Fierce Patriots

Family and friends gathered Thursday night to honor the life of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant, who was fatally shot while riding his bicycle in Wilson, North Carolina, over the weekend. What are the details? According to WTVD-TV, at least 100 cars showed up to pay their respects to Cannon and his family Thursday evening. Hinnant family neighbor, Darrius Sessoms, 25, reportedly gunned Cannon down as he rode his bicycle during a dusky summer evening on Sunday. The boy's grandfather, Merrill Race, told the station that his beloved grandson was a "beautiful" child who loved to be outdoors. "We shouldn't even be here," he said. Of Sessoms, Race added, "That's evil. I never met this guy in my life, but that is one evil dude. He's [in jail] where he should be."Sessoms reportedly rushed Cannon over the weekend as the little boy, who was headed to kindergarten the following Monday, rode his bike in the street.Eyewitnesses say that they saw Sessoms pull out a gun and execute the unwitting child in full view.Authorities arrested the 25-year-old suspect on Monday, charging him with first-degree murder in Cannon's death. He was jailed without bond and is due to appear on court on Aug. 25. The Wilson Police Department has not released any information on a motive for the shooting.Cannon's stepfather, Lee Parker, said that the young boy "meant the world" to him. Parker said he'll never forget the moment he received the call that Cannon was dead."I received the call, man," he said, recalling the moment he heard the devastating news. "I was riding down the road, and I just blacked out, couldn't even think for a few seconds. Took me a minute to register it." Parker said that he and his family will never get past the child's murder. "It'll never be behind us," he insisted. "He'll always be with us, but we're going to get through it." 'We're relying on our faith in God'A GoFundMe page for the family has received more than $418,000 in donations so far. Cannon's father, Austin Hinnant, told reporters that when first responders arrived on the scene to attend to his son, he began praying. "As they began to work on my son, I immediately dropped to my knees and I just prayed to God, I said, 'God, You're the most righteous and all-powerful. Please just place Your hand on my son,'" he recalled. "He did place His hand on my son, not in the way that we all wished, but we're hoping that this tragic accident can bring some love to this world because that's what Cannon would want." "We're relying on our faith in God," Hinnant added.

It appears one enterprising homeless man used the coronavirus lockdown to his advantage. Somehow 39-year old Daniel Albert Neja got inside Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg, which is home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team and has been empty for quite some time due to COVID-19, WFLA-TV reported. Image source: WFLA-TV video screenshot But he didn't stop with just gaining entry. Apparently Neja entered a luxury suite as well — and then proceeded to live there for nearly two weeks, the station said. "He went into the merchandise store, he went into the food area," Yolanda Fernandez of the St. Petersburg Police Department told WFLA. "So he was wearing the merchandise and just helping himself to the food." Neja stole $1,043 in team merchandise and downed $250 worth of drinks, the New York Post said, citing an arrest report. How did he pull it off? Fernandez told the station that someone having the run of the stadium suite for "maybe one or two nights" isn't such a shock, but that it was "kind of surprising" that Neja was "able to stay there for that long and have nobody notice it." So, how did he do it? While the stadium itself is closed to fans there are workers on site every day, WFLA reported — and blending in with workers may have been Neja's ticket inside. There were no signs of forced entry, the station said. The jig is up Police told WFLA that it was, in fact, stadium workers who discovered remnants of Neja's newfound life of luxury. "The cleaning crew went into one of these suites that no one had gone into for a long time because of COVID-19 and noticed there were blankets, there was shaving cream a razor," Fernandez told the station. "Clearly it appeared that somebody had been living there." Police arrested Neja shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday, WFLA said, adding that he's facing burglary and resisting arrest without violence charges. Deputies are holding him in jail on a $5,150 bond, the station added. Not the first time In addition, records show he pleaded guilty to breaking into Lutz Elementary School in Hillsborough County earlier this summer — and the arrest report indicates he told arresting deputies he was just in the school looking for food.

California's ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets was struck down by a federal appeals court as unconstitutional, with the majority ruling that the law "strikes at the core of the Second Amendment," according to the Associated Press.Judge Kenneth Lee of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that there may be good intentions behind the law, which was a response to mass shootings, but that doesn't have any impact on whether it is constitutional. "In the wake of heart-wrenching and highly publicized mass shootings, the state of California barred its citizens from owning so-called 'large capacity magazines' (LCMs) that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition," Lee wrote for the majority. "But even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster. California's near-categorical ban of LCMs strikes at the core of the Second Amendment — the right to armed self-defense. "Armed self-defense is a fundamental right rooted in tradition and the text of the Second Amendment," Lee continued. "Indeed, from pre-colonial times to today's post-modern era, the right to defend hearth and home has remained paramount."California Attorney General Xavier Becerra must now decide whether to appeal the decision to the full 9th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court, and whether to seek a delay in the ruling to prevent an immediate buying surge.The majority found the ban to be too broad, even when considering its stated goal of limiting mass shootings."California's law imposes a substantial burden on this right to self-defense. The ban makes it criminal for Californians to own magazines that come standard in Glocks, Berettas, and other handguns that are staples of self-defense," Lee wrote, according to the Washington Times. "Its scope is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California."The ban on high-capacity magazines was passed in 2016 by 63% of voters in California, and challenged in 2017 by gun owner Virginia Duncan and the California Rifle and Pistol Association.Deputy Attorney General John Echeverria argued earlier this year that the ban still allowed people to protect themselves and their homes because an average of 2.2 shots are fired during a home invasion. U.S. Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan previously called the ban a "slippery slope" and criticized the limit of 10 rounds as seemingly arbitrary."There seems to be some evidence that people need more than a few bullets to defend themselves in the home," Callahan said.

A former FBI lawyer plans to plead guilty to falsifying a document used to obtain a surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, according to an announcement made by his lawyer Friday.What are the details?Kevin Clinesmith, 38, who will be charged in federal court, intends to admit that he altered an email from the CIA that was used in a third and final application to eavesdrop on Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 2017, the Associated Press reported. It is the first criminal charge to arise out of U.S. Attorney John Durham's investigation into the origins and intelligence gathering activities in the Trump-Russia probe. Durham was appointed last May by Attorney General William Barr to look into whether the FBI and Justice Department acted lawfully in their investigation.A review of the Trump-Russia probe conducted by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz late last year found that a lawyer, later identified as Clinesmith, had altered an email to downplay Page's association with the CIA. Page had been an "operational contact" for the CIA through at least 2013, but Clinesmith changed the email to say that Page was "never a source" for the agency.Clinesmith's lawyer, Justin Shur, argued that his client did not make the alteration in bad faith."Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email," Shur told the AP. "It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues, as he believed the information he relayed was accurate, but Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility."What else?According to the New York Times, as a part of the inspector general's inquiry, it was also revealed that Clinesmith had voiced political animus against President Trump in text messages.Shortly after Trump won the presidential election in 2016, Clinesmith texted another official: "I honestly feel like there is going to be a lot more gun issues, too, the crazies won finally. This is the tea party on steroids. And the GOP is going to be lost." And in another text, he said, "viva le resistance."Attorney General Barr teased Friday's guilty plea in an appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity on Thursday. During the interview he told Hannity that would be "a development" coming Friday.The attorney general added that the development would not be "earth-shattering" but would be a sign that the investigation is moving along.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) blasted the Democrat-controlled House on Wednesday for taking a monthlong recess despite not reaching a deal with Republicans on a new COVID-19 stimulus package. What are the details? During a Facebook Live town hall with his constituents, Khanna said, "I think Congress should be in session. I think it's absurd for Congress to be going on a break during a pandemic and a national crisis." "I don't think this is a smart move to recess and I agree with you," Khanna told one constituent with questions, according to Fox News. "I share your frustration."The House last took votes on the coronavirus stimulus package on July 31. A new vote is not expected to be taken until at least the week of Sept. 14 as Congress is currently in its annual August recess. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.) were in talks with President Donald Trump and his administration over the last several weeks in order to strike a new stimulus deal. Democrats initially wanted $3 trillion in aid for the U.S. people. The GOP pitched a $1 trillion plan in return. Trump takes decisive actionEarlier this week, TheBlaze reported that Democrats are expected to take legal action against Trump for his recent executive orders designed to provide Americans with economic relief amid the pandemic. On Sunday, Trump took unilateral action after the latest negotiations between Democrats in Congress and the White House stalled. Ahead of the impending recess, the president signed a series of executive orders that intended to provide American workers with an additional $400 weekly unemployment stipend, cut payroll taxes for workers making less than $100,000 per year, extend eviction moratoriums, and defer student loan payments while forgiving accrued interest. In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer attacked Trump over the move."Today's meager announcements by the President show President Trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families. We're disappointed that instead of putting in the work to solve Americans' problems, the President instead chose to stay on his luxury golf course to announce unworkable, weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need and endanger seniors' Social Security and Medicare," the joint statement said on the executive orders.

President Donald Trump's brother Robert was recently admitted to a New York City hospital, where is is reportedly "very ill." What do we know? White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed the sad news, saying that Trump and his brother "have a very good relationship." ABC News reported that Trump is expected to visit his brother soon. The outlet noted that in June, Robert was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Health System in New York for more than a week.A report from the Daily Beast alleged that Robert spent 11 days in the hospital's neurosciences intensive care unit for treatment of an undisclosed "serious condition." The hospital's neurosciences unit specializes in the care of patients who suffer from "subarachnoid hemorrhage, acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, subdural hematomas, coma, tumors of the brain and spine, severe or prolonged seizures, neuro-infections, [and] spinal cord injury among others."According to a Friday report from the New York Daily News, Trump was scheduled to visit his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort Friday, but it is unclear whether the president will visit his brother before or after the stop. "Either way, the NYPD would work with the Secret Service and help provide an escort to the hospital, and have cops stationed outside the hospital, a police source said," according to the outlet, which noted that Trump Tower security detail may also see additional officers in the event the president decides to visit. This is a developing story and will be updated as events warrant.