Topline: The word “conservation” usually applies to wildlife or the environment, but in 2011, the federal government spent $113,277 on a conservation survey of 6,900 video games. The grant to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games would be worth $161,573 today.
That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname “Dr. No” by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn’t stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn’s Wastebook 2011 included 100 examples of outrageous spending worth nearly $7 billion, including the quarters eaten by arcade games.
Key facts: The Institute of Library and Museum Services awarded the grant to examine video games and “determine the current condition of both the physical artifacts and their virtual content.”
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games is part of the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. It “collects, studies, and interprets video games, other electronic games, and related materials and the ways in which electronic games are changing how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of culture and geography.”
The two-year project took screenshots and video captures of games made before 2005 using “best practice conservation” techniques and wrote “maintenance manuals” to preserve the games in the future.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor payments with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.
Supporting quote: After Coburn called out the grant as wasteful spending, the museum responded with an argument that “Video games are influencing society just as much as novels did 200 years ago or movies did 100 years ago … Despite this recent criticism, we pledge to continue, and even to increase, our preservation efforts in the future.”
Summary: Playing an arcade game like Pac-Man or Space Invaders is only supposed to cost 25 cents, not over $100,000.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
The leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch is urging fellow Islamists in the United States to assassinate President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, tech billionaire Elon Musk, and other U.S. leaders, calling them “scum of the earth and its greatest criminals.”
In a chilling video message that appeared online Saturday, Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki encouraged his followers to assassinate the leaders because they support Israel’s war against Hamas.
“There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza,” al-Awlaki said in his first propaganda video since taking over the terror group last year. “Reciprocity is legitimate.”
“I call upon every Muslim in the infidel, criminal, and arrogant United States … I am saying to all of them revenge, revenge!” he declared.
Al-Awlaki stressed that it doesn’t matter whether the terrorists are “Arab, American or other descent, what matters is that should be Muslims whose prophet is Muhammed.” He correctly noted that there are roughly 4.5 million Muslims in the United States.
The al Qaeda leader went on to caution his followers hatch their assassination plots in secret.
“Do not consult anyone about killing infidel Americans,” he said, before specifying who should be targeted.
“Go after the scum of the earth and its greatest criminals: This is Trump and his vice president; this is Elon Musk, his advisor; these are his secretary of State and his secretary of Defense,” al-Awlaki said.
As the terrorist said these words, images of Trump (alongside Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), Vance, Musk (with images of Musk’s business logos), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (with Ash Wednesday ashes on his forehead), and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth flashed across the screen.
Al-Awlaki encouraged his followers in the United States to also “go after their families” and “all those who have any ties or are close to the politicians in the White House.”
The half-hour propaganda video also included calls for lone-wolf terrorists to assassinate leaders in Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf Arab states over the war.
Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch, known by the acronym AQAP, is considered the most dangerous branch of al-Qaeda, according to the Times of Israel.
Al-Awlaki already has a $6 million US bounty on his head, as Washington says he “has publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies.” He replaced AQAP leader Khalid al-Batarfi, whose death was announced by the group in 2024.
AQAP seizing onto the Israel-Hamas war follows the efforts of Yemen’s Houthi rebels to do the same. The Iranian-backed group has launched missile attacks on Israel and targeted commercial vessels moving through the Red Sea corridor, as well as American warships.
The Trump administration launched an intense campaign of strikes on the Houthis, which only ended before the president’s recent trip to the Middle East.
It is estimated that AQAP has between 3,000 and 4,000 active fighters and passive members. The terrorists reportedly raise money by robbing banks, smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currencies and conducting ransom operations.
In his video message, Al-Awalaki praised those who have carried out antisemitic terror attacks on civilians.
“Do not leave a single safe place for Jews — just as they have not left any homes, shelters, or respite for the Palestinians,” he said. “Even hospitals are being bombed over the heads of the sick and wounded, and the heads of the women, children and the elderly. Take revenge.”
DNC Votes To Invalidate Elections Of David Hogg, Another Vice-Chair
Weeks after damaging undercover video revealed that even fellow Democrats don’t like Vice Chair David Hogg, the 25-year-old gun control activist is out.
In a vote of 294-99, members of the DNC overturned the Feb. 1 election that put Hogg in his seat – along with Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcom Kenyatta, and authorized new elections in the coming days.
The previous election was called into question by the DNC’s Kalyn Free (Oklahoma), who said the organization’s structure made it “mathematically impossible” for a woman to win.
As the Epoch Timesnotes further, there were two empty vice chair slots, and the DNC’s complex gender parity statutes required that the first slot be filled by a man; the second could be any gender. Instead of holding two separate elections, the DNC placed all five candidates on one ballot, put both seats on that ballot, and combined the results.
This gave the two men on the ballot a mathematical advantage over the three female candidates, critics said. Kenyatta received 289 votes, and Hogg received 214.
The DNC will now hold do-over elections with the same five candidates via electronic balloting. The first election, which must appoint a man according to DNC rules, will be held June 12–15. The second, which may be any gender, will be held on June 15–17.
Hogg recently garnered controversy within the party in his role as vice chair after he threatened in April to hold primaries against “asleep at the wheel” members of his party through his Leaders We Deserve PAC.
In response to Hogg’s push, DNC Chair Ken Martin said that the DNC needed to be a “referee” with its officials remaining neutral on primary contests.
“If you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time,” Martin said.
Hogg alleged that the decision to overturn the election was a convenient way to vote him out of leadership. He acknowledged that the election result was challenged before he announced his shakeup of the Democratic Party, but said “the consensus” among members he spoke to was that the challenge would be ignored.
On June 8, audio from a Zoom call with Martin criticizing Hogg was leaked to Politico. In the recording, Martin accuses Hogg of impeding his leadership, expresses frustration with his job, and seems to choke up at the end of the recording.
Hogg was accused of leaking the audio, and in response, he published screenshots of text messages from a Politico reporter asking him to comment on the leak, which purportedly indicated that he was not the source of the leak.
Over the last few weeks, Hogg also appeared in a Project Veritas video where he criticized Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her stock trading activity.
Sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming has acquired 176,271 Ether for $463 million, becoming the world’s largest publicly traded holder of ETH.
In a Friday announcement, the Nasdaq-listed company said the Ether acquisition was funded through a combination of private placement and at-the-market equity sales, including $79 million raised since May 30. The average acquisition price came in at $2,626 per coin.
The company said over 95% of its ETH is now deployed in staking and liquid staking platforms, earning yield while contributing to Ethereum’s network security.
“This is a landmark moment for SharpLink and for public company adoption of digital assets,” said Rob Phythian, CEO of SharpLink Gaming, adding that the company now treats ETH as its “primary treasury reserve asset.”
“MicroStrategy of Ether”
SharpLink’s move mirrors Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying strategy, but is centered on Ethereum, making it the first public company to adopt ETH as its core treasury reserve asset.
SharpLink (SBET) is the first Nasdaq-listed firm to adopt an ETH-based treasury model, aiming to offer shareholders “meaningful economic exposure to ETH,” the company said.
“SharpLink’s bold ETH strategy represents a pivotal milestone and innovative approach to the institutional adoption of Ethereum,” SharpLink chairman and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said in the announcement.
“By allocating significant capital to ETH and deploying it in network activities such as staking, SharpLink is both contributing to Ethereum’s long-term security and trust properties while earning additional ETH for that work,” he added.
Who holds more Ethereum than SharpLink?
While SharpLink has become the largest publicly traded holder of Ether globally, some entities are still holding more ETH.
According to Arkham data, the Ethereum Foundation now holds 214,129 ETH ($594 million) in its treasury.
Crypto holdings by the Ethereum Foundation as of June 13, 2025. Source: Arkham
Some crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) providers like BlackRock also hold a significantly bigger amount of Ether, though on behalf of clients. According to BlackRock data, the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF held roughly 1.7 million ETH as of Thursday, worth around $4.5 billion.
Controversy over SharpLink’s ETH strategy
SharpLink’s ETH strategy has not come without controversy. The company’s share price rocketed more than 400% after its May 27 ETH treasury announcement, as Cointelegraph reported.
Following the announcement of an S‑3 SEC filing earlier this week, shares plunged by about 73% in after‑hours trading on Thursday, dropping from $32.53 to below $8 before partially rebounding, according to Google Finance. The sharp sell‑off was spurred by a misunderstanding: The filing allowed for the potential resale of nearly 58.7 million shares from PIPE participants; it was not an actual sale.
SharpLink chairman Lubin clarified that this was a routine regulatory procedure, not insider unloading.
US-Israeli Deception Gave Iran False Security Amid Washington Green Light
Fresh reporting as well as new Friday statements by President Trump reveal that the US and Israel practiced deceptive diplomacy, as Israeli and American officials worked together to convince Iran that nuclear negotiations were progressing.
Yet all the while an elaborate Israel attack on Iranian nuclear sites was being planned, and Tehran was given a false sense of security, and ill-prepared for its defense.
Axios has reported that Tel Aviv was given “a clear US green light” to start bombing, according to two unnamed Israeli officials. The previously widely reported ‘split’ and spat between Trump and Netanyahu was a public ruse.
“Two Israeli officials claimed to Axios that Trump and his aides were only pretending to oppose an Israeli attack in public — and didn’t express opposition in private,” the report explained. “The goal, they say, was to convince Iran that no attack was imminent and make sure Iranians on Israel’s target list wouldn’t move to new locations.”
Trump was even publicly advocating for diplomacy even up to within hours of the overnight attacks, which involved at least 200 Israeli warplanes, and drones.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since publicly denied American involvement, but Trump has admitted that he was briefed on the major Israeli military operation. Trump has further indicated that US-supplied weapons were used against Iran. Meanwhile:
TRUMP SAYS IRAN OFFICIALS CALLING HIM TO DISCUSS SITUATION: NBC
Thus far, there’s been no evidence of direct Pentagon involvement. But clearly, the Islamic Republic was lulled or tricked into believing that no Israeli strikes were actually imminent.
Per WSJ:
President Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he and his team were read in on Israel’s plans to attack Iran. Asked what kind of heads-up the U.S. got ahead of the attack, Trump said in a brief phone interview, “Heads-up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on.”
Israel is seeking to both decapitate Iran’s military leadership and completely destroy Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has long maintained is for peaceful energy purposes.
The great negotiator only engaged in deception as he prepared an attack on Iran pic.twitter.com/Ol222rH8UY
Given Tehran has vowed to continue its nuclear activities undeterred, despite damage at Natanz and other sites, more waves of Israeli attacks are likely.
Israel’s military has on Friday said it has begun to deploy reservists from different units to all combat areas nationwide in readiness for a potential Iranian military response.
Certainly, something was going on last night at The Pentagon…
The question remains: what next? So far, Iranian anti-air defenses have appeared almost non-existent. It’s also unclear the degree to which Iran’s air defenses and ballistic missile sites have already been destroyed or damaged.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly interfering with federal officers during a scuffle outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, last month.
US Attorney Alina Habba announced on X that a Newark federal grand jury had returned a three-count indictment charging McIver with “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers.”
The congresswoman faces up to 17 years in prison for her aggressive conduct.
“This indictment has a maximum penalty of 8 years for Count One, an additional maximum penalty of 8 years for Count Two, and a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison for Count Three,” Habba said.
The incident happened during a protest on May 9 at the Delaney Hall detention center, a privately run facility under contract with ICE. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing after entering the facility and refusing to leave.
An ugly confrontation ensued as several Democrat lawmakers surrounded Baraka in an attempt to shield the mayor from the ICE agents making the arrest.
An online video shows McIver, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, screaming at law enforcement officers as they tried to break through their blockade, throwing punches and shoving the officers as they tried to regain control.
“After the Mayor was escorted outside the secured area, law enforcement officers made a second attempt to arrest him,” the Justice Department press release states.
At this time, someone in the crowd yelled ‘circle the mayor.’ McIver then faced the Mayor and placed her arms around him in an effort to prevent HSI from completing the arrest. During her continued attempts to thwart the arrest, McIver slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer and also reached out and tried to restrain that officer by forcibly grabbing him. McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer.
In a statement posted on X, Habba said:
“While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve.”
In response, McIver repeated her assertion that she was “simply doing my job” and that the facts of the case “will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”
“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do, McIver said in a statement. “But it won’t work—I will not be intimidated. The facts are on our side, I will be entering a plea of not guilty, I’m grateful for the support of my community, and I look forward to my day in court.”
In a statement to Fox News, McIver’s attorney, Paul Fishman, dismissed the case as “political retaliation.”
“This prosecution is political retaliation against a dedicated public servant… We fully expect the Congresswoman’s exoneration,” he said.
Gold Passes Euro As Second-Largest Global Reserve Asset: ECB
In the latest indication of gold’s rising prominence in international finance, the yellow metal has surpassed the euro as the world’s second-largest reserve asset, a European Central Bank analysis of year-end 2024 holdings has found. As the year ended, the US dollar represented 46% of central bank reserves, followed by gold at 20%, the euro at only 16%, while all other currencies collectively accounted for 18%. It’s important to note this may understate the actual gold share, given the secrecy shrouding central bank gold-buying activity.
The ECB report attributes the trend in part to one of the biggest geo-political developments of recent years. “Gold demand for monetary reserves surged sharply in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has remained high,” the researchers wrote.
Witnessing the freezing of Russia’s foreign-reserve assets and the broader weaponization of the US dollar, central banks have rationally sought to reduce their dollar reliance — particularly those in US-adversarial positions or more likely to land in that category. “In five of the 10 largest annual increases in the share of gold in foreign reserves since 1999, the countries involved faced sanctions in the same year or the previous year,” the report said. Of course, while the ECB won’t emphasize it, the reckless printing of Western fiat currenciesto enable profligate government spending is another major factor.
Bloomberg graphic using IMF data, which cannot account for under-reporting
Gold’s 30% price surge in 2024 contributed to its second-place ranking as the year ended. However, its ascent has only continued since the timeframe of the ECB analysis, rising another 27% and approaching $3,500 per ounce. With buyers increasingly turning to gold as a hedge against political risks — versus inflation risk — there’s plenty of reason to anticipate more upside, particularly in the wake of Israel’s brazen attack on Iran in violation of international law, including the targeting of senior military officials and nuclear scientists in their residences.
“Given the strong run in gold prices, the momentum in gold buying could slow,” RBC Brewin Dolphin head of market analysis Janet Mui tells CNBC. “But on a long-term basis, the uncertain geopolitical backdrop and desire for diversification will support the accumulation of gold as reserves.” While central banks are important players, the ECB notes that 70% of demand for gold comes from non-sovereign investors and those using it for jewelry.
Iran Vows To Continue Nuclear Activities Amid Threat Of More Israeli Strikes
Update0930ET: There are emerging reports of possibly more waves of Israeli attacks, with state media reporting new, loud blasts heard near an airbase in west Iran. Netanyahu has vowed to keep up the attacks ‘as long as necessary’ to degrade and destroy Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has long defended as only for peaceful nuclear energy purposes.
Importantly, Iranian leaders have made clear their intent to continue enriching uranium, and even to potentially expand its nuclear activities. Israeli attacks “will not affect our determination” to continue nuclear activities in Iran, state TV reports, as cited in Bloomberg.
Iran’s spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization Behrouz Kamalvandi confirmed damage as a result of Israel’s attack on Natanz nuclear site. He claimed that most of the damage is limited to the surface, and that there were no casualties at the stie. There have been no signs of a radiation breach as of yet, the IAEA has said in follow-up. And Al Jazeera writes:
Fars news agency reports “unofficial statistics” saying that more than 70 people were killed and more than 320 were injured in Israel’s attacks.
Fars is managed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and considered semi-official state media of the Iranian government.
Trump to WSJ on the impact on markets:
“I think ultimately, it would be great for the market because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. … Iran won’t have a nuclear weapon that was a great threat to humanity.”
Legacy defining moment for Trump.
He bragged about being the only President in a generation who didn’t start any new wars.
If he gets America involved in a new Middle East, regime change war… he failed.
Up until yesterday the Trump White House had been publicly distancing itself from any potential Israeli attack on Iran. But that major attack did occur overnight, reportedly involving over 200 Israeli warplanes, as well as potential intelligence-assisted drone attacks on the ground conducted by Mossad assets.
And yet following days of contradictory messaging coming from the White House, President Trump has told ABC news early Friday that “there’s more to come” in terms of Israeli military action that the operation was “excellent”. ABC’s Jonathan Karl writes:
I just spoke to President Trump and asked him about the Israeli attack on Iran. Here’s what he told me: “I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. a lot more.”
Washington and Tehran were literally days away from the next round of nuclear negotiations, and this certainly wasn’t the messaging Trump was sending just over 24 hours ago.
Either he could be trying to save face as Israel perhaps went rogue, or the more likely scenario is that Washington quietly approved what Israel is defending as a ‘preemptive attack’ to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons (a narrative Tel Aviv has been pushing going back to the 1990s).
And more from Trump on Friday morning, as the smoke still smolders over Tehran and Iranian nuclear energy sites in other parts of the country:
This certainly isn’t going to hasten negotiations, it is their death knell, and Iran has issued a statement saying it holds the United States responsible for last night’s attack and destruction.
Iran has said it is preparing a “harsh response” – with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warning that Israel faces a “bitter and painful” fate. “By God’s will, the powerful hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished,” he said Friday.
Government and residential buildings in Iran were damaged, and as we reported earlier, top nuclear scientists and military officials were targeted and in some instances killed, most importantly the head of IRGC, General Major Gen. Hossein Salami.
⚡️Satellite images of the Natanz nuclear enrichment complex following Israeli strikes pic.twitter.com/Lb9ItZIrQD
Al Jazeera has listed that trikes have been confirmed in the following locations:
The capital, Tehran, and military sites in the surrounding area.
The city of Natanz, where explosions were reported at the main uranium enrichment facility.
The city of Tabriz, where explosions have been reported near a nuclear research centre and two military bases.
The city of Isfahan, south of Tehran.
The city of Arak, southwest of Tehran.
The city of Kermanshah, west of Tehran.
Iran has already appointed a new IRGC leader, per WSJ. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour has been placed in charge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Maj. Gen. Sayyed Abdolrahim Mousavi has made chief of staff of the armed forces, while Lt. Gen. Ali Shadmani was named to succeed Lt. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid. How it allegedly unfolded, per Israeli sources cited in the WSJ:
The majority of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force leadership was killed by an Israeli military strike, according to defense minister Israel Katz.
The group were convening in an underground bunker, the minister said in a statement. Israeli intelligence determined that overnight, senior air force leaders were in an underground meeting preparing to attack Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Fighter jets struck the location, killing Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the air force. Along with him, Israel killed the commander of Iran’s UAV force and the commander of aerial command, the military said.
Major fire near Tabriz Airport in Iran after attack…
In a remarkable revelation (if true), the Wall Street Journal describes an operation that’s parallel to both Ukraine’s ‘Operation Spider’s Web’ and Israel’s covert pager bombings of Hezbollah:
Long before Israel launched its attacks against Iran on Friday, agents from Mossad smuggled explosive drones and other guided weapons into Iran. As the attack got under way, Mossad assets on the ground used the drones and other weapons to attack Iran’s air-defense system and ballistic-missile launchers: WSJ
Fox News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst writes:
On the strikes against IRGC Air Force leadership: Israel tricked the top command of Iran’s air force into a meeting and then kept them there, I’m told by an Israeli security official.
“We did specific activities to help us understand things about them and then used that information to make them act in a specific way,” the official said. “We knew this would make them meet, but more importantly we knew how to keep them there.”
The Israeli army said it had damaged the Natanz uranium enrichment site’s underground structures. It says that “vital infrastructure at the site that allows for its continuous functioning and the continued advancement of the Iranian regime’s project to obtain nuclear weapons was attacked.”
Israel Shuts Global Embassies, Fears Backlash, After Attack On Iran
Fearing backlash and retaliation, and already very unpopular globally due to the Gaza war, Israel announced Friday it is shutting its embassies around the world, further telling citizens abroad to stay alert and not display Jewish or Israeli symbols in public places.
The statements were published by the foreign ministry and picked up by Reuters, which detailed of the statements that “Israel would not be providing consular services and urged citizens to cooperate with local security services if faced with hostile activity.”
“Israeli missions around the world will be closed and consular services will not be provided,” Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed.
Israeli embassies and consulates around the world took similar actions in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks, and facilitated the return of reservists, and prepared ‘rescue flights’.
Last night Israel in a first wave attacked Iranian nuclear sites with some 200 Israeli war planes. Drones were also reportedly launched from within Iran, smuggled in by Israeli intelligence.
Israel is not only currently awaiting likely Iranian ballistic missile retaliation, but possible major protests at its consular and embassy locations abroad.
In some instances over the past couple years, people have tried to attack Israeli embassies, or public events tied to the state of Israel or its officials.
In late May, two Israeli embassy staffers were gunned down Washington DC – outside the Jewish Museum after an event.
The shooter, 31-year old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, had immediately told an officer upon arrest, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”
Since then, and following reports of vandalism attacks, Israeli and Jewish sites have been on a heightened state of alert, also amid campus and other Gaza-related protests in Europe and the US.
Trump just threw every attempt by his Admin to make it look like Israel was “acting alone” and that the US wasn’t involved out the window…
He’s making it clear that the US is directly involved in this war on Iran, and will continue to be. pic.twitter.com/EH21vundSe
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has weighed in what Iran has taking as a declaration of war by Israel. Guterres in a fresh statement warned against “descent into deeper conflict.”
“The secretary-general condemns any military escalation in the Middle East,” Guterres’s office said Friday. “He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear program are under way.”
There appears to be a new coordinated and funded effort to get online influencers to rally anti ICE sentiment and encourage leftists to oppose the efforts to enforce immigration law.
Dozens of TikTok and Instagram influencers have posted videos practically saying the same thing, with scripts that appear to be written by the same entity behind the message.
Conservative influencer Collin Rugg collated a number of the videos into a super cut, highlighting how they all regurgitate line-for-line comparisons between illegal immigration and nonviolent crimes such as jaywalking.
REPORT: There appears to be a coordinated messaging campaign spreading throughout TikTok where large creators have released nearly identical statements on the ICE raids.
Many large creators are releasing extremely similar statements where they shame other creators for not… pic.twitter.com/eMN7KUm0Sb
Rugg also notes that the influencers have all been instructed to denounce other influencers as “bad” for not speaking out against ICE raids and efforts to apprehend illegal aliens.
In a related development, a TikTok influencer has claimed that he was offered $200 to join the so called “No Kings” mobilisation scheduled in major cities this weekend.
🚨BREAKING: Another TikToker reveals they were offered $200 to join the nationwide “No Kings Day” protest in NYC—targeting ICE and President Trump’s deportation policies. pic.twitter.com/Ffrzu19GKO
One of the entities bankrolling the disruption is the taxpayer-funded largest federation of unions in the country, the AFL-CIO, along with a shady NGO known as the Solidarity Center.
More importantly, note the AFL-CIO sponsorship. AFL-CIO through the quasi-governmental “Solidarity Center” NGO is one of our core “soft power” NGOs. Bluntly: AFL-CIO is one of the key taxpayer-funded organizations in effecting regime change all over the world.
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) June 12, 2025
Yes
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) June 12, 2025
Republicans are investigating just how coordinated several advocacy groups thought to be funding the protests are.
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley as head of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, sent a letter to LA-based group Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, which has received tens of millions of dollars from the Biden administration for immigrant resettlement and has been heavily involved with organising the direct action in the city over the past week.
Hawley’s letter states, “While peaceful protest is a cornerstone of American democracy, these demonstrations have escalated into lawless mob actions. They have obstructed federal law enforcement, endangered public safety, and disrupted the rule of law. This lawlessness is unacceptable. It must end.”
Hawley demanded that the group supply all records pertaining to communication about protest planning in the days leading up to the riots, in addition to any financial documents related to the purchasing of equipment.
“Failure to comply will result in additional action by this Subcommittee, including potential referral for criminal investigation,” Hawley asserts.
Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn’t spontaneous. As chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism, I’m launching an investigation to find out – pic.twitter.com/B4qaN8qbZP
President Trump declared Tuesday that ” very heavy force” will be used against any rioters intent on disrupting the huge Army anniversary parade in Washington, DC this Saturday, and that they will “end up in jail for a long period of time.”
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