Louisiana lawmakers are pushing legislation that would make it easier to deny low-level offenders their right to a jury trial.

This is part of an effort on the part of Republican state lawmakers to bolster their “tough on crime” credentials. House Bill 279 would change how the state handles trials for low-level offenses by redefining when a defendant can demand a jury trial involving six peers rather than a single judge decide their fate.

The measure is a component of Louisiana’s crime package that would roll back criminal justice reforms, treat more teenagers as adults, expand death penalty methods, and cut back on parole, according to The Associated Press.

This push is aimed at shifting power from ordinary Louisianans to prosecutors and judges — which would make it easier for the authorities to put people behind bars even for low-level offenses.

Under the current law, those facing misdemeanor charges are entitled to a jury if the law allows “a fine in excess of one thousand dollars or imprisonment for more than six months. The new legislative proposal would alter the language to say that a defendant would only be entitled to a jury trial if they face fines over $2,500 or six months incarceration.

This means more cases will fall under the purview of single judges rather than a jury of peers.

Republican state lawmakers argue that this bill, along with the others in the package, are important for prioritizing victims while keeping criminals off the streets. Yet, many on the other side of the issue point out that this will not actually deter crime and only result in mass incarceration. Indeed, Republicans have not provided a shred of proof showing that the criminal justice reforms enacted in 2017 caused spikes in violent crimes.

Here’s the thing: The Sixth Amendment guarantees citizens the right to a “speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury” in criminal prosecutions. The Supreme Court has interpreted that right to apply to the states through the 14th Amendment.

By more than doubling the fine threshold, these lawmakers seek to subvert the Constitution by denying their right to a jury trial. At the end of the day, the jury is supposed to be a bulwark between an overzealous government and the people it eagerly wants to throw into prison cells. It will push more low-income defendants into quick bench trials or guilty pleas. In other words, they want an outcome that strips power from the people and turns it over to the government.

A federal judge has forced a Justice Department attorney to pay a $500 daily fine after holding him in contempt of court.

The judge’s decision is related to the detention of an illegal immigrant named Rigoberto Soto Jimenez.

From Fox News:

A Justice Department attorney has been ordered to pay a $500 daily fine after a f…

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When most people think of activism, they imagine protests, rallies, or people shouting from podiums. But what if the most powerful form of activism happened one conversation at a time, over coffee or in someone’s living room?

That’s what drew me to Daryl Davis. The musician-turned-bridge-builder has spent decades doing something that sounds simple but turns out to be incredibly difficult: he listens to people others write off.

You might know Davis from the documentary Accidental Courtesy, where his life’s work became the subject of serious discussion. His story is unlike anything you’ve probably encountered.

Growing up as an American embassy kid, Davis traveled the world from age three, going to school in different countries and surrounded by people from every background imaginable. That early exposure to diversity shaped everything about how he approaches human relationships.

Then everything changed when he returned to the United States and discovered something that didn’t exist in his childhood experience: racial hatred.

Instead of becoming bitter or defensive, Davis asked a question that would define his life’s work: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?”

The answer to that question, and how Davis pursued it, is what makes his story so remarkable. His approach challenges everything we think we know about how to bridge divides in America.

In our conversation, we dig into his background, his philosophy, and the unconventional path that led him to become one of the most interesting voices on race relations in America. We also talk about his music career, his time abroad, and the beliefs that guide his work.

This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

When Jesus Christ stood atop the mountain, he was faced with a decision, one that would change the world.

Satan led Jesus to “an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” He offered him dominion over all these nations. All he had to do was bow down and acknowledge Satan’s supremacy.

Of course, Jesus wasn’t h…

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When Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on January 24, the Trump administration immediately launched into damage control mode.

But instead of being honest about what happened, top officials—from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to FBI Director Kash Patel to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller— did what every government …

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Humor me for a moment.

Imagine waking up to the sound of your front door being rammed in at six o’clock in the morning — armed agents in tactical gear pouring into your living room, rifles raised, shouting commands, kids screaming.

And when you ask for a warrant signed by a judge, they wave a piece of paper their own agency printed and tell you that’s goo…

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The Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking vessels reads like a government overreach textbook—complete with body counts, zero transparency, and the tired rhetorical fig leaf that always accompanies expanded executive power: national security.

On Monday, the U.S. military launched yet another “lethal kinetic strike”—the …

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The Supreme Court on Sunday rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift an injunction on his deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois.

The ruling comes amid a court battle between the White House and the State of Illinois over the use of the National Guard to reduce crime in cities like Chicago.

The court …

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Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation released a statement criticizing the Justice Department’s Friday release of documents related to the investigations into his activities.

The Justice Department released tens of thousands of documents after Congress voted to pass the Epstein Files Transpare…

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So, Marjorie Taylor Greene is resigning.

I'll admit, I wouldn't have seen this coming. But when I read her announcement, it made sense to me.

Here are some thoughts: Greene was an ardent MAGA figure. She was with Trump from the beginning.

Yet, when she didn't follow the agenda 100%, she was cast aside.

This shows us that, for many, loyalty to Trump is stil…

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Joseph Rivers was a 22-year-old from Romulus, Michigan, who boarded an Amtrak train in 2015 with about $16,000 in cash—his life savings—to start a new life in Los Angeles as a music video producer.

His dream was cut short when federal agents decided the government was more entitled to that cash than he was.

In Albuquerque…

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Every so often, a headline-grabbing case reminds us of the unique — and little understood — power wielded by American juries.

Yet, the case of Sean Dunn, the former Department of Justice paralegal who became an overnight viral sensation for hurling a sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol officer, provides a textbook example of jury nullification in mo…

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Most Americans learn about the Revolution as a fight against unfair taxes and British tyranny. But dig deeper into the Declaration of Independence, and one grievance leaps off the page: “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”

Thomas Jefferson wasn’t just talking about soldiers traipsing about in…

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When Thomas Jefferson finished writing the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers knew it meant war. As he and the other Founding Fathers sat huddled in the second-floor suite of the Graff House, they understood there was a high likelihood that each man had just signed their death warrants.

Yet, they felt the British government’s treatment of …

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Millions of protesters rallied at thousands of “No Kings” events across the United States and even abroad this past weekend to oppose President Donald Trump’s leadership and what organizers described as his authoritarian overreach.

The overall point of the protests was to speak out against the Trump administration’s attacks on democratic norms, civil lib…

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Claiming Attorney General Pam Bondi is a strong defender of the Second Amendment is like saying former President Joe Biden’s mental capacity is in tip-top shape. Sure, it sounds nice, but anyone paying attention can see that it’s just a heaping pile of bovine excrement.

Despite what some are saying, Bondi’s Department of Justice has been hard at work on …

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Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder recently released the first part of a production titled “Black Fatigue is Real and I Told Them Why,” in which he visited a Black barbershop in Indianapolis to have a conversation about race relations in America.

As you might have already guessed, the conversation centered on the right-wing bastardization of the term …

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Anyone who follows politics knew this was going to happen.

About five seconds after the news broke about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the usual suspects salivated at the thought of exploiting his demise to push their favorite conspiracy theories and make a few bucks.

And it didn’t take too long for them to jump on the opportunity.

Podcasters Candace …

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In our conversation, we broke down the very real possibility of such an event occurring—not in some sci-fi dystopia, but here and now, in the U.S., thanks to vulnerabilities in our power grid and political unwillingness to prepare for the worst.

We didn’t just explore the science behind EMPs—we also discussed their implications for national security, civil liberties, and everyday Americans. Dr. Forstchen highlighted how a high-altitude nuclear detonation could disable everything from your car to the water system to the supply chain in a matter of seconds.

We got into the devastating aftermath that would follow: starvation, disease, societal breakdown. But perhaps more troubling than the science is the political apathy around the issue, despite multiple warnings from experts and commissions.

This conversation wasn’t just doom and gloom—it was a wake-up call. Dr. Forstchen shared the steps that individuals, communities, and governments can take to prepare and potentially mitigate the impact of an EMP event. If you’re interested in how an EMP could reshape American society overnight, and what we can do to stop it, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

You know how I’m always lecturing you about how important it is to focus on local and state-level politics instead of hyperfixating on national politics? This is one of many reasons why.

Democrats and Republicans in multiple states have passed, or are considering, legislation that would force nonprofit organizations to…

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