This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The FBI is now investigating the pro-gun Armed Queers SLC, a Salt Lake City group whose transgender leader openly supports violence, for possible connections to alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson.
Ermiya Fanaeian, who worked on Democrat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign, was asked by a reporter: "Some people say that it takes a violent protest to get people to listen. Do you agree or should they remain peaceful?"
"I agree. I absolutely agree," responded Fanaeian, a student at the University of Utah.
"I'm a member of the LGBTQ community and our liberation, our rights came after the Stonewall riots."
"I wouldn't even be able to be a student at this school if it wasn't for a violent riot that took place within a span of three days."
"So I absolutely agree that sometimes violence, protests and really riots and those kinds of loud rebellions must take place for tangible change."
The New York Post reports: "Armed Queers SLC quietly scrubbed its online presence after Kirk was assassinated, but a law enforcement source told The Post that all open-source information on the group was downloaded and handed over to the FBI."
"Fanaeian and Armed Queers SLC are on investigators' radar as the FBI has widened its probe to include a potential 'extended network' that could have aided Robinson in the Sept. 10 sniper attack at Utah Valley University."
Fanaeian was originally an anti-gun activist, having founded the local chapter of March for Our Lives, a group belonging to David Hogg, a well-known activist pushing gun restrictions.
But in 2020, Fanaeian launched the Salt Lake City chapter of Pink Pistols "whose mission is to arm LGBTQ people," according to KUER Radio which profiled Fanaeian.
"I used to think that guns were a scary thing," Fanaeian told the public broadcaster. "Back then, I would have agreed with Joe Biden's assertion to take everyone's AR-15s away. And now I own one."
In an interview with the Deseret News that same year, Fanaeian indicated: "The left's idea of a 'gun nut' typically is white men who are upper class and see this as a hobby that will make their egos bigger."
"But the reality is this is a form of empowerment for me."
"As working-class people, we should not be disarmed," Fanaeian said. "There is everlasting violence against LGBTQ people that oftentimes politicians, on whatever side of the aisle, are not addressing, and we need to be able to protect ourselves. And because of that, I came to this understanding that the March for Our Lives goals do not align with my goals."
The Daily Utah Chronicle reported that Fanaeian in 2022 co-founded a new student study group at the University of Utah for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, or PSL, "to teach common socialist ideologies, history, texts and lessons about philosophers such as Karl Marx and Vladmir Lenin."
The inspiration came from "historical communist and socialist revolutionaries of the mid 1900s including Fidel Castro, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
At least 100,000 people flooded the streets for London Saturday for a "Unite the Kingdom" rally, taking the opportunity to honor slain American civil rights leader Charlie Kirk in the process.
As Fox News reported, the rally was organized by activist Tommy Robinson, who said a video shown about Kirk was to thank and "honor the life of one of our generation's greatest." Elon Musk also appeared via video link and condemned the left as "the party of murder" following Kirk's death.
The tribute video included a viral clip of Kirk giving life advice to a 13-year-old girl at a Turning Point USA event.
Robinson billed the march as a demonstration for free speech, saying it was also held in defense of British heritage and culture, which many Brits say has been harmed by increased immigration into the U.K.
The American conservative icon, assassinated in Utah Wednesday, was "a man who inspired a generation of young men based on courage and based on faith," Robinson told the cheering crowd, which also sang Kirk's name.
"In honor of Charlie Kirk and in honor of freedom on the 13th we march," Robinson wrote in a social media post earlier in the week.
One demonstrator carried a sign reading, "Freedom of speech is dead. RIP Charlie Kirk," according to The Associated Press.
Demonstrators carried the St. George's red-and-white flag of England and the Union Jack. Many chanted, "We want our country back," Fox reported.
Police estimated the crowd at about 110,000 people, while organizers claimed the figure was in the millions. A rival protest drew about 5,000 marchers.
Musk condemned the murder of Kirk.
"You see how much violence there is on the left, with our friend Charlie Kirk getting murdered in cold blood this week, and people on the left celebrating it openly," Musk said. "The left is the party of murder."
Robinson claimed that migrants now had more rights in court than the "British public, the people that built this nation."
Added Musk, "You can't get to the truth without freedom of speech, without active debate. … the essence of democracy is a government for the people, by the people."
"I see a rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive, uncontrolled migration and a government that has failed in its duty to protect its citizens."
"Britain is at a fork in the road – to darkness or greatness – and that will be decided only in a matter of years."
Robinson posted a video on X that shows the massive size of the crowd:
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The suspect arrested for this week's assassination of conservative voice Charlie Kirk, 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson, is facing multiple charges, including a murder count that could bring on discussion of the death penalty.
The charges were announced Friday against Robinson, who did not have a previous criminal record, to include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily harm and obstruction of justice.
The official listing of the charges isn't expected until next week.
But it is the murder count that could result in an option for the death penalty, according to a report at the Washington Examiner.
Authorities said Robinson was arrested after family members called police, after he "either confessed or implied that he assassinated Kirk."
The Examiner explained, "Authorities said Robinson had become increasingly political in recent months. At one point, he argued with family members about Kirk at the dinner table, saying he was 'full of hate and spreading hate.' Robinson also mentioned Kirk was coming to Utah Valley University and objected to his presence on campus."
Robinson is accused of engraving political and gender-ideology messages on the bullet casings found in the gun.
And authorities noted that Robinson's roommate showed investigators Discord app messaging outlining what Robinson allegedly did with the murder weapon, a rifle found in a wooded area near the shooting scene.
The report said the messages involved "a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel."
Robinson was booked into the Utah County jail and was being held.
According to the Gateway Pundit, the information about the charges now pending comes from a probable cause affidavit in support of the arrest.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
"Antifascist" and "transgender" messages were found written on bullets in a gun discovered nearby after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a Utah school campus.
FBI agents said they found an older .30 caliber hunting rifle in the woods near the scene of the shooting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
And three unspent rounds were found in the rifle's magazine.
"All allegedly engraved with transgender and antifascist messages," according to a report at AOL.
Kirk was speaking at a free speech event when he was struck in the neck by a bullet. He collapsed immediately and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Robert Bohls, FBI agent, revealed the assassin jumped down from the roof of a building directly across from the rally and fled into the woods after gunning down the influencer.
Separate confirmation of the bullets "engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology" also came from RadarOnline.com.
That's significant has there have been several mass shootings inflicted by transgender ideology advocates in recent weeks and months.
The New York Post also confirmed the discovery of the rifle and the theme-engraved bullets, but the exact messaging remained undisclosed.
Online, a posting by influencer Steven Crowder sourced the details to an ATF email.
"The email included a screen shot from what appears to be an internal message describing a weapon and cartridges located by an ATF and other law enforcement near the scene of the Charlie Kirk shooting at Utah Valley State University," the posting said.
"On September 10, 2025, at approximately 12:24PM, Conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at the Utah Valley University in Orem, UT. Mr. Kirk was speaking at the University as part of the American Comeback Tour. Multiple SLC I and III agents responded immediately. The suspect fired one shot from an elevated position on a rooftop in an adjacent building on the campus and surveillance video shows the suspect, jumping off and fleeing the area on foot," said the ATF.
"ATF and other law-enforcement located an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspects route of travel. The spent cartridge was still chambered in addition to three unspent rounds at the top fed magazine. All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology. An emergency trace has been submitted an ATF SLC is working leads generated by the trace. The firearm and ammunition have been taken by the FBI for DNA analysis and fingerprint impressions. Upon completion of forensics, the firearm will be disassembled for additional importer information."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
New video Tuesday reveals the horrifying moments immediately after 23-year-old Ukraine refugee Iryna Zarutska was stabbed by career criminal Decarlos Brown, Jr. on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina, and President Donald Trump released his own video calling for "vicious" crime-fighting efforts.
Author Hans Mahncke said of the new footage, "Here's the part of the Iryna Zarutska murder video they didn't show. She didn't die quickly. She was fully aware, desperately terrified, and suffering to the end. It is beyond heartbreaking."
Journalist Collin Rugg said the video "shows Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska looking up in horror, trying to process what had just happened to her after being stabbed.
"Zarutska was seen putting her face in her hands as she bled out. Heartbreaking."
Journalist Nick Sortor noted: "Not ONE PERSON helped her as she began bleeding out, before eventually dying. Absolutely SICKENING. These people should be ASHAMED of themselves."
President Donald Trump released his own video from the Oval Office Tuesday addressing the shocking murder of Zarutska.
"We have to respond with force and strength," Trump said. "We have to be vicious, just like they are. It's the only thing they understand."
"We cannot allow a depraved criminal element of violent repeat offenders to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country."
During Tuesday's White House press briefing, Press Secretary slammed national news media outlets that have ignored coverage of the Zarutska slaying.
"Most shamefully of all the majority of the media decided that her murder was not worth reporting on because it does not fit a preferred narrative," Leavitt said.
"Many outlets in this room decided her murder was not worth reporting on originally because it does not fit a preferred narrative. Many journalists in this room spilled plenty of ink trying to smear Daniel Penny for defending a subway car from a lunatic, but none of those reporters wrote stories about an actual murderer."
"Her death was entirely preventable. Decarlos Brown should never have been on that train that night. He should've been behind bars!"
"This is madness. Iryna should still be alive."
Leavitt also blasted Democrats for allowing people like Zarutska's killer to walk free.
"These reckless policies have turned too many of our American cities into hunting grounds for career criminals who mock our justice system, drain law enforcement resources, and wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens," she said.
"Here's the truth that every American must know: too many innocent people across the country continue to pay the price of the failed experiment known as cashless bail, that's been championed by the Democratic Party for years."
"Democrats in North Carolina and nationwide are consumed with pushing a woke soft on crime agenda, no matter how many innocent Americans suffer as a result."
"Instead of aggressively prosecuting and locking up violent criminals, the Democrat-backed cashless bail approach let these criminals roam free in our country to offend again and again."
The Justice Department filed a federal charge against Brown on Tuesday, one count of committing an act causing death on a mass-transportation system.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said: "Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream – her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.
"I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute DeCarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The horrific slaughter of Ukraine refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, train has now caught the attention of billionaire Elon Musk, who is slamming legacy media for their suppression of the white woman's murder by a black repeat offender, as well as district attorneys and judges "who enable murder, rape and robbery."
As WorldNetDaily reported Sunday, outrage exploded online as new video reveals graphic details of Decarlos Brown, 35, allegedly stabbing to death the 23-year-old Zarutska, after he had been previously arrested and released at least 14 times.
In a series of posts on his X platform Sunday and Monday, reacted to messages from others commenting on Zarutska's tragedy.
Xaviaer DuRousseau noted: "So let me get this straight … A bartender can go to prison for serving drinks to a drunk person if they drive and murder someone … but judges aren't accountable after letting a 14 TIME REPEAT OFFENDER murder a young woman?"
Musk responded: "Let's change the law. Between now and then, name and shame the DAs and judges who enable murder, rape and robbery.
"But especially shame those who funded the campaigns of the DAs and judges. That will make the biggest difference."
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said: "I'm going to introduce legislation to hold judges accountable when violent repeat offenders they release commit new crimes.
"It's easy to release criminals when you're protected by an armed bailiff at all times. The rest of us aren't so lucky. Those 12+ judges that released Decarlos Brown Jr. should have their day in court too."
Musk replied that such legislation is "Sorely needed!"
Cultural commentator Amiri King posted a series of FBI statistics, as he noted: "You want to know something that SHOULD make you VERY uncomfortable?
"White people are victims of black violence at INSANELY disproportionate rates. It's not even close.
"Between 2017-2021, black-on-white violent incidents totaled ~2.38M. White-on-black totaled ~0.37M."
"A white person is 31 times more likely to be victimized by a black person than the other way around. Black people make up ONLY 13.6% of the American population. TELL ME WE AREN'T BEING HUNTED," King concluded.
"Did you know this?" Musk said to the public in reply. "These are just the facts as reported by the government. One can argue about what the solution may be, but the facts are accurate."
Musk also took aim at media giants ignoring the Zarutska murder, including the Associated Press, whom he has previously called "Associated Propaganda," as well as the New York Times which he is now calling "an utter lie."
Social media influencer Ian Miles Cheong noted: "Media manipulation 101: All they have to do to control a narrative is to never report on any stories that will flip their script.
"This is why it's so crucial to talk about the murder of Iryna Zarutska. Do not let her story be forgotten."
Musk replied: "As soon as anyone does the slightest bit of research beyond what the legacy (fka mainstream) news reports, the magnitude of legacy media lies is staggering.
"Do some research and it will feel like waking up from a fever dream."
Musk even reposted his appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, in which he flayed legacy news media for its hard-left bias.
"The whole thing's very crazy. The media is incredibly partisan," Musk began. "Almost all the media is left-shifted."
"If you talk to somebody who gets all their information from, like, what I call legacy media, they're living in a different world. … It's like they're living in an alternate reality."
Vi Lyles, the Democrat mayor of Charlotte, actually praised media that did not broadcast surveillance video of Zarutska's slaying.
"The video of the heartbreaking attack that took Iryna Zarutska's life is now public," Lyles said.
"I want to thank our media partners and community members who have chosen not to repost or share the footage out of respect for Iryna's family."
Even Wikipedia is considering completely deleting its entry titled: "Killing of Iryna Zarutska."
It posted a notice indicating: "An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it."
President Donald Trump called the suspect "a lunatic" who "just viciously stabbed" Zarutska.
"So there are evil people. We have to be able to handle that. If we don't handle that, we don't have a country," Trump said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Outrage is exploding online as new video reveals graphic details of a black man who had been arrested at least 14 times allegedly slaughtering a white woman who had fled Ukraine for a peaceful life in America on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina.
On Friday, the Charlotte Area Transit System released surveillance video of Aug. 22, the night 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was slain after she left her job working at a pizzeria.
"She ran from war in Ukraine. She came here for safety. And America FAILED her," wrote online journalist Benny Johnson.
"23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was butchered on a Charlotte light rail, her throat cut open by a violent repeat offender who had been arrested 14 times and was STILL free.
"This wasn't random. This was preventable. There is a war on White people. Her blood is on the hands of a system that lets violent criminals roam while innocent people pay the price.
"If Iryna were Black and her killer White, the media would be rioting nonstop. But because she's White, they stay silent. This is evil. And it's deliberate."
The surveillance footage shows Zarutska boarding the train in her work uniform at 9:46 p.m., and once seated, looking at her phone, completely oblivious of the danger behind her.
The New York Post reports:
Just four minutes later, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly whips out a folding knife and lunges forward, stabbing her three times, at least once in the neck, police said.
The chilling video then appears to show Brown then walking through the rail car, stripping off his sweatshirt and waiting by the doors – as passengers began to notice blood dripping from him.
Zarutska, who grabbed her neck as blood spilled onto the train floor, collapsed in her seat and was pronounced dead on the light rail, investigators said.
Surveillance video shows Decarlos Brown Jr., sitting behind Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina, before allegedly pulling a knife and stabbing her.
Police said Brown got off at the next stop, where a folding knife was later recovered near the platform. He was treated at a hospital for a cut on his hand before being taken into custody on a murder charge.
It took six minutes for police to respond, according to Spectrum News, which noted transit security guards were on the train, but in the car ahead of Zarutska's when she was attacked.
Brown – who has multiple arrests dating back to 2011 – was charged with first-degree murder, according to CMPD. His record includes larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon and communicating threats, according to court records obtained by the Post.
A GoFundMe page started by Zarutska's family indicates the victim, known by the nickname of Ira, "had recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning. Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon."
More than $50,000 has been collected to date.
Reaction online to the case has been fierce.
"I'm sick of seeing this," said Lilly Gaddis, host of the "The Lilly Show" on X and Rumble. "It's everywhere. This story is shocking just because of the brutality of it alone. If we had a little bit more racial consciousness and we realized, 'Hmm, maybe don't put yourself anywhere in the vicinity of a black person.' Better yet, why don't black people have their own spaces?"
"This was not front-page news. No one care because she's white. … People like this need to be made an example of. Law enforcement needs to do their job, and these people need to be sequestered in safe areas away from the rest of us.
"Because it's not fair that the rest off us who built this country, who pay for this country and go to work every day, it's not fair that we have to live under this sort of tyranny."
Ada Lluch said: "Remember what happened when the police arrested a drug addict convicted felon and he died of an overdose, George Floyd? Why is the mainstream media and leftists acting like the murder of Iryna Zarutska does not matter? Is it because she is white? Or because the killer is black?"
Some, including Elon Musk and End Wokeness are pointing out the lack of national news coverage of the horror.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk slammed the national media as well, saying: "Dear CNN, WaPo, NYT, ABC, NBC etc etc. If you want to know why your ratings are in the tank and no one likes you, look no further than the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska who moved to US to escape war in Ukraine, a story you refuse to tell. Sadly she couldn't survive the Democrats' criminal justice system.
"Yet you wouldn't shut up or stop villainizing Daniel Penny, a hero, who probably stopped a murder just like her's. Why? Because he was a straight white American male and the perp was black. Shame on you. Genuinely."
This case is reminiscent of a July racial beatdown of several white people in Cincinnati by a black mob, with the president pro tem of the city council indicating she was "grateful" for the vicious pummeling of white citizens and that "they begged" to be attacked.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage, with no resolution in sight.
With peace talks stalled, Russian drones recently targeted Ukrainian power infrastructure in both northern and southern regions, cutting electricity to approximately 60,000 people. In response, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised counterstrikes far beyond Russian's borders.
After three and a half years of war, questions linger about potential paths to peace, while concerns continue to mount over how much the American military should be involved. Last month, President Donald Trump said a peace deal with Russia would not include deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine's borders.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub, a former UH-60 Black Hawk pilot and battalion commander, agrees with the president, telling Fox News "'boots on the ground' in Ukraine is not necessary."
WorldNetDaily spoke to Gaub in-depth to flesh out what is really happening right now in the Russia-Ukraine war – and America's involvement.
"Trump's primary leverage – one that he's been using lately – is economic," Gaub explained. "The key thing the U.S. can do is tie ourselves to Ukraine economically and help them use their own resources to build themselves up economically and rebuild their own country." By doing that, he said, the Eastern European country could rebuild its military and take a formidable stance against Russia.
"The challenge in this conflict is that Russia saw this coming for years and built an alliance and economic system to survive the inevitable sanctions," Gaub explained to WND. "Not only did he invest heavily in golds and silvers, but he also tied himself closely to China and Iran." As the retired Army officer explained, "Through these nations, he's still able to sell energy and fuel his economy and war industry."
Additionally, Gaub considers it "unfortunate" that "Trump has placed around himself some bad actors providing equally bad advice."
Despite these setbacks, it still appears only the weight of American influence could compel Vladimir Putin to change his course of action. "This takes time and there has to be some security guarantees in order to make this possible," said Gaub. "A calculated discussion about the use of intelligence assets – space and airborne – could enforce a no-fly zone, for example." But, he added, "To think you need to have U.S. troops patrolling some sort of demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine is absolutely ridiculous and should never happen."
"Sadly," Gaub explained to WND, "European politicians talk one way to Trump, and act another way at home. They are content to let Ukraine fight on until the last standing Ukrainian." Why? "Too many European nations still benefit economically from the war," said Gaub, "and continue to make unrealistic demands that serve only to keep the war going, such as refusing to accept that Ukraine would have to make land concessions and that the Crimea be recognized as Russian."
"Ukraine is not in a good place militarily," Gaub pointed out, noting that "continuing to destroy Russian oil infrastructure will only serve to push Russia into a corner where they will fight harder."
"History is full of lessons that teach us the things we shouldn't do, but it seems many are attempting to recreate history in hopes this time it will work out differently," Gaub said. He concluded on an idealistic note: "Ultimately, I hope this war ends soon and we are able to see nations elevate each other through economic interchange and trade, rather than looking at each other as opponents."
Gaub is also the author of VERITAS VINCIT: A Soldier's Perspective on Truth, Faith, Family, and Freedom."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced that his agency would be "launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI [antidepressant] drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence."
The announcement came one day after the Aug. 27 mass shooting of children in a Minneapolis Catholic School. Kennedy specifically said HHS would investigate whether drugs taken by transgender mass-shooter Robin Westman played a role in his church attack, during which Westman murdered 2 children and wounded 18 other people, 15 of them children.
Immediately, the establishment media went into high gear defending both the controversial drugs and transgenders with headlines like this from MSNBC: "RFK Jr. is propagating a dangerous myth about mental health treatment and violence." And the Washington Post led its coverage with, "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that psychiatric drugs may have played a role in the Minnesota Catholic school shooting – a statement widely criticized as unsupported by science." Likewise, Google's search AI is entirely dismissive of RFK Jr.'s commitment to research the obvious link, denigrating the HHS secretary as a conspiracist and skeptic, whose "decision to launch the investigation has drawn sharp criticism. Opponents argue he is using a tragedy to promote disinformation and attack a vulnerable population."
In reality: 1) Individuals identifying as transgender very commonly are prescribed antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs due to high levels of anxiety and depression stemming from their "gender dysphoria"; and 2) Putting people on a regimen of powerful cross-sex hormones in a vain attempt to change their gender – something that is scientifically impossible – is well known to create havoc in both body and mind.
Indeed, as summarized below, there is a shocking and near-total correlation between psychiatric medications – particularly so-called SSRI and SNRI antidepressants – and America's most infamous and gruesome mass shooters in recent decades.
* * * * *
*"When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn't sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind telling me to kill them."
The words are those of 12-year-old Christopher Pittman, struggling to explain why he murdered his grandparents, who had provided the only love and stability he'd ever known in his turbulent life. He was angry with his grandfather, who had disciplined him earlier that day for hurting another student during a fight on the school bus. So later that night, he shot both of his grandparents in the head with a .410 shotgun as they slept and then burned down their South Carolina home, where he had lived with them.
"I got up, got the gun, and I went upstairs and I pulled the trigger," he recalled. "Through the whole thing, it was like watching your favorite TV show. You know what is going to happen, but you can't do anything to stop it."
His lawyers would later argue that the boy had been a victim of "involuntary intoxication," since Pittman's doctors had him taking the powerful antidepressants Paxil and Zoloft just prior to the murders.
Paxil's known "adverse drug reactions" – according to the drug's FDA-approved label – include "mania," "insomnia," "anxiety," "agitation," "confusion," "amnesia," "depression," "paranoid reaction," "psychosis," "hostility," "delirium," "hallucinations," "abnormal thinking," "depersonalization" and "lack of emotion," among others.
Pittman, who was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for murdering his grandparents, would later "transition" to the female gender and change his first name to Kristen. "I, as well as my family, know that I have identified as a 'female' most of my life," Pittman wrote in a lawsuit against South Carolina prison officials, "but due to my incarceration at twelve (12) years old I was not able to take the steps of transition that I needed over the years."
* Andrea Yates, in one of the most horrifying and heartbreaking crimes in modern history, drowned all five of her children – aged 7 years down to 6 months – in a bathtub. Insisting inner voices commanded her to kill her children, she had become increasingly psychotic over the course of several years. At her 2006 murder re-trial (after a 2002 guilty verdict was overturned on appeal), Yates' longtime friend Debbie Holmes testified: "She asked me if I thought Satan could read her mind and if I believed in demon possession." And Dr. George Ringholz, after evaluating Yates for two days, recounted an experience she had after the birth of her first child:
"What she described was feeling a presence … Satan … telling her to take a knife and stab her son Noah," Ringholz said, adding that Yates' delusion at the time of the bathtub murders was not only that she had to kill her children to save them, but that Satan had entered her and that she had to be executed in order to kill Satan.
Yates had been taking the SNRI antidepressant Effexor. (SNRIs, short for serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, are similar to SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, in that both chemically elevate the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain). In November 2005, more than four years after Yates drowned her five children, Effexor manufacturer Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (since acquired by Pfizer) quietly added "homicidal ideation" – that is, murderous thoughts and feelings – to the drug's list of "rare adverse events."
And what exactly does "rare" mean in the phrase "rare adverse events"? The FDA defines it as occurring in less than one in 1,000 people. But since that same year a staggering 19.2 million prescriptions for Effexor were filled in the U.S., statistically that means over 19,000 Americans might have been experiencing "homicidal ideation" as a result of taking just this one brand of antidepressant drug during that time period.
* Columbine mass-killer Eric Harris was taking Luvox – like Paxil and Zoloft (and trendsetter Prozac) a modern and widely prescribed type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. Harris and fellow student Dylan Klebold went on a hellish school shooting rampage in 1999 during which they killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 24 others before turning their guns on themselves.
Luvox manufacturer Solvay Pharmaceuticals concedes that during short-term controlled clinical trials 4% of children and youth taking Luvox – that's 1 in 25 – developed mania, a dangerous and violence-prone mental derangement characterized by extreme excitement and delusion.
The inescapable truth is, perpetrators of many of the most horrendous murder rampages in recent years were taking, or just coming off of, prescribed psychiatric drugs.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are nervous about lawsuits over the "rare adverse effects" of their powerfully mood-altering medications. To avoid costly settlements and public relations catastrophes – such as when GlaxoSmithKline was ordered to pay $6.4 million to the family of 60-year-old Donald Schnell who murdered his wife, daughter and granddaughter in a fit of rage shortly after starting on Paxil – drug companies' legal teams have quietly and skillfully settled hundreds of cases out-of-court, shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars to plaintiffs. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly fought scores of legal claims against Prozac in this way, settling for cash before the complaint could go to court while stipulating that the settlement remain secret – and then claiming it had never lost a Prozac lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the list of killers who were taking prescribed psychiatric medications is long and chilling. Some prominent examples most people will remember:
* Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old former student who in 2018 murdered 17 people – 14 students and 3 staff members – at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was on psychiatric medications "to deal with his emotional fragility," his mother's sister, Barbara Kumbatovich, told the Miami Herald.
* In 2017, Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock had benzodiazepines (e.g. Valium and similar anti-anxiety drugs) in his system when, out the window of his 32nd-floor hotel room, he shot 58 people to death and wounded hundreds more in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
* Patrick Purdy went on a schoolyard shooting rampage in Stockton, Calif., in 1989, which became the catalyst for the legislative frenzy to ban "semiautomatic assault weapons" in California and the nation. The 25-year-old Purdy, who murdered five children and wounded 30, had been on Amitriptyline, an antidepressant, as well as the antipsychotic drug Thorazine.
* Adam Lanza, the school shooter who massacred 26 people – 6 teachers and 20 first-grade children – at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2013, was on psychiatric meds, according to Mark and Louise Tambascio, family friends of Lanza and his mother. As Louise Tambascio told correspondent Scott Pelley on CBS' "60 Minutes," "I know he was on medication and everything, but she (Cruz's mother) homeschooled him at home 'cause he couldn't deal with the school classes sometimes, so she just homeschooled Adam at home. And that was her life." Tambascio likewise told ABC News, "I knew he was on medication, but that's all I know."
* Kip Kinkel, 15, murdered his parents in 1998 and the next day went to his school, Thurston High in Springfield, Ore., and opened fire on his classmates, killing two and wounding 22 others. He had been prescribed both Prozac and Ritalin.
* In 1988, 31-year-old Laurie Dann went on a shooting rampage in a second-grade classroom in Winnetka, Ill., killing one child and wounding six. She had been taking the antidepressant Anafranil as well as Lithium, long used to treat mania.
* In Paducah, Ky., in late 1997, 14-year-old Michael Carneal, son of a prominent attorney, traveled to Heath High School and started shooting students in a prayer meeting taking place in the school's lobby, killing three and leaving another paralyzed. Carneal reportedly was on Ritalin.
* In 2005, 16-year-old Native American Jeff Weise, living on Minnesota's Red Lake Indian Reservation, shot and killed nine people and wounded five others before killing himself. Weise had been taking Prozac.
* Kurt Danysh, 18, shot his own father to death in 1996, a little more than two weeks after starting on Prozac. Danysh's description of own his mental-emotional state at the time of the murder sounded strikingly similar to that of 12-year-old Christopher Pittman, who had shot his grandparents while on psychiatric meds. "I didn't realize I did it until after it was done," Danysh said. "This might sound weird, but it felt like I had no control of what I was doing, like I was left there just holding a gun."
* John Hinckley, age 25, took four Valium two hours before shooting and almost killing President Ronald Reagan in 1981. In the assassination attempt, Hinckley also wounded press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and policeman Thomas Delahanty.
* In still another famous case, 47-year-old Joseph T. Wesbecker, just a month after he began taking Prozac in 1989, shot 20 workers at Standard Gravure Corp. in Louisville, Ky., killing nine. Prozac-maker Eli Lilly later settled a lawsuit brought by survivors. Since then, Eli Lilly has reportedly paid out an estimated $50 million to settle 300 lawsuits filed as a result of homicides, suicides and suicide attempts connected with use of Prozac.
These are just some of the better-known offenders who had been taking prescribed psychiatric drugs before committing their horrendous crimes – there are many others.
Today, despite the fact that literally all modern antidepressants prescribed for Americans carry an FDA-mandated black box warning of increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior ("behavior," of course, meaning actually killing oneself, or trying to), antidepressants are nevertheless wildly prescribed to the American public. As psychiatrist and antidepressant expert Josef Witt-Doerring, M.D., recently explained to Tucker Carlson, approximately 1 in 5 Americans are currently taking SSRIs.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse announced on Wednesday they're preparing their own list of high-profile names who allegedly sexually abused them, and one of the victims indicated Donald Trump was the pedophile's "biggest brag forever" when it came to friendship, though she did not suggest the president was among the perpetrators.
"Let me announce now," said Lisa Phillips, a model brought to Epstein's Caribbean island in 2000, "several of us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list of names. We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know were regularly in the Epstein world. And it will be done by survivors and for survivors, no one else is involved. Stay tuned for more details on that."
"I'm demanding justice," Phillips added. "Congress must choose. Will you continue to protect predators? Or will you finally protect survivors?"
Another victim of Epstein's sexual abuse, Chauntae Davies, pointed out how Jeffrey would brag about being friends with fellow Palm Beacher Donald Trump.
"His biggest brag forever was that he was good friends with Donald Trump," Davies said. "He had an 8-by-10 framed picture of him on his desk, with the two of them."
"Epstein surrounded himself with the most powerful leaders of our country and the world."
"He abused not only me, but countless others and everyone seemed to look away. The truth is, Epstein had a free pass. He bragged about his powerful friends, including our current president, Donald Trump. It was his biggest brag, actually."
Davies also mentioned former President Bill Clinton, saying: "I was just one of the many young women trapped in his (Epstein's) orbit. I was even taken on a trip to Africa with former president Bill Clinton and other notable figures. In those moments, I realized how powerless I was. If I spoke out, who would believe me? Who would protect me?"
"One thing is certain, unless we learn from this history, monsters like Epstein will rise again. There are files, government files that hold the truth about Epstein … ."
When asked about the Epstein case in the Oval Office Wednesday, President Trump said: "This is a Democrat hoax that never ends."
"From what I understand, thousand of pages of documents have been given, but it's really a Democrat hoax because they're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally irrelevant to the success that we've had as a nation since I've been president."
Survivor Haley Robson addressed Trump's "hoax" comment, saying: "Mr. President, Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican – not that that matters, because this is not political – however, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma."
"It's being gutted from the inside out," Robson explained, when asked about the emotional impact.
"It feels like you just want to explode inside because nobody again is understanding that this is a real situation. These women are real. We're here in person. … Please humanize us. … There is no hoax, the abuse was real."
"I would be more than happy to meet with him (Trump), and I will meet him halfway."
"We are the keys to this situation," Robson added. "We have the truth, and the FBI knows the truth, the government knows the truth. You may pull the wool over the sheep's eyes. But we are the keys. We know who was involved. We know the game. We know the players, and we are sitting here for 20 years waiting for you to get up and do something. Well, guess what? Your time is up and now we're doing it."
Anouska De Georgiou, another Epstein victim, said: "The days of sweeping this under the rug are over. We the survivors say 'no more.'"
"I'm no longer weak, I am no longer powerless and I'm no longer alone. And with your vote, neither will the next generation," she said. "President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence and power to help us, because we need it now, and this country needs it now."
Marina Lacerda, a survivor who was named as Minor Victim One in Epstein's 2019 federal indictment, spoke publicly for the first time about the horror, noting there are many parts of her story she can't even remember.
"It's so hard to begin to heal knowing that there are people out there who know more about my abuse than I do," she said.
"The worst part is that the government is still in possession right now of the documents and information that could help me remember and get over all of this, maybe, and help me heal. They have documents with my name on them that were confiscated from Jeffrey Epstein's house, and could help me put the pieces of my own life back together. But I don't have any of it, and I know the same is true for many of these women."
Sky Roberts, the brother of well-known Epstein survivor Virgina Giuffre who died by suicide in April, laid out three demands: "Ghislaine Maxwell must remain in a maximum security prison for the rest of her life," Roberts said.
"No leniency, no deals, no special treatment. The Epstein documents must be unsealed. Every name, every detail, no more secrets, no more protection for those who preyed on the vulnerable. And finally, we demand full accountability from every enabler, every accomplice, every person in power who turned a blind eye."
The victims are urging Congress to support a bipartisan push from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California to compel the U.S. Justice Department to publicly release all the Epstein files.
At Wednesday's news conference, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said she personally would be fearless in naming the names of Epstein's friends and clients on the floor of the U.S. House Of Representatives.
"Yeah, it's a scary thing to name names, but I will tell you I'm not afraid to name names," Greene said.
"And so if they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol on the House floor, I'll say every damn name that abused these women."