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SERGEANT JOSE PADILLA – WAR HERO: Iraq Veteran Brutally Assaulted by Metro Police on January 6 in Need of Support After Four Years in Prison

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5 months ago

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United States Army Sergeant Joseph Lino Padilla

There are many stories about January 6 that fall by the wayside.

Most defendants remain nameless, faceless hostages. Real Americans have been rendered as caricatures as a way of pigeonholing them and glossing over the real experiences of that complicated day.

TAKING OATHS

Joseph Lino Padilla, or Sergeant Padilla, is a United States Army veteran. He served two tours of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006 to 2010. During this time he worked on stopping the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IED’s) among other duties. He’ll never brag about his service, but having spent years in jail with him and hearing his stories, he’s seen a lot that most Americans are fortunate enough to not have.

Jose Padilla served years in Iraq

Following two combat tours overseas, Sergeant Padilla was classified as “totally and permanently disabled” due to his service. Sergeant Padilla came home with degenerative joint disease in his lower back, burn pit-induced chronic sinusitis, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

While he may have been known primarily as ‘Sergeant Padilla’ in the Army, and we may have come to simply know him as ‘Padilla’ in the DC jail, his loving wife and three boys will always know him as ‘Jose’ and ‘Dad.’

** Please donate to the Padilla recovery fund here.

Jose Padilla had very humble beginnings. He grew up in poverty and in a broken home. Rather than limiting him, his upbringing made him into the most dedicated husband and father I have ever known in my three decades on this Earth. Jose Padilla is a man who would sacrifice everything he has in him for those he loves. Sadly, he would have to.

Sergeant Padilla with wife (left) and son (right)

Like many, Sergeant Jose Padilla questioned the 2020 election. On January 6 he went to Washington, DC, to see his first Trump rally. Wearing his trademark blue jacket, he would in fact walk into an entrapment scheme, with no idea what was coming his way.

Jose Padilla in trademark blue jacket

REMEMBERING OATHS

I was right there. I have the wounds to prove it. – Testimony by Jose Padilla on the TheDonald forum

Padilla arrived on the Capitol West Terrace after the perimeter was already taken down during the initial Capitol grounds breaches. Expecting a simple protest, he would instead witness police brutality and excessive force against unarmed protestors.

This outrageous conduct by law enforcement would set off something within him most prior service Americans experienced that day. No man who takes an oath to protect his people feels apathy watching others break their oath to do the same.

Jose repeatedly attempted to peacefully speak with officers about their conduct and was shoved in response. He took up his frustration with a “white-shirt” (commanding officer) Captain, saying “You know what you’re doing is wrong.” Video shows that Padilla was initially able to block an incoming cheap shot from another officer, only for Padilla to respond by yelling at that officer not to hit him.

As Padilla proceeded to try to talk to the Captain about keeping his oath, again he was struck with another cheap shot by the adjacent officer. A frustrated Padilla responded to being hit with, “What about YOUR fucking oath?”

The Captain disappeared, a bigger MPD officer took his place, and Padilla clearly stated again on Metro PD body cameras that his goal was talking to the police (not insurrection). “Did your Captain have to run off and call you to help him, because he’s afraid of me, for TALKING to him?” 

** Please donate to the Padilla recovery fund here.

Instead of de-escalating the situation, cops beat Jose to the point he blacked out more than once. Prosecutors portrayed Padilla as a criminal for pushing on part of the bike rack perimeter police assembled piecemeal on the West Terrace.

While there are points where Padilla’s hands are on the bike rack perimeter, the cops were standing guard at, and while there are parts where this leads to him pushing forward, it’s also clear from various camera angles that Jose had to brace himself using this fencing so he could even stand up after being beaten. Different angles clearly show Jose holding himself up with his head tilted down.

I was beaten unconscious twice, sprayed more times than I care to count, received strikes from batons that should have been lethal (Multiple temple and carotid strikes) except that God was on my side.

Police used multiple head strikes on Jose with their riot batons, ganged up on him, and tossed him away like a ragdoll. There’s a point where he’s hanging on, with one arm, barely standing, after being beaten over the head with life-threatening blows. Other angles in other videos show Padilla barely able to stay conscious, his face extremely red from the attacks, having to sit down on steps to recover from his injuries, etc.

Jose Padilla recovering on West Terrace steps after being attacked by police

The DOJ also falsely accused Padilla of using a giant Trump sign as a weapon against police. Even Judge Bates, at trial, found Jose not guilty of this fake assault. In fact, Jose was recovering from being beaten, trying to avoid this giant sign hitting himself, and was actually trying to position the sign upward – because it was a sign.

They were Patriots who were trying to restore the Republic after being attacked by cops, and who struck first.

Curiously, this giant Trump sign was touched by many January 6 defendants who would be charged with assault… except for Ray Epps. The government acknowledged that Ray Epps engaged in felonious activity but only charged him with misdemeanors for which he was sentenced to probation. The DOJ charged Jose with multiple felonies and sought a sentence of 171 months or 14 years!

DC GULAG

Jose Padilla’s arrest after January 6

Jose would be turned in to the feds like all of us. Despite Jose having been a victim of excessive force by police on January 6, and having stated clearly that the actions of protestors on January 6 were in retaliation after having been attacked (and NOT in the pursuit of insurrection), the Padilla home was raided by numerous armed government agents with armored vehicles.

An unarmed Jose Padilla was paraded through the street in restraints and half-naked. He would then be taken to jail and eventually found his way to the Washington, DC, Department of Corrections facility (aka the “DC Gulag”), where he would be denied bond by a federal judge and be forced to rot in solitary confinement alongside myself and a dozen other inmates.

** Please donate to the Padilla recovery fund here.

Padilla spent two and a half years in the DC jail and denied basic civil rights, access to his family, religious services, basic nutrition, and so on. The jail deprived inmates of civil rights on the basis of “stopping Covid” but in reality out of a punitive desire to break January 6 inmates. This treatment continued well into DC lifting Covid restrictions on the remaining jail population (January 6 inmates having been segregated into a separate wing dubbed the “Patriot Pod” which was in reality an mental asylum).

Retaliation and targeting of inmates for racial and political reasons was also rampant. I recall on one occasion a DC jail guard called Jose a “Pussy-ass cracker.” Officers allegedly even stole his mail in violation of federal law. Even worse than the guards was some of the inmates. Jose was himself a former correctional officer and knew how to conduct himself in a penal environment, unlike others who targeted him.

Some informants inside the jail, in order to throw others off their trail, targeted Jose by spreading rumors of him being a fed. This can be a death sentence in the wrong prison, especially for someone who worked in corrections prior. Division and factionalism inside the DC jail led Padilla, an introvert by nature, to withdraw even further into his own psyche. Similar experiences and a similar mindset led to me bonding with Jose.

Guy Reffitt (left) and Jose Padilla w/ book (right) in DC Gulag

Jose was in fact possibly the most educated and intelligent individual to ever live amongst us in the DC Gulag. Classical philosophy, Babylonian archeology – there was no clear ceiling to Jose’s knowledge. He, Kelly Meggs and I would often solve crossword puzzles together to pass the little time we had out of our cells.

This brilliance was one of the greatest tools we had inside the Gulag as Padilla was a master at researching case law. Many people feigned being jailhouse lawyers, but he spent endless hours using the very limited FastCase system provided to us (after many months of being denied a law library).

What many of us were to video analysis, Jose was to researching the law. Even Jose’s lawyers were impressed with his research. He in fact made a great case on selective prosecution which was regrettably and predictably ignored by the court.

The thing that most stood out about Jose while incarcerated together in DC was not his intelligence but his character. Padilla was a devoted husband and father who called his wife and kids three times a day if possible. The greatest constant for stability in his life after military service was his family and it was stripped from him. Most of Padilla’s time in DC was as a pretrial detainee, not as a convict, and this separation imposed another layer of psychological torture on top of the solitary confinement and jailhouse retaliation.

** Please donate to the Padilla recovery fund here.

While Jose was in my eyes justified in his righteous indignation on January 6, Jose was incredibly humbled by his captivity and showed great remorse knowing that his captivity meant pain for his family. He was never a man motivated by greed or envy, only by his need to provide his family the stability he never knew in his formative years. Jose, a devout Seventh Day Adventist, was also humble before the Lord, and always feared allowing his status as a political prisoner to lead him to hubris instead of self-reflection.

Mr. Padilla reports that his upbringing combined with his combat experience in the Army has made him an introvert who struggles with loud noise, chaos, and large groups; all of which are largely unavoidable in prison. He further states that he is constantly on the verge of tears and looks forward to receiving his evening medications in the hopes he will fall into a deep sleep just to gain some peace. – Jose Padilla’s pre-sentencing report

Jose’s life reflects everything great about America. A man who started without much but spent life in the service of things greater than himself – God, country, and family. And yet, after being convicted at trial, Sergeant Jose Padilla was sentenced to 78 months – 6.5 years – for the crime of being beaten by law enforcement after standing up for his oath, the Constitution, and his fellow Americans. Padilla didn’t have the worst judge among the cadre of partisan hacks to oversee January 6 show trials, but nonetheless the torture Jose endured in the DC Gulag for over two years was set to continue in federal prison.

PRISON TO FREEDOM

While prison probably provided some relief to someone like Jose, myself and others (longing to move on from the hellhole of the Gulag), the Bureau of Prisons created some new complications. The first is that Jose was placed on a prison yard where the majority of inmates were child sex offenders, which most would consider a special kind of Hell to find oneself in. The more pressing concern was that, after being separated from his family for years, visitation was still extremely difficult because the feds moved him all the way up to Michigan and his family was located in Tennessee.

While in some regards the worst of his incarceration was probably behind him, prison is still prison, and it would still be over a year before President Trump took back the White House and pardoned him. Fortunately, President Trump is a man of his word, and he did pardon Jose.

President Trump w/ sons of Jose Padilla, Jorden Mink & Rachel Powell at Patriot Freedom Project event at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey

Even before pardons came, President Trump comforted the children of defendants like Jose Padilla, Jorden Mink, Rachel Powell, etc. at several Patriot Freedom Project events. Padilla was never forgotten.

** Please donate to the Padilla recovery fund here.

Jose and I went to different prisons after the DC Gulag. I missed having an academic peer and some of the best conversations I could’ve asked for in such a miserable environment. On the occasions I tried sending Jose reading material after I got out of prison he never received anything from the mailroom.

After two years of separation however we finally reconnected. Jose allowed me to interview him about his story, from start to finish, which you can listen to here:

Now that the January 6 defendants are no longer subject to probation or supervised release, we can speak freely with each other.

The patriots who languished behind bars in the DC Gulag have been hastily reconnecting. With each day, more and more sign on to tell their story.

What really happened on January 6, how they were smeared by the feds and media, and what they suffered through while locked up, and much more.

These interviews, along with hundreds of pages of primary documents, will form the basis for a multi-volume history series, Artifice and Betrayal: The History of the DC Gulag.

Now that their voices have been restored, the defendants will be the ones to write the authoritative history of January 6 and the lawfare that followed, not the prosecutors and media.

REBUILDING

The past four years haven’t broken Jose. Despite the attempts to smear him and destroy his family, Jose endured more than most men could bear. He gazed into the abyss, and the abyss blinked. But being released from captivity after all this time hasn’t been easy. He’s had to adjust like every political prisoner. I assure you it’s not a quick transition.

Having spent the last four years in federal detention and prison prior to receiving my pardon on Jan 20th 2025, my family finances have been devastated and we are down to 1 vehicle that is on its last leg. – Jose

Sergeant Jose Padilla is a disabled veteran with a family of five to support.

While incarcerated he lost access to his VA benefits and disability payments and his wife struggled with multiple jobs to support their sons.

They lost their home, are about to lose their car, and are in desperate need of help rebuilding their lives after four years of dystopian oppression.

Please consider helping Jose and his family HERE. After everything Jose has sacrificed for this country he deserves better than to be forgotten.

The post SERGEANT JOSE PADILLA – WAR HERO: Iraq Veteran Brutally Assaulted by Metro Police on January 6 in Need of Support After Four Years in Prison appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Judge Subramanian DENIES Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Bail for the Fifth Time – Disgraced Rapper Will Remain in Prison Pending His October 3rd Sentencing

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13 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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Judge Subramanian: no “exceptional reasons” to release Diddy before sentencing.

Recent Judge Subramanian’s decisions may indicate hard times for Diddy come sentencing.

We have been following the pre-sentencing motions in the high-profile criminal trial of rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

The defense: ‘Sean Diddy’s Combs’ Conviction Is Racist and Sexist’, Say Disgraced Rapper’s Lawyers on Yet Another Legal Filing Trying to Release Him on Bail Pending Sentencing

The Prosecution: Prosecutors Oppose Sean Diddy Combs’ 50M Bail Package, Ask for ‘Substantially Higher’ Sentence Than Before

Look who appeared: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial: Ex-girlfirend Who Disappeared and Did Not Testify Against Rapper as ‘Victim 3’ Now Writes Letter to Judge to Grant Him Pre-sentencing Bail

Diddy has had his request for bail denied for the 5th time.

Today, we learn that federal judge Subramanian has yet again declined to grant Sean “Diddy” Combs bail, saying he found no ‘exceptional reasons’ to release him pending his October sentencing.

ABC News reported:

“Combs was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution, which the judge said mandates incarceration. His sentencing is set for Oct. 3.

Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs remains a risk of flight and a danger to the community, pointing to the violence exhibited on 2016 hotel surveillance footage that shows him kicking and dragging Cassie Ventura.”

Combs remains a risk of flight and a danger to the community: Judge.

The judge ruled that the ‘swinger lifestyle’ argument does not fly in a case that includes ‘evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the prostitution’. And the record, he wrote, contains evidence of all three.

Subramanian: “’While Combs may contend at sentencing that this evidence should be discounted and that what happened was nothing more than a case of willing ‘swingers’ utilizing the voluntary services of escorts for their mutual pleasure, the Government takes the opposite view: that Cassie Ventura and Jane were beaten, coerced, threatened, lied to, and victimized by Combs as part of their participation in these’.”

Read more:

As He Awaits Sentencing in Prison, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Joins ‘Self-Improvement’ Program To Curb Drug Use and Violence Against Women

The post Judge Subramanian DENIES Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Bail for the Fifth Time – Disgraced Rapper Will Remain in Prison Pending His October 3rd Sentencing appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Nearly 78,000 New Applicants Flood ICE Recruitment to Help Crack Down on Illegal Immigration (VIDEO)

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13 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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In a scorching new development under the Trump-backed ICE reign, Acting Director Todd Lyons confidently announced that “we have almost 78,000 applicants since we opened up,” referring to the agency’s massive recruitment surge launched just one week prior.

This seismic surge in interest aligns with ICE’s newly launched “Defend the Homeland” recruitment blitz, unveiled by the Department of Homeland Security on July 29, 2025.

ICE is budgeting for 10,000 new agents, dangling $50,000 signing bonuses, student‑loan forgiveness, enhanced overtime pay, and upgraded retirement plans to attract recruits.

According to the press release:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today launched a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) campaign to recruit brave and heroic Americans to join ICE as federal law enforcement agents and remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.

“Your country is calling you to serve at ICE. In the wake of the Biden administration’s failed immigration policies, your country needs dedicated men and women of ICE to get the worst of the worst criminals out of our country,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.”

To support this effort, ICE is offering a robust package of federal law enforcement incentives, including: 

  • A maximum $50,000 signing bonus
  • Student loan repayment and forgiveness options
  • 25% Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) for HSI Special Agents
  • Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUI) for Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) Deportation Officers
  • Enhanced retirement benefits

Backed by significant new funding through the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE is rolling out patriotic recruitment posters and benefits to attract the next generation of law enforcement professionals to find, arrest, and remove criminal illegal aliens.

During the Fox interview, Todd Lyons delivered the incredible news.

“We have almost 78,000 applicants since we opened up. We’re going through and finding those people who really want to serve the country and truly be in law enforcement. I think it’s a great way to recruit now.

We’re taking back our re-hired annuitants — people who left the job early because they weren’t allowed to do the law enforcement mission.

But we have so many people who are now interested in working with ICE because, under Secretary Nome’s leadership, they’re seeing that we have a viable law enforcement partner in the community. You’re actually out making a difference. We’re really ecstatic about seeing the increase in new recruits who are applying.”

WATCH:

The post Nearly 78,000 New Applicants Flood ICE Recruitment to Help Crack Down on Illegal Immigration (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls on Trump to Commute George Santos’ Excessive 7-Year-Sentence: ‘Some Members of Congress Who’ve Done Far Worse Still Walk Free’

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13 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R‑GA) has formally thrown down the gauntlet.

On Monday, she submitted a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney pleading for President Trump to commute the 87-month federal sentence of ex‑Congressman George Santos (NY‑03)—a punishment she calls “a grave injustice” and emblematic of a justice system fractured by politically selective persecution.

Greene wrote on X:

“BREAKING: I just sent a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney urging President Trump to commute the sentence of former Congressman @MrSantosNY.

A 7‑year prison sentence for campaign‑related charges is excessive, especially when Members of Congress who’ve done far worse still walk free.

George Santos has taken responsibility. He’s shown remorse. It’s time to correct this injustice. We must demand equal justice under the law!”

Greene signed her letter Aug. 4 to Pardon Attorney Edward Martin Jr. at the Justice Department, demanding Trump use his executive power to undo what she calls a “grave injustice.”

Drawing on inside knowledge, she described Santos as “without a prior criminal record,” “sincerely remorseful,” and portrayed his case as campaign-related maleficence, nothing warranting “one of the most extreme sentences in recent history.”

Green also reminded officials of the roster of current or former lawmakers who actually broke laws or ethics rules yet never lost a day.

The letter reads:

“I am writing to request that your office urge the President to commute the sentence of former Congressman George Santos. In April 2025, Mr. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions. However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.

As a Member of Congress, I worked with Mr. Santos on many issues and can attest to his willingness and dedication to serve the people of New York who elected him to office. He committed himself to serving his constituents and did whatever it took to represent their interests in Washington, D.C. He is sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions. Furthermore, my office has spoken with a pastor of his who discussed the regret and remorse of Mr. Santos, agreeing that the sentence imposed is a grave injustice.

While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges. I strongly believe in accountability for one’s actions, but I believe the sentencing of Mr. Santos is an abusive overreach by the judicial system.

Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends for his crimes and strive to better serve the people in his community.

I respectfully request you to urge the President to commute the sentence of Mr. George Santos.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

According to the Advocate, Trump can pardon Santos, but has not been asked about it.

The Advocate reported:

“He lied like hell, and I didn’t know him,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty during an interview at the White House. “But he was 100 percent for Trump. I might’ve met him. Maybe, maybe not, but he was a congressman and his vote was solid.”

[…]

In the Newsmax interview, Trump seemed to question the severity of Santos’s sentence. “It sounds like a lot,” he said. “Is it seven years he just went away? It’s a long time.”

Trump went on to say that while he hadn’t been approached about pardoning Santos, the door remained open. “Nobody’s talked to me about it,” he said. “They really haven’t talked to me about [Santos]. They have talked to me about Sean [Combs], but they haven’t talked to me about [George]. But again, with him, I have the right to do it. Nobody’s asked me, but it’s interesting.”

In April, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after a guilty plea in August 2024.

Those charges stemmed from fabricating donor names, laundering campaign funds, misusing donor money, and claiming unemployment while campaigning.

Santos took to social media earlier this year to criticize the ruling and pleaded with President Trump for leniency.

He wrote:

This is the hardest statement I have ever written. I write this humbled, chastened, and fully accountable for choices that shattered the faith so many placed in me.

I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by many. For that, I offer my deepest apology.

When I pled guilty, I did so without reservation. I said then, and I repeat now, that my conduct betrayed my supporters and diminished the institution I was privileged to serve. Those words have weighed on me every day since.

I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead. I asked the Court for a sentence that balances accountability with the chance to prove through sustained, measurable action that I can still contribute positively to the community I wronged.

I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made.

Before the sentencing, Santos had slammed federal prosecutors for going easy on violent criminals while trying to make an example out of him.

“I will however remind everyone that they want me to go to prison for 87 months while they let sex traffickers walk freely, they give drug lords slaps on the wrist and most importantly refuse to prosecute the cabal of pedophiles running around in every power structure in the world including the US Government,” he wrote on X.

The post Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls on Trump to Commute George Santos’ Excessive 7-Year-Sentence: ‘Some Members of Congress Who’ve Done Far Worse Still Walk Free’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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