This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The internet confirms that there remains ongoing concern over a Hindu behemoth, a 90-foot statute of religious figure Hanuman, which was dedicated recently in Sugar Land, Texas. There have been protests at the site of the huge religious figure, and there are negative opinions expressed online.
Even First Amendment-protected ridicule of the "monkey god."
But that's far short from the "violent" harassment and attacks happening to Christians and their churches in India, where Hindus are the vast majority.
It is International Christian Concern that as recently as a few months ago documented how, "Christians in India are increasingly finding that the world's largest democracy — and recently the world's largest country overall — is no friend to religious freedom."
The organization that monitors religious persecution around the globe said, "India is often celebrated as the world's most populous democracy. Though true, this factoid does little to protect the millions of non-Hindu religious minorities that call India home. In recent years, religious freedom in the country has rapidly deteriorated in a slide led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the large cohort of Hindu nationalists he encourages and leads."
In fact, the report said there are legal barriers to conversion from Hinduism to Christianity, and there's "mob violence."
"Communal-level groups violently harass and attack Christian churches and pastors in remote areas of the country," the report said.
Further, even "government abuse."
"In a dozen states around the country, laws claiming to prohibit forced conversions criminalize sharing the gospel."
And then the government prohibits "poor Christians and Muslims from receiving government benefits available to similarly-situated Hindus, creating a very real barrier to conversion."
"As it fights for greater influence on the international stage, the Indian government seems to be trying to burnish its reputation as a land of welcome and inclusion. Sadly, this narrative bears little semblance to reality," the ICC said. "Modern-day India is awash with religious hatred and the political repression of unfavored religions. Its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, peddles extremist Hindu nationalism and a political philosophy that leaves little room for Christians and other religious minorities.
"Hindu nationalists attacking Christian churches and pastors enjoy nearly complete immunity from the Modi-led government as they harass and even kill. They routinely walk free while the survivors of their attacks face trumped-up criminal charges. Less than 150 violent attacks against Christians were recorded in 2014, the year Modi came to power. That number has risen in the years since, with 2022 seeing an all-time reported high of more than 600 incidents, according to civil society leaders in India. In fewer than 40 of those cases, the authorities filed charges against the attackers, while in more than 100, they filed charges against the victim."
The report warned, "Charges against the victims of these mob attacks often center around the idea that they were forcibly converting someone to Christianity. Twelve states have laws outlawing forced conversions, but these laws are phrased to include nearly all minority religious activity, including preaching and community outreach programs."
Meanwhile, in America, there is documentation that there have been protests at the site of the Hanuman statue, which was unveiled last year.
It was raised at Sugar Land's Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, according to local reports.
The figure is titled, "Statue of Union," and reportedly now is the third tallest statute in the continental U.S., behind only the Statue of Liberty at 151 feet and the Pegasus and Drago in Florida, at 110 feet.
Christians and other conservatives have criticized the figure as "demonic" and have called it a "Hindu monkey god."
Newsweek pointed out Hanuman is "one of" Hinduism's "countless deities."
The Western Journal, in reporting on the opening of the exhibit, confirmed that was accompanied by a scandal over a "massive legal battle."
"In a lawsuit filed April 1, Fort Bend County resident Vijay Cheruvu claimed his 11-year-old son was branded on the shoulders by the temple in the course of a fervent religious ceremony. He seeks more than $1 million in damages," the report said at the time.
"The boy was allegedly branded while attending the ceremony with his mother and without Cheruvu's knowledge. The mother was allegedly branded by the temple in August 2023."
The branding left burn marks on the boy.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Was belittling Christians who don't adopt his LGBT ideologies
Colorado Democrats already have moved aggressively into dictating what people believe.
Twice they've tried to demand that Christian business operators believe and promote the party's LGBT ideology in order to do business in the state.
First it was with a baker who declined state orders to violate his faith and promote same-sex duos getting married. Then it was a software designer who declined to violate her faith by promoting same-sex duos getting married.
Both times the U.S. Supreme Court slapped them down, although the Democrats have yet to relinquish their agenda.
And yet another case is pending before that same court involving the state's demand for counselors that they promote LGBT ideologies, but are banned for simply telling clients that they can have discussions about unwanted feelings and work through them.
But even with that, the all-leftist regime in the state, a homosexual Democrat governor, Democrat majorities in the state House and Senate and an all-Democrat state Supreme Court that wildly tried to bar President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot, is not done.
Now they're telling God what they want Him to be.
That would be "trans."
It was Democrat state Sen. Chris Kolker, who has sponsored an extremist bill that critics charge would set up the state as a nuclear bomb against parental rights and families, who might have unveiled their real agenda.
He was belittling the faith of critics of his bill, which was amended radically overnight Monday.
He ranted to the Senate, "This email says, basically, 'I'm accountable to almighty God, because I'm standing up for equality, that my decisions, one day, I will stand before him and be accountable.' Well, this is what I believe: Have you ever seen that movie 'Talladega Nights'? You see that section where they're talking around the dinner table, and they're talking about what their favorite version of Jesus is? Baby Jesus, I love baby Jesus. I love Lynyrd Skynyrd Jesus when angels are behind him and the choir is singing and he's playing 'Free Bird.'
"Well, on my day of judgment, I might be standing in front of trans Jesus, I don't know."
His bill, HB 25-1312, originally was set up to punish parents who don't adopt and promote transgender ideologies fully.
The Democrats want to order courts to consider "deadnaming" and "misgendering" as forms of "coercive control" in custody disputes.
Courts then would be instructed to use those factors to destroy parental rights and assign custody based on their political ideology.
Deadnaming is simply using a child's legal name, after they've been counseled to claim to be transgender and have picked another name. Misgendering is simply referring to a child as "he" or "she" based on the sex they are.
The bill first attracted attention when a Democrat in the body described parents who don't align with the ideology as like the KKK.
A report at the Daily Signal noted that Rep. Brandi Bradley, a Republican, confirmed that the House sponsor no longer knows what the bill does.
But Bradley warned it still remains a massive "attack on parental rights."
The new version apparently, the report said, allows minors to change their names on a birth certificate, cutting out parents.
Kristen Christensen, state director for Heritage Action, told the Signal, "Colorado's HB 1312 remains an open assault on parent's rights and free speech.
"This legislation still includes school dress code language, adds to the anti-discrimination act, and muddies up legal documents with 'sex' changes. Heritage Action will continue the fight against this awful legislation."
Bradley warned, too, that the Democrats' bill could allow changing sex designation on identification documents multiple times: "How do we know that we're not giving a job to a sex offender? This is horrific for the health care industry, for the mortgage industry, for the gun industry, for public safety. … How many sex offenders are going to be working with children as teachers? How many health care workers will be going into senior living?"
Social media reacted to Kolker with:
"I seriously doubt his final destination is in an upward trajectory."
"Judgment Day is not going to go well for this guy."
"I suggest you go read the Bible, God is a jealous God and he doesn't like it when you mock him or claim to worship a God besides him. I think you and Trans Jesus will not go over well with the big guy, just saying."
Amid the jokes about Kolker being greeted by Satan, there was one simple testimony: "Your knee will bow just like the rest of us. The difference is I have the blood of Christ to cover my sins sir."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Tina Peters, formerly a clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, and a Republican, while trying to protect and preserve 2020 election results from her county, apparently briefly exposed an election system's password.
Democrats in her state put her in jail for nine years for that situation.
Now, President Donald Trump is ordering the Department of Justice to help her.
The injustice of the sentence for Peters was made plain only a few months ago when it was revealed that Jena Griswold, the blue state's Democrat secretary of state, was found to have posted an entire list of state election systems passwords online, but prosecutors gave her a pass.
In fact, Griswold played an integral role in hounding Peters when she made that copy of election results.
In a social media statement, Trump wrote, "Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud. Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment. This is a Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020. The same Democrat Party that flies to El Salvador to try to free an MS-13 Terrorist, is cruelly imprisoning, perhaps for life, a grandmother whose brave and heroic son gave his life for America. Colorado must end this unjust incarceration of an innocent American. I am hereby directing the Department of Justice to take all necessary action to help secure the release of this 'hostage' being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons. FREE TINA PETERS, NOW!"
In fact, Colorado is run by majority Democrats in the state House and Senate, and a Democrat, homosexual Jared Polis, is governor. Further, all of the members of the state Supreme Court are Democrats, and they took their partisanship to an extreme, wildly attempting to bar Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot in the state.
Colorado also has firmly established a reputation as a dictatorial regime, having tried multiple times to control the thoughts and beliefs of business owners by mandating that they promote pro-LGBT ideologies in order to do business in the state.
Twice, the state has been trashed by the U.S. Supreme Court on that issue, and the result has been that innocent taxpayers must pay millions of dollars for the legal fees triggered by the leftist agenda adopted by the state's regime.
WND previously reported on the Griswold scandal.
Griswold was exposed as having revealed dozens and dozens of state election systems passwords online for the 2024 election.
She was investigated, but authorities handed her a free pass for her behavior.
The leak was described as having come from her office, but it involved the current passwords for voting equipment in 34 Colorado counties.
Her actions were unveiled by an announcement from the Colorado Republican Party, which investigated. There were calls for her to take responsibility and resign and she refused.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'This will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport someone'
President Donald Trump, trying to clean up the national security-threatening crisis Joe Biden created with his open borders policies that allowed millions of illegal aliens, including criminals and terrorists, to come into the U.S., repeatedly has been opposed by leftist judges.
He can't send illegals home without court hearings, even though they are criminal simply by having entered the U.S. without permission. He can't send them to THAT country.
Judges have strangely ordered some of them to be brought back to the U.S., even though they already are under the jurisdiction of another nation. Or they've ordered deportation flights already in the air to turn around.
Now Trump's Department of Homeland Security has revealed a deportation plan that cuts through all of the arguments.
It, in fact, would leave those calling for hearings and with complaints about "rights" without an argument.
It's because the program would provide government help for those illegals to self-deport.
They would take themselves back.
At Fox News a report said DHS will "front the cost of commercial flights and provide a $1,000 stipend to illegal aliens who opt to self-deport from the United States."
It is predicted to save thousands of dollars from the alternative, which is a forced removal program run by the government where aliens are rounded up and removed.
"The department says this will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport someone. DHS told Fox News that paying for aliens to remove themselves, even with the stipend, is anticipated to cost only around $4,500 on average," the report said.
The money would be paid only when it was verified that the illegal alien had, in fact, left the U.S.
The Trump administration already had set up the CBP app that allows illegals to plan their own self-deportation.
"If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told.
"DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App. This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers. Download the CBP Home App TODAY and self-deport," she continued.
The policy so far has been that those who are deported by the government will be banned from returning to the U.S. in the future. Another incentive for self-deportation is that officials expect to allow those individuals a chance to return eventually.
While illegal aliens are subject to deportation proceedings, Trump has focused so far on the criminal illegals, including alleged members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs, which have been designated as terror organizations.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin supplies are being shipped into the United States … on drones.
A new report from Judicial Watch reveals that confirmation has come in 14 pages of records the government watchdog obtained from U.S. Customers and Border Protection.
The lethal drugs are coming in across both the southern and northern borders.
Judicial Watch launched a Freedom of Information documents request that sought all details of "drones recovered or seized along the United States and Mexico Border" as well as information on the type and quantity of any illegal drugs seized, the locations and any arrests or convictions that resulted.
The results include confirmation of criminal activity in New York. There, the government confirmed, "At approximately 0200hrs on 09/21/22, Agents of [redacted] Station in conjunction with [redacted] were notified that [redacted] identified a DJI M300 drone originating in the United States had entered Canada. The drone landed and spent approximately 10 minutes in Canada. The drone returned to the United States to [redacted] NY where agents were waiting and observed the drone and an attached package, land in the back yard."
Federal agents contacted the pilot and others on the scene, who fled into a home.
"Agents in hot pursuit, entered the house and took the pilot into custody. An unknown number of subjects absconded from the house into the surrounding neighborhood and 2 additional subjects were later taken into custody."
All the suspects were Chinese nationals who claimed they held U.S. citizenship.
In that case, nearly seven pounds of MDMA was found, and the case was continuing.
Another situation, in California, was described to include a drone "incursion" in which a "white powder substance" was dropped.
"The white powder was tested and determined to be methamphetamine with a weight of .26 kilograms [over ½ lb] and a street value of $1500."
Another situation was in Arizona, where Border Patrol agents found a downed drone from which more than a pound and a half of meth was recovered.
Another Arizona incident saw agents recover nearly seven pounds of heroin from a drone that was forced down.
"These documents dramatically confirm that the Biden administration allowed the drug cartels, which the Trump administration has correctly identified as terrorist threats, to engage military-like drone campaigns against the United States from abroad," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Judicial Watch earlier had reported in its Corruption Chronicles how Mexican drug cartels conducted more than 9,000 drone flights in U.S. airspace in a single year. Some of those flights were to spy on police operations, others were to "gain intelligence information."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Failed to 'demonstrate attention, care, and efficiency in the performance of her duties related to uncounted ballots'
Wisconsin is a swing state where a number of elections in recent years have been tainted by the misbehavior of elections officials, almost always to the benefit of leftists.
One prominent case just a year ago found a Milwaukee elections official charged with a felony and several misdemeanors for her failure to handle her responsibilities by the book.
The latest case involves a former clerk in Madison, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, who was put on leave and then resigned.
A report from a Fox affiliate explained the results of a city investigation have concluded she violated policy in neglecting to count nearly 200 absentee ballots in November's election.
"The 193 missing ballots were across wards 56, 65 and 68. Those ballots were not enough to sway the outcome of any November race but led to an investigation by the city of Madison and the Wisconsin Elections Commission," the report said.
A report at the Federalist said the investigation revealed she was "derelict" in her duties.
She violated not only city policies, but also the terms of her contract, the investigation confirmed.
"While the mistake in getting the ballots counted on Election Night appears to have been primarily a process of training failure that could have been avoided, there were multiple opportunities for the ballots to have subsequently been counted after Election Day," charged the report from the city's Human Resources director and the Parks superintendent.
"The failure to do so was a dereliction of duties on the part of the city clerk."
The documentation reveals "all manner of election oversight negligence," the report said of the former employee, a leftist who was praised by the city's leftist mayor for her insistence on "inclusivity."
The Federalist reported, "Documents show the former clerk spent portions of 19 days on vacation following the election, as her staff members discovered and attempted to deal with the uncounted ballots. Among other deficiencies, Witzel-Behl failed to 'demonstrate attention, care, and efficiency in the performance of her duties related to the uncounted ballots to mitigate an unprecedented failure in the election process,' according to the report."
She quit her post when faced with a state investigation, the report said.
When the uncounted ballots were found, Witzel-Behl failed to notify state officials, the county clerk, the city attorney or "anyone" in the mayor's office.
"By the time she got around to informing the powers that be, it was much too late — 193 voters in Wisconsin's far-left capital city had been disenfranchised," the Federalist reported.
The investigation also noted that Witzel-Behl's claims about what happened "differed, sometimes dramatically, from those of staff and others."
The report said the local investigation found no violations of state law, but said the state probe might.
The report noted Witzel-Behl was a prominent player in Wisconsin's "Zuckbucks" scandal in 2020, when some 2,200 Madison voters that year got duplicate absentee ballots.
The fiasco raised election-integrity questions.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump, when elected to his second term, created the Executive Branch office called the Department of Government Efficiency, told billionaire Elon Musk to start saving taxpayer money, and let the Tesla company owner and his hired staff loose.
Billions of dollars were cut from the federal spending plan, hundreds of thousands of federal jobs were cut.
But by the nature of the actions under executive order, a later president, leftist in his or her leanings, could reverse them.
So there's a plan now to embed the changes in federal law, which also can be changed but is a much more laborious process.
A report at Just the News explains it is Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna who has introduced a bill to accomplish that goal.
It would codify actions by DOGE into federal law.
The bill is called, "Establishing and Implementing the President's 'Department of Government Efficiency.'"
Luna confirmed, "For the first time in decades, we are seeing a successful effort to save valuable taxpayer dollars from the federal government's rampant waste, fraud, and abuse. My legislation will ensure that Americans can continue to enjoy a more efficient government and less burdensome regulatory environment. The American people deserve no less."
The department has estimated it has saved American taxpayers $160 billion since January.
An online report from TPM said there also is planned a rescission package that would allow money to be clawed back if it was approved by Congress but not spent.
Politico recently reported that DOGE, in 100 days, has reshaped Washington, reducing the federal workforce levels to that of the 1960s and more.
Politico reported, "Nearly a quarter of a million workers have or are expected to leave their federal jobs. That includes more than 112,000 federal workers who have opted into the deferred resignation program, according to a POLITICO analysis of previous reporting and conversations with administration officials. It also includes some 121,000 workers across agencies who have been fired, according to a CNN analysis."
Further, DOGE has cut back or shut down 11 federal agencies and says it has terminated more than 8,500 contracts and 10,000 grants. "It has wiped out foreign aid and volunteerism in the U.S., slashed education spending and made sweeping changes to the way the government makes procurements, hires contractors and shares data," the report said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Only a few weeks ago, the transgender agenda took a huge blow in the United Kingdom when its Supreme Court ruled that men who say they are female are not "women."
The stunning decision reversed an agenda that long had been making inroads into society there.
Now there's been a second blow.
According to a report in the National.Scot, a judge has ruled that schools in Scotland are required to provide single-sex facilities for children.
The Scottish Borders Council had been taken to court by two parents who pulled their child out of Earlston Primary School after its bosses proposed a new building – providing only unisex lavatories.
"Lady Ross KC issued a declarator – a court order – making clear the legal obligations on Scottish schools to provide single-sex facilities after a challenge from parents Sean Stratford and Leigh Hurley," the report said.
They removed their eight-year-old son from the school after their concerns about plans for the new school that included only mixed bathrooms were dismissed by the headteacher and the council. the report revealed.
A lawyer representing the council conceded that the ruling found the school officials' policy was illegal.
Hurley, 39, explained she raised concerns in 2023 about the school pushing for the "social transition" of a student, which "included allowing that person to participate in sports day races based on their 'gender identity.'"
"She also said she was concerned her son would be punished if he misgendered trans pupils, adding: 'In the end we felt we had no choice but to pull our child out of the school, which left him devastated,'" the report said.
The Christian Institute noted the ruling makes it required for state schools all across Scotland to have single-sex restrooms for students.
"Stratford and Hurley urged the council not to switch from single-sex to gender-neutral toilets during a £16.6 million building project to provide new premises for Earlston Primary School," the Christian Institute said. "When both the school and council dismissed their concerns, the parents — with the help of For Women Scotland (FWS) — challenged the lawfulness of the decision at the Court of Session."
Stratford said, "We've won, but common sense says we should never have been in this position in the first place."
Rosie Walker, a lawyer representing the parents, said, "The court order makes clear that the 1967 regulations apply to all state schools in Scotland. There is no provision for gender-neutral toilets in the regulations. Any school not complying will be in breach of the regulations and could face a legal challenge from parents."
WND reported earlier on the Supreme Court decision in the U.K. regarding men who say they are women.
The court ruling, a unanimous decision, said "woman" and "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act referred to biological sex, not a belief expressed by a male that he is suddenly female. In fact, following the science, changing gender does not happen, as being male or female is embedded in the human body down to the DNA level.
The ruling comes in a years-long legal war between campaign group For Women Scotland and the Scottish government over the definition of a woman.
The ruling said, "The unanimous decision of this court is that the definition of the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex."
Further, that ruling adopted what President Donald Trump recently, by executive order, concluded about sex in America: It is binary.
He, in fact, said the American government recognizes two genders, male and female.
The U.K. court's 88-page decision said the "concept of sex is binary" under the Equality Act 2010.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A plan being pushed by lawmakers in Washington state actually would allow "infanticide," according to a new report from a legal team that has announced its campaign to oppose the move.
The lawyers at the American Center for Law and Justice say they have written Gov. Bob Ferguson to urge him to veto Senate Bill 5093.
That piece, called "An Act Relating to Dignity in Pregnancy Loss," actually would strip legal protections from newborns and victims of abuse and trafficking, they explained.
The ACLJ explains the problem. "At the heart of our concern is the bill's repeal of Washington statute § 9.02.050, which criminalizes the concealment of a child's birth. This law plays a vital role in protecting both mothers and infants from abuse, violence, and exploitation. Its removal opens the door for infanticide to be carried out without fear of legal consequence, very relevant in cases involving trafficking, coercion, or domestic abuse."
The organization continued. "By decriminalizing the concealment of the remains of a child who was born alive and then died, it legalizes infanticide."
Then, too, it cancels a coroner's jurisdiction "to investigate the death of an infant after a botched abortion. Specifically, the bill strikes a key phrase from current law, removing the ability of the coroner to investigate 'where death results from a known or suspected abortion.' This dangerous bill effectively legalizes infanticide," the report said.
The proposal would conflict with state law that already exists, specifically multiple criminal statutes, "including those concerning murder, manslaughter, and unlawful disposal of remains."
Under state law now, the report said, "Infants born alive during abortion procedures must be given the same medical care as premature babies. SB5093, however, effectively legalizes disposing of the remains of a baby who was born alive after a botched abortion and removes the ability to investigate a 'suspected abortion,' thereby making it nearly impossible to enforce, creating a disturbing and unconstitutional disparity in equal protection under the law."
In fact, the ACLJ documented, supporters have stated specifically what they are demanding: To block "investigations of certain abortions."
The plan deserves a veto because it only offers "legal ambiguity" and "a weakening of law enforcement investigating authority," will would cancel legal protections now helping infants who are born alive.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he's suing the law firm of Perkins Coie for "egregious and unlawful acts," citing the conduct of an unnamed member of the firm.
Perkins Coie is a prominent law firm linked to opposition research funded by Democrats including Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race into the now-debunked "Russiagate" hoax, alleging ties between the Republican candidate and Moscow.
"I'm suing the law firm of Perkins Coie for their egregious and unlawful acts, in particular the conduct of a specific member of this firm," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
It was not immediately clear from his remarks if the commander in chief intended to file new legal action, as his administration in March asked the federal judge handling a challenge to Trump's executive order targeting the law firm to step off the case.
"The Judge assigned to this case is Beryl Howell, an Obama appointment, and a highly biased and unfair disaster," Trump continued.
"She ruled against me in the past, in a shocking display of sick judicial temperament, on a case that ended up working out very well for me, on appeal. Her ruling was so pathologically bad that it became the 'talk of the town.'
"I could have a 100% perfect case and she would angrily rule against me. It's called Trump Derangement Syndrome, and she's got a bad case of it. To put it nicely, Beryl Howell is an unmitigated train wreck. NO JUSTICE!!!"
On March 6, as WorldNetDaily reported, Trump signed an executive order "to suspend security clearances held by individuals at Perkins Coie LLP, pending a review of whether their access to sensitive information is consistent with the national interest."
The White House indicated: "President Trump's administration will not tolerate Perkins Coie LLP's unethical and discriminatory actions that threaten our elections, military strength, and national security."
It noted in 2016, the law firm "hired Fusion GPS to manufacture a false 'dossier' designed to steal an election while representing failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton."
Trump indicated: "This egregious activity is part of a pattern. Perkins Coie has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws, including those requiring voter identification. In one such case, a court was forced to sanction Perkins Coie attorneys for an unethical lack of candor before the court."
On March 11, Perkins Coie sued the federal government over its security clearances being stripped, claiming Trump's order was an illegal act of retaliation.
The following day, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell blocked portions of the executive order, saying the president's action "sends a chilling message that lawyers can be punished for representing clients or advancing views unfavorable to the administration," the Associated Press reported.
"Such a circumstance threatens the very foundation of our legal system," said Howell. "Our justice system is based on the fundamental belief that justice works best when all parties have zealous advocates."
The law firm said the judge's ruling was "an important first step in ensuring this unconstitutional executive order is never enforced."
"We will follow the court's direction regarding next steps and will continue to challenge the executive order, which threatens our firm, our clients, and core constitutional protections important to all Americans," a Perkins Coie spokesperson said.
The order came during a court session in which Chad Mizelle, chief of staff for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, argued on behalf of the government, saying the president has clear authority to take action against national security threats.
"If that means excluding individuals that are no longer trustworthy with the nation's secrets, that's a bedrock principle of our republic," Mizelle said.
Perkins Coie said it's already feeling financial impact from Trump's executive order, with several clients already putting an end to their legal arrangements with the firm or threatening to do so.
Dane Butswinkas, an attorney representing Perkins Coie, told AP keeping the order in place will "spell the end of the law firm."
"This executive order takes a wrecking ball to the rule of law, to the principles that promote democracy," Butswinkas said.