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A former employee of Eminem has been charged by the FBI for his role in leaking unreleased songs by the rapper online.
According to reports, federal prosecutors have criminally charged a former employee of superstar rapper Eminem in connection with the sale of unreleased music. The employee, Joseph Strange, worked at a studio of Eminem’s in Ferndale, Michigan, from 2007 to 2021. Current employees at the studio alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation that more than 25 songs that Eminem recorded between 1999 to 2018 were leaked online in January. The announcement of Strange’s arrest and the charges were made on Wednesday (March 19).
FBI agents quickly identified people who bought the music from Strange, with one person stating he paid Strange $50,000 in Bitcoin and that Strange claimed to have 300 unreleased tracks by Eminem along with handwritten lyric sheets. Strange is charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. If convicted of the first charge, he faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. A conviction on the second charge could net him a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Eminem’s manager, John Fisher, told the FBI that Strange had no authority to possess the files. Agents would search Strange’s home on Jan. 28, finding records of financial payments for the sales of the songs along with seizing hard drives where the unreleased music was stored. Among the songs was “Smack You,” which made headlines in January due to lyrics dissing Ja Rule and Suge Knight. “Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” said acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck in their office’s statement.
“Eminem and his team are very appreciative of the efforts by the FBI Detroit bureau for its thorough investigation which led to the charges against Joe Strange,” Eminem spokesperson Dennis Dennehy said. “The significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem’s artistic legacy and creative integrity cannot be overstated, let alone the enormous financial losses incurred by the many creators and collaborators that deserve protection for their decades of work. We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so.”
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Dan Bongino, a popular podcaster known for putting forth conspiracy theories, was appointed as the deputy director of the FBI over the weekend By President Donald Trump. Dan Bongino will be second in command to FBI chief Kash Patel, and many online have shared their thoughts.
President Trump took to his Truth Social platform to celebrate the addition of Dan Bongino to the FBI leadership role.
From Truth Social:
Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice! Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel. Dan has a Masters Degree in Psychology from C.U.N.Y., and an MBA from Penn State. He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve. Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!
As noted in Trump’s post, Bongino has worked in law enforcement but, similar to Kash Patel, has never headed an agency much less oversaw the headquarters of an office. Bongino has garnered attention in the past for making charged statements about the COVID-19 virus, and he’s also been public in saying that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news that Dan Bongino will be the FBI’s deputy director. Keep scrolling for more.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Kenstocker / Getty / FBI
Does anyone else feel phone scams have been out of control since Donald Trump got back into office? Anyway, the FBI, or what’s left of them, is now warning iPhone and Android users about a scam that could make your life hell if you fall for it.
The FBI warned about a scam involving text messages demanding recipients pay unpaid road tolls. According to Forbes, anyone who receives such messages should delete them immediately.
“Scammers are pretending to be tolling agencies from coast to coast and sending texts demanding money,” the FTC said, as reported by Forbes. “Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info (like your driver’s license number) — and even steal your identity.”
The devious texts contain a dollar amount and a link to pay the fake fine, which comes from an unknown individual pretending to be a local agency.
How Long Has This Been Going On?
According to Forbes, people from Massachusetts, California, North and South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Florida, and several other states have claimed they received the texts in January. The FBI claims reports about the scam started surfacing around March 2024, and thousands of people have since “reported smishing texts representing road toll collection services.”
Those texts “claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain almost identical language.”
“The ‘outstanding toll amount’ is similar… However, the link provided within the text is created to impersonate the state’s toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states,” the FBI said.
The city of Great Falls, Montana, recently posted on X, formerly Twitter, to warn residents about the scam.
https://x.com/City_GreatFalls/status/1887648646348611829
We have a feeling things are only going to get worse as Trump continues to gut everything in the name of “government efficiency.”
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Government files on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be declassified for the public, due to an executive order by President Donald Trump.
On Thursday (Jan. 23), President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to declassify and release their files surrounding the life and assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The executive order “requires the review within 15 days of ‘records related to’ the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and within 45 days related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
The King family released a statement as the news broke: “The assassination of our father is a deeply personal loss we have endured for 56 years. We hope to review the files as a family before they are made public.” Trump gave no reason as to why Dr. King’s files were being released. The King family has long believed that the known assassin, James Earl Ray, was aided by other forces as part of a larger plot.
The FBI told reporters that it was “complying” with the executive order, which “also requires designated agencies to submit a plan to the White House for ‘the full and complete release of these records.’ The FBI is identifying records responsive to the EO and will work with the Department of Justice and ODNI (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) respectively.” Concerning the files on Dr. King, it is expected that the FBI will declassify and release their records on their surveillance of him, as well as those documents concerning his assassination and records from their covert COINTELPRO operation investigating him.
During Trump’s first presidential term, he had publicly vowed to release the documents fully. He chose not to go forward at the behest of intelligence agencies, instead opting to place redactions to protect sensitive information. Trump has long floated conspiracy theories about the assassinations of President Kennedy, saying before signing: “That’s a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years, for decades.” His adviser and nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has also declared the CIA was responsible for his father’s death. Trump instructed his aide to give Kennedy the pen he had signed the executive order with after signing.
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Federal prosecutors are now researching New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ ties to five other countries concerning an investigation into his campaign.
According to the New York Times, the federal investigation of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his ties to the Turkish government has now expanded to include five other countries, according to sources. The request for information is linked to the sweeping grand jury subpoenas that were issued to a swath of City Hall back in July. The primary goal of the investigation for prosecutors was to determine whether Adams conspired with the Turkish government to illegally funnel foreign donations into his campaign back in 2021. The five countries prosecutors requested information about are Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.
The specific information that the federal authorities are looking for in this new batch of subpoenas includes information on records concerning tickets to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which Adams attended, as well as data on New York Police Department booths outside of foreign consulates and Adams’ use of the encrypted Signal app. Prosecutors are also looking into allegations of Adams receiving free flights and upgrades from Turkish Airlines, as well as the allegations that he pressured the New York Fire Department into approving a high-rise consulate building in Midtown
They also sought more information about the former Turkish Consul General Reyhan Özgür and Arda Sayiner, a brand influencer based in Turkey who has ties to Rana Abbasova. Abbasova was a former Adams liaison to Turkey and worked in his international affairs office until her home was raided by federal authorities last November. Ms. Abbasova is now cooperating fully with the government’s investigation. The July subpoenas had been issued after FBI agents had seized Mayor Adams’ phones after stopping him outside of an event he was attending last November.
Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for City Hall said officials weren’t going to comment on the subpoenas “but, as we have repeatedly said, we will continue to fully comply with any law enforcement inquiry.” At his weekly press conference, Adams defended his policies. “We continue to progress…that is what I must do,” he said. “I’ve always done that for New Yorkers, and I will continue to do that.” To date, Adams’ administration has been rocked by resignations after federal seizures of devices including former NYPD commissioner Edward Caban.
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Investigators at the Georgia high school where a shooting occurred confirmed that the suspect had been interviewed about past threats.
On Wednesday night (September 4), authorities at a press conference held after a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school confirmed that the suspect had been interviewed about past threats by local law enforcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation stated that their National Threat Operations Center had received several anonymous tips in 2023 about Colt Gray, the suspect in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia which claimed the lives of four victims.
Gray, who was 13 at the time of the reports, had been interviewed by investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office along with his father concerning those tips which spoke of the threats of a shooting at “an unidentified location and time,” with those threats containing photographs of guns. The suspect denied making those threats, which were found posted on an online gaming site. His father told the officers that he did have a collection of hunting guns at the home, but his son did not have unsupervised access to those weapons. The sheriff’s office then alerted the local schools “for continued monitoring of the subject.” It wasn’t clear if Apalachee High School received those alerts – the school is in the neighboring Barrow County. The F.B.I. issued a statement saying that local authorities didn’t have probable cause to “take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels.” The state Division of Child and Family Services was also contacted, according to an AP News report.
Gray was reportedly apprehended by school resource officials after immediately surrendering after the shooting, which claimed the lives of two students and two instructors at Apalachee. An assault-style rifle was used in the shooting, authorities confirmed. Jackson County Sheriff Janis C. Magnum cautioned against the spreading of misinformation in a statement on Facebook. “My phone is blowing up with messages from people about social media postings about other possible incidents,” she wrote. “To my knowledge, there is not a list indicating any of this.”
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Authorities revealed that the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump left a message on a gaming platform, which was later found to be a fake.
According to reports, law enforcement officials investigating the assailant who shot at former President Donald Trump at his campaign rally revealed that he left a message on a board on the popular gaming platform, Steam. “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds,” was the message that investigators found in their search of personal records belonging to Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The investigators also revealed that they found Internet searches for both Trump and President Joe Biden on a phone belonging to Crooks. Specifically, they found searches for the rally in Butler as well as information on the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago as well as images of both men. Authorities also confirmed that Crooks visited the rally site in Butler twice.
But officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation later determined that the Steam message wasn’t attributed to an account that belonged to Crooks, as initially believed. They stress that the investigation is still in its early stages and that they are combing through several other devices that belonged to Crooks. It was confirmed that there was no information found on his phone that could point them to any ideological ties to Trump or Biden as an explanation for his actions. Investigators also didn’t find any ties to domestic or international terror groups.
The 20-year-old was shot and killed after firing six to eight shots at Trump as he was addressing the crowd at the rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday (July 13). The former president sustained an injury to his right ear. A firefighter, Corey Comperatore, was killed and two bystanders were injured. Law enforcement officials also confirmed that 20 minutes elapsed between Secret Service snipers first spotting Crooks at his rooftop position and the time that the first shots had been fired.
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Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
New evidence of how badly Donald Trump stored classified documents has spurred some on social media into outrage and renewed calls to prevent him from returning to the White House.On Monday evening(June 24), Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team submitted new evidence to the court showing just how haphazardly former President Donald Trump stored numerous boxes of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, with photographs showing boxes of documents without lids, stored upside down with their contents spilling out and even wedged in among Christmas ornaments. “Against this backdrop of the haphazard manner in which Trump chose to maintain his boxes, he now claims that the precise order of the items within the boxes when they left the White House was critical to his defense,” the filing read.
Other photos show mundane items such as golf shirts strewn among the documents in their boxes, as well as some amid cases of Diet Coke and presidential souvenirs. Attorneys from Smith’s team made the filing to counter a motion filed by Trump’s attorneys that claimed that the case of Trump willfully hiding classified government documents should be thrown out since the government failed to log the precise contents of the boxes. They also allege that FBI agents who arrived to retrieve the documents destroyed “exculpatory evidence” by not keeping them in order during the search. Trump faces 42 charges in the case which includes willful retention of national security information, corruptly concealing documents, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The case, however, has been slowed down so much by Judge Aileen Cannon to the point where legal experts have pointedly accused her of purposely delaying it to help Trump, who appointed her to her position. Judge Cannon postponed the trial indefinitely – it was supposed to begin on May 20. The new evidence however has stunned many online, who cite it as yet another reason that Donald Trump should not return to office in November – if re-elected, he would be in a position to pardon himself as these crimes are federal. The revelation spurred a new wave of outrage from those on social media users, particularly on X, formerly Twitter with some Trump supporters claiming the new photos were “staged”.
We’ve collected some of the more striking reactions to the new evidence below.
1. Dean Obeidallah
2. Ted Lieu
3. Adam Schiff
4. Sjacobs2020
5. Ms.Jamie
6. Jules Morgan
7. Patrick S. Tomlinson
8. Mueller She Wrote
9. Denise Wheeler
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Source: U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA / DOJ
It’s been just over two years since white supremacist murderer Payton Gendron gunned down 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, for no other reason than because they were Black.
Now, in Atlanta, another aggrieved, violent and vehemently anti-Black white man from Arizona has been indicted after his alleged plot to murder innocent Black people at random was discovered, fortunately, before it was carried out. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, 58-year-old Mark Adams Prieto of Prescott, Arizona, was indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
The indictment came after Prieto, who is—get this—a vendor at a gun show venue in Prescott, had discussions between January and May with two people who, unbeknownst to him, were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which most certainly made it inconvenient that Prieto was allegedly discussing plans to commit a mass shooting at a rap concert in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, which he allegedly targeted due to the city’s large Black population.
From Fox 5:
While authorities do not say what concert, the dates provided in the indictment are the same as two nights of performances by the popular singer Bad Bunny at the venue.
Officials say their investigation began when Prieto told a man at a gun show that he wanted “to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election.”
Prieto, a vendor at the Crossroads of the West gun shows in his hometown, allegedly would trade his personal firearms, using cash deals to avoid any interference from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
On Jan. 21, officials say Prieto discussed with the source and an undercover FBI agent that he wanted them to help him carry out a shooting at a rap concert in Atlanta, specifically targeting the city because of its Black population.
As reported by the indictment, Prieto said he wanted to target a rap concert because “there would be a high concentration of African Americans” and planned to leave confederate flags after the violence and to shout phrases like “KKK all the way.”
So, just to recap: A white supremacist who is a vendor for gun shows—those places where Second Amendment enthusiasts often go to get around state gun restrictions and regulations—felt comfortable enough at the gun show to openly discuss his desire to gun down Black people for no other reason than because they’re Black, and he planned on targeting a random rap concert in Atlanta because Atlanta has a lot of Black folks and Black folks love rap music. He also planned “to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election,” and, if we’re keeping it real, one doesn’t have to stress their brain out too much coming up with guesses as to who Prieto was likely planning to vote for if he got the chance. (Hint: It’s the candidate who is also no stranger to federal indictments.)
On May 14, Prieto was pulled over in New Mexico and seven firearms were found in his vehicle. Later, officers searched his home and found more guns, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle. When he was questioned by investigators, Prieto denied he was headed to Atlanta, and, instead, claimed he was going to visit his mother in Florida. However, he did admit to discussing the mass shooting, and admitted to selling an AR-15 to the FBI agent and telling him that it “would be a good gun to use in the attack.”
If Prieto is convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for each charge of firearms trafficking and transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, up to 10 years for having an unregistered firearm, and he could face fines of up to $250,000 for each charge.
We have to be safe out here, Black people. Violent white supremacists are still out here, they’re armed, and they’re clearly feeling emboldened in the era of MAGA.
Stay vigilant, good people.
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Quando Rondo was arrested last weekend in Georgia and now faces federal drug charges and other related charges. The “I Remember” artist was arrested without incident but does add to the rapper’s legal woes from this year.
Local outlet WJCL reports that Quando Rondo, 24, was arrested on Friday (December 8) in his hometown of Savannah with city police named as the arresting agency.
The rapper, real name Tyquian Bowman, was inside a vehicle that officers pulled over and he was the only person to be taken into custody. The news outlet was told by an FBI spokesperson that the arrest was related to federal drug charges.
Just under six months ago, Rondo and 18 other individuals were indicted on drug and gang charges in the state of Georgia. Rondo is facing ramifications of allegedly violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act due to his perceived role in the Rollin’ 60’s gang organization.
Quando Rondo is also facing a charge of the illegal use of communication for using a cell phone to set up the sale of marijuana.
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Photo: Quando Rondo / @quando_rondo