Ryu289 - Untitled

deanobeidallah.substack.com

Trump arrests Democratic member of Congress while rewarding MAGA terrorist Ashli Babbitt

Trump's weaponization on parade

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

We’ve never seen a presidential administration weaponize government to the extent of Donald Trump--both by rewarding his supporters and punishing his “enemies.” And what we saw Monday sums it up perfectly. Trump had his DOJ arrest a Democratic member of Congress on BS charges of assaulting an ICE officer while he rewarded the family of MAGA terrorist Ashli Babbitt--who was killed while storming the Capitol on Jan. 6--with $5 million of your tax dollars. This should make your blood boil—because it makes mine! The arrest of New Jersey Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is as House Democratic leaders led by Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a statement, “extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact.” The charge arises from the May 9th visit by herself and two other New Jersey members of Congress to an ICE facility in Newark. A scuffle broke out when the ICE agents suddenly arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for allegedly trespassing. Videos show McIver being pushed by ICE agents and saying on video about one agent, “He just assaulted me.” There is also video of incidental contact between McIver and an armed ICE agent in tactical gear.

After the incident, Trump officials went on TV claiming that McIver “body slammed” an ICE agent and the video would back that up. It did not—that was a lie. Yet Trump’s US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba gleefully claimed on Monday McIver had “assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement” and charged her with a federal crime. This is not the first fabricated charge by the Trump regime versus a Democrat. On Monday, Habba dropped the trespassing charge against Mayor Baraka, claiming it was “for the sake of moving forward.” In reality, as the evidence showed, Baraka was arrested on public property outside the ICE facility. You can’t trespass on public property—especially when you’re the Mayor of the city! The arrest of McIver follows an alarming pattern from convicted felon Trump over his first four months of utilizing the power of the federal government to target his critics and perceived enemies. We’ve seen Trump’s rogue regime arrest a judge in Wisconsin and the Mayor of Newark, begin a criminal investigation into NY Attorney General Tish James plus threaten to prosecute the Mayor of Chicago and the governor of New Jersey. Trump and his minions have also opened formal investigations into media outlets critical of him, the Democratic fundraising platform Act Blue, law firms, universities, people who used to work in the Trump regime but refused to lie that the 2020 election was stolen and more. As Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)--who was with Rep. McIver at the ICE facility --told me last week, she expected Trump to charge her or McIver. Not because either did anything wrong but because as she noted the Trump regime is “out of control” with their “weaponization of law enforcement.” She rightly warned, “no one is safe form this administration.” 

Something’s not adding up here: The Trump DOJ goons ordered the bogus arrest of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) while giving a $5M reward to the family of the late domestic terrorist Ashli Babbitt.

See Also:

Public Notice: DOJ politicization escalates with bogus arrest of congresswoman

goodgoodgood.co

Instead of takedown ads, this Gen-Z congressional candidate is using campaign money to feed people

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old running for Congress in Illinois, is spending her campaign dollars in a whole new way.

"Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th congressional district, isn’t shy about her belief that politicians need to do things differently.

“We have a representation problem,” the first line of the “About” page on her website reads.

“As in, about half of Congress are millionaires and people born before the Moon landing. And that's part of the reason we're in this mess: Our leaders are out of touch.”

A journalist, social media influencer, and political commentator that GQ called “a lefty,” with a mission to revitalize the Democratic party, Abughazaleh built a following online before she launched her campaign in March of 2025. 

But now, she’s leveraging her platform — and campaign dollars — to help people in her community before ballots are even filled in.

“My congressional campaign is feeding people right now,” she starts in a recent TikTok video. 

“Part of the reason I decided to run was because I saw how much money gets wasted in politics, and I thought, ‘What if we spent it differently?’”

She adds that the campaign is focused on “direct action and mutual aid,” emphasizing that she wanted her run for office to be “dual-purpose,” in which she can get her message out and help people in the process. 

It’s a stark pivot from the traditional way of campaigning in the United States, which often includes pricey fundraising galas, attack ads, big billboards, and perhaps the most criticized and unpopular feature: massive donations from private businesses and interest groups. 

Abughazaleh has publicly congratulated the former incumbent of this seat — 80-year-old Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who has held the title since 1999, the year Abughazaleh was born — for her “decades of service.” 

Rep. Schakowsky will not seek reelection, but Abughazaleh called for others to run, hoping to participate in the “first competitive Democratic primary in the District since 1998.”

Abughazaleh has also shared that the average donation her campaign receives is $31. And according to GQ, 1,000 people signed up to volunteer for her campaign within a week of her initial announcement.

And while that volunteering does include marketing, canvassing, and getting the word out, it mostly adds up to actual on-the-ground volunteer work to help people in the local community.

“Our kick-off event, for instance, didn’t charge $500 a plate,” Abughazaleh shared in her TikTok. “People just had to bring a box of pads or tampons, which were donated to Chicago’s period collective. By the end of the night, we had gathered over 5,600 period products, which went to people who can’t afford them.”

Most recently, the campaign hosted a food drive for a local community fridge program.

“We asked folks to come out and donate food in exchange for a campaign yard or window sign,” Abughazaleh said. “And by the end of the day, we were able to fully stock the empty pantry and fill the fridge with frozen meals, produce, and eggs. That’s feeding people right now.”

“Don’t worry, we checked to make sure this is legal," she added. "And it is."

The campaign has also launched a High School Public Serve Grant program that encourages local youth to submit ideas for how to make the community better, and Abughazaleh’s campaign will support it with money, materials, volunteers, and her online platform...

“Something you’ll rarely see is concrete help in their communities during the campaign,” she said. “And frankly, to me, that just seems stupid. Not only do you get to help people — supposedly what you’re running to do — but it also shows what you’re about, instead of just providing lip service.” ...

“If every campaign adopted this model, then we wouldn’t be wasting money every single cycle. Every city, town, and village across America would be improved by their election process, and I think it would also get people more involved,” she said.

“We have local folks who have never voted in an election, but they joined our volunteer Discord server because they want to help, they feel like they have something to vote for.”

For those who might be inspired enough to run for office with this model, she says: Full steam ahead.

“Frankly, I would love it if other campaigns took our model. Use it, pretend it’s yours, I don’t care!” she wrapped up her TikTok. 

“Pair with organizations in your community that have been doing the work, talk with local experts, and try to spearhead any initiatives you can to show your values and help your constituents. It’s really that easy.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 14, 2025

So we're clear, we are well past constitutional crisis at this point, this is literally the soft coup, the only stage left is when they start ignoring the lawyer and arrest (or worse) anyone who is trying to stop them.

Don't let Republicans distract you with gimmicky culture war bills. Republican policies are making Americans' lives shorter and worse in every conceivable way.

Ken Paxton’s goons interrogated 80 year old women for 3 hours. Tex-ass voter intimidation and suppression of Latino voters.

🤬

Thinking about The Shadow. Weird ghoul in the shape of a gentleman