Introduction:
Half of the cops are black, most of the residents are black, the mayor's black, the state's attorney is black, the police chief and city council president are black, (not to mention the Attorney General and the President of the United States at the time,) and yet the black rioters in 2015 claimed to be members of an oppressed minority.  So, when agitated by community organizers, the blacks smashed up and burned down their own city.  Brilliant!

Overviews:
(Scroll down for timely news, or click here.)

Black Violence:  The Terror That Dare Not Speak Its Name.  In Baltimore, soon after, a drug dealer named Freddie Grey died in police custody.  Yes, there were riots.  Yes, the black people of Baltimore burned and looted in an ecstatic frenzy for days.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake held a news conference where she bragged she was giving the rioters "space to destroy."  The next day, she denied saying it, even after being confronted saying it on video.  Over 100 police were injured in those riots.  Many after city officials "abandoned" them by refusing to send support when they were under attack from the black people.  This is all on video.  Easy to find.

The Freddie Gray Scorecard.  This week, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis dismissed all administrative charges against Alicia White, the last officer facing discipline in the Freddie Gray case.  Thus, all six officers who were accused of wrongdoing in connection with Gray's death will keep their jobs.  Of the other five, one was not charged administratively; two were cleared by an administrative review board; and two pleaded guilty at the administrative level, accepted discipline, and are back at work.  White was to face a hearing, but the commissioner said, through a spokesman, that proceeding with charges against her would not constitute good faith.  Thus, he dismissed the charges.  With book closed for the officers, we can tally up the results.  None was found guilty of criminal conduct.  In one case, a jury could not reach a jury verdict.  In two cases, the judge, an African-American, found the defendant not guilty.  Realizing it could not get a conviction, the city dropped charges against the other officers.  The Justice Department declined to bring federal charges against any of the officers.

Black Self-Sabotage.  In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore's 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state's mathematics exam.  In six other high schools, only one percent tested proficient in math.  In raw numbers, 3,804 Baltimore students took the state's math test, and 14 tested proficient.  Citywide, only 15 percent of Baltimore students passed the state's English test.  Last spring, graduation exercises were held at one Baltimore high school, 90 percent of whose students received the lowest possible math score.  Just one student came even close to being proficient.  Parents and family members applauded the conferring of diplomas.  Some of the students won achievement awards and college scholarships. [...] Baltimore's black students receive diplomas that attest that they can function at a 12th-grade level when in fact they may not be able to do so at a seventh- or eighth-grade level.  These students and their families have little reason to suspect that their diplomas are fraudulent.  Thus, if they cannot land a good job, cannot pass a civil service exam, get poor grades in college and flunk out of college, they will attribute their plight to racism.

The Clownish Commissars of the Culture.  The commissars have had to content themselves with ugly little victories in university towns and urban hellholes.  Just visit Baltimore if you want to see what the left's "fundamentally transformed America" looks like.  Its hoodlums and political class are barely distinguishable.  Both are drunk on decades of lying PC victimology, out of which has come a criminal sense of entitlement and a barbaric contempt for American tradition.  That Baltimore is ground zero for statue-smashing makes perfect sense.

When the Suspect Is an Armed Black Man — and the Cop Is Black.  [Scroll down]  In fact, just weeks before the death of Freddie Gray, a White House task force praised the Baltimore Police Department, as well as its black chief, for "implementing national best practices for policies and training" and "use of force" reforms.  In Baltimore, at the time of Gray's death, the No. 1 and No. 2 heads of the Police Department were black, and most of the command staff and rank-and-file officers are people of color.  The mayor of Baltimore is also black, as are the majority of city council and the state attorney who brought the charges.  Four of six officers were tried, and in each case the state failed to obtain convictions.  This led to the decision to drop charges against the remaining two officers, and plans for the retrial of one of the four.

The 131 Black Men Murdered by Black Lives Matter.  Black Lives Matter was called into being to protest what the racist hate group claimed was the killings of black men by police.  Activists with the extremist organization have accused law enforcement of genocide.  According to a study widely touted by activists, 300 black people were shot by police in 2015.  That same year 320 black people became homicide victims in Baltimore alone.  In 2014, 189 died.  And then Baltimore came under assault from Black Lives Matter over the Freddie Case leading to riots and the Ferguson Effect crippling law enforcement efforts.  The police became the villains.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake offered the racist rioters and looters space to destroy.  Along with the businesses and sense of security, here is what else was destroyed.  An additional 131 black men died in 2015 in Baltimore.  16 black women were murdered in both 2014 and 2015.  The huge increase came at the expense of black men.  The biggest bump in homicides, 49 to 99, happened among young black men aged 18 to 25.  This year's incomplete toll already stands at 68.

Baltimore Indicts the Welfare State.  In a speech on Monday [5/4/2015] at Lehman College in the Bronx, President Obama blasted the media for focusing on "looters and rioters" in the recent race riots in Baltimore and Ferguson before it, and said that they should instead be focusing on "those who are trying to solve the complex problems plaguing America's cities."  What are those problems?  Well, chief among them might be that hordes of black mobs regularly erupt in frenzies of thievery, arson, and violence in a pack-mentality response to perceived injustices and without knowledge or consideration of facts.  But that's just the symptom, the president suggests, of the "root causes of the tension in urban areas." [...] It can be expected that Baltimore having been under uninterrupted Democrat control since 1967 will not stop Barack Obama and the bleating sheep like Baltimore's current mayor (who suggests that the wealth just hasn't been spread around properly yet) from demanding that more and more government redistribution.

Yes, "black culture" is to blame for the riots in Baltimore.  It absolutely is black culture that's responsible for what's going on in Baltimore, that's plain to see for anyone who's willing to look at the situation objectively.  Why do you think there's so many young black men on the streets rioting?  It's mainly because young black men and women decided to have out of wedlock births, which is the fault of both the men and women in the black community.  The men usually leave and the moms have to work and rarely teach their kids any values or how to be decent, productive, and law-abiding members of society.  Furthermore, the young boys have no male influence to show them how to be good men and respect women and authority figures, and they also have a lot of anger built up subconsciously from being neglected, usually by both parents.  The rioting isn't about their economic situation or police brutality, at its core it's about the breakdown of the black family and the lack of parenting in the black community.

The dreadful truth of Moynihan's prophecy.  As family structure virtually disintegrated, Baltimore's core has become a center of poverty and violence.  Recent unchecked rioting in Baltimore has been followed by a crime spree with 32 people shot and nine killed just over the Memorial Day weekend.  In the month of May, there were nearly 120 shootings and 43 murders.  Sadly, Baltimore is just the latest face of urban violence in America.  Other urban areas like Detroit, New Orleans, Newark and Chicago suffer from the same pathology.

Baltimore Is Awesome!!  Baltimore has been taking it on the chin in terms of publicity, so let's run a public service announcement on the city's behalf.  Maybe this will inspire some tourism to help jump start the local economy:  [Video clip]

Baltimore is Lurching Toward Another Bizarre Mayoral Election.  We recently looked at the latest news out of Baltimore, Maryland, where Mayor Brandon Scott has been accused of certain campaign finance "improprieties" that are reminiscent of other Charm City officials who were caught with their hands in the cookie jar over the years.  Scott is facing reelection this year and the city's Democratic primary is coming up one month from today.  Since we're talking about Baltimore, the Democratic primary is essentially the same as the general election.  I found myself wondering if the recent news has led the voters to reconsider their choices and I was somewhat surprised to see this article from the Baltimore Sun revealing polling showing a very tight race.  Any hope I may have had about the voters shopping for a more enlightened, trustworthy leader quickly evaporated, however.  Brandon Scott is holding a slim polling lead of just three points, but the candidate nipping at his heels is none other than the disgraced former Mayor of Baltimore, Sheila Dixon.

Parts Of Baltimore Are [so bad], The City Is Offering To Sell Homes For As Low As A Dollar.  The city of Baltimore is selling 'city-owned' vacant homes for as low as 1$ apiece to 'revive struggling neighborhoods.'  The program was passed by Mayor Brandon Scott and will allow both individual buyers and community land trusts to buy the city-owned vacants for as low as $1.  Over 13,000 homes in the city are currently vacant due to high rates of violent crime.  The city now owns close to 1,000 of them.  [Video clip]

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says white men should be scared of him because his purpose in life is to put their way of life at risk.  Man, have you ever heard something so racist and ill-informed?  [Tweet with video clip]  Mayor Brandon Scott of Baltimore, everyone.  He thinks the ultra-white establishment is out to get him — he's just an oppressed black man talking to another oppressed black TV host on a national program with total freedom of speech to say any crazy thing that pops into his head.  This guy supports race-Marxism.  Very simple.  It has nothing to do with him being black.  He's a skin-color socialist.

Democrat Mayor of Baltimore accidentally concedes that 'DEI' is already completely discredited.  The left has lost a major battle for the hearts and minds of Americans.  Even as some corporations (and especially federal agencies) continue to proclaim their DEI policies as if they were a good thing, the public has returned a negative verdict.  We know this because a major Democrat elected official unintentionally conceded as much.  DEI, the three initials that either stand for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" or "Didn't Earn It," depending on the listener, is now a slur according to the mayor of Baltimore.

Baltimore City Implodes:  Police Force Collapses, Only Three Officers Patrolled Major District.  The radical leftists in control of Baltimore City Hall have plunged the metro area just north of Washington, DC, into apocalyptic levels.  We advise readers to entirely avoid the metro area as violent crime spirals out of control.  Failed social justice reforms, defunding the police, and widespread mistrust of the police have resulted in a skeleton police force that will no longer be able to protect residents in some regions of the city.  Fox Baltimore reported last Tuesday that only three police officers were on duty for the Southern Police District, which includes more than 61,000 residents.  Several radio transmissions of a police dispatcher pleaded for additional officers as 911 calls came pouring in.  At least ten calls went unanswered in a matter of minutes.

Baltimore Power Couple Will Get to Keep Their Donor List Secret.  We've apparently still not heard the last of former Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her now ex-husband, City Council President Nick Mosby.  Wherever the two of them go, some form of controversy and allegations of corruption seem to follow.  Back in 2021, when it appeared that the walls were closing in and the feds could be ready to file charges against them (which they later did), the Mosbys set up a legal defense fund.  That seemed a bit odd since they claimed to be as pure as the driven snow and completely innocent, but there's nothing wrong with having a legal defense fund.  After the legal dominos began to fall, the Baltimore Sun and other media outlets began inquiring about how much money had been raised for the fund and who had been donating to the couple who appeared to be very well off financially... somehow.  Those requests were shut down and the matter was eventually taken to court in the interest of transparency and the public's right to have access to the records of public officials.

Maryland Bravely Leads the Fight to Keep Porn in Public School Libraries.  As with many other parts of the country, several counties in Maryland have recently seen parents pushing back against inappropriate sexual content in school libraries and getting some books removed from the shelves.  The books primarily deal with either transgender ideology or more adult sexual content of any nature.  But the Democrats in the state legislature want to put an end to that.  They are currently working to jam through a new bill that is cleverly called the "Freedom to Read Act."  They claim to be working to ensure a consistent statewide standard for library content, but the underlying goal seems obvious.  They are unhappy with the success the parents have achieved and they want those books placed back on the shelves.  The main battlegrounds for this battle appear to be Carroll and Howard counties, both located in more rural areas to the North and West of Baltimore.

Challenging Election Irregularities in Maryland.  United Sovereign Americans, a nationwide group dedicated to fair and honest elections, has joined with Maryland Election Integrity, LLC, in filing a lawsuit in Maryland Federal Court against the Maryland State Board of Elections with Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher presiding. [...] The lawsuit states:  "Meticulous analysis of the official Maryland State Voter Registration Database reveals a minimum of 79,392 current apparent registration violations... The analysis revealed 1,699 instances of duplicate registrations, 25,084 instances of registrants with questionable inactive status, 3,366 instances of active registrations without a certified US Post Office mailing address, 5,680 instances of active registrants who moved at least 4 years ago, 605 instances of registrations with no residential address, 296 instances of active registrants with a nonstandard address, 1,218 instances of active registrants who are deceased, 883 instances of age discrepant registration (younger than 18 or older than 115), and 40,518 instances of questionable registration date."

Baltimore proposes selling abandoned homes for $1 each as officials grow concerned vacant properties are crime catalysts.  Baltimore is proposing selling abandoned homes for $1 each as officials grow concerned that the vacant properties are crime catalysts.  More than 13,500 homes in Baltimore remain vacant, with the city owning just under 900 of them.  The new proposal would allow sale of the homes to private buyers for just $1, to nonprofits for $1,000, and to developers for $3,000.  The offer is not without a catch, however.  Homebuyers would have to agree to spend $90,000 on renovations — and private buyers also would have to move into the properties within one year and live in them for five years.

Baltimore's Lawsuit Seeks to Bypass Federal Law.  Here's Why the Effort is Useless.  The city of Baltimore is pretty hostile toward guns.  Officials blame the gun industry for the city's violent crime problem, like a lot of other anti-gun officials do.  The problem for them is that they don't get access to all of the information they'd like.  They want to know where the gun came from in every instance.  Federal law, however, prohibits the release of that information, in part because people like the city "leaders" in Baltimore would try to hurt those businesses.  But Baltimore is suing to gain access to that information just the same.

Women in power abuse it.  NBC reported on February 27, 2020, "Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for a children's book scam that funneled money into her personal accounts and campaign coffers.  "Pugh, 69, will also have to serve three years of supervised release once she's out of prison, according to the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow.  "The disgraced former mayor was also ordered to pay $411,948 in restitution and to forfeit $669,688, including property in Baltimore and $17,800 from her Committee to Re-elect Catherine Pugh."  She took over as mayor from Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, whose biggest achievement (if you want to call it that) was to order police to stand down as rioters burned cars and looted stores, saying "we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well." [...] She was preceded by Sheila Dixon.  CNN reported on December 2, 2009, "A jury convicted Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon on Tuesday of embezzlement for improperly using gift cards intended for the needy, the chief investigator for the state prosecutor's office said.  "She was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary.  She could be removed from office because it is a theft-related crime, James I. Cabezas said.  "Dixon solicited several cards for her own use from two developers, including Patrick Turner, who testified this month that Dixon asked him to donate gift cards from retailers and have them delivered to her office. [...] But wait.  There's more.  AP reported two weeks ago, "A former top prosecutor for the city of Baltimore was convicted Tuesday on one count of mortgage fraud, concluding a lengthy criminal trial in which Marilyn Mosby testified she unwittingly made false statements on loan applications to buy two Florida vacation homes.

Guilty: Disgraced Ex-Baltimore District Attorney Marilyn Mosby Convicted of Mortgage Fraud.  Disgraced former Baltimore District Attorney Marilyn Mosby sobbed in court Tuesday as she was convicted of mortgage fraud — a verdict that could carry decades in prison.  The Democrat served in office from 2015 until she lost her 2022 reelection bid after being indicted on perjury and mortgage fraud charges related to the withdrawal of funds from the city's Deferred Compensation Plan.  Prosecutors believe that in May 2020, Mosby took advantage of the CARES Act — the first coronavirus relief bill — by seeking a $40,000 withdrawal from her city retirement account, reported the Baltimore Sun.  Though she blamed the withdrawal on financial setbacks supposedly suffered due to the pandemic, Mosby's salary had actually increased by $10,000 to a total of $248,000 that year, according to the local publication.

The Things Allowed to Happen in Baltimore Schools Are Hard to Believe.  It has been a few months since I wrote about Baltimore schools and I find that over the past week or so an amazing story has broken there.  A teenager who is a convicted rapist has been allowed to return to high school and parents were not told about it.  The student in this case is 15-years-old and just last month was convicted of having sex with a minor child last year, a member of his own family. [...] This student, who was given a slap on the wrist and sent back to Patterson High School, is constantly around younger students including freshmen girls, many of whom are still 14-years-old.  In fact, it's worse than that.  In digging into this case, WBFF discovered that the same student is facing similar charges in a second case involving another young child. [...] Again, this kid is walking around in high school and the parents of the other 1,300 kids haven't been told about it.  How is this possible?

A Group Of Black Youths Brutally Beat Down A White Man In The Streets Of Baltimore.  A video that has become far too common shows a group of black juveniles chasing a white man in the streets of Baltimore.  Once they catch up to him they swarm, beating him brutally, leaving him bleeding from the face and head on the sidewalk with his pants pulled down.  [Video clip]

Convicted Rapist Permitted to Attend High School in Baltimore.  Baltimore City Schools might have a bigger problem, hard as it is to believe, than high-schoolers who can't do math.  Maryland law permits rapists to attend school with their victims.  And now, a juvenile rapist has been sent back to the school his victim attends.  Parents never would have known if a terrified mother hadn't spilled the beans to the local Fox News affiliate.  [Tweet]

The Baltimore School System Is So Broken, The Hallways Look Like Prison Yards With Mass Brawls.  This is why liberals want to push everyone into these massive, dystopian areas.  To keep people poor, uneducated, and at each other's throats long enough not to pay attention to what those in power are doing to [...] the constituency.  [Video clip]

Will the Sierra Club Apologize If the Lights Go Out in Baltimore?  Frankly, there's little that would be scarier that comes to mind, Baltimore being what it is in broad daylight.  But a dark Baltimore not weather induced, but blacked out purely by a climate cult settlement?  Ho, boy.  That would raise some hackles.  Or at least you'd think it would.  There's a more insidious, creeping trend across the United States that's been under the radar for the most part, although California and Texas have been the canaries in the coal mine.  I touched on it a bit last January, when Duke Energy was crawling on its corporate belly apologizing for massive outages across their service area. [...] There are now all these regional power companies who handle the load shifts for multiple states, and bad decisions driven by the climate cult are beginning to be felt everywhere.\

4 Baltimore Cops Make Swiss Cheese Of Thug With A Gun.  Four Baltimore police officers fired 36 rounds the day they killed 27-year-old Hunter Jessup.  The Baltimore Police Department released on Friday the body-worn camera footage of the police shooting that killed Jessup.  The deadly shooting occurred in the 2600 block of Wilkens Avenue on Nov. 7.  WJZ was one of the news organizations that watched police body-worn camera footage recorded during the foot chase that took place before Jessup was killed.  [Video clip]

Ex-Baltimore prosecutor found guilty of perjury regarding retirement homes in Florida.  Former Baltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby was convicted Thursday of charges for lying about the finances of a business to improperly access retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.  She got access to the money and used it to purchase two Florida homes.  Mosby was convicted by a federal jury on two counts of perjury, according to NBC News.  Prosecutors argued that she didn't have the right to get those funds due to provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Pava Marie LaPere murder:  Baltimore police reveal name of suspect Jason Deans Billingsley.  The prime suspect in the brutal murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere may have struck days earlier in a knifepoint sex assault and arson attack that left two people fighting for their lives, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.  Police issued an arrest warrant for Jason Billingsley on Tuesday afternoon along with a stark warning to the public that the convicted sex offender, 32, has a history of rape and violence.  Billingsley faces charges of first-degree murder, assault and reckless endangerment in the killing of 26-year-old LaPere, a rising star in tech who made the prestigious Forbes '30 Under 30' list.

Tech CEO honored by Forbes was fatally attacked at a Baltimore apartment complex, police say.  The founder of a Baltimore tech startup, whose professional accomplishments earned her a spot on a Forbes 30 under 30 list earlier this year, was found dead after being reported missing late Monday morning, according to city police.  Pava LaPere, 26, had suffered from blunt force trauma, police said.  Officials released her name in a news release Tuesday morning.  Public records suggest LaPere was living at the apartment complex where her body was found.

13 Baltimore City High Schools Have Zero Students Proficient On State Math Exam.  Investigative journalist Chris Papst of Fox45 News' Project Baltimore has revealed yet another bombshell report on the massive grade scandal in Baltimore City Public Schools, which ranks as the country's fourth most funded school system:  "40% of Baltimore City high schools, where the state exam was given, did not have any students score proficient in math.  Not one student."  Papst's team obtained unredacted state test results for every school in Baltimore City through a source at the school system.  He said, "The results are hard to believe."

Baltimore squeegee kid convicted of manslaughter.  This case made news last summer.  A 48-year-old father named Timothy Reynolds was driving through Baltimore when he was surrounded by a group of squeegee kids while at a stoplight.  Something happened and after making it through the stoplight, Reynolds stopped his car, got out and walked back toward the teens carrying a baseball bat.  He took one swing at them but didn't hit anyone.  A 14-year-old named Tavon Scott pulled a gun out of a backpack and shot Reynolds five times, the last three shots in the back.  He died of his injuries.

Auto thefts surge in Baltimore, with nearly 1,000 in May.  Parise Haskins was on her way to a friend's house in the early morning of May 25 when she got a flat tire.  A nearby tire shop had already closed for the night, and she figured she could leave her car there until morning, when she could take it in.  It would only be a few hours, she thought.  But when she returned to Desoto Road in Southwest Baltimore, her Kia Optima was gone. [...] Haskins' car was one of 960 auto thefts reported to Baltimore Police in May, a Baltimore Banner analysis of crime data has found — triple the number of any month prior to 2023.  Auto thefts were already the worst they been in recent memory when April ended with 542 reported incidents.  Then, almost twice as many vehicles were stolen in May.  The trend began earlier this year when a social media challenge led to more thefts of Kias and Hyundais.

Baltimore experiencing "a new type of violence".  Violence on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland has been a problem for a very long time and we've covered it here extensively.  The annual murder count has been slowly but steadily rising for the past decade or more.  You literally have a better chance of living the day out on the streets of Kabul.  But there has been one notable shift in the violent crime statistics that is perhaps even more alarming.  Both the people being shot and the ones doing the shooting are growing increasingly younger on average.  This led Lee Sanderlin of the Baltimore Sun to declare that Charm City is experiencing "a new type of violence."

Baltimore: Have you noticed we have thousands of vacant homes?  This is one of the worst-kept secrets in the City of Baltimore, but it's receiving a bit more public attention this summer.  Charm City currently has an estimated 14,000 vacant homes.  And in a city with a population of barely half a million people, that's a lot of vacant housing.  The large number of vacancies causes a multitude of problems, not the least of which is the continued downward pressure on real estate values.  They also contribute to crime, particularly gang violence.  Now Mayor Brandon Scott is proposing a partnership between the city and community organizers and faith leaders to start cleaning up the problem.  But it's going to cost billions of dollars and it's not yet clear where that money will come from.

Two people are dead after gunfire erupted at holiday weekend party in south Baltimore.  An 18-year-old woman and 20-year-old man are dead after a mass shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early hours of Sunday morning.  Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene.  Three of the victims wounded are in critical condition.  All of the victims were adults.  The deceased female victim was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was declared dead at a local hospital a short time later.

Fells Point Baltimore Every Weekend Turns Into A Full On Ghetto Brawlfest.  Fights continue to erupt in Fells Point, despite a recently beefed up police presence.  For those who live and work in Fells Point, their Monday morning was spent clearing glass off sidewalks and replacing broken windows after a rowdy weekend.  [Video clip]

17 Year Old Suspect Takes Off Running From Cops, Pulls Stolen Gun From Wasteband And Gets Shot.  Baltimore Police released on Tuesday the body-worn video from when an officer shot a 17-year-old boy last week in the Shipley Hill neighborhood.  Police said an armed 17-year-old boy, identified by his family as Mekhi Franklin, was shot near an alleyway on Catherine Street while running from officers in Baltimore's Shipley Hill neighborhood around 1:30 p.m. on May 11.  The video appears to show the 17-year-old boy pulling something out of his waistband and dropping it on the sidewalk after he was shot by Elleby during the foot chase after refusing the officer's commands.  [Video clip]

The Mayor Of Baltimore Calls For A Curfew After [Riots] This Weekend.  Chaos erupted on Sunday evening [4/9/2023] in Baltimore City's Inner Harbor district as the sound of gunshots pierced the air, causing a mass exodus of spring break revelers through the streets.  The mayhem, captured on video, depicts a harrowing and apocalyptic scene.  Following the violent incident, Mayor Brandon Scott has suggested a citywide curfew for minors during the upcoming summer months.  According to Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, more than 200 "young people" were observed fleeing after the gunfire erupted, which reportedly occurred a mere 50 feet away from police officers.  [Video clip]

Massive Fight At Inner Harbor, Baltimore Just Before Shooting Leaves 2 Shot.  Two minors were shot while police officers were breaking up a large fight Sunday night near the Inner Harbor, according to police.  Police said a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were shot shortly after 9 p.m. in the 400 block of East Pratt Street near Shake Shack.  One was shot in the leg and the other in the back.  They are stable, police said.  At one point, police said more than 200 minors were gathering near the Inner Harbor when a fight broke out.  [Video clip]

One On One Dispute Turns Into Everyone On One.  This is why you never even bother taking a swing at a black dude whose with his posse.  You will get swarmed, tenderized, and marinated.  [Video clip]

Run and hide: Baltimore City Schools CEO dodges questions on recent state test scores.  The short version is that Baltimore City Public Schools are some of the best funded in the country but the results of all that spending are dismal.  Local Fox affiliate WBFF Fox 45 revealed earlier this month that state test scores found 23 Baltimore City Schools had not one student capable of doing math at grade level.  Another 20 schools only had one or two students in the entire school who were doing math at grade level.  Efforts to speak to Baltimore City officials and state representatives about the test scores have mostly been in vain.  But reporter Chris Papst hasn't given up.  He went to an event where Baltimore City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises was speaking.  But as soon as her speech ended Santelises darted out the back.

Driver Fleeing Police In Baltimore Crashes Into Car, Hits Pedstrian, Then Crashes Into House, Collapsing It.  A car fleeing police collided with another car, struck a pedestrian and a building that collapsed onto the cars, video shows.  The Maryland Attorney General's Office's Independent Investigations Division on Thursday released video from police body-worn and CitiWatch cameras that show what led to the Feb. 8 crash in east Baltimore.  [Video clip]

Baltimore's failing schools should be the biggest scandal in the country.  A local Fox affiliate analyzed state test scores and found 23 schools where not a single student was considered proficient in math.  Those schools were the worst but none of the schools performed well with just 7% of 3-8th graders doing math at a level appropriate for their age.  This is a scandal of massive proportions.  Baltimore City is spending more than $300 million a year on schools that are absolutely failing students and parents.  And that's just the 20% of the total $1.6 billion being spent on these failing schools.  It's not like these results come as a complete shock to anyone.  Last year an Inspector General's report found that they city had more than 900 "ghost students" on the rolls at a cost of about $10 million.  These are students who were enrolled in classes (by someone) but who never attended a single class.

Baltimore: not one student at these 23 schools can do math at grade level.  That's the situation in Baltimore, where the city brags that they have some of the highest teacher salaries in the country. [...] Baltimore schools as a whole did better than those 23 worst-performing schools:  a whopping 7% of students in grades 3-8 were proficient at math.  So not everything is terrible.  Just 93% of everything is terrible.  We often hear about low teacher salaries and insufficient education spending, but whenever people ask about how students are doing the topic changes to something else.  That's because school districts no longer exist to educate students; they are money laundering operations to distribute jobs to mainly Democrat voters and political machines to funnel dollars into Democrat campaign coffers.  That may sound harsh, but all you have to do is look at the results.  Students are getting shafted, and the only thing we hear about is funneling more money into a system that is failing miserably.

For Out of Control Violence in 62% Black Baltimore, Black Mayor Blames Popeyes.  Courtesy of virtually every homicide and nonfatal shooting in Baltimore having a black suspect, the city just surpassed 300 homicides for the eighth consecutive year!  The city is 62% black and 27% white.  And the black mayor Baltimore just blamed a fast food restaurant for the violence.  Yes, the black mayor has called out Popeyes.

Baltimore's plan for "squeegee kids" fails almost immediately.  As we've covered here extensively in the past, the City of Baltimore has been plagued for years by an army of so-called "squeegee kids" (many of whom are not "kids" at all) who extort money from commuters at intersections in the city's downtown area.  Those who refuse to pay the extortionists are frequently subjected to vandalism, violence, or worse. [...] The plan was finally put into effect this week.  Multiple downtown intersections were decorated with "No Squeegee Zone" signs and the police were stationed in the area to monitor the results.  The results were precisely what many critics had predicted.  Most of the "squeegee kids" ignored the signs and kept doing what they'd been doing all along.

"Baltimore City Becomes Graveyard" Amid Dangerous Murder Wave.  It has been two years since Baltimore welcomed Mayor Brandon Scott with an ambitious new crime-fighting plan.  So far, progress has been horrible.  As of Thursday, homicides in the Democrat-controlled city have hit 322, not too far from record highs after a murderous summer.  Baltimore City's 2022 cumulative homicide trend is on par with the deadly years before Scott entered office. [...] With a population of around 600,000, the metro area is one of the most dangerous places in the country on a per capita basis.  The murder rate stands at about 58.27 per 100,000.

Homie Gives You The Rundown On All The Places In Baltimore Not to Go If You Want To Stay In One Piece.  Actually, it's best to stay out of all of Baltimore but if you need to stop by, this is the type of tour guide we all need.  [Video clip — hilarious!]

Baltimore Activist Who Came Up With 'No Shoot Zones' Is Shot And Killed By Police After Going After Them With A Knife.  A Baltimore police officer shot and killed a man who was wielding a knife in West Baltimore on Sunday, according to Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Michael Harrison.  That man, Tyree Moorehead, was the creator of the city's "no shoot zones."  As an activist, he spray-painted that message across the face of Baltimore — from block to block and from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Details of Baltimore "squeegee kids" plan are widely panned.  The ongoing plague of the "squeegee workers" or "squeegee kids" in Baltimore has been dragging on for years with almost no constructive action being taken by the municipal government.  (I will include your usual reminder that these little extortionists are neither "workers" nor "kids" in many cases.)  Mayor Brandon Scott has been telling everyone since last year that he and his team have been working on a "squeegee collaborative" plan to address the issue and this week some of the first details of the plan leaked out to the press.  The limited specifics we've seen thus far do little to inspire anyone's confidence, to say the least.  Rather than dealing with the obvious and ongoing crime wave being perpetrated by these "workers," Scott's plan appears to be more of a social rehabilitation program while blaming the drivers for these problems as much as the moochers who are perpetrating the actual misdeeds.

Baltimore Public School Student Ranked Near Top Half of His Class ... Now Look at His GPA.  A frightening report out of the city of Baltimore's schools finds that in one high school so many students are failing that one of its top students has only passed three classes in four years of attending school.  The mother of a student at west Baltimore's Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts recently told Baltimore's WBFF that her son will not be graduating this year despite attending the school for four years.  And she wants to know why this has happened.  A major problem students face is the rising crime in Baltimore.  Like the rising crime in so many other Democrat-controlled cities, Baltimore's crime rate continues to spin out of control.  In 2019, for instance, Baltimore suffered its highest murder rate since 1993.

26 Baltimore Residents Received Their 2020 Ballots in the Mail Three Weeks Ago.  According to Just The News, some voters in Baltimore received their mail-in ballots earlier this month.  The bad news is that those ballots were for the 2020 election.  On Aug. 5, 2022, a tray of undelivered ballots was discovered.  To the post office's credit, they were delivered to the homes in Southeast Baltimore on Aug. 6.  Better late than... never?  It's easy to write this one off.  After all, we're only talking about 26 votes in a traditionally blue state that Biden won with 1,985,023 votes to Trump's 976,414.  The results were probably a foregone conclusion.  But during my years as a reporter, I covered a city council election in which the incumbent won by a single vote.  And while 26 ballots were not enough to swing things one way or the other for the Oval Office, it would be interesting to see if they would have affected any down-ballot candidate races or propositions.

Baltimore Progressive Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby Defeated in Reelection Bid.  Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's high-profile progressive prosecutor who was indicted on federal charges, has been defeated in her bid for reelection as the city's state's attorney in the Democratic Party primary.  Ivan Bates, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, won with 30,486 votes or about 40 percent; Thiru Vignarajah, 31 percent; and Mosby, 29 percent, according to results released by the Maryland State Board of Elections.  Bates criticized Mosby, a two-term incumbent, on the campaign trail over what he called the mismanagement and incompetence of her office.

A New Urban Threat?  Squeegee Kids Becoming More Violent in Major Cities.  A father of three was shot and killed after an altercation involving several "squeegee kids" in downtown Baltimore.  Timothy Reynolds, a 48-year-old mechanical engineer, was shot to death after confronting a group of teens and young men with a baseball bat.  The circumstances of the crime are unclear.  What motivated Reynolds to get out of his car and approach the young men with a baseball bat is unknown.  But the squeegee kids have been known to get violent when drivers refuse their services or don't pay.

Man gunned down after confronting Baltimore squeegee workers, cops say.  A motorist who confronted squeegee workers with a baseball bat in downtown Baltimore was gunned down in a heated confrontation, police said.  Timothy Reynolds, 48, was pronounced dead at a hospital Thursday following a late afternoon encounter with a group of youngsters cleaning car windshields for cash at Light and Conway streets near the city's Inner Harbor, Baltimore police said.  No arrests have been made as of early Friday in the open and active investigation, a police spokeswoman told The [New York] Post.  Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told reporters Reynolds drove through the intersection and parked before hopping out of his car with a baseball bat, the Baltimore Sun reported.

The Editor says...
The term squeegee workers is highly misleading.  These "workers" are homeless bums and "troubled inner-city youths" who pretend to clean the windshields of cars that are stopped at traffic signals, often after the "workers" press the pedestrian crossing button to make the red lights last longer.  They are performing a task that nobody asked them to do, and then demanding cash payment.  Apparently it is a shakedown because there is an implication that the cars will be damaged if payment is not forthcoming.

Baltimore Changes Grades of 12,000 Failing Students to Graduate Them.  A new report has shown that the city of Baltimore, Md. changed the grades of 12,000 failing students in order to graduate them despite the students not meeting the requirements to move forward.  The Maryland Inspector General for Education Richard Henry found that a "culture of fear and a veil of secrecy" prevented Baltimore school officials from "speaking freely about misconduct" in his report released on June 8. Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) had previously denied any "widespread, systemic abuse or improper activity" when the grade inflation was exposed by local news.  However, Henry's report found that mass grade changes occurred by BCPS between 2016-2020. This is only for high school, as BCPS' data of grade 2-8 students is kept hidden.

Five major cities are on track to surpass their 2021 homicide totals.  Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Milwaukee are on track to surpass their already-soaring homicide rates from last year.  Last year, the FBI warned that homicides in the US rose nearly 30 percent from 2020 and overall violent crime rose for the first time in four years.  The stunning trend in homicides has continued this year.  In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the homicide rate leaped 24.7 percent from the year-to-date compared to the same period last year.

Baltimore Working to Become an Abortion 'Sanctuary' Following SCOTUS Leak.  The Baltimore City Council unanimously approved a resolution this week to make the city a "sanctuary" for women seeking an abortion.  Local outlet WBFF noted that the resolution will establish a fund to support organizations that provide abortions.  It was not specified how large the fund would end up being.  City Council member Zeke Cohen told WBFF that the resolution came as a response to a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court showing the Justices overturning Roe v. Wade.  Cohen said the minds of the Justices are "misguided."

Baltimore has been expunging the criminal records of felons and people are dying.  For some time now we have covered the disappointing and dangerous trends in the courts of Baltimore, Maryland that make it harder to convict criminals of anything.  This has resulted in the same "revolving doors" in the jails and courthouses that we see today in so many large cities.  But in Charm City, they've taken this trend another large step further.  In addition to making it harder to lock anyone up, for the smaller number of people who do manage to be apprehended and prosecuted, they've been erasing the criminal records of many of them.  This makes it impossible for the public to research potential problems and removes information that prosecutors may need when the individual is arrested again and they have to determine the charges to be filed.  In an editorial at the Baltimore Sun this week, former Deputy State's Prosecutor Page Croyder describes the damage that these changes have wreaked on the legal system and the impacts they have had on the citizens.

IG report:  Baltimore city schools had more than 900 ghost students costing taxpayers $10 million.  Last year WBFF in Baltimore uncovered the existence of "ghost students" at a high school in the city where the average GPA for seniors was 0.13.  These were students who were enrolled in school on paper but who rarely or never attended classes.  Last April the Maryland Public Policy Institute sent a formal request to the Maryland Inspector General for Education asking that the issue of ghost students be investigated.  And finally, last September Baltimore City Schools released their own report which identified about 100 ghost students who were attending ghost classes.

Baltimore doubles down on failed "violence intervention program".  A couple of years ago, during the height of the "defund the police" movement, Baltimore stepped up municipal support for a program known as the Safe Streets anti-violence initiative.  (It had been around in various forms since 2007.)  While trimming back the police presence in the city, the program chose to send out "violence intervention" workers to try to convince gang members to stop shooting each other, along with random members of the community.  The results have been less than spectacular to put it charitably.  The murder rate in Baltimore remains worse than that seen in Kabul on its worst days.  The city recently conducted an internal review of the Safe Streets program and the results were published this week.  They found the program to be lacking in oversight with the workers not having sufficient training to undertake this dangerous type of intervention.

Deep-blue Baltimore has some disgusting water problems.  Deep blue Flint, Michigan is famous for the filthy water that comes from its taps.  But is Flint is hardly the only water-challenged city in the one-party blue paradises across the U.S.  There's also Baltimore, which is all about bad water, bad wastewater, bad service, bad billing, bad pipes, and bad pollution.  Its problems probably dwarf Flint's. [...] Baltimore has been governed by Democrats since World War II (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, née D'Alesandro, comes from Baltimore's entrenched Democrat political royalty, and has brought that Baltimore Way national, to judge by how she runs Congress).  It hasn't seen political competition since maybe the 1950s.  The Democrat party is completely entrenched there.  It's famous for its crime and bad schools, but it should also be famous for its Flint-like water record, because that has everything to do with the place being a one-party blue city.

Fed Up, These Parents Sue Baltimore Public Schools.  As in so many other places around the country, the public education system in Baltimore is failing the city's children.  Public schools have been failing American students for decades, but the issue is pronounced in Maryland's biggest city.  Stories abound of Baltimore's momentous failures to teach its kids.  One report details how a student graduated from high school without the ability to read; another reveals that 41% of the city's high school students have a GPA under 1.0.  To Jovani Patterson and his wife Shawnda, both city residents, that's unacceptable.  The couple announced Jan. 27 that they are suing the city and Baltimore City Public Schools over what they view as an abject failure to educate children — as well as a massive waste of taxpayer funds.

Maryland Legislature Kills Bill to Collect Home-Schoolers Information.  After pressure from Maryland parents, Democrat Delegate Sheila Ruth (Baltimore) has announced that she will not longer push the bill she initially sponsored to collect information on households homeschooling their children.

How one student graduated from a Baltimore high school without ever learning to read.  This story comes from Fox 45 in Baltimore, the same station that has been covering problems at the city's schools for months.  Monday reporter Chris Papst filed his latest story about a woman named Debora Prestileo who graduated from Baltimore City schools back in 1999.  But even today, more than 20 years later, Debora has never really learned to read.

The Editor says...
Fake News Alert:  The non-white population of the Baltimore school system is about 72 percent.  The article above focuses on a white woman.  If the colors were reversed, the article would be widely renounced as an example of "cherry-picking."

Baltimore State Attorney who faces perjury charges over COVID hardship claim tries to have case thrown out.  A Baltimore State Attorney facing a $1million perjury lawsuit for fudging financial numbers while taking out a loan for a pair of holiday home purchases in Florida has tried to get the case thrown out, claiming she's being targeted due to the fact that she's black and progressive.  In their most recent filing in the federal case, attorneys for Marilyn Mosby, 42 — who is charged with two counts of perjury and two counts of submitting false statements on loan applications to make the purchases, which amounted to $1.02million — accused federal prosecutors of having a personal vendetta against their client, claiming one of the legal eagles even spread rumors she cheated on her husband. 'Since its inception, the prosecution against State's Attorney Mosby has been driven by malicious personal, political, and even racial animus on the part of the prosecutors,' Mosby's attorneys wrote in motion to toss the case filed Friday.

Families of gun violence victims in Baltimore blast Democrat leaders for failing to take action.  It's a loss that no mother should have to endure — but Rosheda Murray has suffered it several times over.  Rosheda's 18-year-old son Rodrick Burden was gunned down in a Baltimore street in March 2012 as he headed to the store to buy medication for a toothache.  Almost a decade later the bullet-riddled body of his twin brother Romar Burden, 26, was found stripped of belongings and dumped in a gutter.  To this day their killers have never been caught.  So when mother-of-five Rosheda hears Fox News host Tucker Carlson comparing her home city to violence-plagued Haiti, she wipes her tears away and nods in agreement.

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's top prosecutor, pleads not guilty to perjury charges.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby pleaded not guilty Friday to charges she falsely claimed a coronavirus-related financial hardship in order to withdraw thousands of dollars from her city retirement fund in relation to vacation home purchases in Florida.  Earlier last month a grand jury indicted her on two counts of perjury and making false statements on a loan application to purchase the vacation homes.  She also allegedly failed to disclose past unpaid federal taxes on the mortgage applications, the indictment said.  She pleaded not guilty to all four counts, FOX 45 of Baltimore reported.  Mosby, 42, has refused to resign and has claimed the charges are politically motivated.

77% Of Students At One Baltimore High School Read At Elementary, Kindergarten Level.  More than three quarters of students at one Baltimore high school are reading at an elementary level, with many reading at a kindergarten level.  Fox Baltimore reported that a teacher at Patterson High School, one of the largest high schools in the city, came forward with information showing 77% of students at the schools were found to have an elementary school reading level.  Patterson has a 61% graduation rate and a $12 million budget.  The teacher has not been identified to protect them from retaliation.  "iReady assessments are given in Baltimore City Schools to help determine at which grade level a student is performing in math and reading.  The scores are not made public.  If the media requests them, the district will redact most of the results.  But Project Baltimore obtained the results for all of the students tested at Patterson High School," the outlet reported.

Another violence interrupter killed in Baltimore as community reels from gun violence.  A man who worked on the front lines of preventing gun violence in Baltimore, Maryland, was shot and killed on Wednesday night in a quadruple shooting on E. Monument Street, in the McElderry Park neighborhood.  Baltimore native DaShawn McGrier, 29, worked as a violence interrupter for Safe Streets and is the third member of the organization to be shot and killed in the last year.

"Safe streets worker" (replacing police) gunned down in Baltimore.  During the course of the madness that promoted "defunding" or abolishing the police, there was an emphasis placed on replacing police in some circumstances with "community safety" workers who would supposedly act as unarmed "violence interrupters" and reduce the number of lethal use of force incidents by police officers.  In Baltimore, Maryland's violent gang territories, an existing organization known as the "Safe Streets Program" gained a lot of attention and municipal support in this effort.  The goal of the program is to deploy former gang members into areas controlled by the gangs to negotiate nonviolent resolutions to conflicts.  Unfortunately, as we've seen with other proposed "violence interruption" programs in major cities, sending someone with a clipboard out to resolve a beef between gang members isn't always effective.

Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby federally indicted on perjury, false mortgage application charges.  Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of perjury related to a COVID-19 financial hardship withdrawal and a false statement on a loan application.  A federal grand jury returned the indictment Thursday charging Mosby on federal charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications, relating to the 2020 purchases of two vacation homes in Florida.  A federal grand jury returned the indictment Thursday charging Mosby on federal charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications, relating to the purchases of two vacation homes in Florida.  According to the four-count indictment, on May 26, 2020, and Dec. 29, 2020, Mosby submitted "457(b) Coronavirus-Related Distribution Requests" for one-time withdrawals of $40,000 and $50,000, respectively, from the city of Baltimore's Deferred Compensation Plans.

Failure factory:  Majority of freshmen at Baltimore high school read at an elementary school level.  This story is already more than 2 weeks old since I missed it when it was published prior to Christmas, but I think it still deserves attention.  Last year you may recall there was a local news story about a high school in Baltimore where a student with a 0.13 GPA turned out to be roughly in the middle of his class.  In other words, nearly half the students in his grade had a GPA that was lower than 0.13.  How was that possible?  The local reporter followed up that initial story with a whole series of reports which suggested the answer to that question was organized fraud by teachers and administrators.  In fact, the school was enrolling so-called "ghost students" in classes that they never attended, apparently as a way to claim more resources from the state.  The reporter kept digging and kept making more shocking discoveries.  For instance, it wasn't just the one bad high school where students were outright failing.  After gaining access to documents that showed the GPA of every high school student in Baltimore, he found that 41% of them had a GPA below 1.0.

Woke Baltimore mayor's 'violence reduction strategies' backfire.  Baltimore's woke mayor's calls to defund the police have come back to haunt him after the city's notoriously high murder rate climbed again in 2021.  Charm City saw 337 homicides last year, up from 334 in 2020, and well above the 290 that the city's Mayor Brandon Scott had hoped his new 'violence reduction' strategies would bring the homicide rate down to in 2021.  'We can't accept that this life loss is normal,' Scott, who last year led efforts to cut police funding by $22 million as a city councilman before pleading over the spring for $27 million more for the police department, told the Baltimore Sun Times.

Baltimore officer dies days after being shot in patrol car.  A Baltimore police officer has died after being removed from life support one week after she was shot while sitting in her patrol car.  The Baltimore Police Department said Thursday that Officer Keona Holley's health had been deteriorating in recent days and the family made the difficult decision to end life support.  She died shortly thereafter.

Large majority of Black Maryland residents support "refund the police" program.  Last week, the city of Baltimore, Maryland once again passed the grim milestone of seeing more than 300 murders in 2021 and there's still more than a month to go.  This is the seventh straight year that Charm City has broken that barrier.  Crime rates of most types are also up around other parts of the state.  In response, Governor Larry Hogan once again proposed legislation to combat the ongoing problem.  His "refund the police" initiative would invest $150 million into state and local police departments to hire more officers and upgrade equipment.  In typical fashion, the state's Democratic leadership panned the proposal, but a new internal poll indicates that the public in Maryland is on Hogan's side by a wide margin.  And that included both the Black and Hispanic communities in Baltimore.

Bloodshed Continues In Baltimore As Governor, Prosecutor Fight Over How To End Violence.  A war of words between Governor Larry Hogan and City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby over violent crime has heated up as people keep getting shot and killed in Baltimore every day.  [Tweet]  Since they both criticized each other at separate news conferences Tuesday, there have been at least two homicides and one non-fatal shooting as well as a stabbing in Northwest Baltimore.

How Free Stuff Is Used To Addict The Urban Poor To Welfare.  Lifeline is a federal program originally intended to provide low-income people with a free landline phone.  Sensing a chance to get more poor people to vote for them, Democrats expanded the program to include free cell phones.  To maximize the number of subsidized cell phone recipients, "free phone" vans patrol low-income areas of every Democrat-run city in America, a practice that has resulted in massive fraud.  The "free phones" van pictured [left] set up shop on a street in a predominately African American area of Baltimore.  As revealed in this must-see report by the city's Fox45 TV, within just three years of Barack Obama's election, fraud exploded the number of subsidized phones in Baltimore from 6,000 in 2008 to 231,000 in 2011.  Baltimore isn't the only place where Democrats have used free phones to addict the urban poor to government dependency.  In a viral video that illustrates how readily poor people will vote for politicians who promise them free stuff, a welfare recipient in Cleveland, Ohio screamed at a TV reporter that minorities would be voting for Obama because he gives them free phones.

Democrats Call Gov. Larry Hogan's Plan To 'Refund' Police 'Divisive Rhetoric' Amid Baltimore Crime Spike.  Democrats criticized Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's plan for "refunding police" Friday, calling it "misguided" and "divisive rhetoric."  Hogan announced a $150 million plan to provide additional support to Maryland's law enforcement agencies and victims of violent crime across the state at a press conference Friday.  The initiative directs tens of millions of dollars to local police aid, neighborhood safety grants, body camera and other accountability measures for officers and other programs.  "Our $150 million refund the police initiative will provide a desperately needed shot in the arm to our state and local police agencies.  But there is far more work to be done," Hogan said from a news conference in Annapolis.  "Trying to reduce crime by defunding police is dangerous, radical, far-left lunacy.  Thinking that you can improve law enforcement by defunding the police is like saying you want to improve education by defunding the schools."

Report on Baltimore high school reveals ghost students were attending ghost classes.  After two years, Baltimore City Schools has finally released a summary of its investigation into Augusta Fells Savage high school.  What they found confirmed much of what local news channel Fox45 has been reporting all year: [...] The report also found that, in an effort to help students recover credits they needed, students were being allowed to complete "work packets" which are not supposed to count for credit recovery classes.  Also, the classes themselves were listed as being taught by authorized teachers but were in fact being "taught" by people without credentials.  This investigation took Baltimore City Schools two years to complete.  Frankly, I don't see why it would take this long.  I wonder if the city would have done anything if Fox45 hadn't discovered that a student who had a 0.13 GPA in his senior year was near the top half of his class at Augusta Fells.  That story broke in March of this year, 18 months after the investigation began.

After Making This Man Wait Over 30 Minutes And Messing Up His Order, This Chipotle Manager Chucks A Pair Of Scissors At Him.  A dispute over a delayed order at a Baltimore Chipotle led to a manager throwing a pair of scissors at a customer.  Anthony Evans, 56, placed an order for pickup Aug. 10 and when he arrived had to wait an additional 30 minutes for it, WBFF reported.  He asked a female employee about they delay twice before she started yelling at him.  "You messed up my order, you messed up my order, and then I come and I complain and you just get ignorant and start clapping your hands," Evans said in a video he took of the incident.  "This is going right on Facebook."  The woman says in the video that her name is Nicole.  Other employees said in the video that she is the store manager.  [Video clip]

It's Not Easy Being Anti-Death Penalty:  Baltimore Woman Found With Decomposing Bodies Of Two Children In Trunk.  Last Friday [7/30/2021], police in Baltimore conducted a routine traffic stop of Nicole Johnson and found the 33-year old was driving with a suspended license and other minor infractions, but police also made another gruesome discovery.  Johnson had the decomposing bodies of her niece and nephew in the trunk of her car.  Both children had been severely malnourished, with 7-year-old Joshlyn and 5-year-old Larry weighing only twenty and eighteen pounds respectively.  Johnson later admitted that Joshlyn had died over a year ago after Johnson had struck the girl multiple times, causing her to fall and hit her head, at which time Johnson put her niece's body in her trunk.  Then two months ago, the emaciated Larry went to sleep and never woke up, according to Johnson, who then put his corpse in the trunk as well.  These two children didn't just die too young at the hands of some cold-blooded murderer, indiscriminately ending their lives with some quick method.  The short lives of innocent Larry and Joshlyn must have been utterly horrific.

Woman Breaking Up With Boyfriend Tries To Kill Him Three Times With Her Car In Baltimore.  A jilted lover in Baltimore made her man get out of her car and remove his belongings from the trunk.  As the man starts pulling clothing out, the woman puts it in reverse and tries to run him over.  As he dodges the car, she puts it in drive and tries to run him over with the front end, crashing into the building.  [Video clip]

Baltimore's attorney attempts, and fails, to get FCC to silence and censor local Fox radio station.  Blacklists are back and the Democrats got 'em!  On May 5, 2021 the office of Baltimore's state attorney, Democrat Marilyn Mosby, filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against a local Fox news station, demanding that the FCC censor and shut down the station because it has repeatedly published stories that were critical of Mosby and her policies. [...] The blatent oppressive nature of this demand — in utter violation of the first amendment of the Constitution and all that America has stood for during its first two hundred plus years — should be somewhat shocking, but sadly it has become so common from Democratic Party politicians and many of their supporters in the past five years that it hardly made the news when it happened in early May.  Think about it however.  The office of an elected state's attorney for Baltimore wishes to use the power of government to silence a specific news outlet because that attorney does not like the outlet's news reporting.  Only dictators like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini would celebrate such actions.  And Americans once in mass would have been horrified, and risen up to get Mosby removed from office immediately.  No more.  Her office's actions barely made the news, which is why I post this story again.

At least 41% of Baltimore high school students earn below-D GPA.  Forty-one percent of Baltimore public high school students made below a D grade point average during the first three quarters of the 2020-2021 school year, according to an analysis of the district's data.  Baltimore City Schools assembled a chart showing the GPA for every high school grade in the city.  The data was reported by Project Baltimore, an investigative reporting series FOX affiliate WBFF operates.  "Consistent with the experience of many school districts across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruptions to student learning," Baltimore City Schools said in a statement.  "As early as the summer of 2020, City Schools identified large numbers of students with decreases in their grade point averages and classroom performance when compared to past performances."

Police Cruiser Runs Over Fleeing Car Jacker.  On Tuesday June 14, 2021 around 7:08 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1800 Block of Druid Hill Avenue for an armed carjacking.  The victim, a food delivery driver, was approached by a suspect that displayed a firearm and drove away in the victim's vehicle. [...] The suspect sped through city streets, going through several red lights and stop signs before bailing out of the vehicle.  A short foot pursuit then transpired, at which time the suspect was struck by a police vehicle.  Aid was immediately rendered to the suspect and through that course of that action, a black semi-automatic airsoft handgun was recovered from the suspect's pant leg.  He was transported to a local hospital and after a medical evaluation, it was determined that he did not need to be admitted, rather treated for minor injuries and released a short time later.

White Backlash And The New Tea Party Movement.  Racism against whites has become official government policy.  Not only is Joe Biden directing federal agencies to discriminate against whites, black-run cities like Baltimore (over 63 percent of Baltimore's population is black) are also not protecting local businesses against violence and crime.  With homicides up more than 17 percent this year, businesses in the Baltimore area known as Fells Point have written to the black city leaders demanding action.  They report:  ["]There are individual vendors in Fells Point illegally selling large volumes of alcohol, marijuana, and a range of other illicit substances directly in front of our establishments with no consequences or penalties.  These are not concealed, clandestine operations by sophisticated gangs with suppliers and lookouts.  These are brazen individuals who conduct their business in plain sight because they know Baltimore City will do nothing to prevent or punish them.["]  Incredibly, these are considered "minor" crimes.  The business owners note that prostitution, public urination and defecation, and the illegal sale and consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs on the streets, are not as serious as the carjackings, shootings, and homicides "that have become routine."  Unless city leaders "do their job and to stand up for neighborhoods all across Baltimore," they say they are "prepared to withhold our city taxes and minor privilege and permit fees and place those funds into an escrow account, which we will not release until and unless basic and essential municipal services are restored."

Six Ways The Black Community Is Hurt By Democrat Policies.  [#5] Lowered Educational Standards:  It's difficult to get ahead in life without a solid education, and Democrats seem to be doing everything possible to ensure that doesn't happen for folks in black communities.  You described the damage from the Democrats' approach to school choice, and there's also the issue of easing educational standards.  Baltimore offers a perfect example to consider.  Baltimore's population is 64% black, and the city has been run by Democrats for decades.  The last non-Democrat mayor of Baltimore, Maryland was Theodore McKeldin, who left office in 1967; that's 54 years ago.  Baltimore is a mess, Democrats own that mess, and the worst aspect of the mess may be what's happening with their schools.  According to WBFF-TV in Baltimore, "Data shows some students who could soon graduate, are performing at an elementary school level, academically," and "some students are performing 10 grade levels below their age."  It's horrible what has happened to these kids.

Baltimore Responds After Dozens of Businesses Threaten to Stop Paying Taxes.  Around three dozen businesses in Fells Point, Baltimore, said in a letter that they won't pay taxes unless the city adequately deals with a surge in crime in the area that included a series of recent shootings earlier this month that left three dead.  Last week, 37 restaurants and small businesses sent a letter to the mayor's office, titled, "Letter to City Leaders From Fells Point Business Leaders," stating they would stop paying local taxes and other fees until "basic and essential municipal services are restored." The letter was addressed to Democrat Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Democrat City Council President Nick Mosby, Democrat City Councilman Zeke Cohen, and Police Commissioner Harrison.  According to local reports, in response to a recent spate of violence in the area, the Baltimore Police Department's Mobile Command Center has set up in Fells Point for the weekend.  Harrison, days after the letter was sent during a town hall, promised more officers would be deployed around the historic bar area and would be "laser-focused on scanning for weapons and potential incidents."

Wheelchair users sue Baltimore over 'widespread' violations of federal accessibility requirements.  Three wheelchair users filed a class-action lawsuit against Baltimore, Maryland, alleging "widespread" violations of federal accessibility requirements by the city, such as failing to install and maintain curb ramps and sidewalks.  "The issue is failure over time to bring sidewalks and curb ramps around Baltimore City into compliance with the Americans with Disability Act requirements," said Rebecca Rodgers, a senior staff attorney for the New York-based Disability Rights Advocates group.  They filed their complaint in the District Court of Maryland on June 10 in conjunction with the IMAGE Center, a 501c3 nonprofit group dedicated to "new thinking about disability."

FDA orders Johnson & Johnson to throw out 60 million Covid vaccine doses made at Baltimore plant that had several violations.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered Johnson & Johnson to discard 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on Friday [6/11/2021].  The shots were made at a plant in Baltimore that had several health violations and ruined million of doses of J&J vaccine during an ingredient mix-up.  People familiar with the situation told The New York Times that the FDA said the shots have to be thrown away due to potential contamination.

Baltimore Propaganda:  So Bad It's Laughable.  Corrupt politicians, wasteful spending, horrible policies, and general negligence for the citizenry continue to highlight why this city is an increasingly horrible place to call home, despite the wonderful history, sports, parks, and food.  Unfortunately, for me, as a Marylander, Baltimore is my neighbor.  The crime, drugs, poverty, and general sense of hopelessness resides right around the corner from my home.  The education system in this city is notoriously corrupt and tragically incompetent.  The city is literally falling apart.  I've seen it with my own eyes when I travel through the city for work.  The countless vacant homes, abject poverty, and destroyed communities remind me of scenes from Detroit.  Despite the real problems: poor education, crumbling infrastructure, crime, poverty, and drugs, the city continues to hobble its own citizens and the local economy through arbitrary COVID measures.

Baltimore City Schools:  A Failing Grade Won't Stop Students From Moving Up.  This week, the Baltimore City Public Schools, attempting to avoid holding students back who have poor grades, announced a new grading policy that would enable students who failed one class to still proceed to the next grade.  The school district said it was taking the new approach because of effects caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  Chief Academic Officer Joan Dabrowski said the new approach is meant to "avoid the punitive approach of failing students," according to CNN.  "This is not about a failure, but it is about unfinished learning and giving multiple opportunities, multiple onramps for young people to complete that ... learning," Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises added.  A high school student who normally would receive an "F" for a course will now receive a "No Credit" designation.  For students in second through eighth grades, "Unsatisfactory" or "Fail" will now be marked "Not Completed."  Dabrowski explained, "In all of these instances, we want to emphasize the word 'yet.'  Not completed yet, no credit yet."

Baltimore Police Release Audio And Video Of Tragic Triple Homocide And Arson Incident.  Baltimore County Police on Friday [5/21/2021] released nearly 30 minutes of frantic 911 calls and officer body worn camera footage from a mass shooting and fire that left four people including the gunman dead in Woodlawn.  It happened May 8 around 6:40 a.m. in the 7500 block of Maury Road.  Police believe 56-year-old Everton Brown set his home on fire before shooting and killing three neighbors and injuring another.  Two of those victims are 41-year-old Ismael Quintanilla and 37-year-old Sara Alacote.  Brown allegedly forced his way into their home fatally shooting Quintanilla, and Alacote as she tried to escape.  When two neighbors including 24-year-old Sagar Ghimire emerged from their home, Brown shot them also.  Ghimire later died.

Baltimore's experiment with de-policing has been disastrous — and deadly.  A decade ago, Baltimoreans became lab rats in a fateful experiment:  their elected officials decided to treat the city's long-running crime problem with many fewer cops.  In effect, Baltimore began to defund its police and engage in de-policing long before those terms gained popular currency.  This experiment has been an abject failure.  Since 2011, nearly 3,000 Baltimoreans have been murdered — one of every 200 city residents over that period.  The annual homicide rate has climbed from 31 per 100,000 residents to 56 — ten times the national rate.  And 93 percent of the homicide victims of known race over this period were black.  Remarkably, Baltimore is reinforcing its de-policing strategy.  State's Attorney for Baltimore Marilyn Mosby no longer intends to prosecute various "low-level" crimes.  Newly elected mayor Brandon Scott promises a five-year plan to cut the police budget.  Both justify their policies by asserting that the bloodbath on city streets proves that policing itself "hasn't worked"; they sell their acceleration of de-policing as a "fresh approach" and "re-imagining" of law enforcement.

Baltimore State's Attorney files complaint against Fox station for reporting about her.  As we've discovered over the past six months or more, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been making plenty of headlines, none of them very flattering.  With the various "irregularities" showing up in her records, there is currently a grand jury investigation into the conduct of her office underway, along with an IRS audit of her and her husband's tax records.  Well, Ms. Mosby has had enough of these meddling reporters and their insinuations.  She's filed a complaint with the FCC over the Baltimore Fox News affiliate, accusing them of... well, I'm honestly not sure what she's accusing them of.  But it involves bias and persecution and, of course, racism.

The Editor says...
Either Ms. Mosby apparently doesn't understand what news reporters do for a living, or she expects the reporters to play along and keep her dirty laundry hidden from the public.

Two Asian women repeatedly attacked with cinder block as they closed Baltimore store.  A man was arrested after two Asian women, ages 66 and 67, were repeatedly attacked with a cinder block at a Maryland liquor store early Tuesday [5/4/2021], police said.  Daryl Doles, 50, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, police said.  Authorities did not specify whether the incident was being treated as a hate crime.  The attack unfolded shortly after midnight at a liquor store in the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, police said.  The women, who are store employees, were closing up shop when a man broke into the store, authorities said.

The Editor says...
NBC News says this happened Tuesday.  WMAR says it happened Sunday.

Sisters beaten with cinder block while closing West Baltimore liquor store.  A man is in custody after police say surveillance video captured him beating two women with a cinder block as they tried closing down their West Baltimore liquor store Sunday night [5/2/2021].  Police say it happened just before midnight at Wonderland Liquors in the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.  The camera footage starts off with one of the female owners, trying to close down for the night.

CCTV Video Captures 2 Asian Women Getting Bashed In The Head With A Cement Block By Random Thug In Baltimore.  A violent and brutal attack on two Korean women store owners overnight Monday, all caught on camera.  Graphic surveillance video shows Yun's aunt walking to the front of the store trying to close shop, when a man in a red shirt approaches her with a cement block in his hand.  He's then seen pulling her to the ground and beating her with the block.  As the other woman, Yun's mother steps in to try to help, she was also hit in the head.  Shortly after, Baltimore Police arrested the man identified as 50-year-old Daryl Doyles and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault.  [Video clip]

Transcripts show apparent ghost students had not received grades in years.  Ghost students are kept on the rolls of a school even though they're no longer attending, increasing the amount of tax dollars that school receives.  FOX45 News obtained a list of 21 seniors at Augusta Fells who were enrolled on paper but apparently not physically attending the school, some hadn't for years.  Now, we've obtained the transcripts for two of these students.  One of the students started at Augusta Fells in 2013 and the last credit he earned was in 2017.  But two years later, in fall of 2019, he was still on the rolls.  In his final year at the school, he had one class listed, yearbook.  The other student's transcript tells us he started at the school in 2015.  The last credit he earned was during the 2016/17 school year.  But he was still on the rolls of Augusta Fells in the fall of 2019 with a 0.8 GPA and a class rank of 91 out of 101 students.  Those are just two of 21 seniors on the list, taxpayers would likely have paid North Avenue $331,653 to educate when they were no longer in school.

Ghost students:  Failure and apparent fraud at one Baltimore high school.  [Scroll down]  What's clearly going on at Augusta Fells is probably going on at other city schools.  A former city council member who runs a charter school told Fox45 he believes ghost students are haunting all of the city's schools and for the same reasons, i.e. schools are funded based on headcount.  "It's an open secret.  To be frank with you.  It's an open secret that the system is very sloppy in its accounting.  And so, it's an open secret that there are thousands of kids who are not coming to school every day who are still on the rolls," Carl Stokes said.  Like me, you've probably heard lots of people complaining about systemic racism over the past couple years.  Well, I think Fox45 has uncovered something that looks a lot like genuine systemic racism, i.e. a system that is knowingly doing damage to mostly minority students with the winking approval of the adults in charge, adults who appear to be failing at every level.

Baltimore police fall below 700 sworn officers — faces closing police districts as morale fades.  Baltimore Police Department's manpower woes have not subsided since the Baltimore Police Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) said the department was 500 officers short in December.  They now say the department's manpower has dropped below 700 sworn officers.

Baltimore's Rogue Prosecutor Mosby Facing 3 Probes of Official Duties, Travel, Gifts.  It's been a lousy spring for Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's rogue prosecutor.  First, the IRS placed a tax lien for $45,000 on her house for three years of unpaid taxes.  Second, Baltimore's Office of the Inspector General conducted a wide-ranging investigation into her activist-sponsored travel, accounting irregularities, and unorthodox gift-acceptance practices, and issued a written report critical of her actions.  When Mosby criticized the inspector general's report, the Office of the Inspector General didn't back down, and wrote that it "stands behind its report."  Third, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland launched a wide-ranging investigation into Mosby's campaign-finance irregularities and related federal tax issues.

Society Pays When Prosecutors Fail to Punish Crime.  Imagine a society where prostitutes could solicit johns for sex just yards from police officers who did little more than wave them on their way.  Picture yourself walking through a park with your children as a homeless person is free to urinate and defecate beside the park bench where he is stashing the illegal drugs he bought from a dope dealer operating openly without fear of the police.  Does that make you feel safe?  Welcome to the new Baltimore, where law enforcement will no longer be prosecuting what it calls "low-level offenses."  These include possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia, trespassing, minor traffic offenses, prostitution, open container violations, and defecating or urinating in public.  The city announced the initiative last week after a year-long experiment to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the jails and prisons.

Baltimore permanently abandons prosecuting many types of crime.  Back in March of last year, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby quietly began the process of "decriminalizing" a number of low-level crimes such as drug possession and prostitution.  The move was ostensibly made to reduce jail populations during the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID behind bars.  Now, after a year of refusing to prosecute people for breaking laws that are still on the books, Mosby has declared the project to be such a resounding success that she's going to make those changes permanent, even if we get the pandemic under control.  What could possibly go wrong?

Baltimore will no longer prosecute drug possession, prostitution and other low-level offenses.  Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby says the city will no longer prosecute for prostitution, drug possession and other low-level offenses.  Mosby made the announcement on Friday [3/26/2021] following her office's one-year experiment in not prosecuting minor offenses to decrease the spread of Covid-19 behind bars.  "Today, America's war on drug users is over in the city of Baltimore.  We leave behind the era of tough-on-crime prosecution and zero tolerance policing and no longer default to the status quo to criminalize mostly people of color for addiction, said Mosby in an official press release.

Feds discover Baltimore State's Attorney is doing very well for someone who can't pay her taxes.  Here's a name that hasn't been cropping up in the news all that much lately.  You may recall Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby from some of our coverage here over the years.  She's the one who botched the response to the Freddie Gray riots and subsequent attempts to blame the police for them.  Well, she and her husband, City Council President Nick Mosby are back in the headlines this week, but not because of any high-profile prosecutions she has going on.  It turns out that federal investigators have been looking into the couple's finances and finding, shall we say... some irregularities.  The Mosby's have been in trouble with the IRS for a while now and the State's Attorney's private finances have been under scrutiny.  So for someone who seems to have so much trouble managing her money, it seems rather odd that she purchased two vacation homes in Florida worth more than a million dollars in just the past six months.

Feds criminally investigating Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby and husband, president of the city council.  Remember Marilyn Mosby, the incompetent state's attorney who tried to railroad 6 Baltimore cops in the death of Freddie Gray, and whose inflammatory rhetoric hobbled police and made the riots there worse?  She somehow managed to get re-elected, and her husband Nick returned to the City Council in 2020, after serving in the Maryland House of Delegates, and is now president of the Council.  Remember those news conferences?  Quite the power couple, but they likely are not enjoying that status much lately, since news has emerged that the FBI and IRS are investigating them and have issued a bunch of subpoenas. [...] Intriguingly, in the last 6 months Marilyn Mosby has purchased two Florida homes in her name for a total of over $1 million, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Tries To Lock Down Residents After Governor Lifts Restrictions.  Maryland residents received some good news yesterday from Governor Larry Hogan.  Starting at 5 pm on Friday, capacity limits were lifted for a wide range of businesses and social activities.  These include both indoor and outdoor dining, retail outlets and churches.  Gyms and bingo halls were also included, along with bowling alleys and skating rinks.  Hogan credited the progress the state has made in vaccinating people and the continued decline in new COVID cases for the decision.  Unfortunately for the people of Charm City, their new mayor was not a fan of Hogan's decision.  Brandon Scott immediately issued a statement saying that the current conditions did not warrant lifting the restrictions in Baltimore on the governor's schedule.  I'm not sure who will be coming for Scott's scalp first... the Governor or his own residents.

Jill Biden, the Meghan Markle in the WH, is egregiously guilty of elder abuse.  [Scroll down]  Every poll, even those rigged by leftists, shows that Americans do not support the violence perpetrated by Antifa and BLM.  They do not support defunding the police in any state or city.  Sure, those anti-White racists do support those groups and policies, but they are a minority.  Ask any Black mother trying to keep her sons alive beyond the age of fifteen in Chicago or Baltimore.

How Baltimore Became One Of The Most Dangerous Cities In America.  Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities in the country, marked in places by piles of trash, abandoned homes, drugs and high crime rates.  The Daily Caller's Caity McDuffee headed over to the streets of West Baltimore to meet up with former Maryland District 7 candidate Kim Klacik to get the answer to this question:  Who broke Baltimore?  "We were here, you know my opponent, no other elected officials come here and actually see the devastation, and so when they pass all these policies they don't realize how it is affecting or they don't really care how it is affecting the individuals who live here," Klacik said.  Klacik also discussed the balloons scattered throughout the city as a memorial for someone who was killed.

Baltimore HS student fails all but 3 classes over 4 years, ranks near top half of class.  A Baltimore high school student failed all but three classes over four years and almost graduated near the top half of his class with a 0.13 GPA, according to a local report.  Tiffany France, the mother of the failing student, thought her son would be receiving his diploma from Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts in June.  However, she was surprised to discover that he is being sent back to the ninth grade to start over.  "He's stressed, and I am, too.  I told him I'm probably going to start crying," France told FOX 45 Baltimore.

A Baltimore public school has abandoned educating its students.  A Fox News station in Baltimore, Maryland, investigated a small, new(ish) public high school, in a politically correct "green" building, called the August Fells Savage institution of Visual Arts.  With only 419 students, it ought to be turning out well-educated young citizens, ready to take their place in the world.  However, as WBFF Fox 5 News discovered, this is a school that, despite a $5.3 million annual budget, passes students through like widgets in a factory, without bothering to educate them.  Sadly, the parents seem helpless to make a difference.  The WBFF report takes as its starting point the tragedy of a 17-year-old boy who was put back to the 9th grade because he had a 0.13 GPA.  Year after year, the school kept promoting him despite endless absences and failures, only to decide at the last minute that they couldn't even pretend to graduate him:  ["]In four years at Augusta Fells Savage Institute in west Baltimore, [Tiffany] France's 17-year-old son passed just three courses.  And despite failing courses like Algebra I, Spanish I and English II.  He was promoted to Algebra II, Spanish II, English III.  His transcripts show he's ranked near the top half of his class of 120 students with a 0.13 GPA.  And with just 2.5 credits, he's just been moved back to ninth grade.["]  Did you catch that bit about the young man's class ranking?  Despite his dismal GPA, 58 students — almost half of the senior class — had lower GPAs than he did.

The Editor says...
The news media seems to be trying to make the young sluggard appear to be the victim of a terrible school.  His mother is, too.  Yes, the school promoted him (and half of his classmates) again and again without justification.  But the young loafer has only himself to blame for his poor academic performance.  Unfortunately, if he had applied himself and ended up as valedictorian, his buddies would have accused him of acting white.

Shakedown:
Baltimore convict-turned-activist says city should pay killers not to kill to lower city's murder rate.  A Baltimore convict and community activist has come up with what he says is solution to the city's soaring murder rate — paying killers not to shoot people.  Tyree Moorehead spent 18 years in prison for second degree murder which he committed when he was 15.  He was released from prison in 2012 and has since devoted his time to trying to work with criminals in Baltimore to reduce crime rates.  He told FOX 45 this week that he believes the way to lower the city's soaring shooting numbers is to pay criminals not to kill people.

U.S. Marshal Shot While Serving Arrest Warrant In Baltimore.  A U.S. Deputy Marshal in Baltimore is fighting for his life after he was shot in the line of duty.  The incident happened Thursday morning [2/4/2021] as the marshal tried to serve an arrest warrant for a man wanted for attempted murder and armed robbery.  Authorities said the suspect opened fire as the marshal approached his home.

Corrupt Former Baltimore Mayor Would Like A Pardon From Trump.  We're expecting a flurry of pardons and commutations from Donald Trump before he moves out of the White House tomorrow morning.  It's no surprise that many people have been calling on Trump's team to lobby for this sort of relief on behalf of their friends and associates.  The list includes a number of famous (or infamous) people, as well as many inside of the President's circle of friends and political associates.  Two names in particular, however, really caught my attention this week.  One is the former Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh.  Regular readers will recall the endless coverage we provided here of her scandal-plagued administration and subsequent conviction on charges of official corruption and tax evasion.  Now she's hoping that Donald Trump will wipe away her sins with the stroke of his pen.

Baltimore anti-gun violence activist Dante Barksdale fatally shot in head.  A prominent anti-gun violence activist in Baltimore was fatally shot at a public housing project, police and city officials said.  Dante Barksdale, 46, who worked as an outreach coordinator for the city's Safe Streets campaign, was shot in the head early Sunday at the Douglass Homes in southeastern Baltimore.  He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Hundreds Of Years In Prison Without Killing Anyone?  Back in 2005, a serious amount of corruption was discovered inside the ranks of the Baltimore Police Department, centered around the Public Housing Drug Unit.  They were tasked with identifying and arresting known drug traffickers, almost all of whom were associated with the city's many gangs.  It's always sad when you discover cops that have gone bad, but some of these officers were particularly egregious.  A couple of them set up their own private enterprise to enrich themselves by shaking down drug dealers, taking their money and "product" (which they later resold to other dealers) in exchange for not arresting them.  Fortunately, their scheme was uncovered and the officers were put on trial and convicted.  But the sentencing phase went in an unexpected direction.  The two former officers were sentenced to a combined 454 years in prison.  Now, more than fifteen years later, their attorneys are arguing that the sentence was grossly excessive and they should be released.

Rosedale man fatally shot in Walmart parking lot was attempting to rob another man, police say.  Baltimore County police say a 20-year-old Rosedale man who died Sunday [12/13/2020] was fatally shot in a Walmart parking lot after he attempted to rob someone. [...] When police arrived, Peach said, they found Kumar Jumar Burney suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body. [...] Police said Burney arranged a meetup in the parking lot with a man he found on a popular app selling an expensive pair of shoes.  During the transaction, police said, Burney attempted to rob the seller, who pulled a handgun, shot Burney once, then called 9-1-1 and remained at the scene.

Baltimore's new mayor inherits massive murder problem.  When former Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott took over as the Mayor of Charm City last month, he must have been aware that he was walking into a figurative buzzsaw.  He had run his campaign on a platform of eliminating corruption in Baltimore and getting the city's spiraling murder rate under control.  Those are noble sentiments, but each of those tasks would obviously make cleaning out King Augeas' stables look like a walk in the park by comparison.  Still, he's settled into his new role and begun issuing directives aimed at improving life on the streets of Baltimore.  Unfortunately, somebody didn't give the city's gangs the memo because they've continued merrily mowing people down straight into the Christmas season.  Five people were murdered over this past weekend, with multiple other shooting victims injured.  Four more people, two women and two men, were killed on Monday [12/21/2020].  The city's death toll now stands at almost 330, marking five years in a row where Baltimore was unable to keep the murder toll below 300.

How Did It Take Five Years To Release The Video From The Freddie Gray Riots?  There's a name we haven't heard in quite a while, eh?  With all of the riots going on in the streets of American cities these days, it could be easy to forget that this isn't exactly a new phenomenon.  Back in 2015, when the Black Lives Matter movement was still in its nascent stages, the city of Baltimore was going up in flames (in several places literally) as crowds of rioters gathered to protest the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.  What followed next was a tour de' force of bureaucratic mismanagement on the part of the city's leaders.  In some ways, Charm City has never really recovered in full from that debacle.  But one question has remained over the years, despite all of the investigations and reports that followed.  How and where did the riots actually start?  There's been a general consensus that the first violence broke out on April 27, 2015 in the Mondawmin neighborhood in or around the MTA station near the Mondawmin Mall.  Since there were surveillance cameras running in the station around the clock, it seemed obvious that some hints might be found in those recordings.  But for five years, Maryland Transit Administration officials have refused to release the video footage to the public, citing only "security concerns."

Baltimore's Kim Klacik Gives a 'How to Handle Bigots 101' Lesson After Twitter Insult.  When you're a minority who refuses to toe the liberal line, it is without fail that some self-proclaimed "tolerant" Democrats will throw insults in your direction suggesting in some way that you're a sellout to your race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. because you dare to think differently.  Baltimore conservative Kim Klacik, who was the GOP nominee for Maryland's 7th Congressional District (the seat formerly held by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings), is no stranger to this treatment, She's talked before about Democrats who have treated her as though she's inauthentically black simply because 1) she's a Republican who has very different views on the role of government in our lives than Democrats do and 2) she didn't buy into the left's bogus narratives about President Donald Trump allegedly being a "racist."

Democrats Run America's Rathole Cities.  Last year, President Trump called Baltimore a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".  Speaker Pelosi responded by calling Trump's comments "racist attacks".  Vox claimed that Trump was using "racist tropes" and US News conducted a fact check accusing him of racism.  Now the rat race numbers are in.  Orkin, the past control company, ratted out the "rattiest cities" and Baltimore has broken through into the top 10 for the first time.  Like a rat clambering after a piece of moldy cheese, Charm City leaped up four places to be America's 8th rattiest city.  Baltimore has never been able to deny that it's a rat-infested hellhole.  But Democrats and their media are good at deflecting with false accusations of racism and then changing the subject.  "If there are problems here, rodents included, they are as much his responsibility as anyone's, perhaps more because he holds the most powerful office in the land," the Baltimore Sun had retorted in an editorial after President Trump's criticism of the terrible conditions in the city.  But there's one thing that the rattiest cities in America have in common.  And it isn't Trump.

Twitter Roadblocks Kimberly Klacik.  Esteemed countermoonbat Kimberly Klacik must be getting some traction, despite the unlikelihood of a Republican winning a seat in Congress from the ruins of Baltimore.  She scares the Democrat apparatchiks at Twitter enough that they put up a roadblock to limit retweets linking to an article in the Wall Street Journal that makes it clear voters would be wise to elect her.

Check Out These Eight Beautiful Travel Posters For America's Democrat-Controlled Cities.  With people leaving Democrat cities in droves, mayors and city councils are hoping to fill them back up again — with tourists!  Maybe it's time to give these cities a second chance.  Check out these beautiful tourism posters from Democrat-controlled cities around the country!

Man putting Black Lives Matter sign in his yard arrested after shooting at Trump supporters.  A Maryland man is being held without bond and has been charged for firing a shotgun as Trump supporters drove by in a pickup truck while he put a Black Lives Matter sign in his yard.  CBS Baltimore reports the incident happened Saturday afternoon in Kingsville, Maryland, a semi-rural community about 10 miles northeast of Baltimore.  Police have booked resident Douglas Kuhn with multiple charges, including assault.

Baltimore elected officials charged for somehow forgetting to pay their taxes.  Now that a new Mayor is on the way to City Hall in Baltimore, Charm City will soon put its unpleasant history of corrupt elected officials behind them and begin a new era of honesty and transparency in politics.  Gone will be the days of Mayors and other top municipal officials going to prison for racketeering, embezzlement, and tax evasion.  And once that's accomplished, they'll be able to focus on quashing their massive gang violence and murder problems.  Trust me.  It's going to be glorious.  Oh, wait... there might be a couple of final wrinkles to iron out of this plan.  It seems that the city's top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, and her husband, incoming City Council President Nick Mosby, have received some unpleasant news from the IRS.  The power couple allegedly "forgot" to pay a significant amount of their federal income taxes.  For at least three years.  And now a lien for nearly $50K against them has been placed by the taxman.

"Attempted Robbery" - Security Guard Assigned To Ballot Box Shot In Baltimore.  The virus pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented number of Americans voting by mail or using ballet drop boxes this election season.  Some of these drop boxes, especially those in Baltimore City, are guarded by a private security force, considering the liberal-run metro area is a violent mess.  On Thursday [10/15/2020], Baltimore City police confirmed a ballot box security guard was shot and wounded in Northeast Baltimore, reported local news WBAL-TV 11. City police said the incident occurred in the early morning hours on Thursday, outside the Achievement Academy in the 2200 block of Pinewood Ave.  Officers found the 24-year-old security guard [had been] shot multiple times [and] was immediately taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Baltimore Police Officer Is Knocked Out At Upton Metro Station, Apparently Just For Being A Cop.  A Maryland Transit Administration police officer was assaulted in West Baltimore Friday afternoon [10/9/2020], officials said.  According to officials, the MTA police officer was assaulted at the Upton Metro Station.  The officer was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.  There is no word on what led to the assault as MTA police continue their investigation.  [Video clip]

Incoming Baltimore Mayor wants President Trump to keep his city's name "out of your mouth".  I should probably clear up any potential confusion caused by the title of this article right at the top.  Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott isn't technically the incoming Mayor of Charm City.  At least not yet.  That title won't be bestowed upon him until November 4th.  But he won the primary in the mayoral race earlier this year, so there's really no mystery left to the question.  Democrats literally outnumber Republicans by a ten to one ratio in Baltimore, so the general election there tends to be more of an afterthought than anything else.  Barring a comet hitting the city in the next few months, Council President Scott will be sworn in as the next mayor.

Yet Another Grand Jury Defies the Fake News Narrative.  Freddie Gray in Baltimore was another.  The Fake News propounded the narrative that a murderous gang of Baltimore cops had murdered Gray in a police van.  Baltimore burned.  Men and women lost their life savings as the storefront businesses into which they had invested everything to support their families went up in smoke.  Their hopes, their dreams, their decades of goodwill in the community — all up in smoke.  The policemen were put on trial, tried before a Black judge.  With the narrative the Fake News had propagated, and a Black judge staring down from his bench at each of the accused, they all were goners.  And yet each and every officer was found not guilty.  Every single one.

Baltimore murder suspects protected by sanctuary laws, ICE says; 'This is the worst-case scenario'.  Two undocumented immigrants suspected in the gang slaying of a 16-year-old girl in Baltimore were released because of sanctuary city policies, despite requests from federal immigration officials, officials said Tuesday [9/15/2020].  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it lodged three immigration detainers on three men charged in the May 29 death of Gabriela Ardon.  Five people are charged in the killing — three of whom were living in the United States illegally.  "In this case, two of the suspects arrested had previously been encountered by ICE, but due to state and local policies that put politics above public safety, they were released to the street," said Acting Baltimore Field Office Director Francisco Madrigal.  "This is the worst-case scenario when detainers are not honored."

Baltimore murder suspects protected by sanctuary laws:  ICE.  Two illegal immigrants suspected of an MS-13 gang killing of a 16-year-old girl in Baltimore were in police custody before, but were set free by authorities in New York and Maryland in defiance of deportation requests, allowing them to be out on the streets, ICE said Tuesday [9/15/2020].  Gabriela Alejandra Gonzalez-Ardon was found dead in woods near Loch Raven Reservoir in late May.  Five people have been charged in the killing, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says three of them are illegal immigrants — and two of them were free because of sanctuary policies.  "This is the worst-case scenario," said Francisco Madrigal, the acting director of ICE's Baltimore office.

Baltimore GOP Candidate Kimberly Klacik Flips Script on Leftists Calling Her a 'Black Pawn'.  Kimberly Klacik, alas, likely won't be one to flip a seat from D to R in the 2020 general election.  The Republican nominee in Maryland's 7th Congressional District is an energetic campaigner and a fresh face on the conservative scene we'll no doubt be seeing for years to come.  She's trying to flip a district that contains part of the city of Baltimore as well as other parts of Baltimore and Howard counties.  That being said, she's facing off against Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who represented the district until 1996 when he left to become president of the NAACP, according to Ballotpedia.

Kimberly Klacik At The RNC: 'I Want Baltimore To Be An Example' To The GOP.  Kimberly Klacik, who is running to represent Maryland's 7th district in Congress, made quite a splash when she addressed the audience at the Republican National Convention on Monday.  Her highly-anticipated speech was expected to be powerful enough to cause MSNBC to cut away from it when it was her turn to speak.  During her speech, Klacik castigated the Democrats for failing the people of Baltimore, Maryland for decades.  "The Democrats have controlled my city, Charm City, for over 50 years and they have run this beautiful place into the ground, she said.  "We want safety in our neighborhoods.  We want jobs and innovation, like tapping the potential of the Port of Baltimore to create manufacturing jobs for Americans.  We want lower taxes.  We want school choice.  We want a chance to get ahead, not just get by!"

Kimberly Klacik to Democrats at GOP Convention: 'You've Neglected Us for Too Long,' 'We're Sick of It'.  Maryland congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik (R) said at the 2020 Republican National Convention on Monday that Democrats have neglected black constituents for "far too long" and that she supports what President Donald Trump is doing for all Americans.  "Let me remind you the Democrats have controlled the part of Baltimore City for over 50 years and they have run this beautiful place right into the ground," Klacik said.  "Abandoned buildings, liquor stores on every corner, drug addicts, and guns on the street — that is now the norm in many neighborhoods."

CNN Curiously Cuts to Commercial as Kim Klacik Delivers RNC Speech.  It is the kind of move that, had the players been changed, would have had Brian Stelter pontificating loudly about the inference of intolerance.  But as the Republican convention kicked off last night, we saw a very curious decision made by the production staff at Brian's network, and you have to raise a number of questions about the move, especially considering some of the comments made by Stelter himself.  Kim Klacik made a quick name for herself with a campaign ad she made to run for the representative seat in her hometown of Baltimore.  That a forceful person of color was running as a GOP in Maryland's 7th District is enough to turn a few heads, but her message, while strolling through the gutted backdrop of her city, was powerful and she became a sensation as a result.  So much so that she was invited to be one of the featured speakers at the Republican convention Monday night — just don't tell that to CNN.  In truth, it appeared someone had let the network know.

MSNBC Cuts Away So Viewers Don't Hear Kim Klacik's Terrific Condemnation of Democratic Failure.  Baltimore's Kim Klacik is an up-and-coming Republican star, someone with a clear message who wants to make her city better after years of Democratically-controlled decay.  She first came to public prominence by advocating cleaning up blighted Baltimore areas.  Klacik is running to represent Maryland's 7th District in Congress, a very blue district.  She released a campaign video that lit up the internet, going mega viral in days.  It already has 11.6 million views. [...] But MSNBC apparently didn't want to hear the speech or have Americans hear it.

Baltimore GOP Candidate Kimberly Klacik Lays Down an Absolute Knockout With Stunning New Campaign Ad.  Kimberly Klacik is a Republican Congressional candidate from Maryland's 7th district.  That would be the heart of Baltimore.  We could tell you all about Klacik's political qualifications, activism work, and upbringing.  Or we could just show you her latest campaign ad, a stunning kill-shot straight into the heart of Democrat talking points.  In the ad, a sharp-looking Klacik takes viewers on a walk through Baltimore.  She asks us to put aside the typical talking points and look directly at the visible evidence of decades of exclusive Democrat control.  Klacik walks past boarded-up buildings and abandoned property, trash-filled streets and barren neighborhoods.  She points out the reality of life in Baltimore, a reality that corporate media ignores daily in favor of a narrative that makes Trump and all Republicans squarely to blame for inner city failures even though Republicans haven't been welcome there for decades.

Congressional GOP Candidate From Baltimore Drops a Truth Bomb on Democrats With Viral Video.  Baltimore GOP congressional candidate Kim Klacik turned heads on Monday when she released a new campaign video that dared to tell people in her city something her opponents wouldn't:  the truth.  "Do you care about Black lives?" Klacik asks at the start of her video.  "The people that run Baltimore don't."  In stilettos and with conviction, Klacik then invites viewers to go on a walk with her into one of Baltimore's many dilapidated, crime-ridden neighborhoods.  In the video, Klacik passes an almost endless vista of boarded-up homes, shattered windows, and urban detritus: an all-too-common sight throughout Baltimore.  Far from completely abandoned, these rowhouses are home to thousands of Baltimoreans, including children, and are the location of hundreds of homicides per year.  The urban decay born out of poverty and desperation has spread like cancer in recent years, as those with any means have packed up and headed out of the city.

'Black Lives Don't Matter To To Democrats':GOP Candidate Releases Viral Ad Crushing Dems.  On Monday, Republican strategist and congressional GOP candidate Kimberly Klacik released an ad slamming Democrats for their apparently fake concern for black lives, highlighting the devastation in Democrat-run cities, particularly Baltimore.  Klacik is the Republican nominee running for the seat of late Congressman Elijah Cummings in Maryland's ninth district.  "Democrats don't want you to see this," Klacik captioned the ad, which was viewed over 700,000 times in three hours.  "They're scared that I'm exposing what life is like in Democrat-run cities.  That's why I'm running for Congress.  Because All Black Lives Matter.  Baltimore Matters.  And black people don't have to vote Democrat."

Dispute At Baltimore Gas Station Turns To Punches, Then Bullets.  Baltimore County police responded to a call for a shooting in White Marsh tonight [7/29/2020 (?)].  The call came at about 8 p.m. from Exxon gas station on Honeygo Boulevard, across from White Marsh Mall.  Police confirmed a man was found shot in the upper body.  [Video clip]

Baltimore's incoming mayor already getting off to a bad start on corruption reform.  When the city of Baltimore finally finished counting all of their ballots and dealing with a variety of dubious-looking "computer glitches" during Maryland's recent primary election, City Council President Brandon Scott was declared the Democratic nominee to be the next Mayor of Charm City.  At the time, I wrote that Baltimore had dodged a bullet because Scott only narrowly defeated disgraced former mayor Sheila Dixon.  (She left office after her first election only reluctantly, because she'd been convicted of embezzlement.)  Scott isn't technically on his way to being the next mayor yet because there's still a general election to be held.  But that's not likely to slow him down even if all thirteen of the Republicans in the city turn out to vote for their candidate.  (That's an exaggeration, but only slightly.  Baltimore is more than 85% registered Democrats.)

Maryland Governor Blasts Pelosi's Indifference to Baltimore Vandalism.  Maryland governor Larry Hogan (R.) on Thursday said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has "lost touch" with her childhood city of Baltimore after she expressed indifference about the toppling of a statue of Christopher Columbus.  "It's disappointing that Speaker Pelosi has lost touch with the Baltimore community that her family served," Hogan wrote on Twitter.  "While efforts towards peaceful change are welcome, there is no place in Maryland for lawlessness, vandalism, and destruction of public property."

Baltimore Mayor Gives Up, Says City Will Support Rioters After Columbus Statue Toppled.  Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young defended hoodlums who toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus on Saturday and chucked it into the city's Inner Harbor like a piece of trash.  Folks, this is an elected official charged with protecting the city.  If this were the military he would be court marshaled for dereliction of duty.  This is a shameful failure on the mayor's part to fulfill the obligations of his office.  It is his duty to enforce city laws, and he has not only failed to do so, but is contributing to the lawlessness by supporting the rioters.

Six Weeks, Six Cities, 600 Murders.  The single most important issue, affecting some of the largest swaths of populations in America, is the scandal the media ignores even as it explodes in our faces.  In only six weeks, city after city operated by entrenched Democrats have seen a massive expansion in lawlessness, violence, and murder.  Stunningly, many news outlets seem gobsmacked and mystified at how or why such an explosion of lawlessness has occurred.  For the sake of brevity, let's sample six of the nation's largest cities, including all of the top three. [...] [Example #6] Baltimore:  As consistently one of the most dangerous cities in America with a five-year streak of more than 300 murders, last year Baltimore set a new record at 348 homicides.  Yet in 2020 they outpace last year's record and will see defunding to the effect of $22 million.

Reminder: The 2015 Baltimore riots accomplished nothing.  The precursor to the recent demonstrations, in America and throughout the world, were the Baltimore riots, mostly by young black people, that the nation watched on television in 2015.  The immediate cause of the Baltimore disturbances was the hyping, by Baltimore's monopoly newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, of the death of Freddy Gray, a small-time drug dealer with a long record, in police custody.  This was described by the Baltimore Sun as a "killing."  It was represented that police had no basis to stop Gray in the first place, even though he had fled at their approach, which the Supreme Court had previously deemed a sufficient basis for an investigative stop.  It was popularly represented that Gray received a "rough ride" in a police vehicle at the hands of the arresting officers, most of whom were black.  This version of events was not corroborated by Gray's fellow passenger, nor did it survive four trials, two federal investigations by different administrations, and several administrative hearings.

Baltimore Residents Blame Record-High Murder Rate On Lower Police Presence.  For the third year in a row, Baltimore, Md., has had more than 300 murders, reaching a new record of murders per number of residents in 2017.  Some residents attribute the high murder rate to relaxed police patrols in the city following high-profile cases of police brutality.  Officers have backed off in neighborhoods, like the one where Freddie Gray was arrested.  The Rev. Kinji Scott, a pastor in Baltimore who's held positions in local city government, says the opposite needs to happen.  "We wanted the police there," Scott says.

James Woods Calls Out Pelosi For Being Silent On Her Own Father Overseeing Dedication Of Confederate Statue.  On Wednesday [6/10/2020], when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that Confederate statues on the U.S. Capitol be removed, she failed to mention that her father had overseen the dedication of the Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument while he was Baltimore's mayor in 1948.

Nancy Pelosi Silent on Own Father Who Oversaw Dedication of Confederate Statue.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who on Wednesday demanded the removal of Confederate statues occupying the U.S. Capitol, has remained silent on her father's role in overseeing the dedication of the Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument while serving as Baltimore's mayor in 1948.  Pelosi this week formally requested the removal of Confederate statues occupying the U.S. Capitol, dismissing them as "monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end."  Her demand comes as angry protesters across the nation take matters into their own hands, vandalizing — and in some cases, beheading — statues and monuments memorializing the Civil War era and beyond.

Race Isn't Going Away.  A sizable section of the elected class has come to see the citizen as more of a subject, the prole of dystopian fiction who is becoming more real by the moment.  Imagine asking about one of government's fundamental roles and being told to check your privilege. [...] When government fails to do the heavy of lifting of governing, and even worse, turns a blind eye to elementary responsibility, people tend to notice.  And they react.  Some remember Baltimore and the fallout after cops pulled back in the wake of Freddie Gray's death while in police custody.  Especially sharp minds will recall how the president during that period pronounced the rioters and looters to be 'thugs.'  Good times.  The rule of law is the foundation of a civil society, not a bumper sticker.  When prosecutors undermine their own authority by rationalizing free passes to arsonists and thieves, good luck trying to convince the law-abiding that you have their back.  Chicago is seeing firsthand what happens when the mob is allowed to run wild.

Black lives that didn't matter enough in Baltimore.  Yesterday [6/10/2020], I pointed out that the annual number of homicides in Baltimore was around 215 in the five years before the left and the Obama administration undermined the police force there following the death of Freddy Gray.  In the five years since, the average number of homicides per year is around 335.  That's 625 excess deaths.  How many of the lives lost were black lives?  To me it doesn't matter.  Black lives and white lives are of equal value.  However, the racial breakdown should matter to the BlackLivesMatter movement.  According to this article in the Baltimore Sun, nearly all of Baltimore's homicide victims in 2019 were black.  I infer that nearly all of the 625 victims whose deaths we can attribute to the diminution of policing in the city since mid 2015 were black.  Were any lives saved by Baltimore's passive policing?

The True Plight of Black Americans.  While it might not be popular to say in the wake of the recent social disorder, the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called "systemic racism." Instead, we need to look at the responsibilities of those running our big cities.  Some of the most dangerous big cities are:  St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Newark, Buffalo and Philadelphia.  The most common characteristic of these cities is that for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats.  Some cities — such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark and Philadelphia — haven't elected a Republican mayor for more than a half-century.  On top of this, in many of these cities, blacks are mayors, often they dominate city councils, and they are chiefs of police and superintendents of schools. [...] The bottom line is that today's black Americans have significant political power at all levels of government.  Yet, what has that meant for a large segment of the black population?  Democratic-controlled cities have the poorest-quality public education despite their large, and growing, school budgets.  Consider Baltimore, Maryland.  In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore's 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state's math exam.  In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math.  Only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state's English test. [...] It's the same story of academic disaster in other cities run by Democrats.

Mail-In Votes Discarded, Never Counted in Baltimore Election Due to Error.  Mail-in votes in a local Baltimore, Maryland, election were discarded and not counted due to a ballot error, officials say.  On Tuesday evening [6/2/2020], voters went to the polls in Baltimore city elections — including the race in City Council District 1 where incumbent Democrat Zeke Cohen faced a challenge from Democrat Paris Bienert.  The race, though, ended in disarray when a ballot error caused mail-in votes to be thrown out and not counted, according to the Baltimore Sun.

'Abolish the police!'? What happened when a major American city tried that a century ago.  Nothing better reveals the depth of the madness afoot in the land than the demands to defund or completely abolish the police.  It's bad enough for airhead celebrities, something worse for the formerly prestigious New York Times, and downright alarming for office holders, state and federal to indulge the fantasy that thin blue line is all the separates us from anarchy, mob rule, and ultimately a dictatorship spawned by the need to restore order.  The experience of Baltimore following the Freddie Gray riots, when the police there stopped aggressively engaging in minority neighborhoods ought to be enough to close the case.  Mind you, the police were not abolished, or even defunded.  They were simply chastened and behaved as the demonstrators demanded — with a light hand and withdrawing at times from neighborhoods where they were denounced as racists.

Ex-Baltimore mayor, once convicted of embezzlement, now favorite to fill seat of mayor convicted of fraud.  The Baltimore mayoral seat that was vacated last year when Catherine Pugh resigned over a corruption scandal — which led to a three-year prison sentence — now appears likely to be filled by a former mayor who has a past conviction of her own.  With Democratic primary returns still coming in after Tuesday's vote, the front-runner appears to be Sheila Dixon, who resigned as mayor in 2010 after a jury found her guilty of misdemeanor embezzlement for misappropriating gift cards for the poor.

Five Years After Freddie Gray Riots, Baltimore is the Model of Peaceful Protesting.  The streets of Baltimore bled with rage just five years ago after the death of a young black man, Freddie Gray, in the back of a police vehicle.  Now, as violent rioting and looting own the night in several cities across the nation, Baltimore emerged as the beacon of peaceful protesting.  As the afternoon sky turned to dusk on Monday [6/1/2020], hundreds of protesters converged near the Baltimore Convention Center to march through the city with calls for justice for George Floyd, who was brutally killed by a police officer last week in Minneapolis.  The protest, organized by young, local activists included representatives of Black Lives Matter and others advocating for an end to police brutality.  The protesters burgeoned from hundreds to thousands as they marched through downtown on their way to City Hall.

It was like watching a rerun of Baltimore 2014.  Let's see if you remember this story:  the policeman is accused of killing someone, the incidents sparks so-called protests, the mayor cracks and lets the demonstrators get it out of their system, property and businesses burn down, and then the city is never the same.  That was Baltimore 2014.  It sure felt as though I was watching a documentary of that story six years ago.  Why are so many of our cities run by such weak and incompetent leaders? [...] It does not matter who set the fires.  The real issue is that the local leadership let them do it.  No one stood up to them, and that's how the mayor and the governor failed their constituents.

No lockdown on murder.  Many human activities were curtailed in America during Memorial Day weekend due to the Wuhan coronavirus.  However, murder in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington D.C. weren't among them.  In Baltimore, there were eight killings over the weekend, even though residents were under orders to stay home due to the pandemic.  Four additional people were injured in the shootings.  According to police, several of the victims had previously been convicted of attempted murder.  In a properly functioning justice system, these victims would have been incarcerated.  Chicago topped Baltimore.  It suffered nine killings, with 27 more wounded, over the weekend.  This was Chicago's deadliest Memorial Day weekend since 2015.  Washington, D.C. got off easy.  Only three people were shot to death over the weekend.

Baltimore Mayor Doubles Down:  Trump's 'Violating the Law' with Memorial Day Visit.  Baltimore Mayor Jack Young (D) is once again demanding President Donald Trump scrap his planned visit to the city on Memorial Day, arguing that he believes the trip is against the law, citing the city's stay-at-home order still being in place due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Baltimore mayoral race shows why things will never get better in Charm City.  Every time the City of Baltimore starts getting my hopes up that life will slowly start to improve there and corruption and crime are beginning to wane they somehow find a way to discourage me yet again.  In this case, it's the current state of the race to elect a new mayor.  The current mayor, Jack Young, assumed office after his predecessor, Catherine Pugh, departed to embark on her new career as a prisoner after confessing to corruption and tax evasion charges.  Young initially announced that he was only planning to be the interim mayor until he finished Pugh's term this year, though he later said he would consider another term and still shows up in the polling.

Black-on-white Violence Rampant, Ignored by Authorities and Media.  Imagine you're walking down the street and someone sucker punches you, breaking your glasses and swelling your lip.  Your attacker then continues raining down blows upon you, spits on you, and pejoratively refers to your religious orientation while provoking you to fight.  Imagine this happens in front of tens of witnesses who are willing to corroborate events.  Now imagine that the authorities tell you no arrest can be made because the incident wasn't witnessed by a police officer.  But no imagination is necessary because this is precisely what happened to Jewish dentist Elliot Einbinder on September 11 as he was walking on Smith Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland.  His attacker was a 24-year-old black female who, after initially lying to the police and claiming Dr. Einbinder initiated the confrontation, admitted she was "just having a bad day."

Ex-NAACP Leader Kweisi Mfume Wins Maryland Seat in Congress.  Democrat Kweisi Mfume easily won a special election Tuesday [4/28/2020] to finish the term of the late Elijah Cummings, retaking a Maryland congressional seat he held for five terms before leaving to lead the NAACP.

ACLU attempts to block Baltimore surveillance planes from flight.  There was a rather amazing bit of good news coming out of Florida this weekend.  As of yesterday, there have been no murders recorded in the city of Miami for seven straight weeks.  If that sounds like an underwhelming statistic to you, we should put it in context and note that this is the first time that's happened since 1957.  The ongoing pandemic is being credited by the police as the largest factor driving this happy news.  I brought up that story mostly to draw a contrast with another city where things aren't going nearly as well.  That would be Baltimore, Maryland.  To be sure, the murder rate in Charm City is down from the same period last year (finally).  After averaging more than one murder per day through the first six weeks of the year, even some of the gang bangers seem to be staying at home.  But there have still been 85 murders on the year, with four more recorded in the past week.

Baltimore PD to Use Drone Surveillance for 'Social Distancing' Enforcement.  The Baltimore Police Department and "Persistent Surveillance," an Ohio-based company, signed a deal together to spy on the residents of Baltimore, Maryland with drones. [...] This shady company was under fire almost 4 years ago in 2016, for doing surveillance with the Baltimore Police Department and violating their own 45-day data retention policy. [...] The drones will be equipped with high-resolution cameras, capable of posing a real threat to the security of anyone deemed a "criminal."  The ACLU emphasized that this crosses a massive line, explaining that the plan places every resident of Baltimore "under constant aerial surveillance."

Disgraced Former Baltimore Mayor Given A Reprieve On Going To Prison.  As you may recall, Baltimore's corrupt former mayor, Catherine Pugh, was sentenced to three years in the slammer for her "Healthy Holly" self-dealing fiasco in February.  In addition, she is to follow that up with three years of supervised probation and some hefty fines to partially repay the citizens for the money she siphoned out of the system and the taxes she dodged.  But her journey to a medium-security penitentiary in Aliceville, Alabama has now been put on hold for at least two months.  The reason?  I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

Amid 'Mandatory Lockdown,' Baltimore Officials Approve Spy-Plane To "Collect Images Of City".  For years, we've been documenting how spy planes have been flying over the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, transforming the region into a surveillance state.  To refresh your memory, the federal government used spy planes to monitor the 2015 riots in Baltimore City.  Even before the planes, the military was flying massive spy blimps over the region to "detect cruise missiles."  What you're beginning to understand is that Baltimore has been the testing ground over the last decade of how the surveillance state, now being ushered in by the COVID-19 outbreak, will be built across major metro areas.  Aaron Kesel of ActivistPost laid it out beautifully, "coronavirus outbreak is proving to be the Trojan horse that justifies increased digital surveillance."  Baltimore is dealing with several public health crises at the moment, one is a murder epidemic, and the other is the COVID-19 outbreak.  Blend it all together, and the city is on the verge of turmoil.  Hence why the National Guard was called in several weeks ago, not just to assist local area hospitals dealing with an influx of virus cases and deaths, but also to maintain public order.

Bet Your Life — Vote for Democrats.  New York City and California's loony politicos are hooked on identity politics and see racism everywhere, ignoring objective science.  The consequences of ignoring reality: overwhelmed medical facilities, lack of proper medical equipment, and soaring death rates. [...] In brief, Mayor de Blasio's City Health Commissioner, Oxiris Barbot, is a radical who previously served as Health Commissioner of Baltimore where she "had given the city's race rioters 'space to destroy.'"  Space which continues after her move to New York to result in a soaring murder rate.  She boasted of seeing health policy through a "racial equity lens," a lens so fogged that she concentrated on discouraging those arriving from Wuhan from going into self-quarantine and encouraging New Yorkers to attend the Lunar New Year celebrations in the city.

Baltimore population drops below 600,000, the lowest total in a century, census estimates show.  Baltimore's population has dipped below 600,000 for the first time in more than a century, according to U.S. Census estimates released Thursday [3/26/2020].  The city's estimated population was 593,490 as of July 1, 2019, the new data shows.  That suggests Baltimore lost 8,953 people, or 1.5% of its population, from the previous year.  While the city's population has been trending downward for decades, it had some small increases during the administration of former Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, standing at more than 623,000 in 2014.

Baltimore Mayor begs residents to stop shooting each other and 'clogging up' hospital beds.  The mayor of Baltimore is begging residents to stop shooting one another to allow doctors and nurses to focus on saving coronavirus patients and not gunshot wound victims.  In a statement on Wednesday [3/18/2020], the Mayor Jack Young said: 'I want to reiterate how completely unacceptable the level of violence is that we have seen recently.  'We will not stand for mass shootings and an increase in crime. [...]"

Baltimore man dies two decades after being the shot in the back.  Now his death has been ruled a homicide.  More than 20 years after he was shot in the back, the October 2019 death of a Baltimore man is now being investigated as a homicide, Baltimore Police officials announced Tuesday [3/10/2020].  Police say Keith Cooper, 46, was shot on August 27, 1997, in the 2200 block of Fleetwood Ave.  Cooper was taken to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries, according to police.

The Editor says...
If the police don't already know the name of the prime suspect, it's a little late now to start investigating.  If the police do know the name of the perpetrator already, the defense will argue that the cops have denied him the right to a speedy trial.  Either way, any action taken by the police at this point is a meaningless publicity stunt.  Sometimes felonies go unsolved, but the police can't afford to admit it.

Baltimore-area shooting leaves 13-year-old dead, 5 others wounded in 'horrifying' act of violence.  A 13-year-old Maryland boy was killed in a shooting outside a shopping mall where five others, including four juveniles, were wounded as they walked through the parking lot on Sunday [3/8/2020], investigators said.  The gunfire broke out shortly after midnight in Rosedale, a community on the outskirts of the city of Baltimore, Baltimore County police said.

You won't believe who's leading the race to replace Baltimore's last corrupt mayor.  When Baltimore's previous mayor, Catherine Pugh left office, it was because she was preparing to do a three year stretch in prison for scamming nearly a million dollars out of various organizations using her self-published children's books. [...] Charm City has been on something of a bad luck streak in terms of mayors for several years now.  Ever since Martin O'Malley left to become governor, it's been all downhill from there.  He was replaced by Sheila Dixon, who was forced out of office after being convicted of embezzlement.  She was replaced by Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who didn't even bother trying for a second term after she let the city burn down around her during the Freddie Gray riots.  (She's now a campaign co-chair for Mike Bloomberg.)  And she was followed by Ms. Pugh.

Ex-Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh gets 3 years in prison for double-selling her self-published children's books to nonprofits.  The disgraced former mayor of Baltimore was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday [2/27/2020] for arranging fraudulent sales of her self-published children's books.  Catherine Pugh arranged for her 'Healthy Holly' books to be sold to nonprofits and foundations to promote her political career, fund her run for the city's highest office, and buy a new house.  As part of the double-selling scheme, organizations paid Pugh $859,960 for orders of more than 132,100 copies but only 73,200 were ever printed.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Corruption and Fraud.  Political leaders, specifically mayors in Baltimore Maryland, are predisposed toward corrupt behavior.  Remember Sheila Dixon in '08, or Stephanie Rawlings Blake in '15.  It's a perpetual cycle. [...] Into the corrupt landscape comes Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who was arrested in 2019 for taking bribes and payoffs through a pay-to-play bribery scandal for books she "authored" called "Healthy Holly".

The Editor says...
The only surprising aspect of this story is that someone actually went to jail.

5 year sentence recommended for former Baltimore Mayor.  Back in November, we learned that disgraced former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh had avoided a messy trial by pleading guilty to multiple counts of corruption and tax evasion.  This all stemmed from her self-dealing scheme to "sell" hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of her self-published "Healthy Holly" children's books to people and businesses who had dealings with the University of Maryland Medical System, where Pugh sat as a board member.

Adopted daughter of former top diplomat John Negroponte charged with murder in Maryland stabbing.  A woman charged with first-degree murder in connection with a deadly stabbing in Maryland has been identified as the adopted daughter of former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte.  Sophia Negroponte, 27, was arrested Thursday night in the death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen.  WTTG reported that Rasmussen was pronounced dead at the scene in the suburb of Rockville shortly after 11 p.m.

"Nobody Kill Anybody" Fails:  During First Ceasefire Weekend in 70% Black Baltimore, 15 Shot, Four Dead.  Welcome to Baltimore in 2020, a 70 percent black city completely dominated by black elected/appointed officials in all aspects of the bureaucracy.  Confederate memorials are all removed, streets and buildings once named in honor of dead white males have been erased, racially re-named to honor the new demographic dominating Baltimore life. [...] With a homicide rate of 57 per 100,000, 70 percent black Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities in the entire world.[...] But here's the kicker:  back in 1921, when whites politically controlled the city of Baltimore and represented 85 percent of the population, there was a far different homicide rate:  11.3 per 100,000 people.  Why mention this?  Well, because during the city's first Ceasefire week of 2020 (after black men marched in early January to stop blacks from killing other blacks), individual black people couldn't stop shooting other blacks.

Tragically, the first "ceasefire weekend" in Baltimore of 2020 went about as well as you'd expect.  As we've previously discussed here, the violent crime and gang violence situation in Baltimore Maryland hasn't shown any signs of slowing down since the new year began.  Charm City recorded an average of more than one murder per day through the month of January.  Admirably, community leaders and the local churches once again teamed up last week to attempt another "ceasefire weekend," imploring the gangs to stay inside and stop the bloodshed for just 72 hours.  Unfortunately, it appears that the gangs aren't in the mood to listen this time around.  From Friday through Sunday, fifteen people were shot with three of them not surviving their injuries.

Former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume wins Democratic primary in race to finish Elijah Cummings' term.  Former Congressman Kweisi Mfume won the Democratic primary for Maryland's 7th Congressional District on Tuesday in the race to finish the rest of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings' term in Congress.  Mfume, who served as the district's congressman for five terms between 1987 and 1996 and went on to lead the NAACP, beat out a crowded field of 23 other Democrats vying for the seat, and which included Cummings' second wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, and his former staffer Harry Spikes.  Kimberly Klacik, who received national attention after her social media posts showing trash in Baltimore prompted President Trump to tweet that the district is a "disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess," won the Republican primary.

Baltimore County Admits It Hasn't Been Recycling Glass for 7 Years.  It Still Encourages Residents to Recycle Glass.  Baltimore County residents' have had their perceptions about where their glass ends up shattered.  Over the weekend, news broke that the county — which does not include the City of Baltimore — has not been recycling the glass it's been collecting as part of its recycling program.  For the past seven years, the jars and bottles that residents dutifully placed in their blue bins have been being junked instead.  "There are numerous issues with glass recycling, including increased presence of shredded paper in recycling streams which contaminates materials and is difficult to separate from broken glass fragments, in addition to other limitations on providing quality material," county spokesperson Sean Naron told The Baltimore Sun.

Gun-Controlled Baltimore Suffers 5 Murders in 8 Different Shootings.  On the recent weekend earlier in January when the AFC playoffs were held in Baltimore, twelve people were shot.  Five of those individuals were killed in eight separate shootings.  Baltimore had 348 homicides last year, that it knows of, its fifth year in a row with over 300 murders and the deadliest year ever on a per-capita basis.

Baltimore sees 12 shot, 5 dead in just 1 day of shootings.  Twelve people were shot and five of them were killed in a total of eight separate shootings Saturday [1/11/2020] in Baltimore, according to reports.  The first of Saturday's shootings was reported at about 2:30 a.m. and involved three women, all found with apparent gunshot wounds in a car in a northeastern section of the city. [...] "It goes without saying that the level of violence in the city yesterday was deeply disturbing and deeply troubling," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said during a news conference at police headquarters.  Harrison added his department "so far" has been unable to find "any connection between the five murders."

Baltimore succeeds in breaking murder record of the century.  Well, they managed to do it and it didn't take long at all.  Just yesterday we were discussing how the city of Baltimore, Maryland had tied the 21st-century record number of murders at 342 on Thursday.  And there were still several days to go until the end of the year.  On Friday night another man was shot multiple times and at some point early Saturday morning he succumbed to his injuries and passed away.  That was number 343, a higher death toll than any seen in the city since the early 1990s.

Topics We Aren't Allowed to Talk About.  Baltimore may be the most depressing big city on the eastern seaboard.  Have you been there?  Everyone in Washington has.  If you want to take a train from Washington to New York, you have to pass through Baltimore.  This summer, the president told the rest of the world what it's like.  Baltimore, he said, is "rodent infested, not to mention a corrupt mess."  Why is Baltimore so bad?  How did it get so poor and hopeless?  Part of the answer is 50 years of uninterrupted Democratic Party rule.  But saying that would be embarrassing to the Democratic Party, so the party's apologists don't want to have the conversation.  Instead, they attacked the man who tried to start it.  Baltimore remained dangerous, the kind of place where a kid gets shot riding his bike.  That is what life is like for the poor people stuck in Baltimore, a place where MSNBC contributors don't dare to tread.  The people in charge want to make certain you never think or talk about Baltimore.

Baltimore breaks city record for killings per capita in 2019.  Baltimore broke its annual per capita homicide record after reaching 342 killings Friday [12/27/2019]. [...] The new rate eclipses that of 1993, when the city had a record 353 killings but was much more populous before years of population exodus.

Another deadly week brings 2019 homicide total to 342, tied for second-most in Baltimore's history.  Nearly one-third of killings this year happened in the police districts with some of the lowest populations: eastern and western.  Here, neighborhoods have been hit hardest by drugs and poverty.  Citywide, another 766 people have been shot this year and survived.  That's a 14% increase over last year.

Another deadly week brings 2019 homicide total to 342, tied for second-most in Baltimore's history.  This holiday week brought no peace to Baltimore.  A working mother gunned down in front of her children at an East Side deli.  A man who succumbed to the gunshot wounds he suffered two weeks ago.  A baby believed to be shaken to death.  A man shot to death inside a car.  The four killings this week push the 2019 body count to match the second-most on record:  342 homicides.

Maryland Lawmaker Accepted Over $33,000 in Bribes Prosecutors Say.  Cheryl Diane Glenn, a veteran Democrat legislator from the northeast's 45th district and chair of Baltimore's House delegation, abruptly resigned last week.  The public learned why — Federal authorities on Monday unsealed charges against Glenn for allegedly taking more that $33,000 in bribes in exchange for various legislative actions, including voting to increase the number of medical marijuana grower and processing licenses available to an out-of-state company, CNN reports.  Cheryl Diane Glenn, 68, represented Baltimore as a Maryland state delegate until her resignation on December 18.  Glenn had become a leading advocate for legalizing marijuana in Maryland and the state's medical cannabis commission is named after Glenn's late mother, Natalie M. LaPrade.  The criminal information charges her with honest services wire fraud and bribery charges, the US Attorney's Office said.

Nonstop violence as Baltimore nears record homicide rate.  Baltimore could wrap up 2019 with its highest per-capita homicide rate on record as killings of adults and minors alike for drugs, retribution, money or no clear reason continue to add up and city officials appear unable to stop the violence.

Baltimore murders on track for per-capita record after weekend killings of 2 young mothers: reports.  A homicide toll of nearly one killing per day, coupled with a steep decline in population in recent years, is helping Baltimore set a new mark this year for killings per capita, according to reports.  The slayings this weekend of a 36-year-old mother inside the deli where she worked — as her children watched in horror — and a 21-year-old woman who was fatally shot in the head inside her beauty salon brought Baltimore's murder toll to 338 for 2019, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Baltimore Squeegy Boys attack mother and children.  My wife and 3 small children traveled to Baltimore to go to the science museum, and they were accosted and attacked by squeegy "boys".  This occurred right next to the museum where many families with young children go. [...] Update:  We called the Baltimore Police Department and they said they won't investigate because A) my wife left the scene of the crime, and B) they only have the visual identity of the attacker and not his name.  Baltimore PD is literally not concerned with people being attacked here.  [Video clip]

The Editor says...
If you're under attack, and the attackers are still present, is it not permissible to "leave the scene of the crime?"  The scene of the crime is well known.  How does anything change when the victim flees?

25 Baltimore corrections officers charged with 'illegal and excessive' force.  More than two dozen Baltimore, Maryland, corrections officers were indicted Tuesday [12/3/2019] with allegations that they used "illegal and excessive" force against inmates in state jails.  "All 25 of these correctional officers have allegedly abused their power and abused our trust," Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said during a Tuesday news conference.

Baltimore mayor warns of white van trying to 'snatch up young girls'; police say no reports.  As Baltimore grapples with an ever-growing homicide rate, the city's mayor raised eyebrows on Monday when he voiced concern about a mysterious white van roaming the streets with someone trying to "snatch up young girls" — something that has been refuted by his own police force.  Baltimore Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young made the comment during an interview with WBAL-TV while discussing human trafficking.  He said he had received information about a white van trying to abduct girls for their organs.  It's "all over Facebook," said Young, who took office in May.

Former Baltimore Mayor pleads guilty to some corruption charges.  When we learned on Thursday [11/21/2019] that former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh had been charged on a variety of corruption and tax evasion charges, I pondered what sort of defense her legal team planned to put up.  After all, the self-dealing transactions uncovered by the Baltimore Sun were such obvious examples of grifting that it should have been a no-brainer for prosecutors to go after her.  But Pugh had insisted from the beginning that nothing illegal had gone on and she had paid her taxes.  Well, so much for that.  Barely 24 hours later, the news broke that the disgraced former mayor had pleaded guilty to four of the original eleven charges.

Former Baltimore Mayor finally indicted on fraud charges.  We haven't heard much about the Healthy Holly bookgate scandal in Baltimore since May, when former Mayor Catherine Pugh was finally driven to resign from her office in disgrace.  At the time, it looked as if she might actually get away with the self-dealing scam she'd been running on the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) for years.  It turned out that the city had never gotten around to passing a law against that sort of dubious financial activity.  (Both the city and the state rushed to pass new laws after all of this was discovered, but those laws wouldn't apply to her retroactively.)  Well, it looks like the prosecutors investigating the matter found more dirt that we hadn't heard about.  Pugh was finally indicted last week on a variety of corruption and tax evasion charges.  The indictments were handed down in secret and the news didn't break until this morning [11/20/2019].

Ex-Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh faces fraud, tax charges.  An 11-count federal indictment accuses Catherine Pugh of arranging fraudulent sales of her "Healthy Holly" books to schools, libraries and a medical system to enrich herself, promote her political career and fund her run for mayor.

As Baltimore nears 300 homicides, mayor says city leadership not to blame.  As Baltimore braces to surpass 300 homicides for the fifth year in a row, Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said the city's leadership isn't the problem.  "I'm not committing the murders and that's what people need to understand," Young said Wednesday [11/13/2019] during his weekly press conference.  "How can you fault leadership?  This has been five years of 300-plus murders.  I don't see it as a lack of leadership."  There have been 296 killings so far in 2019.  Since the unrest in 2015 that followed the death of Freddie Gray, the city has been unable to keep the number of homicides below the grim benchmark of 300.

Baltimore hits 300 homicides for fifth year in a row.  Baltimore has lost 300 people to homicide for the fifth consecutive year.  On Thursday [11/14/2019], police confirmed the staggering total, which has become an unofficial milestone for marking Baltimore's struggle to quell extreme violence. [...] The most common ages for a homicide victim are 25 and 27; so far this year, around 43% of victims were in their 20s.

Why Trump is the Black Voters' Clear Choice in 2020.  As a child, I instinctively knew Democrats were scamming blacks.  When I was around nine years old, my parents and three younger siblings moved from a leaky roofed ghetto to a new 11-story government project in Baltimore.  Everything was brand new, kitchen appliances and so on.  Extremely excited, we were among the first families in the building of all-black residents.  Within a short time, that building became a huge ghetto.  The elevators were routinely out of service due to vandalism.  Our apartment was on the 6th floor.  Entering the pitch-black stairwell to walk up to our apartment was like walking into the shadow of death, as the sound of stepping on broken wine bottles echoed off the concrete walls.  I suspect my fellow residents were Democrats.  They believed every problem was always the fault of white racism.

Popeyes customer, 28, was stabbed 15 seconds after cutting the line for popular chicken sandwich.  The Popeyes customer who was stabbed to death outside one of the chain's restaurants in Maryland has been identified, as police reveal he was attacked because he cut the busy line.  The victim was identified as 28-year-old male Kevin Tyrell Davis of Oxon Hill, Maryland, Prince George's County Police spokeswoman announced Tuesday [11/5/2019].  He entered the fast food joint on the 6200 block of Livingston Road around 7pm Monday evening [11/4/2019] where about three dozen people were in line, many waiting for the newly released chicken sandwich, Police Chief Hank Stawinski said.

Man stabbed to death in Maryland Popeyes after altercation over chicken sandwich, sources say.  A fight over someone cutting in line lead to a fatal stabbing Monday night at a Maryland Popeyes. [...] According to police, the fight initially began in line when a man cut in front of another man and then the altercation escalated and spilled outside where one of the men was stabbed. VGhvc2UgcGVvcGxlIHN1cmUgZG8gbGlrZSBmcmllZCBjaGlja2VuLg==

2 teens assaulted, robbed in mall.  Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, say two teen girls were assaulted and robbed by a group of six young women inside a Silver Spring mall, and they've released video of the attack in hopes of identifying the suspects.  Police said the attack happened Oct. 2 shortly before 3:30 p.m. inside the Ellsworth Place mall, on Colesville Road in downtown Silver Spring.  A 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl were inside a restroom on the fourth floor when they were confronted by six other young women who began to assault them, according to police.  When the teens tried to exit the bathroom, the six attackers continued assaulting the girls in a hallway outside the restroom and then stole some of their property.  [Video clip]

Man stabs 5 people in Baltimore before police shoot him dead.  A crazed knife-wielding man stabbed five people in seemingly random attacks in suburban Baltimore before being shot dead by cops, according to authorities.  Jamaal Ramone Taylor, 31, was gunned down Saturday afternoon after refusing orders to drop the hunting knife he used to stab apparent strangers in at least three separate locations, according to cops.  All five victims suffered non-life-threatening wounds and were transported to local hospitals for treatment.

Baltimore To Fight Crime By Airplane Surveillance Of Entire City.  The head of an aerial surveillance company is pitching Baltimore officials on flying not one but three camera-laden planes above the city simultaneously, covering most of the city and its violent crime, he said in emails obtained by The Baltimore Sun.  A pair of Texas donors have stepped forward to help fund three planes and extra police, 40 local analysts and oversight personnel if there is city buy-in, the records and interviews show.  The effort aims to "demonstrate the effectiveness" of such an all-seeing surveillance system in fighting crime in the city. [...] Each plane would be capable of recording up to 32 square miles at a time, and each would fly 45 to 50 hours a week, McNutt said.

Racist Exam Questions?  The U.S. Department of Justice has recently sued the Baltimore County government alleging that its written test for police officer recruits was unfairly biased against black applicants.  It turns out that black applicants failed the written test at a rate much greater than white applicants.  That results in fewer blacks being trained and hired as police officers. [...] Baltimore City uses Municipal Police Selection Test.  You can examine some sample questions at its website.  I'd like to know which of the questions are either unrelated to police work or racist.

Eighth Illegal Alien Accused of Rape in Maryland Was Freed by Sanctuary City.  The eighth illegal alien charged with rape or sexual assault in Montgomery County, Maryland in less than two months was freed a year ago from police custody due to the county's sanctuary policy.  Oluwakayode Adewole Adebusuyi, a 26-year-old illegal alien, was arrested last week by the Montgomery County Police Department after he allegedly raped an intoxicated woman in his car, according to police.

American City Shame:  Rats, Cockroaches, Crime & Democrats.  Despite the media's laughable and psychotic persistence to create another racial hate crime by the evil orange man — President Trump is turning 'Elijah Cummings' Baltimore" into a national referendum... highlighting the disgraceful 3rd world conditions of Democrat-run cities across this nation.  This problem is SO out of control, the fact that the entire news industry has ignored it for decades is just further confirmation that in 2019, we have no news industry.  The Baltimore Sun, of course, being a typical media appendage of the Democratic Party, immediately provided us with the predictable, yet stunningly childish response "Better to have a few rats than to be one"

Growing up in a Baltimore where criminals reign supreme.  It was a dark night two years ago, and I had to head out to a prayer service just a mile away from my home outside northwest Baltimore City.  The carjackings and break-ins had spread to the suburbs, and the security situation was worse than at any time in my entire life, including during the Freddie Gray riots in 2015 and during the crime wave of the early 1990s.  My neighbors were scared to even take their trash to the curb at night, although there were plenty of muggings and carjackings occurring during broad daylight too.

Baltimore teachers call for donated fans, district resists.  Baltimore's teacher union is calling for fans to be donated to schools as sweltering heat pushes classroom temperatures into the hundreds, but the district says electrical infrastructure may not be equipped to handle it.

Police sergeant [who was] shot in northeast Baltimore [is] on life support.  An off-duty police sergeant shot by a masked man Thursday afternoon [8/8/2019] in northeast Baltimore is on life support at Shock Trauma. [...] A witness said she saw a man trying to rob [Sgt. Isaac] Carrington, who was dressed in plain clothes.  She said there was a physical struggle before she heard gunshots.

Was Trump Right About Baltimore?  In 2018, Baltimore was rated one of the "Rattiest Cities" in the nation by pest control company Orkin.  According to Patch Media, although there has been progress in the last few years, Baltimore ranks ninth in rat infestation, down from its sixth position two years ago on Orkin's list.  What about safety?  In 2017, St. Louis had the nation's highest murder rate, at 66.1 homicides per 100,000 residents.  Baltimore came in second, with 55.8 murders per 100,000 people.  The unpleasant fact is that predominantly black and Democratic-run cities have the worst records of public safety.

Baltimore Records Its 200th Homicide Of The Year.  Baltimore reached 200 homicides in 2019 after a woman was shot to death Saturday afternoon [8/3/2019].  A 32-year-old woman was found in her car Saturday riddled with bullet holes to her head and chest, authorities said.  Police tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at a local hospital, The Baltimore Sun reported.  The woman was one of seven shooting victims in the city over the weekend during a so-called "ceasefire weekend" — done to curb violence in Baltimore.

Conservative Activist Cleans 12 Tons of Trash From Baltimore Streets With 200 Volunteers.  Some 200 volunteers combed through the streets of northwest Baltimore on Aug. 5, cleaning up trash and weeds in an "Americans Helping Americans" event organized by conservative activist Scott Presler.  Starting at 7 a.m. at the corner of North Fulton Avenue and Westwood Avenue, the volunteers spread through the surrounding blocks.  By 8 p.m., they had collected more than 12 tons of trash — destination junkyard.

Trump Supporters Clean Up West Baltimore As Thankful Residents Defy Media Narrative.  After President Donald Trump drew attention to Baltimore, some of his supporters went down to West Baltimore to assist with a cleanup effort.  The group posted pictures of the effort with before and after photos and found some interesting things along the way.  According to OANN, the group was led by activist Scott Presler, who lead over 100 volunteers after the controversy first arose in the media.  Presler said his cleanup effort started with a simple tweet about going to clean up Baltimore, even if it's just by himself.  The tweet went viral, and before he knew it the effort had a slew of volunteers ready to go.

Baltimore can't account for millions while poverty is rampant.  [Scroll down]  The truth is that the city itself cannot account for the millions of dollars in grants that have poured into its coffers, according to Baltimore's most recent audit analyzed by DailyMail.com.  According to the 2018 city audit, millions of the dollars supposedly invested here are unaccounted for.  The audit notes numerous 'significant deficiencies' and 'material weaknesses' across almost every department and found a consistent lack of any internal tracking of funds.  The accounting for some departments was found to be so lacking that the sum of questioned funds is simply labeled 'Unknown.'

Only One Country In The World Has A Higher Homicide Rate Than The City Of Baltimore.  Only one country in the world has a higher per capita homicide rate than the city of Baltimore.  According to WorldAtlas, the murder capital of the globe is Honduras — where there are 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people.  Baltimore, with 56 homicides per 100,000 people, edges out the number two spot ahead of Venezuela, where there are 53.7 homicides per 100,000 people.  Venezuela's capital city of Caracas is widely known as one of the world's most dangerous cities with 122 homicides per 100,000 people.

The War on The Obvious.  To point out the obvious is "racist."  This week, President Trump's blistering comments on Baltimore's cadaverous state invited the familiar threadbare cries.  Perhaps, because that city is majority-black.  Or perhaps because that term is the only resort of those defending the indefensible.  Because Baltimore is indefensible.  And its denizens deserve better.

Don't Kill Whitey.  "Baltimore homicides exceeded 300 each year from 2015 through 2018," reports Awr Hawkings, citing figures compiled by USA Today and the Baltimore Sun, "and 2019 is on track to cross the 300 threshold for the fifth year in a row."  Testifying to the brutality of the predators who stalk this concrete jungle, the Baltimore Police Department's annual homicide analysis show that more than half of 309 homicide victims in 2018 were shot in the head.  "The large majority of killings," writes Jessica Anderson in the Sun, "271, or 88 percent — were from gunfire.  And of those, 199 victims were shot multiple times."  Alas, Charm City has lost its charm.

Elijah Cummings Called Baltimore 'Drug Infested Area' in 1999.  Embattled Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) described his community of Baltimore as a "drug infested area" in a video from a 1999 congressional hearing.  "This morning, I left my community of Baltimore, a drug infested area, where a lot of the drugs we're talking about today have already taken the lives of so many children," Cummings said.  "The same children that I watched 14 or 15 years ago as they grew up now walking around like zombies.  This is only 40 miles away from here."

Baltimore's Battered Face.  You can't blame this on President Trump.  He is guilty of the sin of unvarnished observation, but responsibility for this lies with Democrats who have controlled Baltimore city for decades.  The last Republican mayor in Baltimore city was Theodore McKeldin, who served when Lyndon Johnson was president.  More than 50 years of liberal tyranny and oppression has successfully brought about a twisted dystopian reality in Baltimore and the world's eyes are now on us.

Baltimore's Homicide Rate Is So High, Residents Could Claim U.S. Asylum If They Weren't Americans.  Disparaging remarks about Baltimore are not new.  Politicians, celebrities, and even residents of the city have easily mocked the soaring crime rate, rodent infestation, and never-ending parade of local government scandals.  The three most recently departed mayors have left in disgrace.  One was convicted of fraud that involved stealing gift cards from needy families, and another is under active investigation for embezzling government funds.  A local Baltimore Fox affiliate even attempted to shine a light on their own problem in 2018 using an "unfiltered" look at the city with recently ousted Mayor Catherine Pugh.  "Whoa, you can smell the rats," Pugh said during the program as a camera crew followed her around the streets of the decaying city.

Baltimore murder rate [is] worse than Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, driving asylum surge.  The Baltimore murder rate is higher than the three Central American nations driving the border surge by migrants seeking to flee crime and murder back home.  In an analysis of the murder rates done after President Trump criticized Baltimore Rep. Elijah Cummings over the weekend, Baltimore's was reported at 56 per 100,000.  The city is on track for 340 murders.  By comparison, said the Princeton Policy Advisors analysis, the murder rate in El Salvador was 50, in Guatemala it was 22 and Honduras was 38.

More about Elijah Cummings' 7th congressional district in Maryland.  Data from the 2017 U.S. Census shows Cummings' district is nearly 53% percent black and nearly 36% white.  Seven percent of the district is Asian, nearly 4% is Hispanic and less than 1% percent [sic] of the area is Native American and Pacific Islander.  The median age in the majority-female district is 38.9, and residents 18 years and over make up nearly 79% of the population, data shows.  Cummings' congressional district received just under $15.7 billion in grants, benefits and other assistance from the federal government in Fiscal Year 2018, according to Newsweek's analysis of the federal awards data compiled by USAspending.gov.

HUD official Lynne Patton says $16 billion [was] recently given to Baltimore.  Department of Housing and Urban Development regional administrator Lynne Patton appeared Monday [7/29/2019] on Fox News and took note of just how much federal money has been steered into Cummings' district, which is nearly 53% percent black.  "President Trump has given $16 billion in 2018 alone to Elijah Cummings' district in federal grants," Patton explained.  "We have given more money in homeless funds to Baltimore than the last administration.  We have given more money in 'community development grants.'"  Patton then asked, "What are you actually doing with the money so that it benefits residents in the community for once instead of deep-pocket, crooked politicians?"

Lawrence Jones investigates what's really happening on the streets of Baltimore.  Fox News contributor and Fox Nation host Lawrence Jones said Tuesday that Baltimore's liberal policies have negatively affected the city, speaking to some of the residents there about the conditions.  "They have made it very clear, they don't care about the politics of things.  But it's very clear that liberal policies have definitely affected Baltimore.  The question is, what would be the response.  We've seen the failure of all these cities, including Baltimore where there is corruption," Jones told "Fox & Friends."  Trump started a feud with House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, calling the congressman's district "a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess."

Benny Johnson Visits Elijah Cummings's District, Confirms Dire Situation in Residential Interviews.  The mainstream media don't appear to be interested, but fortunately Baltimore Republican Kimberly Klacik has posted numerous videos and images of interviews she's done with residents who live in Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods, making sure their voices are heard.  The same goes for TPUSA's Benny Johnson, who recently visited the district to conduct interviews with local residents.

Baltimore and Cummings:  Democrat grifters peddle racism and broken cities.  Baltimore is a mess and everyone knows it.  300 murders a year.  Baltimore's murder rate is second only to Venezuela.  Over the last year, 80% of Baltimore's murders have been black on black crime.  The life expectancy for certain parts of Cummings' district is lower than in North Korea.  After abortion and drug overdoses, violent crimes are the leading cause of death for black Americans in Baltimore.  Sounds like paradise.

Thread Reader:  I spent all day speaking with dozens of people who live in Rep. Cummings' district.  Some have lived here +60 years.  I learned so much. [...] Every person I spoke with confirmed that the district was rat infested[.]  This man told me that rats the "size of cats" run through his house regularly[.]  One woman told me rats have "taken over" her neighborhood[.]  One called it a "plague of rats[.]"

The president is right about Baltimore.  Are Democrats really prepared to defend failure?  Baltimore ranks in the top 10 of the least livable cities in America.  Until this week, it was not controversial to point that out.  But now that President Donald Trump has tweeted about Baltimore, it seems as though anyone who criticizes the awful conditions there is opening themselves up to charges of prejudice. [...] The president's remarks were immediately denounced as racist by Democrats and the usual frantic pundits, even though the tweets had no racial content.

Baltimore Homicides on Track to Top 300 for 5th Consecutive Year.  Baltimore homicides exceeded 300 each year from 2015 through 2018, and 2019 is on track to cross the 300 threshold for the fifth year in a row.  A 2016 report from the Baltimore Sun showed 344 homicides for the year 2015.  A homicides counter maintained by the Sun shows 318 for 2016, 342 for 2017, and 309 for 2018.

Limbaugh Praises Trump's Baltimore Tweets: 'About Time Somebody Pushed Back'.  Monday [7/29/2019] on "Fox & Friends," conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh sounded off on President Donald Trump's remarks about Baltimore and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).  Trump's criticisms of the two received backlash from Democrats and the media as being racially charged, but Limbaugh defended the president for speaking the "absolute truth" about a city ruined under Democrat control.  The host questioned why Democrats can be critical of Trump, but he cannot push back against something controlled by Democrats.

Baltimore Burning:  It's Not A Matter Of Money.  We Tried That.  With the surety of night following day, the Baltimore riots have been followed by calls for more government spending to fight poverty in our distressed inner cities.  President Barack Obama says "massive investments in urban communities" could "make a difference right now."  Representative Elijah Cummings, who represents Maryland in Congress, says, "We have to invest in our cities and our children."  And House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, who also represents the state, says, "But we're going to have to as a country invest if we're going to have the kinds of communities we want."  But the idea that we haven't been "investing" in Baltimore is nonsense.

At Least 5 Shot, 3 Killed, Saturday in Gun-Controlled Baltimore.  At least five people were shot, three fatally, Saturday [7/27/2019] in gun-controlled Baltimore, Maryland.  WJZ reports the first shooting, which proved fatal, occurred around shortly after 1 pm.  Officers rushed to the scene and "found a man with gunshot wounds to his body."  He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Anthony Brian Logan - West Baltimore Is Definitely A Rat And Rodent Infested Mess!  African American Anthony Brian Logan on President Trump on Saturday branded Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., a "brutal bully" for his treatment of border patrol officials at committee hearings — and described Cumming's district as "far worse and more dangerous" than the southern border.  "Cumming[s'] District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.  If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place," Trump tweeted, before calling for an investigation into why Baltimore received so much federal funding.

Trump's Attack on Baltimore Doesn't Go Far Enough.  On Friday, Trump attacked Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, who had been complaining about conditions at the border, by saying "his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous." Trump called it "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."  He's right about the rats.  Last year, the pest-control service Orkin rated Baltimore as one of the "rattiest cities," behind Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.  Naturally, Trump's tweets are being labeled as racist.

Baltimore Mayor Caught on Camera:  "Whoa, you can smell the rats".  On Saturday [7/27/2019] President Trump correctly blamed Cummings for the state of his district which is in disarray and crime ridden.  "Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous.

Trump is right — Baltimore [has been] mistreated by elected Dems, residents deserve better.  The people of Baltimore pledged their allegiance to Democrats in City Hall and Washington, only to be betrayed, their community turned into a dumping ground for the political ruling class.  Instead of addressing the blight and squalor in his congressional district, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings has been taking cheap shots at Border Patrol agents and the Trump administration's handling of the illegal immigrant invasion.

Trump vs.  Baltimore.  What President Donald Trump's detractors don't seem to realize (or refuse to realize) is his genius in instinctively identifying wide-open attacks avenues against the Democratic Party that previous Republicans were too scared to undertake for fear of being called racists.  Trump simply doesn't care what they say about him, since he's such an accomplished rhetorical counterpuncher, and his latest target is calling out Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings over how horrible parts of Baltimore have become.  The huge advantage Trump starts out with is bedrock truth, given that not only is Baltimore been a declining city with a high crime rate for a long time now, but that major TV networks have been driving this point home with shows like Homicide:  Life on the Streets and The Wire.

Trump Aides Defend His Comments on Baltimore, 'Zero to Do With Race'.  Aides and allies of President Donald Trump spoke out on July 28 to defend his criticisms of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and the handling of his Maryland congressional district, which the president earlier described as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."  At the same time, Trump amplified his disapproval of Cummings and doubled down on his comments that he did a "very poor job" in Baltimore, as he turned his criticisms toward House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the handling of her own district in San Francisco.  Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump's description of Cummings's district contained no racial connotations.

Commentary about Baltimore and Chicago.  [Scroll down]  Baltimore is a rat and rodent-infested mess.  Never mind a recent investigative report in which an entire block was apparently taking water service from a fire hydrant.  How [...] does that go on for more than an hour or so before a city cop sees it and the fire department and code people show up?  The danger to the public of tampering with fire connections like that is quite severe; what else is being overlooked?  Maybe a few illegal natural gas taps to go with the water?  How many screwdrivers are in place across the contacts of disconnected electric meter boxes?  Baltimore, and the rest of our Democrat-controlled cities, have become corrupt cesspools with people literally [defecating] on the streets.

PBS Aired 'Rat Film' Documentary About Baltimore's Rodent Problem in 2018.  More than a year before Donald Trump criticized Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in a tweet on Saturday for ignoring his Baltimore district's "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess," PBS aired a documentary titled Rat Film about the city's rodent problem.

'Rat Film' documentary about Baltimore's rodent fight.  "Rat Film," a documentary that takes the decades-long fight waged against Baltimore's rat population and uses it as a lens through which to look at how the city has addressed myriad social issues over the decades, airs tonight on PBS.  The hour-long documentary from Baltimore filmmaker Theo Anthony, a crowd favorite at last May's 19th Maryland Film Festival, airs at 10 p.m. on Maryland Public Television as the latest episode of PBS's "Independent Lens" series.  It repeats at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.  A longer version of Anthony's film played festival, as well as at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway in September [2017].  In chronicling Baltimore's decades-long battle against its unwelcome rodent population, Anthony details some disturbing parallels with the ways city leaders have tried to deal with various urban situations.

Baltimore Rat Infestation Is So Bad They Made A Documentary About It 2 Years Ago.  The Baltimore rat problem President Donald Trump tweeted about Saturday is apparently so extensive that it was the subject of a documentary two years ago.  The president's tweets took aim at Democratic Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has been very critical of the administration's immigration and migrant detention policies, calling his home district in Baltimore "rodent infested."

Trump makes Baltimore the symbol of Democrats.  Democrat Elijah Cummings enjoys a safe seat in Congress, so safe that the congressman thought he could front the clan that wants to impeach President Donald John Trump.  In response, President Trump showed the nation how third world parts of Cummings' district in Baltimore is.  Baltimore's last Republican mayor was Theodore McKeldin, whose term ended 52 years ago.  His successor was Nancy Pelosi's brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III.  The population was 939,024 and mainly white back then.  Now the population is 602,495 and mainly black.

Watch: Democrat Baltimore Mayor Caught On Camera Complaining About 'Rats, Dead Animals' Last Year.  As the media and Democratic Party tries to portray President Donald Trump's tweets about Baltimore as racist, a resurfaced clip from last year shows Democratic Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh complaining about the poor conditions in part of the city, specifically "rats" and "dead animals."

Baltimore Sun Op-ed, 2016: Trump's Right:  Declare Baltimore a 'Disaster' and Rebuild It.  The Baltimore Sun published an op-ed on Nov. 9, 2016 — the day Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election — in which the author called for Baltimore to be declared a disaster, and rebuilt.

Baltimore Ambush:  Trump forces Democrats to defend the indefensible, again.  President Trump has done it again.  Just as he forced Democrats to defend the far-left 'Squad' in his unexpected ambush on Rep. Ilhan Omar and her pals, he's now forcing Democrats to own the urban shambles and filth that characterize one-party blue-city rule, putting all Democrats on their backfoot.  That's what's behind his surprise Twitter assault that began with Rep. Elijah Cummings and his rat-infested Baltimore district, which pretty much came out of the blue.

It was cool when Bernie Sanders called Baltimore 'a disgrace,' worse than N. Korea, but Trump's a racist.  2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), during his prior presidential run in 2016, compared Baltimore to a "Third World country" while touring one of the city's neighborhoods and subsequently tweeted, "Residents of Baltimore's poorest boroughs have lifespans shorter than people living under dictatorship in North Korea.  That is a disgrace."  "Anyone who took the walk that we took around this neighborhood would not think you're in a wealthy nation," the Socialist-Democrat Sanders told reporters after his December 2015 tour.  "You would think that you were in a Third World country."

Resident of Baltimore Agrees with Trump:  Cummings 'Hasn't Done Anything for Us'.  President Trump doubled down on his previous remarks on the condition of Rep. Elijah Cummings' (D-MD) Baltimore district, retweeting a video Saturday [7/27/2019] of a local resident who said his remarks were "definitely true."  After a day of criticism from the left, the president renewed his critique of Cummings and his Baltimore district, circulating the views of Baltimore resident Michelle, who blasted Cummings and said he "hasn't done anything" for them.

Other Politicians Like Bernie Sanders And Barack Obama Ripped Baltimore's Crime Problem (But That Was Just Fine).  Bernie Sanders actually compared Baltimore to a "third world country." [...] But apparently those comments were ok to most of the national media.  It's apparently only bad for Trump to criticize Baltimore for true problems.

Cummings Criticizes Border Conditions — President Trump Reminds Cummings of His Home District.  Charity begins at home; so too does good governance.  President Trump confronts Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings with the reality of his own district in Baltimore, Maryland, and the blight that's been neglected for decades. [...] Remember, Cummings represents a district that is so manifestly leftist and corrupt, when the riots broke out in 2015 Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told the police to stand down and give the rioters "space to destroy".  Yeah, remember her.  How did that career work out?

Bernie Sanders Blasted Elijah Cummings' District as a 'Third World Country'.  Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Sunday [7/28/2019] he thinks it's "unbelievable" that President Trump "attacks American cities" when asked about Trump's tweet calling Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings' Baltimore district a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."  However, Sanders sounded a different tune in 2015 when he likened Cummings' West Baltimore district to a "Third World country."

Why Do Democrats Run All of the Dangerous and Rodent Infested Cities?  Rep. Cummings, while being very obsessed with Russia, seems utterly bewildered with the idea that anyone could dare question why so many billions of federal dollars flow to places like West Baltimore when they are obviously doing no good.  Look at other cities in similar dilapidation and there holds a unique truth:  Democrats run them all.  How long will sewage run down the streets of San Francisco?  How long will St. Louis, Detroit, and Baltimore, continue to rotate as the nation's most dangerous crime infested metros?

Cummings Criticizes Border Conditions, President Trump Reminds Cummings of His Home District.  Charity begins at home; so too does good governance.  President Trump confronts Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings with the reality of his own district in Baltimore, Maryland, and the blight that's been neglected for decades.

Do you see what the top ten cities have in common?
The Ninth Most Rat Infested City Is Baltimore.  Orkin released its Top 50 Rattiest Cities list [on 10/15/2018], and for the fourth consecutive time, Chicago takes the top spot.  Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from September 15, 2017 [to] September 15, 2018.  This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.
  [#1]   Chicago
  [#2]   Los Angeles
  [#3]   New York
  [#4]   Washington, DC
  [#5]   San Francisco
  [#6]   Detroit
  [#7]   Philadelphia
  [#8]   Cleveland, OH
  [#9]   Baltimore
  [#10]   Denver
Well done Elijah, though you can't take all the credit.  The Democrats who have run Baltimore in the ground for decades are just as responsible for this as you are.

'Extremely Shocking': Brazen Attacks Caught On Camera Around Baltimore, Reward Being Offered.  Brazen attacks were caught on camera around Baltimore and police are asking the public for help in solving the crimes.  Video first obtained by WJZ shows the attack on a civilian employee of the Baltimore City Police Department, who was stomped on the head by a group of teens riding Lime scooters.  The suspects continue to remain at large.  These videos are really disturbing but we wanted to show them to you so that someone out there can help solve this crime.  It also shows the brutality.  This employee gets kicked in the head, again and again.

CNN Anchor Victor Blackwell Accuses Trump of Racism, Defends Hometown Baltimore.  Victor Blackwell, co-host of CNN's New Day Weekend program, defended his hometown Baltimore from criticism by President Donald Trump Saturday morning.  Blackwell, who is black, accused Trump of racism but failed to explain the horrid conditions in West Baltimore that Trump condemned, saying only, "there are challenges, no doubt."

Media Claim Trump Is Racist For 'Infestation' 'Rat' Tweet About Baltimore.  These Videos Tell A Different Story.  On Saturday, the media painted President Donald Trump as a racist for tweeting about the disastrous conditions in the district in West Baltimore represented by Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD). [...] "Baltimore had the worst homicide rate among the nation's 50 largest cities last year and the second-highest violent crime rate overall, according to new data from the FBI," The Baltimore Sun reported in 2018.  Video filmed by politico Kimberly Klacik also reinforce President Trump's tweets.  In the videos, Baltimore residents complain about the rough conditions and desperately beg for government officials to "help."

Trump slams 'brutal bully' Elijah Cummings, claims Baltimore district is 'more dangerous' than border.  President Trump on Saturday branded Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., a "brutal bully" for his treatment of border patrol officials at committee hearings — and described Cumming's district as "far worse and more dangerous" than the southern border.  "Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous," he tweeted Saturday morning [7/27/2019].

Trump Calls Baltimore 'Disgusting, Rat And Rodent Infested Mess'.  President Donald Trump is not a fan of Baltimore, or the Democratic lawmaker that represents much of the city in Congress.  In a series of tweets on Saturday, the Republican described the Maryland metropolis as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" that is "a very dangerous & filthy place."

Baltimore police employee is assaulted, robbed of car, in downtown area.  A Baltimore police employee was assaulted and robbed of his car in the downtown area this morning, just days after the deputy police commissioner and his wife were robbed at gunpoint.  This latest robbery reportedly happened Wednesday morning just blocks from police headquarters on Fayette Street.

Family of homicide victim speaks after suspects arrested in double shooting.  The deadly violence in Baltimore City is taking its toll outside the city limits as the parents of a Harford County woman prepare to bury their daughter who was gunned down in the streets of Baltimore. [...] 26-year-old Brittany Foster was one of two people who were shot to death on Bloomingdale Road on Tuesday [7/2/2019].  Two days later, police announced the arrest of 18-year-old Donyell Morris and 17-year-old Charles Anderson.

Baltimore Police praised and promoted Gun Trace Task Force leader despite complaints, allegations of misconduct.  Wayne Jenkins was living a double life.  Then 34, he was already an admired leader of aggressive street squads and would go on to head the elite Gun Trace Task Force, one of the Baltimore Police Department's go-to assets in the fight against violent crime.  He was also the ringleader of a criminal enterprise of police officers who were robbing people and dealing drugs.

Baltimore mayor, at anti-gun rally, suggests boxing matches could settle disputes.  The new mayor of Baltimore — one of America's most dangerous cities — wants rival factions to put down their guns and put up their dukes.  During a Sunday speech at an anti-gun violence rally, Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young — who took office after Catherine Pugh resigned in May amid scandal — advocated organized fights as a means to solve disputes without using weapons.  "There's mediation.  If they wanna really settle them, we can have them down at the Civic Center, put a boxing ring up, and let them go and box it out," Young told WBAL.

The Editor says...
Although the current system isn't working, Mayor Young's plan is a male dominance ritual better suited to the gorilla cage at the zoo.  There is no reason to think that the loser of one of the mayor's boxing matches will forever put away his firearms and concede defeat.  Exactly the opposite is true.

The Breakdown Of Law In American Cities.  Since 2015 there has been a strong trend of Baltimore police ignoring some of the violations that should have always been enforced.  This change in attitude is largely attributed to the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a patrol car and the violence that followed.  Although the crime rate was much higher, police reported seeing less crime overall and made fewer reports.  The only thing that makes sense is that they started ignoring a lot of incidents that should have resulted in arrests and charges.  The homicide rate in Baltimore skyrocketed to a tragic 342 reported homicides in 2017.  Shootings have gone up dramatically.  There is no end to this without some enforcement of current laws.

Baltimore TV anchor Mary Bubala ousted after asking controversial question about city's recent mayors.  A Baltimore TV anchor was ousted days after she received backlash for asking a question surrounding the race, gender and leadership abilities of the city's recent mayors that some viewers deemed "racist and sexist."  Mary Bubala, the anchor for CBS affiliate WJZ-TV's 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts, no longer worked at the television station as of Monday, four days after her question to Loyola University Maryland professor Karsonya "Kaye" Wise Whitehead led to a firestorm of criticism, the station's manager Audra Swain told the Baltimore Sun.

What did she say that isn't absolutely true?
Baltimore TV anchor ousted after backlash to question about 'female, African American mayors'.  A Baltimore television station has dismissed one of its anchors who drew criticism for a question she posed late last week about the gender and race of the city's past three mayors.

Baltimore Mayor Pugh resigns amid children's book scandal.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned following weeks of investigations into a scandal around her self-published children's books.  In a statement read by her attorney Steven Silverman at a Thursday afternoon [5/2/2019] press conference, Pugh announced she was stepping down, effective immediately.

The Pelosi Preakness.  [T]here really is no excuse for Baltimore to be the mess of a city it has become.  A lot of American cities, big and small, have lost out in the postindustrial shifts of the last 60 years.  But Metro D.C. is recession-proof, and ever growing.  The vast stretches of east and west Baltimore that lie abandoned could be condemned, razed, and replaced with condo towers and market-rate apartments to serve the bevy of white-collar workers who could find these areas convenient.  But that's beneath the Baltimore politicos.  They spend their time worrying about high-profile projects like sports stadiums, and of course, municipal graft.  Which brings us to Nancy Pelosi.  Her dad, "Big Tommy" D'Alesandro, was Baltimore mayor throughout the 1950s and was a legendary crook.  He made a lot of money, but his public career cratered over charges of kickbacks.  His son was also mayor of Baltimore and likewise left public life under a cloud, especially for his inept leadership in the 1968 Baltimore riots.  The ensuing white flight killed off what had been a substantial GOP base in the town, leaving Charm City a fiefdom for crooks and incompetents.  Little Nancy was part of the graft from the beginning, even helping Big Tommy keep his account book of "favors done and owed".  When the Pelosi family moved to San Francisco, Nancy brought the Baltimore touch to the Bay area, pulling out the brass knuckles to raise funds for Jerry Brown's Democrats and winning a congressional seat.

Federal Agents Raid Homes and Office of Corrupt Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.  Political "space to destroy" leadership, particularly mayors in Baltimore Maryland, have an inherent disposition toward transparently corrupt behavior.  Remember Sheila Dixon in '08, or Stephanie Rawlings Blake in '15.  It's a perpetual cycle.  I digress.  Into the recent corrupt landscape comes current Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who takes bribes and graft through a pay-to-play bribery scandal for books she "authored" called "Healthy Holly".  Want a city contract?  Buy some books[.]

Baltimore mayor not lucid enough to decide whether to resign.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is sick and not "lucid" enough to decide whether to resign over a federal investigation into shady sales of a children's book she authored, her lawyer said Thursday [4/25/2019].  The embattled Democrat was at her house during an FBI and IRS raid on the property earlier Thursday and met with a doctor there, said her attorney Steve Silverman.  An earlier report from local outlet WJZ quoted sources saying Pugh had skipped town.  But her lawyer — whose office was also raided by the feds — said he met with her for an hour at her Ashburton house, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore mayor whereabouts unknown as FBI, IRS raid her office, home.  The days keep getting worse for Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.  On Thursday, federal agents raided her homes and offices, Maryland's governor called for her resignation "for the good of the city" and speculation swirled about her whereabouts, as she presumably is still recovering from a bout of pneumonia.  The escalating drama played out in Baltimore amid a backdrop of political isolation for the embattled first-term mayor, whose sales of her self-published "Healthy Holly" books to a medical system she oversaw and to firms seeking contracts in the city are being investigated by federal and state authorities.

Maryland governor calls on Baltimore mayor to resign following FBI raid.  Maryland's governor has called on the mayor of Baltimore to resign.  The state's governor, Larry Hogan, a Republican, called on Thursday morning [4/25/2019] for Catherine Pugh to leave office "for the good of the city".  Agents with the FBI and Internal Revenue Service carried out a raid on Baltimore city hall and two homes belonging to the mayor on Thursday morning, amid widening investigations to determine whether she used sales of her children's books to disguise government kickbacks.

FBI raids Baltimore City Hall, home of Mayor Catherine Pugh, her attorney's office and three other locations.  Hauling out boxes of "Healthy Holly" books and documents, dozens of federal law enforcement agents Thursday struck homes, businesses and government buildings across Baltimore as an investigation into Mayor Catherine Pugh's business dealings widened.  FBI agents and IRS officials executed search warrants at her City Hall office, Pugh's two houses, and offices of the mayor's allies, as the growing scandal consumed the city's attention, generated national headlines and provoked fresh calls for the embattled Democratic mayor's resignation.

Federal agents raid Baltimore mayor's home.  Federal agents have raided the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh amid uproar over lucrative business deals for her self-published children's book.  FBI and tax agents also searched city hall and a training centre associated with Ms Pugh on Thursday [4/25/2019].  The Democrat earned hundreds of thousands of dollars through sales of Healthy Holly books to city entities.  She has been on a leave of absence since 1 April.  Baltimore City Council this month called on her to resign.

Police Aren't Enough.  [Clarence Maurice Mitchell IV] was formerly a member of Maryland's House of Delegates and its Senate.  In recent weeks, Mitchell has been talking about the terrible crime situation in Baltimore.  In 2018, there were 308 homicides.  So far this year, there have been 69.  That's in a 2018 population of 611,648 — down from nearly a million in 1950.  The city is pinning its hopes to reduce homicides and other crime on new Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.  Another hot news item in Baltimore is the fact that Johns Hopkins University wants to hire 100 armed police officers to patrol its campuses, hospital and surrounding neighborhoods.  The hospital president, Dr. Redonda Miller testified in Annapolis hearings that patients and employees are "scared when they walk home, they're scared when they walk to their cars."

Baltimore Mayor Takes 'Indefinite Leave' as Self-Dealing Scandal Spurs Calls for Resignation.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (D.) announced Monday she is taking an indefinite eave of absence, citing health reasons.  This follows embarrassing revelations of a book-selling arrangement she had with Baltimore's largest health providers, which led to calls from top officials for her to step down.  Gov. Larry Hogan (R.) told the state prosecutor that the allegations against Pugh are "deeply disturbing," the Associated Press reported.  Hogan expressed particular concern about a $500,000 sale to the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) "because it has significant continuing ties with the State and receives very substantial public funding."  Comptroller Peter Franchot (D.) was explicit in his demand for Pugh to leave office immediately.

Baltimore Bookgate Continues:  Where Are All The Books?  We're now well into the second week of bookgate in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.  The passage of time and various requests for information from Mayor Catherine Pugh, the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the Baltimore City School District have not made this tale smell any better.  All the members of the UMMS Board of Directors who had these "self-dealing" arrangements have now either resigned or been placed on leave.  But one question specific to Mayor Pugh's situation remains unanswered.  If she supposedly "sold" 100,000 copies of her self-published children's book to UMMS to be distributed around hospitals and schools in the city, where are they all?  The last order for 20,000 books may or may not have been canceled, but that still leaves a lot of books to account for.

Thousands Of Those Books Baltimore's Mayor Sold Are Sitting In A Warehouse.  When last we checked in on the growing scandal surrounding Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, we learned that she had resigned from the Board of Directors for the University of Maryland Medical System.  (In her resignation letter she stated she had "many other pressing concerns that require my full attention, energy and efforts.")  What the resignation didn't clear up was the matter of the half million dollars the UMMS had paid her for tens of thousands of copies of a children's book she had written and self-published.  Despite calls from Maryland legislators and even the Governor to give the money back, no mention of that was made in her resignation letter.

Baltimore mayor resigns from board of U.-Md.  Medical System.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh has resigned from the board of the University of Maryland Medical System following a controversy involving a deal with the hospital system to buy her children's books.  Last week, Pugh (D) and others on the health system's board were criticized by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and top state lawmakers for the financial deals with the hospital system and possible conflicts of interest.  On a financial disclosure form, Pugh listed a $100,000 profit for one year from selling 20,000 copies of her self-published children's book series "Healthy Holly" to the University of Maryland health system, which runs 13 hospitals including the state's trauma unit in Baltimore and has connections with the state's dental and medical schools.

The Tragedy of Baltimore.  In Baltimore, you can tell a lot about the politics of the person you're talking with by the word he or she uses to describe the events of April 27, 2015. Some people, and most media outlets, call them the "riots"; some the "unrest."  Guy was among those who always referred to them as the "uprising," a word that connoted something justifiable and positive: the first step, however tumultuous, toward a freer and fairer city.  Policing in Baltimore, Guy and many other residents believed, was broken, with officers serving as an occupying army in enemy territory — harassing African-American residents without cause, breeding distrust and hostility.

Amid Baltimore's persistent violence, police department failing to fill 500 patrol officer positions.  The Baltimore Police Department's efforts to recruit hundreds of new police officers to fill vacant patrol positions in the face of persistently high levels of street violence are not going well, according to new recruitment figures obtained by The Baltimore Sun.  The department is not only failing to fill the estimated 500 vacancies, but suffered a net loss of 36 sworn officers in 2018 — hiring 184 officers but losing 220 others, data show.  Meanwhile, homicides have topped 300 in each of the past four years, making Baltimore the most murderous big city in the nation.

Homicides spike in DC and Baltimore, defying downward trend in other big cities.  Homicides surged about 40 percent last year in the nation's capital while nearby Baltimore continued to notch almost one killing per day — defying the downward trend in other big U.S. cities.  According to The Washington Post, a total of 160 homicides as of Monday night [12/31/2018] was driven by the more frequent use of guns in crimes.  Law enforcement officials told the newspaper that petty disputes between people who already know each other and are armed account for many of D.C.'s killings.

More Post- Freddy Gray Bad News From Baltimore.  This Washington Post article about homicide rates in Baltimore is important for two reasons.  First, it confirms with updated statistics the killing spree that followed attacks on policing in Baltimore after Freddy Gray's accidental death.  Second, it demonstrates why recidivism rates based on arrest statistics vastly understate the amount of crime committed by those released for prison. [...] A depleted, demoralized police force is going to struggle to solve crimes, especially when crime is increasing.  And a police force that's demonized by politicians and the federal government is probably going to receive less help from residents in solving crimes than a force that's not under concerted assault.  But here's the point that's relevant to legislation, like the recent jailbreak bill, that results in less jail time for criminals, especially felons.  The inability of the police to solve crimes means that the recidivism statistics based on arrest rates vastly understate the amount of crime released prisoners actually commit.

Annoyed Baltimore Drivers Want City To Crack Down On 'Squeegee Kids'.  When 17-year-old Jaylen Brown found himself in need of extra cash last summer, he did what many of his classmates had begun doing years ago.  He stuck a tree branch into a sponge and started to squeegee.  Now a seasoned window-washer, Brown has traded in the contraption for a Mallory — a sturdy-handled squeegee with a thick, spongey top.  In between school and his 6 p.m. shift at Burger King, Brown will walk the median of President Street in Baltimore with his cousin Tony Jackson.  If they get a nod from a driver, the teens will give the windshield a quick scrub and pocket whatever bills get dangled out the window.  "We catch hundos, 20s, 50s sometimes, fives, and dollars," says Jackson.  On a good day, the cousins each head home $200 richer.

The Editor says...
And all that income is tax-free, because they are paid anonymously in cash.

Feds: Ex-Baltimore police officer admitted misconduct, expanding scope of Gun Trace Task Force corruption probe.  A former Baltimore police officer has admitted to the FBI that he stole money, lied in police reports and improperly used electronic surveillance devices, federal prosecutors in California said — widening the scope of police misconduct unearthed by the Gun Trace Task Force scandal.  Former Det.  Matthew Ryckman resigned from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Sacramento this fall after admitting the misconduct in an interview with the FBI, according to a Nov. 16 letter sent by the U.S. Attorney's Office in California to local defense attorneys that was obtained by The Baltimore Sun.  Ryckman has not been charged with any crimes in California or Maryland, and declined to comment this week.

Maryland woman 'felt moved' to give panhandler money before she was stabbed to death, husband says.  A Maryland woman who "felt moved" to give money to a panhandler early Saturday morning was killed when a man lurking nearby plunged a knife into her chest and fled with her valuables, the woman's husband said.  Keith Smith told the Baltimore Sun his wife, Jacquelyn Smith, wanted to help the woman — who appeared to be holding a baby — early Saturday morning in east Baltimore because she "felt moved to give her some money."  The couple had been dancing hours before the attack and celebrating Keith Smith's 28-year-old daughter's birthday.

Harford County woman fatally stabbed in Baltimore after rolling down car window to give a woman money.  54-year-old Harford County woman died early Saturday morning after being stabbed in the chest, according to Baltimore police.  Police say Jacquelyn Smith and her family were driving through the 1000 block of Valley St. in the Johnston Square neighborhood at 12:27 a.m. when they saw a young woman carrying what appeared to be a baby and holding a cardboard sign that said "Please Help me feed my Baby."  Smith, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, rolled down the window to give her money.

When Media Foist False Narratives to Sow Social Discord, They Indeed Are the Enemy of the People.  Social discord leads to streets being set on fire — witness Ferguson and Baltimore during the Obama Years.  Social discord dispirits potentially valuable citizens who could help build a society, instead turning them against that society and motivating them to work towards its downfall or simply to drop out.

Baltimore Suffered Worst Murder Rate Per Capita of All U.S. Cities in 2017.  According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data, the City of Baltimore had the worst murder rate of all U.S. big cities in 2017.  Chicago gets a lot of press for its high murder rate and the city did, indeed, have far more murders than Baltimore in 2017.  But Chicago is also far larger than Baltimore (about 3 million for Chicago versus 615,000 for Baltimore), so on a per capita basis, Maryland's largest metropolis was far more dangerous for its citizens than even the blood-soaked Windy City.  CBS Baltimore noted that Baltimore's 342 homicides resulted in a homicide rate of 56 per 100,000 people of cities with more than 500,000 citizens.

Camera catches Baltimore mayor's surprise & disgust as she tours her own city: 'You can smell the rats'.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was captured on camera saying "you can smell the rats" among other derogatory remarks as she toured a low-income neighborhood in the crime-ridden city.  The Democrat mayor was slammed for being offensive and out-of-touch after touring an East Baltimore neighborhood with other city officials, which included vacant homes, the Baltimore Sun reported. [...] While the overnight removal of Confederate statues from the city was accomplished under Pugh last year, rats appear to be a greater challenge.

The Editor says...
The article immediately above includes a number of quotes from the mayor, almost all of which reveal a profound inability to express herself without resorting to profanity.  In my opinion, such a narrow vocabulary is the sign of a low-class individual with a substandard education.

Why Baltimore Police Have 'Stopped Noticing Crime'.  An interesting news story ran in Thursday's [7/12/2018] USA Today.  "Baltimore police stopped noticing crime after Freddie Gray's death," read the headline.  "A wave of killings followed."  What I found most interesting about it, though, was not the facts that were reported but rather that anyone should have found them surprising.  "Just before a wave of violence turned Baltimore into the nation's deadliest big city," the story begins, "a curious thing happened to its police force:  officers suddenly seemed to stop noticing crime."  The story goes on to describe how Baltimore's police officers reported seeing fewer drug dealers out and about, fewer traffic violators, fewer people with arrest warrants, fewer of any type of person who previously would have attracted their attention.  Note that the story does not say there were fewer of these lawbreakers, only that the police did not report seeing as many.  Surely if the officers were being candid, they would say they saw just as many as ever, but that they made the decision not to do anything about them.

Despite Police Report and Doctor's Note, School Says No Evidence of Bullying.  Despite the police report, the medical records and the doctor's note, which all describe a serious attack, the school determined "there is not sufficient evidence to prove that your child was subjected to bullying or intimidation behaviors."  There was no recommended discipline for the attacker.  This mom calls it a cover up.  "The boy was playing and he hit her in the head by mistake.  That's what the principal said," the mom told Project Baltimore.  "How could somebody just hit you in the head by accident?" says the daughter, who told us she was hit three times.  "I feel the children are not safe in the schools anymore.  If I had the money or the means to be able to do it, I would take her out of the school system altogether and put her somewhere private," says the mom.

Despite handling of Freddie Gray case, Baltimore prosecutor wins primary toward 2nd term.  Baltimore's top prosecutor won her Democratic primary Tuesday, assuring her of a second term despite criticism over what critics say was her botched 2015 prosecution of six police officers in the death of a black man named Freddie Gray.  The victory effectively hands the job of state's attorney to Marilyn Mosby because the city is dominated by the Democratic Party and no Republican filed to oppose her.

Major scandal brewing in Baltimore as new docs come to light on house arrest of alleged cop killer Dawnta Harris.  As a follow up to our post on Thursday on Dawnta Harris, the 16-year-old who allegedly ran over and killed a Baltimore cop with a stolen car while on house arrest for stealing a car, new documents have come to light that confirm that Harris' mother begged Juvenile Service to keep her son locked up: [...] And another document shows that officials did not seek detention of Harris on May 18 in an emergency hearing called after the teen missed numerous check-ins to confirms his house arrest.

16-year-old charged with officer's killing has criminal history.  We are learning more about the 16-year-old charged with first-degree murder in Baltimore County Police Officer Amy Caprio's death.  Speaking at the District Court for Baltimore on Tuesday, the judge, in this case, said he wasn't sure any juvenile facility is secure enough to hold Dawnta Harris.  Harris has been charged with a series of car thefts.  Police also believe he stole the jeep that was used to kill Officer Caprio[.]  Prosecutors said Harris was arrested four times for auto theft since December of last year.

Three more teens charged with first-degree murder in slaying of Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio.  Three additional teens have been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Baltimore County police Officer Amy Caprio, authorities said Wednesday [5/23/2018].  Darrell Jaymar Ward, 15, Derrick Eugene Matthews, 16, and 17-year-old Eugene Robert Genuis IV were also hit with burglary charges and were charged as adults.  Dawnta Anthony Harris, who is 16, had been charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday [5/22/2018], one day after Officer Caprio was fatally struck by a vehicle.  Harris admitted to a detective that he "drove at the officer."

Teen charged in death of Baltimore County officer; remaining three teen suspects also in custody.  A 16-year-old has been arrested and charged as an adult in the death of a police officer on Monday, and three other suspects — all teenage males — are in custody.  Dawnta Anthony Harris, of the 1600 block of Vincent Court in the Gilmor Homes complex in West Baltimore, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Officer Amy Caprio, according to court records.  He is being held without bail at an adult detention center.

Pregnant teacher carjacked at Maryland school by group of girls, cops say.  Maryland police have arrested two of the four teenage girls accused of approaching a pregnant teacher in a school parking lot and stealing her car, purse and cellphone.  The teacher was not hurt but went to the hospital to see a doctor as a precaution, Baltimore County police said.  Police said Sunday [4/22/2018] they had arrested a 16-year-old girl, Tyana Keyshawn Holmes, and a 14-year-old girl on carjacking and robbery charges.  Holmes is being charged as an adult.  The younger girl is being charged as a juvenile.

Baltimore Mayor Tries to Address City's Violence by Telling Businesses When to Close.  The city of Baltimore has a real problem.  It's been suffering from a wave of violence for some time now.  Residents of the city thought it was over.  After all, the murder rate for the first three months of this year dropped significantly, undoubtedly a good sign.  Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.  This month, the city has seen at least 29 murders as the violence surged yet again.  This led Mayor Catherine E. Pugh to take to the streets to visit some local businesses.  One of the exchanges recorded by the Baltimore Sun was a little concerning, though.

How $37 Million from the Clinton Foundation Disappeared in Baltimore.  Why did the Clinton Foundation send a $37 million grant for the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund in 2010 to a Baltimore post office box when the CBHF told federal tax authorities that its only office that year was in Washington, D.C.?  For the rest of us, the answers to that and many other questions posed by those who wonder why investigations into obvious and rampant frauds involving Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and their purported foundation never go anywhere are complex.  But they're worth following if you care about combating charitable fraud.

Ignorance: The Greatest Threat to Black Americans.  Turning 65, my relative is about to retire from her job as a Baltimore City transit bus driver.  She said she is extremely tired of having to deal with black people with entitlement mindsets.  Self-preservation has taught her not to argue with thugs boarding her bus, refusing to pay the fare.  Upon asking a gentleman to pay his bus fare, he exploded in anger, ranting about how a black man can't catch a break in this [...] country.

What's causing Baltimore's population loss?  It's no mystery.  With the U.S. Census Bureau reporting yet another year of population loss for the city, it doesn't take an investigator to determine the causes.  The city's scary record of 343 homicides in 2017 affirms the city's well-known reputation as a dangerous place to live.  Even if 2018 has fewer homicides, it doesn't take a fortune teller to predict that this year's homicide rate will be high.  Until the city substantially reduces its homicide and other crimes rates, people will continue to view the city as dangerous and be reluctant to stay or move here.

City with Highest Per Capita Murder Rate Starts Defense Fund for Illegal Aliens.  Less than a year after Baltimore prosecutors ordered staff not to charge illegal immigrants with minor, non-violent crimes because it could get the offenders deported, Maryland's largest city will hire immigration attorneys to help those facing removal.  It's important to note that Baltimore has the nation's highest per capita homicide rate and has been coined the deadliest big city in the United States by a mainstream newspaper.  Nevertheless, a city panel approved spending $200,000 this month to pay for lawyers to represent illegal aliens with deportation orders.  Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says in a local news report that the goal is for everyone to get due process.  "We're not making a decision as to their status, we're making the decision to be supportive of individuals who live in our city," according to the mayor.

ICNA-MAS in Baltimore:  A Meeting of Islamist Minds.  This weekend (March 30-April 1), for the fourth year running, the Baltimore Convention Center will host the joint convention of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS).  Alongside a cohort of prominent clerics will also be former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor, Martin O'Malley, who just recently appeared on the confirmed speakers list.  Last April, the Baltimore Sun published a laudatory piece about the annual event.  The Sun's article glowingly describes how conference attendees handed out "blessing bags" of household necessities to needy families and fed hundreds of homeless on the streets of Baltimore.  But the Sun missed a crucial detail about ICNA-MAS in its report:  both ICNA and MAS are outgrowths of international Islamist movements.  Both groups use benevolent community involvement to provide cover for their continued practice of sponsoring extreme hate preachers and bigots.

There's A War Going On, But White Americans Don't Know — Yet.  [Scroll down]  I am also a complete product of Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, BA, MD, residency and instructorship in diagnostic radiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  I was even born at Hopkins Hospital.  For thirty years, I practiced medicine in the Baltimore area and lived in a pleasant part of northern Baltimore City.  But now we have left Baltimore for good.  By the time we left, black teens were stealing packages off the front porch, white heroin addicts were breaking into the carriage house, and the police were advising residents to lock their second-floor windows and avoid going out alone or at night.  Black teenage carjackers shot a man about eighty yards from my front door.  The police occasionally caught the perps, but the courts released them because they were under-aged.  The State of Maryland makes it almost impossible for a normal person to obtain a concealed carry permit, but even if you could get one, you would be better off dead than having to deal with the legal repercussions of shooting a black criminal.

Notable testimony from the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force corruption trial.  A federal jury has convicted two Baltimore Police detectives, Daniel Hersl and Marcus Taylor, for their roles in one of the biggest police corruption scandals in recent memory. [...] [Detective Maurice] Ward testified that his squad would prowl the streets for guns and drugs, with his supervisor, Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, driving fast at groups of people and slamming on the brakes.  The officers would pop their doors open to see who ran, then give chase and detain and search them.  Ward said this occurred 10 to 20 times on slow nights, and more than 50 times, "easy," on busier nights.  The officers had no reason to target the crowds other than to provoke someone who might have drugs or a gun into running.  "A lot of times" guns and drugs were recovered in this way, Ward said.

More fallout from the demonizing of Baltimore's police force.  Johns Hopkins University wants to form its own police department with armed, sworn police officers to patrol its university and hospital campuses.  The University already has its own security personnel, approximately 1,000 strong.  Even so, last Fall there were 16 gunpoint robberies around its main campus in Baltimore.  Thus, the Baltimore delegation to the state general assembly will propose legislation to enable Hopkins to have its own police department.  The plan has the support of Baltimore's police chief and its mayor.  Activists and some local politicians are wary of the idea, though.  So, apparently is the Washington Post.  Reporters Ian Duncan and Talia Richman write darkly about "a new force of uniformed, armed and sworn officers controlled by an institution with a historically troubled relationship with Baltimore's African American community, at a time when policing in Baltimore is under federal scrutiny."

5 Of The Most Violent Cities In The World Are Right Here In America.  [#21] Baltimore, Maryland:  The city of Baltimore has an astounding murder rate of 55.48 people per hundred thousand.  Last year's murder rate was nearly as high as the year that the riots erupted over the killing of Freddie Gray by city police officers.  There's a murder nearly every day of the year in Baltimore and the police force there is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt — if not the most corrupt — in the nation.

Baltimore Has Somehow Found Money To Pay For Lawyers For Illegal Aliens.  The City of Baltimore, Maryland has been dealing with their fair share of budget problems lately, the same as many other municipalities.  In their recently completed 2018 budget negotiations, they wound up having to make cuts so deep they eliminated funding for things like new street lights and trash cans.  And all of that was happening at the same time as they struggled to fund law enforcement efforts aimed at tamping down their historic murder rate.  But somehow, in a bit of financial legerdemain, they came up with $100K to pay for attorneys for illegal aliens fighting deportation orders.  There's a lesson here about priorities somewhere, but I get the feeling that the City Council wouldn't listen even if someone stopped by to brief them on it.

'Get your facts straight, love': Ingraham's segment with Baltimore mayor overheats.  It didn't take long for a discussion between Laura Ingraham and Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh to go off the rails.  [Video clip]  Pugh appeared Wednesday night [3/7/2018] on Fox News Channel's The Ingraham Angle to discuss the mayor's decision to provide "free" busses for students who chose to ditch school on March 14 to attend March for our Lives anti-gun rally in Washington D.C.  It's no secret that Baltimore has been plagued with poverty and soaring crime, and Ingraham used the city's plight to drill Pugh's decision.  "You're funding buses, in part, to go down to Washington, and yet you have a budget deficit — " Ingraham said.

Baltimore to battle violent crime by banning styrofoam?  The city is one of the most dangerous in America, and, not surprisingly, one of the most violent, so what are the central planners going to do about the spike in violence?  Not much it seems[.]

The Baltimore effect:  What gun-grabbers don't want to debate.  Substance is not the strong suit of the Left.  Leftists tend to isolate one component of a policy issue, ignore the broader context, history, and consequences of the larger issue, and use and abuse a national tragedy to exploit their agenda.  Using political human shields is the cherry on top.  This is why they never want to discuss the broader history of gun violence and gun laws in America but instead keep a myopic focus on school shootings while hiding behind the victims.  Baltimore, my hometown, is a living repudiation of the essence of the gun-grabbing premise.  Baltimore is now considered the most dangerous city in the country.  And it's spilling over to the suburbs.  In my neighborhood, people are too scared to walk outside at night to throw out the trash because of the rampant burglaries, muggings, and carjackings.  And no, they are not allowed to carry a gun, which is part of the problem.

Patterson Park statue honoring national anthem is defaced, found sprayed with red paint.  A statue paid for with pennies contributed by Baltimore school children more than a century ago was found sprayed with red paint Monday morning [1/15/2018].  Jennifer Arndt Robinson, executive director of Friends of Patterson Park, said the bronze statue of children holding a scroll to commemorate the writing of the Star Spangled Banner had been damaged by paint.  The words "Racist Anthem" were sprayed on a sidewalk near the statue.  "We were notified early this morning of the incident," Robinson said.  "We are working with appropriate city officials to make sure it is addressed as quickly as possible."

Statue dedicated to Star Spangled Banner in Baltimore defaced with paint.  A statue honoring the composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been defaced in Baltimore, according to our affilate WBFF.  Red paint was sprayed on the statue in Baltimore's Patterson Park.  The words "Racist Anthem" were sprayed on a sidewalk leading up to the statue Monday morning [1/15/2018].  The statue built in 1914 was paid for with pennies collected by Baltimore schoolchildren.

Wife Of Man Attacked By Teens During Carjacking Speaks With WJZ About His Recovery.  Carjacked, thrown to the ground, and driven over with his own car.  The wife of a Baltimore County man who was attacked during a carjacking talks to WJZ about the vicious attack that now has four teens behind bars.  Right now, Baltimore County police are looking for two other teens still wanted in connection with the carjacking that left a man seriously injured.

Baltimore breaks city record for killings per capita in 2017.  A surge of homicides in the starkly divided city resulted in 343 killings in 2017, bringing the annual homicide rate to its highest ever — roughly 56 killings per 100,000 people.

Baltimore Pastor On The City's Homicide Rate:  We Need Police To Come Back.  Baltimore had 343 homicides in 2017, a number which set a new record for the most murders per capita in the city's history.  Today [12/31/2017] NPR published an interesting interview with a Baltimore pastor named Rev. Kinji Scott who says the problem is that police in the city have pulled back in the wake of the Freddie Gray case. [...] It's interesting that Scott blames progressives and liberal journalists for demanding police back off but says that's not what most people in the community really wanted.  You sometimes hear that argument from conservatives but it never seems to carry much weight when they say it.  Now that Scott is saying it will anyone listen?

Baltimore Residents Blame Record-High Murder Rate On Lower Police Presence.  For the third year in a row, Baltimore, Md., has had more than 300 murders, reaching a new record of murders per number of residents in 2017.  Some residents attribute the high murder rate to relaxed police patrols in the city following high-profile cases of police brutality.  Officers have backed off in neighborhoods, like the one where Freddie Gray was arrested.

Baltimore Police Backed Away From A Community That Protested Against Them, And Guess What Happened?  So the greatest revelation that some communities may be grasping, moving into 2018 is that if you continuously threaten the police, attack the police, protest and spit on the police, they'll back off and the crime in your communities goes up.  Who knew?  It's almost as if law enforcement is a necessary part of a civil, safe society, and a couple of instances of bad apples are not the whole of the profession.  Now Baltimore, a scene of chaos after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody in 2015, is seeing a third straight year of murders over 300 in the city.

Surprise! Baltimore Residents Blame Reduced Police Presence for High Murder Rate.  More than any other major city in America, Baltimore embraced the anti-police narrative about violence in the streets.  The city's former mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, proudly announced in 2015 at the height of the Freddie Gray protests that she was giving space to rioters so they could destroy property more easily.  The criminal element in Baltimore took that sentiment to heart.  Now, violence and murder is out of control and most residents blame a reduced police presence on the streets for the mayhem.

Democrat Run Baltimore had 343 Homicides in 2017, Sets Record for Killings Per Capita.  There is nothing a Democrat touches that doesn't turn to complete crap.  Take for instance Baltimore, Maryland.  They haven't had a Republican mayor since 1967.  Even Nancy Pelosi's father Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. was once mayor of Baltimore.  So what happens in 2017?  They set a new record per capita in homicides:  343 to be exact.

Baltimore Mayor Reacts To Crime: 'I Am Deeply Disturbed'.  Last week the Baltimore police commissioner was fired up at a press conference, Wednesday, the mayor responded to those who are lashing out at her.  They say she doesn't take the violence seriously.  Mayor Catherine Pugh says every time there's a shooting or murder, her phone rings, and it couldn't be more disturbing.  Pugh says they're moving the hiring process along as fast as they can with officers but the City might not feel the impact until next year.

This Is What Anguish Looks Like:  Victims of Black-on-White Violence.  [Scroll down]  Ditto in Baltimore.  Earlier this week, following dozens of recent attacks of black mob violence on white people, the mayor announced she was going to get tough: she and her department heads were going to have a meeting every morning and talk about this problem of runaway black violence in Baltimore until it went away.  Like Chicago and hundreds of other Chocolate Cities around the country, local authorities have decided "they are not going to arrest their way out of this mess."  Anyway, back to Baltimore:  Local media told us a white girl on a bus got into an argument with a group of black people.  Translation:  They had a disagreement about whether they should beat [...] her and leave her lying on the curb, bloody.  The cameras got there in time to let us see this white girl, still bloodstained.  And how she described the regular violence on the bus, and in her life, and how it was going to happen again tomorrow, with the same lovely ladies or a different cast of characters.

The Wages of Social Justice Is Death.  Baltimore, a city whose best years ended more than a century ago, is a prime example of what happens when citizens are categorized by skin color or cultural background, and then have differing standards of behavior applied to them by what should be an impartial justice system.  Instead of "social justice," the outcome is social disruption, mistrust, resentment, lawlessness and, if left unchecked, anarchy and civil war.  The Marxists not only know this, they desire it, which is why they press so hard for it.

Gun Arrests Are Down In Baltimore And The Reason Why Is Infuriating.  Baltimore is a cesspool of crime and corruption.  It has been for years.  When Martin O'Malley was mayor his answer to the crime problem amounted to a policy of arresting black men for being outside.  The city paid to settle a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the ACLU over unlawful arrests.  The city jail was wholly owned by the criminal drug gang known as the Black Guerilla Family.  Crooked is the norm in Baltimore.

Baltimore Mayor Pugh says crime 'out of control,' orders agencies to meet with police every morning.  Calling violence in Baltimore "out of control," Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered 30 agency heads to meet every morning at police headquarters, and to make crime reduction the top mission not only of police, but also of health workers, housing officials and public works crews.  The mayor ordered the directors of more than half of the city's 55 departments to report to meetings daily at 8 a.m., when they will plan with Police Commissioner Kevin Davis where weeds should be cut, lead paint covered and drug houses boarded up and job applications can be handed out, among other tasks.  Pugh appeared at City Hall Thursday flanked by agency heads.  "Violence in the city is out of control," she said.  "I want every neighborhood to know I am extremely concerned and focused on reducing violence."

Baltimore police van driver Caesar Goodson not guilty on all 21 administrative charges in Freddie Gray case.  Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was found not guilty Tuesday [11/7/2017] of all 21 administrative charges against him in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray.  The verdict absolves Goodson once and for all in the case, and allows him to continue his career on the city police force.  Goodson, 48, the driver of the police van in which Gray was found with severe spinal cord injuries in April 2015, was charged with neglecting his duty by failing to ensure Gray's safety by securing him in a seat belt or calling a medic when he requested one.  He was also charged with making false statements to investigators.  Goodson faced possible termination if any of the charges against him had been sustained.

Woman lucky to be alive as upscale Baltimore neighborhood terrorized by marauding bands of teens wielding wooden boards.  A Baltimore woman says she's "lucky to be alive" after being beaten with wooden boards and sticks by a pack of teens on Halloween night.  The vicious group of around 10 to 15 juveniles committed at least three other attacks that night in the South Baltimore area, a city councilman said, and police also believe the incidents are related.

Goodbye, tourism industry!
Violent Teenagers Terrorize Baltimore's Inner Harbor With Random Attacks.  Baltimore's Inner Harbor area is one of the bright spots in the Maryland city.  It's the home of the U.S.S. Constellation and one of the country's great aquariums.  It has restaurants and shops, and is near Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens football team.  It is one of the main tourist attractions in Baltimore, drawing large crowds.  But over the past two weeks, violent groups of teenagers have randomly assaulted multiple individuals in and around the Inner Harbor area.  For now, the police have no suspects, and are identifying the group behind the assaults only as "juveniles."

Baltimore Ceasefire: second violence free weekend planned as homicides near 300.  As homicides mount, Baltimore residents are again calling for a weekend without violence.  The second 72-hour-long Baltimore Ceasefire is scheduled Friday through Sunday with events planned around the city each day in an effort to curb the city's rising number of homicides as it nears 300.  "We're doing ceasefires quarterly because we saw what the first one did, how much hope it gave the city," said Erricka Bridgeford, one of the event's founders.  The first ceasefire was held in August after 188 people had been killed, and included marches, cookouts and vigils across the city, and two men were killed.  It wasn't the first attempt at a violence-free weekend in the city.

NJ Family Visiting Baltimore Haunted By Random Teen Attack At Inner Harbor.  It's the heart of Baltimore's tourism industry, but the Inner Harbor turned into a nightmare for a visiting family of 10 earlier this month.  Out of nowhere, they were swarmed and beaten by a large number of teenagers.  While the family that was attacked does not want to be identified, they do want their story to be heard.

Family Swarmed, Beaten by 'Large Group of Teenagers' in Baltimore.  Earlier this month, a family of 10 was visiting Baltimore's picturesque Inner Harbor when suddenly a large mob surrounded them and beat them without provocation — think of it as a group-effort knockout game.  The family wasn't identified, but they spoke to local news about the ordeal.  "They swarmed us," a female victim said.  "They hit my husband in the head.  They knocked him out and then it was just complete bedlam."  The family was visiting from New Jersey on October 21 during the crowded Baltimore Marathon weekend.  The victims ranged from grandparents to grandchildren, according to WJZ.

Baltimore Police Searching For Man Wanted For Murder.  Baltimore County Police are asking for the public's help in locating a man wanted for murder.  Tyson Lemond Moore is wanted for first-degree murder and the use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence.

Rioter Learns His Fate in Court.  [Scroll down]  To be clear, a drug addict freely roams the streets of Baltimore in violation of probation.  While the city's firefighters tried to do their jobs and possibly save lives, this dope head cuts their water hose.  Who knows what destruction occurred when firefighters no longer had water.  Did businesses burn?  Did anybody die?

Baltimore Man Got Probation Only For Rioting, Cutting Fire Hose — Breaks Probation And Gets Sentenced To More Probation.  A man who was front and center during the Baltimore rioting in 2015, and punctured a fire hose, has once again received leniency, and will not have to serve time for probation violations.  Greg Butler, now 23, showed up wearing a gas mask and riding a bicycle at rioting in the city's Penn North neighborhood on April 27, 2015, according to The Baltimore Sun.  Firefighters were battling an out-of-control blaze started by rioters at a CVS Pharmacy when Butler first stepped on a fire hose, then cut it twice with a serrated knife.

Baltimore Activists Pursue City-Wide Ceasefire With 'Nobody Kill Anybody' Weekend.  Although it has less than a tenth of New York City's population, Baltimore has suffered 48 more homicides in 2017, according to police statistics.  The Maryland city's murder rate is also on the rise, 20 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

Baltimore's "nobody kill anybody weekend" lasts a little over a day.  It was a noble effort to be sure and a pretty good plan (all things considered) for as long as it lasted.  Sadly, that wasn't terribly long at all.  We're talking about the effort by some Baltimore community leaders to enact a 72 hour "ceasefire" in the city.  John noted the kickoff of the effort on Friday [8/4/2017], while I'd described my own concerns about the prospects for success a couple of weeks earlier.  It was an effort that was labeled nobody kill anybody weekend, and it was supposed to run from Friday morning until Sunday night.

Baltimore County Police Searching For Violent Escapee.  Baltimore County Police are searching for a prisoner in their custody who escaped from inside St. Agnes Hospital located in the 900-block of Caton Avenue, 21229.  Joshua Jerome Brown, 21, with a last known address of 5600-block of Loch Raven Boulevard, 21239 ran out of St. Agnes Hospital while receiving medical treatment on July 27, 2017 at 11:30 p.m.  Brown was last seen running on Wilkens Avenue.

Welcome to Baltimore — City Destroyed by the Democratic Party.  Baltimore isn't the only major city destroyed by the Democratic party.  They are just one of many.  Baltimore is just as bad as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City or Philadelphia.

Businesses Sue Baltimore For Leaving Them To Their Own Defenses During Riots.  Baltimore, Md. businesses filed a lawsuit against the city for failing to protect their property during the 2015 Freddie Gray riots.  Sixty plaintiffs joined the lawsuit alleging that the city and police department were inadequately prepared for the riots, leading to almost $13 million in damages to over 380 businesses, CBS Local Baltimore reported Thursday [6/22/2017].  "The City and other Defendants failed them when they adopted a policy of restraint and issued stand-down orders, caring more about the public perception that they feared would result with increased police presence than preventing what were clearly preventable riots," Peter K. Hwang, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Baltimore and Chicago are in a race to the bottom, murder-wise.  The temperature is going up across most of the nation this month, and I mean that literally as well as in the figurative arena of political combat.  And when the thermometer gets into the 90s in some of America's larger urban centers it seems to bring out the worst in people.  That was certainly the case in Chicago, where residents witnessed yet another weekend with near record numbers of shootings and murders.

In Baltimore, the joy and relief of making it through high school alive.  These were the students who made it through high school alive.  Five didn't.  Five of the roughly 300 teens who started the school year at Excel never made it to the end.  They were killed in the epidemic of gun violence that has claimed 146  victims through the end of May and made Baltimore "the toughest city in America to grow up in," as the local politician who addressed the graduates called it.

6 Baltimore schools, no students proficient in state tests.  A Project Baltimore investigation has found five Baltimore City high schools and one middle school do not have a single student proficient in the state tested subjects of math and English.

Baltimore Has Become A Rotting, Decaying War Zone.  It is hard to believe that Baltimore was once one of the greatest cities in the entire world.  Unlike nearby Washington D.C., Baltimore is a blue collar city that is home to some of the hardest working people in America.  When I was in high school, my brother and I were huge fans of the Baltimore Orioles, and once in a while our parents would drive us from our home in Virginia all the way up to Baltimore to see them play.  As an adult, I spent a number of years living near D.C., and I would take frequent trips up to Baltimore.  To say that the city is in a state of decline would be a major understatement.  Everywhere you look there are abandoned buildings and homes, and as you drive through some of the worst areas you can actually see drug addicts just lying in the streets.  Just like so many other communities all over this country, decades of liberal policies have taken a brutal toll, and now the city is just a rotting, decaying shell of the glorious metropolis that it once was.

Baltimore Sun:  Say, Could Someone Explain Why Illegal Aliens Are Treated Better Than U.S. Citizens in Court?  On the bright side, illegal aliens are mostly not responsible for the massive spike in crimes, shootings, stabbings, and murders in Charm City.  What with all that crime, one can understand that the police would have illegals as lower rungs on the ladder.  But, they still go after people who violate traffic laws, do they not?  Of course, the number of police working for Baltimore has dropped precipitiously since the city decided to demonize the police.

Baltimore Announces Illegal Aliens Can Commit Any Crimes They Want.  Baltimore's murder rate is out of control.  It's so bad that they've asked for Federal help.  Meanwhile their split lefty personality is taking sanctuary city to its logical conclusion.  California and other sanctuary jurisdictions have been complaining of Federal personnel showing up to bust illegal aliens.  But they can't bust them if you never charge them.

Baltimore Is Begging Feds To Step In To Restore Law And Order.  Baltimore's mayor asked the FBI to send in reinforcements Wednesday to help the city get its murders under control.  Mayor Catherine Pugh, speaking at a news conference, explained she went to the FBI's Baltimore office for extra agents to join with police officers in combating a skyrocketing murder count, reports CNN.  "Murder is out of control.  There are too many guns on the streets.  We're looking for all the help we can get," Pugh said.  The city already has 101 murders for the year, a number not seen in almost 20 years.  The mayor's spokesperson warned the violence could rise in the summer months.

Baltimore Anti-Cop Consent Decree Imposed.  An Obama-appointed judge is moving forward with a federal takeover of the Baltimore, Md. police department that critics say will boost crime there by handcuffing police officers in the increasingly violent city.  The pleas of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fell on deaf ears as U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar, appointed by President Obama in 2010, denied a request from Sessions to hold off on enforcing the consent decree drafted by cop-haters for at least 30 days so the new Trump administration could assess the underlying settlement.

Baltimore defamation suit against Marilyn Mosby to move forward.  The long, drawn out battles surround the Freddie Gray trials in Baltimore may seem like a distant memory at this point.  Much of daily life in the city has returned to normal, even though the murder rate stayed stubbornly high at 318 for last year.  With all the trials against the police officers involved in Gray's arrest and subsequent death having failed or been dismissed, the dust has largely settled.  The mayor is on her way to a civilian gig with the DNC.

Baltimore Six — Federal Judge Allows Malicious Prosecution Case Against Marilyn Mosby To Proceed.  Interesting development in the aftermath of the Baltimore Six trials in the death of Freddie Gray.  A federal judge, Marvin J Garbis, has allowed a "malicious prosecution and defamation" lawsuit against Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to proceed.  Ms. Mosby's position was that she held absolute prosecutorial immunity from actions taken as a state's attorney.  Under normal prosecutorial constructs her office would most likely be correct.  However, the judge rightly pointed out that Mosby conducted an independent investigation using her office for more than just prosecution.

Report: Only 16% of Baltimore Teens Raised With Married Parents.  A new report released by the Family Research Council's Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) says that only 16 percent of 15- to 17-year-old teens in Baltimore have been raised in an intact, married family.  The report, released Wednesday and compiled in light of the recent Baltimore riots, cites Census Bureau statistics showing that, in terms of family units, Baltimore is "one of the five least intact counties of America," along with Cuyahoga, Ohio; the Bronx, N.Y.; the District of Columbia; and Shelby County, Tenn.

Baltimore Expected to Approve Law Banning Possession of 'Replica' Guns.  A Baltimore police detective shot and wounded 14-year-old Dedric Colvin earlier this year during a foot chase.  Police say they gave chase and ultimately fired shots after seeing Colvin carrying a weapon that appeared to be a semi-automatic pistol.  After the shooting, however, officers discovered the weapon was actually a BB pistol modeled after a popular type of semi-automatic handgun.  Authorities ruled the shooting was justified and no charges were filed against the officer.  If the aftermath of the incident, the Baltimore City Council decided that it wanted to do more to prevent another similar incident from happening.  How do they plan to achieve their goal?  By passing a citywide ban on the possession of toy or replica guns that appear similar to real handguns and rifles.

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's top prosecutor, deletes banned ballot photo.  Baltimore's top prosecutor tweeted, then deleted a prohibited ballot-box photo on Election Day.  The now-deleted image showed State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's daughter looking over the blank ballot with the caption, "We Voted today #DoYourPartAndDoTheSame #We'reWithHer @HillaryClinton."  Maryland law prohibits the use of electronic devices inside polling places and voters are only permitted to take photos outside.

Man must pay $1M restitution for cutting hose during Baltimore riots.  A man who pleaded guilty to puncturing a fire hose being used during the riots in Baltimore last year has been ordered to pay $1 million in restitution.  Twenty-two-year-old Gregory Lee Butler Jr., also known as Greg Baly, was ordered to serve three years of probation and to perform 250 hours of community service.  The Baltimore Sun reported that the government sought a 33-month prison sentence.  U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz also sentenced Butler to time served on Thursday.  Prosecutors say Butler twice punctured a fire hose as firefighters were battling an arson blaze at a CVS drug store on April 27, 2015.

Marilyn Mosby would like to prevent cops from opting for bench trials.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has found herself on the ropes after a disastrous series of failures during the Freddie Gray trials, but she's apparently not ready to give up on her efforts to put police officers in jail.  She's hitting the media circuit defending her new series of "reform" proposals which are described as efforts to hold law enforcement more accountable and bolster relations between police and the community.  There's no question that there are serious opportunities for improvement in that area, but a couple of her proposals are drawing justifiable skepticism.

What you're not being told about the new crime numbers.  A close look at the data reveals that the largest increases aren't pervasive nationwide, but are geographically uneven and concentrated among a small handful of cities.  For example, an oft-referenced report from the National Institute of Justice examining 56 large U.S. cities last year found that the 10 with the largest absolute rise in homicides accounted for a full two-thirds of the total increase among those sampled between 2014 and 2015.  In fact, among cities with a population of greater than 250,000, almost one-quarter of the entire homicide increase is accounted for by the massive increases in just Baltimore and Chicago!

In Baltimore, the Mayor finally throws Marilyn Mosby under the bus.  Two prominent women with both powerful influence and considerable political ambition were in the eye of the media storm all through the Freddie Gray trials in Baltimore these past couple of years.  One was Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who famously held the police back to "give those who wished to destroy space to do that" as rioters were burning down her city.  The other was state's attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.  Married to Baltimore City Council member and recent mayoral candidate Nick Mosby, she's one half of a power couple who shared lofty goals for political prominence.  Unfortunately, she's also the same person who stood on the steps of City Hall during the riots and promised to deliver "Justice for Freddie Gray" rather than simply justice for all in the city.

Baltimore bank robbery suspect dead, another hurt in shooting, police say.  A police officer fatally shot a man [9/23/2016] who had robbed a suburban Baltimore bank and injured a second man involved in the robbery, firing through the windshield of their oncoming car Friday [9/23/2016], authorities said.

Police Say Teens Live-Streamed Daylight Armed-Robbery of 64-Year-Old Man.  A 64-year-old man was reading a book at a Baltimore park earlier this week he suddenly became the victim of a violent robbery.  Baltimore police say the man was attacked by a group of teens that placed a gun to the man's head, sprayed him with mace and then stabbed him — all in broad daylight.  The attackers then allegedly made off with the man's iPhone, a North Face jacket and $60 in cash.  As if it is not already bad enough, Baltimore police say the one of the teens filmed the entire attack and live-streamed over Facebook.  The Baltimore Sun reports police on Friday announced the arrest of Zannay Laws and Dakei Perry, both 18, in connection with the brutal attack.  Both now face attempted murder and robbery charges over the incident.

$2.3 Million Taxpayer Dollars Goes to Help Students Cope With Freddie Gray Trauma.  The U.S. Department of Education awarded the city of Baltimore more than $2.3 million in grant money to help students deal with "significant trauma related to episodes of civil unrest."  The announcement said that the money is part of a new Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) program geared "to promote student resilience."  The federal government gave Baltimore $2,374,000, which will go towards counseling and behavioral programs to improve the mental health of students who may have been traumatized by civil unrest.  After Freddie Gray's death as a result of injuries suffered while in police custody, protests and rioting broke out in the city.  Tension increased again after the officers involved were either acquitted at trial or had their charges dropped by prosecutors.

'Pre-Search' Is Coming to U.S. Policing.  News that the city of Baltimore has been under surreptitious, mass-scale camera surveillance will have ramifications across the criminal justice world. [...] Since January, police in Baltimore have been testing an aerial surveillance system developed for military use in Iraq.  The system records visible activity across an area as wide as thirty square miles for as much as ten hours at a time.  Police can use it to work backward from an event, watching the comings and goings of people and cars to develop leads about who was involved. [...] But the technology collects images of everyone and everything.  From people in their backyards to anyone going from home to work, to the psychologist's or marriage counselor's office, to meetings with lawyers or advocacy groups, and to public protests.

FBI offering $5,000 for info on Baltimore gun store robbers.  [F]our males entered the store and took off with cash and firearms.  A fifth remained outside as a wheelman and lookout.

Baltimore reaches 200 homicides with man's fatal stabbing.  Baltimore officially has had 200 homicide victims in 2016 after an autopsy confirmed a 42-year-old man found dead Friday just west of downtown had been fatally stabbed.  The victim, identified Monday as Franswhaun Smith, was found Friday about 7:50 a.m. in the 700 block of Murphy Lane, in the Heritage Crossing neighborhood that was formerly the site of the Murphy Homes public housing development.

Baltimore Residents Beg Police To Protect Their Neighborhoods.  As Justice Department civil rights lawyers held a meeting to talk about overhauling the Baltimore police department, another group of Baltimore residents gathered to beg the police to fix the crime in their neighborhoods.  The meetings show a disconnect between those who are concerned about crime and those worried about police reform, reports the Washington Post.  Neither group was aware the other one was meeting.  About 40 people, most of them older black women, gathered in a West Baltimore church basement to ask police to return order to their community.  A gas station owner whose parking lot had been taken over by loiterers begged for help; a 17-year old was also fatally shot there.  Another man asked about the foot patrol officers that were promised to the community.

Baltimore streams tainted by amphetamines.  Are the nation's streams tainted with hard drugs?  If they're near urban areas, the answer is likely yes based on a new study that found amphetamine polluting water sources in Baltimore, CNN reports.  Researchers who tested samples from six streams around the Maryland city found them tainted with "amphetamine concentrations are high enough to alter the base of the aquatic food web," per a press release.

DOJ Pushes "Implicit Bias Training" for Local Police Officers.  How dispiriting it must be for police officers to patrol these mean streets day after day, especially now amidst all the criticism and accusations of racism.  No wonder Baltimore's police force is failing to retain so many officers.  But never fear.  The U.S. Department of Justice has an answer.  It has been pushing localities to provide "implicit bias training" for police officers and will require federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors to undergo it.  Loretta Lynch is a big fan.

Baltimore police lieutenant suspended after calling Black Lives Matter protesters 'thugs': Reports.  A Baltimore Police lieutenant and union leader was suspended Monday after sending an email referring to Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs" to the entire police force, according to local news reports.  The email followed demonstrations outside the Hyatt Regency Baltimore hosting the four-day Maryland Fraternal Order of Police conference.

State Attorney Marilyn Mosby [Deficient] As An Attorney.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby [lacks competence] as an attorney.  Perhaps it's not her fault.  Maybe she missed class the day they taught law at her racist law school.  Or perhaps she's just the latest black social justice warrior trying to stick it to the police and 'the man' while she still has the full support of Imam Obama and Attorney General and Assistant Imam Loretta Lynch for a few months.  Either way, she's getting [...] sued by the cops she wrongfully prosecuted in the death of Freddie Gray.  The last of the charges against the Baltimore po-po in the Freddy Gray case was dropped today [7/27/2016].

The DOJ's Baltimore Police Report Contributes to a Hostile Environment for Law Enforcement.  [Numerous] heinous crimes occurred as Baltimore was experiencing the bloodiest year in its history, measured on a per capita basis.  Shootings, homicides, and robberies surged after the April 2015 riots triggered by the accidental death of drug dealer Freddie Gray following an arrest.  Nearly two dozen children were killed in 2015.  Baltimore's homicide count matched that of New York City's, a city 13 and a half times Baltimore's size.  Unfortunately, such crime merits but a few passing references in the 163-page report on the Baltimore Police Department released yesterday [8/10/2016] by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Report claims Baltimore's police discriminate against blacks.  Baltimore police officers routinely discriminate against blacks, repeatedly use excessive force and are not adequately held accountable for misconduct, according to a [scathing] Justice Department report.  The report said officers make large numbers of stops — mostly in poor, black neighborhoods — with dubious justification and unlawfully arrest citizens for speech deemed disrespectful.  During a ride-along with Justice Department officials, a sergeant instructed a patrol officer to stop a group of young African-American males on a street corner, question them and order them to disperse.

The Editor says...
Keep in mind that the report comes from the heavily-politicized Obama Department of Justice.

Baltimore cops routinely target blacks:  DOJ report.  Baltimore police officers routinely discriminate against blacks, repeatedly use excessive force and are not adequately held accountable for misconduct, according to a harshly critical Justice Department report being presented Wednesday [8/10/2016].

The Editor says...
The police should "routinely target" those who commit most of the crime.

Brian Rice, highest-ranking officer cleared in Freddie Gray's death, to get $127K in back pay.  Baltimore police Lt. Brian S. Rice, who was acquitted of manslaughter, misconduct and other charges in the death of Freddie Gray, is set to receive about $127,000 in back pay.  The city's Board of Estimates on Wednesday [8/10/2016] is scheduled to authorize a payment of $126,916 to Rice.  Rice and three other officers charged with felonies in connection with Gray's death were suspended without pay, under department policy.  Having been acquitted, Rice is now entitled to back pay under that policy.

Baltimore police dues doubled to pay for legal defense of officers in Freddie Gray case, avert union insolvency.  Footing the bill for the high-powered defense of six Baltimore police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray crippled the city's police union financially, officials said, until members voted unanimously this year to nearly double their dues.  Now, with the unexpected conclusion of the Gray case this week, the union's legal bills are expected to sharply drop off — but not the dues.  Officials at Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 say they will continue collecting dues at the higher rate as a precaution, at least as long as Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby is in office.  "Yes, we will continue the same dues structure because we expect Ms. Mosby to continue her inane, malicious prosecution of police officers simply for doing their job," Gene Ryan said.

Officers in Freddie Gray Case Suing Marilyn Mosby.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby may have dropped criminal charges against the remaining officers in the Freddie Gray trial, but she remains entrenched in a legal battle in civil court.  Five of the six officers charged for the death of Gray are suing Mosby, as well as Maj.  Samuel Cogen of the Baltimore Sheriff's Office, in civil court for a gamut of causes.  In several lawsuits filed earlier this year, Officers William Porter, Edward Nero, Garrett Miller, Lt. Brian Rice, and Sgt.  Alicia White alleged defamation, false arrest, false imprisonment, and violation of constitutional rights, among others.

Freddie Gray case:  Charges against three remaining officers dropped.  Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning [7/27/2016], concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history.  The startling move was an apparent acknowledgment of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.

All Charges Dropped Against Remaining Officers — Mosby Blames Judge Williams.  Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has dropped all charges against the remaining police officers.  All charges were dropped against all the officers who faced trial in connection with the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray April 2015.  The decision was announced during pretrial motions for Officer Garrett Miller, who was the next to face charges of second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Prosecutors Drop All Remaining Charges Related to Death of Freddie Gray.  The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office has dropped all remaining charges against police officers related to the death of Freddie Gray.  Baltimore Sun reporter Kevin Rector just made the stunning announcement in a series of tweets earlier Wednesday morning [7/27/2016].

Prosecutor in Freddie Gray case:  I'm not anti-police.  Shortly after being elected last year, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said prosecutors in her troubled city had the "toughest job in America."  It's not getting any easier.  After three police officers were acquitted in recent months of charges related to last year's high-profile death of Freddie Gray, prosecutors announced Wednesday [7/27/2016] they were dropping all charges against the three remaining officers facing trial in connection with Gray's death.

Marilyn Mosby Slams Police Investigators, Baltimore Judge In Fiery Press Conference.  Marilyn Mosby's cases against six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray has been by all accounts an utter failure, but the state's attorney was nevertheless defiant on Wednesday when she announced her office is dropping charges against the three officers who still faced trial.  The 36-year-old Mosby, who became a media darling last year when she announced charges against the officers for the arrest and death of Gray, complained during a press conference that the deck was stacked against her and her team of prosecutors.

Trump Blasts Freddie Gray Prosecutor: 'She Should Prosecute Herself'.  During a morning news conference, Donald Trump came out swinging against the prosecutor who charged six officers involved in Freddie Gray's death.  Gray suffered injuries while in a Baltimore Police transport van before falling into a coma and dying.  On Wednesday [7/27/2016], in a surprise move, the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office announced that all of the remaining charges against the police officers would be dropped.  This came after three officers were acquitted and a fourth officer's trial ended in hung jury last year.  Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has come under fire for her handling of the cases, with one law professor even filing complaints demanding her disbarment.

The Black Heroes Who Took Down the Freddie Gray Hoax.  Once again, Judge Barry G. Williams handed the Freddie Gray lynch mob a decisive defeat, shredding the prosecution's case against Lt.  Brian Rice, the highest ranking police officer targeted by the mob.  Judge Williams stated firmly that, the court "cannot be swayed by sympathy, prejudice or public opinion."  Instead he insisted that it had to follow the law. [...] Not only is their Freddie Gray hoax being destroyed, trial by trial, based on the lack of evidence, but the destroyer is an articulate and principled African-American judge.  Worse still, Judge Williams had prosecuted police misconduct cases for the Justice Department.  And when he takes apart the Gray hoax, as he has done in multiple trials, it's from the standpoint of a uniquely qualified expert.  You can see why the media is staying away.

Baltimore police lieutenant is acquitted in the death of Freddie Gray.  A Maryland judge has acquitted Baltimore police Lieutenant Brian Rice over the death of black detainee Freddie Gray.  Rice, 42, became the third cop to walk free in the high profile case which sparked riots and protests across the country.

Freddie Gray case:  Judge acquits Lt.  Brian Rice of all charges.  Prosecutors in Baltimore failed for the fourth time to secure a conviction in the Freddie Gray case, with Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams acquitting Lt.  Brian Rice of all charges Monday [7/18/2016] related to Gray's arrest and death.  Williams cleared Rice, 42, of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in a downtown Baltimore courtroom.  The judge had dismissed a second-degree assault charge at the trial's midpoint, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge at the start.  Rice chose a bench trial rather than a jury trial, putting his legal fate in Williams' hands.  He was the fourth of six officers charged in the case to go to trial, and the third to be acquitted by Williams.

Highest Ranking Officer In Freddie Gray Case Acquitted Of All Charges.  On Monday [7/18/2016], Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams acquitted Lt.  Brian Rice, the highest ranking of the six officers charged in the Freddie Gray case, of all charges in Gray's death.  Rice, 42, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office; a second-degree assault charge was dismissed by Williams halfway through the trial, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge at the beginning of the trial.

Highest-ranking officer charged in Freddie Gray case acquitted on all counts.  A judge in Baltimore Monday [7/18/2016] acquitted the highest-ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, marking the fourth trial that prosecutors failed to win.  Lt.  Brian Rice faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.  He opted for a bench trial by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams.  The judge previously dismissed a second-degree assault charge, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge against the 42-year-old officer, who is white.

Law professor John Banzhaf seeks disbarment of Baltimore prosecutors in Freddie Gray trials.  Legal analysts ripped Baltimore prosecutors Monday over their handling of the Freddie Gray case, saying the prosecution should drop all charges against the three remaining police officers or risk more embarrassment in the courtroom. [...] The pointed criticism came Monday after Lt.  Brian Rice was acquitted of all charges for his role in Gray's arrest and death.  The lieutenant was the highest-ranking of the accused officers, and his full acquittal was the third consecutive loss for prosecutors.  Another trial ended in a hung jury in December, and a retrial has been scheduled.  But legal analysts said any subsequent trials should be canceled.

Baltimore Descends Into Chaos Thanks To City's Failure To Back The Police.  Jermaine Schofield was gunned down in Baltimore on Sunday [7/10/2016], one of three murder victims in the city that day.  Today, Schofield's family held a vigil for him.  During the vigil, a gunman fired at attendees.  Five were hit.  Thankfully, all are expected to survive.  These events are not an aberration.  Baltimore has descended into chaos since, in the aftermath of Freddy Gray's death, the city failed to back its police force.  Murders surged a staggering 63 percent in 2015, with 344 people killed.  This year hasn't been quite as bad so far, but the murder rate remains abnormally high.  Meanwhile, Baltimore's police force is shrinking dramatically.

Baltimore Six Update — Brian Rice Trial:  Judge Dismisses One Assault Charge Mid Trial.  The judge dropped one of four charges Monday [7/11/2016] against Baltimore police Lt.  Brian Rice in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, ruling prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to prove second-degree assault after three days of witness testimony.  Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams made the decision at the trial's midpoint — after the prosecution rested its case, but before Rice's attorneys launched into his defense — by partially granting a defense motion for acquittal.

Five wounded after gunman opens fire at vigil for Baltimore shooting victim.  Five people were shot at a candle-lit vigil for a Baltimore shooting victim, according to police.  Up to 30 vigil-goers were gathered for Jermaine Scofield, 24, who was shot dead early Sunday in Charm City, when the gunfire erupted.  Baltimore Police said that four women and a man were wounded, though none had life-threatening injuries.  A gunman approached on foot and opened fire, according to police.

Disbarment Charges Filed Against Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.  Expect to hear the race baiters yelling, "She's innocent until proven guilty..."  Hmmmm.  I wonder if they'll mean "innocent until proven guilty" the way the officers were? [...] Marilyn Mosby is a racist, a despicable human being, and a disgrace to the legal profession.  To hear that a Georgetown professor has filed charges that Mosby be disbarred comes as welcome news.

Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson joins Baltimore City Schools.  Former mayoral candidate and Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson has been named to the transition team of incoming Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr.  Sonja B. Santelises.  Mckesson will serve as the interim chief human capital officer.  He previously served in Baltimore City Public Schools as a human capital specialist from August 2011 to February 2012, then as special assistant to the chief human capital officer until December 2013.

The Editor says...
It's safe to presume that the "human capital officer" is the person who makes sure everybody they hire is black.

Everything was accurate.  But none of it was true.  [Scroll down]  With little evidence of criminal acts, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby charged six police officers with multiple felonies, including murder, after having the reports on the case for less than two days.  After blatantly attempting to poison the jury pool with her announcement, while doing excellently in the court of public opinion, she has so far not done well in the court of law.  Of three cases, two acquittals and one hung jury.

Stunning Revelations In Baltimore Six Case Outlines Marilyn Mosby Seeking Prosecution Despite Evidence.  In March of 2012 there was a clear inflection point within the judicial system when leftists, professional grievance activists, switched tactics from proclaiming the innocence of the transparently guilty, to advocating for the guilt of the transparently innocent.  The political case constructs against George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson were two high-profile examples that soon followed... now this:  This past weekend the Baltimore Sun outlined investigative evidence from a Baltimore detective, Dawnyell Taylor, that clearly shows the prosecution of the Baltimore Six police officers was yet another example.  Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby manufactured a political case intended to advocate for the guilt of the transparently innocent.

Police detective says misleading narrative presented to grand jury in Freddie Gray case, records show.  The lead Baltimore police detective in the Freddie Gray investigation said she reluctantly read to grand jurors a summary of evidence provided by prosecutors that she believed was misleading, according to police records reviewed by The Baltimore Sun.  Hours later, the grand jurors issued criminal indictments against six police officers in the arrest and death of Gray.  Detective Dawnyell Taylor said in a daily log of case notes on the investigation that a prosecutor handed her a four-page, typed narrative at the courthouse just before she appeared before the grand jury.  "As I read over the narrative it had several things that I found to be inconsistent with our investigation," Taylor wrote, adding:  "I thought the statements in the narrative were misquoted."

Marilyn Mosby may have an ethical obligation to abandon the rest of the Freddie Gray trials.  With the complete acquittal of Caesar Goodson this week, the argument being made by Maryland State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has essentially imploded.  Goodson was allegedly the "most culpable" in the death of Freddie Gray and the one officer involved in the incident who might have been convicted on any sort of charges.  There are still four more trials slated to take place, however, all of which would grind more salt into the wounds between City Hall and the police force.  Should they even continue?

Injustice in Baltimore?  Blame the bungling prosecutor.  It now looks likely that no one will be held criminally responsible for the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.  If so, blame Maryland State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby.  In a bid to score political points, she rushed in to overcharge six cops even as mobs rioted and looted in Baltimore's streets.  On Thursday [6/23/2016] she lost the third and most critical trial in the racially charged case as Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams acquitted Officer Caesar Goodson of all charges, including second-degree murder.  From the start, legal experts warned the facts didn't back up the charges — and the judge, an African-American who previously prosecuted police misconduct, agreed.

Outcome of officers' trials could impact prosecutor Marilyn Mosby's political career, observers say.  Eyes across the country were on Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. as he was acquitted of all charges Thursday [6/23/2016] in the death of Freddie Gray.  Another person drew similar attention:  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.  Mosby gained national prominence in May 2015 when she announced charges against six Baltimore officers on the steps of the War Memorial building, days after arson and looting rocked the city.

Baltimore Police union president calls on Mosby to reconsider 'malicious prosecution'.  The president of a union representing Baltimore Police Officers held a briefing Thursday [6/23/2016], after Officer Caesar Goodson was cleared of charges in the Freddie Gray case.  Lt. Gene Ryan said he was very pleased and "extremely grateful" for Judge Barry William's ruling and called on Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby to drop the cases against the remaining four officers facing trial.  "While we agree with the verdict in this case against Officer Goodson we also suggest that Mrs. Mosby reconsider her malicious prosecution against the remaining four officers," said Ryan.  "We are more than certain that they too will be found to be without guilt.  To continue this travesty is an insult to the tax-paying citizens of Baltimore who, at the end of the day, bear the full burden of the enormous costs of these trials that have no merit and continue to divide our city."

The Mosby Disgrace Continues:  Officer Goodson Acquitted of All Charges in Freddie Gray Case.  Make it 0-for-3 for Marilyn Mosby, the incompetent demagogue prosecutor who trumped up cases against six Baltimore police officers after the death of Freddie Gray.  Today [6/23/2016], a judge acquitted Officer Caesar Goodson of all seven charges, including the outrageous allegation of "depraved heart murder."  Goodson is the third cop to be tried.  Mosby has yet to win a conviction on any count.  As I have repeatedly observed, that is because there is no criminal case here.  Gray's death was an accident.  He suffered a severe spinal injury, which strongly appears to have been self-induced, while being driven in a police van after he was lawfully arrested.

Freddie Gray case: Caesar Goodson found not guilty of "depraved-heart" murder.  A judge explained why he found Officer Caesar Goodson not guilty in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken on the way to the station:  He didn't see any evidence of a crime.  Baltimore Judge Barry Williams ruled Thursday [6/23/2016] that the state failed to prove the police driver committed murder, manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment or misconduct in office.  "There has been no evidence that this defendant intended for a crime to happen," Williams said.

Freddie Gray case:  Officer Caesar Goodson found not guilty of murder.  A Baltimore judge acquitted the police officer facing the most serious charges in the death of Freddie Gray on Thursday [6/23/2016], delivering a broad rebuke of a case that he said lacked evidence.  Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, drove the transport van in which Gray sustained fatal injuries.  He is the second officer cleared in the high-profile case.  Four other officers could still face trial.

Freddie Gray case:  Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. not guilty on all charges.  A Baltimore judge acquitted the police officer facing the most serious charges in the death of Freddie Gray on Thursday [6/23/2016], delivering a broad rebuke of a case that he said lacked evidence.  Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., 46, drove the transport van in which Gray sustained fatal injuries.  He is the second officer cleared in the high-profile case.  Four other officers could still face trial.  After an eight-day bench trial, Circuit Judge Barry Williams found Goodson not guilty on charges that included second-degree depraved-heart murder and three counts of manslaughter.

Ceasar Goodson verdict delivers blow to Baltimore City Hall.  NBC News is describing the result as the "chips being stacked" against the prosecutors, which is fairly typical for the media, but if that's true it's because State Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her team, with the full cooperation of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, brought this on herself.  Mosby made her attitude toward the Baltimore Police clear from the beginning, promising the rioting crowds in the early days of this incident that she would deliver "justice for Freddie Gray" rather than simply justice.

Donta Allen Testifies, Claims Forgetfulness In Sixth Day Of Goodson Trial.  There was plenty of conflict on the sixth day of the second degree murder trial of Baltimore City Police Officer Caesar Goodson, the police van driver who is charged in the death of Freddie Gray.  The day started with Judge Barry Williams denying a defense motion to dismiss the case.  Williams said at this point, the state had presented enough evidence to continue the case on all seven charges, though the judge said it was, "a close call" on the most serious charge, seocnd [sic] degree murder depraved heart.

Baltimore Six Update — The Case Against Caesar Goodson Begins Collapsing.  Officer Caesar Goodson was the police transport van driver who the Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has charge with murder.  However, the case is beginning to collapse because as outlined last year the evidence simply isn't there.  Not only is the evidence not there, exculpatory evidence hidden by the prosecutors continues to diminish their sketchy foundation for the charges.  Last week Judge Barry Williams was put into a difficult position by the State of Maryland when it was discovered the Baltimore prosecutors office had withheld exculpatory evidence, known legally as "Brady evidence", from the defense team.  This was the third time Mosby's team had been caught manipulating evidence.  Williams was not happy.

Freddie Gray trial: expert witness crumbles in van driver's prosecution.  Prosecutors seeking murder charges over Freddie Gray's death rested their case against Caesar Goodson on Wednesday [6/15/2016] with an expert witness who crumbled under cross-examination.  His testimony was the latest of several blows in the trial that experts say is prosecutors' best shot at getting a conviction for Gray's death.  After failing to win in the first two trials, the case against Caesar Goodson is especially important for Marilyn Mosby, the embattled state's attorney.  Goodson was the driver of the van in which Gray was transported, and faces the most serious charge of second-degree depraved heart murder.

Freddie Gray case:  Prosecutors turn over additional evidence during trial of Officer Caesar Goodson.  Evidence disclosed for the first time Wednesday [6/15/2016] in the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., the van driver charged with second-degree murder in the death of Freddie Gray, suggests that the doctor performing Gray's autopsy at one point intended to rule his death an accident.  Assistant medical examiner Dr.  Carol Allan ultimately ruled the death a homicide.  She has stood by that ruling during Goodson's trial, testifying that she never felt Gray's death was an accident.

Surprise revelation threatens to derail latest Freddie Gray trial.  There's been a bit of a bombshell dropped in the trial of Ceasar Goodson, the police officer who drove the van in which Freddie Gray sustained his eventually fatal injuries.  We previously discussed the decision by Goodson's team to opt for a bench trial and allow Judge Barrie Williams to decide his fate rather than facing a jury, along with how that might impact his fate.  Now, the early signs are that it might have been a wise choice.

Baltimore Prosecutors Withheld Evidence To Railroad A Cop In Freddie Gray Case.  [Scroll down]  Why does this make a difference?  Because, as David French points out, "It turns out that Allen had given a second, extended interview to the prosecution where he reaffirmed his initial story, and that initial story is devastating to the prosecution's case."  Allen testified that Goodman had provided a "smooth ride," that Gray was banging his own head against the barrier, and that Gray was still upright and moving for most of the ride.  This would essentially exonerate Goodman.  Before the left cries racism, here's a sad fact for their case:  Goodman is black, and so is Williams.

Stunning Last Minute Motion To Dismiss Due to Severe Brady Violation.  Baltimore Police Officer Cesar Goodson (left) is scheduled to begin his bench trial today, Thursday [6/9/2016], in the third prosecution revolving around the Freddie Gray case.  However, a stunning last minute motion to dismiss, based on a severe Brady violation from prosecutor Marilyn Mosby's office, might just end the entire trial before it begins.  Those of you familiar with the political prosecution in the Zimmerman trial will remember the frequency of Brady Violations from Angela Corey.  Marilyn Mosby is worse.

Judge blasts prosecutors as new Freddie Gray trial begins.  The judge in the trial of an officer charged in the death of a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken in the back of a police van blasted prosecutors on Thursday [6/9/2016] for withholding information from the defense.

Marilyn Mosby Is Facing Two More Lawsuits From Different Baltimore Cops In Freddie Gray Case.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby is now facing two more lawsuits from Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray.  A federal judge unsealed court documents Tuesday [6/7/2016] that show Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero filed a joint suit against Mosby and Maj.  Samuel Cogen of the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office, the Baltimore Sun reports.  The suit alleges false imprisonment, defamation and violation of constitutional rights, claiming the charges filed against the officers were trumped up in an effort to quell anger after the Baltimore riots.

The Baltimore Mayor's Castro Odyssey.  Remember how after Baltimore was half destroyed by rioters last summer Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's made headlines by claiming she gave Baltimore rioters "space to destroy"?  She tried to walk back the unfortunate statement — but it only half-worked.  In any case, as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, last week she was in (totally destroyed by Communism) Cuba leading a mayoral delegation which also includes Mitch Landrieu, mayor of New Orleans (among the murder capitols of the U.S.).  "These meetings and visits will provide U.S. mayors and Cuban officials the opportunity to share best practices for providing city services in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and transportation, according to the press release."  Note how the release says the Communist apparatchiks and U.S. mayors will "share."

Baltimore Cops To Sue Marilyn Mosby For 'Malicious Prosecution'.  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby will face a slew of new counts, including malicious prosecution and false arrest in a lawsuit brought by two Baltimore cops, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.  Sgt.  Alicia White and Officer William Porter, two officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, filed suit May 2 against Mosby and Maj.  Sam Cogen of the Baltimore Sheriff's office for defamation and invasion of privacy.  The suit alleges Mosby and Cogen knew the charges were trumped up, but filed them anyway to quell the riots that had ravaged the city.

The Freddie Gray Lynch Mob Lie.  No matter what Baltimore's corrupt Democrat-controlled political machine tries, it can't manage to convict anyone in the unusual April 19, 2015 death of Gray, a 25-year-old man with a long arrest record.  Gray passed away a week after his arrest after apparently suffering ultimately fatal injuries during transport in a police paddy wagon.  The non-conviction is also a stinging rebuke to Democrats like Barack Obama whose party has officially endorsed the violent, racist Black Lives Matter movement.  The left-wing narrative that racist killer cops are on a rampage across the nation isn't getting any traction — because it is a vicious lie and Americans know it.  And it is becoming increasingly obvious that the six Charm City police officers were charged solely for political reasons.

Prosecutor criticized after officer acquittal.  After two trials and no convictions, Baltimore's top prosecutor is facing criticism that she moved too quickly to file charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray without first ensuring there was enough evidence to bring them to bear.

Baltimore officer found not guilty on all charges in Freddie Gray case.  A judge in Baltimore Monday [5/23/2016] found a police officer not guilty on all charges against him in connection with the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, months after another officer's trial ended in a hung jury.  Officer Edward Nero faced second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges.

Baltimore Blames 'White People' After Cop Found Not Guilty In Freddie Gray Case.  Baltimore city residents expressed disappointment in response to the city circuit court Monday finding a police officer not guilty in connection to the death of Freddie Gray.  Officer Edward Nero was charged with several misdemeanor offenses after Gray died April, 2015, in his custody.  Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams found Nero not guilty of all charges just over a year later.

Freddie Gray and Jihad: Narrative v.  Fact.  [Scroll down]  In Baltimore, the municipal government — working hand in glove with Obama's federal government — has its narrative:  the "Black Lives Matter" storyline which holds that Gray's death in police custody was a cold-blooded murder caused by pervasive racism.  As was the case in the 1990s terrorism cases, the official government media narrative had nothing to do with the actual facts of the case.  Gray's death was an accident.  Baltimore's criminal justice system is among the most thoroughly integrated in the country.  The critical difference between then and now, though, is that in the absence of evidence, the prosecutors are trying to sell their propaganda as proof.

Justice and good sense in Baltimore.  The policeman on trial for his role in the arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore was acquitted Monday [5/23/2016] and the city did not explode.  Much of the credit for keeping the peace goes to the Gray family.  Billy Murphy, the family lawyer, said after the verdict that "I don't think anybody should be upset with this verdict." He praised the judge, who like Freddie Gray, is black, for deciding on the facts and not the public pressure coming from both sides.  "It's a very, very difficult job to sit as a judge under these enormously stressful conditions," he said, "and once again Judge Barry Williams has shown that he is a fair and impartial man."

Freddie Gray case:  Officer Nero found not guilty of all charges.  Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams on Monday rejected the state's case against Officer Edward Nero, acquitting him on all counts for his role in the arrest of Freddie Gray.  The verdict, which followed a five-day bench trial, is the first in the closely-watched case.  Nero, 30, had faced misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.

Freddie Gray Arresting Officer Edward Nero Found Not Guilty On All Charges.  Freddie Gray arresting officer Edward Nero was found not guilty on all counts by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams Monday morning [5/23/2016].  Nero faced charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and two counts of misconduct in office.

Edward Nero Trial Day 3.  The prosecution's case turns out to be just as weak and ridiculous as every reasonable person has long since perceived.  In essence, the prosecution's theory of criminal liability for Nero rests on the fact that when his superior officer, Lieutenant Brian Rice, radioed for assistance in chasing down a fleeing Freddie Gray, Nero complied with that request without first making an independent evaluation of whether reasonable suspicion existed for the stop or probable cause for the arrest.  Of course, such automatic good faith compliance with fellow officers in a pursuit and arrest is precisely what police are trained and expected to do.

Senate Confirms Obama Judicial Nominee Opposed by Maryland Police Unions.  The Senate confirmed Paula Xinis for a federal judgeship in Maryland by a vote of 53-34, over the protests of major state police unions and outside conservative groups.  Xinis, a partner and senior trial attorney at the Baltimore law firm representing the family of Freddie Gray, will serve in what is in effect a lifetime position on the U.S. District Court of Maryland.  Gray died in police custody and trials are ongoing for the six officers involved in his arrest.

Prosecutors to test novel legal theory in trial of officer charged in Freddie Gray case.  Prosecutors are expected to test a novel legal theory this week in the trial of a police officer charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray — that the officer didn't have the authority to detain him and therefore committed an assault by putting him in handcuffs.  The allegation could have widespread implications for policing in Baltimore and Maryland.  Hundreds of detainees in the city are released every year after being arrested without being charged.

Baltimore picks its next mayor.  Almost exactly one year after Baltimore broke out in rioting, voters had to decide who the city's Democratic nominee for mayor will be.  Considering the overwhelming advantage Democrats possess in Baltimore, this decision is tantamount to electing a mayor.

In Baltimore, a battered city seeks a new mayor who can heal its wounds.  The winner of Tuesday's [4/26/2016] Democratic primary, almost certain to be elected mayor come November in overwhelmingly Democratic Baltimore, will take office with police and black residents still wary of each other.  The city is braced for the trials of the six officers charged in Gray's death and still struggling to slow its soaring homicide rate — 344 killings in 2015 and a 16 percent jump so far this year over last year.  More than 16,000 houses sit vacant, and public schools rank at or near the bottom of many state measures.

One Year After:  Freddie Gray And 'Structural Statism'.  When Freddie Gray was born in 1989, Baltimore hosted 787,000 residents and 445,000 jobs.  By the time his fatal injuries in police custody provoked riots last April, the city's population had fallen by one fifth, to 623,000, and its job base had shrunk by one quarter, to 334,000.  Little wonder that throughout his life, Mr. Gray had never been legally employed.  Nevertheless, friends and family considered him "a good provider," according to The Baltimore Sun.  This was because he worked in the drug trade, which filled his city's economic vacuum.

Black Lives Matter gave him fame, but Baltimore isn't biting.  DeRay Mckesson, the Black Lives Matter activist turned mayoral candidate, is door-knocking on the streets of Charles Village.

Maryland's Court of Appeals delays officer's trial in Freddie Gray case.  Maryland's highest court has agreed [2/18/2016] to take up a key issue in the trials for the Baltimore officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, postponing trial proceedings until it can make a ruling.

Judge won't force officer to testify in Freddie Gray trials.  Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams [on Wednesday 1/20//2016] refused the state's motion to force William Porter to testify against Edward Nero, Garrett Miller and Lt. Brian Rice, who were the officers who initially arrested and detained Gray last April.  It was not until this month that prosecutors indicated that they wanted Porter to testify against the three officers.  Previously, they identified him as a material witness only in the trials of two other officers, Caesar Goodson and Sgt. Alicia White.

Freddie Gray Update: William Porter Jury Was One Vote From Manslaughter Acquittal, Report Says.  The jury in the trial for William Porter, the Baltimore police officer who was charged in the death of Freddie Gray, almost acquitted him of the most serious charge against him, manslaughter, with the jury split 11-1 in favor of acquittal, the Baltimore Sun reported Friday [1/15/2016].  The jury could not come to a consensus on the charges last month, leading Judge Barry Williams to declare a mistrial.  On the three other charges against Porter, the split was not as close, sources familiar with the votes told the Sun.  The jury was split 8-2 in favor of acquitting Porter of second-degree assault with two jurors undecided.

Maryland Appeals Court Steps In, Postpones Trial of Officer Goodson.  The Maryland Appeals Court has stepped in to halt the trial against Officer Caesar Goodson on the day jury selection was scheduled to begin.  In an earlier appellate court ruling the forced testimony of accused police officer William Porter was blocked.  The State's cases are falling apart due to inept legal application and ideological motives to prosecute.

Out of (gun) control.  As noted by many other commentators, American states and cities with the most restrictive laws are also places with some of the highest levels of crimes involving firearms.  A side note:  these jurisdictions are run by Democratic politicians, though the major media rarely note the connection.  And the police, who feel under constant attack, have pulled back in some cities, like Baltimore, contributing to the upsurge in gun crimes by thugs who don't think they will be caught.

What It's Like to Live in the Baltimore Basket Case.  In the most flagrant violation of our most foundational principles on the rule of law, the first officer, William Porter, was put on trial in December to please the local mob in its very own jurisdiction.  If there ever was a case to be made that a trial be moved to a different jurisdiction for concern of both partiality and intimidation of the jury, this is the case.  Yet, the defendants were repeatedly denied that request.  Throughput [sic] the trial, officer Porter was treated as presumed guilty unless he could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was innocent and could demonstrate that he didn't know the predicament of Gray during the van ride.  Appallingly, at least some members of the jury wanted to convict him, resulting in a hung jury.  Amazingly, the judge decided to retry Porter, even though we are going on nine months since the indictment.  These cops are being treated differently than anyone else simply because they are cops in Baltimore City amidst a media circus exacerbated by Obama's Justice Department because the victim was black.

Baltimore Judge Guts the 5th Amendment.  [Officer William G.] Porter was the first officer brought to trial in the Gray case, presumably because the prosecution believed the case against him to be the strongest.  In fact, at trial the case against Porter was shown to be gossamer thin, with the State unable to prove exactly when or how Gray suffered his fatal injury, the defense demonstrating that the medical examiner's office changed its initial conclusion that the injury was accidental under political pressure, and an absence of evidence that Porter ever did anything to harm Gray.  The greatest surprise in Porter's trial was that despite the dearth of evidence that he committed any crime, that at least one juror voted to convict him.  The mistrial in Porter's case was disastrous for the prosecution, since they counted on him to provide testimony against his fellow officers either having been convicted or acquitted.  The prosecution could have obviated that problem by choosing not to retry Porter, but having promised mob justice to Baltimore's rioters, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby decided to press on.

Officer Porter asks appeals court to block order compelling him to testify in Goodson case.  Officer William G. Porter asked Maryland's second-highest court Thursday [1/7/2016] to block a judge's ruling that he must testify for the state in the coming trial of a fellow police officer in the death of Freddie Gray.  Gary Proctor, one of Porter's attorneys, delivered the motion seeking an injunction to the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis on Thursday.  Defense attorneys contend that the limited immunity granted Porter by Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams does not protect him from facing new charges.

Baltimore judge orders officer to testify in second Gray death trial.  A Maryland judge on Wednesday [1/6/2016] ordered a Baltimore police officer to testify against other officers charged in the death of detainee Freddie Gray.  A lawyer for the officer, William Porter, said he would seek an appeals court injunction to block Porter from testifying against Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. and Sergeant Alicia White.

Congrats to Baltimore on breaking their all time murder record.  It's been a banner year in Charm City... provided you happen to own a funeral home.  Just as we are being assured that crime is coming under control (which it is in many areas outside of the inner cities) the citizens of Baltimore report that they've broken the all time per capita murder record for a single year.  And the telling part of the statistic is that they managed the feat almost entirely after the Freddie Gray riots.

Black Mob Violence: Easier to Find, Harder to Believe.  In December, the BBC wanted to know why "so many young African-American men [were] being gunned down by the state."  So naturally, it asked the white conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop. [...] It's really just a listening problem, Alsop explained to the Sun.  Black people had to resort to violence because white people were just not paying attention.  Alsop's comments echoed Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who last year said black rioters needed "space to destroy."  The next day she said she had not said it.  Then she said she did not mean it.  Then she said she did not want to talk about it anymore with white racists who were just trying to make her look bad.

Police document says Freddie Gray complained of back problem months before his injury.  Attorneys for Caesar Goodson, one of six officers facing criminal charges stemming from the death of Freddie Gray, filed two internal police documents that claim Gray complained of a back injury to police officers more than a month before his death in the back of a police van and he had a history of hurting himself while in custody.

Riot ideology: Results through coercion.  Since 1968, Baltimore has proved remarkably adept at procuring state and federal funds, but never really recovered from the riots.  And the lawlessness never fully subsided.  What began as a grand bargain to avert further racial violence after 1968 descended over the decades into a series of squalid shakedowns.  Antipoverty programs that had once promised to repair social and family breakdown became by the 1990s self-justifying and self-perpetuating.  In the wake of the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri, and the 2015 West Baltimore riots, a new riot ideology has taken hold, one similarly intoxicated with violence and willing to excuse it, but with a different goal. [...] The West Baltimore rioters of 2015 didn't call for more LBJ-style antipoverty projects, but for less policing.

Porter retrial scheduled for June 13; Goodson's trial unchanged, to begin Jan. 6.  Officer William G. Porter will not be retried until June for his alleged role in the death of Freddie Gray, likely creating a problem for prosecutors who had hoped to call him as a witness at the coming trial of another officer charged in the case.  With charges still hanging over his head after a mistrial last week, legal experts say, Porter would be expected to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called as a witness against Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., who will be tried next month.

New trial for Baltimore officer in Freddie Gray death set for June.  A Baltimore police officer will face retrial on a manslaughter charge over the death of black detainee Freddie Gray starting on June 13, a Maryland judge ruled on Monday [12/21/2015], after the officer's first trial ended in a deadlocked jury.

Have the Freddie Gray trials been essentially derailed?  This week, the first trial against Officer William Porter (who faced some of the lightest charges) ended in a mistrial.  The jury had come back to the judge several times with questions, requests for witness transcripts and complaints that they couldn't come to a resolution, but had been sent back to work by the judge.  In the end, though, they couldn't reach a consensus and a mistrial was declared.  So what happens next?  Nobody seems to be entirely sure.

Freddie Gray Mistrial Changes Everything In Officers' Next Five Trials.  The judge declared a mistrial Wednesday [12/16/2015] in the trial for Baltimore Police Officer William Porter, 26, after the jury could not reach a unanimous decision.  Now, the prosecution must decide whether to retry the case, but the mistrial puts the prosecution in a bind.  The prosecution planned to use Porter, after he was convicted, to testify against the other officers.  As of now, all the officers are pleading the fifth amendment, but a convicted officer could be pressured to testify.  Since Porter, who is black, is not convicted and still could be retried, he can't legally be required to testify and will likely continue to plead the fifth.

The Travesty in Baltimore.  The chilling thing about the hung jury that resulted in a mistrial for Officer William G. Porter, the first Baltimore cop to stand trial on charges arising out of the death of Freddie Gray, is that it was a hung jury.  This was a prosecution that should never have been brought, based on such a stark lack of evidence that there was not even probable cause to make an arrest, much less proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a man presumed innocent.  The jury should have acquitted Officer Porter in record time.  Indeed, the case should never have gone to jury deliberations because the trial judge should have dismissed it when the state rested without proving any crimes.

Thoughts on the mistrial of Officer Porter.  Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial today in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William G. Porter who is charged with multiple crimes in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.  The jury deliberated for more than 16 hours but could not reach a decision on any of the four crimes alleged by the prosecution.  We don't know how the jury divided, but boy would we like to.  Porter isn't out of the woods.  The prosecutor can retry him and may well decide to.

Mistrial declared in trial of Officer William Porter in death of Freddie Gray.  A mistrial was declared Wednesday [12/16/2015] in the trial of Baltimore Police Officer William G. Porter, after jurors told a judge they could not reach a verdict on any of the four charges against him.  "I do declare a mistrial," Judge Barry G. Williams announced in a downtown courtroom.  Porter, 26, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.  He is the first of six city police officers to stand trial in the death of Freddie Gray.

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore's Hero Prosecutor, Is Blowing the Freddie Gray Case.  The hero of Baltimore has a big zero on her hands.  Marilyn Mosby, state's attorney for Baltimore, could not get a jury to convict police officer William Porter in the death of Freddie Gray.  After several days of jury deadlock, a judge declared a mistrial Wednesday [12/16/2015].  Now it will be up to Mosby to try her luck again with Porter, or press on with the cases against five other officers.  It's a huge setback for Mosby's reputation months after thousands of people demonstrated and rioted in the streets and she stood on the steps of a courthouse promising to put away these cops.  Instead, she put on a lackluster case that included, among others issues, withholding a key piece of evidence from the defense.

Jury deliberation begins in case against Baltimore officer accused of involuntary manslaughter.  On Monday morning [12/14/2015], prosecutor Janice Bledsoe borrowed a quote from a famous French writer and a Hollywood blockbuster to conclude her closing argument in the state's case against William G. Porter, the first Baltimore police officer being tried in Freddie Gray's death.  "With great power comes great responsibility," Bledsoe told the court.  "Voltaire said that — and Spider-Man."  She told the jury — which would soon deliberate for nearly three hours before electing to continue Tuesday morning — that Porter had the power to save Gray at least four times but didn't.

Baltimore Schools Are More Afraid of Students Than Its Police Force.  As Baltimore awaits a verdict in the trial of William Porter, the first officer tried in the death of Freddie Gray, city leaders seem particularly afraid of one group of its residents:  its students.  At least, that's what many are concluding after a letter to parents from the city's school chief was made public on Monday [12/14/2015].  Dr. Gregory Thornton, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO wrote the letter to warn families that no violence will be tolerated in the wake of the verdict, which could come down this week.  But Thornton seems to have an especially broad definition of what actually constitutes violence.  "Students need to understand that we support their right to express their emotions, and that we will facilitate opportunities for them to do so appropriately," the CEO wrote.  "However, we need to make it clear that student walkouts, vandalism, civil disorder, and any form of violence are not acceptable under any circumstances."

Freddie Gray judge prosecuted police misconduct cases for DOJ.  Officer William G. Porter, 26, faces charges of manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment because he allegedly did not get medical help for Gray when he complained of injuries after his arrest.  None of the 75 potential jurors in the first batch questioned by Judge Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams answered affirmatively when asked if they were unfamiliar with this case.  Each one also indicated awareness of the $6.4 million civil settlement the city paid to Gray's family, as well as the curfew imposed after Gray's death.

Can officers in Freddie Gray case get an impartial jury?  From the day news got out that Freddie Gray had died, the purported goal of everyone involved — from Gray's family to city officials, to the news media, to the people of Baltimore — was to determine what happened to the 25-year-old man from the West Side.  But the truth has been difficult to pin down, and now answers to those questions will be in the hands of a 12-person jury to be selected beginning Monday [11/30/2015].

The Race To Riot On College Campuses.  The president and chancellor at the University of Missouri abruptly resigned when a group of mostly black students protested that they had not said or done enough in response to racial slights on campus.  We're hearing students speak of the need for "safe zones" and against "microaggression," a term with which I have only recently become familiar.  Several points about all of this.  First, the leadership at the University of Missouri didn't lead at all.  They cut and ran.  To put a twist on a cliche, it isn't about the inmates taking over the asylum; rather it is about the children taking over the daycare center.

The Wreckage of Baltimore after the Freddie Gray Cameras Went Away.  In the same week that the Paris attacks took place there was a class action suit brought by residents from Baltimore's public housing units claiming that repairmen in the towers had demanded sex from female residents in exchange for keeping the lights on and the water running. [...] The media treated the Baltimore riots as the latest chew toy on the Social Justice Warrior front.  Reporters spoke in apocalyptic terms about evil police, beleaguered citizens of color and the failure of the American melting pot in the face of systemic white oppression.  The reality, as this short vignette of current events demonstrates, is that Baltimore has been suffering from far deeper problems which date back well into the middle of the 20th century.

Baltimore records 300th homicide of the year.  Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said in a statement Saturday evening [11/14/2015] that it was a "sad homicide milestone."

Has the liberal wing of the Democrats finally pushed the party too far?  [W]hen the "protesters" get out of hand and go after the cops, national support for the movement plummets.  Only 25% of respondents in a [recent] poll felt that the riots in Baltimore "were sparked by legitimate grievances" while a very solid majority described them as criminal actions.  It's possible that the Democrats' candidates have spent too much time watching the skewed views of reporters on MSNBC and CNN and came away thinking that theirs was some sort of national consensus view while nearly the exact opposite was the case.

The hero mom of Baltimore dropped off the radar quickly.  Remember the "Hero Mom of Baltimore" who smacked down her son on the evening news and dragged him out of the Baltimore Riots?  It's been six months since all of that madness unfolded and the Washington Post got to wondering what ever happened to the lady.

Taking Back the Neighborhood.  Ferguson and Baltimore are perfect examples of the anarchy that results from allowing that kind of behavior to continue unchecked.  It is difficult enough to deal with one person like that, but when you have hundreds gathered together that are beyond the reach of reason, your cities are on the road to hell.  Chicago has been on that road for quite a while and I know who to blame.  When you listen to the mayors of these cities, you soon learn it isn't just their criminals that are beyond the reach of reason.

FBI Director Ties Spike In Urban Crime To Cops' Fear Of Doing Their Jobs.  FBI director James Comey lent credence to a controversial theory Friday [10/23/2015] when he said during a speech in Chicago that violent crime has spiked in many big U.S. cities this year because police officers are worried that performing their policing duties puts them at risk of being accused of a crime themselves.  "I don't know whether that explains it entirely, but I do have a strong sense that some part of the explanation is a chill wind that has blown through American law enforcement over the last year," Comey said at a forum held at the University of Chicago Law School, according to news reports.

Update:
Liberal hero James Comey now the enemy for telling the truth about cops.  When James Comey threatened to quit the Bush administration over a wiretapping dispute, he was an instant liberal hero. [...] But now that Comey is resisting Obama's party-line claims about police brutality and mass incarceration, the White House is furious with him.  Its chief propaganda arm, The New York Times editorial page, is harshly denouncing the man it praised for resisting Bush.  Same Comey, same streak of independence, but now he's goring the wrong ox.  Thou shalt not contradict Dear Leader!

Activists occupy Baltimore City Hall; oppose commissioner.  Young, black residents of Baltimore hoped a public act of civil disobedience in the heart of local government would force their troubled city to deal with the decades-old problems of police misconduct, housing inequality and systemic disenfranchisement.

The lid is coming off in Baltimore.  Thank goodness the Baltimore Ravens will take on the Browns in Cleveland on Nov. 30, the day the first of six police officers goes on trial in the death of Freddie Gray.  Charm City doesn't need to repeat what happened with the Orioles, who had to lock themselves in and shut the public out of a game because violence and mayhem had erupted.  There's no word yet on what the street plan is for pretrial weekend, by which time even some generally peace-abiding Baltimoreans will be fed up with Thanksgiving leftovers and out-of-school kids, while the media gear up for their obligations, which will include rehashing ugly events that began the day Gray was buried (April 27) and preparing for the opening salvos of the much-anticipated trials.

Police Disband Sit-In At Baltimore City Hall, At Least 16 Arrests Made.  WJZ continues to follow developments in a nearly ten-hour protest at City Hall.  Several of the 16 arrested remain in jail.  The commissioner is defending his department's actions.

Two officers' statements ruled admissible in Freddie Gray case; three others withdraw efforts to block statements.  A Baltimore judge ruled Tuesday [10/13/2015] that statements made by two of the six police officers charged in Freddie Gray's arrest and death are admissible as evidence in their own trials and possibly in the trials of their peers.  Judge Barry Williams denied motions by attorneys for Sgt. Alicia D. White and Officer William G. Porter to suppress statements they made to police investigators in the aftermath of Gray's arrest in April.  The officers had argued that the statements were obtained improperly.

Freddie Gray case: Judge will allow two officers' statements as evidence.  A judge ruled Tuesday [10/13/2015] that the statements of at least two officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray can be included as evidence at trial, a victory for prosecutors who can use the accounts to show jurors how Gray was treated by police.  Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams on Tuesday also barred attorneys from discussing the case with anyone except their clients and legal team.

Bloody Baltimore: No end seen to post-Freddie Gray spike in homicides, shootings.  Baltimore's bloody summer ended with a barrage of bangs, as the rate of homicides and gun crimes continued to spike in the wake of the racially charged case of Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody left citizens angry and cops demoralized.  For September, homicides were up 39 percent and non-fatal shootings nearly doubled over the same month in 2014, continuing a disturbing trend that has gripped the Charm City since Gray's death in April and the rioting that followed.  For the year, murders are up 52 percent and non-fatal shootings 80 percent over last year.

Amazingly, a suspect is charged over arson during Baltimore riots.  [Scroll down]  [S]ome of us were wondering if there might not be time to check out the people who were doing the actual "protesting" in the form of destroying the city.  Would any charges ever arise from that?  I'd sort of given up on seeing any action on that front.  I mean, how rude would it be to distract from the important Social Justice Warriors message by arresting somebody just for tossing a few Molotov cocktails?  But my decidedly low expectations were confounded this week when the police actually made an arrest.

Baltimore officer said Freddie Gray asked for help.  As Freddie Gray was being transported in a police van through West Baltimore, at least one officer warned that Gray needed medical care but wondered, along with others, whether he was faking injuries or being uncooperative, according to investigators who reviewed the officers' statements during a departmental probe.  Those statements — which have never been publicly revealed — help to explain why a judge has ordered separate trials for six officers charged in the incident.

Baltimore's incredibly corrupt settlement of the Freddie Gray case.  Baltimore City approved a $6.4-million liability settlement for the family of Freddie Gray, a young West Baltimore drug dealer who died on the way to jail after police arrested him last April. [...] Maryland, like many states, has limits on liability in cases when municipalities are involved, and for pain and suffering in general.  In Gray's case, the liability limits for Baltimore City are usually capped at $400,000, for claims by the estate for the expenses and suffering of the decedent, and also for the pain and suffering of survivors, such as dependents or parents.  The city can ask for a waiver of such liability limits (which it evidently did in Gray's case) for egregious situations where the damages far exceed the liability limits.  But such situations envision cases of unquestioned liability, combined with shocking damages, such as a young person injured and subject to a long life of medical dependency and physical and mental suffering, conditions that don't pertain at all in Gray's case.

"Baltimore Six" To Have Trial in Baltimore — Activist Judge Rules Against Change of Venue.  Activist Judge Barry Williams gave activist Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby a big assist [9/10/2015] in her goal to convict six Baltimore police officers.  Williams ruled against a venue change motion while saying there's no evidence they will be unable to seat an impartial jury.

Pastor who led Freddie Gray marches arrested for blocking traffic.  A Baltimore pastor who led many of the marches against police brutality after the death of Freddie Gray was arrested Wednesday night [9/9/2015], a week after he stood in the way of traffic during a downtown march, police said.  Pastor Westley West, 27, of Faith Empowered Ministries, was charged with attempting to incite a riot, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct, disturbance of the peace, false imprisonment, and failure to obey, police said.

Freddie Gray's family settles with city for $6.4M.  The parents of Freddie Gray reached a tentative $6.4 million settlement [9/7/2015] with the city of Baltimore, nearly five months after their 25-year-old son was critically injured in police custody, sparking days of protests and rioting.

Update: Details of Pay Out.  Keep in mind:  [#1] no wrongdoing has ever been found;  [#2] Marilyn Mosby's private attorney is the same attorney as Freddie Gray's family;  [#3] The Gray family never filed a lawsuit, so this is not a "settlement" per se';  [#4] The possibility of any police wrongful conduct being found during trial is quite probably nil;  [#5] The maximum payout under Maryland state law, if lawsuit filed — and if police misconduct could be identified, would have been $400k.

Judge Rejects Effort to Try Officers Together in Freddie Gray Death.  The six Baltimore police officers charged in connection with Freddie Gray's death can have separate trials, a judge ruled today [9/2/2015].  Deputy State's Attorney Janice Bledsoe had argued at the pre-trial hearing today at Baltimore City Circuit Court that three of the officers should be tried together, saying they exhibited "degrees of the same breach of care."

Who is the judge in the Freddie Gray hearing?  Barry Glenn Williams has been an Associate Judge with the Baltimore City Circuit Court since December 2005.  On Wednesday [9/2/2015], he'll become a bit more of a household name.  Judge Williams will preside over Wednesday's hearings in the Freddie Gray case.  He's anticipated to hear motions to dismiss the case for prosecutorial misconduct, recuse Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and other prosecutors, and determine whether six Baltimore police officers charged in Gray's death will be tried together or individually.

1st Freddie Gray Hearing Since 6 Officers Charged in Death.  A Baltimore judge on Wednesday [9/2/2015] refused to dismiss charges against six police officers in connection with the death of a black man from injuries he suffered while in custody.

Judge denies motions to dismiss charges against Baltimore officers, recuse Marilyn Mosby.  A judge on Wednesday [9/2/2015] ordered that six Baltimore Police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray be tried separately.  The ruling was one of three that Judge Barry Williams handed down during the first pre-trial motions hearing in the case.  Williams earlier denied defense motions to dismiss charges against the officers and to recuse State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's office from the case.  Prosecutors argued to have the six officers tried in groups, while defense attorneys had argued their clients should be tried separately.

Baltimore judge: Charges against police in Gray case can go forward.  A judge on Wednesday [9/2/2015] rejected defense motions to drop charges against six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of a black man from an injury in custody, clearing the way for scheduled trial next month.

Officers wanted: Police departments struggle with recruiting.  Philadelphia is one of several big cities struggling to find recruits; the police department is about 200 officers short.  "Right now policing is not the most attractive occupation that they could probably get into," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.  Ramsey says relatively low pay and tougher application requirements, combined with high profile police incidents from Cincinnati to Baltimore to Ferguson, are having a negative impact.

Network Media, Black Leaders Sit Idly By as #BlackLivesMatter Rhetoric Grows Dangerous.  It's obvious we're heading into dangerous territory now.  The race wars that the likes of Dylan Roof and Vester Lee Flanagan are looking to ignite are only fueled by words and chants like this that go largely ignored.  Reasonable heads need to prevail here before we have another Baltimore, another Ferguson, or something much worse, something like a wildfire that can't be controlled.  Major media ignores a movement that openly chants for the death of police officers:  How isn't this a story worth a three-minute package on?  And before you say that group in Minnesota is just a rogue chapter, an aberration, ask yourself this:  If that's the case, why hasn't BLM leadership spoken out against such rhetoric yet?  Because they don't necessarily disagree with the message, that's why.

Black Skin Privilege: The Media's Love of Black Racism & Violence.  The media barely raised an eyebrow when Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a black Democrat, welcomed criminal gangs and radical groups into city government.  Rawlings-Blake received hardly any media coverage earlier this year when she allied herself with race rioters.  She's the one who proudly boasted that she protected the First Amendment right to protest by providing space to those who "wished to destroy" local businesses.

Generations of Stolen Black Dreams.  Black unemployment, particularly under Obama, is extremely high.  While many blacks have achieved their American dream, many have not.  That is not white America's fault.  Behavioral issues are laying waste to the black community.  Over 70% fatherless households and 70% school dropouts leads to gangs, drugs, blacks murdering blacks and incarceration; all resulting in poverty.  So what is Obama's solution to fixing these problems plaguing blacks?  He lets drug dealers who prey on urban youths out of jail, claiming their crime is non-violent.  He has his DOJ bully police across America to back off urban thugs.  Obama minion Baltimore mayor said, "Let them loot.  It's only property."  Violent crime is up big-time in Chicago, New York and Baltimore.

These Black Lives Don't Matter to Black Lives Matter.  [Scroll down]  But because Black Lives Matters and other demagogues insist that it is solely about race, the majority of diligent police officers in Baltimore have had their hands tied by State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby.  If they are put into the position where deadly force is warranted there is a reasonable fear that Mosby will see fit to prosecute them.  So Baltimore PD refrains from intervening and, voila, murder is on the rise and nearly all of those who die are African Americans.

Former Baltimore State's Attorney Blames Marilyn Mosby For Violent Crime Spike.  A veteran Baltimore prosecutor is blaming state's attorney Marilyn Mosby for contributing to the dramatic spike in violent crime that has gripped the city in the aftermath of the Freddie Gray case.  In a scathing op-ed for The Baltimore Sun, Roya Hanna, who left the state's attorney's office in April, says that Mosby's actions during her short time in office have contributed to the more than 200 murders that the city has seen so far this year.  In the past several years, Baltimore hasn't reached that level of murders until November.

Baltimore Prosecutor Stopped Investigator From Exposing Freddie Gray "Crash for Cash" Schemes.  Most readers here are familiar with the set-up; Marilyn Mosby and Angela Corey followed the same plan.  Unfortunately most of those who rely on the MSM will be unaware the extent of the prosecutor railroading.

Defense says prosecutor steered police away from evidence Freddie Gray had history of 'crash for cash' schemes.  The police detectives who investigated the death of Freddie Gray were told that he had a history of participating in "crash-for-cash" schemes — injuring himself in law enforcement settings to collect settlements — but were advised by a state prosecutor not to pursue the information, according to defense attorneys for the six officers charged in Gray's arrest and death.

Psych firm that screens Baltimore cops under review.  A psychology firm under investigation for alleged contract violations involving Baltimore police officers' assessments for mental stability will not get more referrals from the city during the probe, the mayor said Friday [8/7/2015].

Loretta Lynch Embeds Federal Agents In Baltimore To Help Control Embarrassment of Growing Crisis.  The transparency of motive is brutally obvious.  As Baltimore suffers the worst explosion of gun/homicide violence in 40 years, the race-based professional apologists have to move quickly to avoid the consequences from their own insufferable policy/agenda failures.

Feds answer Baltimore's SOS on violence.  Baltimore is turning to the federal government for help in stemming a dramatic uptick in violence over the last several months.  Ten federal agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service will embed with the police department's homicide unit for the next 60 days, city leaders announced Monday [8/3/2015].

Loretta Lynch Embeds Federal Agents In Baltimore To Help Control Embarrassment of Growing Crisis.  The transparency of motive is brutally obvious.  As Baltimore suffers the worst explosion of gun/homicide violence in 40 years, the race-based professional apologists have to move quickly to avoid the consequences from their own insufferable policy/agenda failures.

Baltimore's best mayor evah presides over homicide rate not seen in nearly half a century.  You may recall that earlier this year, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was named President of the US Conference of Mayors for her outstanding work in serving the people of her city and demonstrating innovation in turning things around.  As part of that process, she decided to summarily fire Police Commissioner Anthony Batts back in the beginning of July.

Emails show how Baltimore devolved into chaos.  Some unrest occurred during the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 25.  As Freddie Gray was laid to rest two days later, the unrest was reignited with an intensity that left the city completely unprepared to deal with the rioters who seemed to have outmaneuvered the Baltimore Police Department.  As the security situation continued to deteriorate, Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency, deploying the National Guard in order to restore order.  The Baltimore Sun obtained over 7,000 emails from city officials during the unrest showing how things devolved into chaos: [...]

Hogan 'disgusted' FEMA won't declare Baltimore riots an emergency.  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday that he was "very angry and frustrated" by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's decision to deny Maryland federal aid to help cover the cost of the Baltimore riots in April.  "The decision by the Obama administration to say, 'We don't consider it an emergency'?  It was just wrong," Hogan (R) said, when asked about the issue during a news conference in Baltimore.

Baltimore Prosecutors Hid Evidence Freddie Gray Tried To Injure Himself During Prior Arrests.  Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby previously stated she was going to pursue justice for Freddie Gray "by any and all means necessary".  Today [7/30/2015], in a motion filed by the defense, the extent of Mosby's activist intention is again reinforced.  In addition to hiding "Brady evidence", there is a meeting between Mosby and the medical examiner (prior to the autopsy release — and undisclosed by Mosby) which indicates previous elements of her pressuring the ME to change the cause of death from "accidental" to "homicide".

Baltimore killings soar to a level unseen in 43 years.  Baltimore reached a grim milestone on Friday [7/31/2015], three months after riots erupted in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody:  With 45 homicides in July, the city has seen more bloodshed in a single month than it has in 43 years.

During Baltimore Riots Maryland MCAC Intel Hub and Homeland Security Were Tracking Malik Shabazz.  Part of the 7,000 emails released to the Baltimore Sun reveals the MCAC Data Hub and DHS tracking former Black Panther leader Malik Shabazz during the Baltimore riots.  The MCAC Hub previously came to our attention two years ago when we discovered Maryland using DHS databases to collected license plate information (via ALPR) and cross references to national firearm purchases via contracted data mining of various state concealed carry permit libraries.

In wake of riots and crime spike, Baltimore mayor under fire.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake climbed onto the deck of an abandoned row house in Tuesday's sweltering summer heat and promised that "better is coming" as she promoted the restoration of a blighted block not far from where riots broke out earlier this year.

Marilyn Mosby's Request To Hide Evidence (Protective Order) Denied By Baltimore Judge.  Yet again, Marilyn Mosby fails to make a legal and intellectual argument that has merit.  The judge swatted this "protective order" down rather brutally.  Apparently Mosby is unaware of the difference between "probative" and "prejudicial".

Cops in Freddie Gray case: We gave statements under duress.  Three of the Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray gave initial statements under duress because they were afraid of being fired, their attorneys argued in motions filed this week.

Education and America's Third World.  Just 20 percent of tenth-graders in Alabama's Mobile County are proficient in math.  In Holmes County, Mississippi — home to the lowest life expectancy in the United States earlier this decade and a center of extreme poverty — a meager 28 percent of 8th graders are proficient in language arts.  In McDowell County, the poorest in West Virginia, only a quarter of high school students can claim reading proficiency according to the latest available test results.  Urban areas with the means to invest heavily in the status quo haven't seen results, either.  Despite spending among the largest sums in the nation on a per-pupil basis, roughly $18,000 per student, Baltimore's schools achieve an 8th grade reading proficiency rate of 16 percent.  On the most recent Maryland school standardized tests, only 29 percent of Baltimore city 8th grade students passed the math portion.  These are pitiful results.

Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby's LEO Family Background Shows History of Drug Use, Terminations and Deception.  Oh boy, it looks like Marilyn "By-Any-Means-Necessary" Mosby has some serious issues in the background of her family and their life of crime while carrying badges.

East Baltimore anti-violence group work suspended after guns, drugs found in raid.  City officials have suspended operations of the Safe Streets anti-violence program in East Baltimore after police officers found seven guns and drugs stashed inside the Monument Street office. [...] Police said this week's investigation began when they were called about 2:26 a.m. Monday [7/13/2015] to the intersection of Hillen and Forrest streets, just south of East Monument Street, where a man said he was just robbed at gunpoint by two men in a gray SUV.  Soon after, an officer spotted the vehicle parked in the 2300 block of E. Monument and saw men dart inside the Safe Streets office.  When officers eventually raided the office, they found guns, heroin, cocaine, and other items used in the manufacturing and sale of drugs, including cutting agents and scales, police said.

The shooting crime rate.  Baltimore's mayor is all wet, and not only because a woman poured water on her at a town hall.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake blames the cops for the spike in murders in her city.  Uncaring cops, her argument goes, prey on the underclass, particularly young black men like Freddie Gray in Baltimore and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.  Weak firearms restrictions are blamed for the gunplay that litters the streets with casualties.  It's the usual left-wing game that puts the blame for urban dystopia everywhere but where it belongs, on people behaving badly.  The results speak for themselves.

Marilyn Mosby's police officer family members used cocaine, fired from force.  Mosby's mother, Linda Thompson, had nine disciplinary actions against her in her 20 years on the force.  The Boston Police Department turned over a document that shows she violated the "substance abuse policy" in 2006.  A source familiar with the incident said that Thompson tested positive for cocaine. [...] Boston Police Internal Affairs launched an investigation in 1990 into various charges, which a police source told us indicated she lost her police gun.  After a hearing, Linda was suspended in 1993 for it.  Mosby's father, Alan James, was fired from the Boston Police Department in 1991 on the same day he was acquitted by a jury for assault and robbery.  According to an article in the Boston Globe at the time, the police commissioner fired him for "conduct unbecoming an officer."  Preston Thompson, who is Linda Thompson's brother and Mosby's uncle, was fired in 2001 for using cocaine.

Baltimore Defense Attorneys Find Evidence of "Judge Shopping".  The ongoing mountain of evidence continues to accumulate that Baltimore Prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, intentionally manipulated the Freddie Gray investigation to construct a false case against the Baltimore Six officers.  Two significant issues.  #1) Mosby was denied a search warrant, and then her office went shopping for a Judge who would approve one, a legal no-no.  #2) The affidavit for the Search Warrant itself reflects the police merely detained Gray, until they discovered and illegal knife in his pocket — then he was placed under arrest.

Woman Arrested For Assault After Pouring Water On Baltimore Mayor's Head.  A woman was charged with second degree assault after she dumped water on the head of Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Saturday [7/11/2015].  Rawlings-Blake was attending an outdoor event at Mondawmin Mall, the site of heavy looting on April 27, the day that 25-year-old Freddie Gray's funeral was held.

Woman arrested for dumping water on Baltimore mayor, report says.  A Baltimore woman was reportedly arrested Saturday morning [7/11/2015] for throwing water on city Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as she greeted residents at an event.  Lacheisa Pailin-Sheffer, 37, is accused of running up to Rawlings-Blake and pouring a large cup of liquid of the mayor's head, according to the Baltimore Sun.  The mayor's aides rushed to dry her off, while the protection united grabbed Pailin-Sheffer and arrested her.  Pailin-Sheffer was charged with second-degree assault, police said.

Hundreds march against violence in Baltimore.  Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Baltimore Friday night [7/10/2015] calling for an end to the violence that has plagued the city in recent months.  Those who marched are the dedicated foot soldiers of Baltimore's constant war on violence.  Friday night [7/10/2015] marked the third annual 300 Men March, a shoulder-to-shoulder showing of Baltimore unity against what has plagued the city for years.

No one wants to live in Baltimore.  The recent unrest in Baltimore, including riots and overall awful political leadership, is being attributed to lagging home sales in Baltimore City, according to local real estate agents.  For the second consecutive month, home sales in metro Baltimore have outpaced sales in Baltimore City, an uncommon circumstance.

NAACP leader says Baltimore mayor told him not to host Republicans.  Hassan Giordano, a leader of a Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said he was told that hosting Republican outreach in his office is off limits.  Mr. Giordano, who calls himself "not the average conservative" because of his Muslim faith and criminal record, told The Daily Caller of irate phone calls he received for trying to work with Republicans.

Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby About Police Riot Response: "folks want answers".  Inside a Baltimore Sun article discussing reactions to the firing of Police Chief Anthony Batts, Councilman Nick Mosby, Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby's husband, gives his opinion about the police union's post-riot "After Action Report".

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts fired.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, the mayor's office said on Wednesday [7/8/2015].

Baltimore mayor announces Anthony Batts is out as police commissioner.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.  Effective immediately, Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis becomes interim commissioner.  Davis is a veteran law enforcement official who joined the city department in January after serving as Anne Arundel County police chief, a position he resigned from in Nov. 2014.

The guy hired to replace Anthony Batts did some pretty bad stuff at his last job.  The ink isn't even dry on Kevin Davis' contract as the interim police commissioner of Baltimore, and it turns out he was no choir boy at his last posting as a detective at the Anne Arundel County police department.  According to a report from the Baltimore City Paper, Davis and other members of his department illegally detained an individual, resulting in a $90,000 settlement paid to the detained man.

Baltimore Mayor Fires Police Chief After Sharp Rise In Violence.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake thanked Police Commissioner Anthony Batts for his service — and praised the job he had done — but said growing criticism of his leadership had become a "distraction" that was preventing the city from moving ahead.

Halfway Through Year — Baltimore Stands At 144 Homicides, Up 48 Percent Over Last Year.  Mayor Rawlings-Blake says the current level of slaughter is "disheartening".  Last month, Rawlings-Blake said city police officers need to do their jobs or face internal discipline.

Baltimore Police Union Forces City Leadership To Admit They Gave "Stand-Down Orders" During Riots.  The Baltimore Police Union is demanding public records of radio transmissions and email notifications to prove the leadership in the Baltimore Police Department, specifically Police Chief Batts, told officers NOT to stop the riots and looting.  Facing the probability the police union is going to succeed in their endeavor to put sunlight upon the truth the Mayor, Police Chief Batts and his leadership team are now having to admit they did tell the officers to 'stand down'.

Baltimore Mayor Announces Review of Confederate Statues.  A new commission in Baltimore will soon review Baltimore's Confederate statues as a nationwide debate continues following the recent shooting that killed nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced on Tuesday the special commission will make recommendations for each of the Confederate-era monuments and other historical assets.  Their suggestions might include, preservation, new signage, relocation or removal.

'Hold the line' commands protected lives during riot, police say.  Baltimore police commanders acknowledge that they ordered officers not to engage rioters multiple times on the day of Freddie Gray's funeral but said they did so to protect officers and citizens as they prioritized life over property.  In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and six top commanders who directed deployments on April 27 denied that they gave blanket orders to do nothing as rioters looted, raided businesses and even attacked officers with impunity.

Baltimore Evidence Includes Transport Van Witness Donta Allen "On Video".  Oh, how we've seen this entire story play out before.  Donta Allen 2015, is Rachel Jeantel 2013!!  A prosecution witness that actually deconstructs the prosecution.  Now we know why Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants to block public awareness of the evidence.  According to Megyn Kelly part of the "Brady evidence" turned over by prosecutors to the defense team in Baltimore includes video of van passenger Donta Allen giving his statement to "investigators".

Mosby Wants "Baltimore Six" Divided Into Two Trials — While Keeping the Venue In Baltimore.  Curiously Mosby is trying to get the two misdemeanor defendants (bicycle cops Nero and Miller) split up with one in each trial.  Possibly she's looking for contradictions between the two officers to crop up — Or she's racially seeking to colorize the trials.

Baltimore chief prosecutor gunning for Freddie Gray 'killer cops' poses for glamorous Vogue photoshoot — while trying to GAG defendants' lawyers.  The chief prosecutor in the Freddie Gray case has been slammed for trying to stop lawyers for the six accused police officers from talking to the media — while simultaneously appearing in Vogue.  Marilyn Mosby, the State's Attorney for Baltimore, is lauded as a 'heroine and lightning rod' in a celebrity-style profile for the famous fashion magazine.

Marilyn Mosby Guilty of What She Seeks to Condemn.  What is the moral difference between racially motivated abuses of power by rogue municipal police officers and those by prosecuting attorneys?  People should be concerned by Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's behavior, but it is especially alarming when you consider that she is engaging in the same type of behavior that she is using her state power to criminalize.

Nation's Leading Forensic Pathologist Refutes Baltimore Autopsy Conclusions.  Dr. Vincent DiMaio (testified in Zimmerman trial) is widely considered one of the nation's foremost leading forensic pathologist.  He too sees through the political smokescreen deployed by Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Mosby's office takes credit for calming crowd, saving Baltimore from being 'burned to the ground'.  In a new court filing submitted Wednesday [6/24/2015], State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office claims their actions in charging six police officers helped restore order and calm the crowd after Freddie Gray's death, saving Baltimore "before the entire city became an armed camp or was burned to the ground."  "Mrs. Mosby was trying to calm the crowd, not incite it," wrote Michael Schatzow for Mosby's office, in a response to a defense motion, according to the Baltimore Sun.  "Her repeated pleas for peace while the criminal justice system does its work served a legitimate law enforcement function."  Mosby's office was responding to attorneys for the police officers, who have asked the judge to throw the case against the officers out, and claim that Mosby's actions have tainted the jury pool.

Freddy Gray Autopsy Report Deals Blow to Murder Charges.  Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has withheld the autopsy report on Freddie Gray from defense counsel and the public for nearly two months.  It is the report on which she relied to file murder and other charges against six police officers, even though the investigation into Mr. Gray's death was not close to being complete.  Now, just two days before Friday's [6/26/2015] court deadline for the state to disclose the report to the defense, it has been leaked to the Baltimore Sun.  The Sun's story makes it easier to understand why Ms. Mosby wanted the autopsy kept under wraps.

A Key Aspect Of The Freddie Gray Autopsy Report.  There's something quite interesting in the Freddie Gray autopsy story that is seemingly overlooked by those who are discussing the controversial content.

Marilyn Mosby: 'I arrested the cops for political reasons'.  This is rich. While simultaneously saying the people of Baltimore are too stupid a mob to stop destroying their city, Mosby claims that it was imperative she remove the constitutional protections of the police department in order to save Baltimore; and people should be thanking her for sacrificing the police for the greater good of society.

Law Professor: Freddie Gray Autopsy Is 'Very, Very Helpful To The Defense'.  The autopsy conducted on Freddie Gray helps the case of the six Baltimore police officers charged in the 25-year-old's death, a law professor tells The Daily Caller.  John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, also says that the autopsy, a review of which was published Tuesday [6/23/2015] by The Baltimore Sun, indicates that Baltimore city state's attorney Marilyn Mosby "downplayed" the medical examiner's findings when she publicly announced charges against the officers on May 1.

Freddie Gray Autopsy Revealed: An "Accident" Changed To "Homicide" By The Absence of a Seatbelt.  Our suspicions were 100% accurate in the review of all prior information coming from the released details.  An "accidental" self-induced injury stemming from Freddie Gray standing, not being seat-belted; and as a consequence of the van moving/stopping, Freddie Gray impacting the wall of the transport van.  Also including the presence of opiates and cannabinoid within his toxicology report.

Sounds like a "waffle job" to me.
Autopsy of Freddie Gray shows 'high-energy' impact.  Freddie Gray suffered a single "high-energy injury" to his neck and spine — most likely caused when the police van in which he was riding suddenly decelerated, according to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun.  The state medical examiner's office concluded that Gray's death could not be ruled an accident, and was instead a homicide, because officers failed to follow safety procedures "through acts of omission."

Freddie Gray autopsy finds 'high-energy injury' while riding in police van.  Freddie Gray suffered a "high-energy injury" while riding in a Baltimore police van and the failure of officers to follow procedures makes the death a homicide, according to an autopsy report obtained by the Baltimore Sun.  Police arrested Gray on 12 April and he died a week later, prompting protests and rioting.  A grand jury indicted six officers on various charges.  One officer faces the most serious charge of second-degree "depraved-heart" murder.  They have pleaded not guilty.

Sign inside Baltimore police van under investigation.  The photos show the doors of the parked police van left open.  On the inside of the back door is a sign, attached or possibly stenciled on, that reads:  "Enjoy your ride, cuz we sure will!"  The pictures were taken Tuesday [6/30/2015] near the Central District Police Station on Baltimore Street.

The Editor says...
For those of you who may be confused by my terminology, "waffle job" is the name for the abuse of prisoners being transported to city jails by local cops.  The suspect sits in the back seat of a police car, as two officers sit in the front seat.  Upon a pre-arranged (silent) signal, the officer driving the car slams on the brakes, throwing the handcuffed prisoner face-first into the screen separating the back seat from the front.  Then the two cops chuckle and the prisoner arrives at the police station with a waffle imprint on his face, whereupon the other officers are also amused.  This practice started in the late 1970s, when barriers were first installed between the front and back seats of police cars.  It is my perception, as an outsider looking in, that the waffle job is usually reserved for belligerent offenders who didn't get enough of a beating at the scene of their crime.

Update and correction 7/11/2015:
New information has come to light, specifically from the latest issue of National Review, July 20, 2015, pages 8 and 10.  "The medical examiner concluded that [Freddie] Gray was placed by police in a prone position on the van floor.  If he had stayed that way, he would not have suffered the severe neck injury that led to his death.  But Gray decided to try to get back up even though his hands and ankles were restrianed; that, apparently is why he catapulted into the van's hard interior when it decelerated."  The Editor is unaware of any indication or evidence that the police intentionally caused Mr. Gray's injuries.  Indeed, the person who had the clearest opportunity to avoid Mr. Gray's arrest and subsequent injuries was Mr. Gray himself.

Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake named President of US Conference of Mayors.  The US Conference of Mayors kicked off their 83rd annual meeting this weekend and as part of the proceedings they named their new president for the coming year.  The lucky winner was Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. [...] [T]he Conference is supposed to be about collecting and sharing good ideas in an effort to help cities improve their conditions and address challenges.  Wouldn't you suppose that somebody with a long, proven track record of success would be a logical choice?

Baltimore Police Chief Batts: More officers likely to be arrested, forced out as result of reforms.  More Baltimore police officers likely face arrest as the result of reforms in a scandal-ridden department that requires "wholesale change," Commissioner Anthony W. Batts wrote in a wide-ranging opinion piece published in The Baltimore Sun.  "Our reform efforts will very likely see more police officers arrested," Batts wrote.  "We will have more officers who are forced out because their outdated, outmoded views of policing do not match the standards the community expects and demands."

Marilyn Mosby's Office Says Baltimore Cops' Lawyers 'Spew Invective,' 'Distort Facts'.  In the latest salvo in the Freddie Gray case, the office of Baltimore city state's attorney Marilyn Mosby is accusing the attorneys for six officers charged in the 25-year-old's death of "spew[ing] invective, hoping that vitriol will trump logic."  In a motion filed Wednesday [6/17/2015], Mosby's chief deputy, Michael Schatzow, responded to the defense attorneys' calls for the 35-year-old prosecutor to recuse herself from the case because of her personal and political conflicts of interest.  "They make arguments for which they can find no authority," Schatzow said of the defense lawyers.  "They distort facts when they do not invent them.  They abhor logic, so they do not use it."

Marilyn Mosby Responds To Defense Motion For Recusal — Petulance, Inexperience Permeate Motion Language.  Baltimore's Special State Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's office has responded to defense motion that she should be removed from prosecuting the Baltimore Six.  An astoundingly petulant, and ideologically-worded, rebuttal motion claiming the accused police officers and their attorneys distort facts in the hope "vitriol will trump logic."  Notably absent, actually glaringly absent, from the motion is anything relating to a "rough ride" despite numerous references to the construct of negligence in reference to the transport of Freddie Gray.

Marilyn Mosby Has Filed Protective Order To Block Release of Freddie Gray Autopsy.  Today [6/16/2015] Marilyn Mosby filed a motion requesting a protective order over the evidence in the Freddie Gray case.  Specifically, she is seeking to block the defense attorney's from publicly sharing the autopsy results.  Can you imagine her activist outrage if Saint Louis prosecutors hid Mike Brown's autopsy?  Can you imagine her outrage if New York prosecutors hid Eric Garner's autopsy?

Genosuicide and its causes.  In the reasonable fear of legal persecution, police in America's inner cities have stepped back from aggressive enforcement of the law, and the result is a sudden surge in homicides that have killed hundreds of people, almost all of them black.  As Heather MacDonald reported in the Wall Street Journal May 29, "Gun violence in particular is spiraling upward in cities across America.  In Baltimore, the most pressing question every morning is how many people were shot the previous night.  Gun violence is up more than 60% compared with this time last year, according to Baltimore police, with 32 shootings over Memorial Day weekend.  May has been the most violent month the city has seen in 15 years.

West Baltimore's Police Presence Drops, and Murders Soar.  A month and a half after six officers were charged in Mr. Gray's death, policing has dwindled in some of Baltimore's most dangerous neighborhoods, and murders have risen to levels not seen in four decades.  The totals include a 29-year-old man fatally shot on this drug corner last month.  Police union officials say that officers are still coming to work, but that some feel a newfound reluctance and are stepping back, questioning whether they will be prosecuted for actions they take on the job.

Marilyn Mosby's Father Was A 'Crooked Cop,' Police Officer Grandfather Sued For Racial Discrimination.  Marilyn Mosby has made it widely known that she comes from a long line of police officers, five generations of law enforcement to be exact. [...] But while it's true that numerous Mosby family members have worn the badge, a thorough look reveals a more complicated picture of that law enforcement background than she has let on in public.

Things go from bad to worse for Marilyn Mosby.  Marilyn Mosby, the prosecutor in the Freddie Gray case, continues to make news for all the wrong reasons.  First, her motion for a gag order in the case was dismissed because she f iled it in the wrong court. [...] Mistakes like this aren't unheard of in litigation, but they smack of amateurism.  Second, it has been revealed that Mosby directed Baltimore police to ramp up narcotics patrols with increased "targeting" at an intersection near where Freddie Gray was arrested.

Baltimore PD Email Surfaces Showing Marilyn Mosby Asked Police To Target Exact Location Where Freddie Gray Was Apprehended.  An email has surfaced as part of a defense motion to recuse Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.  The email is from Mosby's office in the weeks just prior to the arrest of Freddie Gray.  In the March email Mosby is specifically asking the Baltimore police to target the exact intersection where Freddie Gray was apprehended — and work on eliminating increased drug activity.

Baltimore prosecutor asked police to target area where Freddie Gray was arrested.  About three weeks before Freddie Gray was chased from a West Baltimore corner by three Baltimore police officers — the start of a fatal encounter — the office of prosecutor Marilyn Mosby asked police to target the intersection with "enhanced" drug enforcement efforts, court documents show.  "State's Attorney Mosby asked me to look into community concerns regarding drug dealing in the area of North Ave and Mount St," Joshua Rosenblatt, division chief of Mosby's Crime Strategies Unit, wrote in a March 17 email to a Western District police commander.

Baltimore prosecutors had asked police to target Freddie Gray corner: report.  Baltimore prosecutors had asked police to focus drug enforcement efforts on the corner where Freddie Gray was chased by officers before he allegedly suffered a fatal injury in police custody, the Baltimore Sun reported on Wednesday [6/10/2015].

Baltimore police officers break silence on riots, murder spike and Freddie Gray.  Forty-two people were killed in Baltimore in May, making it the deadliest month there since 1972.  When asked what's behind that number, a Baltimore police officer gave an alarming answer.  Basically, he said, the good guys are letting the bad guys win.

Marilyn Mosby's Gag Motion Denied After Filing in Wrong Court.  Judge Charles J. Peters denied the Baltimore State's Attorney's motion on Tuesday for a gag order relating to the prosecution of six officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray.  Marilyn Mosby's request was denied on the grounds that her staff sent the request in the wrong court at the time.  Mosby's motion was filed in Baltimore's circuit court on May 14, and was meant to forbid any public disclosure about the Gray case by any witnesses, attorneys and police involved.  Peters declared that the motion lacked standing in the proceeding because until the officers' May 21 indictment, the case was still under the jurisdiction of the District Court.  Prosecution spokeswoman Rochelle Ritchie, refused to say whether the state had any plans to file a new motion.

Baltimore Mayor Loses 5 Criminal Justice Staffers.  In a span of just over two weeks, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake saw five top-level criminal justice staffers resign from their posts during a time when the city is experiencing its worst crime wave since the 1970s.  By the end of May, four were gone in a week, starting with head of Office of Nonviolent Programs, LeVar Michael.  Following him was the Director of the Criminal Justice Office, Angela Johnese.  Then Heather Brantner who was a coordinator for Rawlings-Blake's Sexual Assault Response Team.  In that week's final blow, the mayor's deputy director, Shannon Cosgrove, announced her departure.  Amazingly, according to Legal Insurrection, not one reason was given for any one of these resignations.  They just abruptly left.

Liberal City of the Future.  Culpability for the events in Baltimore over the past couple of weeks has perhaps inappropriately been directed exclusively at the police department.  In all likelihood, the charges against the police involved in the tragic death of Freddie Gray are only symptomatic of the greater underlying problems of the once booming city.  The greater tragedy is the destructive policies of over fifty years of liberal governance, which created the environment of disparity, poverty, and victimhood.  The city has been hemorrhaging jobs at an alarming rate for decades.  And the most hard-hit have been the city's black youth.  Over 37% of 20-25 year-old black males are unemployed, versus 10% for white males of the same age.  Black household median income is nearly half what it is for white households, at $33,610 and $60,550, respectively.

Baltimore Judge Denies State Attorney Marilyn Mosby Motion for Gag Order.  The judge presiding over the prosecution of six Baltimore Police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray struck the state's motion for a gag order in the case.  Judge Charles J. Peters ruled the motion lacked standing in an actual proceeding, as it was filed by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office in Circuit Court on May 14.  At that time, the officers' cases were still in District Court.  They weren't transferred to Circuit Court until May 21, when the officers were indicted.

Officer May Lose Arm After Man Stabbed Her 14 Times Over "Baltimore".  Unfortunately, the agitators, race hustlers, cop-blockers, pandering politicians, and media have told their lies so long and so loud that they have triggered yet another unprovoked anti-police attack.

Police Practicing Defensive Medicine.  Six Baltimore police officers were indicted in connection with the death of Freddie Gray who died while in police custody after arrest.  Did the police officers commit "police malpractice"?  Did they deviate from the "standard of care" during the arrest and detention process?  Who knows?  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, before any investigation of the facts and circumstances, saw that they were indicted.  A trial awaits the policemen, but meanwhile their lives are ruined, professionally and financially. [...] Predictably, arrests are down.  In Baltimore, "Police are booking fewer than half the number of people they pulled off the streets last year."  Crime is up and the police are nowhere to be seen.

Baltimore State Attorney Seeks Protective Order Blocking Release of Freddie Gray Autopsy Findings.  Head's up, we've seen this play before.  Corrupt and lying State Attorney, Angela Corey, did the exact same thing in the Zimmerman trial in order to keep the public from seeing how a fraudulent prosecution is constructed.  However, this latest manuever by Marilyn Mosby, as reported today in the Baltimore Sun, is Supernova levels beyond Hypocritical.  Can you imagine the outrage within the "Black Lives Matter" community if Saint Louis prosecutor, Robert McColloch blocked the autopsy release of Mike Brown?  Think about it.

Baltimore state's attorney Mosby seeks to hide Freddie Gray autopsy.  Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney prosecuting 6 Baltimore police officers had no concerns over speaking out on her evidence on a national stage, but now wants to deny the public access to the autopsy performed on the late Freddie Gray.  What is she hiding, and why?  She is doing an excellent impersonation of a young and inexperienced prosecutor way over her head, as she also seeks more time to respond to defendants' motions, keeping them in limbo and without means of support, while her office with over 200 attorneys available, claims it is unable to respond in the normal amount of time allowed for such motions.

Baltimore records deadliest month in more than 40 years.  With three men killed in shootings on Sunday, Baltimore recorded its deadliest month in more than 40 years.  The 43 killings in May surpassed the 42 homicides the city saw in August 1990, and left Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defending police and her administration. [...] The killing of African-Americans in Baltimore has to stop, she said, noting that 189 of the 208 killed last year were black men.  For the city to improve, all homicides need to drop, she added.

Paying the Price.  Baltimore is now paying the price for irresponsible words and actions, not only by young thugs in the streets, but also by its mayor and the state prosecutor, both of whom threw the police to the wolves, in order to curry favor with local voters.  Now murders in Baltimore in May have been more than double what they were in May last year, and higher than in any May in the past 15 years.  Meanwhile, the number of arrests is down by more than 50 percent.

Bloody Baltimore.  Soon after the rioting in Baltimore ended in late April, the world's media turned their gaze elsewhere.  Then, as a petulant police force retreated to its station houses, the real carnage began.  May was the most lethal month in the city in more than 40 years; in per capita terms, it may have been the bloodiest month since recordkeeping began.

Phoenix protests Islamism.  [Scroll down]  Contrast this with leftist-run Maryland, which in the same extensive survey ranked nearly last — 44th out of 50 — in its Second Amendment support.  The reasons?  The Old Line State unconstitutionally burdens its citizens to obtain a license to own a gun, requires them to be registered in a government database, and makes obtaining a carry permit difficult to the point that they are rarely issued.  The Baltimore protests-turned-riots earlier this year showed some of the implications of these unconstitutional add-ons: shop owners couldn't defend themselves against the mobs, and peaceful protesters ended up at the mercy of the criminal gangs.

What if you were a Baltimore police officer?  I have a question for you: If a relative, friend, in-law or neighbor made it blatantly clear that you were not welcome somewhere, and took aggressive steps to make their point, including physical manifestations of their displeasure with your presence, how many times would you make a special effort to visit that place?

Baltimore records deadliest month in more than 40 years.  With three men killed in eastside shootings on Sunday, Baltimore recorded its deadliest month in more than 40 years.  The 43 killings in May surpassed the 42 homicides the city saw in August 1990, and left Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defending police and her administration.

Rising Crime Rates: It's Not Just Baltimore.  [Loretta] Lynch's encomium to the beleaguered cops will not alter the fact that crime in Baltimore is out of control with no sign of improvement.  "You have picked a noble profession," she told the officers.  "Despite how people may want to portray it, you [should] hold on to that every day."  Among the "many" she referred to are of course Mr. Holder and, lest we forget, the president of the United States, who seems to believe that the greatest danger facing black Americans is that of being mistreated by police officers.  Conditions in Baltimore suggest otherwise.  Since April 12, the day Freddie Gray was arrested, 51 people have been killed in Baltimore, 47 of whom have been black and none of whom died at the hands of a police officer.

The Left's Reign of Terror Continues in Martin O'Malley's Baltimore.  As Maryland's largest city grieves for a mother and her 7-year-old son found shot to death, it is becoming clear that criminals emboldened by left-wingers are terrorizing the people of Baltimore like never before.  The city's radical, left-wing, thug-loving mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D), has emasculated the local police she despises and abandoned her constituents by giving criminals a green light to do as they please.  Police officers have been ordered not to do their jobs which is just as well because many of them are quite justifiably terrified of doing their jobs in the current environment.  Mobs of as many as 50 people now routinely assemble when police arrive at crime scenes.  Are they serving as community watchdogs or are they there to intimidate cops?  Maybe both.

Murder capital: Baltimore's homicide explosion in wake of Freddie Gray case dwarfs rate of similar cities.  The double murder Thursday of a young mother and her 7-year-old boy brought Baltimore's bloody monthly homicide tally to 38, a figure that dwarfs that of similar-sized cities and even exceeds the total for the same period in New York. [...] "The criminals are taking advantage of the situation in Baltimore since the unrest," Lt. Gene Ryan, President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, which represents officers in Baltimore, said in a statement provided to FoxNews.com.  "Criminals feel empowered now.  There is no respect.  Police are under siege in every quarter.  They are more afraid of going to jail for doing their jobs properly than they are of getting shot on duty."

Megyn Kelly: 'Learned Lawyers' Are Saying Marilyn Mosby Should Be Disbarred.  Fox News host Megyn Kelly said on Wednesday's [5/27/2015] "The Kelly File" that educated lawyers in Baltimore were throwing around the word "disbarment" when discussing the conduct on Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her prosecution of six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Grey.  "The civil unrest that occurred makes it unlikely the police officers could get a fair trial in the city of Baltimore, even if Mother Teresa were the prosecutor.  But instead you have a prosecutor who acts and sounds like she's a political candidate for office," noted senior judicial correspondent and former judge Andrew Napolitano.

Marilyn Mosby to Perform in Baltimore Circus.  Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby's high-profile prosecution against the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray may have devolved into what could arguably be described as a three-ring circus, but she and her husband, city councilman Nick Mosby, are literally going to be guest ringmasters in a traveling black circus that is visiting Baltimore this weekend.

Woman, boy most recent homicides in Baltimore as city sees deadliest month in years.  Baltimore police Thursday [5/28/2015] found the bodies of an unidentified woman and a boy around 8 years old with gunshot wounds to the head, increasing the number of homicides in the city to 38 in what has been one of the city's bloodiest months on record.  Officers said they responded to a report of a shooting on Upmanor Road Thursday morning and found both victims, who were pronounced dead at the scene.  Homicide detectives are investigating.  The murders bring to 110 the number of killings in Baltimore so far this year, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Baltimore's $20 Million Federally Financed Riots.  One month after the race riots that trashed Baltimore, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said that the city would apply for a $20 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to replenish the "rainy day fund" being used to pay for cleanup and police overtime costs in the wake of the mayhem that she herself is on record as encouraging.  "In order to replenish this fund, we've already worked with the state to apply for a federal FEMA reimbursement, and we are confident that we will receive a significant reimbursement from the federal government," CBS Baltimore affiliate WJZ reported her as saying Wednesday [5/27/2015].

Homicides and shootings spike while arrests decline in Baltimore City.  May has seen 38 homicides so far, making it Baltimore's deadliest month since 1996.  Shootings this month have more than doubled compared to May 2014.  Meanwhile, arrests have plummeted since April's unrest in Baltimore, with only 1,177 people arrested so far in May compared to 3,801 in the same month last year.

#SomeBlackLivesDontMatter.  Baltimore was an obsession of the BlackLivesMatter crowd and of the news media after the death of Freddie Gray from a terrible injury suffered in police custody.  But now that 35 people have been murdered in the month of May, the highest in a month since 1999, the response has been muted.  A few Baltimore organizations are staging anti-violence protests, but they won't command major media attention.  There have been headlines and TV reports about the killing spree, but nothing like the ubiquitous calls for yet another national "conversation" after Freddie Gray's death.

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby Claims "hacks", and Begins Shutting Down Social Media.  A scathing expose' by Megyn Kelly today, outlining much of our research on activist Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, leads to Team Mosby claiming a "twitter hacking" and blocking visibility of Mosby's earlier prejudicial video statements.

Officers in Freddie Gray case file for change of venue.  Defense attorneys for six police officers facing criminal charges in the Freddie Gray case are seeking to have the case tried elsewhere in Maryland, saying their clients can't get a "fair and impartial trial" in Baltimore.  In an 85-page document filed Wednesday [5/27/2015] with the court seeking a change of venue, the lawyers argued that a "presumption of prejudice" exists in the city.

How Baltimore became Pottersville.  Baltimore's recent riots are not surprising in a city that has long been plagued by both police brutality and one of the nation's highest murder rates.  Though numerous government policies and the rampaging looters deserve blame for the carnage, federal housing subsidies have long destabilized Baltimore neighborhoods and helped create a culture of violence with impunity.  Yet just last week, Baltimore officials were in Washington asking for more.  Given the history, it defies understanding.

6 Officers Indicted In Freddie Gray's Death.  City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby says based on new evidence that's not being released, some charges have been revised — but the ones with the most prison time still stand.

Empowered Thugs Rule The Streets — Post Riot Baltimore Shootings Skyrocket 70% — Murder Rate Increases 42% — Mayor "Disheartened".  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the city's recent spike in violence "disheartening" Thursday [5/21/2015] as police work to address a dramatic increase in homicides and nonfatal shootings.

Cleveland police department not repeating the mistakes of Baltimore.  [Scroll down]  The first sign of violence occurred when protesters hurled an object at a man who was heading into a bar, striking him on the head.  The police, who were following along, promptly arrested the thrower and two protesters who interfered with the arrest.  Next, four protesters attacked patrons of another bar.  All four were arrested. Two more were arrested for using pepper spray on the patrons of yet another bar.  Eventually, as more violence loomed, the police ordered the crowd to disperse.  When the protesters did not comply, dozens were arrested.

Baltimore Rioters Burn Down House & Medical Equipment of Severely Disabled Child.  Khai'Lee Sampson is a 7-year-old child that suffers from severe cerebral palsy caused by an asthma attack when he was 18 months old that left him without oxygen for 45 minutes.  A few weeks ago, his house was burned down during the Baltimore riots, destroying all of his medical equipment that keeps him alive.

Mosby's 'conflicts'.  The heated rhetoric on both sides of the prosecution of officers involved in Freddie Gray's death has intensified in recent days, with their attorneys calling for State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby to be replaced by a special prosecutor and with her office firing back in court briefs.  Given the passions stirred by the case, it's not surprising, but it doesn't amount to much either.

Empowered Thugs Rule The Streets — Post Riot Baltimore Shootings Skyrocket 70% — Murder Rate Increases 42%.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the city's recent spike in violence "disheartening" Thursday [5/21/2015] as police work to address a dramatic increase in homicides and nonfatal shootings.  "It's extremely frustrating," the mayor told reporters at a news conference.  "It is disheartening, but I am still resolved to continue to reduce violent crime in our city."

Marilyn Mosby Now Says Freddie Gray's Knife Isn't Important To Case Against 6 Baltimore Cops.  The office of Baltimore City state's attorney Marilyn Mosby has added a new wrinkle to the Freddie Gray case, alleging in a court filing that the 25-year-old was illegally arrested by Baltimore police officers even before they recovered a knife on his person.

Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby NOW Requests Gag Order In Freddie Gray Case.  Marilyn Mosby announced her independent "direct action" charges against the Baltimore Six police officers, with a national press conference. [...] However, soon after announcing her charges, the facts behind the case began to surface and the case began falling apart.  Now, with the very real possibility of a nation awakening to the political and activist motives, she is asking the court to impose a gag order — so she can hide the fraud and delay public knowledge.

How leaders encourage riots even as they condemn them.  It's an iron rule of economics:  If you want less of something, tax it.  If you want more of something, subsidize it.  This iron rule captures a deep truth not just about money but about human nature — and we are seeing it play out in horrifying and dispiriting images of Baltimore under siege from within.  Of late, America has been offering a moral subsidy of sorts to rioting and looting.

Numbers Show Most Baltimore Cops Are Minorities.  Civil rights activists and liberal advocates have loudly charged that behind the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American who died while in police custody, is a racially prejudiced Baltimore police department that continues to torment the city's poor minority neighborhoods.  The critics haven't looked at the numbers.

Baltimore State Attorney Mosby Announces New "Jobs Instead of Convictions" Program.  It should be noted the program relates to "non-violent drug felons"; the key aspect being the definition of "violent".  As Marilyn Mosby and all of the Baltimore officials have noted, arson, looting and destruction of property is considered "non-violent".

The Editor says...
Watch the video again.  The only jobs for which these guys show any aptitude is demolition.  Who would hire any of them?

Damage Caused During Baltimore Riots Estimated At $9 Million.  Days of rioting in Baltimore after Freddie Gray's death caused an estimated $9 million in damage to homes and businesses, the Small Business Administration announced Wednesday [5/13/2015].

Rawlings-Blake defends handling of Baltimore rioting.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defended her handling of the recent rioting in Baltimore, arguing Tuesday [5/12/2015] that more aggressive police or military tactics could have escalated the violence.  "Nobody died during the riots," Rawlings-Blake said.  "Out of the two weeks of demonstrations, we only had a few hours of unrest, and then we were able to restore peace and calm. ...["]

Two Baltimore City Jail Correctional Officers Caught On Video Looting A 7-11.  Two correctional officers who work at the Baltimore City jail were suspended without pay Wednesday [5/13/2015] after video emerged showing them looting a 7-11 store during last month's riots.  Tamika Cobb and Kendra Richard were charged with theft and two counts of burglary, according to a statement released by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

The unabashed activism of Maryland's state's attorney.  Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore City state's attorney who has filed charges against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, is a left-wing activist first and a prosecutor second.  She couldn't have made this clearer last weekend when she turned up at Prince's rock concert in Baltimore.  She not only attended the de facto anti-police political rally but appeared on stage with the performer

Shakedown:
Rep. Johnson: GOP Budget Could Cause Baltimore Type Violence.  During an interview last week on WABE radio's "A Closer Look" program Johnson said he voted against the GOP budget measure because of its domestic spending cuts and added that its passage could result in violence.  "If we're not careful the have-nots of this country will rise up like the people in Baltimore," Johnson said.

In Wake Of Riots, Baltimore Demands More Money For Programs.  Political leaders and activists in Baltimore are using the city's recent riots as an opportunity to demand more state funding for the city's school system and after-school programs.  At two different events on Monday [5/11/2015], activists and politicians directly cited the riots as showcasing the need to funnel more money towards educational efforts in Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun reports.  Activists want Hogan to direct about $68 million in funds he hoped to allocate for other state needs back to education.  About $11 million of that money would go to Baltimore.

The Editor says...
Watch the video clips.  There is no evidence that the Baltimore rioters have had any education at all.  Thus, all the money spent on their behalf — whether they attended classes or not — was completely wasted.  Don't ask for more "education" money until you can show positive outcomes.  Until then, the money would be better spent on barricades, tear gas and prisons.

J. Christian Adams on Fox: 'Some DOJ Lawyers in Division Probing Baltimore PD Worked for Anti-Police Orgs'.  PJ Media Legal Editor J. Christian Adams appeared with Shannon Bream [5/10/2015] to discuss the Department of Justice's investigation into the conduct of Baltimore's Police Department, which was requested by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.  The Eric Holder/Loretta Lynch DOJ has launched similar investigations into the conduct of municipal police departments based upon an incident that inflamed racial tensions.  Most recently, the DOJ targeted the Ferguson Police Department, which resulted in firings and other severe punishment despite the inciting incident having been found to exhibit no evidence of misconduct.

Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby under fire for political, celebrity conduct.  Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore City State Attorney in charge of prosecuting six police officers for the death of Freddie Gray, Jr., is coming under increasing criticism from defense attorneys and legal scholars who think she is politicizing the case and using her prosecutorial power to create her own celebrity.  Ms. Mosby has raised eyebrows in several quarters with a media blitz that has spanned from a CNN interview that focused on her courtship with her city councilman husband to her decision to appear on stage with Prince during a rock concert for a song dedicated to Mr. Gray.

Mosby doubles down on demagoguery.  Yesterday [5/10/2015], Marilyn Mosby, the prosecutor who brought charges against six Baltimore police officers accused of mistreating Freddie Gray, sat on stage at a Baltimore concert in which Prince performed a protest song about Gray and the recent unrest in the city.  As I understand it, the concert was in honor of Gray, and Prince called Mosby and her husband to the stage.  Based on the reports I've seen, I would say the event had a decidedly anti-police tenor.

Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby Sits On Stage As Guest Of Honor For Prince Concert Rally and Freddie Gray Justice.  Any conversation questioning whether Marilyn Mosby might be concerned about the appearance of impropriety can be put to rest.  Last night [5/9/2015] State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the prosecutor in case against Baltimore six police officers, along with her husband Councilman Nick Mosby, not only appeared on stage, in front of thousands during a "Justice For Freddie Gray" concert by Prince, but also sat on stage — as a guest of honor — during the entire concert.

Baltimore Police Just Arrested Man Who Filmed The Freddie Gray Arrest.  Kevin Moore filmed the police brutally arresting Freddie Gray.  That footage went viral and began all of the protests that have been flooding the streets of Baltimore and sweeping the nation ever since.  Now, after claiming the police had been harassing and intimidating him after he went public with the footage, Kevin Moore and two members of Cop Watch — Chad Jackson and Tony White — have been arrested tonight [4/30/2015] in Baltimore.

The riots haven't ended, they've merely been postponed.  Yes, the rioters have put down their bricks, their Molotov cocktails, and all their many other implements of destruction (at least for the time being), and when one compares the present state of the city to the chaos seen last week, one can say things have improved.  But after the great collective sigh of relief goes out, Baltimoreans must now reckon with the meaning of the word "normal" as it applies to their city.  Indeed, what is normal in Baltimore would be cause for great alarm in almost any other city you could name.

Running From Police Is the Norm, Some in Baltimore Say.  Some do it because there are warrants for their arrest.  Others because they possess drugs, are seeking a thrill, or are just plain scared.  Sometimes people do it even when they have done nothing wrong.  Young men in the heavily policed neighborhood where 25-year-old Freddie Gray was chased by the police — and suffered fatal injuries in custody — say running from officers is a way of life with its own playbook, passed down on the streets in much the way a young girl learns double dutch by watching others on the block.

Lynch Opens Civil Rights Probe Into Baltimore Police, Won't Put 'Prism' of Racism on Investigation.  New Attorney General Loretta Lynch today announced a civil rights investigation into the Baltimore Police Department, stressing that "if unconstitutional policies or practices are found, we will seek a court-enforceable agreement to address those issues."  Lynch said the Justice Department probe will focus on "allegations that Baltimore Police Department officers use excessive force, including deadly force, conduct unlawful searches, seizures and arrests, and engage in discriminatory policing."

Meet Prosecutor Mosby's Lead Investigator.  Mr. [Avon] Mackel used to be a high-ranking Baltimore police officer, according to CNN.  Well, until things went horribly wrong.  In 2009 Mackel was stripped of his command position because of a grievous failure to follow through on allegations of a mishandled robbery investigation by two of his officers.  In addition, according to that same CNN report the Baltimore Sun newspaper reported that police in Mackel's district were falsely "down-classifying" crimes in order to suggest crime rates were lower than was actually the case — and to make Mackel look more effective as a crime-fighter than he was.  But it gets even more interesting.

Violence surges as Baltimore police officers feel hesitant.  As the number of shootings and homicides has surged in Baltimore, some police officers say they feel hesitant on the job under intense public scrutiny and in the wake of criminal charges against six officers in the Freddie Gray case.  State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's decision last week to charge the officers has stoked strong opinions across the country — including praise from those who want accountability and derision from some legal experts.  But perhaps the most jarring effect has been on the Baltimore Police Department.

Most police vans in Baltimore region lack seat belts.  Two Baltimore-area police departments say they're reviewing their practices for the transport of prisoners in the wake of Freddie Gray's death from an injury that prosecutors say he suffered in the back of a police van.  The reviews by the Howard and Baltimore County police departments come as a survey by The Baltimore Sun found that prisoner transport vans used by county law enforcement agencies generally are not equipped with seat belts.

Black Families Matter.  Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake made all the right noises Monday night as she discussed her city's response to the unrest enveloping it after the unexplained death while in police custody of Freddie Gray, but she lost more than a few critics willing to give her the benefit of the doubt when she said that "anyone who wants to add to the calls for peace in our city is welcome" — including Al Sharpton.