Senate Republicans narrowly halted another attempt to handcuff President Donald Trump’s war authority in Iran as a peace deal begins to take shape.

The latest failed war-powers resolution, this time from Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., comes after Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian government that could lead to an end to the war. While Congress is still in the dark on the details of the deal, Republicans still stood behind the president Tuesday.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has led the Democrats’ war powers efforts for the last several months, argued that while a possible deal was a good thing, it appeared the U.S. and Iran would be headed to an “intermission” in fighting as both sides hammered out the final details of a longer peace deal. 

TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL SPARKS GOP DEMANDS FOR VOTE AS CONGRESS REMAINS IN THE DARK

“An intermission is a great time to do what we should have done before this war, which is have the consultation with Congress that the Constitution requires,” Kaine said. “Why restart a war if we haven’t done our job?”

Still, Warnock’s resolution failed despite a previous effort advancing in the Senate last month when a cohort of Senate Republicans joined nearly all Senate Democrats to rebuke the war. That same group, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Bill Cassidy, R-La., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined all Democrats to vote for the resolution. 

But absences on both sides of the aisle helped the GOP in their effort to give Trump more runway to hammer out a deal to end the war. 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, argued that Democrats were effectively trying to “help Iran” with Democrats’ war powers efforts, and he countered that if the resolution passed, Iran would back out of any forthcoming peace deal.

“If a miracle happened, a miracle happened, and this passed, got through the Senate, got through the House, and the president signed it — if that miracle happened, do you think Iran would sign the deal that has been negotiated? Of course not,” Risch said. 

DEMS SCORE WIN AS GOP SENATOR HELPS ADVANCE IRAN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION

Meanwhile, Congress is still waiting for details of the deal, which as of Tuesday, had yet to materialize publicly or behind closed doors in the upper chamber. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he still had not been briefed on the matter. When asked if it was normal for Thune and others to request these kinds of briefings from the administration, Thune said, “Since I’ve been in this job, we haven’t had this issue, so I don’t know the answer to that.”

“My assumption is that it’s a function of, at some point, they understand they’re going to have to, I think they’ve intimated as much, that they’ve got to get this in front of us,” he said. “And hopefully, that’ll happen sooner rather than later. But you know, obviously it sounds like they’re not going public with it until later in the week, so we’ll see.” 

Some Democrats, on the other hand, are contending that early reports of the deal appear to favor Iran more than the U.S.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said, “It’s essentially a surrender.” 

“But I think that’s the only play we can make at this point. We have to end this war, stop wasting money, stop killing Americans and civilians, stop driving a crisis,” Murphy said.
”So, it’s a bad deal, but he’s not gonna get a better deal. So, we just have to accept the humiliation.” 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota on Tuesday announced that 15 Antifa members have been indicted for their alleged roles in conspiring to hinder federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The suspects, 12 of whom are in custody, are all charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, according to a 94-page criminal complaint, and some are charged with further crimes. Federal prosecutors allege that each suspect took part in a conspiracy to obstruct federal immigration enforcement officers, including ICE personnel, through force, intimidation and threats.

The suspects are alleged members of the Antifa cell Direct Action Minnesota Network (DAMN), a radical far-left group accused of coordinating operations against federal immigration officers.

Federal prosecutors maintain that the group use Signal chats to organize and carry out rapid response operations including coordinating street blockades, tracking federal vehicles, surveilling the ICE field office at the federal Whipple Building and other activities meant to stop immigration officials from conducting their business.

FBI INVESTIGATING MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE SIGNAL GROUP CHATS, PATEL SAYS

The government says that DAMN served as the hub for participants to share intelligence, plan actions, recruit volunteers and assign roles.

Below is a full list of the suspects and the charges they face:

ANTI-ICE MINNEAPOLIS AGITATORS SET UP CHECKPOINT TO TRACK FEDERAL AGENTS

Isaac Sant is portrayed by prosecutors as one of the ringleaders of the conspiracy who allegedly organized meetings between anti-ICE factions, delivered shields and other equipment for “direct actions” against ICE and maintained a database of suspected federal immigration vehicles by tracking license plates.

He also allegedly coordinated “commuters” to follow federal immigration officials.

On May 4, according to the indictment, Sant personally followed a federal immigration officer from the Whipple Building in Minneapolis — a hub of anti-ICE activities — across state lines to Hudson, Wisconsin, leading to the interstate stalking charge.

William Morgan, the only suspect charged with four crimes, is also accused of interstate stalking for allegedly following a federal immigration officer on May 12 from the Whipple Building to near the officer’s home in Hudson.

VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS ICE AGENT TELLING AGITATORS THEY’RE DISRUPTING ARREST OF CHILD SEX OFFENDER IN MINNESOTA

Three days later, Morgan allegedly committed two more crimes by confronting an agent who was conducting an interview and physically assaulting him. He later was accused of kicking a federal vehicle, causing $1,000 in property damage, the complaint claims.

Natasha Rakotz was charged with assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury for allegedly driving her car into the path of a federal agent, striking and injuring him — similarly to how in a January incident in Minneapolis Renee Good was shot dead during an altercation where she ran her car into a federal immigration officer.

Kyle Wagner has been in custody since February, after encouraging followers to take up arms against federal agents. More charges were announced against him during Tuesday’s press conference.

WHO IS KYLE WAGNER? MEET THE SELF-IDENTIFIED ANTIFA MEMBER ARRESTED AFTER TARGETING ICE

On Jan. 8, 2026, Wagner posted a video warning ICE agents, “We’re f—ing coming for you.”

Prosecutors allege he urged followers to “get your guns,” and suggested identifying agents even if it had to be done “at the barrel of a gun.”

President Donald Trump declared Antifa to be a terrorist organization last year.

“Today’s charges and arrests reflect a broad federal effort to address organized, lawless behavior, which seeks to disrupt the execution of federal law, endanger law enforcement, and, importantly, endanger the very communities that these defendants falsely claim to be protecting,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Roden said in a Tuesday press conference announcing the charges.

MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE AGITATORS SWARM, CONFRONT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS

He emphasized that the defendants have not been arrested for speech — which is protected by the First Amendment — but for alleged criminal actions.

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy echoed that sentiment.

“Peaceful protest is a protected right and a cornerstone of our democracy. We respect and defend that right,” he said. “However, there’s a clear line that cannot be crossed when protest turns into rioting, violence or criminal activity, it becomes unlawful and it will not be tolerated.”

“Working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, our investigation uncovered extensive planning, material support and coordinated attacks against federal personnel and facilities. Our teams have worked tirelessly conducting surveillance, reviewing camera footage, and analyzing large volumes of information to identify those responsible.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has hailed the newly signed Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) as a breakthrough that normalizes relations between the two countries after months of fighting. 

But by the White House’s own account, the agreement settles few of the issues that dominated months of negotiations, leaving sanctions relief, frozen assets and Iran’s nuclear program for a new round of talks.

“This is really just the first MOU and then we’re going to launch into the real technical discussions later this week,” a senior administration official told reporters Monday. 

The memorandum, signed digitally by Trump and Vice President JD Vance Sunday, kicks off a 60-day period for technical talks aimed at a final agreement. A formal signing ceremony with U.S. and Iranian officials, along with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, is planned for Friday. Yet even administration officials acknowledge that the memorandum leaves many of the most contentious issues unresolved. 

“We’ll know over the next two to three weeks whether those understandings will turn into an actual agreement,” a senior administration official said. 

TRUMP MAY HAVE WON A STRATEGIC PAUSE IN IRAN. NOW COMES THE HARD PART

Nate Swanson, a former senior advisor on Iran policy to successive administrations and now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the memorandum appears to postpone rather than resolve disputes over sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It does not appear to resolve the core issues surrounding the mechanics of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian nuclear concessions, or Iranian financial incentives and sanctions relief,” Swanson wrote in an analysis published by the Atlantic Council.

The remark was striking given that U.S. and Iranian officials have been negotiating since the April ceasefire and already had announced a signed memorandum and upcoming signing ceremony.

The president expressed optimism for a final deal.

“I think it’s going to happen, fairly on time, but we’ve been both involved. I think they’re going to want to get it done. Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business. And the relationship is now normalized,” Trump said during the G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.

JD VANCE REVEALS DETAILS OF US-IRAN DEAL, ADDRESSES WHETHER TAXPAYER MONEY WILL GO TO TEHRAN

The administration has yet to publicly release the text of the memorandum, but officials indicated that many of the issues that have dominated months of negotiations remain subject to future talks, including sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets and the disposition of Iran’s remaining enriched uranium stockpiles.

“Here’s what it says: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. That’s what it says. It won’t have one to buy, to develop. They will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. 

Administration officials said Monday the text of the deal would be released Tuesday or Wednesday.

On perhaps the most disputed issue, White House officials insisted Monday that no frozen Iranian assets have been released, despite reports in Iranian state-linked media that Iran could gain access to roughly $24 billion in blocked funds during the negotiation period.

“The very simple fact is, $0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country.”

The administration also said it will maintain its current military posture in the region during the negotiations, despite Iranian accounts suggesting the framework contemplates a future reduction in U.S. forces around Iran.

“The plan is to keep the current force posture during the 60-day negotiations.”

Officials repeatedly stressed that any concessions would be tied to verification rather than promises.

“We’re still at the early phases where we’re building trust.”

“This memorandum does not mean trusting the enemy; it has been written with active distrust,” Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, according to Iranian state-linked Mehr News. “We will monitor the implementation of US commitments.”

The clearest immediate effect appears to be the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally pass, and a commitment by both sides to preserve the ceasefire while negotiations continue. Oil prices fell to their lowest levels in three months on the agreement to lift the blockade and open the strait. 

Administration officials repeatedly described the memorandum as a framework that could eventually lead to sanctions relief, economic normalization and a broader settlement of Iran’s nuclear program — if negotiators can reach a final agreement in the coming weeks.

“Nothing is on the table if it doesn’t come along with real performance.”

Iranian state-linked media have described the framework as already containing commitments on sanctions relief, access to roughly $24 billion in frozen assets, future reductions in U.S. military forces in the region and a $300 billion reconstruction program. The White House has disputed key elements of that characterization.

“We don’t pay them — there was some statement. We’re going to spend $300 billion. No, we’re allowed to go and invest if we wanted to. Someday, in the future. We have no obligation whatsoever,” Trump said during the G7 Summit.

The competing descriptions underscore how much remains unsettled.  

“There will likely be a significant delta between the aspirations outlined in the MOU and what emerges in a final deal,” Swanson said. 

Some congressional Republicans already are questioning whether Washington and Iran are describing the same agreement.

“I think we’d all like to see the terms of the memorandum and hopefully end up with a real deal,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. 

“I don’t think there’s anybody in Congress that’s ever gonna support giving money to them,” he went on. 

“They ought pay for what it cost us to do this to bring them to their senses to stop killing us … I want to get reimbursed for the money we’ve had to spend to bring them to their senses. They’ve got plenty of oil, they can rebuild their own country.”

“I am pleased to hear the memorandum of understanding with Iran to allow the Strait of Hormuz to open has been agreed to. I will be watching closely the ensuing negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program and other matters. I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming.”

Colorado has reversed a controversial requirement that attorneys using the state’s court e-filing system certify they would not use court information to assist federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The verification requirement was removed from state law last week after Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1276, creating a carveout for attorneys seeking to use the filing system.

Multiple attorneys spoke out in April after the state’s e-file system required them to certify they would not share such personal information with the federal government — a requirement Colorado officials said stemmed from the Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status Act of 2025.

Colorado Springs attorney Ian Speir told Fox News Digital that Colorado appeared to be “unlawfully coopting private attorneys across the state to further its anti-federal sanctuary policies,” while noting that he doesn’t practice criminal nor immigration law but couldn’t sign into the state court system without “saluting the resistance.”

COLORADO LAWYERS SAY COURT E-FILE SYSTEM NOW MAKES THEM CERTIFY THEY WON’T ASSIST ICE

The House Judiciary Committee took note of Fox News Digital’s reporting on the matter and notified Colorado officials in April that their immigration-related certification wrongly “commandeers private attorneys into Colorado’s radical sanctuary policies, handcuffs federal officials from enforcing immigration law in Colorado, and violates fundamental free speech principles.”

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s immigration integrity, security and enforcement subcommittee, told Fox News Digital in a Monday interview that he was pleased to see Colorado reverse itself but warned that the incident is just the latest volley in sanctuary states’ battle against federal supremacy.

He called it the latest example of the notion that any state “can obstruct federal laws they don’t like.”

REP JIM JORDAN, REP TOM MCCLINTOCK: DEMOCRATS THINK THEY CAN OVERRULE LAWS

“I think they’ve crossed the line into obstruction by forbidding attorneys access to the court system without this outrageous pledge under penalty and perjury that they wouldn’t report any information for federal immigration enforcement purposes,” McClintock said.

“Obviously, the state recognized what tenuous ground they had staked out, and it reversed themselves. But I remain concerned over what other sanctuary jurisdictions that comprise this new ‘Confederacy’ may take in the future.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), celebrated the news and noted it was prepared to file a lawsuit against the state government in Denver on First Amendment grounds if it did not repeal the provision.

“Colorado made the right move removing the certification requirement, which was a clear viewpoint-based regulation that violated the First Amendment,” the Washington-based group said in a statement.

Speir added that while the state may be able to tell its own public lawyers what to say to ICE, he, as a private attorney, “work for my clients, not the government.”

Greg Greubel, FIRE’s senior attorney, said in a statement that the government by law cannot condition an attorney’s access to courts “on a promise not to use information for a lawful purpose the state disfavors.”

BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG PUT ON NOTICE AS NEW BILL CURBS BLUE STATE SANCTUARY POLICIES

 “Kudos to Colorado legislators and the governor for acting quickly to resolve this issue, but it’s troubling that the state attempted this in the first place.”

Laws restricting speech must be viewpoint-neutral under the First Amendment, but critics argued that by forcing attorneys not to speak with ICE, they were putting their thumb on the partisan scale.

McClintock said his panel’s focus continues to be on the variety of sanctuary policies in states and cities that are “resisting and in many cases obstructing federal law enforcement,” citing the Supremacy Clause’s assertion that immigration falls under the federal government’s authority.

“That’s particularly important in regions such as mine where the local sheriffs very much want to cooperate with ICE,” said McClintock, who notably chaired the raucous hearing that featured Fairfax County, Virginia, prosecutor Stephen Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid who have been lambasted for their handling of illegal immigrant-related cases.

A measure his panel is working on would allow victims of sanctuary policies to sue those jurisdictions for damages created by the release of illegal immigrant criminals and the like.

Fox News Digital reached out to Polis and ICE for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: A Republican challenging a vulnerable Democratic incumbent in one of the nation’s most competitive House races is touting a key labor endorsement. 

Mike LiPetri, a former state assembly member backed by President Donald Trump, said support from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 138 reflects growing momentum behind his campaign. 

“I think you’ll see [more unions] fall in line with us knowing that we stand with the men and women who work hard to build our country,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The endorsement from the 1,500-member union gives LiPetri a boost as he prepares for a rematch contest against Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who won back the suburban swing seat in 2024 after representing it from 2017 to 2023. 

HASAN PIKER CELEBRATES AMERICA BEING ‘CLOSER THAN EVER’ TO SOCIALISM AS HE BACKS NYC CANDIDATES

Local 138 Business Manager John Duffy praised LiPetri’s candidacy in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“We need leaders in Washington with guts — people who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to get the job done, no excuses,” Duffy said. “Mike LiPetri is that guy and the men and women of Local 138 are with him all the way.” 

The support from the union comes as national Republicans, who view Suozzi as a top target, look to make gains in the district spanning parts of Long Island and Queens ahead of November’s elections. 

Trump carried Suozzi’s seat by just over four points in 2024, while LiPetri ran three points behind the incumbent lawmaker.

Republicans have largely united behind LiPetri, who is seeking to fend off a challenge from attorney Gregory Hach in the June 23 GOP primary. LiPetri is part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s flagship candidate program and is viewed as a top recruit.

“This seat can literally decide the fate of the majority,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. 

“The president is all in on our race, he’s given us a ringing endorsement,” he added. “House leadership is all in on this race. Local leadership is also all in on this race.”

LiPetri also argued that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the presumptive GOP nominee against Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., would help drive Republican turnout on Long Island.

‘FLIP FLOP’: DEMOCRAT FIREFIGHTER IN TIGHT HOUSE RACE BLASTS POPULAR TRUMP POLICY HIS NATIONAL UNION SUPPORTS

The GOP challenger is also seeking to draw sharp contrasts with Suozzi on immigration, transgender issues and tax policy as he looks ahead to November. 

Suozzi, the co-chair of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus, has branded himself as a staunch moderate. But LiPetri argued the incumbent has strayed from that image over the past year.

Suozzi notably joined Democrats in opposing additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during the months-long standoff over immigration spending.

He initially backed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill in January but later publicly apologized for his vote, saying he “failed” to view the legislation as “a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE” amid backlash from the left over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. Suozzi later adopted Democratic leadership’s position in pushing to pair any new funding with reforms to immigration enforcement.

“We have to have someone that stays strong with law enforcement,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital, arguing Suozzi had “betrayed” federal law enforcement officers with his votes.

Suozzi also voted with Democrats against legislation barring biological males from women’s sports in K-12 schools and against a bill to direct the construction of a women’s history museum on the National Mall. Some Democrats vigorously objected to the proposal because it excluded transgender people, and LiPetri argued Suozzi shared that view. 

“They’re going to have to explain to their voters why they believe this museum should not be built and why they believe that there should be transgender exhibits in it,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., the measure’s sponsor, said in May, referring to Democrats.

LiPetri also hammered Suozzi for his vote against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which created new deductions for tips, overtime pay, and automobile loans.

“No tax on overtime was critical for union men and women,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. “And they see who my opponent really is, someone that focuses on keeping his job rather than doing his job.”

Suozzi opposed Republicans’ budget law at the time over cuts to federal Medicaid spending and objections to extending lower tax rates for the highest earners, among other concerns.

However, the GOP challenger still faces a steep fundraising climb against Suozzi. The New York Democrat has nearly $5.5 million in his campaign’s war chest compared to LiPetri’s roughly $727,000 cash on hand, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.

LiPetri said his campaign is among the top fundraisers for GOP challengers nationwide. 

“We’re gonna keep pushing and raising our money to make sure our message gets out there,” LiPetri told Fox News Digital. “People are excited for what’s ahead.”

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race “Lean Democrat.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Suozzi’s campaign before publication.

EXCLUSIVE — President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general has earned the endorsement of a sprawling sheriff’s association in what is expected to be a contentious confirmation process.

The Western States Sheriffs’ Association sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with high-ranking Senate Judiciary Committee members expressing their support for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s permanent confirmation to the position.

The organization represents sheriffs and their command staff from 19 states in the West, from Missouri to Washington state.

“We believe Mr. Blanche possesses the experience, integrity, and commitment necessary to lead the Department of Justice effectively during this important time,” the letter says.

“His background as a seasoned prosecutor, his demonstrated leadership as Acting Attorney General, and his focus on upholding the rule of law, supporting law enforcement, and prioritizing public safety align closely with the values and operational needs of America’s Sheriffs.”

TODD BLANCHE ‘HONORED AND HUMBLED’ BY TRUMP’S AG NOMINATION AFTER EXPLOSIVE WEEK OF FEDERAL ARRESTS

The letter notes that western sheriffs face “unique challenges,” particularly with border security concerns and policing vast rural areas — and they believe Blanche will help address those issues.

“As an organization dedicated to assisting Sheriffs with federal and state legislative issues, addressing policy matters, and promoting the strength and effectiveness of local law enforcement, we have long recognized the critical partnership between federal leadership at the Department of Justice and the frontline work performed by Sheriffs across The West,” the endorsement states.

The group said it is encouraged by Blanche’s understanding of the role that local and state officials play in federal law enforcement operations, and his willingness to work with those local and state officials to combat violent crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other community threats.

RED STATE AGS WELCOME TRUMP CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER FOUR YEARS BATTLING BIDEN

“WSSA members stand ready to partner with Attorney General Blanche to advance policies that empower Sheriffs, enhance officer safety and wellness, secure our borders, and ensure that federal resources are directed toward the real-world problems facing our counties and states,” the letter says.

It concludes with a call to action for Congress, urging the Senate to quickly confirm Blanche as U.S. attorney general.

Blanche’s nomination was formally sent to the Senate on June 8 after he was installed as acting AG following former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s bombshell ouster in April.

Republicans are reportedly targeting late summer for a full Senate confirmation vote.

FIRST ON FOX: A new report reveals that a dangerous dynamic of anti-Christian extremism and “assassination culture” could have fueled the recent attempt to kill conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk, as threats against public officials and figures rise to historic levels.

In late May, Bexar County charged Jacob Wenske, 26, with a third-degree felony count of making a terroristic threat involving public fear of serious bodily injury or public disruption for his alleged plan to bomb a Turning Point USA event where Kirk was the keynote speaker. 

In an email to TPUSA, Wenske said he was targeting Kirk, other event speakers and so-called “Christian nationalists,” according to an arrest warrant.

Wenske, who worked as a valet driver, also posted multiple threats on social media, according to the warrant.

TEXAS MAN ALLEGEDLY THREATENED TO BOMB TURNING POINT USA EVENT AND KILL CEO ERIKA KIRK IN ONLINE POSTS

Wenske’s arrest emerged amid a record number of threats against political figures and members of Congress. The U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section showed a 58% increase in threats against members of Congress from 2024 to 2025, and threats overall have nearly doubled since 2020. 

The Network Contagion Research Institute, a research lab that studies how radical ideologies spread across digital networks and social media, analyzed the threats against Kirk to assess the level of danger and how “permission structure” plays a role in originating the threat.

“What we’re seeing is a massive influx of foreign malign influence that is truly shaping the Western world right now, particularly through social media,” Travis Hawley, cyber threat and open-source intelligence analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, told Fox News Digital. “What you could call our digital diet is really shaping how people see ourselves, our values, our country, and even our history.”

TRUMP, KIRK SHOOTINGS EXPOSE ONLINE HATE BREEDING LONE-WOLF ASSASSINS, EXPERTS WARN

“And there are many countries, organizations, and wealthy individuals, whether it’s [Neville Roy] Singham in China, who are really pushing or putting their thumb on the scale, trying to push us and accelerate us into violence, dystopian even, and a civil unrest type of environment,” Hawley added. “This is really concerning and really showing how democracy actually has a weakness if it is not protected.”

The targeting of Kirk comes nine months after the assassination of her husband, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said that Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s alleged assassin, confessed the killing in the chatroom platform Discord, a platform which members of Congress have criticized for radicalizing users.

NEIGHBORS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S SUSPECTED KILLER, TYLER ROBINSON, SPEAK OUT

In the case of Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pro-Mangione demonstrators regularly frequent the courthouse to support him, and a legal fund for Mangione has collected more than $1.5 million.

The new study obtained by Fox News Digital shows that “permission structure” plays a role in promoting the idea that a murder is justified.

LUIGI MANGIONE ‘DOES NOT SUPPORT VIOLENT ACTIONS,’ ATTORNEY SAYS AS POLITICAL ATTACKS MOUNT ACROSS THE US

Permission structure gives individuals the excuse to commit an act that would normally be unacceptable, like murder, assassination or political violence.

In 2025, a Network Contagion Research Institute study found that 1,264 U.S. adults, or 38% of people surveyed, considered it “somewhat justified” to murder President Donald Trump, and the figure increased to about 55% among those identifying as left of center.

In a post on X, Charlie Kirk cited the study, blaming “left-wing protest culture” for a rise in political violence. He was assassinated 153 days later.

NEW BOMBSHELL STUDY REVEALS ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ SPREADING ON THE LEFT UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP

Hawley also told Fox News Digital that alleged malign foreign influence in protest and agitator networks plays a role in boosting radicalized beliefs. Hawley said that the far-left network stokes an anti-West ideology that aligns with the propaganda messages of America’s adversaries.

“The motivation of our adversaries to push Marxist ideology, Islamist ideology, Marxist ideology, socialists, you name it, anything that is anti-Western, anti-democratic, anti capitalist is to defeat us from within,” Hawley explained. 

He also noted that malign actors can easily use social media platforms to quickly mobilize pro-communist, anti-Western agitators.

A Fox News Digital investigation uncovered that U.S. tech tycoon and Shanghai resident Neville Roy Singham has  poured $278 million into nonprofits that have promoted Chinese Communist Party propaganda at protests around the country, often taking aim at U.S. leaders and public figures, like the Kirks.

“It seems to be bubbling up increasingly is these protests, these riots, whether it’s against the government itself, whether it’s against ICE and the military, the war,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “We’re living in a time where it is very clear that our ability to protect our country really hinges on understanding how much of the civil unrest we are living through in recent years is actually organic.”

Vice President JD Vance is set to make his first appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday, becoming just the third sitting vice president to join the daytime talk show’s panel.

“It may be the optimist in me, but I just fundamentally think that most people — not everybody, but most people — even if I disagree with them, you ought to try to have a conversation with them,” Vance told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview Tuesday.

Vance will join all six co-hosts, including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro, to discuss his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.” His appearance comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s newly reached agreement with Iran, in which the vice president played a key role in negotiations.

Asked how he was preparing for the interview, Vance said he was approaching it as an opportunity for an earnest conversation, even with people whose views differ from his own.

FLASHBACK: VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE WILL APPEAR ON ‘THE VIEW’ AFTER HOSTS CONDEMNED HIM FOR YEARS

“My job as vice president of the United States is not just to talk to the people who voted for me, it’s to talk to the people who didn’t vote for me too,” said Vance.

“We’re going to go and try to have a good conversation. I hope they meet me halfway. I’m a little skeptical, but we’ll see,” he added.

Vance’s appearance comes after years of criticism from the show’s hosts, who have repeatedly targeted both him and his wife since he was tapped as President Donald Trump’s running mate.

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS CLAIM USHA VANCE IS ‘ADDICTED TO POWER’ IN ON-AIR ATTACK AGAINST SECOND LADY

Co-host Joy Behar argued Vance was selected to serve as vice president to be a “carbon copy” of Trump and would fail to bring in any new voters.

[Trump] “knows that he’s the vice president who will do the things that Mike Pence would not. I really do believe that. He is an election denier. He has not committed to accepting the results of this year’s elections,” Hostin said during the same episode in July 2024.

Co-host Ana Navarro once pointed out that Walz could have an opportunity to embarrass Vance prior to the vice-presidential debate last year.

GOV. TIM WALZ SAYS HE’D ‘BEAT THE S— OUT OF’ JD VANCE IN A DEBATE REMATCH

“What Tim Walz needs to do is reveal JD Vance for who he is, a coward, duplicitous, hypocritical opportunist who remains silent while Trump attacks Kamala Harris for being biracial even though his children are biracial,” Navarro said. “Who remained silent while Trump supporters issue attacks on Kamala Harris for being of Indian descent, for being South Asian, even though he’s married to an Indian woman.”

Vance will be the third sitting vice president to join the program and the first Republican vice president to do so, after appearances by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

“The View” had a total of 341 guests in 2025, but only two of them were conservative, while 128 were liberal, according to a study conducted by the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters.

VP JD VANCE ADDRESSES US-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP, WHETHER IRAN IS TRYING TO ‘PLAY’ THE UNITED STATES

In a media appearance Monday, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said she plans to ask Vance about the financial incentives being proposed to Iran under the newly announced peace agreement.

“He was, um, reportedly one of the chief negotiating partners. I just want to get some clarity,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to “The View” for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has the beginnings of an agreement to end the war in Iran, but Congress hasn’t seen it, and Republicans want details before lending their support.

Trump declared that the deal had already been signed by all parties, but senators, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who is a member of the Gang of Eight who receives top-level intelligence briefings from the administration, are still in the dark about what exactly it entails. 

“I don’t think even the people who follow this stuff closely up here know much about it,” Thune said. 

TRUMP AGAIN SAYS DEAL IS CLOSE, THEN CONFIRMS A LAST-MINUTE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, BUT DETAILS STILL SECRET

As Congress awaits information on the long-awaited deal, Vice President JD Vance went on a media blitz for much of Monday to provide rough sketches of what’s inside. When asked if Vance should brief senators on the matter, Thune said, “Somebody will need to.”

“I don’t know whether it’s the vice president, but for sure, our members are gonna have a lot of questions about it,” Thune said. 

There’s also an issue of trust with Iran and whether it will follow through with whatever has been agreed to. 

“History shows that the religious zealots running Iran lie like fish swim,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.

IRAN’S LONG TRAIL OF DECEPTION FUELS SKEPTICISM OVER NEW NUCLEAR DEAL AS TALKS CONTINUE

Vance’s media tour did outline a rough timeline of about 60 days from the initial signing of the deal to allow for further negotiations on a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear program. 

But there are critics, including former President Barack Obama, who told “Good Morning America” that he was “doubtful” Trump’s deal would be different from his own agreement with Iran in 2015. 

Vance shot back on CBS News that Obama’s deal “took an Iranian nuclear program that it accelerated, and it basically bribed the Iranians to stop that program.” However, Vance confirmed that there would be a $300 billion reconstruction fund available to Iran if it stayed in line with the guardrails of a forthcoming agreement.

Trump and Vance have both said that details of the deal would emerge in the coming days, likely during an official signing ceremony on Friday in Switzerland. But that’s not good enough for some. 

“We’ve been told dozens of times that this war is over, and dozens of times we’ve been disappointed,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “There have been divergent statements from a variety of people in the administration. In these high-stakes negotiations, the devil is in the details, but Trump still hasn’t even revealed the text of his ‘understanding’ with Iran.”

JD VANCE REVEALS DETAILS OF US-IRAN DEAL, ADDRESSES WHETHER TAXPAYER MONEY WILL GO TO TEHRAN

When asked why the administration had not revealed the contents of the deal to lawmakers, a White House official said, “We will continue our long history of extraordinary levels of transparency with the Hill, as we maintained throughout the course of this conflict.”

While Republicans weren’t sure of the specifics of the deal, many said that they wanted a vote on a final product to ensure that it was permanent and wouldn’t end up like former President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, which Trump ripped up during his first term. 

“Once we have a final agreement, we need to check it out and pass it,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said. “The only way it’s lasting — executive agreements last through the executive — you want a long-term agreement. It’s gotta be law.” 

Lankford leaned into the Trump factor in his understanding of the deal and contended, “President Trump … is pretty unconventional the way he does this kind of stuff.”

“I don’t foresee him going to go make a bad deal in things. Is it gonna be everything I want? Probably not. Or Iran would never, ever sign it,” he said. “But I don’t see him giving away the farm on this.”

Meanwhile, while much of Congress is in the dark, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, may have some insight into the deal.

When asked if he had been read into the administration’s agreement with Iran, Risch said, “I do. I have.” 

“I don’t have any comment on it at this point. It’s still a work in progress,” Risch said.
”We’ll get to that here pretty quick.”

A victim of violence inspired by a controversial far-left nonprofit told Fox News Digital he knew the man who shot-up his workplace was motivated by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) before the suspect confessed.

The SPLC has recently come under Justice Department scrutiny for allegedly funneling millions to extremist organizations that they told donors they were fighting — including funding events like KKK cross burnings and the infamous Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.

Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council (FRC), a conservative nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that was labeled a “hate group” in 2010 by the SPLC for claims it was an anti-LGBT organization.

Just two years later, on Aug. 15, 2012, disaster struck.

Perkins was in a meeting when the building’s security system was triggered.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY’S JIM DALY REJECTS SPLC ‘HATE GROUP’ LABEL: ‘THIS ISN’T HATE, IT’S THE LOVE OF CHRIST’

“The doors closed on our floor, and I heard some commotion, and so I ran out to see what it was, and was told that there was a shooting downstairs,” he recalled of the horrific incident in an interview with Fox News Digital.

He ran down the stairs into the lobby, and saw the carnage.

“By the time I got down there, the police had arrived, and so we saw Leo Johnson, who was our building manager, who was in a pool of blood,” said Perkins.

HOSTILITY AGAINST CHURCHES A ‘GROWING TREND,’ AS STUDY FINDS HUNDREDS OF ATTACKS ON U.S. CHURCHES IN 2024

Johnson had been shot by Floyd Lee Corkins II, then 28, who pulled a gun out of his bag upon entering the building. He got past security by telling them he was interviewing for a position as an intern. Corkins was also found in possession of two fully loaded 15-round magazines, a box of .9mm ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.

The sandwiches were meant to be smeared on the faces of his victims, as Corkins also believed the Christian-owned restaurant chain was anti-gay.

“It was a shocking day for our staff, especially — there was glass and blood and bullet holes in our lobby,” said Perkins, who is also a pastor and former police officer.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE ON THE RISE. IS IT TIME FOR A NEW DOMESTIC TERRORISM LAW?

He said he never expected to see anything like that again after he finished his career in law enforcement.

Corkins was taken into federal custody immediately after the attack and charged with committing an act of terrorism while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition.

He is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the charges in 2013.

In an interrogation video later released by FRC, investigators asked how the group came to be his target.

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

“It was, uh — Southern Poverty Law lists, uh anti-gay groups,” Corkins said. “I found them online. I did a little bit of research, went to the website, stuff like that.”

The SPLC was recently indicted for allegedly funneling $4 million donor dollars into shell companies to fund extremist organizations they claimed they were fighting.

MIKE DAVIS: SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: A TALE OF A RACISM SCAM

Perkins said the SPLC once legitimately fought groups like the KKK, but that they saw their business “drying up” in the 1980s and 1990s. So, according to Perkins, the group had to find a way to keep its legacy of fighting white supremacy alive.

“I think they began to peddle that legacy to those on the left … in particular, beginning around 2010, 2012, when there was a big effort to redefine marriage,” Perkins said. “They wanted to leverage that to help the left by going after conservative groups that were standing in the way, but they needed to hold on to those white supremacist extremist groups, to pin the conservative and Christian groups next to.”

Perkins believes that there wasn’t much of a white supremacy problem, but that it was politically expedient for the SPLC to pretend that there was.

FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’S LEGAL WOES GROW AS JIM JORDAN FIRES LATEST SALVO AT LEFT-WING GROUP

“It was like they were fattening them up, keeping them alive so that they could use them for their bigger political purpose, and that was to be able to help the left advance their agenda by marginalizing and silencing conservative groups,” he said.

Perkins told Fox News Digital he does not want the federal government to shut the SPLC down, but he hopes they’ll be forced to pay restitution for the harm he says they’ve caused.

FRC has had to pay $8 million out of pocket just for heightened security since the day of the shooting.

“So yes, they’re sitting on $750 million. Part of what I hope the government, the federal government, the courts get to is making them pay restitution to their victims.”

The SPLC did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.