Category: First

First Muslim Queer Immigrant Councilwoman Says America Isn’t Free

Will the oppression in Duluth never end?

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Duluth, Minnesota, a place that most liberals would agree was too white, finally made history when the otherwise boring 87% white city elected its first Muslim lesbian councilwoman.

Azrin Awal, a Bangladeshi immigrant, moved to Duluth to attend the University of Minnesota, got a degree in gender and sexuality studies, co-founded the local NAACP chapter (despite not being black), was part of the Muslim Students Association and decided to run for public office because Duluth was Islamophobic and needed to fundamentally change to suit her tastes.

And that’s after only being there for 5 years.

But they were busy years in which the Bangladeshi immigrant claimed she was a victim of Islamophobia because she was called a 'terrorist' and had a hijab snatched from her head.

She also came out as ‘queer’ and her pronouns are either “She/They” or “She/Them/Theirs”. She took part in ‘drag shows’ and discussions about ‘Islamophobia’, telling students that “Islam means peace”, but not telling them what happens to ‘queer’ people under Islamic Sharia law.

But that’s probably because, despite the list of pronouns, Awal is married to a white guy.

Much like her neighboring role model, Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Awal got a job working at the DEI office at the UM Duluth which she still holds, to help ‘queer’ students. A year before her marriage, Awal told her colleagues that she was working “on self-actualizing her identities as Muslim, Bengali, Asian-American, and queer woman.”

The ‘queer’ part apparently still needs more ‘actualizing’. Or will be around election time.

The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute listed her as ‘Queer’ and so did election materials and pitches. Even while married to a former fellow white male classmate at UM Duluth, a waste engineer working for a state government agency, her official City Council bio states that “Azrin identifies as a Muslim, Bengali, Asian-American, and queer woman dedicated to equity and social justice.”

Much like men who identify as women, Arzin is a married woman who identifies as ‘Queer’.

It was always implausible that a Muslim Students Association member, an Islamist group with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, was going to have an openly lesbian member.

But the pronouns came in handy when building her woke credentials for public office: Awal also claimed that she understood homelessness because had been homeless when she had to sleep on other people’s couches for a few months in between finding housing.

And with the promise of being the first Muslim woman, the first Asian woman, and the first ‘queer’ woman on the Duluth City Council, Awal was endorsed by the DSA and local lefties. She campaigned by accusing Duluth of suffering from “Xenophobia and Islamophobia”.

“I’m getting a lot of pushback,” Awal complained during her campaign. “But I’m also opening people’s minds and forcing people to reevaluate what equity means.”

At a council meeting in February, Awal demonstrated her definition of ‘equity’ by praising a call from an anti-American activist to banish the Pledge of Allegiance from council meetings.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that our flag doesn’t necessarily stand for freedom for everyone in the nation,” Awal claimed.

Azrin Awal did not discuss the superior level of freedom to be obtained in her native Bangladesh, which recently underwent a brutal Islamist coup against the minority Hindu population, and where homosexuality is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Awal has claimed that her family in Bangladesh were “spiritual leaders, they were freedom fighters”. While she didn’t go into any details, her father Mohammed Awal came to America in 1991. A year earlier, Bangladeshis had overthrown the Islamist regime of General Hussain Mohammed Ershad. It is unknown what side of the conflict Awal’s family was on, but the description of them as “spiritual leaders” raises the possibility that they were Islamists.

While advocating against Israel’s battle with Hamas, Awal claimed that the issue was ‘deeply personal to her, citing her ancestors who fought oppression in Bangladesh.’

Awal and her family lived in the formerly bucolic Maple Grove suburb of Minneapolis, which was targeted for refugee resettlement by Lutheran Social Services, among other ‘resettlers’, and now has a sizable Muslim population. Some are worried that Duluth may go the same way.

After the Hamas attacks of Oct 7, Azrin Awal took to denouncing Israel and drafted a ‘ceasefire’ resolution falsely accusing Israel of “genocide”, citing fake Hamas propaganda numbers and calling for an end to military aid to Israel, which the Duluth council rejected by a margin of 5-4.

She falsely claimed that Israel is an “apartheid state” and Hamas-run Gaza an “open-air prison”.

In response to Oct 7, she posted a video by an affiliate of Minneapolis pro-terror group member who claimed that Israel controls the media. Awal later joined with the Marxist and Islamist-led ‘Uncommitted’ movement to protest Biden’s failure to completely withdraw support from Israel in order to enable a Hamas victory.

Azrin Awal promoted and took part in an event featuring Mariam El-Khatib of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) who had promoted Hamas propaganda and justified the stabbings of two Rabbis along with a mother and her two-year-old daughter. AMP has been accused of having ties to Hamas. While claiming to want ‘peace’, Awal was promoting Hamas sympathizers.

Terrorist sympathizers who described a stabbed 2-year-old girl as an “extremist”.

When Awal claims that “our flag doesn’t necessarily stand for freedom for everyone in the nation”, the real question may be how the Bangladeshi Muslim immigrant defines ‘freedom’.

America is free enough that even Muslim immigrants who hate this country can get elected to higher office across Minnesota and everywhere else ‘refugees’ from terror states are ‘settled’.

But it’s never free enough until it can be entirely destroyed and replaced with something else.

Those who want to destroy America can wear the costumes of social justice over their hijabs, can pretend to be woke and even use pronouns, but underneath it all, they hate us.

They hate America.

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Trump Lists Admin Accomplishments, Answers Over 1,000 Press Questions In First Month; 7 Times More Than Biden

(L) U.S. President Donald Trump applauds. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) / (R) U.S. President Donald Trump calls on reporters during a press conference. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:23 PM – Wednesday, February 26, 2025

According to a new analysis, President Donald Trump has answered an astounding 1,009 questions from reporters in the first month of his second administration—with the GOP president posting his administration’s accomplishments on Truth Social.

Former President Joe Biden’s first-month total of 141 press questions answered is blown away by the tabulation, which was gathered by George Condon of the National Journal—being released on Tuesday.

During the first 31 days of his first term in 2009, former Democrat President Barack Obama took only 161 questions.

Even in 2017, when Trump took questions between January 20th and February 20th, he is answering a lot more questions now than he ever did before.

In what are effectively near-daily news conferences, the president has mostly met with the media during Oval Office meetings and executive order signings. Press pool reporters frequently ask two to five questions each during their media appearances in the Oval Office.

“It’s definitely a case of presidential learning,” political scientist and author Martha Kumar told the National Journal.

“He’s using the Oval Office. People stop when they see the president in the Oval Office talking on their television. They want to know what he’s saying.”

Additionally, on Tuesday this week, Trump posted infographics of a list of his administration’s accomplishments so far.

He brought attention to what has been done in just the first month regarding the economy, the border, the energy sector, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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President Trump to hold first official cabinet meeting, DOGE latest, Hamas hostage release

US President Donald Trump will hold his first Cabinet meeting today since returning to office last month, in an effort to further his agenda with most of his nominees now confirmed by Congress. Billionaire supporter and advisor Elon Musk, tasked with overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will be among those in attendance at the meeting.

Kash Patel made his first speech as FBI Director; followed by his swearing in

Kash Patel Takes Oath On Bhagwad Gita In The 'Indian Treaty Room', Sworn In By AG Pam Bondi

Indian-American Kash Patel took the oath as the FBI director, swearing on the Bhagavad Gita. Kash Patel's girlfriend and family stood beside him as he recited the oath. Other members of his family were seated in the front row. US President Donald Trump also attended Kash Patel's swearing-in ceremony. The Indian Treaty Room, a historic chamber in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, served as the venue for Indian-American Kash Patel’s swearing-in. Originally built in the late 19th century as the Navy Department Library and Reception Room, the elaborately decorated Indian Treaty Room has since hosted significant events, including presidential press conferences and high-level meetings, and also served as one of the rooms to sign treaties. The exact origin of the name ‘Indian Treaty Room’ and its connection to India remains unclear. However, it is believed that the room earned its name in the 1930s when the War Department stored treaties signed with American Indian nations there.

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Meet The New ATF Director

Pete Hegseth Begins First Day At Pentagon, Emphasizes Mission To Protect U.S. Sovereign Territory

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks with the media during his first official arrival at the Pentagon as Secretary in Washington, DC, January 27, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:35 PM – Monday, January 27, 2025

On his first day at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed a message regarding the mission of the Department of Defense (DOD).

According to Hegseth, who was greeted by a group of reporters, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., said it was “an honor to serve on behalf of the president and serve on behalf of the country,” also noting, “The warfighters are ready to go.”

Hegseth then immediately shifted his focus to the border, recognizing that President Donald Trump was “hitting the ground running” with signed executive orders that designated cartels as international terrorist organizations while declaring an emergency at the southern border.

The DOD “snapped to” sending additional troops last week to install additional wall materials along the southern border, uplifting Trump and border czar Tom Homan’s efforts to ensure mass deportations.

“That is something the Defense Department absolutely will continue to do,” according to Hegseth.

“He’s [Trump] made it very clear. There is an emergency at the border,” Hegseth continued. “The protection of the sovereign territory of the United States is the job of the Defense Department.”

Last week, the Defense Department announced 1,500 active-duty service members and “additional air and intelligence assets” were being sent to the southern border “to augment troops already conducting enforcement operations in that region.”

After being asked whether more troops would be deployed to the border, Hegseth also added: “Whatever is needed at the border will be provided. Whether that is through state active duty, Title 32 or Title 10, because we are reorienting.” 

“This is a shift. This is not the way things have been done in the past,” Hegseth said. “The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States at our southern border to include reservists, National Guard and active duty in compliance with the Constitution, the laws of our land, and the directives of the commander in chief.” 

Hegseth, who served in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan, said he expected the White House to issue other executive orders later on Monday. These would include orders to halt diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts inside the Pentagon, to reinstate troops who were “pushed out” due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and to implement the construction of an “Iron Dome for America,” Hegseth noted.

“Every moment I am here I am thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning, in Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers,” Hegseth stated. “Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting.” 

“We hold people accountable. I know the chairman agrees with that… The lawful orders of the President of the United States will be executed in this Defense Department swiftly and without excuse. We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us and try us.” 

Additionally, in relation to aid for Afghans who previously collaborated with the U.S. government, the new secretary was questioned on that topic as well. In order to determine whether the payments are in line with his administration’s foreign policy, Trump issued an executive order last week that halted all U.S. international development aid for ninety days.

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‘Constitutional Attorney’ Is First to Call for Trump’s Impeachment (Again)

When you're out of ALL ideas.

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John Bonifaz is the kind of guy who could have answered a casting call for “lunatic leftist who will attempt to resurrect the left’s failed strategies against Trump on his first day back in office.” He says he is the “Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People,” as well as a “constitutional attorney,” all of which sounds impressive enough if you’re the type who gets impressed by that sort of thing, but which in reality simply confirms that what we have here is someone who has abjectly failed to read the room, and to realize that the fact that Trump has been impeached twice and has just become president again should tell him that his approach won’t work. Bonifaz also demonstrates that the left hasn’t thought of anything new to do. Its response to Trump's 2.0 will be more of the same.

At 12:55PM Eastern Time, not long after Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States, Bonifaz made his momentous announcement: “BREAKING: We have just launched a new campaign calling for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump for offenses he has already committed upon taking the oath. You can access the grounds for this call at http://impeachtrumpagain.org. Join us in this fight for our democracy. @FSFP.” This will, of course, get absolutely nowhere, but it’s nonetheless a glimpse into the hamster-wheel of the left, endlessly repeating the same tired stuff against Trump even though it never gets them anywhere.

The Impeach Trump Again website declares:

Donald Trump has been sworn in as President of the United States for a second time. Not only is he disqualified from the presidency, but he has already violated the United States Constitution. And, just as eight years ago, more violations will certainly follow. Throughout his campaign and in the months between his election and inauguration, Trump has threatened to engage in unlawful, unconstitutional conduct. He has once again positioned himself to abuse the office for personal profit and power in violation of clear constitutional commands and at the expense of our democratic institutions, constitutional precedent, and the safety of our country’s most vulnerable.

That business about being “disqualified from the presidency” is the old twaddle about Trump being an “insurrectionist” and thus disqualified from the presidency on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. Leftists tried this as the 2024 campaign was heating up and failed in several attempts to keep Trump off the ballot on that basis, but apparently John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney, thinks that he has found the magic formula that will make it work this time.

The Impeach Trump Again website also helpfully informs us that “Trump is not a monarch. He is beholden to the Constitution, as is Congress. And as the Founders understood, if we are to preserve our democracy for the people, then Congress has a duty to investigate and, if necessary, remove a corrupt executive.” Yeah, “our democracy” again. Amy Klobuchar kept invoking that in her pre-inauguration bloviation Monday morning, in an obvious attempt to dunk on Trump for the “insurrection” nonsense yet again. Trump made a neat reference to “our republic” during his inaugural address, thereby subtly reminding the nation and the world that all the left’s hyperbolic ranting about how he was a danger to “our democracy” was wrongly focused in the first place, no doubt on purpose. If we had a democracy rather than a republic, you see, the electoral college could be more easily abolished, and the president elected by simple popular vote, which the Democrats thought was a winning formula for them until the election of 2024.

Related: Biden: Hey, We Have a New Constitutional Amendment! National Archivist: Not So Fast.

Impeach Trump Again goes on to say: “Free Speech For People is calling on Congress to launch an immediate impeachment investigation to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to impeach Donald Trump for offenses that have already occurred and that will continue in the days to come. Congress must also be prepared to expand its investigation if Trump undertakes any of the other impeachable actions that he has threatened to carry out.” Congress, you say? You mean the thing that Trump’s party currently controls? Good luck with that.

John Bonifaz is likely a reasonably intelligent fellow, and yet all he has done with his intelligence is show us yet again how warped a mind on leftism can become. Maybe someday this accomplished attorney will turn to more productive and rewarding pursuits. In the meantime, he is Exhibit A in the Museum of How the Left Is Out of Ideas to Deal With Trump.

Freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem in first interview since her release from Hamas captivity in Gaza

Israeli Hostage Sapir Cohen Shares CHILLING Hamas Survival Story | TBN Israel

Mati Shoshani meets freed Israeli hostage Sapir Cohen, a survivor of 55 days in Hamas captivity. Cohen shares her harrowing experiences, her unwavering faith, and her ongoing journey to rebuild her life while awaiting the return of her partner, Sasha, and all remaining hostages. Watch now on TBN Israel.

House Passes Laken Riley Act, Delivering First Legislative Victory To Trump

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 23: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) signs the Laken Riley Act during an enrollment ceremony with members of the Georgia delegation in the Speaker's ceremonial office at the U.S. Capitol on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Named after a young nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan man, the Laken Riley Act requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes and it will be the first legislation that President Donald Trump will sign during his second term in office. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) signs the Laken Riley Act during an enrollment ceremony with members of the Georgia delegation in the Speaker’s ceremonial office at the U.S. Capitol on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Named after a young nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan man, the Laken Riley Act requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes and it will be the first legislation that President Donald Trump will sign during his second term in office. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:10 PM – Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention measure named after 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student Laken Riley, who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien from Venezuela last year, was enacted by the Republican-led House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump is anticipated to sign the legislation into law this week after his return to the White House. Its goal is to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit nonviolent offenses such as theft, as well as ultimately inhibit violent and heinous crimes committed by illegals such as rape, assault, and murder.

All Republicans backed the motion, with 46 Democrats joining in. With 12 Democrat votes, the bill was approved by the Senate on Monday by a vote of 64-35.

A 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela named Jose Ibarra was convicted in November of kidnapping, assaulting, and murdering Riley as she was out on a run close to the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Police noted that when Riley’s body was found, her shirt had been pulled all the way up — and it was clear that he had attempted to sexually assault her at some point before or after her death.

Riley even tried to call 9-1-1 during the attack, but the only voice that the emergency operator heard was that of Ibarra. One of the charges against Ibarra is obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call, according to FOX Carolina.

Ibarra received a life sentence without the possibility of release.

Republicans and President Trump have highlighted how Ibarra was not placed under arrest after initially being detained by a Georgia police department for shoplifting, in addition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement not issuing a detainer for him.

The politician responsible for drafting the measure, Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.), explained that ICE must now take custody of and detain illegal aliens who are charged, arrested, or found guilty of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.”

“It’s bittersweet,” Collins said following the vote, noting that he had spoken to Riley’s relatives earlier that day. “For a young lady that wanted to dedicate her career and her life to saving lives, now her name will live on forever, and it will save lives.”

48 Democrats supported a previous version of the bill, which was approved by the House by a vote of 264-159. However, former President Joe Biden never expressed whether he backed the bill, which was enacted by the GOP-controlled House last year but later disregarded by the Democrat-led Senate.

“You now have a willing partner in the Senate that wants to confront real problems facing families, so that we don’t have more Lakens Rileys,” stated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). “You don’t have more murders of innocent people because of an open border. President Trump has already taken action to start reversing that open border,” he added.

Two amendments, one from Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), which includes assault of a police officer, and another from Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), which includes acts that cause death or bodily harm to an individual, were also adopted by the Senate in order to expand the list of actions that result in mandatory detention of illegal aliens.

The Laken Riley Act’s passage coincides with a contentious discussion among Democrats over how to address Trump’s intentions for mass deportations and the illegal immigration crisis following their crushing 2024 election loss. Additionally, the Laken Riley Act’s only opponents were Democrats who tried to argue that the measure was overly harsh.

“Laken Riley casts out a net to cuff, arrest, and deport people who have committed minor offenses. In that sense, it is not a good thing,” said Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the new chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Any discussion that should be had here around the issue of border security, around the issue of immigration,” he added, “should include something on Dreamers, farm workers, and families.”

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