Quick Brown-Fox 🇺🇦

“I picked the title for this piece before last night’s events at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. (I name my articles after songs that come to mind when I am writing them; Pearl Jam got the gig this week). I spoke with a close, lifelong friend who was inside the Hilton ballroom last night attending the evening’s festivities. An old school Washington reporter who wisely keeps himself out of the story and has many decades of experience covering the White House and federal agencies over several administrations, this friend I’ve known since my own days working as a bike messenger on Capitol Hill, beginning in late 1989 through the early nineties. A different DC, indeed. It was good to get an inside take, to go along with what I observed on TV and am seeing online in the aftermath. The calm demeanor of the President sitting on the dais as shots rang out from outside the ballroom was juxtaposed to folks throwing chairs to block the aisles and ducking under tables for safety. My friend ran to the kitchen and in the heat of the moment observed that in the chaos and confusion, with screaming law enforcement barking orders and looking for potential active shooters, one thing became certain - the show was not gonna go on. Despite Trump’s wishes to capitalize on the moment - he knows ratings gold when he sees it. Instead, he used a smiling press conference at the White House for his self-aggrandizing take on his latest assassination attempt and as an opportunity to compare himself, yet again to Abraham Lincoln. And of course, to plug his ballroom (of which a U.S. District Judge had recently ordered a halt on above-ground construction). This will obviously help Trump to push back against that ruling. It would have been a great opportunity to slip in an unexpected question about Jeffrey Epstein (especially with Melania in the briefing room, two weeks after her own bizarre ‘Epstein Files’ presser that received zero follow up in the mainstream media) or the recent revelations about an apparent Pentagon cover up (Hegseth was in briefing room as well) of extensive bombing of U.S. military bases in Iran by the White House press corps that was set to be feted that very evening. But alas, they chose to ask POTUS about his bravery. Trust me when I tell you again - the man doesn’t have a brave bone in his body and he should never be given the benefit of the doubt. Nobody has the seeming narrative-changing luck he regularly receives when his poll numbers dip, and often the events that happen around him strain credulity and conveniently occur outside the boundaries of standard protocol. I hope this latest act of attempted violence, which I always abhor and admonish, receives greater scrutiny in the press than his last two; we need to be able to trust in our institutions again, and in a way, that trusts seems farther away than ever in the minds of the American public.” open.substack.com/pub/noelcasler…

What you see happening here is coordinated strategic communication by the Trump cult. Elon’s baby mama and former MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair explained this ecosystem in a long video. They have built platforms where people can find narratives to spread and get paid for doing so. Even though the system technically breaks the platform's ToS, this is perfectly fine for @nikitabier and the rest of the X crew, because Elon pays their salaries and this is part of his election interference machinery.

Trump already tore down the East Wing. Now, after tonight’s shooting, he’s claiming the ballroom that replaces it is needed for security. That was never the reason. He wanted the ballroom first. The “security” argument showed up after the fact. That’s not planning. That’s rewriting the motive once a crisis gives you cover.

@tommysantos14 Magat Ballroom PR team were very quick: x.com/Kitterick2468/…

@lrozen I hate that we have to question whether this was organic or planned by the administration. How did anyone get a weapon past security where the POTUS AND FLOTUS are in attendance?

The woman below pictured with the Pedo-in-Chief @realDonaldTrump is Béatrice (or Beatrice) Keul, a former Swiss model and beauty pageant contestant. In 2024, she came out stating a Trump employee went up to her in 1993 and said Trump wanted a "private meeting." Béatrice Keul thought @realDonaldTrump just "wanted to talk," but as soon as she entered the room, she stated, "he jumped on me. I just had time to turn. I was not prepared. I tried to do what I could to get rid of him." "He kissed me on the lips and on the neck. He tried to lift my dress. He was grabbing and touching my body everywhere he could." __________________________________ Well, as of April 2026, Béatrice Keul told the French newspaper Ouest-France that she is collaborating with U.S. lawyers on a potential civil lawsuit against the Pedo-in-Chief @realDonaldTrump She's hoping to use a "legal window" or lookback statutes in certain states that temporarily suspend statutes of limitations for sexual assault claims (similar to those used in some Epstein/Cosby cases). Her goal — force Trump to testify under oath. 👇👇👇👇

THIS IS CRAZY: 🇺🇸 Weeks ago we started tracking a whale. 11 oil trades. 11 wins. Perfect timing. Every time. BBC validated it. White House denied it. Now a reporter asked Trump directly. "Are you concerned about insider trading?" Trump: "The world is a casino. It is what it is." Trade on a tip from your friend. Federal prison. Front-run a war decision with $17 million. No consequences. The President just told you the rules don't apply to everyone. The game is rigged. He just confirmed it.

Take a close look at this. NBC News published a major investigation this afternoon. Six reporters. Six named sources inside the US government. The story breaks open something the Trump administration has been hiding for two months. The damage Iran did to American military bases in the opening phase of the war is far worse than the Pentagon has admitted. Repairs will cost billions of dollars. Here is what NBC found.

Here’s 8–14: • Presidential records still missing • Russia intel binder vanished • Thousands of federal datasets quietly deleted • Government pages scrubbed • Emails/texts never turned over • 100+ foreign gifts unaccounted for • Ethics transparency buried This isn’t random. It’s what happens when the evidence disappears before anyone can ask questions.

@David_n_Texas @allenanalysis Putin says: Thank you Comrade, for continuing to spread our disinformation campaign. (Plus he can’t believe you still ARE doing it!)

@allenanalysis Yes, all the items you've listed is why I voted for Trump. The media is corrupt, controlled and fake.

Pay attention to this one. Tonight, President Trump will attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Two hundred and fifty journalists signed a petition this week asking the press to refuse business as usual. Among the signatories: Dan Rather. Sam Donaldson. Ann Curry. Jim Acosta. Stephanie Sy of PBS. 🧵

1/2 Death #25 He was a U.S. citizen. He was unarmed. And ICE shot him anyway. Three bullets. Through his driver’s side window. At point-blank range. Ruben Ray Martinez was 23 years old. He worked at an Amazon warehouse. He loved cars, video games, UFC fights. He was the light of his family’s home. He went to South Padre Island to celebrate his birthday. He never came back. ________________________________________ On March 15th, 2025—just after midnight—Ruben and his best friend came upon an accident scene on South Padre Island. There had been a crash. Local police were there. So were federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which operates under ICE. Not responding to a violent crime. Not stopping a terrorist. They were directing traffic. ________________________________________ What happened next lasted seconds. ICE agents surrounded Ruben’s car. They shouted conflicting commands—one telling him to move forward and another telling him to stop. One agent moved to his window. Another moved near the front of the vehicle—the controversial “Death Box” tactic, placing himself directly in the car’s path. And then— An ICE supervisor fired three shots into Ruben’s chest. No standoff. No chase. No escalation. Just a 23-year-old American citizen dying in his car. ________________________________________ After the shooting, the federal government offered a justification. The Department of Homeland Security said Ruben had “intentionally run over” an agent. The agent who fired the shots later wrote that he feared a “terrorist-style mass-casualty attack.” That framing matters. Because it turns a seconds-long roadside encounter into something else entirely— a justification built on the fear of mass violence. And once that label is applied, the use of deadly force becomes easier to defend— even if the underlying facts are unclear. ________________________________________ But now we have the video. And it tells a different story. Ruben’s car was not speeding. It was not charging forward. It was barely moving—if moving at all. His brake lights were on when the shots were fired. Witness testimony says he did not hit anyone. No officer was seriously injured. No mass-casualty threat existed. What the video shows is chaos. Confusion. Tight space. And then— Gunfire. ________________________________________ After Ruben was shot, it got worse. Agents dragged him out of the car. Forced him face down onto the ground. Handcuffed him. He lay there— not receiving immediate medical care— even though paramedics were already on scene. Minutes passed before aid was given. He later died at the hospital. ________________________________________ And then— The truth was buried. For nearly 11 months, the federal government did not publicly disclose that ICE had killed Ruben Ray Martinez. They knew. They documented it internally within days. But they did not tell the public. It only came out after outside groups forced the records into the open. ________________________________________ Ruben’s mother has been clear: Her son was not violent. He was not aggressive. He was not a threat. “He was the light of our house.” And now he is gone. ________________________________________ There was one person who saw everything. Ruben’s best friend. He was in the car that night. He was there when the shots were fired. He was the only civilian witness to what happened inside that vehicle. He could have told the grand jury what Ruben said. What Ruben did. Whether he was trying to comply. But he never got the chance. Before he could testify, Ruben’s best friend died in a separate car accident in early 2026. And with him— went the only firsthand civilian account of what happened in those final seconds. Before his death, he provided his attorney with a written statement:

2/2 “Ruben did not hit anyone. Without warning, commands, or an opportunity to comply, the agent fired multiple shots from an extremely close distance—no more than two feet. I heard Ruben say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then he slumped backward.” The grand jury still declined to indict the ICE agent who shot Ruben. ________________________________________ Let’s be honest about what this case shows: ICE claimed he ran over an agent. The video contradicts that claim. ICE justified deadly force. The evidence suggests there was no imminent threat. ICE withheld the truth for nearly a year. And a grand jury declining to bring charges does not answer any of that. ________________________________________ Under the law, deadly force is only justified when there is an immediate threat of death or serious harm. Not confusion. Not panic. Not a slow-moving car. An actual, immediate threat. That standard exists for a reason. Because when it is ignored— People die. ________________________________________ Ruben Ray Martinez did not have to die. He was 23 years old. A U.S. citizen. Sitting in a car. And ICE shot him anyway. ________________________________________ This is Death #25. And this one strips away any illusion of distance or justification: If this can happen to a 23-year-old American citizen on a birthday trip— It can happen to anyone. ________________________________________ At least 193 people have died in ICE or Border Patrol related incidents since January 20th, 2025. I will continue to tell their stories. One story at a time. If this story matters to you—share it. Make sure people know his name: Ruben Ray Martinez. ________________________________________ Sources: • NPR — “ICE shooting of Texas man Ruben Ray Martinez raises questions as video emerges” (April 15, 2026) • CBS News — “Bodycam video shows fatal ICE shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez in Texas” • Texas Tribune — Reporting on South Padre Island shooting and investigative findings • Associated Press — Coverage of ICE agent shooting and federal response • KRGV Channel 5 News (Rio Grande Valley) — Local reporting on incident and aftermath • KSAT 12 News (San Antonio) — Family interviews and background on Ruben Ray Martinez • American Oversight — Released federal records related to the shooting and disclosure timeline • U.S. Department of Homeland Security — Official statements and use-of-force justification • Texas Department of Public Safety — Incident reports and investigative materials • Cameron County / South Texas authorities — Local law enforcement response details • Grand Jury Records (Texas) — Decision declining to indict the HSI agent • Family interviews (multiple outlets including CBS, KSAT, NPR) • Legacy .com — Obituary of Ruben Ray Martinez • U.S. Supreme Court — Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)

Just 20 minutes before Trump announced the Strait of Hormuz was open—Someone dumped 7,990 lots of Brent crude futures. A $760 million bet that oil prices would drop. Orders far larger than anything else in the market at that moment. They made a fortune. But somebody knew the announcement was coming. This is insider trading at the highest level of government.

ICE detain immigration court interpreter—her son in U.S. Army feels "betrayed." "I've done a lot for my country and want to do more," he said. "All I ask from my country is give my mom back." She's not only in U.S. legally—but only licensed interpreter for 3 Indian languages in state of Texas. Her skill set is so rare—her job requires her to fly all across the country wherever South Asian immigrants need language access. Meenu Batra fled India 35 years ago as a teenager after her parents were killed because of their Sikh religion. She was granted an asylum status known as "withholding of removal"—recipients cannot apply for permanent U.S. residency. This asylum status allows her to remain and work legally as long as she doesn't leave the country or commit a crime. "I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I was told I have nothing to worry about," she said. "And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do—my work speaks for itself."

DAY 92 Here’s the part trump doesn’t want to talk about. The products never really mattered. Whether it was- Steaks. Vodka. A “university.” Mortgages. Didn’t matter. The play was always the same. Make it sound big. Make it sound exclusive or luxurious. Make people feel like they’re buying into success. Then deliver something, average at best. Because the real product wasn’t what you bought. It was the pitch. The promise. Con hard working people out of their money. And once the pitch stopped working? On to the next one. Same hustle. Different label.

🚨TODAY IS TAX DAY: And the ONLY party who wants to lower YOUR taxes are the Democrats: Senator Mark Kelly unveils a plan to ELIMINATE federal income tax for Americans earning under $46,000 - and slash taxes up to $161,000. Trump’s donors don’t want you to see this: It’s fully paid for by people making over $1 million a year. Not working families.
Not the middle class. The millionaires and billionaires sitting on more wealth than they could ever spend. Kelly laid it out to CTA Media Network’s Joe Gallina: "billionaires…have more money than they… can spend in multiple lifetimes while we have people (who) can't afford a place to live and can't send their kids to college and never go on vacation. It’s just not right.” This isn’t a tweak. This game-changing bill takes a sledgehammer to a broken system - and forces a reckoning with the affordability crisis Donald Trump made worse. #TrumpRiggedYourTaxReturn

"I don't think people are sufficiently prepared notwithstanding what happened in 2021, for the possibility that he will try to fuck with this election. And he will. He's already basically telling us that's what he's going to do, just the same way he told us he would do that in 2020."

The PBS NewsHour has documented the Trump family's unprecedented conflicts of interest. Jared Kushner, a 'volunteer' with no official position, has $6 billion in assets from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar-the same governments he is negotiating with on Middle East peace. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have invested in drone companies that are now competing for Pentagon contracts in the war their father started. Forbes estimated that Eric and Don Jr., they were worth about $40, $50 million each before the 2024 election. About a year later, Eric at $400 million and Donald Trump Jr. at about $300 million. They're using war and diplomacy to enrich themselves

No rest for the wicked. At midnight, an emergency vote was called to invoke FISA. FISA is a Nixon-era law also known as "The Wiretap Act." It allows the government to conduct surveillance in forms like electronic surveillance, tap and trace (wiretaps), pen registers (call logs), and physical searches. It also allows the President to authorize warrantless surveillance for up to a year. The President can also authorize warrantless surveillance if Congress declares war, which makes the timing of this vote... interesting. It did not pass.

If Trump and Republicans really cared about election security, they’d support automatically registering every American to vote at 18—just like we already do for Selective Service. 🇺🇸🗳️ But they don’t. Because this was never about security—it’s about control and limiting who gets to participate. 🤔🚫 #VotingRights #Democracy #ElectionSecurity #RegisterToVote #ProtectTheVote