DV Journal

Throughout the presidential race, Democrats pushed the narrative, energized by the FBI’s September 2024 Uniform Crime Report Summary, that violent crime was down.

It didn’t work, as Donald Trump went on to win both the popular vote and a strong Electoral College majority running on a platform promising to crack down on crime.

Now, new reports and legislative efforts at the state and federal levels reveal the true and darker reality about crime in America: Murders and other violent crimes have risen.

According to a report by John R. Lott Jr. of Real Clear Investigations, the FBI did what he referred to as a “stealth revision” of the figures in the Uniform Crime Report Summary of Crime in the Nation released September 2024. Lott says in his report that revised statistics show a sharp rise in the 2022 numbers.

“When the FBI originally released the ‘final’ crime data for 2022 in September 2023, it reported that the nation’s violent crime rate fell by 2.1 percent. This quickly became a Democratic Party talking point to counter Donald Trump’s claims of soaring crime. But the FBI has quietly revised those numbers, releasing new data that shows violent crime increased in 2022 by 4.5 percent. The new data includes thousands more murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults.”

Only a footnote at the bottom of page three of the FBI summary states: “The 2022 violent crime rate has been updated for inclusion in CIUS, 2023.”

That runs counter to the now questionable narrative pushed by major media outlets, as well as then-presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, in an official September 23 White House press release.

“Today’s new data submitted to the FBI confirms that our dedicated efforts and collaborative partnerships with law enforcement are working; Americans are safer now than when we took office,” she said. “Last year, we saw the largest ever one-year decrease in the homicide rate, which now stands 16 percent below its 2020 level. Violent crime is at a near 50-year low.”

Neither Harris nor President Joe Biden commented on the FBI revisions.

Contacted by DVJournal about the issue, the FBI acknowledged the data it reported for 2021 was not reliable.

“The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program transitioned from the traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the more comprehensive National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for the 2021 data collection year,” the Bureau wrote. “A significant number of agencies were unable to complete the transition to NIBRS in 2021. Due to the lower volume of participation, the FBI was unable to produce the traditional national estimates for 2021.”

Therefore, 2021 counts now showing in the 20-year estimation tables reflect only estimates based on the data directly reported to the FBI. “This explains why the figure appears different than the computed estimation published in the Crime in the Nation, 2022,” the FBI statement added.

The FBI had no further comment and the statement is not on the Bureau’s website.

Former Philadelphia assistant district attorney Carlos Vega said he has a hard time taking the FBI’s response at face value.

“It seems to me that big government wants to lull the public into a false sense of security when violent crime is actually out of control and aren’t telling us what’s really happening,” he said. “My question is, was this done to impact the election? Also, there was no press conference about this revision. It was all done very quietly and the general public isn’t going to go rooting around in the weeds looking for the real information. They’re going to believe what the government says.”

State Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) said the revisions by the Bureau make discerning the truth about important facts problematic.

“We initially saw figures from the FBI that painted one story, only to see those same figures later revised to tell a completely different one,” White said. “When the facts aren’t consistent, it becomes challenging to discern the truth. Regardless of what the statistics show, one thing remains clear: we need to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”

In an effort to counter rising crime, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), along with cosponsors Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced HR-27, to counter a nationwide trend of George Soros-backed “woke prosecutors” declining to prosecute murder, aggravated assault, robbery, rape, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson and other serious crimes.

“Criminals are victimizing innocent Americans, and woke prosecutors are letting them do it over and over again. Louisianians and all Americans deserve to know when their district attorneys refuse to stand up for victims. Our bill would require prosecutors to report what crimes they fail to prosecute so that Americans can better hold their public servants accountable,” Kennedy said in a statement.

The bill would apply to state and local prosecutors in the 50 U.S. cities in which crime is most on the rise. Jurisdictions with a formal policy that eliminates cash bail for offenses involving a firearm would lose certain federal grant funding.

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend in big-city district attorneys working to keep dangerous criminals on our streets rather than behind bars. The same type of woke policies have been enacted by progressive DAs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, and voters have had enough,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) who is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Perhaps not surprisingly, in Philadelphia at least one hundred accused criminals awaiting trial were released from the city jails. “The Defender Association of Philadelphia, in partnership with the District Attorney’s Office and the First Judicial District, worked to identify a list of people charged with relatively low-level offenses and who remained in jail because they couldn’t afford bail,” the Inquirer reported.

But the report titled “Violence in America: How the Pro-Criminal, Anti-Law Enforcement Policies Embraced by the Biden-Harris Administration Endanger All Americans” details how what it refers to as rogue prosecutors in Democrat-run jurisdictions downgrade serious crimes, refuse to prosecute the laws on the books, and put violent criminals ahead of innocent communities.

Exactly what Kennedy’s proposed bill would address.

Part of the report focuses on Philadelphia’s District Attorney Larry Krasner. During a committee field hearing held in Philadelphia on May 3, 2024, at the William J. Green Federal Building, Terri O’Connor testified about the 2020 murder of her police officer husband, Cpl. Jim O’Connor,  while his SWAT team was serving a warrant.

O’Connor said her husband’s accused killer, Hassan Elliott,  should have been in prison but was released.

“The man who fired the shots that killed my husband was charged two years prior for carrying a firearm without a license,” she said. She went on to describe in heartbreaking detail how the accused and co-defendants had been rearrested several times before the murder of her husband but were repeatedly released by the district attorney’s office, often with low bail, no bail, dropped or withdrawn charges, or time served.

“We have a district attorney who says crime is down. Well, obviously if you don’t prosecute criminals, of course, it appears that way,” O’Connor tearfully said.

The defendants have all been federally charged in the case.

“Fully prosecuting violent offenders will lead to safer communities, as those perpetrators are kept behind bars,” said White. “But this requires prosecutors to do their job effectively and not release offenders with inadequate prosecutions or sweetheart deals that put criminals first and victims last.”

The district attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comments.

Dear President Trump:

Before you can fix the FBI, you must understand how it was broken. Three things destroyed the FBI: 9-11, DEI, the Swamp.

Before 9-11, “FBI” stood for the Federal Bureau of INVESTIGATION. After 9-11, it stands for the Federal Bureau of INTELLIGENCE. Director Robert Mueller became convinced that the FBI had to become more like the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency].

Before 9-11, FBIHQ was all about supporting the investigators. Headquarters management were all former investigators. The CIA on the other hand, is run by analysts, not their few street operators. Mueller made the FBI more like the CIA. Mueller brought in people directly from the CIA and other venues as analysts.

He brought in attorneys from outside law firms. In 1986, there were only three assistant directors. All had some street experience. There are currently upwards to 20 deputy directors, assistant directors, and executive assistant directors. Several have no investigative experience at all. This is especially true in the ever-expanding and very liberal legal unit.

Remember it was the legal unit that blocked field agents and their field counsel from obtaining a search warrant for the laptop of one of the 9-11 terrorists prior to the attack. The famous Lisa Page and Kevin Clinesmith, of the Russian Hoax, are examples of the very left-wing legal unit.

Taking out the management, and leaving the legal unit intact, would be a grave error. A few street agents have a theory that the FBI is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the CIA and like the CIA, analysts are running the show. It seems logical for conspiracy theorists that the agency who subvert overseas elections would be able to subvert United States elections by using a bureau that operates here.

Other, even more paranoid employees, whisper that Mueller himself could be a victim of a CIA dirty trick. His rambling testimony after the Russian-Trump investigation made it plain to many he played no part in running that inquiry. Although I never met him, there were many rumors while he was still director that described his mental state similar to Hitler at the very end of WW II, “moving imaginary armies,” because nobody dared to tell him the truth. Could it be that someone took advantage of his impairment to tailor the FBI to their liking? Whether it was Mueller or his handlers, after 9-11 the FBI’s mission changed from its original role to becoming a domestic CIA.

Before DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] was a “thing” the FBI, like most law enforcement agencies, was desperate to hire woman and minorities. During my 29-year career, they lowered standards several times in “doomed to fail” attempts to make the FBI more diverse.

The fact that women make up half the country does not mean the FBI can recruit half its agents from women. It is not the patriarchy that makes many women less interested in law enforcement careers than men. Setting arbitrary numbers does not work, as the Secret Service found out when it tried to set a 20 percent quota of women.

Further, lowering standards to get all of the few that do apply hired does not help the qualified female and minority applicants. In fact, you hurt them, because other employees view them with suspicion.

The FBI not only lowered physical fitness and shooting requirements, it reduced background requirements to allow, among other things, amazing amounts of past drug use.

African Americans make up 13 percent of the population.  How many have college degrees in law or accounting? How many are interested in law enforcement? Then of those, how many can pass the physical fitness and background test? Enforcing an arbitrary number for hiring goals is a recipe for destroying the meritocracy of any organization.

The Swamp. Although the FBI is better than most agencies at rotating its management back to the field, there are quite a few agents that go to D.C. and stay there the rest of their career.  Without beating a dead horse, they become more and more liberal, trying to fit in with their surroundings both at work and in their neighborhoods filled with other government workers.

Just like in our universities, people who toe the party line seem to get promoted until there are no other points of view allowed. Also, the support personnel working at HQ represent the local population which is almost all Democrats. I strongly support the idea of moving the headquarters of the different government agencies to different parts of the country. I see no other way to break up the ruling class unibrow mindset.

Otherwise, the swamp dwellers will hunker down and wait until MAGA blows over.

Chester County Commissioners Chairman Josh Maxwell posted on X that the Chester County government services center was evacuated Tuesday evening because of a bomb threat.

Voters who vote at the two polling places there were diverted to other locations nearby by where they can cast provisional ballots and those locations well stay open until 10 p.m. for those displaced voters only.

Bomb sniffing dogs are searching the government services center and if no bomb is found it will be back in use soon, Maxwell said.

Later Maxwell posted, “In Chester County, PA about half our our election work was delayed about an hour and half due to the bomb threat. Our team is back to full throttle to count in person and mail in ballots.”

Chester County DA Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said they are working with the FBI and the bomb threat appeared to have originated overseas.

“This is part of a consistent coordinated attempt to call in bomb threats to swing states to disrupt the election,” said de Barrena-Sarobe.

At a press conference, Gov. Josh Shapiro said there have been multiple bomb threats to polling places but there is “no credible threat to the public.”

“Millions of legal eligible voters made their voices heard,” said Shapiro.

In January 2021, the FBI started using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) instead of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system for police departments to report crime statistics.

And while some major police departments (including Philadelphia’s) have made the change, in 2022, almost a third of law enforcement agencies did not report data to NIBRS. That includes about 90 percent of the departments in Pennsylvania.

But the D.C.-based Council on Criminal Justice claims around 80 percent of Americans will be covered by the new system by the end of the year.

What’s not in dispute is that, for the past three years or so, crime reporting in the U.S. has been less reliable.

Rafael Mangual, a fellow with the Manhattan Institute think tank, said changing to NIBRS is cumbersome for police departments.

“Under the UCR, police departments were told to report the most serious crimes [in a single episode].” said Mangual. “Only the most serious crimes would actually get reported to the FBI. So, the numbers were always a little off.”

However, under NIBRS, up to 10 crimes per episode are reported.

“The benefit of the numbers was that you could record up to 10 offenses for each incident,” Mangual said. “So, the idea was that this is going to be more thorough, more reliable data, right?”

And this would give a “clearer picture of what crime looks like.”

“What I don’t think the government anticipated very well is the compliance burden is pretty significant with any kind of reporting requirements,” said Mangual. “But especially when you’re talking about switching over to a completely new system.  A lot of departments around the country just haven’t made the transition.”

As a result, the data the FBI is using for its crime statistics, the statistics often cited in the media to show that crime has risen or been reduced, are based on a smaller data set, said Mangual. “They’ve had to draw pretty broad inferences based on a much smaller set of departments and sort of draw implications about what that means for the rest of the country.”

“It’s just not as accurate a picture as I think we’re going to get in five or 10 years,” said Mangual.

In Radnor, Police Superintendent Chris Flanagan said his department is nearly ready to start using NIBRS. It will be purchasing new software, and officers will be trained in how to use it.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “It is a new challenge for the local police.” It will take officers longer to write their reports, and a designated NIBRS-compliant person will check those reports.

However, Flanagan said departments must eventually comply with NIBRS to receive federal grants.

Abington Police Chief Patrick Malloy said his department is also close to implementing NIBRS.

In the meantime, municipalities continue sending their UCR statistics to the state police. Abington had 1,279 serious (Part One) crimes, along with simple assault and weapons offenses from Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022; 1,649 from Aug. 1, 2022, through July 1, 2023; and 1,546 from Aug. 1, 2023, through July 31, 2024.

Radnor saw 1,005 serious crimes, simple assaults, and weapons offenses from Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022; 1,297 from Aug. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023; and 1,045 from Aug. 1, 2023, through July 31, 2024.

Mangual said there are other nuances in the crime numbers, including that more people are working from home and less likely to be out and about where they could become crime victims. Also, more people are shopping online, he said.

Other issues include police departments struggling to recruit and keep officers.

In the presidential race, former President Donald Trump’s campaign criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ claims that crime is going down, saying the nationwide crime data is incomplete.

“There’s not less crime; there’s just less reporting of crime data,” the Trump campaign said in an email to the press.  Indeed, polls show most Americans believe crime in their area is increasing.

Another measure of crime, the National Crime Victimization Survey, shows crime is up over pre-COVID levels. That measure showed a 43 percent increase in violent crimes, a 58 percent increase in rapes, an 89 percent increase in aggravated assaults and a 56 percent increase in robberies between 2020 and 2022, the most recent information.

More Americans were victims of violent crimes in 2022 than any year since 2012, the Trump campaign said.

Mangual said the new NIBRS system will become more accurate as time passes and more departments input their data.

“Then the picture will get clearer,” he said.

“There are steps Congress could take, in terms of incentivizing transition, by conditioning federal funds on compliance,” he added, something Flanagan believes is already in the works. “The difference between what the FBI records and the National Crime Victimization survey shows, there’s always been a gulf there.”

That’s because not all crimes are reported to police.

“If you’re on your way to work and someone snatches your phone out of your hand and they disappear in a crowd, if you’re in a rush, a lot of people will just eat it and go on with their day,” said Mangual.

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Hundreds of rush-hour drivers were stuck on the Schuylkill Expressway near the Philadelphia Art Museum when pro-Palestinian protesters locked arms and blocked the highway Thursday.

According to a state police spokesperson, 32 people were arrested for disorderly conduct.

The protesters, with the left-wing groups Jewish Voice for Peace and Rabbis for Ceasefire, blocked traffic in the westbound lanes of the I-76 Expressway at 3:38 p.m. Officers from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department took them into custody and reopened the highway. The protesters were transported to the State Police Headquarters on Belmont Avenue, where they were cited for disorderly conduct and released, police said.

Most of those who were cited gave Philadelphia addresses. Two were from Maryland, according to police records.

“I hope the people on I-76 can understand that demanding a ceasefire, that calling attention in every way that we can to the horrific situation in Gaza makes being stuck in traffic not that important,” protestor Rabbi Linda Holtzman reportedly said.

But law enforcement officials said protesting on a major highway at rush hour is not just foolhardy; it is dangerous for demonstrators and people in vehicles.

“They should be arrested, period,” said Mike Chitwood, retired Upper Darby police chief.

“I think the police department did the right thing with respect to opening up the freeway. You cannot block a major thoroughfare for any type of protest. It impacts the safety of the public.”

The protest was “dangerous to everybody,” he said. “Not just the protesters but the motoring public, especially at that time of day. And at the entrance to I-76, give me a break. They put everyone in danger.”

Radnor Police Superintendent Chris Flanagan agreed.

“It’s extremely dangerous to themselves and to the motoring public,” said Flanagan. Stopping traffic on the expressway might have caused a chain reaction accident with “a significant loss of life.” And ambulances or doctors heading to work could have been impacted by the highway closure.

Flanagan said if people want to protest, they should contact the local authorities and get a permit.

“They can get their message out in a safe way,” said Flanagan.

On its Facebook page, Jewish Voice for Peace said it held protests on the last night of Hannukah in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Diego, as well.

“Thousands shut down rush hour traffic with banner drops, candle lightings, and giant handmade ceasefire menorahs demanding an immediate, lasting ceasefire, an end to the siege on Gaza, and full Palestinian freedom,” the anti-Zionist group stated.

At the same time the protest occurred, police and FBI agents were investigating bomb threats against Pennsylvania synagogues and Jewish centers, including some in the Delaware Valley. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Germantown Jewish Centre and Kol Ami in Newtown, Bucks County, were among the locations that received bomb threats.

Carrie Adamowski, an FBI spokeswoman,  confirmed there is an ongoing investigation into bomb threats but declined to confirm that those specific locations were targets.

“The FBI is investigating a series of bomb threats targeting synagogues in Pennsylvania and multiple other states across the country. The FBI takes all threats seriously, especially those motivated by hate or bias. Although, at this time, no explosive devices related to these threats have been found, we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners and will remain vigilant to protect our communities.”

On September 23, 2022, pro-life activist Mark Houck and his family were awakened by armed federal agents banging on the door of their house. They were there to arrest Houck on a questionable case related to an incident outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic.

Now, Houck is trying to send the federal government a message. He is suing the Department of Justice for selective prosecution.

Houck, a Bucks County pro-life activist, was acquitted by a jury of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act earlier this year. He is suing the Biden administration for $1.1 million. His wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, is also suing for $3.25 million for herself and their seven children. The claim says they have suffered stress-related health problems.

Houck is challenging U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) in the GOP primary, and he is using his experience with what he says is an overreaching federal government as a central part of his campaign.

The FBI’s treatment of Houck has raised disturbing questions about a Department of Justice already widely viewed to be politically motivated.

Although Houck’s criminal defense lawyer had offered to turn him in if a grand jury indicted him, around 20 FBI agents and other officers raided his house with guns drawn in the early morning of Sept. 23, 2022. They carried rifles and battering rams and wore armored vests, helmets, and shields.

Although Houck, who had been making breakfast in his pajamas, came out on the porch of his Kintnerville home with his hands up, surrendering peacefully, agents kept guns pointed at him and then his wife, who came out to see what was going on. The children followed and stood on the inside stairs, crying and screaming in terror.

“The entire family was located directly downrange,” the court filing noted. “This egregious show of force was both unnecessary and unlawful. Mr. Houck is a peaceful man who is innocent of the non-violent federal charges against him…(He) had no firearms of any kind in the house or on his property and had none registered.”

Mark and Ryan-Marie Houck and their children

The FBI handcuffed and shackled Houck and kept him incommunicado chained to a desk for six hours before he was released on his own recognizance. The filing said the FBI deprived Houck of his Fourth Amendment rights by using excessive force. The claim cited the bureau’s “tortious conduct, its faulty investigation leading to malicious and retaliatory prosecution, and its egregious and excessive force.”

Houck has been a pro-life sidewalk counselor for decades and is not a protester, as authorities claimed. His interactions with a Planned Parenthood volunteer were to protect his 12-year-old son, whom the volunteer was heckling, the claim said. Houck shoved the volunteer away from his son, and the man fell but was not seriously injured. Local authorities did not prosecute Houck.

The DOJ’s website shows 20 prosecutions of pro-life defendants and one of a pro-choice defendant. Although the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protects crisis pregnancy centers, the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Kristen Clarke, said in her prior position that crisis pregnancy centers were “fake clinics,” the filing said.

Her superior, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, also attacked crisis pregnancy centers and, in 2020, criticized a judicial nominee for serving as president and legal counsel for one. After the Dobbs decision that overturned R0e vs. Wade, she formed a Reproductive Rights Task Force. Two months later, the FBI arrested Houck.

“We’re the face of the weaponization of the government, right?” Houck told DVJournal. “Because it is absurd they would not take the offer to come in (to be arrested). Instead, authorities wanted to “terrorize American citizens and violate their constitutional rights. It’s just off the rails, for sure.”

The filing claims the FBI and federal prosecutor misled the grand jury to obtain an indictment against Houck. Press releases that damage Houck’s reputation remain on the DOJ’s website, the filing noted.

Although Fitzpatrick is a former FBI agent, Houck told DVJournal that is not why he is running against the incumbent Republican. He believes Fitzpatrick, who has backed some pro-life legislation, is not a reliable pro-life vote. And, “probably the most important thing for the district is all the taxpayer money that he uses to fund proxy wars and to fund the Democratic Biden administration agenda,” a reference to Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders.

Fitzpatrick is a co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus.

“[Fitzpatrick] prides himself that he’s across the aisle, and look, he votes with them most of the time,” said Houck. “He’s got a 17 percent rating from the John Birch Society for not voting with the Constitution… He’s more aligned with the Democrats than the Republicans, for sure.”

Houck has been attending various events in the district, meeting people, and listening to their concerns. He said they all want to hear the story of his arrest and trial. He also continues his mission of sidewalk counseling for pregnant women.

“I’ve been there every Wednesday since I was acquitted,” said Houck, who received a Hero Award from Catholic Voter in November.

Houck has raised nearly $100,000 so far and says he will need at least $500,000 to compete with Fitzpatrick in the April 23 primary. Houck said Fitzpatrick has a nearly $3 million war chest but will need to save some of it for the general election if he wins the primary.

The DOJ declined to comment on the litigation that was filed by Kansas City firm Graves Garrett.

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Parental rights activist group Moms for Liberty faces slurs by federal government agencies. But The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project is standing up for it.

Thursday, it filed a lawsuit on behalf of Moms for Liberty against the Biden administration, demanding the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) produce all records concerning the parental rights organization and the Biden administration’s coordination with the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The lawsuit comes after the agencies refused to comply with the Oversight Project’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for those documents, Heritage officials said in a press release.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)  released a report that listed Moms for Liberty as an “extremist” coalition of “far-right antigovernment parents” who are known for “intimidating and harassing teachers and school officials.” It also claimed that Moms for Liberty is “one of the most recognized names in the anti-student inclusion movement,” citing the group’s opposition to critical race theory.

SPLC officials have visited the Biden White House many times, and media reports have highlighted concerning examples of federal law enforcement agencies relying on the SPLC’s “hate group” list to weaponize the federal government against American citizens.

“President Biden needs to leave the moms alone,” said Mike Howell, director of the Oversight Project at The Heritage Foundation. “But his crooked administration won’t because these parents are the only thing standing between the government and your children. We know that the radical Southern Poverty Law Center has targeted the patriots at Moms for Liberty, which resulted in an unhinged mob harassment campaign. We also know the Biden administration and their weaponized law enforcement agencies work closely with the Southern Poverty Law Center. In fact, our recent investigation discovered that SPLC employees visited the White House 11 times in the past three years, including six meetings with the president himself.

“Under our rights as American citizens, we demanded from these agencies all communications about Moms for Liberty. In clear violation of the law, these agencies are withholding this information. So now, we are fighting back for parents across the country and suing President Biden and his corrupt administration.”

Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said, “Moms were harassed and targeted by their own federal government for speaking out during the COVID school shutdowns. The Department of Justice labeled parents of public-school kids’ domestic terrorists.’

“Then, the SPLC puts a target on our backs by falsely accusing us of antigovernment extremism,” said Justice. “Exercising our free speech rights to attend public school board meetings that decide how our public schools operate is not ‘extremism.’ It is American. We are very thankful the Heritage Foundation is standing with our moms and fighting to get the public information surrounding the Biden administration’s work with the SPLC. Why would they not comply with public records requests? What do they have to hide? We look forward to the truth coming to light.”

Moms for Liberty began in 2021 in response to COVID restrictions that forced many students to take classes online. Its members are parents, former school board members, and concerned citizens who educate and empower parents to fight for their rights. It has been active in school districts around the country, fighting against gender ideology and critical race theory.

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This article first appeared in Broad + Liberty.

The multi-year FBI investigation in Falls Township is digging into whether the township’s administration contributed to or even actively fostered a culture in which unions — and one union in particular — were able to put pressure on local businesses to hire more unionized labor or, if not, face government harassment through permitting delays, according to multiple sources.

Sources who spoke to Broad + Liberty are well placed to have firsthand knowledge of matters related to both the township, as well as the investigation. All requested to speak anonymously out of concerns of retaliation.

Sources confirmed the union side of the investigation is mainly focused on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Number 269, based across the river from the township in Trenton, New Jersey. Previous media reports have also indicated that the Local 269 was a focus the investigation.

Previous media reports have also indicated that a federal grand jury has been impaneled on the matter and has been taking testimony, but those reports have not specified the nature of the investigation. Those reports also established that Bucks County Board of Commissioners Chair Bob Harvie, the longtime former chair of Falls Township’s board of supervisors was summoned to testify before the grand jury, raising the specter about whether the ongoing criminal investigation could have an impact on the county’s hotly contested election for county commissioners.

For several years now, two of the township’s longest serving supervisors have been members of IBEW Local 269 — Jeff Dence and Jeff Boraski. But what has seldom, if ever, been reported is the towering influence the IBEW has had over the township through the last dozen years in terms of donations from its federal political action committee to those individuals.

That tally of campaign donations swells even larger if two other township supervisors are included: Bob Harvie and Jeff Rocco. Harvie served as the chairman of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors from 2008 to 2020, according to his online biography. Rocco served on the board from 2012 to 2021. Neither are IBEW members.

Since 2009, the IBEW’s federal PAC (which can donate to local candidates) has given $397,950 to the campaign accounts of those four individuals, according to Federal Election Commission records — a staggering sum for a township of approximately 34,000 persons of whom only 10,500 voted in the most recent general election, and which already has a natural Democratic bent.

The donation figure represents about four-and-a-half percent of all the political money donated by the same IBEW federal PAC to all other Pennsylvania candidates and committees over the same time period, according to a Broad + Liberty analysis of FEC records. Yet, in terms of population, Falls Township represents two-tenths of one percent of Pennsylvania.

The lion’s share of that political money — $214,000 — went to Dence. The rest was mainly split between $80,000 for Harvie and about $76,000 for Boraski.

(The same IBEW PAC has made a small number of donations to others who have served on the Falls Township Board. For example, the IBEW has also made one donation each to Erin Mullen and John Palmer, both of whom are currently serving on the township’s board of supervisors. Some of the donations included in the above tally also include donations made to Harvey while he was running for Bucks County commissioner in 2019 and after.)

The sources indicated the main question in the federal probe was a simple scheme: a business which might be expanding an existing building or starting new construction was approached by someone who urged the business owner to choose union labor. If the business owner refused, various permits needed to keep the project on schedule were held up by the township government.

Broad + Liberty’s sources pointed to one construction project in particular: a massive building project announced in 2015 by KVK Technologies, a specialty pharmaceutical company. In the spring of 2015, the township’s board of supervisors approved a new office and warehouse complex to be built on Cabot Blvd. A request for comment to KVT was not returned or was not successful.

The sources were not able to point to any individual for any specific act, with one exception. That exception is not being published in this story because it was only offered by a single source, and was not independently corroborated by other sources.

Although the investigation has been going on for years including the impaneling of a grand jury in Philadelphia, no indictments have yet been handed up. All persons named in this report are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.

The business manager for IBEW Local 269, Steve Aldrich, said the allegations are false.

When asked by phone for the union’s comment, Aldrich said: “Same thing we told the other paper over there in Bucks County, the same thing — the grand jury, there’s nothing. There never has been. We don’t do that s*** here. That’s not how we operate. That’s it. I don’t have any other comments than there’s nothing there and I can’t believe you’re still asking this from 2010. It’s like there’s got to be some other news that you can — to look for. There’s nothing here. I have no idea. You must be bored.”

The sources also indicated that the alleged wrongdoing was a driving factor in the yo-yo-like employment of the township’s former manager, Peter Gray.

Gray proffered his resignation in September 2019, but then rescinded it when the township offered him a retroactive pay raise, according to a report from LevittownNow.com. Four months later, Gray left the township for good and is currently the borough manager for New Hope.

The sources indicated that Gray kept a book or log of some sort that chronicled the alleged activity. That idea is key, as LevittownNow.com has reported a year ago that its own sources said “FBI special agents and prosecutors are in possession of a significant number of documents that went through former township manager Gray’s office.”

In September last year, Levittown Now reported that numerous individuals have testified before the grand jury investigating the matter, including Harvie and Gray.

The township is also dealing with two individuals suing it either over whistleblower claims or allegations that they were asked to perform illegal or unethical acts while in office and were then retaliated against when they objected.

“A fired Falls Township police officer claims in a new lawsuit that he has provided information to the FBI as part of an ongoing investigation involving the municipality’s government,” said a LevittownNow.com report from January.  “He also says he was wrongfully terminated by township officials because he is a whistleblower.”

In 2020, the township’s former code enforcement officer quit and later filed suit, alleging he had been asked by township officials to manipulate an inspection of a specific home. The allegations in the suit are contained to that incident, and seem unlikely to weigh on the FBI investigation.

The IBEW’s interest in Falls Township, as evidenced by its campaign donations, matches a time when the union seemed to be growing its influence in southeast Pennsylvania by leaps and bounds.

Through most of the second decade, the IBEW looked ascendant in the region, emblemized by John Dougherty, the business manager of the IBEW Local 98, based in Philadelphia. Dougherty, more commonly known by the nickname “Johnny Doc” was indisputably one of the most influential political power brokers in the region until he was indicted by the federal government in 2019.

The apex of Dougherty’s influence was on vivid display in 2015, when he marshaled more than $1.5 million in direct and in-kind donations to his brother’s successful run for the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court — an election that helped swing the balance of power at the top court and continues to reverberate politically to this day.

Dougherty also single-handedly funded the election of Bobby Henon, an IBEW member who served for ten years as a member of Philadelphia’s City Council. Henon was charged along with Dougherty with corruption charges in 2019. He was convicted and is currently serving a three-and-a-half years term in federal prison.

Falls Township has an established Democratic political bent, based on election results dating back more than a decade.

For example, in the hotly contested 2010 U.S. Senate election between Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey, Sestak easily carried Falls Township 6,000 to 4,200. Statewide, Toomey eked out a 51-49 win in a Republican wave year.

Four of the five current members of the elected board of supervisors are Democrats.

None of the current members of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, including Dence and Boraski, responded to a request for comment. Former members of the board, including Commissioner Harvie and Rocco, did not respond to a request for comment. For this outreach, Broad + Liberty used Falls Township government email addresses, personal emails gleaned from campaign finance reports, as well as text messages sent to phone numbers also taken from campaign finance reports.

A request for comment was also not returned from the IBEW national office in Washington D.C. which controls the PAC mentioned in this story, or from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sources with further information on any aspect of this story — governance in Falls Township, knowledge of union activities in the township, etc — are encouraged to reach out to this reporter at [email protected], confidentiality assured.

Confronted with tough questions about armed agents making an early-morning show of force at an unarmed pro-lifer’s house, America’s top law enforcement officials pushed the blame onto the Philadelphia office of the FBI.

At issue was the decision to send armed, shield-wielding federal agents, brandishing semi-automatic rifles, to arrest Bucks County pro-life activist Mark Houck. Houck was charged with allegedly violating the federal Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act after a minor scuffle with a clinic escort. Local authorities declined to charge him over the incident, and his attorneys had already offered to bring in the father of seven to turn himself in.

Instead, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, executed an early-morning raid on his home to take Houck into custody.

When his case went to trial, it took a Philadelphia jury just an hour to acquit Houck of all charges.

Garland was grilled about the DOJ’s actions by Republican senators on Wednesday. Rather than explaining the rationale for bringing the case in the first place, or offering a defense of using armed agents for the arrest, Garland pushed the responsibility onto the local FBI.

Despite photos showing the armed agents, Garland insisted the Senators’ description of events “didn’t match” the information he was given by the local FBI. When asked how their actions matched the guidelines of the DOJ — which call for a “reasonable” use of force in each situation — he again deferred to the local agents.

“They made decisions on the ground about what is safest and easiest,” Garland said.

Senators found his answers less than satisfactory.

“In the early morning, Mrs. Houck said the children were screaming. He offered to turn himself in. And this is who you go to terrorize?” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)

“You use an unbelievable show of force with guns –liberals usually decry long guns and assault-style weapons. We’re supposed to hate long guns.  You’re happy to deploy them against Catholics and innocent children, and then you haul them into court. And a jury acquits him in one hour.  I just suggest to you that that is a disgraceful performance by your justice department and a disgraceful use of resources.”

Carrie Adamowski, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia FBI, defended the level of force used in the Houck case. “Extensive planning takes place prior to the service of any federal warrant. The FBI then employs the personnel and tactics deemed necessary to effect a safe arrest or search.

“While it’s the FBI’s standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence.”

Houck told DVJournal the raid on his house remains fresh in his mind.

A judge had found he was not a flight risk, had no criminal history, and he was released on his own recognizance the same day as his arrest, Houck said. And yet, “they pointed M-16s at my wife and children.”

FBI agents shackled Houck to a table for six or seven hours, he said.

“It’s not normal to show up without a warrant,” Houck said. “It’s not normal for them not to announce ‘FBI’ and point guns at babies and little children.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray also faced questions about the Houck arrest, during a Tuesday interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Asked about the significant show of force, Wray also pushed the responsibility onto the local agents.

“Those decisions are made as they should be by the commanders on the ground in the field office who have the expertise about when to conduct operations safely and securely for the safety of everybody involved. And to my knowledge, those processes were all followed in this case,” Wray answered.

Houck said he believes his treatment, from arrest to trial, was not a mistake by local FBI officials.

“Obviously, Director Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland told the DOJ to pursue people like me,” Houck said.

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From a press release

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, Special Agent-in-Charge EricDeGree of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division; and Springfield Township Police Chief Michael Pitkow announce the arrests two adults and 11 juveniles on charges related to three burglaries and one attempted burglary of federal firearms licensed dealers, i.e. gun  stores, in Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

In total, 93 firearms were stolen. Just 33 firearms have been recovered by law enforcement, leaving 60 firearms on the streets and unaccounted for.

In adult court, two adults and two direct-filed juveniles, all from Philadelphia, were charged: Angel Mason, 40, of Poplar Street, Elijah Terrell, 16, also of Poplar Street, Donte Purnell, 22, of Olympus Place, and Liv Hall, 18, of Parish Street. Nine juveniles from West Philadelphia, who ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old, were charged in Juvenile Court and their names were not released.

The three burglaries and an attempted burglary of gun stores occurred between Sept. 24, 2022, and Nov. 20, 2022. All were overnight burglaries that occurred between 2 and 4:30 a.m. In each successful burglary, a group of the defendants gained access to each gun store, smashed glass display cases and grabbed numerous firearms before fleeing. The details of each burglary are:

· Sept. 24, 2022 (4:22 a.m.): Founding Fathers Outfitters, Lafayette Hill section of Springfield Township, Montgomery County: 26 firearms stolen, 6 recovered to date by law enforcement, including one used in a shooting incident in Philadelphia and one found on a suspect involved in a Sept. 29, 2022 homicide in Philadelphia. Also of note regarding this burglary, the burglars drove a 2020 Kia Forte that had been stolen in Philadelphia just prior to the burglary.

· Nov. 12, 2022 (4:20 a.m.): Target Word Gun Shop, in Chalfont, New Britain Township in Bucks County: 32 pistols, 8 rifles and one suppressor stolen, 10 firearms recovered to date by law enforcement through search warrants.

· Nov. 20, 2022 (2:15 a.m.): Attempted Burglary of Continental Armory in Hatboro in Montgomery County; burglary was interrupted when an individual heard breaking glass and called 911.

· Nov. 20, 2022 (2:41 a.m.): Tanners Sports Center in Warwick Township in Bucks County; 27 firearms stolen, 16 recovered by law enforcement, including one used in an armed robbery in Pennsauken, N.J. on Dec. 14, 2022. The getaway vehicle fled at speeds over 100 mph.

The joint investigation into these gun store burglaries was led by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, Bucks County Detective Bureau, the ATF—Philadelphia Field Division and Springfield Township Police, with critical participation by Philadelphia Police, Hatboro Police, New Britain Township Police, Warwick Township Police. The investigators also  received assistance from the FBI, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the Delaware State Police.

Through the use of numerous investigative techniques including interviews, physical surveillance, video surveillance, social media analysis and cellphone data and records, the investigation found that several members of a known, neighborhood-based juvenile street gang in Philadelphia—called “54th Street”—were responsible for the three completed gun store burglaries and one attempted gun store burglary in Montgomery and Bucks counties. The evidence found that the group also planned and had not yet executed two additional gun store burglaries. Criminal activity commonly associated with “54th Street” includes, but is not limited to, car-jackings, robberies, burglaries and gun violence, especially directed at rival groups.

The completed gun store burglaries resulted in 93 stolen guns. Detectives found that those stolen firearms were rapidly distributed and illegally transferred between members of the corrupt organization and to others, which led to the use of these stolen guns to commit crimes.

Of the 33 recovered stolen firearms, several have been recovered by law enforcement during the commission of crimes.

· Sept. 26, 2022: a Glock 17 firearm stolen two days earlier was recovered by Philadelphia Police in the possession of Ellijah Terrell on scene of an armed robbery at 5500 Poplar Street in Philadelphia;

· Oct. 5, 2022: an H&K 9mm firearm stolen during the Sept. 24, 2022 burglary was recovered by Philadelphia Police when they executed a search warrant related to a Sept. 29, 2022 shooting at 54th Street and Willows Avenue where a 16-year-old died of a gunshot wound to the head and a 14-year-old was also shot but survived,

· Dec. 14, 2022: a firearm stolen from the Tanner Sports Center burglary was recovered by Pensauken, N.J. Police after it was used by juvenile in an armed robbery.

“These defendants brazenly broke into gun stores and stole nearly 100 firearms, then sold and transferred them widely throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. With 60 firearms unaccounted for, we still don’t know the extent of the damage by this corrupt organization’s criminal activities, including shootings and murders,” said Steele.

“These arrests have made our communities safer and came about because of the excellent joint investigation with our numerous local, state and federal law enforcement partners.”

“DA Steele took the word that I would use to describe this organized criminal rampage right out of my mouth: ‘Brazen,” said Weintraub. “Together, we fight hard every day against lawless criminals that steal and use crime guns to terrorize our communities, regardless of whose borders they cross. And we will not rest. More to come.”

One of the key partners in this joint investigation was the ATF. “Burglaries of federal firearms licensees are a top priority for ATF, and we are eager to hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions,” said ATF SAIC DeGree. “The theft of firearms from FFLs and their diversion into the illegal firearms marketplace is a very serious crime that affects all the citizens of the Commonwealth. We will continue to work alongside our local, county, state and federal partners to seek justice for anyone who violates the federal firearms laws.”

Charges vary by defendant, but all include felony charges related to operating a corrupt organization, conspiracy, criminal use of a communications facility and firearms trafficking charges. Other charges against defendants include burglary,  criminal trespass, robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and possessing an instrument of crime.

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