Politics
MD mayor under fire for pushing immigrant 'legal advocacy fund' to rebuff Trump-Homan agenda
The mayor of Maryland’s second-largest city caused a firestorm after announcing his plan seeking the establishment of a taxpayer-funded “legal advocacy fund” to defend immigrants “who may be harmed by policies from the new (Trump) administration.”
Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor, a Democrat, hearkened back to his ancestors’ arrival from Ireland in saying President-elect Donald Trump’s “first term is prologue” on how he will treat immigrants in announcing an appropriation request to “ensure [immigrants] have the legal support they need to stand strong and remain in this community they have chosen to call home.”
“In many regards, this election did not go as I had hoped,” said O’Connor, whose city of 86,000 sits halfway between Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
“As many residents know, our city council recently made a decision to provide voting rights to any resident that calls Frederick home, regardless of citizenship status. We will continue to make progress on implementation as it’s our responsibility and not take any step that would seek to create division, target vulnerable populations or undermine the trust that we have worked hard to build in our community,” O’Connor added.
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The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee criticized the move, saying O’Connor’s “pledge to protect illegal aliens is particularly appalling.” He highlighted the case of Walter Javier Martinez, an MS-13 gang member who was sentenced to 70 years for the rape, strangulation and murder of Kayla Hamilton, a young, autistic woman in nearby Harford County. Martinez, who was 17 at the time, had been released to a “sponsor” in Frederick before committing the crime. He pleaded guilty to Hamilton’s murder in August.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said public officials at all levels of government have a responsibility to protect their citizens:
“I am confident the incoming Trump administration will disabuse these state and local leaders of the notion they are above federal immigration law.”
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins told Fox News Digital that O’Connor’s plan is “totally inappropriate.”
“I think he’s going to anger the taxpayers. And aside from that, I think it’s unfair to the taxpayer,” Jenkins said in a Monday interview.
He added there are enough private or non-profit advocacy groups that would front legal fees and such for migrants facing federal action.
Jenkins, whose department is responsible for enforcing laws outside Frederick city proper, predicts the move will invite increased criminal activity to the area under the “false perception” they’ll be protected.
“He’s not going to let the Frederick Police Department cooperate with ICE.”
Jenkins praised incoming “border czar” Tom Homan, adding the ICE veteran doesn’t need Frederick city’s blessing to conduct federal operations.
He noted that local and county agencies don’t have jurisdiction to enforce immigration law, but reiterated he is fully supportive of Trump’s and Homan’s general policy plans.
“I am 100% supportive from the standpoint I want to do everything I can to keep my county safe, our citizens safe, reduce crime, remove a criminal element, and let’s clean this country up.”
In his remarks reported last week, O’Connor cited Vice President Kamala Harris’ concession speech, in which she said, “Now is the time we must be organized, energized and engaged.” He said Frederick would add focusing on upholding the city’s values to her sentiment.
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Fox News Digital reached out to O’Connor for further comment. Frederick notably hosts both the presidential Camp David retreat in the nearby Catoctin Mountains and the U.S. biological defense headquarters at Fort Detrick.
In his public remarks, O’Connor denied he was making a political message, but instead a “patriotic one.”
“While we cannot predict every policy or action this administration may take. We have seen enough to know our path forward here in Frederick is clear. We will be steadfast in ensuring that our city continues to be a place where everyone feels safe, respected and protected.”
O’Connor added that the Frederick Police Department — separate from Jenkins’ agency — is “committed to ensuring all residents feel safe in reporting crime and know that they will not be questioned about their immigration status.”
“We refuse to aid and abet outside agencies attempting to detain, deport or remove any residents from our community,” the mayor said.
Asked for first-hand comment, the FPD said it is committed to building trust and maintaining open lines of communication with all members of our diverse community.”
“For years, we have focused solely on enforcing traffic and criminal laws, not immigration laws… Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal agencies, not the Frederick Police Department.”
In their statement sent to Fox News Digital, the department said it does not inquire about immigration status from residents who need help or are reporting a crime, and it wants everyone in Frederick to feel safe in their interactions with police.
In Anne Arundel County, which includes the capital Annapolis, Democratic County Executive Steuart Pittman suggested similar defenses to O’Connor’s for immigrants facing deportation. FOXBaltimore reported Pittman said Anne Arundel will provide services to families of a deported breadwinner.
In Annapolis itself, Gov. Wes Moore told Fox News Digital the U.S. immigration system is broken and that Congress must fix it.
“Federal leaders need to set aside politics and work to ensure that our border is secure and that we have a fair and humane immigration system,” he said, adding he comes from a family of immigrants and is “deeply connected to the immigrant story and contributions” of their communities.
Moore addressed “speculation” about how Trump will address immigration policy:
“As governor, I have an obligation to protect Marylanders, including members of our immigrant communities. I take that obligation seriously and will wait to see what actions the new administration takes.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to potential Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., and a listed contact for Democratic Rep.-elect April McClain-Delaney, who will represent Frederick in the new term.
Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired on Wednesday after months of infighting with senior Pentagon leaders and disagreements over how to revive the Navy’s struggling shipbuilding program.
Mr. Phelan is leaving the Pentagon and the Trump administration effective immediately, wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, in a terse statement.
In his role leading the Navy, Mr. Phelan had championed the “Golden Fleet,” a major investment in new ships including a “Trump-class” battleship. But Mr. Phelan’s leadership was marred by feuds with senior leaders in the Pentagon, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, Pentagon and congressional officials said.
Mr. Phelan is the first service secretary to leave the administration, though he is the second one to clash with the defense secretary. Mr. Hegseth also has butted heads with Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll over promotions and a host of other issues. Mr. Hegseth fired the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, earlier this month.
The Navy secretary has no role overseeing deployed forces, and Mr. Phelan’s firing is not likely to have significant implications for the conduct of the Iran war or U.S. Navy operations to blockade Iranian ports or open the Strait of Hormuz. As the Navy’s top civilian leader, his main responsibility is to oversee the building of the future naval and Marine Corps force.
But the tumult could make it harder for the Navy to replenish its stock of Tomahawk missiles and high-end air defense systems, which have been in heavy use in Iran.
Tensions had been simmering for months between Mr. Phelan and his two bosses — Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Feinberg — over management style, personnel issues and other matters.
Mr. Feinberg, in particular, had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Mr. Phelan’s handling of the Navy’s major new shipbuilding initiative, and had been siphoning off responsibility for the project from him, said the congressional official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Mr. Phelan, a White House appointee, also had a contentious relationship with his deputy, Under Secretary Hung Cao, who is more aligned with Mr. Hegseth, especially on some of the social and cultural battles that have defined the defense secretary’s tenure, the officials said.
A senior administration official said that Mr. Hegseth informed Mr. Phelan before the Pentagon’s official announcement that he and President Trump had decided that the Navy needed new leadership.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Phelan referred all questions on Wednesday evening to the Defense Department.
Last fall, Mr. Hegseth fired Mr. Phelan’s chief of staff, Jon Harrison, who had clashed with senior officials throughout the Pentagon. The unusual move highlighted the broader tensions between Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Phelan.
Still, the timing of Mr. Phelan’s firing caught some Pentagon and congressional officials off guard. On Wednesday, Mr. Phelan was making the rounds on Capitol Hill, talking to senators about his upcoming annual hearing with lawmakers to discuss the Navy’s budget request and other priorities.
“Secretary Phelan’s abrupt dismissal is troubling,” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Wednesday night. “In the midst of President Trump’s war of choice in Iran, at a moment when our naval forces are stretched thin across multiple theaters, this kind of disruption at the top sends the wrong signal to our sailors and Marines, to our allies, and to our adversaries.”
Mr. Phelan also had a close relationship with Mr. Trump. In December, Mr. Phelan appeared alongside Mr. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort to announce the “Golden Fleet” and the new class of battleships bearing Mr. Trump’s name.
“John Phelan is one of the most successful businessmen in the country — in our country,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s been a tremendous success.”
Before joining the Trump administration, Mr. Phelan ran a private investment fund based in Florida.
“He’s taken probably the largest salary cut in history, but he wanted to do it,” Mr. Trump said at the December press conference. “He wants to rebuild our Navy. And you needed that kind of a brain to do it properly.”
But Mr. Trump’s effusive praise masked deeper tensions with Mr. Phelan’s Pentagon bosses.
Bryan Clark, a naval analyst at the Hudson Institute, said that Mr. Phelan was “driving the Navy in a different direction” than what Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Feinberg wanted.
“He was championing initiatives like the battleship and frigate that don’t align with where the D.O.W. leadership is taking the military, which is toward submarines, stealth aircraft, unmanned systems and software-driven capabilities like electronic warfare and cyber,” Mr. Clark said in an email, using the abbreviation for Department of War, as the administration calls the Defense Department.
Mr. Phelan also clashed with Mr. Hegseth over personnel issues in the Navy and Marine Corps, a former senior military official said. Mr. Hegseth has directed service secretaries to scrub the social media accounts of general- and admiral-level promotion candidates to ensure they are not deemed too “woke” by Mr. Hegseth’s standards, the official said.
Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.
Politics
Manhattan DA’s office employee charged with sexual abuse after alleged incident on Queens subway
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An analyst with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was arrested Tuesday on allegations that he sexually abused a woman while off duty, police told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Tauhid Dewan, 28, is accused of inappropriately touching a 40-year-old woman’s private area during a late-afternoon rush-hour subway ride in Queens, according to local outlet PIX11.
The victim was reportedly a random woman, the outlet added, citing sources who said she and the suspect were strangers.
A spokeswoman for the office told Fox News Digital that the staffer has since been suspended.
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Tauhid Dewan, 28, was arrested in New York City Tuesday following allegations that the Manhattan DA staffer innapropriately touched a woman during a subway ride (LinkedIn)
According to the New York Police Department, Dewan was arrested around 5 p.m., possibly after returning from work.
PIX11 added that the arrest occurred minutes after the incident, which allegedly took place on a No. 7 train near the Junction Boulevard station.
He was subsequently arrested by the NYPD Transit Bureau and is facing multiple charges, including forcible touching on a bus or train, third-degree sexual abuse, and second-degree harassment involving physical contact.
He was also charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17, suggesting a minor may have been nearby and either witnessed the alleged conduct or was placed at risk by it.
ERIC SWALWELL FACES MANHATTAN SEX ASSAULT PROBE AFTER ENDING CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS
Tauhid Dewan is an employee of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is led by DA Alvin Bragg. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Law enforcement sources said Dewan has no prior arrests, local outlets reported.
According to city records, Dewan has worked at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as a senior investigative analyst for nearly four years, since July 10, 2022.
People board a train at a subway station in New York City on Aug. 1, 2025. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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His arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was scheduled for Wednesday, according to state records.
SAN FRANCISCO — With the California governor’s race quickly approaching, six candidates will face off Wednesday evening in the first debate since former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race in the aftermath of sexual assault and misconduct allegations.
The debate takes place at a critical moment in the turbulent contest to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. Ballots will start landing in Californians’ mailboxes in less than two weeks, and voters are split by a crowded field of eight prominent candidates. The debate also takes place after former state Controller Betty Yee ended her campaign because of a lack of resources and support in the polls.
Two Republicans — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton — and four Democrats — billionaire Tom Steyer, former Biden administration Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — will take the stage at Nexstar’s KRON4 studios in San Francisco. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, both Democrats, were not invited to participate because of their low polling numbers.
As the candidates strive to distinguish themselves in a crowded field, the debate could include fiery exchanges about the role of money in politics and potential heightened attacks on Becerra, who has surged in the polls since Swalwell dropped out. With the debate taking place on Earth Day, environmental issues are also likely to be raised.
The Wednesday night gathering is the first televised debate in the gubernatorial contest since early February. Last month, USC canceled a debate hours before it was set to begin over mounting criticism that its criteria excluded all major candidates of color.
The 7 p.m. debate is hosted by Nexstar and will be moderated by KTXL FOX40 anchor Nikki Laurenzo and KTLA anchor Frank Buckley. It can be viewed on KRON4 (San Francisco), KTLA5 (Los Angeles), KSWB/KUSI (San Diego), KTXL (Sacramento), KGET (Bakersfield) and KSEE (Fresno). NewsNation will also air the debate.
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