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The Dictatorship

USA AND ISRAEL LAUNCH MAJOR STRIKE ON IRAN

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USA AND ISRAEL LAUNCH MAJOR STRIKE ON IRAN

Today’s live updates have ended. Follow continuing updates here.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.

President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.

State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran. Satellite photos from Airbus showed that the site was heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.

More explosions in Dubai

Heavy explosions again heard in Dubai.

Sri Lanka warns its nationals in the Middle East to exercise caution

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged nearly one million Sri Lankans working and living in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance, and avoid nonessential travel as well as large public gatherings.

Separately, the country’s aviation authority said flights from Sri Lanka to destinations in the Middle East have been suspended.

Argentina’s President Milei celebrates Khamenei’s death

Argentine President Javier Milei praised the joint operation carried out Saturday by the U.S. and Israel that killed Iran’s supreme leader, whom he described as “one of the most evil, violent, and cruel individuals in modern history.”

In his statement, Milei also recalled the 1994 terrorist attack on the Argentine Jewish community center, known as AMIA, in Buenos Aires.

The bombing killed 85 people and injured hundreds, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The president reaffirmed that pursuing justice for the victims of the AMIA attack remains a state policy.

“We will continue until the last person responsible pays with his freedom or his life for this horrific crime,” Milei said.

Sirens sound in parts of Israel

Sirens sounded across parts of Israel as its military warned of another Iranian attack.

Air defenses in Dubai go off at dawn

In Dubai, air defenses boomed off and on as the sun rose.

China organizing evacuations from Iran

A Chinese organization is registering citizens in Iran for evacuation to neighboring countries, according to a Chinese media report.

More than 200 Chinese are scattered across Iran, Tan Kai, the president of the Iran Federation of Chinese Organizations, told the Global Times newspaper.

The group is making evacuation preparations at the instruction of the Chinese Embassy, Tan said.

An embassy statement said the land borders with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey were open for individuals wishing to depart on their own.

In Israel, the Chinese Embassy advised citizens to move to safe areas away from the centers of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem and airports, power stations and similar sites.

It said it would begin registering citizens on Sunday who wish to evacuate to Egypt and cannot do so on their own.

US-Israeli strikes kill the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were killed in American-Israel airstrikes on the country, state media reported Sunday.

The state-run IRNA news agency announced the death of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day June war.

Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said.

Shamkhani was wounded in the June war.

JUST IN: Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser killed in US-Israeli strikes, state media reports.

Council forms to govern Iran after Khamenei’s killing

A council has formed to govern Iran after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That council is enshrined in law in the Islamic Republic.

The council is made up of Iran’s sitting president, the head of the country’s judiciary and a member of the Guardian Council chosen by Iran’s Expediency Council, which advises the supreme leader and settles disputes with Parliament.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei are on it.

Iranian law says the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible” pick a new supreme leader.

Debris from an aerial interception causes fire at major Dubai port

Dubai authorities say that debris from an aerial interception sparked a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main sea terminal and a major global transshipment hub.

The Dubai Media Office says emergency crews responded immediately to the blaze on one of the port’s berths and were working to contain it.

The sprawling Jebel Ali, which sits between Dubai’s two manmade palm-shaped islands, is the world’s busiest port outside of East Asia.

The best known of those islands, the Palm Jumeirah, was also struck.

Dubai officials earlier reported that debris from an intercepted drone also caused a fire on the facade of the city’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.

The media office also said the Dubai International Airport was damaged and that four employees were injured.

It said the damage was quickly contained.

Mourners raise black flag in Iran’s Mashhad

Mourners raised a black mourning flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a major pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to launch ‘most-intense offensive operation’

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Sunday to launch its “most-intense offensive operation” ever after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The most-intense offensive operation in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin in moments, targeting (Israel) and American terrorists bases,” it said.

JUST IN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says ‘the most-intense offensive operation’ ever coming to target Israel, US Mideast bases

JUST IN: Iranian Revolutionary Guard says ‘a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment’ coming over Khamenei’s killing.

Air defenses open fire in Tehran

Immediately after the announcement of Khamenei’s death, air defenses around Tehran opened fire with the sound of airstrikes echoing across the capital.

How Khamenei’s death was announced in Iran

On Iranian state television, an anchor broke in to read the announcement of Khamenei’s death.

“To the noble and proud people of Iran: With the ultimate grief and sorrow this is to inform you that following the barbaric attack by the crim inal governments of America and the evil Zionist regime, the true example of faith, jihad and resistance, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution Grand Ayatollah Khamenei achieved the blessing of martyrdom,” the anchor said.

Iranian Cabinet warns ‘great crime’ will not go unanswered

Iran’s Cabinet warned early Sunday that this “great crime will never go unanswered” after a U.S.-Israeli campaign killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The statement comes after Iranian state media reported Khamenei, 86, had been killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.

JUST IN: Iranian Cabinet warns that this ‘great crime will never go unanswered’ after Khamenei is killed by US-Israeli campaign.

Iranians seen cheering in Tehran

Iranians initially cheered from rooftops and their homes in Tehran, Iran’s capital, when rumors first started to spread late Saturday of Khamenei’s death.

Iran declares 40-day mourning period for Khamenei

Iran’s government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.

Khamenei family members killed in attacks, Fars news agency reports

The daughter and son-in-law of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were killed in the U.S.-Israeli attacks Saturday in Iran, according to a semiofficial news agency.

Also killed in the Saturday attacks were a grandchild and a daughter-in-law, the Fars News Agency said, citing unidentified sources.

The agency didn’t provide further details.

Israel says it carried out dozens of strikes Sunday

Israel’s military said it carried out strikes in central and western Iran early Sunday that targeted “ballistic missile array and aerial defense systems.”

It said more than 30 targets were hit.

Iran has not acknowledged its materiel losses since the American-Israeli campaign began Saturday.

Khamenei died in Tehran compound, Iran state media says

Iranian state television described Khamenei as being at his compound in downtown Tehran when the initial attack began.

Satellite photos from Airbus showed the site heavily bombed.

His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.

Iran state media says Khamenei is dead

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, is dead, Iranian state media reported early Sunday.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency reported his death, without elaborating on a cause of death.

U.S. President Donald Trump had said earlier he’d been killed in a joint American-Israeli operation targeting Iran.

JUST IN: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, Iranian state media reports

Global shipping firm tells its vessels in the Persian Gulf to shelter

A global shipping firm has instructed its vessels inside the Persian Gulf, and bound to the Persian Gulf, to shelter, citing the rapid military escalation between the U.S., Israel and Iran, and restrictions on traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The company, CMA CGM, said on its website that it has suspended the passage of its vessels through the Suez Canal, a crucial waterway connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas.

“Vessels will be rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope,” it said.

New Zealand says US and Israeli attacks meant to stop Iran’s security threat

New Zealand says the U.S and Israeli attacks were designed to prevent the Iranian regime from threatening international peace and security.

“New Zealand has consistently condemned Iran’s nuclear program, its destabilising activities in the region and elsewhere, and its repression of its own people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement.

“Iran has, for decades, defied the will and expectations of the international community. The legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,” they added. “The Iranian regime has long since lost that support. In this context, we acknowledge that the actions taken overnight by the U.S. and Israel were designed to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security.”

Arab League calls Israeli-US airstrikes on Iran ‘a moment when the Arab-Israeli conflict has expanded into a full-scale regional war’

Maged Abdelaziz, the 22-nation league’s U.N. observer, accused Israel of using the Iran war to evade ending its occupation of Palestinian territories and prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state – and to impose its “hegemony on the Middle East by using military means.”

Despite the announcement of some progress in U.S.-Iranian talks in Geneva two days ago, he told ab emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Saturday that Israel launched “a wanton military attack” claiming it “was intended to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”

“At the same time, Israel itself refuses to join the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty,” he said., and it refuses to subject its nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s nuclear safeguards regime.

Abdelaziz, a former Egyptian ambassador to the U.N., said Israel has also refused to attend U.N. conferences on establishing the Middle East as a zone free of nuclear weapons.

One killed, seven injured in drone strike on airport in Abu Dhabi

Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said Sunday morning that one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike, the second attack on an Emirati commercial airport in the past 24 hours.

The airport is home to Etihad Airways and a transit hub between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It said the individual killed was a national of an unnamed Asian country.

Nuclear watchdog to hold emergency session Monday

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency will convene a special session at its headquarters in Vienna on Monday morning following a request from the Russian Federation, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a press release.

In a diplomatic note dated Feb. 28 and seen by The Associated Press, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna requested the convening of the special session “on matters related to military strikes of the United States and Israel against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran … .”

Iranian and US ambassador have tense back-and-forth in Security Council session

In a rare and colorful exchange, the representatives of the U.S. and Iran at the United Nations exchanged warnings and direct rebuffs toward the end of the emergency session on Iran as military aggression between their countries risked spilling into a regional war.

After U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz responded to Iranian claims that America had violated international law, Tehran’s diplomat to the U.N. asked to speak again to issue a warning. “I advise to the representative of the United States to be polite. It will be better for yourself and the country you represent.”

Waltz responded immediately, saying, “This representative sits here, in this body, representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people, and imprisoned many more, simply for wanting freedom from your entire tyranny.”

Israel says it acted against an ‘existential threat,’ not out of ‘impulse but necessity and survival’

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Iranian chants of “Death to Israel, Death to America” and the burning of both countries’ flags were acts of “state-sanctioned hatred” and preparation for action.

“But today, alongside our ally the United States, we acted to stop … an existential threat before it, became irreversible,” he said, stressing that Israel didn’t act on impulse or for aggression. “We acted out of necessity,” he said.

Danon said “diplomacy was exhausted.”

Addressing the Iranian people, he said the operation is directed “at a regime that has silenced you” and Israel stands “with you.”

In Dubai, air defenses intercepted a drone whose debris caused a limited fire on the exterior façade of the Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s iconic sail-shaped luxury hotel, the Dubai media office said in a statement on Sunday.

Civil defense teams brought the blaze under control with no injuries reported, the statement added.

Earlier, videos circulating on social-media showed debris falling near the Burj Al Arab with a fire visible in the area.

Syria condemns Iranian attacks that targeted Gulf monarchies

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the Iranian attacks that targeted the sovereignty and security” of Gulf monarchies hit by barrages of Iranian missiles.

Under ousted leader Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel. Yet the statement made no mention of the Israeli or U.S. strikes that began the day, reflecting the new government efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.

Iran’s Iravani blasts UN and the Security Council

Iran’s Iravani blasted the U.N. and the Security Council — its most powerful body — for not heeding Tehran’s warnings about the “warmongering statements and interfering actions” by the U.S. in the last several weeks while calling for the council to act.

“The issue before the council is straightforward: whether any Member State may, including a permanent member of this Council, through the use of force, coercion, or aggression, determine the political future or system of another State or impose control over its affairs,” he said.

During his speech, the diplomat did not mention or comment on Trump and Netanyahu’s recent statements about Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being dead.

JUST IN: Iranian diplomat tells UN Security Council that hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured in US-Israel strikes

With border crossings closed and missile salvos overhead, Palestinians in Gaza scramble to stockpile food

As the missiles started flying Saturday morning and Israel closed border crossings into Gaza, Palestinians in the strip panicked, fearing the unfolding regional conflict would create further scarcity in the war-torn territory.

The packed markets, empty grocery shelves and scores of desperate Palestinians searching for food in the markets of Deir al-Balah made clear no one had forgotten the long periods of hunger they endured during the Israel-Hamas war, which a ceasefire paused in October.

Aid groups had already warned supplies were flagging before the first missiles flew.

Customers tried to grab whatever non-essential items remained on the shelves. Many merchants hiked prices of essential goods, like sugar and oil. Cooking oil went from 6 shekels to 30 shekels ($1.91 to $9.50). As cars lined up outside gas stations, the price of fuel rose to 35 shekels ($11.16 a liter)

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said that Hamas police had arrested 29 merchants and closed 11 shops that were inflating prices, as part of an anti-monopoly effort across the strip Saturday. They called on Palestinians to make a report to authorities if they observed price-gouging.

Hundreds celebrate attack on Iran in Los Angeles

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Demonstrators gather in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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Demonstrators hug as they march in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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A motorist attaches an Iranian flag to a window during a demonstration in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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Two women embrace during a demonstration in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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A demonstrator carries an Iranian flag during a march in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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People march during a demonstration in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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People march during a demonstration in reaction to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Demonstrators in Los Angeles — home to the largest population of Iranians outside Iran — celebrated the attack by dancing, chanting and waving flags outside a federal building in the Westwood neighborhood.

“Down with Islamic Republic!” they shouted. “Democracy for Iran!”

Many in the crowd of hundreds waved the red, white and green “Lion and Sun” flag, which was the Iranian flag before the 1979 revolution brought the ayatollah to power. Others carried Israeli or American flags.

Led by an emcee, the crowd also chanted thanks to President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some wore hats or shirts labeled “MIGA” or “Make Iran Great Again.”

About half a million Iranian Americans live in the Greater Los Angeles region. West Los Angeles in particular is home to a cultural enclave known as “Tehrangeles,” or Little Persia, featuring grocery stores, ice cream and kebab shops, restaurants, bakeries and bookstores.

Iranian official says Israel and the US will ‘regret their actions’

Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, said Saturday that Israel and America will “regret their actions.”

“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” Larijani posted on X.

Israel’s rescue service says one woman in the Tel Aviv area died from an Iranian missile attack

Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area had died after being injured in an Iranian missile attack.

It was the first death announced in Israel since the exchange of missiles began Saturday morning. It came after a heavy barrage of Iranian projectiles targeted central Israel, damaging buildings and setting fires.

The service did not immediately identify the woman or give more details on the incident.

JUST IN: Rubio canceled his trip to Israel early next week following US-Israel strikes on Iran, State Department official says

Russia’s UN ambassador calls US-Israeli airstrikes `another unprovoked act of aggression’ against Iran’s sovereignty and independence

“We demand that the United States and Israel immediately cease their aggressive actions,” Vassily Nebenzia told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. “We insist on the immediate resumption of political and diplomatic settlement efforts … based on international law, mutual respect and a balance of interests.”

He said Moscow stands ready “to provide all necessary assistance” for that to happen.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong supported Russia’s call for de-escalation and a return to diplomatic negotiations.
He said China is very concerned at “the sudden escalation of regional tensions” caused by the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

“China stresses that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran and other regional countries must be respected,” Fu said.

UAE condemns attack by Iran allegedly using ballistic missiles

Dubai International Airport, the largest in the United Arab Emirates and one of the busiest in the world, said Saturday that four people were injured in a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles.”

The UAE condemned the attack.

Strikes were also reported at other commercial airports in the region, including Kuwait International. Other airports closed and canceled flights

US ambassador defends US action against Iran, saying it’s ‘not a matter of politics’

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, spoke during an emergency Security Council meeting Saturday after China, Russia and France, among others, requested a meeting hours after the first strikes on Tehran.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That principle is not a matter of politics. It’s a matter of global security. And to that end, the United States is taking lawful actions,” Waltz said.

France’s UN ambassador calls for serious Iranian commitment to nuclear negotiations `that will guarantee that Iran never has a nuclear weapon’

Jerome Bonnafont also offered France’s assistance to help protect regional countries targeted by Iranian retaliatory attacks.

He called the new war between the United States, Israel and Iran “dangerous for everyone — and it must cease immediately.”

He did not condemn the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, but told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council: “We robustly condemn the indiscriminate attacks by Iran against several countries in the region.” he said.

“And we are ready to deploy the means necessary to protect them if they so request,” the French ambassador said.

He accused Iran of failing to provide transparency about its nuclear program and its enriched uranium.

Nonetheless, Bonnafont said France believes a nuclear agreement is possible and calls for a serious Iranian commitment to negotiations.

Khamenei’s death may not portend regime change, expert says

Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told The Associated Press earlier in the week that one of the key lessons Tehran drew from last year’s war was the need to ensure regime continuity in case of Khamenei’s death.

“Iranian decision-makers understand that leadership decapitation is not merely symbolic,” he said.

Based on published reports and Iran’s past behavior, Citrinowicz said power could shift to a small committee of top officials rather than a single successor until hostilities subsided.

“It is possible that Khamenei has indicated a preferred successor behind closed doors. However, automatic implementation of a pre-selected successor will increase internal friction during war,” he said.

Here are the Iranian military leaders Israel said its strikes Saturday killed

Here’s a quick look at the Iranians who Israel is claiming its strikes killed. Iran and the US have yet to comment on the claims.

  • Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who survived an Israeli attack targeting him during the June war
  • Gen. Mohammad PakpourCommander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard
  • Salah Asadithe chief of intelligence in Iran’s military emergency headquarters
  • Gen. Aziz NasirzadehIranian Defense Minister
  • Mohammad Shirazi, Head of Military Bureau of Khamenei

Trump says bombing of Iran will continue through week or go even longer

Trump in his social media post said that the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would not bring an end to the joint airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel.

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!” Trump said.

The president stresses that his hope was for the Iranian government to join with the opposition.

Trump said on social media that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, saying his passing is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

The death occurred after a joint U.S. and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites.

Trump in his post called Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history.”

Trump said that Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”

JUST IN: Trump says ‘heavy and pinpoint bombing’ to continue ‘uninterrupted’ through the week or longer

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The Dictatorship

8 convicted in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison

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June 24, 2026

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8 convicted in Texas immigration center shooting sentenced to decades in prison

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Eight protesters accused by the Justice Department of having ties to antifawere sentenced Tuesday to decades in federal prison over a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center that wounded a police officer. Prosecutors have called the shooting an act of terrorism.

One of the defendants, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist convicted of opening fire during the July 4 demonstration outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, the maximum punishment.

The lengthy sentences were condemned by family members and supporters in a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. Hope Song, whose son Benjamin Songreceived the heftiest sentence, disputed prosecutors’ claims that her son shot the officer and said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, one of two judges overseeing the proceedings, said what happened wasn’t a protest but “an assault on democracy.”

“The need to deter this type of conduct is high,” O’Connor said.

The seven other protesters received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.

Prosecutors said the eight are members of antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist organization and a targetof the Trump administration. Antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

President Donald Trump last fall signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization, even though there is no domestic equivalent to the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations.

The defendants deny any affiliation with antifa and maintain they attended the demonstration in support of detained immigrants.

Prosecutor Frank Gatto urged the judge to impose stiff penalties.

“People with that kind of extremist beliefs need extra time in prison,” Gatto said. “They believe violence is justified.”

Phillip Hayes, Song’s attorney, said outside the courthouse that he takes issue with the idea that the protesters are extremists.

“This is a bunch of kids and young adults who really have a really big heart and really wanted their voice to be heard,” Hayes said. “It was never intended that anybody get hurt. It was never intended that any shots would be fired.”

Prosecutors said in court that Song had yelled “get to the rifles” and opened fire, striking a police officer who had just pulled up to the center.

Hayes argued that Song’s shots were “suppressive fire” and that a ricochet bullet hit the officer after he arrived on the scene and “aggressively” pulled out his firearm. He said his client will appeal the 100-year sentence.

“Song, aside from this day, has had an impeccable life. A former Marine. A good student,” Hayes said. “He had a lot of good qualities that were just ignored. The judge went ahead and gave as much as he could.”

Other defendants and their family members pleaded for leniency in court.

Autumn Hill said the gathering “seemed more like a party to me than anything else” and that she and others who participated “didn’t expect or want any violence or destruction of property to occur.”

Amber Lowrey told the judge that her sister, Savanna Batten, is a compassionate person with dreams of opening a bakery. She said Batten’s activism started with animal rights and evolved into anti-war and human rights advocacy.

“She’s the best person I know,” Lowrey said.

Hill and Batten both received 50-year sentences.

Other defendants previously pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists rather than take their case to trial.

Critics warn the case could have a wide-reaching impact on protests given that organizations operating within the U.S. are supposed to be protected by First Amendment free-speech rights.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged 15 peoplewith impeding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdownin Minnesota. They claimed the demonstrators were members of antifa who conspired against the federal government to block arrests and deportations by setting up blockades around government buildings and throwing chunks of ice at federal vehicles, among other actions.

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Tulsi Gabbard and Senate GOP face difficult new questions over influence of her ‘guru’

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June 24, 2026

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Tulsi Gabbard and Senate GOP face difficult new questions over influence of her ‘guru’

About a month into Donald Trump’s second term, Senate Republicans weighed whether to confirm one of the president’s worst nominees. Indeed, the list of reasons to reject Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination for director of national intelligence was not short.

The former congresswoman lacked the requisite experience in intelligence matters. She had an indefensible habit of echoing Russian propaganda. She struggled to explain her record of defending Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime. Senators heard from former national security officials who issued unsubtle warnings about elevating Gabbard to an important and influential position.

But in case that weren’t quite enough, let’s also not overlook the fact that Gabbard was a member of a secretive Hare Krishna offshoot religious sect that is considered by many of its former members to be an abusive cult.

Gabbard, who wrapped up her tenure as DNI last week, has long insisted that any suggestion that she was somehow enthralled to or controlled by this sect or its leader, whom she has referred to as her “guru,” is just bigotry against her faith.

But it’s against this backdrop that The Washington Post obtained hundreds of secret memos prepared for Gabbard during her congressional tenure, which were put together by members of the alleged cult and which included thousands of pages of specific directives to her on policy and politics.

After careful analysis of thousands of these documents, which have not been independently verified by MS NOW, the Post determined that they likely came from Gabbard’s secretive guru, a man named Chris Butler.

The memos, starting in 2013, when the Hawaiian first arrived on Capitol Hill, reflect a dynamic in which Gabbard didn’t just take direction from the materials, but essentially took dictation from the alleged cult leader: Memos told Gabbard what she should do as a member of Congress, and she often did exactly that, sometimes word for word.

The Post’s Jon Swaine spent months trying to get Gabbard to respond to questions, but to no avail. Her spokeswoman reportedly encouraged Swaine to drop the story, saying, “I cannot imagine WaPo’s readers would be interested in yet another uncredible, bigoted attack on the DNI’s faith.”

On May 20, Swaine nevertheless alerted the DNI and top members of her staff to the fact that the Post was prepared to publish his reporting anyway on her association with Butler.

On May 22, Fox News reported that Gabbard was leaving the administration, ostensibly because of a health issue involving her husband.

This week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on the Senate floor and commented on the reporting:

There are reports that Tulsi Gabbard was receiving instructions from a so-called guru and repeating them word for word. That ought to concern all of us if it’s true. No one knows who this guru really is, what his connections are, and where the instructions came from. … We need answers.

The New York Democrat’s comments made sense, though it’s worth considering who, exactly, “we need answers” from.

It stands to reason, for example, that Gabbard has some explaining to do, but I’m also interested in the answers from those who elevated her to an influential intelligence office in the first place.

In February 2025, confronted with an avalanche of reasons to reject Gabbard’s nomination, 52 Senate Republicans — every GOP member except Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell — shrugged off every red flag and voted to confirm her as the nation’s DNI, including so-called “moderates” such as Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.

The question for these 52 senators seems obvious: Do you regret that confirmation vote and now recognize it as a mistake? Or do you still think it was a good idea to put Gabbard in this influential intelligence position?

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

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The Dictatorship

Trump ignored warnings before launching Iran war, reporters tell MS NOW

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15 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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Trump ignored warnings before launching Iran war, reporters tell MS NOW

In the lead-up to the Iran war, President Donald Trump dismissed the possibility that Tehran would close the Strait of Hormuz despite warnings from his top military adviser, authors of a new book told MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday.

In their first televised interview about “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan said Trump also disregarded warnings from Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the potential effects on American weaponry and about casualties.

The initial closure of the strait, a narrow passageway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, led to a spike in gas and oil prices. According to Swan, Trump thought Iran would have limited time to take action because the war would be over quickly — a claim he has made repeatedly during the nearly four-month-long war.

“He felt that this regime was a paper tiger, that this was going to be a fast war,” Swan said on “The Last Word.” “He just said he felt that that was going to be the case, that they were going to collapse very quickly.”

“It’s a form of magical thinking, actually, is what it all boils down to,” he added.

The revelation is just one of several in the book — which is based on more than 1,000 interviews — that illustrate how Trump repeatedly bases geopolitical decisions on his own whims rather than experts’ assessments.

Another example of such thinking was when Trump floated a plan to expel 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so he could turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Haberman and Swan wrote in the book that one senior aide characterized the idea as “legitimately nutso … but very on-brand.”

Haberman also spoke about “how scared” people were inside the White House ahead of last year’s so-called Liberation Daywhen Trump unveiled sweeping global tariffs. (The Supreme Court struck down those tariffs in February.)

“They were scared at how close the bond markets came to just completely melting down seven days later, which was finally what got him [Trump] off of it, but again, it was the willingness to just go straight to the brink” that was jarring, Haberman said.

Despite such fear among Trump’s staff, Haberman added, the White House makes up “a group of people who genuinely want to see him succeed.”

Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky.

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