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Aliens and UFOs were the topic du jour in Washington DC as the House Subcommittee on National Defense met to hear testimony from three men — two Navy pilots and one former intelligence officer — who are warning that the skies may not be as safe as Americans previously thought. While the hearing was not specifically probing whether or not aliens have visited Earth — instead being ostensibly focused on the alleged prevalence of unidentified aerial objects over US skies — the discussion of extraterrestrials and "non-human biologics" no less permeated the discussion. The three men who sat before the subcommittee were David Grusch, a former intelligence officer in the Air Force and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency; former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, who claims to have encountered UAPs during missions; and David Fravor, another Navy pilot, who recorded the infamous "Tic Tac" UAP video in 2004. The witnesses agreed that the US is lacking in a proper reporting system for UAP sightings, with Mr Graves noting that both military and commercial pilots who claim to have encountered the craft feel as though they cannot report the sightings without suffering stigma and potential career retaliation. The witnesses Mr Graves was most concerned with the dearth of reporting options for pilots who encounter the supposed craft. He had his own experience in 2014, when a squadron under his command encountered "dark grey or black cubes ... inside of a clear sphere, where the apex or tips of the cubs were touching the inside of that sphere" approximately 10 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. He said his pilots described the craft performing impossible aerial maneuvers that he said would kill a human and were far beyond the capability of any known technology. Mr Graves further stated that such encounters were "not rare, or isolated" and that there was no official means of reporting such encounters. "If everyone could see the sensor and video data I witnessed, our national conversation would change," Mr Graves said in his opening statement. "I urge us to put aside stigma and address the security and safety issue this topic represents. If UAP are foreign drones, it is an urgent national security problem. If it is something else, it is an issue for science. In either case, unidentified objects are a concern for flight safety. The American people deserve to know what is happening in our skies. It is long overdue." Mr Fravor offered an account of his 2004 incident off the coast of San Diego, during which he said he encountered a "smooth" white object he likened to a tic tac mint or a propane tank. He said he spotted it hovering over the water before it rapidly ascended, accelerated, and disappeared. He noted that there was white water beneath the craft — suggesting something may have been under the water — and that the white water was gone after it disappeared. "I think what we experienced was, like I said, well beyond the material science and the capabilities that we had at the time, that we have currently or that we're going to have in the next 10 to 20 years," Mr Fravor said. The "Tic Tac video" was featured in a 2017 New York Times article discussing UAPs written by the same individuals who first reported on Mr Grusch's whistleblower claims. Both pilots agreed that the UAPs they encountered represented national security threats to the United States. Mr Grusch, who spent 14 years working as an intelligence officer, offered the most fantastic of the claims during the hearing, but provided the least evidence of any of the witnesses. He said he decided to blow the whistle on the US government after learning from another individual that the US has retrieved wreckage from UAPs and is currently reverse-engineering the technology. “I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access,” he said. He further claimed that a UAP the size of a football field has been concealed somewhere, and that "non-human biologics" were found piloting some of the crashed UAPs. Mr Grusch has made clear that he was not a personal witness to any of what he claims, but is repeating what he was told by individuals he deems as credible. The Pentagon has denied his claims of a coverup. Sue Gough, a Defense Department spokesperson, said investigators have not found “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The statement did not address the recovery of craft not suspected of being extraterrestrial in nature. During the hearing, Congressman Tim Burchett asked Mr Grusch if he was aware of anyone who had been harmed in the interest of the US government maintaining secrecy about the alleged crashed UAPs. "Do you have any personal knowledge of people who have been harmed or injured in efforts to cover-up or conceal these extra-terrestrial technologies," he asked. “Yes. Personally,” he replied. Mr Burchett then asked, "has anyone been murdered?" Mr Grusch hesitated for a moment. "I have to be careful asking [sic] that question," he said, citing a current investigation into whether or not he was the subject of retaliatory action for whistleblowing. "I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities." He further went on to claim that he was aware of planned retaliation efforts against him by his former superiors in the US government, and that he was aware of unsanctioned "IRAD" programs in which government contractors were overcharging American government buyers and using the excess profit to funnel into DOD research programs. Lines for the hearing stretched far down the hall, with UFO enthusiasts mixing alongisde the media in hopes of witnessing "disclosure" — the long-awaited acknowledgment by the US government that we are not alone in the universe. However, they were left with only a tease of information; each time Mr Grusch was asked to provide specific information — details about the IRAD programs, the locations of supposed crashed UAPs, specifics about the "non-human" entities allegedly found with the wreckage — he assured the Congressional leaders that he knew the answers, but could not provide them publicly. He said he could provide specific information only in a closed session or in a secure environment, citing confidentiality concerns. Congressional questions The bipartisan subcommittee expressed appreciation for the witnesses' testimonies and broadly operated from the position that the government was withholding information concerning the true nature of UAPs — whether they are controlled by foreign adversaries, aliens, or something else entirely — and several members assured the witnesses they would be protected for possible retaliation. While Mr Graves and Mr Fravor said they did not experience blowback for their reports, Mr Grusch claimed he had, prompting Congressman Jamie Raskin to ask for details about his experiences. He said he was aware of "active planned reprisal" coming from "leadership at my previous organisation," and said he referred to the retaliation as "administrative terrorism." Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez centred her questioning on Mr Grusch's claims concerning independent research and development — IRAD — programs funneling money from American government buyers into "unsanctioned" DOD programs. Earlier in his testimony, Mr Grusch told Congressman Jared Moskowitz he was aware of IRADs funding "unsanctioned" development of "advanced technology." Ms Ocasio-Cortez said she had seen IRAD programs and regulations requiring agencies initiating research to notify oversight bodies abused, and asked "if you were me, where would you look" to find evidence for the claims that government contract money was being siphoned to unrelated research and development. Mr Grush said he would be happy to provide the details "in a closed environment" and said he could tell her "specifically." Congresswoman Nancy Mace zeroed in on what many of the attendees were likely hoping to hear addressed; the existence of aliens. “Do you believe our government has made contact with intelligence extraterrestrials,” she asked. Mr Grusch said it was “something I can’t discuss in a public setting,” resulting in a curious eyebrow raise from longtime UFO researcher, reporter, and occasional Coast to Coast AM guest host George Knapp, who was seated behind Mr Grusch. Ms Mace continued, asking “if you believe we have crashed craft ... do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted [these] craft?” “As I’ve stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries, yeah.” She then asked if they were “human or non-human biologics?” “Non-human, and that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program I talked to, [who] are still on the program,” he said. Ms Mace then asked if any evidence — photo, video, eyewitnesses — of such creatures existed. “The specific documentation I would have to talk to you in a SCIF about,” he replied. Congressman Glenn Grothman, who chaired the subcommittee, said he anticipated legislation would come out of continued, closed-door discussions with the witnesses. "Several of us are going to look forward to getting some answers in a more confidential setting," he said. "I assume some legislation will come out of this." Read More Congressman asks UFO whistleblower if anyone has been ‘murdered’ to maintain alleged coverup Tom DeLonge left Blink-182 for an alien adventure. Now back on tour, his UFO mission is taking off in Congress Republican lawmaker claims US is ‘hiding evidence’ of UFOs which ‘defy physics as we know it’ Watch: Congress holds hearing on UFOs What to expect from the House committee hearing looking into UFOs Biden looks to provide relief from extreme heat as record temperatures persist

A mother-of-nine who proudly displayed a Pride flag outside her California store. A gay man who danced to a Beyoncé song in Brooklyn. Five patrons killed in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado. All were appalling attacks against the LGBTQ+ community and their allies in recent months. From the disruption of drag show story hours to threats against retail employees for selling Pride merchandise, the rising threat of violence is terrifying, but unfortunately unsurprising, Sarah Moore, an Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism Analyst, told The Independent. The senseless murder of Laura “Lauri” Ann Carleton last week is the most recent example of the anti-LGBTQ+ hate currently being spread across the US. The 66-year-old store owner was a straight, white woman who spent her time helping and advocating for everyone in the community, a Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ organisation said in a post. Carleton had nine children, but because of one person’s hatred, all of them will now have to live the rest of their lives without a mother. “This epidemic of hate is not only killing us, but the people who stand with us too,” Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement to The Independent. On 18 August, 27-year-old Travis Ikeguchi, who had been spewing anti-LGBTQ+ hate on social media for quite some time, emerged from behind his computer, and fatally shot Carleton outside her Mag.Pi store on Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen, California, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office. It was all because the fashion entrepreneur dared to hang a rainbow Pride flag outside her store. When someone would rip it down or damage it, she would simply hang up another one. But this time, Carleton was confronted about the rainbow flag by Ikeguchi as he tore it down while screaming homophobic slurs at her. He then pulled out a gun and shot her. Officers arrived to find she had suffered a single gunshot wound, before she died at the scene. Ikeguchi had fled the area, but was later tracked down by deputies. A standoff ensued and he opened fire on the officers before he was shot and killed. An investigation found a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ posts on Ikeguchi’s social media. The California man had posted images of Pride flags on fire, along with rants lashing out at the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement. Sarah Moore, an Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism analyst at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), said the attack on Carleton is a “crucial example of what the ADL has been tracking in the latest trends over the past year.” “Pride flags have been targeted, whether it’s by burning them, stealing them or damaging them,” she said, adding that the flag is being used as a statement and an increasingly popular tactic against the LGBTQ+ community. Moore, who has viewed and analysed Ikeguchi’s social media, said there are not just anti-LGBTQ+ posts but also antisemitic and anti-Israel ones. “I want to stress that bias against the LGBTQ+ community often overlaps with other forms of hate,” she said. A report released in June by the ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) and the national LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD, recorded a total of 356 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents between June 2022 and April 2023, including 305 acts of harassment, 40 acts of vandalism and 11 incidents of assault. This is up from 2021-2022 where 223 incidents were recorded. The report also found that anti-LGBTQ+ incidents often overlapped with other forms of hate, with at least 128 incidents also citing antisemitic tropes and 30 incidents also citing racist tropes. Nearly half of all incidents (49 per cent) were perpetrated wholly or substantially by individuals associated with extremist groups, the report found. The most cited anti-LGBTQ+ trope was what the report called baseless “grooming” conspiracy theory, with at least 191 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault making explicit references to “grooming” or “pedophilia.” Carleton’s murder has since led to an outpouring of grief and anger from her children and family members, Hollywood stars and the LGBTQ+ community members who have warned that her killing is yet another devastating example of the increase in bigotry in violence across America. Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement that “threats against the LGBTQ+ community and our allies have evolved from violent rhetoric on social media and from anti-equality political leaders to, now, real-world violence — and let’s be honest, no city, state or person is immune from this brutality.” “The killing of Laura Ann Carleton, just for standing up for the LGBTQ+ community by displaying a Pride flag at her store, is devastating. Let’s be clear — the combination of hate and easy access to guns is killing too many of us. “From the rise of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people over the past decade, the loss of five innocent lives at Club Q in Colorado Springs, to the ruthless murder of O’Shea Sibley for vogueing at a gas station, we are seeing an escalation of hateful words turning into vicious, senseless attacks that has escalated into a nation-wide state of emergency for the LGBTQ+ community. Laura should be here with her husband and her family. This epidemic of hate is not only killing us, but the people who stand with us too.” The latest attack happened less than a month after O’Shae Sibley was murdered by a “good Christian boy” for dancing to a Beyoncé song in Brooklyn, New York. Sibley, 28, had been out celebrating a friend’s birthday when the group stopped at a Mobil gas station in Coney Island on 29 July. The professional dancer took off his shirt and was “vogueing” — a dance form popularised by the LGBTQ+ community — to Beyoncé’s Renaissance album with a friend on the station forecourt. Just after 11pm, a group of young men allegedly began hurling homophobic insults saying that they didn’t like “gay dancing” in their neighbourhood, according to eyewitnesses. Sibley confronted the men, surveillance footage showed, and the clash turned violent, ending with Sibley being stabbed in the heart during a scuffle. He died a short time later. Otis Pena, who was with Sibley when he was killed, said he and Sibley were “just pumping gas and listening to Renaissance and having a good time”. “O’Shae was just trying to tell people ‘we may be gay’ and they stabbed him right in the heart,” he continued, breaking down. “They murdered him because he was gay, because he stood up for his friends. All because he wanted people to know that we are gay.” Dmitriy Popov, 17, was later arrested and arraigned as an adult on murder and hate crime charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Eyewitnesses told the NYPD that Mr Popov had told the vogueing group that their dancing offended him as a Muslim. Mr Popov’s lawyer Mark Pollard told The Independent in an interview that his client was a “good Christian boy” who regularly attended church. “I have no idea where that came from. I just know he’s not Muslim. It’s very strange,” Mr Pollard told The Independent. Beyoncé, who was performing nearby at New York’s MetLife stadium on the night Sibley was killed, paid tribute to the dancer, choreographer and model, who family say was cut down “in his prime”. The killing attracted national attention due to its alleged homophobic nature, as attacks on the LGBTQ+ community are increasing. Last year, five people were shot dead and 17 others injured just for being at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. On 19 November 2022, drag performer Del Lusional was hosting an alternative and punk show at the club — a DJ was set to follow. But then Anderson Lee Aldrich walked in and opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle killing bar staff Daniel Aston, 28, and Derrick Rump, 38, along with Kelly Loving, 40; Ashley Paugh, 35; and Raymond Green Vance, 22. Aldrich was charged with 305 criminal counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault, and at least 48 counts of committing crimes motivated by anti-LGBT+ bias. Prosecutors argued that Aldrich be charged with hate crimes, pointing out that his mother was reportedly nonbinary and forced him to go to LGBT+ clubs. Aldrich ultimately accepted a plea deal, reducing the number of charges to 53, but which included all five first-degree murder charges, 46 attempted first-degree murder charges, and two bias-driven crimes charges. Threats against the LGBTQ+ community emerged in June when Target’s Pride Month displays came under fire. Several videos posted on social media show customers destroying the displays and heavily criticising the retail company for including LGBTQ+ attire. This included a “tuck-friendly” bathing suit option and greeting cards that used inclusive language. The backlash forced the retail giant to pull some of its Pride Month merchandise after several of its employees experienced “confrontational behavior” from angry customers. “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team embers’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement. A Target spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that several angry customers made “threatening posts on social media with video from inside stores” in addition to confronting workers. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year,” Target said in a statement. Target isn’t the only company grappling with public criticism. Bud Light is still dealing with fallout from its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who in April posted a picture on Instagram of a beer can with her face on it. Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, was the target of disparaging right-wing attacks for weeks after she partnered with Budweiser to promote Bud Light. In response to the hate-filled and transphobic backlash that followed, the company said it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people," but didn’t directly address the rhetoric or signal clear support for Mulvaney. Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, is tripling its US marketing spending this summer as it tries to restore lost sales. Anheuser-Busch, the producer of Budweiser beers, issued a statement at the time in response to the conservative boycott, saying that it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people”. “We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere,” said CEO Brendan Whitworth. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” In response to the increasing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and allies, many have called for a change. Wendy Via, co-founder of Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said in a statement this week, that this will continue to result in violence if this rhetoric and push for irrational, hateful, and rights-restricting legislation isn’t stopped.” “From the arson of a church in Texas, to the firebombing of a coffee shop in Oklahoma, to the disruption of library story hours, the threatening of school boards, and the banning of books, to the horrific murders at Club Q in Colorado last November, the threats and the violence facing LGBTQ+ people and allies is all too real,” Wendy Via, co-founder of Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said in a statement this week. “The man who shot and killed Laura Ann Carleton after disparaging the LGBTQ+ pride flag she proudly hung in her store window had a history of anti-LGBTQ+ posts on social media sites. Yet again, anti-LGBTQ+ hate turned to violence, and an innocent woman tragically lost her life. Now, an entire community is not only reeling from the tragic death, but LGBTQ+ people and their allies everywhere are once again reminded in the worst possible way of the very real threat of hate and violence they face every day. “The killing of Laura Ann Carleton proves anti-LGBTQ+ hate and violence are out of control in the US and around the world. Efforts to demonize, intimidate, and provoke violence against LGBTQ+ people have increased over the past year globally. It would be naive to separate these violent attacks from the anti-LGBTQ+ efforts of some politicians and far-right organizations. “As we’ve said before, the relentless dehumanization and demonization of LGBTQ+ people by far-right politicians, extremist religious leaders, and hateful ideology adherents — often spread online — will continue to result in violence if this rhetoric and push for irrational, hateful, and rights-restricting legislation isn’t stopped.” Read More A mother and businesswoman whose LGBTQ advocacy cost her her life: Who was Laura Ann Carleton? Laura Carleton shooting – latest: Travis Ikeguchi’s anti-LGBT+ online history revealed after Pride flag murder Travis Ikeguchi: What we know about the gunman who shot Laura Carleton over Pride flag

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