On Friday evening, KATC reported that police in Lafayette, Louisiana are responding to a triple shooting — that occurred in the parking lot of their own police headquarters.

"A spokesperson for the police department says three victims were hit by gunfire in the parking lot. No fatal injuries reported," said the report. "Witnesses say that the area is swarming with law enforcement officers and detours have been set up around the area."

No other information about the incident has currently been made public.

The news comes as shootings have increased, with a 73 percent increase in mass shooting events alone since the start of 2021.

On Friday, writing for the Chicago Tribune, columnist Virginia Heffernan argued that the QAnon conspiracy — which holds that former President Donald Trump is fighting to take down a cabal of flesh-eating pedophile Satanists who rule the United States — is rapidly falling apart and will soon fade into the history books.

"QAnon, who made a messiah out of former President Donald Trump, was always bound to lose steam. It will follow the arc of furious, loopy-loo American conspiracy theories that have existed since before the Civil War. Cults like QAnon burn bright, and they fade fast," wrote Heffernan. "QAnon's demise, in fact, is well underway. Its leader, Q, a figure from the internet's dark side, is now widely suspected to be the creation of Jim and Ron Watkins. The Watkins men are a seedy father-son duo in Asia who serve up pornography and hate speech online."

As evidence of the decline, Heffernan noted: the mysterious anonymous poster "Q" whose cryptic messages drove the theory has vanished from the internet; many believers have now disavowed the movement; and the fallout from the January 6 Capitol riot has led many more to blame the movement for their violence.

"QAnoners who are still on board aren't sure what any of it means anymore," wrote Heffernan. "Some have stopped talking about Trump and now just preach antisemitism. Others urge supporters to take on debt because somehow the future belongs to cryptocurrency and the Iraqi dinar. Orthodox Q types, whose numbers are diminishing, are presumably still waiting for tribunals for Trump's enemies and, of course, the storm. But then late last month, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one possible heir apparent to the Q empire, dismissed some of the most popular Q memes at a Dallas Q convention. 'There are no military tribunals that's magically going to solve this problem for us,' she said."

"Of course, that's not the end of dangers posed by fanatical groups. It might not be QAnon next time, but extremist ideologies and paranoid fantasies will always captivate the dispossessed," concluded Heffernan. "And if we're still battling a cult that's defeated, we're in strategic trouble. Not only will we have failed to learn from Q's unraveling, but we also won't be able to recognize the next catastrophe, let alone prevent it."

You can read more here.

According to the Miami New Times, experts are sounding the alarm as some Spanish-language radio stations in South Florida have pushed right-wing conspiracy theories in Hispanic communities that are being likened to "psychological cancer" — including denials of Trump supporters' involvement in the attack on the Capitol on January 6.

"According to [a] report, the four 'most egregious' offenders spreading disinformation include three shows on the Univision-owned Radio Mambí (710 AM): Noticias with Nelson Rubio and Rodrigo Durán, En mi Opinión with Lourdes D' Kendall, and Ninoska en Mambí with Ninoska Pérez Castellón," reported Alan Halaly. "The fourth is a show on Actualidad Radio (1040 AM) called Cada Tarde with Carines Moncada and Agustín Acosta."

"Hosts and guests on those programs made a number of false and harmful claims the week following the insurrection: that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, that socialism and communism would replace democracy under the Biden administration, that 'Chinese communists' were responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar committed immigration fraud and married her brother," continued the report.

One of the most harmful falsehoods spread by the programs, however, was that Trump and his supporters weren't involved in the Capitol riot. D'Kendall, for instance, said, "I refuse to accept that any of the individuals we saw there are genuinely people who support Donald Trump," on En mi Opinión and instead linked the riots to antifa and Black Lives Matter.

Florida was one of the very few states where former President Donald Trump won by more in 2020 than 2016, due in part to increased support from Caribbean and South American communities in the Miami area.

On Friday, NBC2 reported that the Collier County, Florida Sheriff's Office is investigating suspicious spending by the local Republican Executive Committee.

"The Collier Sheriff's office confirms they have received multiple complaints about past board members of the executive committee," reported Dave Elias. "The auditor of the committee himself said he saw thousands of dollars in questionable spending."

"NBC2 obtained a copy of the letter that was signed by former Co-Chair Nick Lichter and Konuk," continued the report. "The letter claims CCREC paid for out of pocket expenses with cash and over paid thousands on its rent to name a few of the allegations. "

According to Joanne DeBartolo, the Collier County Republican State Committeewoman, she was aware of complaints — although she insists the wrongdoing was committed under a former board, rather than the current members.

On CNN Friday, former Nixon White House counsel John Dean said the newly reported Justice Department surveillance on former President Donald Trump's political opponents went far beyond anything that his former boss had done at the height of the Watergate scandal.

"John, from Jeff Sessions to Rod Rosenstein and Bill Barr, one thing was consistent across all of them," said anchor Erin Burnett. "Donald Trump did everything he could to use the Justice Department for his personal aims, to fight his own political wars."

"It certainly was," agreed Dean. "And I must say that a lot of people are comparing that with Nixon. Nixon didn't have that kind of Department of Justice. I was just thinking as you were doing the setup piece that during the worst leak of Nixon's presidency was the so-called Pentagon Papers, a massive leak of classified documents. I got a call from the Oval Office the day after he learned that, and could the Department of Justice bring a criminal action for this? Called over, found out the short answer was they could, but they won't. So Nixon couldn't use the department as he wanted to."

"So in a sense, what you're saying is ... this goes beyond what Nixon did?" said Burnett.

"It is beyond Nixon, yes," said Dean. "It's Nixon on stilts and steroids."

Watch below:

John Dean calls Trump's DOJ spy scheme "Nixon on stilts and steroids" www.youtube.com

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that FBI agents arrested Robert Morss, a substitute teacher from the Pittsburgh area, for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

"The FBI said Mr. Morss, a day-to-day substitute social studies teacher who lives in Glenshaw, is seen in multiple videos fighting with police," reported Torsten Ove. "In most of the videos he is wearing tan camouflage clothing with a tactical-style vest, scissors tucked in the front of the vest, tan gloves, and at times a Make America Great Again hat. Video shows him near the front line of rioters who pushed past police guarding the Capitol, organizing a 'shield wall' in the attack on officers in the Lower West Terrace tunnel and then entering the building through a broken window, the FBI said."

In other video footage, Morss could be seen trying to seize a baton from a Capitol police officer. He yelled, "You guys are betraying us. You get paid enough to betray your own people? This is our Capitol. This is our Capitol."

According to the report, Morss is charged with assaulting officers, civil disorder, robbery of personal property of the U.S. and obstruction of an official proceeding.

This comes shortly after another Pennsylvania Capitol rioter, Ryan Samsel, petitioned a court to release him from jail pending trial. His request was denied, due in part to his long history of alleged violence against women.

On Newsmax Friday, longtime conservative internet talkers turned talk show hosts Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, better known by their stage names "Diamond and Silk," tore into Fox News during a segment about James Murdoch donating to left-wing causes, saying that their executives should be charged with "crimes against humanity" and "election interference."

"First of all, where's the FEC?" said Hardaway. "This is why what happened on election night in 2020 happened. It was the executives making the decision, in my humble opinion. Even when it comes down to this pandemic and allowing Fauci to spew lies and to give us misinformation, these executives went along with it."

"I think these executives should be charged with crimes against humanity, and also with election interference," continued Hardaway. Richardson agreed, suggesting that politics was also behind Fox News' decision to cancel their own program, since they were a "powerful voice" for Trump. In fact, Fox News fired them for pushing COVID-19 conspiracy theories including that the virus may have been "man-made" or delivered to people through 5G cell towers.

Trump and his allies have increasingly fallen out with Fox News as the right-wing network has slowly seen its viewership bleeding to newer, more right-wing upstarts including Newsmax. Fox News cut ties with "Diamond and Silk" in 2020 for pushing a conspiracy theory about the coronavirus death toll.

Watch below:

On Friday, the New York Daily News reported that police are looking for a man caught on camera making threats to a passerby to "bash your f**king Jewish head in."

"The victim was walking down Rutland Road near Brooklyn Ave. in East Flatbush around 10:15 a.m. Thursday when the suspect yelled out, cops said," wrote Rocco Parascandola. "Video released by police Friday shows the suspect, wearing a white T-shirt and a backpack on his chest, making hand gestures to the victim off camera. The 30-year-old victim told cops he didn't know his harasser. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force was investigating incident, cops said."

Hate crimes have risen sharply in the United States in recent years, with both Jewish and Asian-American persons being common targets.

Watch the footage below:

Earlier this week, commentators on the far-right cable network Newsmax went ballistic after a student at a graduation ceremony at Justice High School in Fairfax, Virginia said "Under Allah" rather than "Under God" during the Pledge of Allegiance. Even though "Allah" is just the same thing as "God" but in Arabic, they immediately assumed a sinister plot.

But after Media Matters for America highlighted the segment, Newsmax was unrepentant — and on Friday's edition, GOP strategist Mark Vargas even called for the student to be criminally investigated by the state attorney general.

"Yesterday I said it was un-American and unpatriotic. It's also illegal and in violation of federal and state laws, and I'm calling on the state attorney general to look into this," said Vargas. "You know the laws are very clear, you can respectfully decline to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but you cannot recite it and alter the words and use — pull out God and say whatever you'd like."

Nowhere in the segment did Vargas cite any state or federal law supporting his claim that it is illegal to say "Allah" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Watch below:

On Friday, The Kansas City Star reported that federal prosecutors have revealed the phone transcripts of Billy Chrestman, an Olathe, Kansas Proud Boy who helped storm the Capitol, in which he is completely unrepentant and brags about his crimes.

"Chrestman has been incarcerated since federal agents arrested him in February," reported Judy Thomas. "Last month, he asked the court to reconsider its decision to detain him pending trial. In a motion filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chrestman's attorney argued that the Army veteran posed no safety risk and that prosecutors had no proof that he was part of any organized effort to breach the Capitol.'

Prosecutors, however, showed quite a different reality in his phone call transcript, which Chrestman himself recorded later in the day.

"I boxed a cop," said Chrestman in one call. "I got part of his f------ body armor, cause I thought he was attacking one of our boys, turns out it wasn't one of our boys...anyways, the cop was being kind of a dick...It was insane and you know what happened today? We stormed the Capitol Building and we took it over...We made f------ the House leave. Like, they couldn't finish their vote."

He added, "And the first fence that was up there — bunch of people were standing against it, yelling at the cops, the cops started getting nervous and then — so I kicked the fence, I said, 'We wanna talk to the f------ House right now!' And all these people started yelling and I kicked the f------ fence again ... I f------ started it. Yeah, I started a revolution. Because once everybody heard about this, and then we cleared out the House, they evacuated the House and everything, to stop those votes."

Chrestman's attorneys have also argued he needs to be released so his disability payments would continue, and that former President Donald Trump is the real perpetrator of the Capitol riot.

On Friday, Axios reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to give a policy speech outlining "concrete steps" the Biden administration will take to protect voting rights.

"A DOJ official told Axios that Garland 'will discuss the central importance of voting rights to American democracy. He'll announce steps the department is taking to secure and expand the right to vote for all Americans, including in states seeking to curb voter access,'" said the report. "'He will also speak to the upcoming redistricting cycle, the first since 1960 to proceed without preclearance protections of the Voting Rights Act.'"

This comes as Republicans introduce legislation around the country to roll back access to the ballot, including in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Montana. One of the most egregious voter restriction bills proposed, in Texas, was temporarily thwarted after Democratic lawmakers walked out of the Capitol and denied a quorum, although the legislation could be reintroduced at a special session.

In addition to the DOJ's efforts, Vice President Kamala Harris has been tapped to direct the administration's efforts to pass federal voting rights protections. Two major voting rights bills are being considered by the Senate, including one that would overhaul campaign finance and redistricting and another that would require federal preclearance for changes to state voting laws, although it is expected Republicans have the votes to prevent either from advancing.

On CNN Friday, anchor John King blasted former President Donald Trump's Justice Department for the congressional spying scandal.

"They went after the records not only of elected officials, which is nuts. They went after the records of their family members, including a minor child," said anchor Brianna Keilar. "What does that tell you?"

"That tells you that it is just off the rails. There's no other word for it," said King. "Again, if you believe Chairman Schiff, somebody else legitimately leaked a secret, the government has a right to take certain steps. We all sign employment agreements. If you have access to sensitive information, you sign employment agreements and understand you're subject to scrutiny. There's a difference between legitimate scrutiny and abuse of power. And doing things, using the levers of government, especially this Justice Department, 'law and order,' the levers of any government. Any levers of government, but especially there on this to go after people. You're not supposed to do that."

"You can look at legitimate issues and then the challenge is, once you have it and this has to be done secretly because it's so sensitive, then lay your case out in public," added King. "This seems like a gratuitous abuse of power to get vindication, to be vindictive against people the president at the time did not like. A politicized, weaponized Justice Department."

Watch below:

John King calls Trump DOJ surveillance scandal "off the rails" www.youtube.com

This week, a new bombshell report dropped from The New York Times revealing that the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump acquired subpoenas to seize data from anti-Trump members of Congress and their families, including House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) and second-in-command Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

The revelation caused an explosion of national outrage, with affected members of Congress calling for an immediate investigation into the policy. And commenters on social media all over the country demanded answers and accountability for Trump and former Attorney General William Barr, who presided over at least some of this data collection.

On CNN Thursday, Norm Eisen, who acted as counsel for House Democrats during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, expressed outrage at the New York Times report that the Justice Department secretly spied on members of Congress investigating Trump's ties to Russia — and predicted that former Attorney General William Barr could face the loss of his law license over the scandal.

"In my 30 years in Washington representing people in front of Congress, and at DOJ working in government and the executive branch as a staff member like those staff members who got subpoenaed in congress, it is completely without a precedent," said Eisen. "It's groundbreaking and earth-shaking. And there are going to be consequences. There's going to be fallout."

"You're going to see congressional observations, you're going to need a policy or laws to protect reporters and members of Congress," said Eisen. "They even went after the child of one of these targets on the Hill to get information about a child's account from Apple! And then there's the question of Bill Barr ... we've already had two judges criticize him for a coverup in connection with protecting Trump from obstruction charges. Now people are going to be looking at his law license afresh. So expect a lot of legal fallout from this."

Watch below:

Norm Eisen says William Barr could lose his law license over DOJ spy scandal www.youtube.com

On CNN Thursday, anchor Chris Cuomo tore into former President Donald Trump amid the new reporting from The New York Times that his Justice Department spied on members of Congress.

"The Trump DOJ took the extraordinary step of having prosecutors subpoena Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, along with their aides, their family members, and even kids," said Cuomo. and they put a gag order on Apple. so Apple wasn't allowed to tell anybody about what was going on, even though they were main members of this government."

"The politicization of the department and the attacks on the rule of law are among the most dangerous assaults on our democracy carried out by a former president," continued Cuomo. "Remember, we know that Trump took this stuff very seriously because he complained about it all the time. This is the Deep State. What was that about? It was using those who are behind the machinery of government to do bad political things, that is exactly what he was doing."

Watch below:

Chris Cuomo says Trump created the very "Deep State" he claimed to fight www.youtube.com