Steve King says he understands how Jesus Christ felt after months of criticism in the House

U.S. Rep. Steve King said that after facing months of criticism for comments in the New York Times about white supremacy and nationalism, he better understands the persecution Jesus Christ felt.

The 4th District representative made the comments in response to a question from the Rev. Pinky Person of the Faith In Christ Fellowship, who told King during a town hall Tuesday in Cherokee that she was concerned that "Christianity is really being persecuted."

“When I have to step down to the floor of the House of Representatives, and look up at those 400-and-some accusers — you know we just passed through Easter and Christ's passion — and I have better insight into what He went through for us, partly because of that experience," King told about 30 attendees the town hall at Western Iowa Tech Community College.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/04/23/steve-king-easter-jesus-christ-persecution-martyr-crucifixion-white-nationalism-supremacy-house-iowa/3556752002/

Washington (CNN)Iowa's longest-serving Republican state lawmaker is ditching the party in a protest of what he called President Donald Trump's "unacceptable behavior" and is joining the Democrats.

State Rep. Andy McKean, a moderate from eastern Iowa whose 29 years in the legislature include stints in the House and Senate, announced his party switch at a news conference Tuesday. He called Trump "a poor example for the nation and particularly for our children" and said he'll seek re-election in 2020 as a Democrat.

"With the 2020 president election looming on the horizon, I feel as a Republican that I need to be able to support the standard bearer of our party. Unfortunately, that is not something I am able to do," McKean said Tuesday of Trump.

"He sets, in my opinion, a poor example for the nation and particularly for our children by personally insulting -- often in a crude and juvenile fashion -- those who disagree with him, being a bully at a time when we are attempting to discourage bullying, his frequent disregard for the truth and his willingness to ridicule or marginalize people for their appearance, ethnicity or disability," he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/23/politics/andy-mckean-iowa-gop-lawmaker-change-party/index.html

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – Cesar Sayoc, the South Florida man accused of mailing pipe bombs to prominent critics of President Donald Trump, blames more than 40 years of steroid abuse for his actions.

Sayoc, 57, made the claim in lengthy and rambling letters to a federal judge that were posted in his court case file on Tuesday, according to CBS New York. His attorneys say a psychiatrist will address his substance abuse ahead of his sentencing hearing in August.

He faces the possibility of a life sentence on 65 criminal counts, including using weapons of mass destruction and illegal mailing of explosives with intent to kill.

Sayoc was arrested on October 26 in Plantation outside an auto parts store. He had been living in a van covered with stickers of President Donald Trump and showing images of some of the president’s opponents with crosshairs over their faces.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/04/24/florida-mail-bomb-suspect-cesar-sayoc-blames-steroid-abuse/

Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character. Clarence Day

ALBUQUERQUE — A right-wing militia group operating in southern New Mexico has begun stopping groups of migrant families and detaining them at gunpoint before handing them over to Border Patrol agents, raising tension over the tactics of armed vigilantes along the border between the United States and Mexico.
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Professed militias have long operated along the border with attempts to curb the flow of undocumented migrants into the United States. But targeting the recent influx of families, who are legally allowed to request asylum and often quickly surrender to Border Patrol agents, is raising tension with human rights activists in this part of the West.

The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the militia’s actions in a letter on Thursday that asked New Mexico’s governor and attorney general to investigate the group. The A.C.L.U. said the militia had no legal authority under New Mexico or federal law to detain or arrest migrants in the United States.
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In a statement, Hector Balderas, New Mexico’s attorney general, said: “These individuals should not attempt to exercise authority reserved for law enforcement.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/us/new-mexico-militia.html

ACLU Condemns ‘Vigilantes’ Who Are Allegedly Detaining Migrants On The Border

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on Thursday called for state authorities to investigate a small group of armed U.S. citizens who they alleged is illegally detaining migrants entering the United States.

The United Constitutional Patriots, who claim to be mainly military veterans, have been patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border near Sunland Park, New Mexico, since late February in search of illegal border crossers.

They post near-daily videos showing members dressed in camouflage and armed with semi-automatic rifles holding groups of migrants, many of them Central American families seeking asylum until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrive to arrest them.

The small volunteer group says it is helping Border Patrol deal with a surge in undocumented migrants but civil rights organizations like the ACLU say it is a “fascist militia organization” operating outside the law.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/united-constitutional-patriots-detain-migrants_n_5cb9664ee4b06605e3ed3778