Southwest
Kamala Harris panned for requiring ID to enter Arizona rally after previously painting voter ID laws as racist
Vice President Harris was mocked online for requiring campaign rallygoers to present a government-issued ID upon entry, despite the Democratic presidential nominee opposing voter ID laws.
Ahead of Harris’ rally alongside vice presidential running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Arizona on Friday, her campaign sent out an email advising that only confirmed RSVPs will be admitted.
The email said those on the RSVP list must present a matching government-issued photo ID in order to be admitted to the venue, KTAR reported.
The exact site of the Phoenix-area campaign event, first announced on July 30, was not revealed until Thursday. The email specified the event would take place at Desert Diamond Arena, located 15 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, with attendees being admitted Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., according to KTAR. The campaign reportedly said the Arizona Democratic Party would send out “non-transferrable invitations” by email on Thursday afternoon to attend Friday’s event.
MINNESOTA GOP DEMANDS PROBE AFTER NONCITIZEN CLAIMS RECEIVING PRIMARY BALLOT WITHOUT REGISTERING TO VOTE
Vice President Kamala Harris walks out into a packed rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday Aug. 9, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
X users began sharing screenshots of the email and lambasted Harris for perceived hypocrisy.
“Voter ID is racist, but you can’t get into a Kamala rally without ID,” actor Kevin Sorbo wrote to his 2 million followers.
“So let me get this straight: Requiring ID to vote is racist… But requiring ID to attend a Kamala Harris ‘rally’ is NOT racist?” Nick Sortor wrote to his more than 448,000 followers.
“You need photo ID to get into an invite-only Kamala Harris event, but not to vote?” another user, Ian Haworth, echoed.
“Kamala Harris requires photo ID to enter a private campaign event. Kamala Harris doesn’t want to require photo ID to vote. Kamala Harris doesn’t want to require ID before crossing our border. Weird,” political commentator Gunther Eagleman also wrote on X.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
In 2021, Harris gave her first interview as vice president on the topic of changes to voting laws with Soledad O’Brien on BET.
“I don’t think that we should underestimate what that could mean,” Harris said about allowing voter ID laws. “Because in some people’s mind that means, well, you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove you are who you are. Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t – there’s no Kinko’s, there’s no Office Max near them. People have to understand that when we’re talking about voter ID laws, be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are.”
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event near Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Of course, people have to prove who they are. But not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are,” Harris added.
AG GARLAND PLEDGES TO FIGHT VOTER ID LAWS, ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES
Not long after then-candidate Joe Biden named Kamala Harris his vice-presidential running mate in August 2020, Harris penned an op-ed in The Washington Post on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the constitutional right to vote.
“That is, unless you were Black. Or Latina. Or Asian. Or Indigenous,” Harris wrote. “And when the 19th Amendment was ratified at last, Black women were again left behind: Poll taxes, literacy tests and other Jim Crow voter suppression tactics effectively prohibited most people of color from voting.”
Supporters cheer during a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, outside Phoenix. (Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The vice presidential candidate at the time then tried to make a comparison to modern times.
Harris accused Republicans of “once again doing everything in their power to suppress and attack the voting rights of people of color.”
“They are deploying suppressive voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, voter roll purges, precinct closures and reduced early-voting days – all of which have been laser-targeted toward communities of color since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013,” she wrote.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Long Beach man arrested for murder in deadly hit-and-run crash
A 23-year-old man from Long Beach is in custody following a deadly hit-and-run crash in Riverside County Saturday.
The crash happened around 8:09 a.m. near the intersection of Dinah Shore Drive and George Montgomery Way in the city of Rancho Mirage, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies responded and found one of the involved drivers, 57-year-old Teresa Bowlin of Cathedral City, dead at the scene. The other driver, Tyler Conant of Long Beach, ran from the scene of the crash, according to the sheriff’s department.
“During the investigation, it was determined that Conant was under the influence of alcohol [at the time of the crash],” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Conant was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for murder and felony hit-and-run.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Deputy Bret Meservey at (760) 836-1600.
Los Angeles, Ca
Long Beach to hold new pride festival after previous one canceled
Long Beach will hold a pride festival this weekend after the one they originally had scheduled was canceled.
Long Beach city officials said the celebration was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit.
It was supposed to start on Friday and last through Sunday.
“Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement. “With event programming scheduled to begin on May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.”
Officials noted that they were working to see if a “shortened event” could be held this weekend, and indeed, an agreement was reached to stage a one-day gathering on Sunday.
Billed as “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” and emceed by comedian and drag queen Jewels, it will still bring the city’s LGBTQ community together after Sunday morning’s Long Beach Pride Parade, which was not canceled.
“Long Beach Pride weekend is a culmination of celebrations put on by our community, including our many vibrant restaurants, bars and businesses, and that will never change,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release issued late Saturday night. “Along with the Pride Parade, we are proud to join the party with this new event that reaffirms what this City has always stood for: that every person belongs here.”
“The festival may have been canceled, but Long Beach drag artists don’t cancel joy,” added Jewels Long Beach.
The one-day “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” festival will take place at Bixby Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. A free event, it will include music by several performers and a drag show.
More information can be found here.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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