Progressive rep ignites social media firestorm for remarks in resurfaced video: ‘Just sick’
A resurfaced clip of Dem. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, sparked a frenzy on social media this week with conservatives blasting the congresswoman over her comments regarding the “radicalization of White men.”
“I would say our country should be more fearful of White men across our country, because they are actually causing most of the deaths within this country,” Omar said in a 2018 interview with Al-Jazeera while discussing the domestic terrorism threats in the United States and responding to a question on how much concern “jihadism” poses to the United States.
“And so if fear was the driving force of policies to keep America safe, Americans safe inside of this country, we should be profiling, monitoring, and creating policies to fight the radicalization of White men.”
The clip, posted by conservative influencer accounts including Laura Loomer and LibsofTikTok with millions of impressions, sparked outrage from conservatives on social media, including from inside the White House.
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“This isn’t just sick; it’s actually genocidal language,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X. “What a disgrace this person is.”
“This is blatant racism,” GOP Sen. Mike Lee posted on X. “Who condemns it?”
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“@ilhanMN never ceases to be an embarrassment for Minnesota,” GOP Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, posted on X.
“There’s never been a more anti-American member of Congress than Ilhan Omar,” conservative influencer Paul Szypula posted on X.
Omar’s office responded to a media inquiry by pointing Fox News Digital to her X post responding to Vance.
“In this nearly 8yr old clip, I am referring to the rise of white nationalism in an annual report issued by the Anti-Defamation League that said white supremacists were responsible for 78 percent of “extremist-related murders,” Omar said. “PS you should look up what “genocidal” actually means when you’re actively supporting a genocide taking place in Gaza.”
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The social media firestorm comes shortly after Omar sparked controversy for telling Daily Caller News Foundation reporter Myles Morell to “f— off” after he asked her a question about fellow Democratic Party figures traveling to El Salvador to defend illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to the country by the Trump administration.
Omar later responded to the clip being shared on X, stating, “I said what I said. You and all your miserable trolls can f— off.”
Jasmine Crockett accused of ‘abusing her power’ at airport boarding gate
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was slammed on social media after House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain shared a photo of her apparently skipping ahead of two passengers in wheelchairs while boarding a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday.
“SPOTTED: Jasmine Crockett with a taxpayer-funded police escort, cutting everyone in line — even making DISABLED people wait. Nothing to see here, just the next leader of the Democrats, abusing her power!” McClain, R-Mich., posted on her personal campaign account on Sunday.
McClain’s post included photos of Crockett apparently skipping the line, outraging the Republican’s base with accusations that Crockett is “evil.”
A source familiar with the incident said Crockett was the first passenger “other than the crew” to board a Sunday afternoon Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., including before two passengers in wheelchairs.
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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “If you self-identify as a passenger with a disability who needs additional time or assistance to board the airplane, the airline must allow you to board the airplane before other passengers.”
Customers who need assistance or extra time, active duty U.S. military members and Delta 360 Members, which is an invitation-only membership, are allowed to pre-board within Delta Air Lines’ policy.
According to the source, Crockett walked up to the gate flanked by a police officer and “what looked like her staffer,” had her boarding pass scanned and then proceeded to board the plane before any other passenger.
When reached by Fox News Digital, Crockett’s chief of staff said, “We do not have any comments.”
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Delta Air Lines did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Reports last week indicated that Crockett, who is currently the vice ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has her eyes set on the chair position of the committee. Crockett would lead oversight of the federal government if she gets the gig, which could include investigating President Donald Trump‘s agenda.
Crockett, a vocal opponent of Trump’s second term, took aim at the president in a social media post on Sunday.
“For you to be in charge of the WHOLE country, you sure do have my name in your mouth a lot. Every time you say my name, you’re reminding the world that you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable. So keep talking,” Crockett said.
Trump on Sunday told Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that Crockett is a “low IQ person,” calling her the future of the Democratic Party, which he described as in “disarray.”
Earlier that day, Crockett was criticized by conservatives for her comments during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, after suggesting the students know how to “use a chair” in the face of adversity, invoking the infamous 2023 Alabama brawl.
“There are people that are going to tell you that there is not a table in which there is not a seat for you, but I am here to remind you of Montgomery and those folding chairs. Let me tell you that we know how to use a chair, whether we [are] pulling it up or we doing something else with it,” Crockett said.
Crockett seemed to reference the viral video from August 2023 of a group of White boaters attacking a Black riverboat captain, Dameion Pickett, in Montgomery, Alabama. The white folding chair became a symbol of resistance when a Black man raised a chair over his head in Pickett’s defense as the other men attacked him.
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The Texas Democrat urged the graduating class at the historically Black college to pull up their own seat at the table, reminding students of the bystanders who rushed to defend Pickett when he was attacked. Conservatives were quick to reply to the clip of Crockett’s remarks, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Crockett’s comments were “not cool.”
Police forced to move in after anti-Israel agitators occupy university building
A group of anti-Israel protesters occupied a building at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle on Monday before police in riot gear intervened and arrested at least 30 of them, according to officials.
The protesters occupied an engineering building on campus for hours and demanded that the school divest from Boeing, the large aerospace and defense manufacturer which has a long history with the university.
Video from the scene shows several dumpsters on fire as police moved in to regain control of the building after the demonstrators had locked themselves inside. One protester outside could be heard shouting: “Abolish the police. Every cop dead is a victory for the resistance.”
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The UW said in a statement that the protesters had created a “dangerous environment” in and around the building.
The protesters, who mostly covered their faces, blocked access to two streets outside the building, blocked entrances and exits to the building and ignited fires in two dumpsters on a street outside, the university said.
UW Police worked with local police to contain the situation and began clearing the area outside the building at around 10:30 p.m. before moving into the building at 11 p.m.
About 30 protesters who occupied the building were arrested and charged with trespassing, property destruction and disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit all three, the university said.
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“The UW is committed to maintaining a secure learning and research environment and strongly condemns this illegal building occupation and the antisemitic statement that was issued by a suspended student group Monday,” UW said in a statement. “The University will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and will continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms.”
The Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return, a student group at UW, said it helped organize the protest and said that Boeing funded the building to the tune of $10 million.
“The University of Washington is a direct partner in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its allegiance to its partnership with Boeing,” the group said in a social media post Monday night while rallying others to join the protest. “Wear a mask, and cover identifiable features,” the group wrote.
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The group accused Boeing of building weapons of mass destruction which they said are then used by the government of Israel in its war in Gaza.
“We refuse to be complicit while our education is directly funded and controlled by a corporation whose business leads to a mass genocide of Palestinian people,” the group said. “These bombs, missiles, and other weapons of destruction are made possible through Boeing’s access to UW’s campus, research facilities, and student labor.”
After occupying the building, the protesters erected a banner reading “Sha’ban Al-Dalou Building,” symbolically renaming it after a 19-year-old Palestinian man from Gaza who was killed during the bombing of the Al-Aqsa Hospital on Oct. 14, 2024. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command center embedded in the facility.
Judge orders state to certify Supreme Court election results with Democrat in lead
A federal judge on Monday ordered the North Carolina elections board to certify results showing Democrat Allison Riggs as the winner of the state Supreme Court race against Republican Jefferson Griffin, ruling that thousands of contested ballots in the November contest must remain in the final count.
U.S. District Judge Richard Myers – who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019 – agreed with Riggs and others who argued it would violate the U.S. Constitution to carry out recent decisions by state appeals courts that could remove potentially thousands of ballots for overseas military and their family members who were not required to attach a copy of their photo IDs, as well as ballots for a category of “Never Residents,” or U.S. citizens with family ties to North Carolina who have never lived in the United States. Myers wrote that votes could not be removed six months after Election Day without damaging due process or equal protection rights of the affected residents.
Myers ordered the State Board of Elections to certify results that, after two recounts, had Riggs as the winner — by just 734 votes — over Griffin.
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“The State Board SHALL certify the results of the election for Seat 6 based on the tally at the completion of the canvassing period on December 10, 2024,” Myers wrote, denying Griffin’s petitions for judicial review and injunctive relief.
The judge delayed his order for seven days in case Griffin wants to appeal the ruling to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
More than 5.5 million ballots were cast in what has been the nation’s last undecided race from November’s elections.
Myers said the “case concerns whether the federal Constitution permits a state to alter the rules of an election after the fact and apply those changes retroactively to only a select group of voters, and in so doing treat those voters differently than other similarly situated individuals.”
The board “must not proceed with implementation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court’s orders, and instead must certify the results of the election for (the seat) based on the tally at the completion of the canvassing period,” Myers wrote.
Griffin, himself a state Court of Appeals judge, filed formal protests after the election in hopes that removing ballots he said were unlawfully cast would flip the outcome to him.
Griffin’s legal team was reviewing Myers’ order Monday night and evaluating the next steps, Griffin campaign spokesperson Paul Shumaker told the Associated Press.
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“Today, we won,” Riggs said in a statement. “I‘m proud to continue upholding the Constitution and the rule of law as North Carolina’s Supreme Court Justice.”
Griffin wanted Myers to leave undisturbed the state courts’ decisions, which also directed that most of the voters with otherwise ineligible ballots get 30 days to provide identifying information for their race choices to remain in the tally.
Riggs, the state Democratic Party and some affected voters said Griffin was trying to change the 2024 election outcome after the fact by removing ballots cast by voters who complied with voting rules as they were written last fall.
Myers wrote that Griffin’s formal protests after the election, which were rejected by the State Board of Elections, constituted efforts to make retroactive changes to the voting laws that would arbitrarily disenfranchise only the voters who were targeted by Griffin. Griffin’s challenges over voters not providing photo identification only covered at most six Democratic-leaning counties in the state.
“You establish the rules before the game. You don’t change them after the game is done,” Myers wrote in a 68-page order. “Permitting parties to ‘upend the set rules’ of an election after the election has taken place can only produce ‘confusion and turmoil'” that “‘threatens to undermine public confidence in the federal courts, state agencies, and the elections themselves,'” he added.
One category of ballots that state appellate courts found to be ineligible covered military or overseas voters who did not provide copies of photo identification or an ID exception form with their absentee ballots. A state rule exempted them from the requirement. The appeals courts had permitted a “cure” process for these voters, so their ballots could still count in the race.
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The other category of ballots that the appellate courts declared violated the state constitution were cast by overseas voters who have never lived in the U.S. but whose parents were declared North Carolina residents. A state law had authorized these persons to vote in state elections.
Griffin filed formal protests that appeared to cover more than 65,000 ballots. Ensuing state court rulings whittled down the total to between 1,675 and 7,000, according to court filings.
RNC youth chair makes 2028 prediction for Dems as AOC, Sanders fall flat with Gen Z
The Democratic Party will be the “Titanic at the bottom of the ocean” come 2028, according to Gen Z political commentator Brilyn Hollyhand, who is on a mission to continue building conservative support among the youth vote following President Donald Trump‘s strides with the demographic in 2024.
“They’ve actually put up figures like Jasmine Crockett and AOC and Bernie Sanders as their leaders. None of those people are inspiring Gen Z. None of those people are bringing more voters into the party. It’s just making this weird, radical wing of the party be the vocal voices. So, by all means, let Jasmine Crockett, AOC and Bernie Sanders be the voice, the future of the DNC. It’ll make our job easier come the midterms and come 2028,” Hollyhand told Fox News Digital in an exclusive Zoom interview this week.
“It’s a really weird position that they’ve taken to go more radical than Kamala Harris. And that’s why Kamala lost, because she was too radical,” he said.
Hollyhand, 18, is a political commentator and chair of the RNC’s Youth Advisory Council who was invited to meet one-on-one with Trump in Alabama on Thursday, when the president delivered the University of Alabama’s commencement speech. Hollyhand said that he and Trump discussed how to keep momentum among young voters following the 2024 election, when Gen Z voters swung to the right as Trump courted young people on TikTok and in podcasts. The youth vote, he explained, had long been in the Democrat Party’s court before Trump upped the ante on youth outreach during last year’s election cycle.
The 18-year-old activist does not graduate high school until later this month, but he has met Trump five times as of Thursday. The pair discussed how the Trump White House can continue expanding on the strides the Trump campaign made with young people, including Hollyhand suggesting Trump tweak former President Ronald Reagan’s famed 1980 campaign question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
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“A comment I made to him was, ‘Mr. President, I’m a huge history nerd. And so I loved when you talked about that famous Reagan quote of, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ And that’s something he echoed on the campaign trail a bunch himself. But something I specifically pointed out to the president is, ‘We can tweak that a little bit.’ And he said, ‘What do you mean? What can we do?’ I said, ‘Well, now all you have to do is walk out on that stage and ask Gen Z, ’Are you’re better off then you were 100 days ago?'” Hollyhand recounted.
“The resounding answer every single time is going to be, ‘Yes.’ I mean, gas is cheaper, the border’s secure, and the president performed CPR on the American dream. So, I think everybody in my generation can agree, whether you love Trump or hate Trump, he is improving the nation and making life better for us,” he added.
The political activist said that he floated to Trump that he could hold a 2025 version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats to talk directly to voters in a virtual setting, and he also told Trump that he has a “secret weapon” going into the 2026 midterms.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, you’re doing this crazy novel concept in politics called actually doing what the people elected you to do in office and actually keeping your promises. I know we never see politicians doing that, but you’re doing that and Gen Z loves it,'” Hollyhand said.
On the flip side, Democrats have dangled promises of free college and cheaper costs of living to young people, while comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and Elon Musk to a king, he argued. Hollyhand said such messaging has swayed some youths to rally around left-wing Democrats, such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but that many Gen Zers are able to see through the “false bill of goods from the Democrats.”
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The Democrat Party is in the midst of finding its footing and platform on a swath of issues ranging from transgender ideology to immigration and the economy after voters poured out in support of Trump and his policies in 2024 in an election that was viewed as a rebuke of left-wing policies. High-profile Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have amplified their positions within the party in recent months, including hosting anti-Trump rallies and speculation mounting that Ocasio-Cortez could make a Senate or presidential run.
Hollyhand said that Trump could use his “secret weapon” ahead of the midterms and publish bullet-point lists of his accomplishments, which he argued Democrats will struggle to campaign against.
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I think that’s going to be a really hard thing to campaign against come the midterms. I think it’s going to be super hard to campaign against this list of accomplishments come 2028. Where the Democrats are trying to … scare Gen Z with these emotions and dangle free things in front of them and say, ‘oh, well, they’re Nazis and they’re Hitler and Elon Musk is trying to be a king.’ And then we come out and just say, ‘Hey, here’s a bullet point list of the things we’ve accomplished in the first 100 days.’ That’s a really hard thing to campaign against,” he said.
Hollyhand underscored that his meeting with Trump backstage at the commencement speech was relaxed and stood in stark contrast with how the media portrays the president.
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“This guy is genuine. Like the first thing he said was, ‘You’ve been killing it.’ He took the time to say, ‘Hey, I actually watched your hit on Fox News this morning.’ He could have been saying, ‘Hey, Brilyn, get these youth numbers up, improve our numbers in this college campus, get more students out there in that arena.’ He immediately turned it to, ‘Hey man, you’ve been killin’ it. …. That shows just the testament of who the guy is. And it wasn’t like a serious back and forth. We were laughing, we’re cutting it up,” Hollyhand said.
Major drug store chain files for bankruptcy — for the second time in two years
Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years.
The drug store chain announced Chapter 11 proceedings on Monday, stating in a press release that they are “pursuing a strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets.”
“For more than 60 years, Rite Aid has been a proud provider of pharmacy services and products to our loyal customers,” Matt Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of Rite Aid, said in a statement.
Rite Aid’s previous restructuring reduced the U.S. pharmacy chain’s debt but failed to address its long-term business challenges of inflationary pressures and increased competition by pharmacy chains Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Amazon.
RITE AID TO CLOSE OVER TWO DOZEN STORES AMID BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
“While we have continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate, we are encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors. As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible,” Schroeder said.
Following changes after the October 2023 Chapter 11 protection filing, Rite Aid still had $2.5 billion in debt when it emerged from bankruptcy as a private company owned by its lenders in 2024.
RITE AID FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY, APPOINTS NEW LEADERSHIP IN FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING INITIATIVE
The drugstore chain enters its second bankruptcy with a smaller retail footprint. It operated about 2,000 pharmacies in 2023 but now has only 1,240 stores across the United States with recent closures significantly reducing its presence in markets such as Ohio and Michigan.
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The company said that “customers can continue to access pharmacy services and products in stores and online, including prescriptions and immunizations.”
Additionally, Rite Aid employees “will continue to receive pay and benefits” while transferring customer prescriptions to other pharmacies, the company said.
This city wants to bulldoze businesses to make way for private development
Small business owners are taking a city in Missouri to court this week over officials’ attempt to use eminent domain to take their property and give it to a private developer.
“We’re not in the game of musical chairs of property in this country,” said Martin George, one of the property owners suing the city of Brentwood, Missouri.
George and other business owners argue officials used a vague definition of blight to secure a $436 million development deal that seeks to transform their property into apartments, stores, a hotel, restaurants and more.
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“These properties are not unsanitary. They’re not deteriorating. They’re not a menace to public health,” Institute for Justice attorney Bobbi Taylor said during a press conference Monday ahead of the trial in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit civil liberties law firm, argues Brentwood used minor complaints like cracks in paint and building age as a pretext to declare an entire stretch of Manchester Road blighted and skirt state eminent domain restrictions.
“If that’s allowed to stand as the definition of blight, that basically means that the government can take any property using eminent domain solely because it’s a little older, or it may need a fresh coat of paint,” Taylor said.
The 2005 Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London paved the way for cities like Brentwood to seize property in the name of economic development. In Kelo, a Connecticut city wanted to seize homes and sell the property to developers to build new commercial and residential complexes. The justices ruled 5-4 that the seizure qualified as “public use” because the city was following an economic development plan.
The ruling triggered a nationwide backlash and most states strengthened protections for property owners, including Missouri, where lawmakers passed a bill in 2006 specifying that property can’t be seized solely for economic development.
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But Missouri and other states included a critical carve-out. Cities could still seize blighted areas, defined by Missouri law as having “insanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site improvements” or other factors that present “economic or social liability.”
That broad definition can be used to condemn entire neighborhoods, even if individual homes or other properties are in spectacular condition, according to the state.
The Institute for Justice argued on behalf of homeowners in the Kelo case, but lost. The proposed development that sparked the legal battle was never built.
Brentwood officials originally declared a stretch of Manchester Road blighted in 2018 after significant flooding problems. The city then launched a multi-million-dollar flood mitigation project and made significant improvements to the area, according to business owners. Yet, in 2023, officials approved a $436 million redevelopment deal that required a new blight designation.
“The entire area has been deemed blighted, and it’s not,” Amy Stanford, the co-owner of Time For Dinner on Manchester Road, previously told Fox News Digital. “We are functioning, growing and a great business. How could we be blighted?”
A spokesperson for the city did not respond to a request for comment.
“It’s bogus,” Bob Story, who runs a fly-fishing business located on Manchester Road since 1989, told Fox News Digital last year. “This area looks exactly like every other area around here in Brentwood.” Story added, “It’s all about the tax revenue.”
“Without the power of eminent domain, there’s no redevelopment,” IJ attorney Bob Belden said Monday. “No redevelopment, you don’t get your Ritz-Carlton, and you’re stuck with hard-working business owners like this.”
The project has changed hands since its approval. The original developer, Green Street, was mired in controversy, allegedly owing the city of St. Louis nearly $800,000 in delinquent property taxes, according to local media reports. Several contractors also sued the company, accusing Green Street of not paying them.
A few Green Street employees left the developer and started Halo Real Estate Ventures, which has taken over the Brentwood project, St. Louis Magazine reported.
Representatives of Halo did not respond to a request for comment Monday, but CEO Joel Oliver — who founded the company after leaving Green Street — told St. Louis Magazine last year that he wasn’t worried about the suit.
“No matter what you’re doing, where you’re trying to do it, change can be scary for folks. It’s not uncommon to have to address people’s concerns,” Oliver said.
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The trial began Monday in St. Louis County Circuit Court and is scheduled to last four days.
Karen Read’s lawyer hammers retired cop on using red Solo cups to hold evidence
Defense attorney Alan Jackson grilled retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher on the department’s handling of evidence gathered from 34 Fairview after John O’Keefe’s death.
Jackson presented photos taken between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, 2022 showing the red Solo cups of John O’Keefe’s blood gathered from the crime scene and the generic shopping bags used to transport evidence from 34 Fairview.
“We’ve agreed already that the blood was stored in non-sterile Solo cups, correct?” Jackson asked.
“Correct,” Gallagher said.
“We’ve agreed that those cups were not sealed, the cups themselves were not sealed,” Jackson continued. “There was no cap, there was no plastic Saran wrap – nothing put over the cups, correct?”
“That is correct,” Gallagher said.
Jackson pressed Gallagher on his decision to keep the unsealed bags in a temporary evidence room for three days before being taken to a lab.
“So you don’t know where that bag had been?” Jackson said. ‘You don’t know who had handled those cups before you pulled them out of that temporary evidence locker, correct?”
“I have no personal knowledge of anybody else, I have no personal knowledge,” Gallagher said. “I took them out of the refrigerator, that’s all I can testify.”
Meteorologist Robert Gilman testified during direct examination by prosecutor Adam Lally regarding the weather
at 34 Fairview the morning of John O’Keefe’s death on Jan. 29, 2022.
Gilman tracked steady snowfall throughout the morning, with approximately four inches accumulating between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., and the winter storm increasing in intensity at around 5 a.m.
By 6 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, the storm had accumulated approximately two feet of snow, making it the biggest January snowstorm in the area’s history. Gilman went on to use a forecasting document from Jan. 29, 2022 to illustrate how the snow was falling throughout the entire day.
Gilman explained the temperature was unusually cold in late January 2022, with the temperature dropping to approximately 24 degrees at around 6 a.m. on the morning O’Keefe’s body was found.
“The ground was frozen, the soil was frozen,” Gilman said. “The surface of the ground was frozen and it would have made the ground impenetrable.”
Following testimony from retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher, prosecutor Hank Brennan called meteorologist Robert Gilman to the witness stand.
During defense attorney Alan Jackson’s follow-up line of questioning to Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher ended in fireworks as Jackson grilled Gallagher on when he became aware that his friend, Brian Higgins, was at 34 Fairview the night before John O’Keefe’s death.
“Might have been a good idea, Mr. Gallagher, since you happened to be there,” Jackson said. “No sweat off your brow, just sit [Brian] Albert down and say, ‘By the way, I’ve got a pen and paper. Who was here?'”
While on the stand, Gallagher admitted that Sgt. Michael Lank knew Higgins was inside the house on the evening of Jan. 28, 2022. Gallagher testified he was not made aware until he read Lank’s report after the fact, despite returning with Lank to the address for a second time that morning to speak with witness Jennifer McCabe.
“When you were standing in the house, Sgt. Lank, who you just told these jurors, knew that Brian Higgins and everybody else was there,” Jackson said.
“He had obtained the names, he hadn’t written the report yet,” Gallagher said.
“And hadn’t told his boss?” Jackson pressed.
“I don’t recall,” Gallagher said.
“Even though you two went together to interview yet another witness,” Jackson said.
“That’s correct,” Gallagher replied.
Following the tense back-and-forth, Jackson continued to grill Gallagher about routine investigatory steps that were not taken on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022 – including searching the house and canvassing the neighborhood.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson called retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher to
the witness stand on Tuesday to resume cross-examination in Karen Read’s trial.
During Gallagher’s testimony, Jackson revealed a home directly across the street from 34 Fairview and owned by Canton Deputy Chief Thomas Keleher was equipped with an exterior Arlo home security camera. .
“Did you seek to secure any footage from that Arlo camera?” Jackson asked.
“I did not,” Gallagher said.
“Did you talk to Deputy Chief Keleher about that footage?” Jackson said.
“I don’t remember specifically,” Gallagher replied.
Gallagher went on to claim Keleher’s security camera only captures the front doorstep and a portion of the front lawn of the home, and therefore would not have footage of 34 Fairview.
“Do you believe that it would have been best practice to go ahead and secure that footage so we don’t have to take anybody’s word for it, we could actually look at the footage ourselves?” Jackson asked.
“I didn’t do that,” Gallagher said.
Judge Beverly Cannone has called Court into session, with the 10th day of Karen Read’s trial starting with retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher returning to the stand to face off with defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Karen Read arrived at Norfolk Superior Court on Tuesday morning for the tenth day of her murder retrial, where retired Canton Police Lieutenant Paul Gallagher is expected to resume his testimony under cross-examination by defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan churned through witnesses Monday, calling a blood-alcohol expert, a young couple who saw Read’s car outside before prosecutors believe O’Keefe was struck and killed, a paramedic and the former Canton cop who used a leaf blower and red Solo cups to collect evidence.
Former Canton Lt. Paul Gallagher, who was the supervisor on scene after O’Keefe had been transported to Good Samaritan Hospital, was the decision maker responsible for a number of unorthodox methods used to collect evidence on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
At one point, Gallagher denied having any knowledge that disgraced Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor was the lead investigator on the case, prompting a visible reaction from Read at the defense table, who mouthed words that did not reach the courthouse microphones.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson took issue with the lax standards of evidence collection during a grueling cross-examination, questioning Gallagher about his lack of a firsthand account in writing, potential contamination of the blood evidence, and an unclear chain of custody or evidence logs.
Read the full story here.
Karen Read’s trial resumes Tuesday with retired Canton Police Lt. Paul Gallagher expected to resume cross-examination on the department’s investigation into Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death at 34 Fairview on Jan. 29, 2022.
Gallagher and defense attorney Alan Jackson on Monday sparred over the department’s decision to use red Solo cups and leaf blowers to preserve and collect evidence at the crime scene.
Read is in the third week of her retrial for the alleged murder of O’Keefe and faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted.