LA County Declares ICE Emergency, Pentagon Press Exodus, Dr. Antifa Flees

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Hey, what is up, Patriots? And welcome to O'Connor's Quick Strike. I'm your host, John O'Connor. It's Friday, October 17th, and we've got three stories the mainstream media either isn't covering or is covering all wrong. And man, thank God it's Friday. I have been putting in some absolutely grueling hours this week. If you don't know, I work in software programming.

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for some massive corporate clients. And when I say clients, I mean the kind where if they say jump, I ask how high. When our software goes live in their environments and something breaks, it can cost these companies millions of dollars an hour until we get it fixed. So the past couple of days have been all hands on deck busting my butt to get everything rectified and the clients happy again.

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That's why I had to miss Wednesday's episode of this show and Thursday's O'Connor's Rates Stand. Definitely not what I wanted, but sometimes that's just how it goes in the software world. And look, if I know I'm going to be running behind or I'm not going to get to an episode, I'll always post an update on X at O'Connor podcasts. So if you're wondering where an episode is, check there first. Alright, enough about my week. Let's get to what you came here for.

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Three stories, roughly 15 minutes, keeping you up to speed on what you need to know. Let's get into it. Tree. All right, so Los Angeles County just declared a state of emergency. Have you heard? And before you ask, no, it's not wildfires. It's not an earthquake. It's not even another celebrity scandal. It's because ICE is arresting illegal immigrants. No, I'm not kidding. Earlier this week,

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The LA County border supervisors voted four to one to declare an emergency, the same type they use for natural disasters, because hey, federal immigration enforcement is doing its job. Supervisor Janice Hahn said, I quote, we have residents afraid to leave their homes. We have constituents contacting my office because their family members never came home and they don't know if they've been taken by ICE. She continued.

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We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers have been taken from the workplaces and they have no way to pay their rent or put food on their table. Now, let's be clear about what's actually happening here. ICE isn't randomly snatching people off the streets. These are targeted enforcement operations against individuals who are in the country illegally. Federal agents have been picking people up from home depots, car washes, bus stops, and farms.

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But here's where it gets interesting. This declaration isn't just symbolic. It gives LA County the power to provide rent relief for people who've fallen behind because of the ICE raids. They are creating an online portal, coming in two months, where people can apply for assistance. They are also funneling state money for legal aid and other services. So let me get this straight. You are in the country illegally.

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you get arrested by federal authorities and now LA County is going to use taxpayer funds to help pay your rent and legal bills? The sole no vote came from supervisor Katherine Barger who argued, and this seems pretty reasonable to me, that immigration raids don't meet the criteria of an emergency and that it could be unfair to landlords. She said, I'm sure we are going to be challenged legally and

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She's probably right. Remember, LA County's eviction moratorium during COVID resulted in multiple lawsuits. Landlords got absolutely hammered and now they are potentially setting up a round two. But here's what really gets me. County officials claimed in their declaration that the raids have created a climate of fear leading to widespread disruption in daily life and adverse impacts to our regional economy.

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They cite, decreased workplace attendance, business closures, increased strain on schools and hospitals. You know what else creates fear? Crime? You know what disrupts daily life? Violent criminals who shouldn't be in the country being protected by sanctuary policies? This is what it's come to folks. Blue states and blue counties are so committed to resisting Trump's immigration enforcement,

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that they are literally treating law enforcement as a disaster. They are equating ICE arrests with earthquakes and wildfires. It's absolute insanity. But it's also revealing. It shows you exactly where their priorities are. And it's not with American citizens or legal residents. Alright, story number two is complicated. And I'm going to be straight with you. This one doesn't have an easy good guys versus bad guys answer. Earlier this week,

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dozens of reporters covering the Pentagon turned in their press badges and walked out of the building. And we're not just talking about CNN and MSNBC. We're talking about Fox News, Newsmax, The Washington Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP, Reuters. Basically, everyone except one American news network. So, what happened? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rolled out a new press policy requiring reporters to sign a significantly expanded document.

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up from the previous one-page agreement. The key provisions are where things get sticky. Reporters can't gather or publish any Pentagon information, even if it's unclassified, unless it's been officially authorized for release. They also can't ask Pentagon employees for information that hasn't been pre-approved. And by signing, they'd essentially acknowledge that publishing unauthorized information harms national security. You violate these rules,

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Your credentials are revoked. Your access is gone. Hegseth's position is straightforward. He says Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. He posted on social media, press no longer roam free, press must wear visible badge, credential press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.

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He's been frustrated with the leaks, and he's subjected officials to lie detector tests and held only two press briefings since taking over. His argument, the Pentagon is a secure facility dealing with sensitive matters, and the press shouldn't have free reign. But here's where it gets messy. Longtime Pentagon correspondents say they've always worn badges, never accessed classified areas, and never published information endangering troops.

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What Hegseth is really implementing, they argue, is prior restraint. Government controlling what the press can publish before publication. That's a First Amendment issue. Tom Bowman, NPR's Pentagon correspondent who's had a badge for 28 years, signing that document would make us stenographers parroting press releases, not watchdogs holding government officials accountable. Even retired Army General Jack Keene

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A Fox News analyst said on Fox, they want to spoon feed information to the journalists, and that would be their story. That's not journalism. Now, here's the irony that I think is worth pointing out. Hegseth himself was caught using the Signal Messaging app to share classified details about planned US airstrikes in Yemen. And he didn't just share them with military officials. He shared them with his wife and brother.

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The Pentagon inspector general opened an investigation into it. So the guy cracking down on leaks was himself leaking classified information to family members on a commercial messaging app. Look, I get both sides here. Leaks are a real problem. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information can put lives at risk, and the Pentagon has every right to set access rules. But when Fox News

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Newsmax and the Washington Times all say, no, this goes too far. You have to consider that maybe it does. These aren't liberal outlets looking to undermine Trump. These are friendly media that generally support this administration. The policy essentially says you can only report what we tell you to report. That's not journalism. That's state media. The American people deserve transparency about how their tax dollars are being spent.

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We are funding the Pentagon to the tune of about a trillion dollars a year. The public has a right to know how that money is used, how wars are fought, and how decisions are made. I don't have a clean answer on this one. There's a legitimate debate about balancing national security with press freedom. But when literally every major news organization across the ideological spectrum refuses to sign your policy,

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Maybe you feel overreached. Alright, let's end on a story that'll get your blood pumping in all the right ways. Mark Bray teaches history at Rutgers University. He's also the author of Antifa, the anti-fascist handbook, which openly calls for militant anti-fascism. In the book, he pledged at least 50 % of the author's proceeds to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund. Students started calling him Dr. Antifa.

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and after Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, Turning Point USA's chapter at Rutgers launched a petition calling for his removal. The petition said, with the current trend of left-wing terrorism, having a prominent leader of the Antifa movement on campus is a threat to conservative students. Bray started getting death threats. His address got doxed, and recently he announced he and his wife, who also teaches at Rutgers,

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were fleeing to Spain for their safety. Now, here's where it gets good. A fundraiser was set up to help Dr. Antifa and his wife relocate to the Mediterranean. And as of this week, it's raised roughly $42,000. Who's donated? Well, Fox News did some digging. It's a who's who of academia. Multiple Rutgers faculty kicked in, some donating privately, others publicly.

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History professor Temma Kaplan donated $450. French professor Francois Corneliot gave $100. But it wasn't just Rutgers. Faculty from across the country chipped in. Celso Thomas Castelho, an associate history professor at Vanderbilt, gave $150. Manisha Sinha at UConn donated $200. Raquel Adhigay at...

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Bronx Community College gave $50. I'm sorry if I'm screwing any of those up. That's my best attempt. In total, 518 people donated to help this guy escape to Spain. Now, Bray insists he's not actually part of any Antifa organization. He says, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, part of any kind of anti-fascist or anti-racist organization. I just haven't. I'm a professor. But here's what we know. He wrote the handbook.

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He dedicated his book proceeds to the Antifa Defense Fund. He posted on Blue Sky, because of course he's on Blue Sky, saying, mass anti-fascism, legal or not, can save us. Legal or not? Those are his words. And when he faced consequences for promoting a movement that's been linked to riots, violence, and attacks on federal officers, his fellow academics rallied around him and funded his escape to Europe.

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Think about that for a second. These are faculty at taxpayer-funded public universities using their money to help a colleague flee the country because conservative students called them out for promoting political violence. This is the academic bubble in all its glory. They protect their own. They fund each other. They circle the wagons. And they do it all while calling you the fascist. The irony is almost too perfect.

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The guy who wrote the book on anti-fascism runs away when people exercise their free speech to criticize him. And the people who claim to champion diversity and tolerance are the ones funding his flight from accountability. By the way, the university hasn't said a word about whether they plan to keep him on the payroll. So as far as we know, he's still collecting a salary from New Jersey taxpayers while sipping sangria in Spain. So there you have it.

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LA County declares an emergency over ICE arrests. The entire Pentagon press corps walks out over restrictions that even Fox News won't accept. And Dr. Antifa? Well, he's escaping to Spain funded by his academic buddies. Three stories, three examples of how completely upside down things have gotten. Look, if these stories fired you up, do me a favor. Hit that subscribe button, give this podcast a five star rating, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

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The mainstream media won't tell you these stories, so it's up to us to get the word out. You can find all the episodes, show notes, and more at okonnersquickstrike.com. And remember, if you ever wonder where an episode is, check me out on X at O'Connor Podcasts for updates. This is O'Connor's Quick Strike. I'm John O'Connor. Thanks for spending part of your Friday with me. I'll see you right back here on Monday with three more stories they don't want you to know about. Until then.

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Have an absolutely phenomenal weekend, Patriots. Stay informed, stay engaged, and stay strong.