www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-13 12:27:00
A federal appeals court panel heard arguments from a Georgia group accusing True the Vote of voter intimidation. The group challenged 364,000 Georgia voters’ eligibility after the 2020 election, but Fair Fight argued it was an attempt to intimidate voters. A district judge ruled in 2024 that the challenge did not meet voter intimidation standards. True the Vote’s attorney claimed the group never contacted voters, while Fair Fight argued the mass challenge aimed to prevent voting. True the Vote, a Texas-based organization, said the case is crucial for defending election integrity.
(The Center Square) – A federal appeals court panel heard arguments Tuesday from a Georgia group accusing True the Vote of voter intimidation.
True the Vote challenged the eligibility of 364,000 Georgia voters after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden. The challenge came before a January 2021 runoffs in the U.S. Senate races that Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won.
Fair Fight sued the group, saying the effort was an attempt to intimidate Georgia voters. U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones ruled after a seven-day bench trial in 2024 that the challenge did not reach the standards for voter intimidation. The state did not provide records showing if any of the voter challenges were viable, according to testimony in Tuesday’s hearing.
Jake Evans, an attorney for True the Vote, told the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals Court that the organization made no attempts to contact any of the voters in question.
“The attempted act was to submit the voter challenge,” Evans said. “The attempted act was not to contact or intimidate a voter.”
Uzoma Nkwonta, who presented the case for Fair Fight, said while there is no evidence in the record that there is a record of how many challenges were unsuccessful, no one presented evidence of a meritorious challenge or one that was not frivolous or incorrect.
“The natural cause of the mass challenge is intimidation, it’s preventing people from voting,” Nkwonta told the panel.
Fair Fight was founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 after her unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2018. Abrams lost the governor’s race again in 2022 to Republican Brian Kemp.
True the Vote is a Texas-based organization that says on its website it is challenging election security, transparency and integrity. Tuesday’s hearing is “one of the most consequential legal battles yet,” the group said.
“This isn’t just about one hearing – it’s about holding the line for election integrity and defending the voice of we the people,” the group said on its website.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article largely reports on the facts of a legal dispute concerning voter challenges in Georgia without overt editorializing, presenting statements and positions from both sides: True the Vote, a group focused on election integrity often associated with conservative causes, and Fair Fight, a voting rights organization founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams. While the piece includes neutral descriptions of the arguments and litigation history, it provides slightly more detailed emphasis on True the Vote’s perspective and uses phrases like “one of the most consequential legal battles yet,” which appears to reflect the language of True the Vote’s website. The article also notes the affiliations of the organizations, which adds context but can subtly frame the narrative along partisan lines. Overall, the tone is mostly factual but leans modestly toward a Center-Right perspective through the inclusion of the conservative group’s self-description and less detailed coverage of counterarguments.
SUMMARY: The FDA is investigating potential radiation contamination in frozen shrimp sold at Walmart. Cesium-137 (Cs-137), a radioactive isotope from nuclear fission, was detected by U.S. Customs in shipping containers at multiple ports, including a shipment of breaded shrimp. The affected shrimp, processed by Indonesia’s PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, may have been contaminated under unsanitary conditions. While shrimp on shelves tested negative for Cs-137, the FDA warned against consuming certain Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp with specific lot codes and best-by dates. Walmart issued a recall for these products sold in several U.S. states to reduce long-term radiation exposure risks.
Four Republican governors are sending nearly 1,000 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., joining 800 local Guard troops activated by President Trump amid his federal takeover of the capital. This deployment raises troop numbers to about 1,800 across the 68-square-mile district, despite violent crime being at a 30-year low. Governors from Ohio, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia are contributing forces, with federal funding covering costs. The Guard members are expected to be armed, but the duration of their deployment remains unclear. Some governors have declined requests, and the move raises legal questions under the Posse Comitatus Act.
WASHINGTON — Four Republican governors are sending nearly 1,000 National Guard members to the District of Columbia after President Donald Trump last week activated 800 members from the district’s Guard as part of his federal takeover of the nation’s capital.
The deployment would bring the total number of National Guard troops to roughly 1,800 in the district’s 68 square miles, following the president’s “crime emergency” declaration, even though violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low.
Because the district, home to more than 700,000 residents, is not a state, the president has the sole authority over its National Guard members.
The president has not only activated the National Guard but through the district’s Home Rule Act is using the Metropolitan Police Department’s 3,400-member police force for immigration enforcement.
The 1,000 National Guard members sent from the states are expected to arrive in the district Monday and through the coming days and are expected to be armed, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will send 150 military police from his state’s National Guard; Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves will send 200 members; South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster approved 200 members; and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey will send up to 400 National Guard members.
McMaster and Morrisey added that the federal government would cover the cost of deploying state troops.
Unknown how long Guard will stay
It’s unclear how long National Guard members will remain on duty in the district. National Guard members are usually deployed for natural disasters and kept in reserve. Most have civilian jobs and families that they are pulled away from when they are activated.
The Department of Defense did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.
The president has 23 days left in his emergency declaration and has signaled he wants to extend the emergency longer, as well as request funding from Congress to finance his plans for the district. He’s directed federal law enforcement officers to not only conduct local policing, but to clear out camps of homeless people.
It’s not the first time Republican governors have signaled they will deploy their National Guard members at Trump’s request. Iowa’s Kim Reynolds has stated she will send troops to help with the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
And last week Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee said he’s prepared to send his National Guard members to the district. He added that U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told him that the military might request states to send troops to the district for law enforcement.
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally bars the use of the military for domestic law enforcement purposes.
Lee’s office did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, declined a request from the Trump administration to send the state’s National Guard to the district, according to Vermont Public.
DeWine, McMaster and Morrisey said the Pentagon made requests for additional National Guard members.
What other states might see deployments?
States Newsroom reached out to the offices of all 27 Republican governors to ask if the Trump administration had requested National Guard members.
The administration has not made any requests to Georgia, South Dakota and Virginia, according to spokespeople at those offices. Maryland, which borders the district and is led by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, has not received a request from the Pentagon to send in National Guard members, according to a spokesperson for Moore’s office.
A spokesperson for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said there are no current plans for a deployment of National Guard troops from the state.
Laura Strimple, communications director for Republican Gov. Jim Pillen of Nebraska, said in a statement that the governor supported the president’s “initiatives to reduce crime and clean up the streets in our nation’s capital, including placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal leadership and tasking the District of Columbia National Guard and National Guard troops from several nearby states with security in Washington.”
“At this time, the Nebraska National Guard is not part of this mission,” she added.
A spokesperson for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis did not directly answer States Newsroom’s question if the state, which is preparing for Category 4 Hurricane Erin, had received a request from the Trump administration to send National Guard members to the district.
“We stand ready to mobilize any resources necessary in response to President Trump’s federal priorities,” the spokesperson said.
The rest of the state offices did not respond to States Newsroom’s requests for comment.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
This content presents a factual report on the deployment of National Guard members to Washington, D.C., largely focusing on actions taken by Republican governors and the Trump administration. While it highlights concerns such as the low crime rate despite the emergency declaration and mentions legal constraints like the Posse Comitatus Act, the tone remains mostly neutral with some subtle skepticism toward the federal takeover. The emphasis on Republican leadership and federal enforcement initiatives, combined with limited critical commentary, suggests a center-right leaning perspective. It neither strongly criticizes nor fully endorses the actions described, maintaining a primarily informative stance.
SUMMARY: Wagener, South Carolina, has named Hendrik Swanepoel as the new permanent fire chief after nearly losing its entire volunteer fire department last November when former Chief Tillman Rushton and 19 firefighters resigned. This mass resignation led Aiken County Council to terminate its contract with the town, and Wagener’s city council voted to separate from the county fire department. Neighboring departments have provided temporary aid, but residents remain concerned about timely fire response. Mayor Mike Miller expressed optimism about progress, while Swanepoel is actively recruiting new staff to restore the department. Locals emphasize the need for dependable, transparent leadership focused on community safety.
