Chaos has struck retail giant Target as multiple stores across the country have received bomb threats amid controversy over the company's promotion of the LGBT agenda.

In Cleveland, news station WOIO-TV received a bomb threat on Friday afternoon targeting five Target locations.

The message, sent via email, made it very clear that it was in response to a perceived threat against gay and transgender people.

It read: "Target is full of [redacted] cowards who turned their back on the LGBT community and decided to cater to the homophobic right wing redneck bigots who protested and vandalized their store.

"We won't stand idly by as the far right continues to hunt us down. We are sending you a message, we placed a bomb in the following targets." Five addresses were listed, four in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania.

"We will continue to bomb your targets until you stop cowering and bring back your LGBT merchandise," the message continued. "We will not be erased, we won't go quietly."

WOIO reported the threat to local law enforcement and the FBI.

The threat does not appear to have been legitimate, although the station reported that "precautions were quickly taken to ensure no one got hurt."

In a tweet, WOIO noted that "swatting," or essentially sending police on a wild goose chase, became a fourth-degree felony in Ohio at the beginning of April.

A law making swatting calls a fourth-degree felony in Ohio went into effect on April 3.
https://t.co/KcsOY7ynZS

— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) May 26, 2023

Similarly, in Utah, KUTV-TV reported that a Target in Layton was evacuated after false bomb threats were made.

Other Target locations were threatened in Salt Lake City, Taylorsville and Provo, but only the Layton store appears to have been evacuated.

Police Sgt. John Ottesen noted that Target's LGBT merchandise, which has caused a bit of a cultural kerfuffle in recent weeks, was specifically mentioned in the Utah threats.

Not unlike Bud Light, Target has found itself smack-dab in the center of a raging cultural battle over hot-button LGBT issues, particularly transgenderism.

The retailer came under a searing spotlight when reports began circulating that its "Pride" items not only targeted minors, but had actual ties to Satan.

The backlash intensified when "tuck-friendly" swimsuits with "extra crotch coverage" were discovered for sale at Target. "Tucking" is a practice in which men conceal the outline of their genitals in an attempt to appear female.

Target has lost roughly $9 billion in market value since the controversy began.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A year-old video of a daring small business owner has again gone viral, as it shows the business owner tracking and following a shoplifter onto a Houston city bus and outing her on camera as a thief.

Sophia Romo, the owner of Erotic Cabaret, grabbed her cell phone last August and followed a woman who allegedly shoplifted items from her store.

According to KTRK-TV, that woman was identified as Kandy Alarcon.

While Romo did call the police, Alarcon was already walking away, so Romo followed her, even when the alleged crook got on a bus.

"I was pissed yeah," Romo told KHOU-TV last year. "It's literally like stealing from my house. How would you feel if someone went into your house and took $600 worth of stuff?"

Romo boldly sat right down next to Alarcon on the bus and began recording a video to turn the tables on her.

"You're looking at me like I'm crazy and you stole from me, the irony," Romo said when she boarded the bus and confronted the woman.

She also went through the woman's bag and found items from her store, but no receipts.

"Let's play a game called, 'Look in the thief's purse,'" Romo said in the video.

"When you take from us it's coming out of my bank account. And when you take from my bank account, employees can't get paid," the business owner added, accusingly.

WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive

Business owner follows thief home on bus
by u/Rolesium123 in facepalm

"People steal all the time," Romo said when KHOU reported the story originally as she noted how businesses are reeling from retail theft. "Almost every day, which is why we're kind of fed up with it."

TV show Inside Edition added that Romo called the police and they were waiting to arrest Alarcon when the accused thief got off the bus.

Romo explained that she followed the woman because the situation during this shoplifting incident was ideal.

"Usually, I'm not in a position to do something about it," Romo told the show.

"She was on foot, which a lot of times they leave, like, in vehicles, or, you know, we don't have an opportunity to confront them. So, it was like the perfect opportunity," Romo explained.

Romo laughed that the other passengers had a "full-blown entertaining bus ride."

The accused thief received an August 29 court date at the time. According to KTRK, Alarcon was charged with misdemeanor theft and was released on a $500 bond.

The viral incident originally earned more than a million views last August when Romo posted the video to her TikTok account. But according to tracking website NewsWhip, the story on Reddit received 35,000 interactions this Friday, so the story is heating up all over again.

And why shouldn't it? In a society far too comfortable with laws that coddle criminals, abjectly embarrassing and shaming shoplifters may be the next, best, and only option left.

(The word you're looking for to describe seeing Alarcon squirm while being interrogated in a public square is schadenfreude.)

This business owner deserves a lot of credit for her independent, justice-loving gumption, though it is likely that police would warn against such an action for risk of the situation turning violent. Still, you really can feel for these small business owners, especially in big cities like Democrat-run Houston where shoplifting is generally ignored by prosecutors and so many businesses are being robbed into bankruptcy.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Target investors are feeling the financial strain of the company’s decision to prominently feature LGBT “pride” month products -- some for children and some designed by a transgender satanist -- at the front of its stores.

The company has nearly $10 billion in market value over the last week since it faced a consumer backlash for its promotion.

Many shoppers have expressed outrage over the company’s LGBT propaganda and are boycotting.

A look at the company’s stock price shows Target has suffered financially over the last week.

On May 17, shares of the company traded at roughly $160. By Thursday afternoon, the same shares were trading at about $138.

That brought the big box giant’s total value from $74.3 billion to $64 billion -- or just under $10 billion -- in just one week.

The S&P 500 has been down about 1 percent during the same time, but that is nowhere near the 13.8 percent loss Target gas seen.

For comparison, shares of Walmart were down during the same time period by less than 3 percent.

[firefly_poll]

The index and its chief competitor have seen losses, but nowhere near those of Target.

It appears as though the company’s decision to alienate customers through its “pride” campaign could have played a significant role.

.@Target is selling "tuck friendly" and "binding" clothing for infants and children as part of their Pride Month collection.

Target is reportedly holding an "emergency meeting" after backlash from their customers.

What do you think?

📹: @CarriePrejean1 pic.twitter.com/uM4fUzB87r

— KUSI News (@KUSINews) May 23, 2023

Target has reversed course this week on its decision to display not just LGBT pride merchandise, but merchandise that was created by the U.K.-based company Abprallen.

Many Abprallen products are designed by transgender satanist Erik Carnell.

In one Instagram product description, the company declares, “Satan loves you and respects who you are; you’re important and valuable in this world and you deserve to treat yourself with love and respect. LGBT+ people are so often referred to as being a product of Satan or going against God’s will, so fine. We’ll hang with Satan instead.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Abprallen (@abprallenuk)

The product declares, “Satan respects pronouns."

Target appears to have cut ties with Abprallen -- none of its products show up on the retailer's website -- and it is moving the "pride" merchandise from stores in some rural Southern markets, according to Fox News.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said, "For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work.

Target 🎯has begun to remove some of its Pride Collection from its stores after intense backlash.

In a statement, the brands press office blamed customers making “threats” against “team members” for the move.

“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to… pic.twitter.com/NA8vaZqaEn

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 24, 2023

"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.

"Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Analysts at JPMorgan had some bad news for Anheuser-Busch's management and stockholders, according to a report from MarketWatch Tuesday.

Jared Dinges of JPMorgan said they expected to see earnings before interest and tax to drop by a little more than a quarter this year.

That number, 26%, was in line with NielsenIQ data cited by the outlet, which put early May's sales of Bud Light down 23.6%.

And some of those numbers may never recover.

“We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,” the analysts told MarketWatch.

However, they also said that there is some home home for Anheuser-Busch InBev stock, which has been priced assuming an even larger drop in EBIT -- meaning that the stock could be bargain-priced right now.

Recently, Bud Light has offered a big rebate on a case of beer, an offer that essentially makes the beer free to many customers.

Just ahead of one of the biggest beer-selling holidays of the year, Bud Light debuted the offer $15-per-case rebate here.

The offer is shocking because in some cases it not only makes the beer free, it offers cash back from the purchase as the boycotts continue.

For instance, in many Target stores right now, a 15-pack case of Bud Light is only going for $12.99. Meanwhile, at rival Walmart, a 24-pack is going for $18.98.

Bud Light, in other words, is practically paying people to buy its beer as it tries to get past its Dylan Mulvaney fiasco.

The above prices are also those on the retailers' websites, so in-store prices may even be lower as individual stores desperately try to unload their inventory.

Regardless of the particulars, this Bud Light rebate offer shows that the beer maker is desperate to get Bud Light into people's refrigerators ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, both in hopes of enticing drinkers back to the brand and also so as to not take back millions of cans of expired beer that never sold.

Bud Light had previously offered to buy back expired product from distributors unable to sell the beer.

In addition, Bud Light offered the same rebate for Budweiser, Budweiser Select and several other Anheuser-Busch InBev beers in most states.

It's all of a piece with the continuing downward spiral for what is supposed to be America's biggest-selling beer brand.

From its first ill-fated partnership with Mulvaney at the beginning of March to the latest week of disastrous beer sales numbers, Bud Light has been struggling to get out from under this growing boycott.

As more people find a sudden distaste for Bud Light, sales have been collapsing. The plunging sales have also affected some of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s other brands, too.

The crashing sales have gotten so bad that some local distributors launched their own ad campaigns to plead with customers to resume buying the beer.

At this point, nearly everyone is mad at Bud Light. Conservatives are mad that the beer is promulgating the radical gay and transgender agendas, and leftists are mad that Bud Light wasn't vocal enough in supporting them in the face of the Mulvaney outrage.

So far, Bud Light has not found a suitable path forward as the boycott continues to send the brand into a tailspin, and not only in sales and revenue numbers.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Ford Motor Company has put the brakes on a plan to drop AM radios from its vehicle line.

CEO Jim Farley made the announcement Tuesday in a Twitter post, saying the company would make a U-turn on its previous decision to eliminate the feature on most of its new cars.

"After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles," Farley wrote.

"For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update. Customers can currently listen to AM radio content in a variety of ways in our vehicles -- including via streaming -- and we will continue to innovate to deliver even better in-vehicle entertainment and emergency notification options in the future."

He added a thank-you to the company's product development and manufacturing teams "for their quick response to make this change for our customers."

After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we've decided to include it on all 2024 @Ford & @LincolnMotorCo vehicles. For any owners of Ford EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software…

— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) May 23, 2023

Earlier, Ford had announced that AM radio would be eliminated from most of its new car models beginning in 2024, Breitbart reported.

The reasoning for the decision was that most AM stations in the U.S. already offer mobile apps with internet streaming, digital and satellite radio options.

Even before that, the company had planned to eliminate AM radio from its electric vehicle line -- following the lead of Tesla, Volvo and German automakers -- citing electromagnetic interference that made AM reception spotty.

But current and prospective Ford customers and other groups resisted the move, appealing to Congress to stop the industry from dropping AM radios.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers even got involved last week, proposing an "AM for Every Vehicle Act" that would mandate AM radios in new vehicles at no extra cost, Breitbart reported.

In areas without reliable broadband or where FM signals falter, AM radio stands as a sturdy pillar of communication.

This isn't a dying medium; it's a vibrant network that connects diverse communities across our nation.

We must protect AM radio at all costs. pic.twitter.com/bABrSxjwzZ

— Mark Alford (@RepMarkAlford) May 16, 2023

They noted "AM’s historic role in transmitting vital information during emergencies, such as natural disasters, especially to rural areas."

Over 80 million people listen to AM radio each month in the U.S., citing data from the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen.

Breitbart reported analyst Mike Ramsey expressed skepticism over the necessity to keep installing AM in new autos.

"In my view, this isn’t that different from automakers discontinuing 8-track players, cassette players and CD players," Ramsey told the news outlet.

"Technology has advanced. The idea that it is a critical safety channel is a bit suspect given that almost all critical communication now is sent through mobile phones.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Joe Biden's trainwreck presidency is lurching onward, thanks in part to detailed "cheat sheets" that spell out where he is, who he's supposed to talk to, what he's supposed to say and where he's supposed to sit.

On Sunday, Fox News' "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-hosts Pete Hegseth and Will Cain took an inside look at the disturbing cheat sheets, talking points and clear-cut directions the 80-year-old Democrat has relied on for the past three years.

The itemized instructions to navigate Biden through public events appear to be written for either a clueless child or an oblivious elderly person.

"Here's the latest: This was from this week at the G-7 Summit," Cain said, pointing to a blown-up sheet on the TV screen. "He essentially had what amounted to a full transcript for the speech that he gave at the G-7."

This weekend, Biden attended the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and met with President Fumio Kishida.

Cain said: "As you can see on his sheet of paper, it's fully laid out, 'Thank you, Fumio, for hosting us here in your hometown of Hiroshima. All of us gathered around this table are not only the closest of allies — we're the engines of global economic growth.'"

Hegseth noted the absurdity of an American president needing to be reminded that the United States and Japan are now allies.

"I love that one — 'all of us gathered around the table' — like these are not things that can just come off the off," he joked.

The "Fox & Friends Weekend" hosts then recounted a "greatest hits" medley of Biden's most comical cheat sheets since he was installed as president.

According to Cain, "perhaps the most egregious cheat sheet" was from an April 26 news conference in which the octogenarian was given an itemized list of pre-screened softball questions from pre-selected reporters.

"This showed that he had pre-knowledge, he had pre-screened and knew what the questions would be coming into that press conference," Cain said.

Hegseth said: "There's another photo of this card that shows precisely what the anticipated question was going to be."

A screenshot of the instructions reminded Biden where was at that moment and which of his staffers were in attendance.

"It says he's in the Oval Office too, in case he doesn't know where he is," Hegseth said.

The hosts then showed a cheat sheet from a November 2022 Group of 20 meeting.

The instructions read: "YOU will sit at the center, front tables alongside [Indonesian] President [Joko] Widodo and [ European Commission] President [Ursula] von der Leyen."

Another line from the card stated: "YOU will deliver opening remarks (5 minutes)."

Cain mocked the childlike tone of the directions, joking: "YOU will deliver the opening remarks, not anybody else in your vicinity. YOU."

Hegseth said another egregious cheat sheet was from an environmental meeting in June 2022 that spelled out step by step exactly what Biden was to supposed to do.

The instructions read: "YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants ... YOU take YOUR seat."

Cain joked: "YOU take YOUR seat. Don't take anyone else's."

Hegseth added: "In the Roosevelt Room, there's a little chair that's a little bit taller for the president right at the end of the table."

Finding your seat should not be difficult, he remarked.

Biden was roasted on Twitter for needing such over-the-top handholding to get him through daily events.

He can’t even function with a cheat sheet! He still gets lost! Pitiful!

— GalaxyAlpha 🇺🇸 (@realgalaxyalpha) May 22, 2023

There is no cure for dementia. It only gets progressively worse.

— Skin that smokewagon! (@heatpacker) May 22, 2023

This honestly is disturbing

— Lady (@lovingit111) May 21, 2023

Watch: President Biden mumbles through a speech at G7 and completely embarrasses the United States.

Video credit: @edwardrussl pic.twitter.com/lcRcHElQST

— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_in_Flint) May 21, 2023

To be clear, it's not unusual for public figures to occasionally use index cards at important events.

But Biden has been a politician for half a century, including two terms as U.S. vice president. During the past 50 years, he has given countless speeches, met numerous heads of state and traveled extensively on the public dime.

He should not require such detailed instructions for every event, including those in his own office.

Biden's need for detailed cheat sheets spotlights what is painfully obvious by now. While it might seem funny, his mental state is a national security threat that compromises the safety of all Americans and all U.S. allies.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Eyedrops that were recalled in February are the cause of one death and six cases of vision loss since that time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"These were catastrophic and life-altering infections," said Maroya Spalding Walters, who leads the CDC's antimicrobial resistance team, according to NBC.

"Make sure that these recalled products are not still present, aren't hiding on a shelf," Spalding Walters said.

She noted that not everyone is aware of recalls.

"Anytime a product is recalled, there's always a chance that it's going to be still in homes and be used months or years down the road," she said.

The CDC warned in its new update that “patients should stop using EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears and Delsam Pharma Artificial Ointment.”

Cases have been found in 18 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, the CDC reported.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting an additional death and six more cases of vision loss linked to infections from eye drops recalled due to bacterial contamination. https://t.co/xh3RoNNM4X

— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) May 19, 2023


The CDC reported that so far, 14 patients have suffered vision loss, four patients had to have an eyeball surgically removed, and four people died from an infection linked to the eyedrops.

Overall, 81 people have been infected from using the eyedrops.

The CDC report noted that some of those cases represented people who used the eyedrops before the recall.

Symptoms of an infection in the eye can include yellow, green or clear discharge from the eye; eye pain or discomfort; redness of the eye or eyelid; feeling like something is in the eye; increased light sensitivity; and blurry vision.

The CDC recommended that anyone experiencing any of these symptoms contact a health care professional immediately.

The eyedrops introduce a drug-resistant bacteria that’s known as pseudomonas aeruginosa into the body. This form of the bacteria had never been seen in America until this outbreak.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa "is a very dangerous bacteria because it could melt through the eye up to the cornea into the bloodstream pretty quickly," said Dr. Daniel Laroche, president of Advanced Eyecare of New York and clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine, according to USA Today.

“We usually find these strains in patients in health care settings, and they're spreading patient-to-patient through health care workers who maybe forgot to wash their hands, through contaminated medical equipment, or contamination in the health care environment," Spalding Walters said, according to CBS.

In April, the Food and Drug Administration said Global Pharma Healthcare facility in India did not follow proper protocol to prevent contamination of its products, according to CNN.

The FDA inspection cited a “manufacturing process that lacked assurance of product sterility” for products made between December 2020 and April 2022 that were shipped to the United States.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The Marine Corps veteran who is facing manslaughter charges after an altercation with a crazed transient aboard a New York City subway train is speaking out publicly for the first time since the death of Jordan Neely.

Daniel Penny rejected allegations that he acted as an aggressive vigilante in a Saturday interview with the New York Post and strongly denied that race played any factor in the incident.

“This had nothing to do with race,” Penny said of his interaction with Neely.

“I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist."

Penny restrained Neely aboard the F subway train -- acting in concert with a group of passengers as Neely began expressing violent threats and stating that he'd go to prison.

Witnesses aboard the train have defended Penny's actions, even calling him a "hero" who saved other passengers from injury at the hands of Neely.

NEW: Witness to the Jordan Neely subway death breaks silence with new details as she is calling Marine Daniel Penny a 'hero' for protecting her and other passengers.

"Mr. Penny cared for people. That’s what he did. That is his crime."

"It was self-defense, and I believe in my… pic.twitter.com/4SpufEzBxY

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 18, 2023

Penny avoided discussion of the subway altercation in the Post interview -- citing his own legal interests.

The veteran was slapped with second-degree manslaughter charges by progressive Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after Neely's death.

Penny's lawyer Thomas Kenniff is pointing to Neely's own history of violent behavior and arrests aboard the subway as evidence establishing the mentally ill transient as the aggressor.

“I can tell you that the threats, the menacing, the terror that Jordan Neely introduced to that train has already been well documentedm," Kenniff said.

"There are numerous witnesses from all different walks of life who have absolutely no motive to do anything other than to recount what actually happened. They are uniform in their recollection of events.”

Penny expressed sadness over Neely's death -- lamenting how the altercation could've been prevented had "the system" not failed him.

"It’s tragic what happened to him. Hopefully, we can change the system that’s so desperately failed us.”

However, the veteran stood by his decision to intervene with a group of passengers onboard the subway train, confirming he'd do it again.

"I would — if there was a threat and danger in the present.”

Penny broke down his own personal background in the interview, recounting his service in the Marines.

The 24-year old man is an architecture student at a university in New York City.

He revealed himself as a native of West Islip, a town in Long Island.

Penny's next court appearance is slated for July 17, according to NPR.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

As the great Captain Jack Sparrow once said, "If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it."

Which, out of context, sounds like a dig on the Captain's character, but 'tis not:

And that rings true even today in some media reports. The actor in the iconic swashbuckler role, Johnny Depp, made his first official appearance Tuesday after his 2022 defamation trial against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.

Depp lost numerous roles over Heard's allegations that he abused her, charges from which Depp was vindicated in a sensational court trial.

So Depp, as any actor would, went to Cannes Film Festival to support his film "Jeanne du Barry." However, some media outlets decided to bend the truth and attempt to metaphorically toss a "mega pint" on his appearance.

The Daily Beast had the headline: "Everything About Johnny Depp at Cannes Was an Embarrassing Disaster."

And with that headline, how might they review the film? Was it met with the ripe, luscious, red tomato or the splat? Hmmm ... what's hate and spice and everything nice, of course:

"Confusing? Misguided? Maybe the most pro-French monarchy movie you'll ever see? (Sorry, Marie Antoinette.) But none of that really has to do with Depp beyond his very casting. Depp is essentially a nonentity in the movie," the outlet wrote.

So ... Depp had really no role in the film, according to the Beast.

However, the outlet continued, "All these issues didn't stop the audience at the premiere from apparently loving the film. (I was watching in a theater next door, where the reaction wasn't nearly as vocal.)"

Soooooooooooo ... Thanks for sharing.

As the Daily Beast actually stated, the film was enjoyed.

And Depp actually received an "ecstatic" ovation lasting over seven minutes, according to Variety.

"Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. But, I don't feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don't think about it," Depp stated.

"I don't think about Hollywood.

"I don't have much further need for Hollywood myself."

Now, the story should basically be over.

But it actually shouldn't be. Depp experienced an unwarranted amount of career torment. He was dragged through hell during his trial and took it in stride while so many turned their backs.

Even with all that, he remained classy and had humbling words during his Cannes appearance for the new film.

Maybe we should take some advice from Depp: "It's a very strange, funny time where everybody would love to be able to be themselves but they can't, because they must fall in line with the person in front of them.

"You want to live that kind of life -- I wish you the best," our Captain Jack added.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Maricopa County Elections Director Reynaldo Valenzuela testified at Republican Kari Lake's election challenge trial Wednesday that mail-in ballot reviews were done at election officials' homes in 2020 with no observers present.

Valenzuela also confirmed officials still have the ability to do so now.

Lake is contesting Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' win last November by approximately 17,000 votes, or 0.7 percent of the more than 2.5 million ballots cast statewide.

In March, the Arizona Supreme Court remanded the issue of whether the mail-in ballot legally mandated signature verification process was followed in Maricopa County during the election back to the trial court.

Lake attorney Byran Blehm questioned Valenzuela regarding the places where mail-in ballot verification took place in November and whether independent observers were present.

Valenzuela said there were three locations where mail-in verification took place: Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center, known as MCTEC in downtown Phoenix; the Maricopa County Recorder's office, also in Phoenix; and Maricopa County's Southeast Regional Center in Mesa.

Whistleblower Jacqueline Onigkeit, who worked as a ballot reviewer at MCTEC in November, had testified before Valenzuela that she thought it was "odd" when she and her fellow reviewers were sent home at 7 p.m. as counting continued of mail-in ballots.

“Why did you think it was odd?” Lake attorney Kurt Olsen asked.

“Well, because we had observers that were constantly watching what we were doing [at the designated vote-counting area]. But there was, I’m assuming, no observers there [at the recorder’s office] who was watching what they were doing," she replied.

🚨 Huge 🚨

Whistleblower testifies normal level 1
signature verifiers were sent home early and the signature review function was then performed at the County Recorder's Office.

With no observers. pic.twitter.com/nHd2GalaCC

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) May 17, 2023

In light of this testimony, Blehm questioned Valenzuela whether observers are allowed in the county recorder's office or at the Mesa location.

Valenzuela responded that observers are allowed in "any general area," but it's not a legal requirement.

He went on to explain that as a "certified election officer" he and others can do signature verification in their offices with no observers present.

Blehm followed up asking, "Can signature verification be done at a Maricopa County employee’s home?"

Valenzuela answered saying, "We don’t have that currently in place," but during 2020 with the pandemic ongoing, the county allowed reviewers to work from home.

There is confirmation at the very end of this clip that Maricopa County allowed signature verification to be performed remotely (from home) during the 2020 election.

Interesting.

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) May 18, 2023

Blehm continued with this line of questioning Thursday asking Valenzuela, "Is it physically possible [now] for Maricopa County employees to log in and conduct signature verification from home?"

The elections director responded, "An employee can log in and access their PC as if they were sitting in front of that PC remote, that are assigned those work stations," but indicating that is not protocol.

🚨

Maricopa County elections director confirms that County employees have the ability to "perform" signature verification remotely (as in from home) absent of any observers. pic.twitter.com/1g0OBSnHKy

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) May 18, 2023

Approximately 80 percent of Arizonans vote using mail-in ballots, according to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

Lake's attorney Kurt Olsen has argued that the process for verifying voters in Maricopa County is systemically flawed.

On Wednesday, he told that court that a review of data from the county showed at least 334,000 mail-in ballots were in effect not verified, which is far in excess of Hobbs' 17,000 vote margin of victory.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

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