Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them. – U.S. Chief Justice John Jay

King Soopers Homicide Trial: Jury Clears Mansoor Ali of Second-Degree Murder

A Laramie County jury has found 22-year-old Mansoor Ali not guilty of second-degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault and battery. The verdict follows a high-profile trial where Ali’s defense successfully argued that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot 19-year-old Benjamin Glenn, who had approached Ali with a firearm in a Cheyenne King Soopers parking lot.

CHEYENNE, WY — In a case that tested the limits of Wyoming’s self-defense laws, a Cheyenne man has been cleared of all charges related to a fatal September 2025 shooting. On April 29, 2026, a Laramie County jury returned “not guilty” verdicts for Mansoor Ali, who had been facing a life-altering sentence for second-degree murder.

The incident began as a “road rage” style confrontation on Dell Range Boulevard. Prosecutors alleged that Ali “lured” Benjamin Glenn and three friends into the King Soopers parking lot by flashing his high beams and engaging in aggressive driving. However, the defense team, led by attorney Thomas Fleener, presented a narrative of a man attempting to reach a well-lit, safe area to escape a car full of aggressive individuals.

The Point of Contention: The “Lure”

The prosecution’s case centered heavily on a phone call Ali made to his brother, in which he reportedly used the word “lure”. Police argued this proved Ali intended to provoke a confrontation.

The defense countered with video evidence showing that Glenn’s group had actually left the parking lot and returned moments later. It was during this second encounter that Glenn exited his vehicle while brandishing his own firearm. “My client was not out looking for trouble,” stated Ali’s previous attorney, Crystal Stewart, during earlier proceedings. “He goes to turn around to leave, and this car comes back… the decedent had a gun, and the situation unfolded”.

Immediate Surrender and Acquittal

Ali’s defense was bolstered by his behavior immediately following the shots. Records show he identified himself as the shooter as soon as officers arrived and fully cooperated with the investigation.

The jury’s decision to acquit on all five counts—including four counts of aggravated assault for the other occupants in Glenn’s car—indicates they found Ali’s fear of imminent bodily harm to be “reasonable” under Wyoming law.

Safety Tip: This case is a stark reminder of the “Disparity of Force” and “Retreat” dynamics. Even if you are involved in a verbal dispute or a “road rage” incident (like flashing high beams), your right to self-defense remains intact if the other party escalates the situation to lethal force (brandishing a gun). However, the word “luring” almost cost this defendant his freedom.

As a concealed carry holder, your words—both during the incident and in recorded calls—will be scrutinized by a jury. If you are being followed, your best move is to drive to a police station rather than a commercial parking lot. If you are forced to stop, keep your doors locked and stay inside your vehicle as long as possible to maintain a “protective barrier” between you and the threat.

I mean, I’ll take what I can can get, but how about Short Barreled Shotguns and Any Other Weapons too, huh?

House Appropriations 2027 Funding Bill Ends Suppressor, Short Barrel Rifle Registration

You may recall that language in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) removed registration for suppressors and SBRs early on, but that language was later removed, resulting only in the removal of the $200 tax stamp fee.

House Appropriations Committee member Rep. Andrew Clyde (R) responded by showing that the tax was the basis for registration and that now, with the tax gone, the registration should be gone as well. But the registration of suppressors and SBRs has continued since the OBBB took effect, and the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee is trying to end it.

On Wednesday Clyde posted to X, “I secured a measure in the OBBB to zero out NFA taxes for short-barreled firearms and suppressors. $0 tax = Zero registration. Yet the DOJ is currently defending this NFA registration. While litigation is ongoing, your tax dollars shouldn’t fund invalidated NFA requirements.”

Moreover, Gun Owners of America noted that the 2027 funding bill not only deregulates suppressors and SBRs, but also defunds regulatory gun controls instituted by the ATF during the Biden administration.

The funding bill defunds “Biden export restrictions,” among other things.

The surprising reason why buying guns helps endangered species
And why wildlife agencies are building so many shooting ranges.

Here’s a weird fact: Every time someone buys an assault weapon in the US, such as an AR-15, they’re funding wildlife conservation. The same is true if they purchase a handgun, a shotgun, or any other kind of gun or ammunition.

That’s thanks to a law most people have never heard of: the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act. Passed by Congress in 1937, the law channels revenue from a tax on firearms, ammo, and archery equipment to state wildlife agencies — government organizations that restore wildlife habitat, monitor threatened species, and oversee hunting and fishing. Levied on firearm manufacturers and importers, the tax is 11 percent for long guns and ammunition and 10 percent for handguns, and it sits on top of other common taxes.

Over the last decade, the law has channeled close to $1 billion a year into state wildlife agencies across the country, amounting to a substantial share of their budgets. One recent analysis found that Pittman-Robertson made up about 18 percent of state agency budgets, on average, in 2019. (License fees for fishing and hunting, along with a hodgepodge of other revenue streams, including a similar tax on fishing gear, make up the rest.) And revenue from Pittman-Robertson has been increasing, roughly doubling in the past two decades — in no small part because gun sales have surged.

Key takeaways

  • An obscure law from the 1930s channels money from an excise tax on firearms and ammo into state wildlife agencies.
  • Revenue from this tax makes up almost a fifth of these agencies’ budgets on average.
  • Some scholars and environmental advocates worry that funding conservation with guns is morally problematic and creates perverse incentives for state agencies to promote firearm use.
  • Yet, these agencies already face severe funding shortfalls, and losing revenue from this gun tax would likely be disastrous for wildlife.
  • Even with this tax in place, state wildlife agencies need more money to conserve the increasingly long list of endangered wildlife within their borders.

Continue reading “”

Armed Carjacking Suspect Shot by Off-Duty New York State Trooper in Yonkers

Armed Carjacking Suspect Shot by Off-Duty New York State Trooper in Yonkers
Yonkers Teen Armed with Knife During Carjacking; Apprehended by Yonkers Police After Fleeing
Yonkers, NY – At approximately 12:45 pm on Sunday, April 26, 2026, the Yonkers Police Department received a call from an off-duty New York State Trooper requesting assistance at the Mobil gas station at 838 Kimball Avenue. The Trooper reported that she had shot a male suspect who had attempted to stab her.

The investigation revealed that the off-duty New York State Trooper was refueling her vehicle at the gas station. When she finished fueling, the suspect approached her, brandished a knife, and entered the driver’s seat of her vehicle. The Trooper fired one shot from her off-duty firearm, striking the suspect in the left arm. The round continued into his torso. The suspect accelerated the vehicle toward the rear of the gas station, driving through a shed and fence at the end of the property before coming to rest in the parking lot of the adjacent apartment building at 1296 Midland Avenue.

The suspect then fled from the stolen vehicle, running toward Midland Avenue. Yonkers Police Officers quickly located the suspect at the entrance to 1328 Midland Avenue and placed him into custody without incident. A knife was recovered from the suspect at the time of arrest. Medical aid was rendered at the scene, and the suspect was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and remains in stable condition.

Due to New York State law prohibiting the identification of minors charged with a crime, he can only be identified as a 17-year-old male resident of Yonkers. No further information will be released regarding his identity.

The suspect is still awaiting arraignment but will be charged with Robbery 1st Degree, Robbery 2nd Degree, Robbery 3rd Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th Degree, and Menacing 2nd Degree. The criminal investigation is being led by the Yonkers Police Department’s Detective Division Major Case Squad, while an internal review is being conducted by the New York State Police, consistent with department protocol.

As the Trooper was the victim, no further identifying information will be released, consistent with the Yonkers Police Department’s policy of not identifying victims of crimes in news releases. The Trooper will only be identified as a female off-duty New York State Trooper assigned to Troop New York City.

Additional information may be released as it becomes available.

SPECIAL REPORT: Everytown using AI to strip away our Second Amendment rights

Last year, the parents of a 16-year-old boy alleged in a lawsuit that ChatGPT encouraged their son to kill himself.

In October 2004, a New York AI system falsely told business owners they could steal tips, fire anyone who complained about sexual harassment and serve food even after it was chewed by rats.

In August 2005, a 56-year-old man killed his 83-year-old mother in her home and then committed suicide. He believed his mother was a secret agent who was poisoning him with psychedelic drugs, and his chatbot agreed and supported his delusions.

In July 2005, an AI system told a user how to break into an attorney’s home and to bring “lock picks, gloves, a flashlight and lube.”

Now, Everytown for Gun Safety is using AI to help them further erode our Second Amendment rights.

What could possibly go wrong?

On Monday, Everytown announced they had created the Everytown Evidence Engine, or E3, an AI system they claimed would help them “harness AI policy to identify gun safety solutions.”

They made the move to AI because “efficient systems for analysis can lead to new questions and new answers in the field of gun violence prevention research.”

How reliable is Everytown’s new AI?

You can judge for yourself.

Claude

Everytown admitted its new E3 AI system was built using Claude, an AI system designed by the firm Anthropic. Both Claude and Anthropic have had significant problems.

Just four days ago, in a story titled “Anthropic Admitted Claude Code Broke. We Were Right,” a reporter at Medium announced he had found issues with the system.

The reporter’s hard work forced Anthropic to admit that Claude had major problems.

In a story titled “An update on recent Claude Code quality reports,” Anthropic claimed they had fixed everything.

“Over the past month, we’ve been looking into reports that Claude’s responses have worsened for some users. We’ve traced these reports to three separate changes that affected Claude Code, the Claude Agent SDK, and Claude Cowork. The API was not impacted,” Anthropic claimed.

The firm also promised they would “do things differently to avoid these issues,” and that more of their staff would use the public version of the software.

Sky News recently released a damning YouTube video about public interactions with Claude.

The British report discusses how the chatbot tells users what they want to hear.

“What happens when AI starts pulling people away from reality and even encourages them to act on distorted beliefs?” the reporter asked.

The video discusses a recent Canadian research paper that found one of every 1,000 conversations with Claude has the “potential for severe reality distortions.”

“We don’t know why Claude responds as it does consistently,” an expert said.

The researchers also discovered that the number of potentially harmful discussions with Claude was actually growing over time. An Anthropic spokesman admitted they knew that Claude had problems, but they didn’t know why.

“LIMITATIONS”

When Everytown addresses everything that its new E3 tool cannot do, you have to wonder why anyone would use it.

Even Everytown admits E3’s limitations are simply breathtaking.

“For example, at this time, E3 does not currently weigh all of the factors that could be influencing gun violence such as gun ownership, employment and earnings, strength of policy implementation and enforcement, law-enforcement practices, and many other relevant and granular socioeconomic and demographic characteristics particularly at the county and/or neighborhood-levels,” Everytown wrote.

So, despite its long list of limitations, how does Everytown intend to use its new E3 tool?

They don’t really say.

“[T]his new tool can provide users with important directions regarding policy effectiveness that can be used for critical decision-making. And it is the hope that future iterations of the E3 will incorporate these kinds of variables and, ultimately, increase its ability to conduct additional types of analyses,” Everytown wrote.

Takeaways

So far, all of Everytown’s critical decision-making has involved how to strip guns from the hands of gun owners. They spend millions annually trying to create more local, state and federal anti-gun laws. Whether their new E3 system will help them remains to be seen.

Alan Gottlieb founded the Second Amendment Foundation more than 50 years ago and serves as its executive vice president. He was struck but not surprised by the problems with Everytown’s new AI system.

Said Gottlieb: “When you are unintelligent, you think any AI system will be better than your own brain. But being unintelligent, odds are you will pick the wrong one. Everytown sure did!”

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious.
But it cannot survive treason from within.
An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly.
But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.
For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
A murderer is less to fear.
–  Marcus Tullius Cicero (42BC)

Opinion: OK, ‘gun control’ had its chance — here are the results

Using the alleged Trump assassination attempt as a case study, Thomas L. Knapp argues strict gun-control laws failed at every step and show why he sees them as immoral, impractical and ineffective.

In the wake of Cole Tomas Allen’s alleged attempt to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump and/or other political officials, journalists and general-purpose celebrities come the usual calls for “gun control” because that’s just how things work.

My preferred argument against such nonsense leans hard on morality (it’s evil to infringe on the unalienable human right to self-defense) with a chaser of overall practicality (more than 100 million Americans own several hundred million guns and won’t be giving them up without a fight you do NOT want to witness).

However, it occasionally it seems worthwhile to change lanes and instead examine just how well “gun control” actually works in practice. This is one of those times.

On April 21, Allen boarded an Amtrak train in Los Angeles.

California generally, and Los Angeles specifically, have some of the strictest “gun control” laws on the books, and Amtrak only allows firearms to be carried in locked, checked baggage, with prior written notice/declaration, none of which conditions Allen complied with.

After switching trains in Chicago,, he arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 24 and checked into the Washington Hilton. Like California, Illinois and the District of Columbia have strict “gun control” laws on the books, none of which Allen complied with. The Hilton forbids firearms on its premises other than those carried by “law enforcement personnel.” Allen ignored that rule.

The following day, carrying the 12-gauge shotgun and .38-caliber pistol he’d brought with him over a trip spanning more than 2,000 miles in, from and through various “gun control” zones, he attempted to charge a security checkpoint and reach the hotel’s International Ballroom, intending violence.

“Gun control” had chance after chance after chance to prove it could thwart Allen’s plans.

And. It. Didn’t.

Whoa … violent criminals don’t obey “gun control” laws and private-venue gun rules any more than they obey other kinds of laws and rules? Whodathunkit?

It’s not that the laws and rules aren’t adequately enforced. The only way to reliably prevent Allen from traveling from LA to D.C. with guns would have been to force him to travel on foot and buck naked … after which he’d have almost certainly been able to buy a gun on the street if he wanted one.

“Gun control” laws aren’t just evil and impractical, they’re stump-stupid. As a solution to the violence of criminals, they make about as much sense as a gaudy new White House ballroom.

Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism