This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Only a week ago, U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote in an open letter that "Silent prayer, within itself, is not unlawful."

And now prosecutors have agreed, dropping charges that had been filed against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was arrested last March for silent prayer near an abortion business.

A report in Decision Magazine said the announcement came six months after the police investigation had begun.

She was arrested in March, and the report explained a video of her conversation with police attracted much attention.

Officers pointed out she said she was "engaging in prayer."

And that, they charged, "is the offense."

Vaughn-Spruce is director of the U.K. March for Life.

She said in a statement released to Decision, "This isn’t 1984, but 2023. I should never have been arrested or investigated simply for the thoughts I held in my own mind."

The confrontation actually was the second time she was arrested on the novel legal concept that people can be charged criminally for what they think.

She had been arrested on the same counts in 2022, then those were dropped last winter.

The report explained, "With charges now dropped and the law seemingly clarified, Vaughan-Spruce said she plans to continue silent prayer on public sidewalks near abortion clinics."

Jeremiah Igunnubole, a lawyer for ADF UK, which worked on her case, said the process of the case was the punishment for his client.

"Moreover, her story has put the world on notice that fundamental freedoms are vulnerable in the UK," he said.

He said the hope now is that people no longer will be prosecuted for their thoughts.

See police confronting Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.

WND reported at the time that she was not protesting, or doing anything else that is prohibited, except "engaging" in silent prayer.

A commentary at The Right Scoop explained how she was being targeted because of the U.K.'s "exclusion zone" law that allows police to harass Christians who pray over the abortion industry.

The report noted, "Does this sound familiar? Biden’s DOJ has been prosecuting people for something called the FACE Act, The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. They had prosecuted Catholic Mark Houk under this Act, but he was recently found not guilty. If the leftists continue to control our government, you can bet the FACE Act will make it illegal to silently pray, just like in the UK – all in the name of baby-murder. Thankfully we have a Constitution to protect us – for now."

Charges against her stemming from the first case had been dropped, but her lawyers insisted on getting an official verdict in court, which was not guilty.

WND also has reported on the case involving Adam Smith-Connor, who faced similar claims.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A school district in Indiana has relented from its demand that a male teacher supervise a nude, female student in a locker room, but a legal team that raised concerns about the district's actions says the problems are not over yet.

At issue is a gender-confused girl in the Terre Haute, Indiana, school district who is being allowed to participate in a boys' middle-school physical education class that involves her changing clothes in a boys' locker room.

The dispute arose because public school administrators at Vigo County School Corp. ordered the male teacher to "supervise a gender-confused girl … in the boys' locker room."

The teacher requested a religious accommodation to be exempted from that duty, and was refused.

At that point Liberty Counsel wrote a letter to the district pointing out that the teacher, whose name is not being released, "has sincerely-held Christian religious, scientific and moral beliefs about the nature of sex and sexuality; as well as about the rights of the boys and their parents."

His religious rights would be violated if he was to "observe a female (who is not his wife) in a state of nudity or undress," or "cause minor boys to unknowingly undress in front of and be observed by a minor female."

Liberty Counsel chief Mat Staver explained, "The school district cannot force a male P.E. teacher to supervise a biological girl in the boys’ locker room where she undresses for gym class. Neither may a school force a teacher to lie to the boys and hide this situation from parents. And certainly, a public school cannot ignore religious accommodations which are protected by law. The school must reverse course and protect the rights and privacy of students, teachers, and parents."

The legal team noted the teacher requested several times during August for the accommodation, including in a letter from Liberty Counsel to Supt. Christopher Himsel that cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The demand letter noted the teacher's religious beliefs and objections, including that he could not "Lie to students and parents (whether by omission or commission)."

The district confirmed officials no longer would require the teacher to supervise the girl.

"However, the school district continues to not inform the boys that a biological girl would be undressing with them in the open locker room area. School officials also have not informed parents about the situation," Liberty Counsel warned.

Further, the legal team pointed out, "Notably, the male teacher was informed by the school district that the girl he was to supervise is being 'chemically transitioned.'"

So the team advised the district "that Indiana law forbids female genital mutilation. If the district has knowledge of any intent to chemically sterilize or surgically mutilate this child in violation of Indiana law, it is obligated to report this child abuse to law enforcement."

The letter explains the school insists on supervision of students in the locker room, where showers are available and students sometimes are fully nude while changing, to prevent "overly rowdy behavior."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., became the U.S. House Speaker when the GOP took the majority in the last election. But choosing him was not the first option for a number of stalwart conservatives who wanted Congress to fly closer to the Constitution.

So he cut a number of behind-the-scenes deals in order to gain their support.

But now the promises he made are being called out.

In fact, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has blasted McCarthy for not living up to his promises.

According to a report from Real Clear Politics, Gaetz put McCarthy "on notice that he is 'out of compliance'" with the January deal that put McCarthy in the speaker's office.

Gaetz said, "On this very floor in January, the whole world witnessed a historic contest for House Speaker. I rise today to serve notice. Mr. Speaker, you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role."

He insisted the House deserves a vote on a balanced budget, there should be full release of the January 6 tapes, there's been insufficient accountability for the "Biden crime family" and he gave Biden too much in the budgetary process.

Gaetz said the alternative is a motion to vacate the chair – a direct challenge to McCarthy.

"Mr. Speaker, you boasted in January that we would use the power of the subpoena and the power of the purse. But here we are eight months later and we haven't even sent the first subpoena to Hunter Biden."

Gaetz then addressed the "power of the purse."

"The only thing the 118th Congress is known for at this point is electing Kevin McCarthy speaker and underwriting Biden's debt and unfortunately, there's only one of those things we can remediate at this time."

He said a looming vote for a budgetary continuing resolution would just keep giving Biden Green New Deal money.

"Mr. Speaker, we told you how to use the power of the purse. Individual, single-subject spending bills that would allow us to have specific review, programmatic analysis, and would allow us to zero out the salaries of the bureaucrats who have broken bad, targeted President Trump, or cut sweetheart deals for Hunter Biden," he charged.

He added that Congress is facing a Sept. 30 deadline for the budget.

"I must be better. You must be better. And this House must be better, for it is the last best hope for tens of millions of Republicans. We demand real oversight against this weaponized government. Just look at the bribery. If tens of millions of dollars flowing from foreign corrupt people into the bank accounts of the Biden family wasn't enough for actual impeachment, why were we even looking? Joe Biden deserves impeachment for converting the vice presidency into an ATM machine for virtually his entire family. We all see it, we all know it. "

McCarthy did call on Tuesday for an impeachment inquiry, but Gaetz said that was just a "baby step."

He said he didn't know if votes would succeed. But he said, "At least if we take votes, the American people get to see who is fighting for them and who is willing to tolerate more corruption and business as usual."

He said, "I know that Washington isn't a town where people are known for keeping their word. Well, Speaker McCarthy, I'm here to hold you to yours."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is being asked to weigh in on the controversy surrounding former Stockton, California, Fire Chief Ron Hittle, who went out and took a leadership training course after the city insisted he get the schooling but then was fired because the world-renowned course was held in a church.

Officials with First Liberty Institute, joined by lawyers with Baker Botts and the Church State Council, are seeking the en banc rehearing after a three-judge panel on the appeals court said the Stockton Fire Department could fire Hittle for getting more training.

"Firing Chief Hittle for attending a world-class leadership conference attended by thousands simply because it was associated with religion is clear evidence of illegal religious discrimination," said Stephanie Taub, of First Liberty. "We urge the Ninth Circuit to grant rehearing en banc to fix the panel’s dangerous ruling."

The filing notes the case precedent now fails to align with other discrimination standards and further, "creates a split" among appeals courts on the dispute on the presence of "animus" in the fight.

"This error is compounded by the panel's approval of religious discrimination when based upon the 'perception' of others," the appeal said.

Hittle lost his job at Stockton, after 24 years, because "he attended a religious leadership conference while on the clock. Although the city asked Chief Hittle to attend a leadership training course, it opened an investigation after he attended Willow Creek Community Church’s Global Leadership Summit, a world-class conference with speakers from a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds, including Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy," First Liberty explained,

Other speakers include Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and former President Bill Clinton.

The city claimed Hittle's training was a "religious event" while he was "on duty."

But, First Liberty charged, the court erred by ignoring Supreme Court precedent in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District and when it allowed the "perception of others" to justify its religious discrimination.

"The court also held religious claims to a more difficult legal standard than other kinds of discrimination. Chief Hittle’s legal team is seeking a review of this decision, to safeguard the religious freedoms of all Americans in the workplace," First Liberty said.

The circumstances aren't complicated: In 2010, a deputy city manager in Stockton, California, told Hittle and his staff to attend training.

"Knowing that budget cuts limited their options, Hittle ruled out several out-of-state training opportunities, and instead, focused on trainings closer to home. That’s when he came across Willow Creek Church’s Global Leadership Summit in a business magazine. The event had great reviews, and the fact that it was broadcast to sites around the world—including Hittle’s home church—made it an affordable choice for Hittle and his team," a report on the case explained.

Four members of the staff paid for the conference themselves and attended. Hittle logged the event on the city calendar so all were aware of the plan.

"Yet after the Global Leadership Summit, the same supervisor who asked Hittle to attend leadership training confronted him and said it was unacceptable that he attended a Christian-affiliated seminar," a report said, even though the attendees "attested to the exceptional leadership advice they received from the conference."

After his dismissal, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave him the right to sue the city, and the case claims the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A coalition of leaders from the United States and several European nations is working to identify and bring to justice those radical Islamist militants who enslaved and murdered Christians in Iraq.

A new report in Decision Magazine explains a conference of the "United Nations Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL" met in Erbil, Iraq, to focus on efforts to identify ISIS militants responsible for crimes, largely against Christians, there over recent years.

American troops have been in Iraq essentially since before the demise of dictator Saddam Hussein in the mid-2000s. Christians there have been under extreme persecution by Muslims in power, being displaced from their homes, persecuted, and even murdered.

The Decision report said, "Simultaneous to ISIS’ reign of terror in Iraq after most U.S. troops left in 2011, the Christian population, now estimated at between 160,000 and 250,000, largely fled as refugees to the mountainous Kurdish regions of northern Iraq to escape deadly persecution. Two decades ago, the Iraqi Christian population was estimated to be 1.5 million."

The report noted the Christian leaders who also gathered at the conference were praised by Christian Ritscher, a U.N. special adviser, with, "Your togetherness and your resilience are inspirational, not just to the Christian community in Iraq, but also to us at UNITAD."

He explained ISIS "thrived on violence, sparing neither the people of Iraq nor their diverse cultures and beliefs. … As we work in pursuit of justice for all victims and survivors, those who suffered from ISIL’s atrocities, we keep in heart and mind one of UNITAD’s core principles: there is no hierarchy in victims."

He confirmed individual cases are being built against those responsible for the reign of abuse, which included terrorists targeting churches, monasteries, cemeteries, Christian symbols, and even archaeological sites.

"The identities of these ISIL members are corroborated by testimonial evidence, ISIL internal documents, and case files provided by the Iraqi judiciary," he confirmed.

The conference also was told, "Christians are the indigenous people of this land and must continue their lives with dignity and security," International Christian Concern said, quoting, Safeen Dizayee, of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

America's military reported in 2022 that 886 ISIS terrorists were eliminated during its anti-terrorism operations in Iraq and Syria.

Bashar Warda, the Chaldean archbishop of Erbil, said at a recent summit Christianity in Iraq is at the "very edge of extinction."

"Should an ancient, peaceful people be allowed to simply perish without comment, without objection?" he asked. "It seems an almost absurd question to ask in these modern times, does it not? Well then, we object. We object that one faith should have the right to kill another. We object."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Legacy media has repeated, literally daily, since the suspect 2020 presidential election that there is no evidence of a systemwide or pervasive fraud scheme to control the election results for Joe Biden.

But that might require a revision, as a report from Just the News reveals Michigan authorities called in the FBI after noticing what appeared to be a voter registration fraud that involved multiple states.

That's according to dozens of pages of police reports from the Muskegon Police Department and Michigan State Police.

Those, obtained by Just the News, revealed that a company called GBI Strategies was being watched "as an organization central to alleged voter registration fraud in the 2020 presidential election."

City and state authorities investigated, and then the FBI took over, after which the trail went silent.

"Contacts between local law enforcement and the FBI continued into 2022 but there is no evidence of what happened after that in the memos obtained by Just the News through state Freedom of Information FOIA requests, the report said.

GBI workers were interviewed and one memo from the state police agency suggested "Election Fraud by Forgery." State officials confirmed there was a review of "thousands" of suspected fraudulent registrations and the headache was turned over to the FBI.

Danny Wimmer, a spokesman for the state attorney general, confirmed to Just the News that fraud was suspected among the 8,000 to 10,000 voter registration forms that were turned in to the state.

"An organization turned in some thousands of voter registrations throughout the fall of 2020, estimated on the high end to be cumulatively 8-10,000, and some within those batches were found to be suspicious or fraudulent," he said.

He claimed none of the fraudulent forms actually made it into the state's voter file.

Just the News reported suspect documents were turned in by a woman who was questioned, and explained she worked for GBI.

She described, according to the report, how she was told to "find unregistered voters and provide them with a form so they can get registered and obtain their ballot."

Police there said, "Suspect 1 initially stated that her ‘canvassers’ earn money for each person that completes the form. She later told us that they are paid $9.25 per hour with extra money for working weekends."

She said her forms were "checked for accuracy" even though police later found some of the addresses on her forms didn't exist.

State police then got involved, and police reports reveal additional individuals were questioned, such as a woman from Atlanta who worked with a supervisor from New York, with other workers in Philadelphia. There also appeared to be an office in Tennessee.

"Open Secrets, a non-partisan research group that tracks money in U.S. politics provides data showing that GBI has been paid millions of dollars in the 2020 election cycle by Democratic and far-left groups. These groups include the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($2,117,605); DNC Services Corp. ($1,031,856); and the Biden for President Campaign, which paid GBI $450,000, Just the News confirmed.

The evidence in the case that surfaced included indications of plans for workers and various COVID-related rules.

Michigan police also found expired job postings by GBI for a wide range of positions.

At that time an investigator apparently reported to the FBI there apparently were the same issues "in other states."

The documents obtained by Just the News indicated the latest movement came in mid-2022 when a note read, "STILL MAINTAINING EVIDENCE FOR FBI."

Police reviewed voter registrations and found multiples with "false names" wrong information or "correct information but were not filled out by the people whose information was on the forms."

The FBI said its policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Hollywood star James Woods is sounding the alarm about the desire of global powers to keep the world's populace in extreme captivity, saying, "They want you in chains. Not visible, but in chains."

In a message posted on X Wednesday, the actor specified examples of invisible shackles to keep people in bondage.

"Electric cars, that can be traced and turned off by them. Electric heat, electronic currency, traceable phones, 'cookies,' medical 'passports,' masks."

Woods was commenting on a brief video he shared listing the so-called reasons and excuses given by government authorities and leftists for draconian lockdowns and restrictions related to the COVID pandemic.

The video displays a short statement that the public was told about the coronavirus restrictions:

"It's just a mask.

"It's just two meters. (six feet)

"It's just three weeks.

"It's just non-essential businesses.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

It's already being called "The Biden Curtain," as new videos from Lahaina, Maui, reveal miles of black curtains erected to prevent people from seeing what's happening at the origin site of this month's catastrophic wildfires in Hawaii.

Geoff Cygnus, a citizen journalist on TikTok, posted the video, with a caption reading: "Miles and miles of black fencing being put up in Lahaina. Ground Zero is now behind the Biden curtain."

"There seems to be a huge emphasis on ensuring that the media and anyone else can't see what's going on," Cygnus reported.

"There are miles and miles of this black fence going up that was not here before that is obscuring ground zero and making sure no one can see what's going on inside of there from the road, no one can get in there, no one can take any pictures."

"I was almost immediately, after these 20 seconds, National Guard came and chased me off, yelled at me, told me to get back in my car and keep moving. So you cannot pull over. You can't even stop your car anywhere near any of this anymore."

In addition to the National Guard, Cygnus says there are "regular police, and what I have dubbed 'special police,' which are these police cars that are foreign made. The people that are driving them are not – they don't look like any police I've ever seen in the United States. So kind of a bizarre situation, but they have a huge presence standing guard ensuring that nothing can be documented."

The journalist voiced a palpable fear for his personal well-being just by documenting what was happening in the aftermath of the blaze.

"The footage that I have has been uploaded to the mainland to multiple people that have the credentials to my social media," he explains, "so if anything does happen to me, it's not going to prevent the story from getting out."

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, reportedly says it was asked by Maui officials to stop posting "new imagery of damage/disaster/debris starting now."

A letter posted on X by Anthony Cabassa shows an Aug. 19 correspondence from FEMA Office of External Affairs Director Justin Angel Knighten, who states:

"They are asking for a full stop in disaster imagery going forward. At this time, we have not been asked to take any photos or videos down. Our team on the ground is coordinating with the County for further guidance to ensure we remain fully aligned. Cultural sensitivity is of the utmost importance in all our response and recovery activities to this disaster."

"Why are Maui officials so desperate for a media blackout?" notes a commentary on Women System.

"Is 'cultural sensitivity' their main concern, or is something more dubious driving their desperation to stop the world from seeing what is really happening there?"

Meanwhile, as WND reported, Hollywood actor James Woods is joining the chorus of Americans outraged about this month's wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

"Someday after all the land is appropriated, Hollywood will make a movie about this," Woods said Sunday, as he shared a video featuring survivor accounts in the wake of the blazing catastrophe.

"Rich people in tuxedoes will celebrate their compassion and give each other little gold statues. And then everything will be forgotten," Woods predicted.

John Podesta, the White House clean energy czar, pushed for cuts in carbon emissions to battle future natural disasters such as the Maui fires which he claimed were "fueled by climate change."

But Fox News reported Sunday that Maui officials "attributed the cause of catastrophic wildfires to alleged failures from the state's main power utility company and downed power lines this week after Democrats blamed the disaster on global warming."

This determination has sparked a lawsuit against the Hawaii Electric Company for neglecting to properly power down live electrical equipment amid a red flag windstorm earlier this month.

"The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants acted negligently by failing to power down their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning on August 7th," Maui County announced.

"The lawsuit further alleges HECO's energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires," its statement added. "The lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting three different fires on August 8th."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A top constitutional expert who has testified before Congress on multiple issues, and has represented members in court, is warning that a Western country, long an ally of the United States, is beginning to resurrect its blasphemy laws.

The expert is George Washington University scholar Jonathan Turley, who in a commentary takes to task Denmark for its agenda to outlaw certain actions that could insult Islam or Christianity.

It is Islam itself, of course, that makes any insult to the Quran or Muhammad a capital offense, a position that Christianity has not and does not take.

Turley explained, "In 2017, Denmark took a historic step in favor of free speech by rescinding its blasphemy law after 334 years. For those of us in the free speech community, it was an important moment in Europe where free speech is being rapidly reduced."

But, he explained, "The liberal government is moving to reinstate the blasphemy crime with a new law barring the burning of the Quran, the Bible, and other religious texts."

He said the country already has implemented an "abusive" law that makes criminal other "insults" to foreign interests, such as flag burnings.

That is the law, he said, that now "will be extended to religious books."

"Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard adopted the same thread-worn rationalizations to curtail free speech. He simply dismissed that burning such books is free speech, dismissing such protests as 'meaningless insults which have no other purpose than to create discord and hatred.' Speech crimes are often pushed by those who disagree with the content of opposing speech as 'meaningless,'" Turley explained.

He noted that despite the growing anti-free speech movement in the United States, the Constitution still protects such protests, including the burning of the American flag.

That comes from the 1989 Texas case in which both liberals and conservatives joined.

In fact, Justice Anthony Kennedy, the longtime liberal now retired, said, "For we are presented with a clear and simple statute to be judged against a pure command of the Constitution. The outcome can be laid at no door but ours. The hard fact is that sometimes we must make decisions we do not like. We make them because they are right, right in the sense that the law and the Constitution, as we see them, compel the result. And so great is our commitment to the process that, except in the rare case, we do not pause to express distaste for the result, perhaps for fear of undermining a valued principle that dictates the decision. This is one of those rare cases."

He continued, "Though symbols often are what we ourselves make of them, the flag is constant in expressing beliefs Americans share, beliefs in law and peace and that freedom which sustains the human spirit. The case here today forces recognition of the costs to which those beliefs commit us. It is poignant but fundamental that the flag protects those who hold it in contempt."

Turley said the act of burning a religious book or symbol is "reprehensible, but they are clearly conveying a political or religious viewpoint."

Now Denmark is "embracing a new age of censorship and speech criminalization."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The publishers of Chadwick Moore's new book about Tucker Carlson, "Tucker: The Biography," released Aug. 1, has charged Amazon with purposely under-reporting its sales of the book to make it appear like a "flop."

'The left-wing echo chamber is attempting to tank the book's sales, using the BookScan number to prove the book is a flop, with the goal of diminishing Tucker's stature and enforcing the narrative that Tucker is now irrelevant," "Tucker" publisher All Seasons Press said in an Aug. 18 press release.

"The New York Times unsurprisingly totally excluded the book in spite of the fact that Tucker sold 50% more than [their] #2 nonfiction hardcover and just 150 units behind their #1!" the publisher said in the same release.

"For the first week Tucker was on sale, BookScan only reported 3,227 copies sold, placing it 40th on its bestseller list. This is because it appears Amazon did not report its complete week one sales to BookScan," All Seasons Press said in a previous release, Aug. 16. "If it had, it would have likely placed between 5th and 7th. BookScan does not measure actual sales from retailers but uses an algorithm taking samples from some, but not all, retailers. Most importantly, BookScan relies on accurate reporting from said retailers."

Bookscan ranks the sales of printed books only, not e-books, and relies on sales reports from major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart, according to a 2017 article on the "convoluted world of best-sellers list" in the liberal site Vox.

Predictably, the leftist media ran with the artificially low BookScan numbers.

Daily Mail reported Aug. 16: "In a number crunch seen by DailyMail.com, a total of 7,523 units of 'Tucker' by Chadwick Moore were shipped to Amazon the week of July 24 – while another 5,163 were shipped to the seller between August 1 and 3."

Meanwhile, the demand for "Tucker" has been so great that All Seasons Press announced Aug. 16 that it had "already ordered a second printing."

At press time, "Tucker" was listed as #3 on Publishers Weekly's "Hardcover Frontlist Nonfiction," rising from #15 the previous week. It reports year-to-date sales of nearly 15,000 (printed) books in just the three weeks since it "Tucker" went on sale.

All Seasons Press knocked down the "book flop" and "Tucker's irrelevance" narratives with facts like these:

• At the time Tucker launched over 50,000 units had been shipped to retailers, including 7,523 units to Amazon.
• Direct sales though the publisher of almost 6x the number of books reported by BookScan and the frenzied, error-ridden journalists.
• When the book's pre-sale was announced, the book reached #14 among All Books on Amazon, and #1 numerous categories.

Since the book was listed as "SOLD OUT" by Amazon on its launch day, the publisher asks these questions:

• Did Amazon sell out of their 7,512 units almost immediately?
• If so, we weren't those sales reported to BookScan?
• If they did not sell out of their 7,513 unit inventory, why did they announce that the book was sold out and unavailable for sale?

'Do you want to cancel your order'?

City Journal reported Aug. 22 on another facet of the "Tucker" book saga: "Amazon fulfilled post-publication orders before shipping books to customers who’d preordered Tucker. And after describing the book as 'Sold Out,' Amazon didn’t order more copies from the publisher; on the contrary – and quite incredibly – it 'emailed many preorder customers to ask if they wanted to cancel their orders,' and required them 'to go on a desktop, not the app, and proactively confirm they still wanted the book or the order would automatically cancel.'"

In other words, writes City Journal's Bruce Bawer: "Amazon made it easy for customers to cancel their orders and made it difficult for them to confirm their orders. What merchant eager to sell a product behaves in such a way? When you add it all up, it looks suspicious."

"Our customer poll revealed 40% of Amazon customers who had pre-ordered Tucker, many as far back as May, had not received their copies ten days after launch. Amazon sales are not reported until a customer's credit card is charged and the order ships, so the BookScan number does not reflect a significant number of Amazon pre-orders," All Seasons Press' Aug. 16 statement states.

At press time, "Tucker" was at #12 on the New York Times best-seller list for "Hardcover Nonfiction," even though according to Publisher's Weekly, its sales have eclipsed those of books higher on the list. For example, "trans" actor Elliot (formerly Ellen) Page's book, "Page Boy," sits at #6 on the Times' nonfiction list but it is way down at #25 on PW's nonfiction list (where "Tucker" is #3).

Vox reports the New York Times book-sellers list is by far the most important and influential of all such lists.