Mob boss killed by conspiracy-obsessed Trump fan, court records show

According to court documents filed in New York on Friday, the March shooting death of prominent Gambino crime family boss Francesco 'Franky Boy' Cali was not a mob hit at all, as had previously been assumed. Cali was allegedly shot by 24-year-old Anthony Comello in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island on March 13 this year, but Comello was not acting on the orders of one of the five major New York crime families. In fact, Comello seemed simply to be a man who lived with his parents and was obsessed with President Trump and a far-right conspiracy theory group called "QAnon," according to documents filed by Comello's lawyer. Comello arrived at Cali's home in March with the simple intention to arrest the mafioso, as he reportedly believed he was ordered to do by Trump. When Cali resisted an attempted citizen's arrest, Comello allegedly shot him and left him to die in the street. He was arrested three days later at his parent's home on Staten Island.

Because of the high-profile nature of Cali's murder, police initially believed that the shooting could mean the start of a major war among the crime families, something they had not seen in decades. Despite evidence to the contrary upon Comello's arrest, police were initially skeptical that the accused could truly carry out such a crime with no ties to the mafia. Comello's lawyer Robert C. Gottlieb stated, "He ardently believed that Francesco Cali, a boss in the Gambino crime family, was a prominent member of the deep state, and, accordingly, an appropriate target for a citizen’s arrest." Gottlieb further stated, "Mr. Comello’s support for ‘QAnon’ went beyond mere participation in a radical political organization. It evolved into a delusional obsession."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mob-boss-killed-by-conspiracy-obsessed-trump-fan-court-records-show

Also included here:

He Wasn’t Seeking to Kill a Mob Boss. He Was Trying to Help Trump, His Lawyer Says.

In new court documents, the lawyer for Anthony Comello says he became obsessed by far-right QAnon conspiracy theories.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/gambino-shooting-anthony-comello-frank-cali.html

Intercepted audio recording recounts final moments before Iran seized British tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Intercepted radio transmissions reveal how an Iranian operator attempted to disarm a British naval officer before Iranian troops commandeered the vessel. Iran captured the Stena Impero tanker on Friday as it was sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it seized the vessel in a "tit-for-tat" situation after the United Kingdom captured an Iranian vessel suspected of smuggling oil to Syria last month.

The security risk firm Dryad Global released an audio recording of the exchange that took place moments before Iranian forces in ski masks rappelled out of a helicopter and onto the ship’s deck while small Iranian watercraft surrounded the British vessel. "If you obey, you will be safe," the Iranian operator says, according to USA Today. "Alter your course 3-6-0 degrees immediately." It is unclear whether the Iranian operator meant to tell the Stena Impero to turn in a 360-degree circle. "I reiterate that as you are conducting transit passage in a recognized international strait, under international law, your passage must not be impaired, intruded, obstructed, or hampered," the British officer said, asserting the ship’s legal right to sail through the strait. "No challenge is intended. I want to inspect the ship for security reasons," the Iranian operator said.

Iran seized two British tankers, including the Stena Impero, on Friday, the latest in a series of aggressive moves by Tehran to build tension in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has become increasingly hostile toward western countries, specifically the United States, since President Trump pulled out of the Iranian nuclear agreement and slapped sanctions back on the Middle Eastern country last year. The U.S. has began moving more troops into the region in response to Iran's aggressive behavior.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/intercepted-audio-recording-recounts-final-moments-before-iran-seized-british-tanker-in-strait-of-hormuz

Audio can be found here:

'Alter your course': Dramatic audio released of Iran seizing British ship

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/21/iran-conflict-dramatic-audio-released-british-ship-seized/1789439001/

Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas backtracks on racism accusations

Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas, who asserted in a tearful Facebook post that a white man at a Publix grocery store told her to "Go back to where you came from!" seems to be less sure that the Friday encounter was exactly how she remembered. After reaffirming to reporters Saturday that a white man had verbally accosted her and her daughter telling them to "go back" to where they came from in a racially charged tirade, Thomas was interrupted by the accused man himself, Eric Sparkes, who had a very different story to tell. Sparkes accused Thomas of faking the story for political purposes, saying he was, in fact, a Cuban American Democrat who was simply irritated that she brought so many groceries to the express checkout lane.

Thomas rebuked Sparkes' version of events, however, in an interview later in the day on Saturday, saying, "I don't know if he said 'go back,' or those types of words … I don't know if he said 'go back to your country' or 'go back to where you came from,' but he was making those types of references is what I remember." A local journalist further asked her, "So you don't remember exactly what he said?" Thomas replied, 'No, no, definitely not. But I know it was 'go back' because I know I told him to 'go back.'"''

In Thomas' original video, the black lawmaker tearfully recounted a traumatic incident in which a man began using racially charged insults after accusing her of bringing too many groceries to the express checkout line. Thomas posted the video to her Facebook account on Friday evening. Thomas' story quickly gained traction in the wake of President Trump's "go back" tweet as the media seemingly believed her version of events, and #IStandWithErica began trending on Twitter.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/georgia-state-rep-erica-thomas-backtracks-on-racism-accusations

Mercedes Schlapp defends Trump against accusations of racism

Former White House aide and current Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp on Sunday defended President Trump's record with minorities amid criticism for his recent attacks against four Democratic congresswomen. "I have worked with President Trump for two years and he is not a racist," Schlapp told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "He is a compassionate man whose policies have focused on the minority community."

Schlapp, who served as White House director of strategic communications for nearly two years, went on to praise the president's policies toward minorities and cited record-low Hispanic unemployment in the interview. "He is a results-oriented president who is focused on helping uplift all Americans, including blacks, including Hispanics," Schlapp noted.

Schlapp also defended the the president's response to the "send her back" chants about Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar at a recent Trump rally in North Carolina, saying he "made it very clear" that he did not agree with the chants but "stands with those people in North Carolina." Trump has also faced criticism for recent tweets in which he told Democratic Reps. Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts to "go back" to their home countries.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mercedes-schlapp-defends-trump-against-accusations-of-racism