Financial crimes prosecution

Anthony Mitchell appeared at North Staffordshire Justice Centre (Image: Stoke Sentinel)

A father was hauled before a court after offering to give his own daughter £5,000 to help her family with the cost of living . Anthony Mitchell, 73, sent his daughter a text message but it put him in breach of a restraining order which prohibits him from having any contact with her.

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A court heard the order was granted in 2018 following a family fallout and is in place until 2030.

But Mitchell messaged his child: “I see interest rates have gone up. Things are bad and will only get worse.

“Here is £5,000 belonging to you. I never wanted it back.

“If it will help you, please take it. Please take a while to think about it before you call the police.”

Mitchell was given a 12-month conditional discharge last week, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports, which means he will not be punished if he stays out of trouble for the next year. He must also pay £211 in court costs and charges.

The case was heard at North Staffordshire Justice Centre (Image: Stoke Sentinel)

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Andrew Bennett, defending, said he had never come across a case like it. He said: “Mr Mitchell originally gave his daughter a £5,000 payment which he committed to when he had paid off his mortgage.

“In 2016 there was an almighty family schism. The £5,000 was sent back.

“They went to court and this was a restraining order made on acquittal. In February, when the Russians invaded Ukraine, Mr Mitchell foresaw the financial world was going to come crashing down.

“He effectively said, ‘Have the money, I never wanted it back and it will help your family’. I find myself amazed that he is before the court today.”

Magistrates told Mitchell that breaching a restraining order was “a serious matter”.

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WH ADVISER SAYS ‘MAGA REPUBLICANS’ ARE PURSUING ‘AN EFFORT TO DESTROY — ESSENTIALLY — DESTROY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’ … ‘MAGA’ Republicans Seek To ‘Destroy The United States Of America,’ Senior Biden Adviser Claims (VIDEO)

A senior adviser to President Joe Biden claimed “MAGA” Republicans pose a “danger to our democracy” and seek to “destroy the United States of America” during a Sunday morning appearance on MSNBC.

“It is important that as we look at this MAGA Republican agenda and those who seek to lead our country like Kevin McCarthy, who will lead our country if Republicans take the House in November, it is important that we pay attention to what they, what the agenda will be,” former Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, now a senior adviser to President Biden, told host Jonathan Capehart. “This MAGA Republican agenda is a very dangerous agenda.”

THIS HAS BECOME A PATTERN… BIDEN, DEMS IN MEDIA HAVE DRAMATICALLY RAMPED UP ANTI-REPUBLICAN RHETORIC… TOM ELLIOTT: The danger of radicalized progressives. In just the last few weeks, Democrats have upped the rhetorical ante to a level all-but-begging for violence. Following Biden’s infamous “blood red” speech, here are how others are following his lead & recklessly hyping conflict (THREAD, VIDEOS)

MEANWHILE… ’25 TO 30 ARMED FBI AGENTS’ SWARM PRO-LIFE FATHER… DIANA GLEBOVA: Pro-Life Activist Arrested After SWAT Team Raids Home with Guns Drawn in Front of ‘Screaming’ Children

A well-known pro-life author and sidewalk counselor was arrested in front of his children after the Department of Justice ordered a SWAT raid on his house for alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to a report from LifeSiteNews.

Mark Houck, a father of seven, drove two hours to Philadelphia every Wednesday to speak outside of abortion clinics for six to eight hours at a time, his wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, told the outlet.

The FACE violation charge was thrown out this summer, but was somehow picked up by the DOJ, she said. Houck also described an incident in which her husband “shoved” a pro-abortion man away from his 12-year-old son after the man entered “the son’s personal space” and refused to stop hurling “crude… inappropriate and disgusting” comments at the Houcks.

The man did not sustain any injuries, but did try to sue Houck.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT BRAGS ABOUT ARREST IN PRESS RELEASE… DOJ: Bucks County Man Indicted on Federal Charges for Assaulting a Reproductive Healthcare Clinic Escort

“Assault is always a serious offense, and under the FACE Act, if the victim is targeted because of their association with a reproductive healthcare clinic, it is a federal crime,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Our Office and the Department of Justice are committed to prosecuting crimes which threaten the safety and rights of all individuals.”

“Put simply, violence is never the answer,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Violating the FACE Act by committing a physical assault is a serious crime for which the FBI will work to hold offenders accountable.”

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000.

INCIDENT TOOK PLACE OCT 2021… WHY DID THE ARREST COME NOW?… (JUST 43 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY)… GREG PRICE: The Biden DOJ is being fully weaponized against his political enemies. The most horrific case yet might be the story of a Catholic activist from my hometown who had 30 FBI agents sent to his house yesterday to arrest him in front of his wife and seven children. (THREAD)

Mark Houck is the founder of an organization called The King’s Men, which promotes Christian virtues among men, and is a well known pro-life activist in the Philly area. Every Wednesday, he sidewalk counsels at Planned Parenthoods in Philly for six to eight hours.

In October 2021, he was counseling when a pro-abortion protester leading people into the building threatened his son and yelled obscenities at him. Houck then pushed the man away from his son. He was never charged for it and the man tried unsuccessfully to sue him.

That was until yesterday when, according to his wife, 25-30 armed FBI agents raided their home at 7:05 a.m. His wife said they entered the home and pointed rifles at them as their kids began screaming. His wife and kids watched and they arrested Mark.

He’s now being charged by the Biden DOJ with a law called the “Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances,” which makes it a federal crime to “injure, intimidate, and interfere with anyone because that person is a provider of reproductive health care.”

Mark Houck is now facing a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000. All because he pushed a Planned Parenthood volunteer to the ground who got in his son’s personal space and yelled obscenities at him.

So, a man who does nothing but run an org that teaches men to be strong Catholics and sidewalk counsels outside Planned Parenthoods had 30 armed federal agents sent to his house and is now facing jail time over an incident that resulted in a failed lawsuit

STATEMENT FROM PA. GOP GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE DOUG MASTRIANO:

“The continued weaponization of the FBI and persecution of Biden’s DOJ against ordinary Americans is an outrage

“This morning, a heavily armed SWAT team of dozens of FBI agents raided the home of Mark Houck of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife and terrified children inside over a case that was long thrown out by the District Court in

Philadelphia. Mark and Ryan-Marie Houck’s seven children were traumatized and in tears as they witnessed their parents held at gunpoint and their father hauled away in handcuffs.

“Citizens across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania join me in expressing our outrage at this early-morning raid executed on a young family. This show of force carried out by the Biden regime against ordinary Americans is an abuse of power that stands against the fundamental principles on which our country was founded.

“As Governor, I will not allow the police state of Joe Biden to enforce his persecution against his political enemies on sacred Pennsylvania soil. Not on my watch.”

ABC POLL SHOWS PRO-LIFE VOTERS ARE MUCH MORE MOTIVATED THAN PRO-ABORTION VOTERS… RNC: GOV. CHRISTIE: “84% of the voters say the economy is their top issue; only 62% say abortion…what our poll is showing is that the pro-life people are more motivated by the abortion issue to vote in these midterms than the pro-choice people are.” (VIDEO)

WHITE HOUSE TRIES TO DUCK ABORTION LIMITS… ‘Why Not Get Into Specifics?’: Doocy, Jean-Pierre Spar On Abortion Limits

“I’m not asking about Kevin McCarthy, I’m asking about Joe Biden and his position on abortion,” Doocy interjected. “How many weeks?”

“Peter, I’m answering your question. What Republicans are trying to do is take us backwards. They’re trying to take away the rights and freedoms of Americans. That’s what we’re calling out and that’s what we’re going to continue to call out. House Republicans oppose a pharmacy bill that would deny women essential medications as of September, 166 House Republicans have signed onto a heartbeat bill that would decide abortion at the federal level, even though 28 of those members have since said decisions on abortion should be left to the state.” […]

“We are all covering the Republican plan but why can’t you say how many weeks, why can’t you say?” Doocy asked.

“I answered your question,” she said.

“You did not answer my question, Karine,” he said. “Why can’t you say?”

“I did, I did” she continued.

BIG PICTURE… GOP LEAD GROWS WITH LIKELY VOTERS… ED MORRISSEY: WaPo/ABC poll: GOP holds +5 edge on generic ballot — and wide leads on top issues

All of the polls for the current RCP aggregate average are from this month. Notice anything else? Every single poll showing a Democratic lead uses samples of registered voters. Not one likely-voter survey has Democrats in the lead. Republicans lead in two of the three likely-voter surveys, and tie in the third, but they don’t trail in any of them. […]

What about the issues?

Voters say inflation and the economy are two of the most important issues in their decision, along with abortion and education. Republicans hold a 17-point advantage among registered voters on trust to handle the economy and an 18-point advantage on trust to handle inflation. But Democrats answer with a 17-point advantage on trust to handle abortion.

On other issues, Republicans hold a 22-point advantage on handling crime while Democrats hold a 21-point advantage on climate change. Democrats and Republicans are about even on handling education and schools.

Voters prioritizing abortion and/or climate change were going to vote Democrat anyway. Voters prioritizing the economy, inflation, and crime are not going to vote for the current status quo even if they might at times have trusted Democrats on those issues in the past.

MORE… DEMOCRATS HANG THEIR HAT ON ABORTION… DAVID STROM: Democrats are in far, far more trouble than you think

Well, if the the ABC News/Washington Post poll is even remotely reflective of reality, Democrats should head for the hills because a red tsunami is about to overwhelm them. There is no good news for them. At all.

Let’s look at some findings:

• Joe Biden is at 39% approval
• Registered voters–who skew Democrat generally–prefer Republicans by 1 point
• Likely voters–a more balanced group usually–prefer Republicans by as much as 5 points. That is blowout territory
• Only 35% of Democrats/Democrat leaners want Joe Biden to run again.
• Biden leads Trump by 2 points in a head to head matchup in using 1 voting model; Trump leads by 2 using another. The race is basically tied
• Trump could beat Biden despite the fact that 52% of voters think Trump should be charged with crimes. Voters who think Trump is a criminal would still vote for him over Biden!
• Voters disapprove of the Dobbs decision and by large margins prefer Democrats to lead on the issues, but that will not effect many votes apparently
• Biden’s approval on the economy is at 37% (and of those 90% are probably lying)
• Inflation and the economy are at the top of voters’ minds, and Republicans dominate trust on this issue

[Abortion] is where Democrats are hanging their hat. They have nothing else.

PSAKI: IF ELECTION IS A REFERENDUM ON BIDEN, DEMOCRATS LOSE… Psaki Says ‘Democrats Will Lose’ If Midterms Are Referendum On Biden (VIDEO)

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki admitted Sunday that “Democrats will lose” the midterm elections should the cycle prove to be a referendum on President Joe Biden.

A panel on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” discussed strategies of Democrats and Republicans in winning the midterm elections in November. Psaki said Democrats must focus on the “extreme” candidates and lawmakers in the Republican Party to have any hope of winning, particularly due to the president’s approval ratings.

“I think that, Democrats, if the election is about who is the most extreme, as we saw [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy touch on there with Marjorie Taylor Greene … sitting over his left side, then they’re gonna win,” Psaki said. “If it is a referendum on the president, they will lose and they know that.”

NANCY BOOLOSI… FOX: Nancy Pelosi booed during surprise appearance at NYC music festival, videos appear to show (VIDEO)

Attendees of a music festival in New York City on Saturday night appeared to boo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she made a surprise appearance at the event.

Pelosi, wearing a white pantsuit with a matching scarf, took to the stage of NYC’s Global Citizen music festival where she was booed by those in the audience, videos on social media appear to show.

“As speaker of the house, I am here to thank you for your dazzling advocacy, entrepreneurial thinking and determination as global citizens,” she told the crowd, according to the New York Post.

“It’s thanks to your help that the United States recently enacted historic climate legislation, which will be a game changer,” she added, being drowned out by the crowd. “It will slash carbon pollution by 40% by 2030, it will give a historic, an historic $370 billion to fight the climate crisis.”

THE WEST IS COMMITTING SUICIDE, AS CHINA EGGS IT ON… MICHAEL BASTASCH: China Is Laughing At Us

Europe is rapidly de-industrializing. German factories are going dark. French and Dutch farmers can’t afford to heat greenhouses. Millions of Brits are facing energy poverty. And Americans are still struggling to put food on the table or pay their energy bills.

These disasters largely all stem from western leaders’ devotion to the cult of climate extremism, and the calamitous decisions to replace fossil fuels and nuclear reactors with wind turbines and solar panels. And the Chinese Communist Party wants to see more of it.

In fact, China is openly mocking the west’s commitment to the green delusion.

China’s top “climate envoy” (whatever that means) told his German counterpart that Europe, which is facing economic collapse because of its climate policies, needs to do more to save the planet.

“The climate policies of some European countries have shown a ‘backswing’, and it is hoped that this is just a temporary stopgap,” said Xie Zhenhua, Reuters reported Thursday. Xie also reiterated calls for western nations to meet their Paris Agreement pledge to give $100 billion annually to so-called “developing nations.” Xie, of course, considers China to be “developing.”

China’s foreign ministry added to the big joke, claiming in a statement the communist nation was on the path to becoming a green paradise “in contrast with the European Union,” according to Reuters.

GIORGIA MELONI SET TO BECOME ITALY’S FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER… REUTERS: Meloni set to lead Italy after right triumphs at polls

ROME, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy’s first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading a conservative alliance to triumph at Sunday’s election.

Near final results showed the rightist bloc should have a solid majority in both houses of parliament, potentially giving Italy a rare chance of political stability after years of upheaval and fragile coalitions.

“We must remember that we are not at the end point, we are at the starting point. It is from tomorrow that we must prove our worth,” the 45-year-old Meloni told cheering supporters of her nationalist Brothers of Italy party early Monday morning.

MELONI PROMISES TO UNITE ITALIANS BY ‘EXALTING WHAT UNITES THEM RATHER THAN WHAT DIVIDES THEM’ … DEUTSCHE WELLE: Italy election: Meloni says center-right bloc has ‘clear’ mandate

The center-right coalition led by nationalist Giorgia Meloni secured a parliamentary majority in Italy’s general elections on Sunday, according to exit polls.

Speaking early Monday, Meloni said Italians had sent “a clear message” in backing her alliance.

“If we are called upon to govern this nation, we will do so for all Italians, with the aim of uniting the people, of exalting what unites them rather than what divides them,” she told reporters. “We will not betray your trust.”

NYT PUSHES ONE WORD REALLY HARD… ‘FASCIST’… ANN COULTER: NYT calls anti-immigrant politician “Fascist” 28 times.

Giorgia Meloni is expected to crush Italy’s elections today — by running against the crisis of migrants pouring in from Africa and the Middle East.

The New York Times’ Jason Horowitz never mentions that, but does use the word “Fascist” or “Fascism” in nearly every sentence about the (likely) next prime minister of Italy.

ITALIAN LEFT CAMPAIGNED ON CALLING MELONI A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY… VOTERS UNCONVINCED… JOURNALIST MATTIA FERRARESI, IN NYT: No, Italy Is Not About to Become an Autocracy

In the end, the Democrats’ anguished “alarm for democracy” failed to persuade voters: At an early reckoning, the party took 19 percent against the Brothers of Italy’s 26 percent. There are many reasons for that. One surely is that the picture they drew of Ms. Meloni, as a would-be tyrant taking an ax to Italian democracy and ushering in an era of illiberalism, was unconvincing. […]

On foreign policy, too, Ms. Meloni is aligned with the dominant view on the continent. Formerly friendly with President Vladimir Putin of Russia — she asked the Italian government to withdraw its support of sanctions in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and congratulated Mr. Putin on his no-doubt fraudulent re-election in 2018 — she has, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reinvented herself as a torchbearer of Atlanticism and a staunch supporter of NATO. She is now a major proponent of a Europe-wide price cap on gas, the continent’s most potent economic weapon against Mr. Putin (and a measure, incidentally, so far opposed by Hungary). Whether opportunistic or sincere, such moves signal how ready Ms. Meloni is to occupy a conventional, Europe-friendly position, placating international partners and investors alike. […]

As recently as Sept. 15, she led her party to vote against a European resolution censoring Mr. Orban, and she is a close ally of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, which is embroiled in a fierce rule-of-law dispute with the European Commission over government control of the judiciary. Her platform — militantly anti-migrant, socially reactionary and steeped in a culture of clientelism and tribalism — is unmistakably nativist and radical.

All this, of course, is problematic. But not all problems lead to autocracy.

HERE, MELONI DESCRIBES THE LEFT’S EFFORTS TO DEMONIZE FAMILY, NATIONALITY, RELIGION, GENDER… ‘BECAUSE IT DEFINES US. BECAUSE IT IS OUR IDENTITY.’… ‘BECAUSE WHEN I AM ONLY A NUMBER, WHEN I NO LONGER HAVE AN IDENTITY OR ROOTS, THEN I WILL BE THE PERFECT SLAVE AT THE MERCY OF FINANCIAL SPECULATORS.’ … GREG PRICE: This is Italy’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. I’ve never heard any politician so perfectly explain what we’re up against and why we fight. When you watch this video, you’ll quickly realize why the establishment is afraid of her. (VIDEO)

HERE’S THE GK CHESTERTON QUOTE SHE CITES, FROM HIS BOOK ‘HERETICS’ : “Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer. We shall be left defending, not only the incredible virtues and sanities of human life, but this huge impossible universe which stares us in the face.”

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