Elton Simpson opened fire in Garland, Texas.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Just before two Arizona men opened fire outside a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in suburban Dallas in 2015, an undercover FBI drove past the shooters while investigating terrorism, according to new court records.

The records were obtained by the Associated Press in the criminal case against Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for providing support to ISIS.

Kareem is accused of providing guns used in the attack and helping Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi figure out how to use the weapons, while also watching violent jihadist videos with the men.

According to the court records, the unidentified agent also conversed with one of the shooters on social media just days before the attack, which left the shooters dead and a security guard wounded.

“We are convinced that there is much more to this story than the FBI has admitted ,” said Trenton Roberts, an attorney for security guard Bruce Joiner.

William Gibbs

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A Georgia man under investigation after he was exposed to the deadly poison ricin has ties to a white supremacist group Creativity Movement, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports. 

The FBI is trying to determine how William Christopher Gibbs, 27, was exposed to ricin.

Gibbs was arrested on charges of reckless conduct and a probation violation after arriving at the local hospital late last week.

About 100 police and hazardous materials experts searched Gibbs’ car and home for traces of ricin in Fannin County.

“I think it was all contained inside his vehicle, just a small amount of something I think he had been experimenting with,” Fannin County Sheriff Dane Kirby told an Atlanta television station. 

According to sheriff’s deputies, Gibbs’ mother said he has a mental illness.

The FBI has declined to comment, other than to confirm agents are investigating Gibbs’ background and how he acquired ricin.

The Creativity Movement is a white supremacy sect that says “race is our religion” and that the “white race is nature’s finest.”

National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Donald Trump and his inner circle have repeatedly denied that his team had contact with Russian officials immediately after the presidential election.

Turns out, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn communicated with a Russian ambassador to the U.S. in the month before Trump was sworn in as president.

The FBI is investigating whether Flynn, a retired general, played a role in U.S. foreign policy by communicating with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, the Washington Examiner reports.

Flynn may have violated law if he undermined President Obama’s actions by promising a different outcome for the Russians.

Democrats were incensed.

“If this new report is true, we need to ask not only whether General Flynn should be leading our national security efforts, but whether he should even hold a security clearance,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said.

Border Fence along Mexico and the U.S.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The cost of President Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexican border has soared to an estimated $21.6 billion, according to an internal report by Homeland Security.

The wall also would take 3.5 years to complete, Reuters reports. 

Trump has estimated that the wall would cost $12 billion.

More than 1,200 miles of walls would need to be erected to secure the border.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying it would be “premature” because it has not been officials given to the president.

What remains unclear is how Trump will pay for the wall. He wants Congress to approve the expenditure, which he maintains will be reimbursed by Mexico. Mexican officials said they won’t pay for the wall.

Other Stories of Interest

• FBI Seizes Weapons Related to Multi-State Drug Network
• Jeff Sessions’ Claim about Violent Crime Contradicted by FBI Data
• Border Patrol Agents Question Staffing Along Northern Border
• Homeland Security Secretary Kelly to Visit San Ysidro Today
• FBI Terrorism Task Force Investigating Standing Rock Activists

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

President Trump signed executive actions Wednesday intended to intensify the Justice Department’s fight against drug-related crime and violence against police officers.

The trio of executive orders come after the swearing in of former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, Bloomberg reports. 

Trump wants the Justice Department to create task force aimed at imposing stiffer mandatory minimum sentences for attacks on police. He also ordered the Justice Department and Homeland Security to “break the back of criminal cartels.”

“We face the menace of rising crime and the threat of deadly terror,” Trump said. “A new era of justice begins and it begins right now.”