Trump Staged Correspondents' Dinner Shooting, Many Believe

The DHS is denying green cards over social media posts about Israel, ICE deported a family just days after a court ordered their release, and Trump's AG is being sued for hiding the Epstein files

Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America.

A shooter opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and the conspiracy theories from both left and right started flying before the shell casings hit the floor. The government has quietly begun denying green cards over social media posts about Israel. A mother and her five children were freed by a federal court on Thursday and put on a deportation plane by Saturday. And Trump’s acting Attorney General is being sued for hiding the Epstein files he swore he’d already released.

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Now, let’s dive in.

Both Sides Decided the Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Was Fake

On the evening of April 25, gunshots were fired near the main security screening area for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton. Trump, Melania, Vance, and members of the Cabinet were evacuated by the Secret Service.

Authorities identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of California, who rushed the event while armed and was stopped by law enforcement. One officer was struck in a bullet-resistant vest and is expected to recover.

Within minutes, a false-flag conspiracy theory began to spread. Users latched onto a quote from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made hours earlier in a red-carpet interview on Fox News: “There will be some shots fired tonight in the room.”

Was it a figure of speech? Yes. Has this administration spent years poisoning the information environment so thoroughly that nobody trusts anything anymore? Also yes.

Dozens of prominent right-wing accounts posted what appeared to be a coordinated campaign of support for Trump’s White House ballroom project in the moments after the incident. The speed was notable enough that even people with no interest in conspiracy theories noticed it.

Trump himself noted the speed: “Usually it takes a little bit longer,” he said. “Usually they wait about two or three months to start saying that.” He would know. He has spent a decade cultivating precisely this ecosystem.

Your Green Card Can Now Be Denied for Posting About Israel

The Trump administration has quietly decided that the path to a green card now runs through your Instagram grid.

The DHS has issued guidance to deny immigrants green cards for expressing political opinions, including posting about Israel on social media. Other potentially disqualifying actions: desecrating the American flag and taking part in pro-Palestine protests.

Immigration officers are required to bring cases involving “potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology” to their bosses and the general counsel’s office for further review.

The updated guidance discourages granting green cards to individuals who endorse, promote, or support “anti-American views.” That could include someone “holding a sign advocating overthrow of the U.S. government.”

That sign, to be clear, is constitutionally protected speech for American citizens. For someone trying to become a legal permanent resident, it is now a federal strike against them.

The White House said the policies have “nothing to do with free speech” and are there to protect “American institutions, the safety of citizens, national security and the freedoms of the United States.” Protecting freedoms by screening opinions.

They can screen your Instagram to deny you a green card. They cannot screen what we write. We don't have a government license anyone can yank for covering this. We don't have advertisers with opinions about which opinions are acceptable. Become a paid subscriber today.

ICE Freed a Family Thursday, Then Put Them on a Deportation Plane Saturday

An Egyptian mother and her five children had been locked up for ten months in the only family detention center in the country. A federal judge looked at that situation and said that’s enough. They were released. Story over, right?

Not quite. Hayam El Gamal and her children, aged five to eighteen, were told that as a condition of their freedom they needed to check in at an ICE office in Denver. So they did, because that is what you do when a federal agency tells you to show up somewhere.

ICE detained them again, told them they were being deported to Egypt, and rushed them onto a plane. ICE put them on a plane that would have flown to Michigan “and then outside the United States to an unknown location.”

Their lawyers rushed to four federal courts on Saturday to try to stop the deportation. In emergency rulings, two federal judges again ordered the government not to deport them. Only then did the jet turn around mid-flight and deliver the family back to Denver Saturday night.

The Department of Homeland Security did not address why the family was detained after Thursday’s ruling. What they did do was call the judge an “activist” for applying the law. Stunning that they found time to do that, given how busy they were turning a plane around.

The Man Hiding the Epstein Files Is Being Sued for Hiding the Epstein Files

Todd Blanche used to be Trump’s personal criminal defense lawyer. Now he runs the Justice Department. Now he is being sued. The pipeline is not what it used to be.

The Acting Attorney General is being sued for failing to release the full Epstein files as required by law. The lawsuit was filed by lawyer and political commentator Katie Phang, who demanded the Justice Department release all documents along with an explanation for any redactions.

Blanche has insisted there is nothing left to release, telling Fox News he reviewed six million pieces of paper and is not sitting on a single one. While Blanche said six million pieces of paper were reviewed, about 3.5 million have been released. Something doesn’t add up.

Senator Ron Wyden has revealed that Blanche personally intervened to block the DEA from releasing a 2015 internal memorandum about a secret federal investigation into Epstein and several associates. The investigation, run by an elite DOJ task force, focused on drug trafficking, prostitution, and money laundering connected to Epstein’s criminal organization.

Phang wants a court-appointed expert to stand over Blanche’s shoulder and make sure he follows the law. That is a thing that is now necessary. The Acting Attorney General of the United States requires adult supervision to comply with a transparency statute.

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