The Morning Briefing: Trump Order, Political Violence, the SPLC, and Much, Much More

Good Thursday Morning!

Greetings from the beach. The sun and gulf in Captiva are wonderful, but there is always anti-Trump fake news to combat.

Trump signs executive order on immigrant families.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump reversed course on the policy of arresting parents for crossing the border illegally and not detaining their children with them. This policy had the effect of separating the families of illegal immigrants.

Amid a storm of media attention and outrage, Trump claimed the administration could not alter the policy without congressional action.

“Under current law, we have only two policy options to respond to this massive crisis,” the president argued on Tuesday. “We can either release all illegal immigrant families and minors who show up at the border from Central America or we can arrest the adults for the federal crime of illegal entry. Those are the only two options, totally open borders or criminal prosecution for law-breaking.”

On Wednesday, the president reversed course, signing an executive order directing law enforcement to keep families together.

Trump declared it his administration’s policy to “maintain family unity,” including by detaining entire families together “where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources.” The order directed agencies to find places to house family units. Children will not be kept with their parents if there is a fear for the child’s welfare, however. Finally, families will also be prioritized in the adjudication process.

Naturally, CNN reported that “the move is almost certain to face immediate legal action challenging the administration’s authority to keep families detained at length.”

CNN also focused on the fact that the order did nothing to directly help children of illegal immigrants already separated from their families due to the old policy. Such children have entered the sponsorship process, which finds friends, relatives, or suitable volunteers in the U.S. for children in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services. This process was built for children who entered the U.S. alone, but illegal immigrant parents can later apply for the release of their children.

Leading Democrats took another tack. “Donald Trump created a humanitarian crisis when he mandated that children would be ripped from their parents’ arms in order to deter immigration. Trump is now trying to convince the American people that mandating indefinite detention of families solves the family separation crisis he created,” leading House Judiciary members declared. “Throwing young children into the same cages and cells with their parents trades one injustice for another.”

🚨 #BREAKING: Top Judiciary & @HomelandDems Condemn #Trump’s Executive Order. pic.twitter.com/Cc10K6YaFb

— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) June 20, 2018

So, let’s get this straight. President Trump decided to prosecute all immigrants who cross the border illegally. The U.S. government would not prosecute children, so they were held separately from their parents. Democrats complain that families are being separated.

Now, Trump reversed course, saying that children will be detained with their parents. So Democrats … complain that families will be kept together.

Democrats blamed Trump for trying to “use those kids as political pawns,” but Democrats are doing the same thing.

Mr. President, you created a harmful, hateful policy. You spent weeks lying to us about it while kids suffered. You tried to use those kids as political pawns. You finally admitted you could have stopped it all along. And thousands of kids are still separated from their parents. https://t.co/a51xwZ5oTR

— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) June 20, 2018

Nancy Pelosi attacked Trump’s order, saying it “ruthlessly cages mothers and children.”

Trump’s Executive Order ruthlessly cages mothers and children. Plain and simple. It’s preposterous.

What’s worse, Republican “leaders” in Washington who can stop it are encouraging this insanity.

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) June 20, 2018

Democrats seem hell-bent on illegal border crossings not being prosecuted.

Ivanka Trump pointed out that this order was only a stopgap.

Thank you @POTUS for taking critical action ending family separation at our border. Congress must now act + find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values;the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 20, 2018

Political violence.

In the wake of the uproar about family separation, many threats of political violence have erupted across the country. In Pennsylvania, U.S. Marshals are searching for 26-year-old Shawn Christy, who stands accused of threatening U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump.

US Marshals are searching for Shawn, 26, Christy of McAdoo. He’s accused of threatening government officials, including @POTUS @WNEP $5,000 reward for info leading to his arrest. pic.twitter.com/Ln0dhsCqln

— Jessica Albert (@FOX35Jessica) June 20, 2018

Christy and his father were sentenced to probation in 2012 after making threatening phone calls to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her attorney.

While Christy’s reported threat may not be connected to the family separation policy, other threats were.

“WE SHOULD RIP BARRON TRUMP FROM HIS MOTHER’S ARMS AND PUT HIM IN A CAGE WITH PEDOPHILES AND SEE IF MOTHER WILL STAND UP AGAINST THE GIANT *SSHOLE SHE IS MARRIED TO,” actor PeterFonda tweeted early Wednesday morning. He deleted the tweet, but kept pushing out angry messages.

First Lady Melania Trump contacted Secret Service, who investigated the threat.

PJ Media’s Rick Moran has a nice round-up of similar stories. In a terrifying twist, Antifa spread a list of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents they compiled from LinkedIn all over Twitter.

The Democratic Socialists of America threatened Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Mexican restaurant. Oh, and Occupy Wall Street is pushing for the killing of ICE agents.

It’s one thing to disagree. It’s another to be angry. But this is not just absurd — it’s unconscionable. You do not call for violence against your political enemies. Do you want a civil war? Because that’s how you get a civil war.

Speaking of inciting violence…

I’ve been on a bit of a kick against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and you’re about to learn why. On Monday, the SPLC settled a lawsuit filed by Muslim reformer Maajid Nawaz — whom the SPLC libeled as an “anti-Muslim extremist.” The story was really bad, and he well deserved the $3.375 million settlement.

$3M Settlement: SPLC Apologizes for Branding Muslim Reformer an ‘Anti-Muslim Extremist’

In the wake of political violence this very week, it is particularly important to remember that the SPLC — which brands mainstream conservative and Christian organizations “hate groups” because they disagree on political issues — has inspired at least one terrorist attack.

It isn’t just good for Maajid Nawaz, conservatives, or Christians that the SPLC settled this lawsuit. It’s good for America, and I’m hoping it will open a wedge to teach the SPLC to stop falsely maligning people who disagree with them. So, dozens of organizations are considering more lawsuits.

‘About 60 Organizations’ Are Considering a Lawsuit Against the SPLC Following $3M Nawaz Settlement

On Wednesday, 47 nonprofit leaders issued a warning to any organization that backs up the SPLC’s “hate group” list — suggesting any upcoming lawsuit could be much broader than just the SPLC.

47 Groups Weighing SPLC Lawsuit Warn ‘Editors, CEOs’: ‘You Are Complicit’ in Hate Group ‘Defamation’

The crazy thing is, I looked up what a defamation lawsuit requires, and I think they all have very solid cases.

The SPLC Is In Serious Legal Jeopardy For Defamation Regarding Its ‘Hate Group’ Labels

So when D. James Kennedy Ministries’ John Rabe told me other groups should sue, I was floored.

Christian Group Suing SPLC Encourages More Lawsuits

In this political climate, it is extremely important to send the SPLC a lesson, so feel free to share any of these important stories and help spread the word that this kind of “hate” labeling is unacceptable.

Photo of the day.

While Constitution Day falls on September 17, as that date in 1787 saw the Constitutional Convention delegates sign the U.S. Constitution, it was not until June 21, 1788, that New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify the Constitution, making it go fully into effect. Below is the first ever complete exhibition of the original Constitution.