as “no surgery” was involved. However, in 2021, the teenager had a puberty-blocking drug surgically implanted. When Hudacko objected, Hiramoto awarded full custody to the ex-wife, and Hudacko has not been allowed to see his son in over three years.
Openly biased: Hiramoto has provided educational training for attorneys to fight on behalf of trans-”affirming” parents. Before revoking Hudacko’s parental rights, she challenged his personal beliefs about gender by asking, “If your son … believed himself to be the Queen of England, would you love him?”
Newsom’s agenda: California’s attorney general, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is suing to allow schools to hide students’ gender transitions from parents. This comes after Newsom signed a bill making California a “sanctuary state” for adults who break other states’ laws against transitioning children. This bill also makes it more likely for parents like Hudacko to lose custody of their children.
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
🚌 Texas buses 50,000 migrants to sanctuary cities. Under Texas's migrant busing program, more than 50,000 migrants have been transported to sanctuary cities across the U.S., with most going to Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Abbott initiated the program to draw attention to the crisis at the southern border and the disproportionate burden shouldered by Texas. (Just the News)
💣 US forces attacked in Iraq and Syria. Military bases reported injuries after drone attacks from Iran-backed militias. Then, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, also backed by Iran, fired three missiles potentially aimed at Israel. The Navy intercepted them. (ABC News)
🚨Texas to build fences along New Mexico border. Gov Greg Abbott has announced the construction of barriers along the state's borders with both Mexico and New Mexico. Diverting migrants away from New Mexico will block their path to the Rio Grande and into El Paso, Texas, Abbott says. (Breitbart)
🇮🇱 Israel plans a buffer zone after war. Israeli military officials are in the process of planning a buffer zone around Gaza following the conclusion of their military operations. The objective of this additional layer of defense is to prevent Hamas or any other militant groups from launching large-scale attacks. (Financial Times)
WHAT WE’RE HEARING
Conservative Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with their moderate counterparts for their unwillingness to support a hardline conservative speaker. (Politico)
The New York Times is under intense criticism after publishing and printing the debunked story of Israeli air strikes hitting a hospital in Gaza. (Reason)
IN AMERICA
The FBI redefined domestic “violent extremism” to target Trump supporters
The scoop: Shortly after the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, the FBI changed its own definition of domestic “extremism” to explicitly target political groups, according to an investigation by Newsweek.
The details: The description of “anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism” in FBI documents changed from “ideological agendas” to “political and/or social agendas.”
Why it matters: Since the Capitol riot, the FBI’s investigations of what it considers domestic terrorism have more than doubled, Newsweek reported. Now that it explicitly focuses on political groups, the bureau overwhelmingly targets supporters of former President Donald Trump and the political right in those investigations, classified data show.
Blind justice?: Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that his Department of Justice — the parent agency of the FBI — has “no higher priority” than prosecuting January 6 protesters, most of whom entered the Capitol peacefully.
Zoom out: Through its rhetoric and actions, America’s top law enforcement entity has made it clear that punishing President Joe Biden’s political enemies is its main function.
But there are concerns: Some anonymous FBI officials gave mixed feelings about the agency’s partisan shift, with one worrying that the crackdown could inadvertently provoke and radicalize Americans against the government.
“Greatest threat”: Others, however, were not so worried about overstepping. A senior intelligence official doubled down to Newsweek, declaring that, “Trump’s army constitutes the greatest threat of violence domestically” that the country faces.
Priorities: FBI whistleblowers have previously claimed that the partisanship is coming from the top, causing lower-level agents to quit. One even alleged that the bureau diverted him from child exploitation and human trafficking cases because going after Trump supporters was considered “a higher priority.”
Washington's mess in Israel makes room for Beijing
What’s happening: America’s failure of peacekeeping in the Middle East — considering it funds both sides of the Israel-Hamas war — has made Washington more unpopular in the region than ever before...
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POLL
Should judges have a say in children getting sex changes?Poll results will be in Monday's newsletter |
POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
Did you believe the media’s original coverage of the explosion?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes (59)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👎 No (689)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (56)
👍 Yes: “Unfortunately I got taken in by the misinformation. The NYT of all the media should have said "a blast occurred, we don't yet know the source". So called "journalists" are a big disappointment and don't help the Israeli or Palestinian people.” — Robert
👎 No: “In this day and age you can’t believe anything the media says. There is always an agenda that is being pushed. You need to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Thank Obama for allowing propaganda to be used on Americans.” — Stevie
🤔 Unsure: “I take everything Hamas says with a very large grain of salt. At worst, I feared it was accidental, but refused to believe any account until IDF's official response.” — Irvin
IN THE LOOP
The State Department has issued a global travel advisory for all Americans, alerting them to an elevated risk of terrorist attacks. (State Department)
Attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty in the Georgia case involving Trump, agreeing to a $6,000 fine and written apology. The weak punishment may suggest weaknesses in the prosecution's case. (National Pulse)
Pro-Hamas students at Harvard staged a “die-in,” lying on the ground to protest what they call “genocide in Gaza.” (Breitbart)
The Department of Defense will send Israel artillery shells originally meant for Ukraine. (Axios)
Russia has detained another American journalist, saying she failed to register as a “foreign agent.” (Semafor)
At New York University, a trio was caught tearing down posters of kidnapped Jews, setting off a university investigation and adding to a trend of minimizing Israeli suffering. (New York Post)
5 TRENDS TO WATCH
🇪🇺 EU pressures TikTok and Meta. Under a sweeping law that went into effect two months ago…
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