Richmond, VA

DOJ announces arrest of previously convicted felon in possession of multiple firearms, as city is under siege by violent anarchists

RICHMOND, Va. – A previously convicted felon pleaded guilty today to a charge related to his possession of an assault rifle, handgun, ballistic vest, and eight magazines of ammunition after leaving the Robert E. Lee Monument during civil unrest on June 12 in Richmond.

“Project Guardian is the Department’s signature anti-gun violence program,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “One of the key cornerstones of Guardian is holding those accountable who have forfeited their Second Amendment rights due to their status as a felon, drug user, or domestic abuser—amongst other prohibitors. This defendant, due to his own previous felonious conduct and conviction, was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition, and chose to openly flout state and federal law by unlawfully possessing multiple firearms and eight magazines of ammunition.”

According to court documents, on June 12, Matthew Lee Frezza, 37, of Chesterfield, possessed an assault rifle and handgun during the course of a traffic stop during civil unrest. The incident started when Richmond Police Department (RPD) officers observed a caravan of three trucks driving recklessly in the vicinity of the Robert E. Lee Monument. Based on this reckless driving, RPD officers executed a traffic stop on one of the pickup trucks at the intersection of Old Mill Road and Boatwright Road in the city of Richmond. Upon approaching the truck, RPD officers observed three occupants inside, with an individual later identified as Frezza in the front passenger seat of the truck. RPD officers further observed all three occupants of the truck armed with firearms, including assault rifles.

“Firearms in the possession of a convicted felon are always a public safety concern, but especially so when multiple weapons are recovered during a potentially volatile situation, such as civil unrest,” said Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Washington Field Division. “This defendant’s guilty plea confirms that the unlawful possession of a firearm is a serious offense and we are grateful to U.S. Attorney Terwilliger and our law enforcement partners in Richmond for this successful outcome.”

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/convicted-felon-pleads-guilty-possessing-firearms-during-civil-unrest

New York Times attempts to frame Richmond, VA as mecca of "systemic racism," fails to disclose that it has been exclusively under Democrat Leadership

(No wonder they want to erase the history/monuments!)

RICHMOND, Va. — On a hot summer’s day, the neighborhood of Gilpin quickly becomes one of the most sweltering parts of Richmond.

There are few trees along the sidewalks to shield people from the sun’s relentless glare. More than 2,000 residents, mostly Black, live in low-income public housing that lacks central air conditioning. Many front yards are paved with concrete, which absorbs and traps heat. The ZIP code has among the highest rates of heat-related ambulance calls in the city.

There are places like Gilpin all across the United States. In cities like Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Portland and New York, neighborhoods that are poorer and have more residents of color can be 5 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter in summer than wealthier, whiter parts of the same city.

And there’s growing evidence that this is no coincidence. In the 20th century, local and federal officials, usually white, enacted policies that reinforced racial segregation in cities and diverted investment away from minority neighborhoods in ways that created large disparities in the urban heat environment.

The consequences are being felt today. (continued)

archived sauce:

https://web.archive.org/web/20200825004603/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html

direct sauce: (with JavaScript)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html

Tom Fitton : "No evidence that John Durham is conducting a serious criminal investigation

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/conservative-watchdog-no-evidence-that-john-durham-is-conducting-serious-criminal-investigation

A conservative watchdog is fed up with the pace of United States Attorney John Durham's inquiry into the Russia investigation with roughly 70 days before Election Day.

Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, shared his grievances Monday with Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, lamenting how he sees no activity to suggest an escalation in a criminal investigation. So far, Durham has secured only one plea deal from a former FBI lawyer who fraudulently altered a CIA email to obtained renewed court permission to wiretap a former Trump campaign aide.

He made his point by noting how Durham's team only just interviewed former CIA Director John Brennan on Friday, after which a longtime aide said the Obama administration intelligence chief was told he is not a "subject or target" of a criminal investigation and former FBI Director James Comey insisted that he "can't imagine" being a target of the inquiry.

"It's been, what, 16-plus months since Durham was appointed, and only now is he questioning Mr. Brennan? And, you know, I think Mr. Brennan is probably calling it right," Fitton said. "I hope he's wrong that he isn't a target. I think Comey believes he isn't a target."

Fitton said the former officials might think otherwise if a "serious investigative approach" was more evident.

"I'm not seeing it. I don't see grand juries operating. I don't see a bunch of witnesses coming in. I don't see lawyers … complaining about their clients being brought in before Durham," he said.

Fitton said Durham's effort does not look like a "serious criminal investigation" in the same way that former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation did, although he stressed that one was "corrupted" because, during Mueller's inquiry, it was obvious when the government was pressuring witnesses and subjects.

>>10415516

Agreed.

I'm hoping that, given the scope/scale/implications of the investigation, that all of the things that Fitton is complaining about "not seeing" are occurring in more discrete settings. (If they weren't, then surely the DS would be able to monitor the progress, alongside Fitton.)

Here's hoping.