West
'Voice of leadership': Harris has repeatedly praised her pastor who blamed America for 9/11
A longtime San Francisco pastor and mentor to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, slammed the United States during a memorial service for victims of Sept. 11, days after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Rev. Amos Brown, a longtime pastor at Third Baptist Church and current president of the San Francisco NAACP, is in the spotlight after he revealed during a recent interview that Harris called him shortly after President Biden announced that he was dropping his re-election bid. Harris wanted Brown to pray for her and her husband during the biggest campaign of her career.
Brown, who said he has known Harris and her family for more than two decades and was one of Harris’ guests to attend her inauguration in 2021, could be a major liability for her campaign as his past sermons and anti-America rhetoric start to surface. Harris previously praised Brown for being “on this journey with me every step of the way.”
“America, America, what did you do – either intentionally or unintentionally – in the world order, in Central America, in Africa where bombs are still blasting?” Brown said days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the Free Beacon reported.
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Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly praised her longtime pastor, Amos Brown, who has a history of controversial comments, including blaming the United States days after the Sept. 11 attacks. (Fox News Digital)
“America, what did you do in the global warming conference when you did not embrace the smaller nations?” he continued. “America, what did you do two weeks ago when I stood at the world conference on racism, when you wouldn’t show up?”
Brown’s comments immediately drew a rebuke from Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the only Democrat on stage, who chided Brown for his comments.
“The act of terrorism on Sept. 11 put those people outside the order of civilized behavior, and we will not take responsibility for that,” Pelosi said.
Paul Holm, who was at the memorial service to represent the family of his deceased former partner, Mark Bingham, walked out and at the time said, “I thought this was a day of remembrance and not a political event.”
“These were innocent people, a number of whom gave their lives for the country and to save other innocent people,” he continued, referring to Bingham, who was credited with helping take down United Airlines Flight 93 into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The San Francisco Chronicle at the time reported that Brown’s comments “set a lot of people’s teeth on edge” and that politicians were “stunned.”
Brown’s past rhetoric is likely to face increased scrutiny as political operatives and media outlets start combing through his past comments, likely mirroring the 2008 campaign when now-former President Obama’s controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright’s sermons were unearthed. Obama, who repeatedly praised Wright, faced backlash for his association with him, especially his “Not God bless America, God damn America” sermon.
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President Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright (AP)
Harris has repeatedly praised Brown and has given him multiple shout-outs during speeches as the vice president.
“I just want to, if you don’t mind for a moment, take a moment of personal privilege to talk about Dr. Brown. He has been on this journey with me every step of the way, from when I first thought about running for public office almost two decades ago,” Harris said in 2022 during the NAACP National Convention. “And he has been such a voice of leadership, more leadership, and leadership in our nation. And so I want to thank you, Dr. Brown, for all that you are – all that you are.”
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During the annual session of the National Baptist Convention, USA in 2022, Harris reflected on her longtime friendship with Brown.
“For two decades now, at least, I have turned to you,” Harris said. “I have turned to him. And I will say that your wisdom has really guided me and grounded me during some of the most difficult times. And – and you have been a source of inspiration to me always. So thank you, Rev. Brown, for being all that you are.”
“It is always an honor to spend time with my pastor, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco,” Harris said in a 2023 Instagram photo caption of her and Brown embracing. “He remains a source of inspiration to me always.”
“I want to – shout-out to my pastor, Amos Brown, for joining us. And – and with that, let’s begin our conversation,” Harris said in 2021 during a virtual roundtable session with faith leaders.
Vice President Kamala Harris attends an event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House, June 3, 2021. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
In 2013, she posted a photo of her, her sister, Maya, and and Brown by the Lincoln Memorial for the anniversary of the March on Washington. In 2008, she posted another picture with Brown.
When Biden chose Harris as his VP pick in 2020, Brown said he was “excited, encouraged, and ecstatic” and that he was “humbled” she was a member of his church.
Brown’s comments, which made several local headlines in 2001, were not isolated as he has repeatedly called the United States a “racist country,” including during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle a few years ago.
Brown introduced Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III in 2022 as a “son of Third Baptist” during a pro-reparations event at his church and said he was the “right man to come and to inspire us, inform us, and make sure that we have the map to implement in all that we might make reparations a reality not in the sweet by-and-by, but right down here in the here and now.”
When Biden chose Harris as his VP pick in 2020, Brown said he was “humbled” she was a member of his church. (Reuters/Cheney Orr)
“America, you owe us. What you done to us has been immoral. It’s been evil. It’s been unjust. It’s been downright wrong and the only way to bring salvation to America – you gotta pay us what you owe us,” Haynes said during the event about the government paying reparations.
Brown and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.
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San Francisco, CA
S.F. police arrest 20 at 300-person SoMa block party during Pride
San Francisco police officers arrested 20 people late Saturday night in SoMa after breaking up an unauthorized “Stud Alley” block party with hundreds of participants, according to the police department. It marked the second round of arrests of Pride attendees this weekend after police arrested five people at the tail end of the Trans March on Friday.
Police officers arrived near Kissling and 11th streets at 10:58 p.m. and “encountered an unsanctioned and unpermitted block party” that had about 300 participants and a D.J., according to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department. The following details are based on the department statement and social media videos; two participants reached by Mission Local declined to comment.
The department said that the large crowd “prompted the response of additional SFPD resources.” Social media footage shows dozens of officers marching through SoMa streets armed with batons, wearing riot helmets and carrying plastic zip-ties.
Officers then gave an order to disperse, the department said, and told the D.J. to leave the area. The D.J. left but the partygoers did not, the department said, and officers tried to “disperse the crowd.” Two people “resisted,” the department said, and officers arrested them.
Several people also “vandalized two vehicles passing through the area,” the department said, and made them “inoperable.” The two vehicles may have been Waymos: One online video shows two Waymos in the street blinking hazard lights, and appears to show one officer telling others that the Waymos had been vandalized.
The party then reformed a few blocks later at Washburn Street about two blocks away, the department said, with about 200 people; the police shut that gathering down as well.
Footage from the scene shows a line of officers in tactical gear advancing rapidly on the crowd, shoving people out of the alleyway before forming a cordon line to block the street. In total, 18 people were arrested on Washburn Street, the department said, for “obstructing or delaying a peace officer and unlawful assembly.”
The department said that “makeshift barricades” had been set up to keep officers at bay; at one point in a video, an officer moves several large rocks that were placed in the street. Two officers sustained minor injuries, the department said.
SoMa has been the site of unsanctioned “Stud Alley” parties on the Saturday evenings of Pride weekend for at least the past six years. The parties have made headlines in past years for graffiti, broken windshields and outraged neighbors.
The organizers of Stud Alley posted an announcement this year that they would not host a party, saying that the party had recently “outgrown itself,” but reminded past party-goers of the unofficial slogan that is frequently graffitied onto walls around the party: Every alley is Stud Alley.
Jesse, a bartender at the nearby bar the Willow, reported seeing cops “everywhere” after the Saturday incident, when people “fled” to the bar to escape. He did not report hearing of any incidents of violence between party-goers and police.
The arrests mark the second encounter between Pride-goers and police this weekend. On Friday, at the end of the Trans March, police officers arrested five marchers for alleged vandalism and assault after march-goers allegedly spray-painted several statues and a person.
On Sunday afternoon, Washburn and Kissling streets still bore signs of the party. Spray painted on the walls of buildings were “Fuck SFPD,” “No Cops at Pride,” and “Every Alley Stud Alley.”


Denver, CO
Denver area events for June 29
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners acquire INF Buddy Kennedy from San Francisco
The Mariners have made the first move in what’s sure to be a rip-roaring Trade Deadline season, acquiring INF Buddy Kennedy from the Giants in exchange for cash considerations.
Kennedy was designated for assignment by San Francisco earlier this morning as outfielder Heliot Ramos returned from the Injured List.
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The 5’10” infielder has spent most of the season with Triple-A Sacramento, hitting well, even for the PCL. He’s in the 78th percentile for xWOBA, has a nearly identical K% and BB% (12.6%/12.1%) and rarely whiffs. This all has come out to a .322 batting average and a 152 wRC+. He’s made just a minimal impression in the bigs this season, with 8 plate appearances in 7 games, and zero hits.
Kennedy is likely to head to Tacoma. He can play 3B and 2B in a pinch, and will likely backfill Patrick Wisdom’s role if Wisdom is called up to take over right-handed pinch hitting duties from the currently-employed Rob Refsnyder.
The 27-year-old has not found much traction in the five years since his debut with Arizona in 2022. He’s amassed less than 200 plate appearances across 74 games, with a career 50 wRC+. On the mound, Kennedy has made one appearance this season, pitching one inning and giving up four runs, all earned.
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