Once-safe US suburb shaken after Maduro let Tren de Aragua grow unchecked

A sprawling prison in a quaint Venezuelan town served as the birthplace of one of the most notorious gangs within the region, with its infamous leader escaping his life behind bars under the nose of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – leading to the newly-minted band of criminals wreaking havoc on American cities.

Tocorón, located in a town of the same name, once mirrored a luxury living community – outfitted with swimming pools, a nightclub and even a zoo – for some of the country’s most dangerous criminals. 

For years on Maduro’s watch, the Aragua jail operated under the control of its own inmates. Kidnappings, extortions and countless other violent crimes were planned and orchestrated from the confines of Tocorón, according to The Associated Press. 

Shortly after Maduro’s presidential election win in 2013, notorious criminal Héctor “Niño” Guerrero returned to Tocorón to serve time behind bars for the murder of a police officer, along with several other convictions. Guerrero seized on the widespread corruption within the prison to expand on his up-and-coming gang – Tren de Aragua, now designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.

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“When a country undergoes a sort of economic whiplash or a sort of economic negative indicator, it can lead groups to come together – especially in places like jails or prisons where you have a collection of people with criminal records [and] violent histories who are competing for control over contraband markets and other things behind bars,” David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Fox News Digital. 

Inmates were expected to pay weekly dues to the leaders, amounting to $3.5 million flowing into the new gang annually – with money also streaming in from crimes committed outside the prison’s walls. 

“What happens in prison, influences what happens on the street, and what happens on the street, influences what happens in prisons,” Pyrooz said. “So those walls are pretty porous between prisons and the communities.”

“State control, or the lack thereof, has been found in leading to gang activity in the United States, in our prison systems and across the world. So it’s not out of the ordinary, or there’s no reason to believe that Venezuela would be immune to that.”

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The corruption thrived under the Maduro administration, which did not crack down on Tren de Aragua’s grip on Tocorón until a decade later, when 11,000 Venezuelan troops stormed the prison to regain control in 2023. 

However, Maduro’s efforts to restore order in Tocorón were perhaps too late. By the time troops arrived, Tren de Aragua had amassed over 4,000 members and had a presence in 11 of the country’s 23 states, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence. As officials worked to dismantle the culture that had been cultivated in Tocorón, Guerrero – who now sat at the helm of the transnational gang – broke out of the prison, along with several other members. 

“The fact that it was a leader, there’s no coincidence behind that,” Pyrooz told Fox News Digital. “So it does say a lot that there could be some sort of internal strife or corruption that would lead to that sort of escape.” 

Following Guerrero’s escape, crimes involving members of Tren de Aragua began to skyrocket throughout the U.S – with perhaps one of the epicenters of violence landing in a residential Colorado town. 

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In 2024, the gang commandeered several apartment buildings in Aurora, making national headlines as violent criminals held the complexes for ransom. 

Surveillance video from The Edge at Lowry apartments sparked national outrage after a group of heavily-armed men, believed to be members of Tren de Aragua, were seen pacing the halls of the building.

Additional video showed one of the building’s representatives being violently assaulted after he refused to accept a bribe at the Whispering Pines Complex in 2023, the company told FOX 31.

In a post to X, the company revealed the employee encountered the group living inside a vacant apartment, and was subsequently assaulted after he refused to accept $500 to overlook the situation. Following the attack, the employee reportedly began receiving online threats that included his home address and spouse’s name, which were later tied to Tren de Aragua by the FBI. 

“I think they were trying to kill me. I don’t know how I got out, but I got out,” the employee, whose bloodied photograph was posted by the management company on X, told FOX 31. 

In another instance, a company property manager was assaulted by known Tren de Aragua member Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose in November 2023, according to a police report obtained by Denver 7. 

Additionally, a group of gang members took over a tenant’s apartment while they were away on vacation, forcing the renter to find a new place to live. 

A Colorado judge later ordered the apartment complex to temporarily close due to an “immediate threat to public safety,” with city officials assisting about 85 families in finding a new place to live where they would not be revictimized. 

Surveillance video shows Aurora, Colorado apartment worker allegedly assaulted by Tren de Aragua gang

“The gang specifically targeted its own community, Venezuelan immigrants, through violence, intimidation, extortion and even kidnapping,” Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain said at the time. “The complex became a hub for drug trafficking, home invasions, shootings and violent assaults.”

In 2025, Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in New York City, with officials alleging the Venezuelan national is the heavily-armed man seen on video kicking down a door inside the Aurora apartment complex.

“There are ways to stamp out these problems before they can rise to the point of Tren de Aragua,” Pyrooz said. “But it can be really difficult to do it, especially when you have very ineffective government mechanisms in place to stop these groups.”

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“And it can lead to the sort of accusations or anecdotal evidence that the government could have led to the migration of Tren de Aragua members to the United States.”

Last year, the Aurora Police Department released a doorbell video showing a group of nine suspected Tren de Aragua members terrorizing an apartment tenant from Venezuela, in an incident officials referred to as “very reminiscent” of the 2024 takeover at a nearby building in the city. 

Video shows the group pointing guns and repeatedly knocking on an apartment door in a building near 6th Avenue and Potomac Street in Aurora, Chamberlain said during a news conference.

WATCH: Disturbing video shows suspected TdA gang members brandish guns at Colorado apartment complex

“This might sound like déjà vu,” Chamberlain said at the time. “We are addressing this actively, effectively and immediately.”

Authorities ultimately arrested two suspects in relation to the incident, while detaining four other suspected criminals. 

However, the influx of activity by the Venezuelan gang within the Colorado community has since diminished, according to Pyrooz. 

“It’s quieted down a lot in 2025,” Pyrooz said. “The dynamics of Tren de Aragua in the area did quiet a lot. It does seem like some of the enforcement actions did correspond with lessening some of the influence of groups like Tren de Aragua.”

In December, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two alleged leaders of Tren de Aragua were indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a series of crimes in Colorado. 

Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas and Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano are facing several charges, including a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, marking yet another attempt to hold members of the violent street gang accountable within the parameters of the U.S. justice system. 

Similarly, the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment late last year charging Guerrero – who remains on the run – with various federal charges stemming from his role as the leader of Tren de Aragua.

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However, his capture would likely not be necessary, had he not escaped from Tocorón under the Maduro regime. 

“If you let gangs take control of these institutions, it could be related to more of an abject failure of the state to either support the conditions of confinement,” Pyrooz told Fox News Digital. “[Or] to correctional officers having the effective governance in place to stamp out these conflicts before groups can rise to power.”

Rubio, Netanyahu discuss US action as Iran threatens ‘legitimate targets’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran, according to a report.

The two leaders spoke by phone Saturday as Israel is on “high alert,” preparing for the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Iran, according to Reuters, citing multiple Israeli sources.

The report comes as nationwide anti-regime demonstrations across Iran hit the two-week mark.

On Saturday, the Iranian regime triggered an internet “kill switch” in an apparent effort to conceal alleged abuses by security forces and as protests against it surged nationwide, according to a cybersecurity expert. The blackout reduced internet access to a fraction of normal levels.

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On Sunday, Iran’s parliament speaker warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued the threat as lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting, “Death to America!” according to The Associated Press.

President Donald Trump offered support for the protesters on Saturday, writing on Truth Social that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”

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At a news conference Friday, Trump said Iran was facing mounting pressure as unrest spreads across the country.

“Iran’s in big trouble,” he said. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago. We’re watching the situation very carefully.”

The president said the U.S. would respond forcefully if the regime resorts to mass violence. 

“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts. And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts,” he said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department and White House for comment.

Hundreds of women lawmakers take last-minute stand in SCOTUS trans athlete battle

More than 200 women lawmakers have signed an amicus brief backing the legal defense to “save women’s sports” ahead of next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments for two cases related to the issue. 

The brief features the signatures of exactly 207 lawmakers, with Idaho state representative Barbara Ehardt being the lead amica. 

Other prominent names on the list include Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby, who became a central figure in the national debate over women’s sports when she was censored for calling out a trans athlete last February, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, Iowa state Senate President Amy Sinclair, Missouri state Senator Cindy O’Laughlin, Alaska state Sen. Shelly Hughes, Kansas state Rep. Kristy Williams and North Dakota state Sen. Janne Myrdal. 

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All of the signees are Republicans, as almost all Democrat lawmakers across the nation have remained firmly in support of allowing biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.

The brief argues, “since the existence of separate women’s sports programs is justified by biological differences between women and men, there are exceedingly persuasive reasons to determine eligibility for such programs using biological criteria rather than a person’s sense of gender.”

Supreme Court justices will hear arguments Tuesday in a pair of cases from West Virginia and Idaho, where trans athlete plaintiffs previously successfully challenged those states’ laws to keep males out of women’s and girls’ sports. 

Several amicus briefs have already been filed, some in support of the defendants looking to “save women’s sports,” and others in support of trans inclusion.

Super Bowl-winning head coach Barry Switzer and 31 Olympians have signed an amicus brief in support of the legal defense to “save women’s sports” ahead of two upcoming Supreme Court cases over trans athletes. The signees also include 12 Olympic medalists, including eight gold medalists. 

Meanwhile, 130 Democrat members of Congress have signed an amicus brief urging the justices to rule in favor of two trans athletes. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffires, D-N.Y.; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Jeff Merkely, D-Ore., are among the lawmakers on that list.

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Two West Virginia female students and their families came forward with the allegations against one of the trans plaintiffs ahead of oral arguments for the case next week. The trans athlete is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Fox News Digital is not disclosing the name of the trans athlete because the individual is a minor.

Bridgeport High School female student Adaleia Cross, who is a former track and field teammate of the trans athlete when the two were at Bridgeport Middle School, alleges the trans athlete made comments to her that constituted sexual harassment in the girls’ locker room. Cross, who is one year older than the trans athlete, said she quit the track and field team at Bridgeport High School last year as a sophomore to avoid sharing a locker room again with the trans athlete once that athlete reached high school.

Cross’ mother, Abby, told Fox News Digital what the trans athlete allegedly said to her daughter when they shared the girls’ locker room during the 2022-23 school year. Adaleia was in eighth grade, and the trans athlete was in seventh.

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Abby Cross alleges the trans athlete made extremely graphic and vulgar sexual threats to her daughter and other girls on the team.

The ACLU has responded to the Cross family’s allegations.

“Our client and her mother deny these allegations and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by A.C. and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” read an ACLU statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The Cross family’s attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have responded to the ACLU’s statement. 

“Our client has sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases about the events that took place between her and the male athlete. As a result of the situation, [Cross] had to step away from the sport she loved entirely and sacrifice a key element of her school experience to protect herself,” read an ADF statement provided to Fox News Digital. 

ADF is also representing the state of West Virginia against the trans athlete in the case that is set to be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, former Lincoln Middle School girls’ track and field runner Emmy Salerno alleges the trans athlete used “intimidation tactics” against her after Salerno refused to compete against the trans athlete during an event in the 2024 spring season. 

“After we stepped out, it was an immediate personality change. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted to stare at me, and just stare down,” Salerno told Fox News Digital.

Salerno said there was an incident where the trans athlete followed her while they were at a local basketball game, making intimidating stares, and Salerno was concerned the trans athlete would try to “fight” her.

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“At the basketball game when he just followed me everywhere, I kind of felt like, ‘Is he going to try to fight me?’” Salerno said. “‘Is he going to try and sneak up behind me and punch me?'”

The ACLU has not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for a response to Salerno’s allegations. 

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New research shows how chewing gum affects brain activity and stress levels

Humans have been chewing gum for thousands of years, long after the flavor fades and without any clear nutritional benefit.

The habit dates back at least 8,000 years to Scandinavia, where people chewed birchbark pitch to soften it into a glue for tools. Other ancient cultures, including the Greeks, Native Americans and the Maya, also chewed tree resins for pleasure or soothing effects, National Geographic recently reported.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, William Wrigley Jr. transformed chewing gum from a novelty into a mass consumer habit through relentless and innovative marketing. His brands, including Juicy Fruit and Spearmint, promoted gum as a way to calm nerves, curb hunger and stay focused.

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“Are you worried? Chew gum,” an article from 1916 said, according to Kerry Segrave’s book, “Chewing Gum in America, 1850-1920: The Rise of an Industry.” “Do you lie awake at night? Chew gum,” it continued. “Are you depressed? Is the world against you? Chew gum.”

In the 1940s, a study found chewing resulted in lower tension but couldn’t say why. 

“The gum-chewer relaxes and gets more work done,” The New York Times wrote at the time about the study’s results.

Gum became an early form of wellness, and companies are trying to revive that idea today as gum sales decline, according to National Geographic.

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But only now are scientists finally beginning to understand the biology behind those long-standing beliefs.

A 2025 review by researchers at the University of Szczecin in Poland analyzed more than three decades of brain-imaging studies to examine what happens inside the brain when people chew gum. Using MRI, EEG and near-infrared spectroscopy research, the authors found that chewing alters brain activity in regions tied to movement, attention and stress regulation.

The findings help clarify why the seemingly pointless task can feel calming or focusing, even once the flavor has faded.

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Chewing gum activated not only the brain’s motor and sensory networks involved in chewing, but also higher-order regions linked to attention, alertness and emotional control, the review found. EEG studies found brief shifts in brain-wave patterns linked to heightened alertness and what researchers call “relaxed concentration.”

“If you’re doing a fairly boring task for a long time, chewing seems to be able to help with concentration,” Crystal Haskell-Ramsay, a professor of biological psychology at Northumbria University, told National Geographic.

The review also supports earlier findings that gum chewing can ease stress, but only in certain situations. In laboratory experiments, people who chewed gum during mildly stressful tasks such as public speaking or mental math often reported lower anxiety levels than those who didn’t.

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Chewing gum did not, however, consistently reduce anxiety in high-stress medical situations, such as immediately before surgery, and it offered no clear benefit when participants faced unsolvable problems designed to induce frustration.

Across multiple studies, people who chewed gum did not remember lists of words or stories better than those who didn’t, the researchers also found, and any boost in attention faded soon after chewing stopped.

Gum may simply feed the desire to fidget, experts suspect.

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“Although these effects are often short-lived, the range of outcomes … underscores chewing gum’s capacity to modulate brain function beyond simple oral motor control,” the researchers wrote.

“However, at this time, the neural changes associated with gum chewing cannot be directly linked to the positive behavioral and functional outcomes observed in studies,” they added.

Future research should address longer-term impacts, isolate flavor or stress variables and explore potential therapeutic applications, the scientists said.

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The findings also come with caveats beyond brain science. Although sugar-free gum may help reduce cavities, Fox News Digital has previously reported that dentists warn acids, sweeteners and excessive chewing may harm teeth or trigger other side effects.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the study’s authors for comment.

Hochul, AOC slam ‘antisemitic’ pro-Hamas protesters marching through Jewish neighborhood

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned chants of “we support Hamas” after demonstrators were filmed chanting the phrase during a protest in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Queens.

Video from the protest shows demonstrators waving Palestinian flags while chanting support for Hamas, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization.

The clip circulated widely on social media and drew swift condemnation from leaders at the city, state and federal levels.

Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized both the chants and the location of the protest.

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“Hey so marching into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and leading with a chant saying ‘we support Hamas’ is a disgusting and antisemitic thing to do,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “Pretty basic!”

Hochul also shared video of the chants on X, issuing a forceful rebuke.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the genocide of Jews,” Hochul wrote. “No matter your political beliefs, this type of rhetoric is disgusting, it’s dangerous, and it has no place in New York.”

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The protest featured pro-Hamas demonstrators chanting in unison while holding Palestinian flags.

Mamdani addressed the chants later that day, advocating for public safety while defending the constitutional right to protest.

“As I said earlier today, chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city,” Mamdani wrote. “We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest.”

In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Fox News’ The Story last October, Mamdani refused to condemn Hamas, instead pivoting to discussing affordability for New Yorkers.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, and federal law prohibits providing material support to designated terrorist groups.

New York Attorney General Letitia James also weighed in on social media, posting a brief message condemning the chants.

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“Hamas is a terrorist organization. We do not support terrorists. Period.”

The incident comes as tensions remain high nationwide over protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Surgeon ex-husband arrested, charged after Ohio dentist and wife were killed in own home

FIRST ON FOX: The ex-husband of an Ohio dentist’s wife killed in a double murder was arrested Saturday in the Chicago area, according to court records.

Michael David McKee, 39, was arrested, police records show.

Columbus, Ohio, officials said police responded to a Weinland Park home around 10 a.m. Dec. 30 and found Spencer Tepe, 37 and Monique Tepe, 39, both dead with gunshot wounds. 

McKee is Monique’s ex-husband. 

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McKee was booked at the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois just before noon Saturday, records show. He’s being charged with two counts of murder in Ohio.

Detectives in Columbus believe the murders took place between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30. Both of the couple’s children were found safe inside the home when officers arrived. Police didn’t find signs of forced entry, and a weapon was not recovered from the home, officials said.

According to charging documents, police were able to identify McKee by linking him to a car that arrived in the Tepes’ neighborhood shortly before the murders and left just after the homicide. The car was then located in Rockford, Illinois, and police found evidence it belonged to McKee.

The couple was killed just one month short of their five-year wedding anniversary, Rob Misleh, Spencer’s brother-in-law, told WSYX.

Court records show McKee’s divorce with Monique was finalized in 2017. He has lived in various states, including Virginia, Nevada and Illinois, since 2020, according to public records. McKee and Monique got married in 2015. 

McKee is a vascular surgeon in the Rockford, Illinois, area. 

READ THE CHARGING DOCUMENTS:

Police on Monday released surveillance video showing a “person of interest” walking in the alley near the Tepes’ house in the early morning hours of Dec. 30.

The video, released by the Columbus Division of Police, shows the man walking slowly in the alley in what appeared to be a dark coat and light-colored pants.

At 10:03 a.m. Dec. 30, one of the Tepe’s friends went to the couple’s house and told a 911 operator he could see a body inside.

“There’s a body,” the caller says. “Our friend wasn’t answering his phone. We just did a wellness check. We just came here, and he appears dead. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed in this blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that.”

FRANTIC 911 CALLS DETAIL MOMENTS BEFORE COLUMBUS DENTIST AND WIFE FOUND DEAD: ‘THERE’S A BODY’

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The couple’s family said in a statement they are “heartbroken beyond words” and called the deaths “tragic and senseless.”

“They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others,” the statement said. 

“Spencer, a graduate of The Ohio State University, was known as a devoted and proud father, a loving partner, and a friend to everyone he met.”

Venezuelan opposition leader blocked from giving Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize rejected recent suggestions that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado could give or share her award with President Donald Trump.

The Norwegian Nobel Institute shut down the idea Friday, after Machado suggested that she might transfer the prestigious award to Trump earlier this week.

“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,” the institute said in a statement. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”

The statement comes after Machado floated the idea during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

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“Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?” Sean Hannity asked. “Did that actually happen?”

Machado responded, “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.”

“I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado continued. “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition.”

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On Jan. 3, Trump announced that the U.S. had successfully completed an operation to capture authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now facing drug trafficking charges in New York.

Trump was asked during an appearance Thursday on “Hannity” whether he would accept the Nobel Prize from Machado.

“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump responded. “That would be a great honor.”

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Machado secretly escaped Venezuela last month and traveled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.

“Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated it to President Trump because I believed at that point that he deserved it,” Machado said on “Hannity.” “And a lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd.”

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Trump said he plans to meet with the Venezuelan opposition leader in Washington next week.

He has previously stated that Machado “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to lead. Trump has supported acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro loyalist, who previously served as vice president under Maduro.

Company behind one of the most famous meme stocks gets hit by retail apocalypse

Meme stock GameStop, once a dominant brick-and-mortar video game retailer, is continuing to close more stores in 2026. 

The retailer, whose business model was threatened by digital adoption in the gaming industry, closed 590 stores nationwide in fiscal 2024 and said that it plans to close a “significant number of additional stores” in its 2025 fiscal year, which ends in January 2026. 

The company didn’t disclose the number of stores that it was closing in fiscal 2025 or where they were located. However, in recent days, several people on X posted pictures of recently shuttered locations in different states, with one user even linking to an unofficial blog that has been tracking GameStop’s closures. 

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FOX Business reached out to GameStop for comment. 

The company warned in early 2025 that it anticipated closing a “significant number” of additional stores and revised its investment policy, paving the way for the video game retailer to invest in Bitcoin. 

“The overall goals of the Investment Policy are to provide sufficient liquidity to meet the day-to-day financial obligations of the Company, and to optimize investment returns within the guidelines of the Investment Policy,” GameStop said at the time. 

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The company has faced financial difficulties since the 2010s as digital game downloads rose in popularity and competition increased from online retailers such as Amazon and big-box chains. A majority of GameStop stores were also located in malls, which faced declining foot traffic. 

In its December earnings report, the company reported that revenue continued to decline, falling $39.3 million year over year.

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It became a fading relic of the mall era before rapidly becoming one of the most famous meme stocks in market history in 2021. 

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In early January, the company granted CEO Ryan Cohen a performance-based stock option award to drive growth. In order for him to cash in, the company’s market cap would need to reach $100 billion. It’s currently at $9 billion. 

In January, retail investors, many of whom were organized on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, began aggressively buying the stock, which has lost over 34% during the past 12 months.