Dear Media, You Have a Golden Opportunity to Do the Right Thing

Following the arrest of four people who allegedly kidnapped and tortured a special needs man for being a Trump supporter, the media are reporting that, according to Chicago police, the alleged crime was not racially or politically motivated.

"Jeff, despite all of that racial and hateful rhetoric that you heard in those videos, the Chicago police superintendent says he does not believe these videos were politically motivated," said Sylvia Perez, a local reporter in the Chicago area.

CNN anchor Don Lemon downplayed the actions of the four people shown in the video, saying I don't think it was evil...just bad home training.

Given the media's current concern with lies and fake news, Glenn issued a challenge.

"Media, you have a golden opportunity right now to reset things and to show that you have learned something. Please, take this opportunity," Glenn said.

Read below or listen to the full segment from Hour 2 for answers to these questions:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: How dare they do that.

PAT: How dare they say that!

GLENN: How dare they say that.

PAT: How dare you.

GLENN: You will not believe what is being said about Dolce & Gabbana now and what they're being told, "You better fall in line."

JEFFY: Oh, my gosh.

GLENN: I want to continue our conversation with the left and just point out some things that, please, stop doing this. It's not going to make things better. I have not heard -- I keep hearing, you know, the different reasons why Hillary Clinton lost. Hillary Clinton lost because nobody even on your side actually believed her. Nobody believed her. That's why she lost.

It wasn't Russia. It wasn't racism. It's because she was a dishonest individual. Period.

I don't know how you missed that one. And now the left and the media is accusing the right of-haired and vitriol. But we're missing a pretty big trend. We're missing Black Lives Matter. And where was that anger and vitriol? And where were you coming out against that? And what does that influence?

A story in Chicago that will chill you to the bone. We begin there, right now.

(music)

GLENN: I contend that we are -- we're not as bad as everyone is saying we are, including those on the right. We are not as bad. We're just seeing -- I think these -- these people like the three I'm going to introduce you to, I think these kinds of people have been here forever. We just didn't see them because they didn't have a camera in their possession. They didn't have a network in their shirt pocket. Now they do. It's called Facebook.

Four people are under arrest. They're four black apparently teens. Under arrest. In Chicago. For taking, apparently, a handicapped man, a man who has some mental deficiencies, kidnapping him, bringing them to their house, taping his mouth, torturing him, and beating him, all live on Facebook.

PAT: And all because he was a supporter apparently of Donald Trump.

GLENN: Whether that is even true or not, we don't know. Here's some of the video.

VOICE: What (bleep).

VOICE: Donald Trump.

VOICE: What (bleep). (bleep) (bleep)

VOICE: Goof. My sister --

VOICE: Yeah, nigger.

VOICE: My sister said this is not funny, y'all.

VOICE: It's funny to me.

PAT: So they're --

GLENN: So somebody on my thread -- who was it? My mother?

PAT: My sister said, "This isn't funny."

GLENN: My sister said, "This isn't funny, y'all." This isn't funny? You've taken a handicapped individual and you're beating him and torturing him in the name of Donald Trump. But not in the way the media is always spinning this. Violence and-haired.

Now, where does this come from? I read a story last night -- and I have to say, "Jeffy, did you check and find the story that had this?"

JEFFY: Well, your story that you tweeted last night.

GLENN: Yes.

JEFFY: You didn't even mention -- you said, if this story is true, this must stop. I mean, it doesn't --

GLENN: That's all I said?

JEFFY: "Please, media, you're blindly encouraging -- more on the radio tomorrow." There's nothing about Black Lives Matter.

GLENN: Nothing about it. What's the story that I tweeted?

JEFFY: No.

You tweeted TheBlaze's story.

GLENN: Okay. And what does TheBlaze's story say?

JEFFY: It doesn't mention Black Lives Matter.

GLENN: What?

JEFFY: It doesn't. And then I saw -- I found other stories where they're raging about you --

GLENN: Claiming that --

JEFFY: -- claiming it was Black Lives Matter.

GLENN: Right. I'm pretty sure I wrote something about --

JEFFY: I didn't look at Facebook yet. So...

GLENN: I don't think I did anything on Facebook. But look in that story because somewhere I think I did say --

PAT: Here's what they say in the -- this is amazing. Here's what it says in this story.

GLENN: Okay. Wait. Wait. Wait. So people know, the topic of conversation apparently on CNN this morning was, how dare Glenn Beck say this is about Black Lives Matter.

Well, I was -- and I don't even remember where I said it or -- I thought it was on my tweet. But I said, "If this story is true, if this story is true," I didn't even know if this was true. I saw it on video, but I don't want to spread false news.

If it is true -- and the story that I read had tied in Black Lives Matter -- if it's true, it's got to stop.

Well, we know now that it is true. But we don't know what their motivation was. But I will tell you that it was all about anti-white and Donald Trump.

Well, Black Lives Matter cannot be held innocent. If I am to blame for every coarse word said in society against Barack Obama, well, then we have to assign some blame to the leadership of Black Lives Matter, who are saying these things, who are saying, "Death to whitey," who are talking about all of this. You have to assign something to the bleed over in culture, if you're going to do that to the Tea Party or me. You have to.

PAT: Well, look what the Hollywood lefties in that video assigned to Donald Trump because of his rhetoric during the campaign.

GLENN: Correct.

PAT: They're holding him responsible for supposed atrocities that are happening in the country.

GLENN: That we can find no evidence of.

JEFFY: That we can find no evidence of.

GLENN: Right. So they're saying that Donald Trump is responsible. But then how dare Glenn Beck say this about Black Lives Matter. Well, wait a minute. Hang on just a second. Just a few months ago, you were wrongly and giving fake news saying that I support Black Lives Matter. No.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I support listening to the people, not the organization, because the organization itself has put a manifesto out. And anyone who would read that manifesto would see the hatred and the vitriol in it. I want nothing to do with that.

But the people who are just following, saying, "My community is not being listened to," boy, can I relate to that. I can relate to that.

And here's the one piece that the left cannot relate to: You had the day after election, you had psychiatrists on. You had family therapists on television, telling America how they should deal with their grief. That's what you woke up to on The Today Show or Good Morning America or something on CNN. You woke up the next day to a friendly counselor saying, "I know how you feel, and it's not unusual to feel this way. And it's valid to feel this way." We woke up to, "These people are crazy. They just hate the president."

So you're still getting a plush life.

(chuckling)

And I at least am coming out and saying, "I understand you. And I understand how frightened you are. I've been there. And I also understand how angry you are." But this will never work, unless -- I mean, thank God for people like Samantha Bee. I mean, we were so skeptical of Samantha Bee because we watch her show. We know what she does. We know her history. And she is an outspoken -- I don't even know if she would call herself a progressive. But she's an outspoken liberal and does not like, generally speaking, people like me, or didn't think she did.

She came down. I don't know if anybody see it -- Pat saw it yesterday for the first time. Did you see it, Jeffy?

JEFFY: Yeah. That was really good.

GLENN: That was unbelievable. That was the most honorable interview I've ever been a part of.

PAT: Because all of these -- all of these progressives who want to interview you say, "Oh, I'm not out to get you in any way. This is not going to be a hit piece. Don't worry about that. I've got nothing but good intentions. I just want to find out who you really are. I just -- I've been watching you lately, and I want to find out who you really are." Like Rolling Stone did, and then they turn around and stab you in the back when the story comes out. Like Rolling Stone did.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: And so it was amazing to us that Samantha Bee did what she said she was going to do.

JEFFY: Yeah, she did.

GLENN: Yeah, she did.

PAT: Because that never happens!

JEFFY: She did do exactly what she said.

GLENN: And the way it was edited was very interesting to me. Because that was an hour and a half interview compiled into seven minutes. She could have made that look any way she wanted.

PAT: Yeah, that's hard to do. She could have made it look really bad.

JEFFY: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: And they didn't. And halfway through -- or, the first third of the interview, I say to her: Let me turn this around to you, why did you invite me here?

Well, that happened about halfway through the interview.

And I said to her, "Samantha, you've got a show face on." And said, "No, I don't have a show face." I said, "You do. You have the snarky little -- I'm holier than thou." I said, "I get it. I watch you." That's your shtick.

JEFFY: That's her deal.

GLENN: And she said, "Well, then what are we doing? What would work?"

And I said, "Well, let me turn this around: Why would you have me on?" And that's when she really got real, and she said, "Because I think we're in trouble. I think we're in trouble. And we all need to stand against Trumpism."

Now, I know -- I think -- what she means by that. She is interpreting this poison vitriolic atmosphere that we're living where facts don't matter as Trumpism. I gave her that. But that's not Trumpism. That's not how I would describe what she's talking about. It's not Trumpism. It's lies. It's deceit. It's vitriol. It's anger. It's vengeance.

That's not Trumpism. That's humanism. That's humanism. We all feel that way. I felt that way eight years ago. I don't want to feel that way anymore.

And I think there's millions of Americans on both sides of the aisle that don't want to feel this way anymore.

PAT: And we're trying to extend our experience to them on the left a little bit by saying, "You know, as worried as we were about the country when Obama took over, we made it." We got through.

GLENN: We made it.

PAT: We didn't think we would. Quite honestly, we didn't think we would.

GLENN: No.

I said to her -- and I think they left this in the interview. I said, "You know, you're starting to sound like me."

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Do you think that the president might become a dictator?

Yes.

Well, I did too.

Do you think that he could make a wrong move and we could go into economic destruction?

Yes.

Well, you're me. You're me.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Eight years ago, you're me.

PAT: And who is more likely to turn into the dictator? The guy who is a capitalist who grew up and became successful in America, or the guy whose mentor was a hard-core communist?

GLENN: Right.

PAT: A card-carrying communist.

GLENN: Now --

PAT: I don't know. Let's see.

GLENN: So -- you know, you could make a case either way. And neither of them are insane. Hopefully, they don't happen. But neither of those came out of nowhere. It's not like we had Abraham Lincoln.

And, by the way, people claim, still today, that Abraham Lincoln was a dictator.

PAT: Oh, I got to show you the emails I get every time his name comes up.

GLENN: I know. Every time his name comes up. "I can't believe you love that dictator, Abraham Lincoln," Oh, stop it.

PAT: Oh, jeez.

(laughter)

I'm going to get another one in about two minutes.

GLENN: All right. Oh, I know. They're already piling into my email box. I know.

So here's the thing: This won't work. This won't work. If CNN goes on the day and makes this about me saying, "How dare Glenn Beck make this about Black Lives Matter" -- first of all, if it's true -- if it's true that they were involved and that's who they were -- that's why I put "if" in this -- it was reported. Was it fake? "If it's true." I don't know.

But, you know, jumping to conclusions -- "how dare you jump to conclusions" -- I don't know. The guy who was stabbing people recently that you immediately started calling for gun control. Please don't call me somebody who jumps to conclusions, when you jump to conclusions too.

It's what we do. We're commentators. And I think any commentator -- I can say to you, "I see why you thought somebody with a knife might have gone in and shot a bunch of people." That's logical. You say, "Okay. What are we going to do about guns? Because here we have another one."

I can see why you jump to that. I also can understand your agenda. I don't have an agenda. My agenda is call them as I see them. My agenda is Black Lives Matter, the manifesto is poison. Black Lives Matter, generally the people who are following in the streets, the ones that I have met, are not poison. They're frustrated. That nobody is listening to them.

And there is a third of the country that now feels disenfranchised, that nobody is listening to them, because their person didn't win. Another third that is saying, "I'm not going to listen to you because you didn't listen to me."

I'm hoping that there is a third of Americans that say, "Oh, my gosh, are we all four years old? Aren't we better than this? Can't we rise above this?" Yes. We can.

Calling all people that want to live in a world of common sense. Don't go over the cliff with everyone else. We're going to disagree on policies. Major policies. But principles. Principles. You're talking about fake news right now. Why?

Because you don't want to face the facts that your candidate, Hillary Clinton, was corrupt. That's what the average person saw that didn't vote for Hillary Clinton: She's corrupt. It's not a conspiracy. It's corruption.

Why your side voted for Barack Obama, because they wanted transparency. People are tired of corruption in Washington.

But I fear the fake news talk has another agenda: to shut dissenting voices up. Now, you're currently worried about a dictator. Well, I was worried about a dictator with your guy. What do you say we restore the constitutional powers and principles to our nation? Once we do that, neither one of us will be afraid of being silenced by a dictator.

If someone stands to silence you, I will stand with you. If someone comes to silence me, will you stand with me?

We are one, even though we come from many.

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[break]

GLENN: We have some amazing audio out of Boston. And a cry out for common sense and some decency here. Let me just give you an update. CNN made a story about how dare Glenn Beck blame what happened in Chicago on Black Lives Matter. I wrote that in an answer to a tweet. I knew I had tweeted --

JEFFY: Yeah, you answered -- you replied to a tweet. And your tweet was, you're right. You are right. Stand up with me and demand justice in Chicago for the beating of a disabled Trump supporter by BLM. That was about ten hours ago.

GLENN: Yeah, what did they say? What did I retweet?

JEFFY: It was a thread under Dinesh D'souza. And it was -- it's not about seeing him fail. It's about the hate he promotes. Racism is not kind of, sort of okay, even if it benefits you.

GLENN: Right. So my point on that -- that was, what? Ten hours ago?

JEFFY: So that was ten hours ago. And in that time frame of 16 to 10 hours ago, there were headlines and stories claiming that this group was Black Lives Matter.

GLENN: I know that I read it that it was a possible connection to BLM. But it doesn't even have to be that. There were five police officers that were killed at a BLM rally here in Dallas. They have a history of promoting death to the police. That's what I was saying to this person. Stand up. You're right. But it's not just Donald Trump, if that's what you believe. It's the other side too. We have to call it evenly.

[break]

GLENN: By the way, happy anniversary to anybody here at the Mercury studios that was with us on the first day of broadcast for radio.

PAT: Thank you.

GLENN: Five years ago today, we started in a little teeny closet room that now has been blown out. And we just -- we transferred all master control for radio operations into that area.

PAT: Took five years to do that. Wow.

GLENN: Took five years to do that. No, actually it took about six weeks --

PAT: Once it actually happened.

GLENN: Yeah. But they've been working so hard.

PAT: Can you believe it's been five years that we've moved to Texas?

GLENN: Five years.

JEFFY: I know.

PAT: Five years.

GLENN: Crazy.

PAT: So we've been here -- well, certainly longer than I was in New York. I was only in New York for three. Were you there for five? So I think we were in Dallas for as long as you were in New York.

GLENN: Pretty amazing.

PAT: It's incredible.

JEFFY: Wow.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: New York took ten years off my life. I'm convinced of it.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: I think it took ten years off my life.

JEFFY: It does that.

GLENN: It does.

JEFFY: The city does want to wear you down.

GLENN: It does. It just -- it wears you out.

The only thing that does -- there's no other city that's like it for this one reason: You walk everywhere, and that keeps you healthy.

JEFFY: Yeah, it does. But I just remember it felt nice -- because we lived in Pennsylvania. So I took the train in and out of Manhattan, and it felt nice to be out of the city. But that one summer I spent right across the river, so I never left the city.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

JEFFY: And it's like -- just --

GLENN: Oh, I didn't leave the island of Manhattan for a year, and I went --

JEFFY: It just drains you.

PAT: When you had your apartment?

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: When you live in Connecticut, it's not as bad, although the commute kills you. The commute sucks.

GLENN: I will tell you that I went on a tour where I was doing radio in the morning, television in the afternoon, and a stage show at night --

PAT: Oh, my gosh. Those were brutal days.

GLENN: With book stops. Remember? With book stops.

PAT: Right. Yes.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: And I remember thinking, "I am going to die." Four days into it, I thought to myself and said to the staff, "I am more relaxed now than I am when I'm in the city."

The city just makes you -- like, we're awake! We're awake! You're awake! And it's like, oh, my gosh. You just don't understand the grind of 16 million people living on top of each other. It's pretty intense.

JEFFY: Right.

PAT: Yeah, it is.

GLENN: It's pretty intense. A little Blade Runner-ish, but nice at the right times of the year.

Let me go to Rob in Indiana. Hello, Rob.

CALLER: Good morning, Glenn.

GLENN: How are you, sir?

CALLER: Very good. Working last night, there was the National News Network, I believe the one that's celebrating 25 years. And as disgusting with what has happened with this, if this turns out to be true, this victim in this video, I thought it's obvious, a left-wing production of this -- of this -- beginning of the video shows a Chicago police detective badge like, you know, enlarged right next to a still shot with that victim's face blurred out. And right underneath, it says "torture video." So the actual words on the screen are Chicago, police, detective, torture video.

And it just -- the image of it when I saw -- and they didn't play it every cycle. It repeated several times during the night. But I'm in law enforcement. And just, to me, it's like, here's another attack tied to law enforcement, just to put it out there.

GLENN: So wait. Wait. Wait. So they were -- they were playing the same thing, but the -- what's called a chyron. The script down at the bottom of the screen, they had superimposed a Chicago police badge so it looked like this was a torture -- instead of saying, "Here's a torture video that was released by police, they said, "Chicago police, colon, torture video?"

CALLER: The badge is blown up enough to see Chicago police, detective -- not just the police, but Chicago police detective. Then one of those still shots with their face blurred out. And underneath that video was torture video.

And I'm looking -- I'm like, this is -- if somebody just glances at that --

PAT: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

CALLER: -- it's spreading a false narrative. And people are going to see that and just tie it to it. And it's like, "No, the Chicago police are not the ones involved in it. They're the ones investigating it." It was on a major network news. I believe it's the one that's celebrating 25 years.

GLENN: Was it MSNBC? I don't know which one.

Which one is that? Fox? NBC? I don't know.

CALLER: I think it's ABC. ABC. It's through the South Bend area. I think it's Channel 57.

GLENN: Okay.

JEFFY: Oh, that's Chicago.

GLENN: Oh, Chicago.

CALLER: And they didn't play that same image every time. Because it was like whoever the local reporter was, they show his image, but you can't hear what he's saying. And then they have still shot, and then they go in to talk about. But every time I saw that, they did put it up there. I said, "This is just disgusting." They're taking advantage just to turn it and spin it their own way.

GLENN: Rob, thank you very much.

I will tell you this: On both the good and the bad, we're no different than any other media source on this. We'll get blamed for things we never did. And we'll get praised for things we never thought of. You know what I mean?

People are like, "I know what you were saying during that." We're like, "Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty brilliant of us."

That was not our intent. So when you look at that, it may not have even occurred to the person who was doing it, but we look at that, because it's on television -- you don't understand the grind. People just think that television and radio and everything else, it's just on and -- no, we're -- this is just glorified Facebook. You know, the -- the media -- we've gone into this unbelievably great revolutionary period.

And here's the revolution that I don't think any of our Founders could have ever seen coming. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, in some of the worst parts of the world and the deepest darkest jungles or the jungle of the city.

You have the power of ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, in your hand, in your pocket. If you have something to say and can say it in such a way that people want to watch it, your voice, your face, your message can be heard all around the world. That is an amazing power. We've never had that as human beings before. Now, there are going to be those that are going to claim that we need to somehow or another curtail that, to license that, to monitor that, to gatekeeper that.

No. No. The question is: Do people realize the power that they have? Or do they just see what everybody else is doing? This is why everybody hates -- Glenn, stop apologizing.

It's important. It's important. It's important that we say, "You know what, I played a role in this. I don't even know to what degree."

But everyone needs to look at what they do on Facebook, on Twitter, and say, "Have I played a role?"

Well, no, not me because I don't really have a voice.

Yeah, you do. You do.

For the first time in my history of doing any kind of media, I would have to meet you or get you on the phone to be able to have a conversation with you.

I can respond to you now on Facebook. I can read your words on Facebook and on Twitter. And I can respond directly to you. Meaning, you are parallel to me.

We have a voice here, but you have a voice that just reached my voice. Your voice is just as loud as mine is.

Now, can we handle that power? Progressives and people who don't believe in the people will always say no. But we've always -- could we handle the power of the Bible?

There were people who said, "You can't give them the power. You can't read that." When the printing press -- you can't just give people an education.

Yeah, it caused upheaval. But in the long-run, it was good for society. In the long-run, it meant that the feudal system went away. In the long-run, this will set us free, should we choose, because this is massively exciting and revolutionary in its tone.

Somebody asked me yesterday in an interview what role did -- who role did the media -- did social media play in this election?

I said the -- the only role that really mattered. I honestly think if it wasn't for CNN and MSNBC and ABC, NBC, and CBS, I think Hillary might have had a better chance. Because the traditional media was so dismissed and so in the bag for Hillary Clinton, that they were like -- they were dismissed. Completely dismissed. And it added to the claim, "I'm not running against Hillary, I'm running against the corrupt media." Your voice -- this is the first election where social media actually, I think, called the election.

This is the one that made the president the president.

PAT: Probably safe to say.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: I think it is. I think it is.

PAT: Made me realize how much I had missed the feudal system too.

GLENN: Sorry for that.

PAT: Boy, those days.

GLENN: They don't come back.

PAT: They don't come back.

GLENN: They don't come back.

PAT: The feudal system just doesn't come back.

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PAT: Ugh.

GLENN: Thank you, Pat.

PAT: That wasn't me.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

GLENN: American Financing, what?

PAT: Go ahead, Jeffy. Finish.

GLENN: Finish, Jeffy. He doesn't have it.

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PAT: Wow.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. He is -- wow, he really is (sound effect).

PAT: (sound effect)

JEFFY: I don't have it in front of me.

PAT: We talked about it. You wonder why. Well, there you go.

JEFFY: I know we did. I know we talked about it.

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GLENN: Wow.

PAT: And there you have it. That's why.

GLENN: This is how good he is after the resolutions to be a better man and a better broadcaster.

JEFFY: Thank you.

Oh, not once did I ever resolve to be a better man.

PAT: Oh, please.

I believe that.

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[break]

GLENN: So we just got a new report out. Is this from Chicago?

JEFFY: Yeah, this was from last night. It was just a report from one of the stations, yes.

GLENN: Oh, I thought it was this morning. Because in this report they're now saying that the Chicago incident was not racially motivated.

JEFFY: Yeah, they were quoting the police department.

GLENN: How is that possible? They were talking about white people, weren't they?

PAT: Yes.

JEFFY: Yeah, the end of her report was that the police said that -- they believe it wasn't --

GLENN: Listen how bad this is -- listen how bad this is.

VOICE: Yeah. Smack --

VOICE: No. I don't want to send this (bleep) over my connection, man.

VOICE: It is a story we first broke here on Fox 32 News. And tonight, there is breaking information on the victim of a torture case broadcast live on Facebook.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Sylvia Perez in for Don Hansboro (phonetic).

VOICE: And I'm Jeff Herdin (phonetic). We've learned tonight that the victim in this case was mentally disabled and knew at least one of his captors. Lisa Chavaria (phonetic) is live now with breaking details. Lisa.

GLENN: Horrible.

VOICE: Well, Jeff, tonight, Chicago police have all four suspects in custody.

PAT: Good.

VOICE: Detectives are speaking with the victim who they say is special needs. Now, police believe he was held captive and tortured for almost up to 48 hours.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

JEFFY: I know.

VOICE: And all of it was posted to Facebook Live. We want to warn you that the video you're about to see is considered very disturbing.

VOICE: (bleep) Donald Trump.

VOICE: (bleep) white people, boy.

PAT: F white people. But that's not racial?

VOICE: Police say he has a mental disability. Investigators say he was a classmate of one of the suspects.

PAT: Oh, my gosh.

VOICE: Apparently, they met out in the suburbs. The subjects then stole a van out in the suburbs and brought him into Chicago.

VOICE: Police believe he went willingly initially, but that is clearly not the case based on three videos posted to social media. What you are about to see is disturbing. At one point, the victim is held at knife point and told to curse President-elect Donald Trump. The men can be heard saying they want this to go viral.

Another video shows the group forcing the victim to drink water from a toilet.

PAT: Hmm.

VOICE: Throughout these videos, the victim is kicked, hit, and cut. Police believe he was released after being held anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.

Officers found him walking along Lexington and Homan on the west side. They linked a separate call to the scene featured in these videos and were able to find the two women and two men allegedly involved. Many people took to Facebook, outraged, wondering whether this will be considered a hate crime.

VOICE: I think some of it is just stupidity. You know, people just ranting about something that they think might make a headline.

PAT: Oh, my gosh.

VOICE: I don't think that -- at this point --

GLENN: I can't believe it. I mean, I can't --

VOICE: -- we don't have anything concrete to really point us in that direction. But we'll keep investigating.

PAT: Are you serious!

GLENN: They said they hate white guys. They said F white people.

PAT: And then at the end she says...

VOICE: The Cook County state's attorneys office is now looking at this case. Officials say that they expect charges in the next 24 hours.

And, Jeff, despite all of that racial and hateful rhetoric that you heard in those videos, the Chicago police superintendent says he does not believe these videos were politically motivated.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. Are politically motivated. Are --

PAT: What?

GLENN: Denounce Donald Trump.

PAT: Oh, man.

GLENN: Media --

PAT: Not political. Not a hate crime.

GLENN: Media, you have a golden opportunity right now to reset things and to show that you have learned something. Please, take this opportunity.

 

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.