Sioux Falls School District employee fired for Facebook post on Trump assassination attempt

posted in: News | 0

A Sioux Falls School District employee is out of a job after making a Facebook post regarding Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt over the weekend.

In a since-removed post, a cartoon-rendering of the employee smells flowers beneath the words “Shoot ~ if only he would’ve had his scope sighted in correctly.” A yellow emoji with a slanted mouth appears next to the comment.

According to the poster’s profile, she was employed with the Sioux Falls School District as a behavior facilitator and interventionist.

The post quickly garnered attention across Facebook, with some users encouraging the post to be reported to the Sioux Falls School District.

According to district spokesman Tory Stolen, the woman who posted the comment is “no longer employed,” citing the district’s code of conduct policy.

“The District’s Code of Conduct Policy (GBEB) clearly outlines the high standards to which we hold all staff members, given the public trust in our responsibility to educate the children of our community and serve as positive role models,” a statement shared by Stolen reads. “The staff member’s statement does not align with the School District’s values and was not condoned in any way.”

Following the backlash, the woman posted an apology, saying the post wasn’t meant to offend and that it had only been public for a short time.

“My apologies for my post last night in regard to Donald Trump. Apparently many people were offended by what I said. It wasn’t mean[t] to be offensive so I am sorry if you were hurt by my words,” the woman wrote. “The post was taken down moments after it was originally posted because it wasn’t posted in good taste.

“It isn’t a great example of who I am and what I truly believe as a person,” the woman continued. “Thank you to those who know me and know who I am as a professional educator. I appreciate your support!”

The woman’s Facebook page has since been deleted.

Following the woman’s termination, the district reaffirmed its mission via its statement.

“We remain committed to fostering a safe, respectful learning environment for all students and staff and upholding the values of our community,” the district said.

Related Articles

Education |


Blue Earth River has come within 10 feet of landmark Rapidan Dam restaurant

Education |


Raging Blue Earth River continues to scour bank, toppling house and entirely bypassing dam

Education |


More rain possible in deluged Midwest as flooding kills 2, causes water to surge around dam

Education |


What’s causing the devastating flooding in the Midwest?

Education |


Midwest flooding collapses Iowa rail bridge, forces evacuations and kills at least 1

State trooper driving 83 in 40-mph zone in pursuit before fatal Rochester crash, warrant reveals

posted in: News | 0

The Minnesota state trooper charged in a fatal Rochester crash earlier this year was traveling at approximately 70 mph at the point of impact of the crash, a search warrant filed on Friday reveals.

Minnesota State Trooper Shane Elroy Roper, 32, of Hayfield, Minn., will make his first appearance in court Aug. 29 on nine criminal charges related to a crash that killed 18-year-old Olivia Flores, who was days away from graduating high school.

The crash happened on May 18 at the intersection of Memorial Parkway and 12th Street Southwest.

Preliminary information from the scene indicates Roper was traveling eastbound on Highway 14, entering from Highway 52. According to the search warrant, Roper’s ride-along passenger told police that a vehicle was identified as a speed and seat belt violator.

“Trooper Roper was attempting to catch up to the vehicle to initiate a traffic stop,” the search warrant said.

Squad cameras and the passenger confirmed that the traffic light was green for the right-away for Roper.

Before the crash, Roper was traveling 83 mph in a 40-mph zone in his squad car, according to a criminal complaint. Witnesses told police that the oncoming vehicle was “flying” and said they did not see or hear emergency lights or a siren, the complaint said.

The front seat passenger in the car Flores was in said the driver had a green light to make the left turn into the Apache Mall parking lot. The search warrant said the speed of the Ford Focus, whether the blinker was activated or if braking was applied is unknown.

Due to his speed, Roper was unable to brake or maneuver his squad car to avoid the collision, the investigation found.

Previous court documents said Roper’s vehicle was traveling “at least” 55 mph when his squad car struck the Ford Focus. The search warrant said that based on GPS data reflected in the squad camera, Roper was traveling at approximately 70 mph, 30 mph over the posted speed limit.

The impact sent both cars east through the intersection to collide with a Toyota Rav4. Five others were injured.

The search warrant was obtained by the Rochester Police Department on May 28 and withheld until the investigation resulted in the filing of a complaint against the subjects of the investigation.

On July 9, the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office brought forth nine charges against the state trooper, including felony counts of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of criminal vehicular operation. He also faces four misdemeanors.

Police retrieved the Event Data Recorders from the state patrol squad car and the Ford Focus.

Related Articles

Crime & Public Safety |


St. Paul man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting girl, 13, in Maplewood

Crime & Public Safety |


White Bear Lake dad charged with murder after infant son died of head trauma

Crime & Public Safety |


Separate shootings in St. Paul injure two teens, ages 15 and 16

Crime & Public Safety |


Man’s body recovered from Lake Marion in Lakeville Saturday night

Crime & Public Safety |


St. Paul man admits to September shootout at White Bear Lake bar

DONALD TRUMP PICKED JD VANCE AS HIS RUNNING MATE – 39 YEARS OLD, YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED BUT GOOD-LOOKING!

posted in: Politics | 0

BY: Jacqueline DESROSIERS

Milwaukee, Wisconsin—Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has chosen Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate, selecting a rising star in the party and previously outspoken Trump critic who has closely aligned himself with the former president in recent years.

If elected in November, Vance, 39, would be one of the youngest vice presidents in history. He is a relative political newcomer, winning his Senate seat in 2022 after rising to prominence as an author who wrote a best-selling memoir. His selection adds a staunch defender of Trump’s movement to the ticket, and some Republican observers said it could help Trump solidify his base of White working-class voters, particularly in the Upper Midwest.

Trump’s choice for a running mate was among the most closely watched decisions of his campaign and has taken on new significance in the wake of what law enforcement has called an attempted assassination against Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pa. Even before the shooting, the decision was expected to arrive at a moment of upheaval in the presidential race.

Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case in May, becoming the first former president ever to be convicted of a crime. On the Democratic side, President Biden’s future has been thrown into uncertainty after a disastrous debate performance where he appeared to repeatedly lose his train of thought, leading to calls from some in his party for him to step aside and let another Democrat challenge Trump. A Washington Post polling average shows that Trump is leading in six of the seven battleground states that are most likely to determine the outcome of the election.

Trump broke with his first-term vice president, Mike Pence, over Pence’s unwillingness to try to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The ex-president, who would be limited to one term if he wins in November, weighed a variety of candidates for his running mate this cycle, requesting documents from at least eight hopefuls and holding unofficial auditions for many of them at campaign events.

The 39-year-old Vance rose to national fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has become one of the staunchest champions of the former president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, particularly on trade, foreign policy, and immigration. 

But he is largely untested in national politics and is joining the Trump ticket at an extraordinary moment in American history. An attempted assassination of Trump at a rally Saturday has shaken the campaign, bringing new attention to the nation’s coarse political rhetoric and reinforcing the importance of those who are one heartbeat away from the presidency. 

Vance himself faced criticism in the wake of the shooting for a post on X that suggested President Joe Biden was to blame for the violence.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Law enforcement has not yet specified a motivation for the shooting. 

Why was Vance chosen over the other finalists? The pick is sure to energize Trump’s loyal base. Vance has become a fixture on the conservative media circuit. He frequently spars with reporters on Capitol Hill, helping establish him as the kind of leader who could carry Trump’s mantle into the future, beginning with the next presidential election in 2028.

But the pick also means that two white men will now lead the Republican ticket at a time when Trump has sought to make inroads with Black and Latino voters. 

In his post announcing his pick, Trump said Vance “will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.” Several of those Midwestern states are expected to play a critical role in November’s election.

But Vance also had another advantage: his chemistry with Trump. Personal relationships are extremely important to the former president and he and Vance have developed a strong rapport, speaking on the phone regularly. Trump has also complimented Vance’s looks, saying he reminded him of “a young Abraham Lincoln.”

Trump and Vance spoke about 20 minutes before the Truth Social post and Trump formally offered him the job, according to a person familiar with the call who, like others, requested anonymity to share the private conversation.

Trump had long said he wanted to dramatically reveal his pick onstage at the convention, which he said would make it more “interesting” and “exciting.” The timing is later than in recent cycles but hardly unprecedented. In 1980, Ronald Reagan made his decision less than 24 hours before he formally accepted the GOP nomination, and George H.W. Bush waited until his convention in 1988.

Biden’s reelection campaign issued a statement calling out Vance for saying that had he been vice president, he would have allowed “multiple slates of electors” to challenge Biden’s victory over Trump four years ago. Trump repeatedly promoted falsehoods about election fraud before and after January 6, 2021, when rioters loyal to the former president stormed the Capitol to try to stop the certification of his loss. 

“Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backward to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in the statement.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, the other contenders on Trump’s shortlist, were informed earlier Monday afternoon that they were not his picks, according to people familiar with their conversations.

Conversations in the last ten days between Rubio and Trump’s campaign had focused on concerns about the fact that both men reside in Florida, according to a person familiar with the private talks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them. The Trump campaign wanted to be 100% sure that there would not be a protracted legal battle over the issue, and Rubio was unwilling to uproot his family, the person said.

Trump had spent months testing the field and assessing how his contenders performed on television, at fundraisers, and on rally stages. Several, including Burgum and Vance, joined him at his criminal hush money trial in New York. Others were there at the debate last month, where Biden’s disastrous performance upended his campaign, leading to widespread calls for him to step aside in favor or a younger candidate.

In “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance detailed life in Appalachian communities that drifted from a Democratic Party many residents found disconnected from their daily travails. While the book was a bestseller, it was also criticized for sometimes oversimplifying rural life and ignoring the role of racism in modern politics.

Vance once was a harsh Trump critic but relationship between Vance and Trump has been symbiotic.

Vance’s fame grew in tandem with Trump’s unlikely rise from a reality television star to Republican presidential nominee and eventually president. During the early stages of Trump’s political career, Vance cast him as “a total fraud,” “a moral disaster,” and “America’s Hitler.”

But like many Republicans who sought relevance in the Trump era, Vance eventually shifted his tone. He said he was proved wrong by Trump’s performance in office and evolved into one of his most steadfast defenders.

“I didn’t think he was going to be a good president,” Vance recently told Fox News Channel. “He was a great president. And it’s one of the reasons why I’m working so hard to make sure he gets a second term.”

Vance was rewarded for his turnaround during his bid for an open Senate seat in 2022, during which he landed Trump’s coveted endorsement and rode it to victory in a crowded Republican primary and a general election hard fought by Democrats. He is close to Trump’s son Donald Jr.

“Listen, I’ve seen him on TV,” Donald Trump Jr. said of Vance, speaking to CNN from the convention floor. “I’ve seen him prosecute the case against the Democrats. No one’s more articulate than that. And I think his story, his background, really helps us in a lot of the places that you’re going to need from the Electoral College standpoint.”

Vance is now a Trump loyalist who has challenged the legitimacy of criminal prosecutions and civil verdicts against him and questions the results of the 2020 election. 

He told ABC News in February that if he had been vice president on January 6, 2021, he would have told states where Trump disputed Biden’s wins “that we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there.”

“That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020,” he said.

Many states adopted emergency measures four years ago to allow people to vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. But judges, election officials in both parties and Trump’s own attorney general have concluded there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. 

Vance’s book vaulted him to national prominence Vance’s book — subtitled “A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” — was embraced for its insights into Trump’s appeal in middle America, where manufacturing job losses and the opioid crisis had driven many families like his into poverty, abuse and addiction. 

The tale of Vance’s hardscrabble childhood in Middletown, Ohio, where he was born, and his familial eastern Kentucky hills region also captivated Hollywood. Ron Howard made it into a 2020 movie starring Amy Adams as Vance’s mother and Glenn Close as his beloved “Mamaw.” 

With his grandmother’s encouragement, Vance went on to serve in the Marine Corps, including Iraq, and graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. From there, he joined a Silicon Valley investment firm before returning to Ohio to launch a nonprofit that he said would aim to develop opioid addiction treatments that might be “scaled nationally.”

Ultimately, Our Ohio Renewal failed at that mission and was shuttered. During the 2022 campaign, then-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, his Democratic rival, charged that the charity was little more than a front for Vance’s political ambitions. Ryan pointed to reports that the organization made payments to a Vance political adviser and conducted public opinion polling, even as its actual efforts to address addiction largely floundered. Vance denied the characterization. 

As a senator, Vance has shown some willingness to work across the aisle. He and Ohio’s senior senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, have teamed up on a number of issues important to the state, including fighting for funding for a $20 billion chip facility Intel is building in central Ohio and introducing rail safety legislation in response to the fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Biden says ‘bullseye’ remark was mistake, but that Trump is guilty of worse rhetoric

posted in: Politics | 0

Kevin Rector | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

President Joe Biden said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Monday that it was a “mistake” to say prior to the weekend assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that it was “time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

However, Biden said he only meant that the nation’s focus should be on Trump and the “threat to democracy” he represents. He also said Trump has repeatedly engaged in worse rhetoric — including by “making fun of” and “joking about” the violent attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul at their home in San Francisco in 2022.

“I didn’t say crosshairs. I was talking about focus on,” Biden said of his remark.

“Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told at the debate. I mean, there’s a whole range of things,” Biden said. “Look, I’m not the guy who said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.”

“You can’t only love your country when you win,” Biden said. “And so the focus was on what he’s saying.”

Holt asked Biden if he has done “a little soul-searching” about things he’d said that could “incite people who are not balanced.”

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it might incite somebody?” Biden said.

“Look, I … have not engaged in that rhetoric. Now, my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there will be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he is going to forgive all those — actually, I guess suspend the sentences of — all those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened at the Capitol” on January 6.

He asked Holt if he remembered when Trump mocked the attack on Pelosi.

The interview was set to be aired in full Monday evening. Holt described it as the first in an “unscripted setting” since the assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The interview drew some political attention back to Biden on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump formally received the party’s nomination.

Biden previously spoke to the attack on Trump in remarks late Saturday, just hours after Trump was shot, when he said “everybody must condemn” political violence. On Sunday, he gave a prime-time national address from the Oval Office where he again condemned the violence and asked everyone, amid high passions, to “cool it down.”

His campaign has pulled down attack ads against Trump in the wake of the shooting. Still, critics on the right have latched onto previous campaign rhetoric denouncing Trump, including the “bullseye” comment, to suggest that Biden and Democrats more broadly were partially to blame for the shooting.

Monday’s interview, which was scheduled before the assassination attempt, also was Biden’s latest chance to project competence following his disastrous debate performance last month, which elevated concerns, including from within his own party, about his age and his ability to lead.

Biden is 81. Trump is 78.

Related Articles

National Politics |


Who is JD Vance? Things to know about Donald Trump’s pick for vice president

National Politics |


Who is JD Vance? Things to know about Donald Trump’s pick for vice president

National Politics |


In wake of Trump shooting, calls come for Secret Service protection for RFK Jr.

National Politics |


After Trump rally shooting, conspiracy theories flood the internet, creating dangerous ‘spiral’

National Politics |


Trump picks Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, a once-fierce critic turned loyal ally, as his GOP running mate

Biden has been under an intense microscope since the June 27 debate, where he repeatedly lost his train of thought and failed to challenge Trump’s talking points and falsehoods. He sounded hoarse and came out stiff, and the performance heightened existing concerns for many about his age.

Biden rebuffed calls for him to bow out in the days after, saying he may not be a “young man” anymore but still knew how to do the job well.

Biden gave an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on July 5, where he dismissed his debate performance as a “bad episode” and rejected the idea that he had any serious health condition that would undermine his ability to do the job. He also rejected the idea of submitting to an independent medical evaluation, saying the job of the presidency presented him with a “cognitive test every single day” — which he said he is passing while also being out on the campaign trail.

On July 11, Biden held a nearly hour-long news conference where he answered a range of questions from the media, including around foreign policy. There, he sounded defiant and boasted of his track record getting legislation passed.

He called himself the “most qualified person to run for president,” and said he would defeat Trump in November. “I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”

_____

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.