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Ohio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'

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Ohio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'

Ohio’s Republican Attorney General is pushing back against critics after warning that anti-Israel protesters wearing masks are facing potential prison time due to state law and XXX

“The First Amendment protects you and saying whatever it is you have to say. Even hateful things are protected by the First Amendment,” Ohio AG Dave Yost told Fox News Digital this week. “The First Amendment, though, was always designed to be a shield against the government. It’s not a sword against your fellow students and they have rights too. Your First Amendment rights are limited by their right to be able to go to school, use the library, get the value of their education and the tuition that they paid for.”

In a letter sent on Monday, Yost warned university presidents of a historic state law that could mean masked anti-Israel demonstrators on college campuses could face felony charges. 

“The law is an old law,” Yost told Fox News Digital. “It goes back to the 20th century, and it was originally designed to make sure that people like Ku Klux Klan were held accountable, that, of course, the reason that the Ku Klux Klan wore hoods and masks over their faces is so that they couldn’t be identified because they were committing crimes. So the General Assembly in Ohio said, okay, you can wear a mask, you can wear a hood, that’s fine. But if you commit a crime with two or more other people, while you are masking yourself, we’re going to see that as a heightened kind of crime, a worse kind of thing, because you’re consciously doing this and trying to hide your identity because you know you’re doing something wrong.”

UCLA FINALLY ASKS FOR FBI HELP — BUT TO INVESTIGATE PRO-ISRAEL SUPPORTERS

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Anti-Israel protester, Ohio AG Dave Yost (Getty Images)

In his letter, Yost warned Ohio universities that “violation of this ‘anti-disguise’ law is a fourth-degree felony punishable by between six and 18 months of imprisonment.”

“Those guilty may also pay up to $5,000 in fines and spend up to five years on community control. (See Ohio Revised Code 3761.99.) This punishment is significantly greater than misdemeanors that typically follow minor infractions that accompany student protests.”

Students and outside activists have routinely worn face coverings with some blaming the coronavirus and others saying they are afraid of reprisals.

“They’ll tell you that in interviews,” Yost said. “I’ve seen it on numerous reports, they’re afraid of, quote unquote, reprisals. Well, reprisals from what? The university administrations are all in on this woke, anti-Israel, pro-Palestine, rhetoric. They don’t have to worry about being thrown out of school for expressing their views. But reprisals from whom? Well, reprisals from the criminal justice authorities who enforce laws like arson laws like trespassing and that’s exactly what this heightened scrutiny is all about.”

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PARENTS, STUDENTS LIVID AS COLLEGES MOVE CLASSES ONLINE AMID ANTI-ISRAEL VIOLENCE: ‘VERY UNSETTLING’

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks at the Conservative Political Action Coalition annual meeting at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland, United States on March 04, 2023.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Yost’s letter, which he told Fox News Digital was simply a reminder to those who intend to break the law that prison time could come along with that, sparked criticism from some on the left including Ohio Democratic State Sen. Bill DeMora, who issued a press release denouncing Yost as “disgusting” and a “pigheaded, blatant misread of the law.”

“I hope that Dave Yost takes his letter and shoves it where the sun don’t shine!” DeMora wrote.

I think they protest too much,” Yost told Fox News Digital in response to the criticism. “All the letter does is say, hey, don’t become an accidental felon. Ohio has a law here and incidentally it’s not even implicated unless you’re committing a criminal act, another criminal act with two or more people while you’re wearing a mask. I don’t understand how advising somebody about how to be a law abiding citizen, is intimidating or disgusting. I think Bill DeMora protests too much, but then he’s Democratic operative, a member of the DNC Central Committee, and everything’s a political game to him. We have a society here that needs to run according to the rules and to allow freedom to everybody.”

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Yost told Fox News Digital he has been reaching out to the Jewish community in his state and recently met with Israel’s deputy counsel to find ways to ensure that Jewish people are adequately protected.

I am concerned about the degeneration of our ability to protect all citizens. We need to protect that right to protest. We need to protect the rights of the other students who are not protesting but are actually trying to study and learn. We need to protect the rights of the communities around the universities. And, the failure to take firm, fair action to enforce the laws that are designed to protect all of us is really concerning. It’s part of the lawlessness starting to sweep the land from things like the border and failure to enforce that to the lawless acts of the Biden administration to usurp Congress and write laws by fiat.”

If he could say one thing to the anti-Israel protesters engaging in violence while wearing masks, Yost said that he would remind them that their heroes from the past didn’t hide their identities.

A protester holds a sign during a march on Columbia University campus in support of a protest encampment supporting Palestinians. (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)

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I’d tell them your heroes from the 1960s didn’t wear masks,” Yost said. 

“Martin Luther King Jr and John Lewis weren’t in masks when they walked in Selma. Own your expression. Own the dictates of your conscience and don’t break the law.”

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Video: Cassidy Loses Primary After Drawing Trump’s Ire

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Video: Cassidy Loses Primary After Drawing Trump’s Ire

new video loaded: Cassidy Loses Primary After Drawing Trump’s Ire

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transcript

Cassidy Loses Primary After Drawing Trump’s Ire

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy lost his Louisiana primary on Saturday after President Trump targeted him for voting to impeach him in 2021. The two-term senator took veiled swipes at the president in his concession speech.

Thank you, Louisiana! I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know, the best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump. I’ve been able to participate in democracy. And when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout. You don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen. Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution. And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they are about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us.”

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Republican Senator Bill Cassidy lost his Louisiana primary on Saturday after President Trump targeted him for voting to impeach him in 2021. The two-term senator took veiled swipes at the president in his concession speech.

By Cynthia Silva

May 17, 2026

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Trump warns Iran’s ‘clock is ticking’: Move ‘fast’ or ‘there won’t be anything left’

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Trump warns Iran’s ‘clock is ticking’: Move ‘fast’ or ‘there won’t be anything left’

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President Donald Trump renewed his stern warnings for Iran to come to peace and end its nuclear weapons aspirations Sunday.

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“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

Trump, fresh off his trek to meet China’s Xi Jinping face to face, is weighing restarting military action on Iran, Fox News Digital reported earlier Sunday.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN’S ‘CLOCK IS TICKING’: MOVE ‘FAST’ OR ‘THERE WON’T BE ANYTHING LEFT’

President Donald Trump is renewing threats for Iran to come to peace and commit to giving up its nuclear weapons aspirations. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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The president also had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

“Our eyes are also open regarding Iran,” Netanyahu said Sunday morning, as translated from Hebrew. “I will speak today, as I do every few days, with our friend President Trump.

“I will certainly hear impressions from his trip to China, and perhaps other matters as well. There are certainly many possibilities, and we are prepared for every scenario.”

TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION

Trump remains at the White House on Sunday, but no public or press appearances were on his schedule.

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The call with Netanyahu came amid regional intelligence assessments on Iran that restarting of military strikes might be coming because of Trump’s frustration with Iran’s tactics amid the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the rejection of his demand to give up nuclear weapons aspirations.

“The prevailing assessment inside Iran is that President Trump may resort to restarting military action, and Tehran is now deliberately pursuing a strategy of ‘deception and delay’ with the hopes that buying time will complicate any potential return to war,” two regional intelligence officials told Fox News.

EXPERTS WARN IRAN’S NUCLEAR DOUBLE-TALK DESIGNED TO BUY TIME, UNDERMINE US PRESSURE

Intelligence officials believe that the Iranian regime thinks it can delay developments and stretch the crisis out for at least two more weeks, so that the situation could become more difficult for Trump to restart the military campaign, both politically and operationally.

These sources say Iranian officials are looking at the World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary as a backstop that could work in their favor.

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The impact of the U.S.-led blockade is becoming increasingly visible inside Iran, according to a senior Israeli official, early signs of a developing fuel crisis emerging over the weekend – including long lines at gas stations and growing public discontent over fuel shortages and distribution problems.

“It’s getting exponentially worse,” the official added.

Fox News’ Trey Yingst and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

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Commentary: Californians on a confounding race for governor: ‘I haven’t … a clue who I’m going to vote for’

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Commentary: Californians on a confounding race for governor: ‘I haven’t … a clue who I’m going to vote for’

Eddie Martinez can’t stand Donald Trump. So when Eric Swalwell entered the race for California governor, Martinez had his candidate.

“I liked the way he took Trump on, the impeachment thing in Congress,” Martinez said of the former Bay Area congressman, a Trump nemesis who served as one of the House prosecutors in 2021 when Democrats held the wayward president to account for the second time.

Then, suddenly, Swalwell’s campaign collapsed under the weight of allegations of abuse, including charges he sexually assaulted a former aide. With Martinez’s choice out of the running, the Democrat turned to the candidate who’d been his second pick all along, Xavier Becerra.

Martinez has been familiar with Becerra for decades, going back to when the former congressman, state attorney general and Biden Cabinet member was in the state Assembly. To his credit, said the 65-year-old retired public relations strategist, Becerra has largely kept clear of controversy and there’s never been a whiff of personal scandal — an important consideration after Swalwell’s spectacular self-destruction.

On top of all that, Martinez said as he prepared to drop his mail ballot at a post office in Alhambra, it would be nice for California to elect its first Latino governor in modern times. It’s been, Martinez observed, more than 150 years.

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With the gubernatorial primary entering its final two weeks, a contest that had been stubbornly formless has finally gained coherence. Becerra, who’d been widely given up for dead as he foundered near the bottom of polls, has unexpectedly emerged as the Democrat to beat.

“He has the most experience,” said Ruben Avita, a 57-year-old actor who leans Democratic and is tilting toward Becerra over hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer. “At this point,” Avita said as he waited to catch a double feature at a cineplex in Monterey Park, “I want someone with a proven track record.”

Among the Republicans running, Trump’s pick — conservative commentator Steve Hilton — seems firmly ensconced atop the GOP field.

“He’s got a lot more common-sense approach than any of these other idiots,” said Wayne The Flame — yes, he explained, that’s his legal name —which, while not exactly a ringing endorsement, still counts as a vote.

The Claremont independent, retired at 73 after a career selling motorcycles and hot rods, described Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, the other major GOP contestant, as a racist and dismissed the entire Democratic field with a string of epithets. “Dumb—,” he said of the voters who keep putting the likes of them in power.

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Peaches, a chihuahua/boxer rescue, stands alongside her owner, Wayne The Flame

If not terribly enthused, at least The Flame has made up his mind. Many voters remain undecided — or, at least, not entirely wed to a candidate.

Some are holding on to their ballots longer than usual, awaiting any last-minute developments and weighing the election odds as though wagering in a high-stakes game of poker.

Like many Democrats, Bryce Dwyer’s concern is that Hilton and Bianco will seize both spots in June’s top-two primary, advancing to a November runoff and giving California its first Republican governor in 16 years.

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A 40-year-old project manager at the Getty Research Institute, Dwyer held his 2-year-old daughter as his son, 6, romped on a pleasant afternoon in Sierra Madre’s Memorial Park. Across the street, the bells of Christ Church chimed the hour.

“None of the Democrats are putting forth anything that is making me excited,” said Dwyer, who’s ruled out Becerra (he doesn’t see much there) and is deciding between Steyer and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter. He’s trying to cast his ballot strategically, the East Pasadena resident said, and “it’s the first time in a while I haven’t really had a clue who I’m going to vote for so close to election day.”

A woman in a red dress in profile with her hands held in front of her

Democrat Priscilla Vega of Monrovia has yet to settle on her candidate for governor

This is a deeply unsettled season in California, with precious little hope the next governor — whoever he or she turns out to be — will make things better anytime soon. That mix of discouragement and discontent surfaced repeatedly, like a dull ache, in conversations with dozens of voters across the San Gabriel Valley.

The region’s ethnic and economic diversity — from the working-class neighborhoods of Pomona through the Asian-majority suburbs to the mountainside mansions of San Dimas and Pasadena — make the valley a prime battleground in the race for governor.

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Alana H., who asked not to use her last name, said she wasn’t even bothering to vote.

She ticked off some reasons: The soaring price of gas and rising cost of, essentially, everything else. The fear her college-age daughter will never be able to buy a home in California. Worse, is her loss of faith. She no longer believes in the promise, once taken for granted, that each generation will improve its lot over the last. And, Alana said, she’s not alone: “Anyone who’s an average person is in the same boat, we’re all just trying to stay afloat.” Standing in front of the post office in Alhambra, the 52-year-old paddled her arms as though to keep from sinking.

A man stands in front of a wall full of framed pictures

Jaunenito Pavon, in his Glendora wine and chocolate bar, would like California to elect a governor who could unify the state. He’s still deciding on a candidate

The politicians in both parties are “so out of touch,” she said, “all they’re doing is fighting over this and that, when everyone I know doesn’t care what party you’re in. They just want to put food on their table. They want their kids to have a better life.”

Shelby Moore has some of the same concerns. Forget about ever buying a home, said the 30-year-old California native, a Democratic-leaning independent. It’s no small feat scraping up money for rent. “I’ve lost almost every single friend that I went to high school or college with,” Moore said between waiting tables at a Mediterranean restaurant in Glendora. “They’ve all moved out of state.”

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A waitress places food on the table at a Glendora restaurant

Shelby Moore, 30, a waitress in Glendora, said all her friends from high school and college have left California because it’s so expensive.

She’ll definitely vote, Moore said, though she doesn’t know for whom. One of the Democrats. Someone who’ll work to make California more affordable and keep people like her friends from being priced out.

In Claremont, Eric Hurley was another undecided Democrat. He attended last month’s gubernatorial debate at Pomona College, where the 56-year-old professor teaches psychological science and Africana studies. Otherwise, he’s been too busy to pay much attention to the race.

But it’s important, Hurley said, that whoever wins “keep fighting the good fight and standing by our liberal principles. I would hate to see someone in the governor’s office start capitulating to what the current administration is asking.”

A man sitting outside a coffee shop with his image reflected in the window

Democrat Eric Hurley is undecided in the governor’s race. But he wants someone who’ll stand up to the Trump administration.

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Others seconded that notion, that California needs to stand as a bulwark against Trump and his excesses, such as the draconian crackdown that has terrorized the state’s large immigrant population.

But there’s not a great appetite for the sort of performative pushback that’s won the current governor a wide audience on social media and boosted Gavin Newsom’s political stock as he positions himself ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign.

Jennifer Harris, 56, is a single mom in Monrovia who oversees payroll at a food manufacturing company. She has to stretch each of her dollars to make ends meet; soon she’ll be shelling out $30,000 a year for her daughter to go to college. Buying a home, Harris said, is out of the question.

She confessed to chuckling at the governor’s memes — an over-the-top oeuvre that includes Newsom as super hero, Newsom as religious beacon, Newsom as romance-novel hunk — and his other cheeky jabs at the president. “But that’s not an adult way to handle it,” Harris said between errands in Monrovia’s quaint shopping district. “It’s not solving any problems.”

Better, she said, for the next governor — she hasn’t decided whom she’ll support — to focus on practicalities: improving the economy, making housing and healthcare more affordable, dealing with homelessness and the underlying mental health issues.

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A woman seen in profile

Jennifer Harris said Gov. Newsom’s over-the-top social media presence is amusing. But she wants the next governor to focus on more practical things.

Britnee Foreman echoed that sentiment.

The 41-year-old, who lives in Azusa and works in the music business, was meeting a friend, Priscilla Vega, 43, for lunch in Monrovia. Along with a meal, the two Democrats shared their concerns about inflation and income inequality.

“Memes are great for publicity,” said Foreman, who’s deciding between Becerra and Porter, based on their policy experience. (Vega, a lifestyle marketer, has yet to narrow down her choice.)

A woman gestures while discussing the California governors race

Britnee Foreman says the next governor needs policies “with teeth,” not an active social media presence.

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“But I prefer policy,” Foreman went on. “I don’t want them just to be the popular person out there on social media. It’s great if they’re tweeting and have a cute little Insta-story. But I need their policies to have teeth and actively move us forward. And not just look like it’s moving forward.”

After nearly eight years, amid widespread unease, California seems ready to put the Newsom era in the past. It’s just not clear what path voters will choose, or which candidate they’ll prefer to steer the state toward, hopefully, a better place.

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