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FBI Has Closed the Gabrielle Petito Murder Investigation

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The FBI on Friday announced it is closing its investigation into the homicide of Gabrielle Petito and the suicide of her fiancé Brian Laundrie, who was designated as a person of interest in the young woman’s murder. FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider released a statement explaining that “all logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case.”

He continued:

The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito. The FBI’s primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family.

The Bureau stated agents had discovered “written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.”

Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing the Laundrie family, said the ordeal “has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both” Laundrie and Petito.

“We can only hope that with today’s closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children. May Gabby and Brian both rest in peace,” he concluded.

The story became national news shortly after Petito, a blogger and social media influencer, disappeared in late August 2021 while taking a cross-country road trip with her fiancé in her van. Laundrie later returned to North Port, Florida, without her. She was no longer responding to text messages or phone calls.

Petito’s parents reported their daughter missing in September. Laundrie also went missing later on September 13. However, his parents did not report his disappearance until September 17. Reports of a physical altercation between the two later surfaced. Utah Police officers responded to a phone call stating a witness had seen the couple engaged in a fight. The officers later released both Laundrie and Petito after taking a report.

Authorities in Florida began searching in the nearby Carlton Reserve for Laundrie, as he was known to frequently hike in the area. In Wyoming, authorities searched for Petito and eventually found her remains on September 19. Her death was later ruled a homicide by strangulation.

Laundrie’s remains were later located in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, along with a backpack and other personal belongings. An autopsy revealed he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

“The North Port Police Department has been briefed by the FBI on the soon to be closing of their investigation into the Gabby Petito/Brian Laundrie case,” the police department explained in a Friday statement. “We are thankful for the collaboration with the many agencies involved. The dedicated men and women who serve the North Port community have worked tirelessly to help provide answers in this case. We hope that all the efforts will provide some closure for all of those impacted by this tragic event. There will be no further comment at this time.”

Family of Marine Killed in Afghanistan During Biden Withdrawal Is Suing Alec Baldwin

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The family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan during the suicide attack at the Kabul airport during the debacle of the Biden withdrawal is now suing Alec Baldwin, saying that he accused members of the family of being Jan. 6 rioters.

Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Wyoming, was a Marine, one of the 13 military members killed.

We’ll start with the nice part. Baldwin donated $5,000 to his widow, Jiennah Crayton, and her newborn baby, who was born after McCollum was killed in Afghanistan.

But then things went south. Baldwin saw a picture of McCollum’s sister at the Washington Monument, taking part in the rally in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. He accused her of being an “insurrectionist.” While the sister, Roice McCollum, attended the rally, there is no evidence that she was ever involved in the riot, and she was never accused of committing any crimes.

“When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of real respect for his service to this country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter,” the “30 Rock” star reportedly wrote in a private message.

Included in the lawsuit were screenshots of the actor’s messages, one of which showed Baldwin accusing her of being a “January 6th rioter.”

The sister pushed back at the actor, telling him that protesting is legal in the US and that she had already been interviewed by the FBI.

“Your activities resulted in the unlawful destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, an assault on the certification of the presidential election. I reposted your photo. Good luck,” Baldwin wrote back, according to the lawsuit.

He then posted her picture on Instagram with his 2.4 million followers, saying she was involved on Jan. 6. He also allegedly called McCollum’s widow an insurrectionist.

Then Crayton, Roice, and McCollum’s other sister, Cheyenne, all received hateful and threatening messages.

The sisters and the widow have now sued Baldwin for $25 million for alleged defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We previously covered the McCollum family, noting that the McCollum’s mother and sister Roice were not shy about criticizing how Biden handled the Afghanistan withdrawal.

“He cannot possibly understand,” Roice said. “My dad and I did not want to speak to him. You cannot kneel on our flag and pretend you care about our troops. You can’t f— up as bad as he did and say you’re sorry. This did not need to happen, and every life is on his hands. The thousands of Afghans who will suffer and be tortured is a direct result of his incompetence.”

We’ve seen how Baldwin has not been able to stop himself from talking when it comes to the shooting that occurred on his set, that he seemed to think he was a victim more than the person who died, Halyna Hutchins. We also saw him say some crazy things, including suggesting that “right-wing” media writing about him (at that point, he had not turned over his phone to police) somehow had something to do with “Jan. 6” hatred.

So, it’s not hard to imagine Baldwin might make some scurrilous, untrue allegations. He’s very anti-Trump and very liberal. But how despicable can you be to attack a grieving Gold Star family, particularly the widow? That’s just a horrible thing to allegedly do. There are few people to whom you should show more care than such a family who has lost so much.

That summarizes it and even today, during his press conference, Joe Biden said he had “no apologies” when it came to what he did in Afghanistan.

Another Twist in Ray Epps Saga Raises More Questions About That Jan. 6 Committee Interview

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You may recall the story about Ray Epps, that guy who was very much in evidence outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and even the night before, talking about going into the Capitol. Many raised questions about his role that day, especially after he was removed from a page on which the FBI has asked for information on various people they want to question about Jan. 6.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) even raised questions about Epps when Cruz was grilling an FBI official about whether the FBI had any agents or informants involved on Jan. 6.

Then we were told by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s partisan Jan. 6 Committee that they had interviewed Epps and he told them he wasn’t an FBI agent or informant. Committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (RINO-IL) even sprang to the defense, saying, “Ray Epps has cooperated with the Jan 6 committee and we thank him on the broader issue,” and claimed that “Ray” was no informant or “fed.” In so doing, Kinzinger essentially blew up the Jan. 6 effort to demonize Republicans. This is the guy who has gone after Republicans and President Donald Trump, blaming them for what happened even though there’s no video of any of them urging people to go into the Capitol like there is with Ray Epps. Yet he seems to give Epps a pass and calls him just a “misled man.” Both the Committee and Kinzinger indicated that Epps was not being pursued.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) found that response from Kinzinger curious.

Now, there’s more fascinating information about Epps. Turns out Epps is going to be talking to the Committee again to give a more formal transcribed interview, according to his attorney, John Blischak. Blischak said he expected more details of Epps’ involvement to become public after that interview. Blischak says his client’s name was removed from the FBI list after Epps called the FBI and “explained his position.”

So that raises a few questions. If Epps got a pass like the Committee previously suggested, why are they doing a more formal transcribed interview with him? What is his interview about then? Was he even under oath when they questioned him before if it wasn’t transcribed? Why did they do an interview that wasn’t transcribed? Why did he get the same pass in that regard that Hillary Clinton got during her FBI interview?

Maybe they should ask Epps about this if they didn’t before. It seems like it might be interesting.

Epps was also seen in footage just before 1 p.m. on Jan. 6 at the front of a line of Trump supporters who were among the first to breach the Capitol barricades. He whispered something into the ear of Ryan Samsel, who has been charged as one of the first defendants to breach secured Capitol grounds. Moments later, Samsel and others charged through a barricade, injuring a Capitol Police officer on the other side.

You can see that incident at the end of this video.

That’s what Kinzinger dismissed as “misled.”

I’m wondering what “more details” about his “involvement,” the attorney thinks are going to come out? That sounds intriguing.

Absolute Clown Show: The FBI Abruptly Changes Course on the Texas Synagogue Attack

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Two days ago, a terrifying attack on a Jewish synagogue in Texas played out. A British national named Malik Faisal Akram took a Rabbi and multiple congregants hostage, demanding the release of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui.

Siddiqui, who is in prison for attempting to kill US Military personnel, has been turned into a folk-hero by many Islamist-supporting groups. That includes CAIR, an organization widely supported by Democrat politicians, hosting rallies in support of her.

Since Faisal Akram live-streamed his crime and announced his grievances, it was clear right away what his motive was. Despite that, the FBI, in parodic fashion, once again stepped up to the plate to obfuscate and insult everyone’s intelligence.

Those remarks represented a continuation of the FBI’s tendency to whitewash the motive of any crime that is found to be inconvenient to the left’s primary narrative.

The President of the United States, though he at least called it an act of terror, also echoed the absurdity that we just didn’t have enough information to speak to the motive of the attacker. Again, that was never true because the attacker told us on Facebook Live why he did it. Further, the idea that his actions had nothing to do with the Jewish community, as the FBI asserted, was completely farcical. An Islamist didn’t just randomly pick a synagogue to hold hostage while attempting to secure the release of an anti-Semitic terrorist.

Well, perhaps the FBI has realized that they simply couldn’t keep the facade up much longer? In a move that completely contradicts their original statement, the FBI is now admitting this was an act of terror “in which the Jewish community was targeted.”

Further, while the FBI was quick to allege that the attacker acted alone (they could have just not commented on that aspect at all until they knew for certain), police in the UK have detained two people who were in contact with Faisal Akram before and during the attack.

To summarize, the FBI’s original statement got nearly everything wrong. The attack was an act of terrorism, we did know the motive immediately, it was perpetrated by a foreign national, it was a deliberate attack on the Jewish community, and there were possibly others involved (at least to the point of having knowledge of the attack).

What an absolute clown show the FBI is. If the defense here is that the facts changed because they gathered more information, that’s still not an excuse for them initially making several definitive claims in what felt like an extremely political move. The FBI could have shut up instead of running to the podium to put out false narratives that will undoubtedly live on in the public discourse.

There’s a reason no one trusts these government institutions, and it’s because so much of what they do is obviously colored by politics. Had Faisal Akram been a white supremacist, the FBI would have announced that immediately and they certainly wouldn’t have whitewashed his victims. Instead, the FBI played coy for nearly two days, acting as if they didn’t know the guy was a terrorist that went after Jews deliberately. It’s unconscionable.

Today Is Religious Freedom Day, but Save for Empty Proclamations, You Wouldn't Know It

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How many knew that today was National Religious Freedom Day? How many care that such a day is given recognition?

Here is how it started.

On January 16, 1786 the Virginia State Assembly adopted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777. As a result, the Church of England in Virginia was disestablished and people of different faiths were granted freedom of religion. Catholics, Protestants and Jews were all given equal rights to express their religious beliefs.Religious Freedom Day was first proclaimed in 1996 and has been proclaimed every year since then by a statement by the President of the USA.

This day is observed through various activities and events in schools and places of worship. Schools are encouraged to recognize this day during the entire school week preceding January 16.Freedom of religion is considered to be a fundamental human right. Everyone has the right to manifest belief or religion, change religion or not to follow any religion.

How is it going?

As is the custom, our very Catholic President posted his proclamation on Friday.

I found it interesting to compare Biden’s proclamation this year with President Donald J. Trump’s proclamation last year.

Both proclamations use similar language about the protection of American’s rights to pursue, or not pursue, their own religious affiliation, and both highlight what the federal government has done to encourage and support this.

While Trump’s proclamation listed measures taken to remove the government’s overreach out of religious assembly and worship and protect American’s right to not be forced to betray their religious conscience, Biden’s proclamation listed the government programs he has either reestablished or instituted to further embed the federal government into religious assembly. Unlike Trump’s proclamation, Biden’s says nothing about protecting religious conscience. What. A. Shock.

With a Department of Defense refusing to accommodate religious exemptions to military service members for the vaccine mandates, on top of Biden’s executive orders which supported the corporate vaccine mandates and firings of healthcare workers—many people of faith—it is apparent that Biden’s concept of religious freedom has little to do with being free, and everything to do with what the government allows.

Unique to Trump’s proclamation is how he shone a light on religious persecution both domestically and internationally and took action to combat it. Biden’s proclamation mentions nothing along these lines.

Biden does talk about protecting American’s right to gather and increase prosecution of hate crimes. Along with increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which offers funding to religious affiliated non-profits and houses of worship to improve their safety and security.

But on Saturday, during observance of shul, a synagogue in Colleyville, Tex. was held hostage at gunpoint by a Muslim extremist. What has been Biden’s response? To call for gun control.

Because the FBI cannot tie it to some form of “White Supremacy” it treats it as though it is some isolated incident, and has nothing to do with the Jewish community. Even after Biden acknowledged it was an act of terror and antisemitism, he muddled his remarks with gobblygook about “guns off the street,” and background checks being “critical.”

This was a picture perfect representation of an attack on religious freedom, and Biden and his administration cannot even draw a straight line to it. Biden might as well toss his proclamation, as it has now been reduced to empty words. The same can be said for all the canned tweets from his administration.

So how is it going with the ongoing battles within the faith community over worship gatherings, and who is subject to the restrictions of masks and vaccinations?

The CDC has finally acknowledged that cloth masks do little to stop the spread of COVID, particularly this new Omicron variant. A South African study has assessed that Omicron is less severe than the other variants, and unvaccinated people are less likely to be adversely affected or hospitalized.

Yet, sadly, churches are still being Chicken Little and refusing to allow people to worship with their congregations if they are not vaccinated or if they refuse to wear masks.

How is our Nation’s stand for religious freedom going? Not very well.