WASHINGTON, DC – According to reports, a ruling from the Supreme Court earlier in October ordered that a lower court’s ruling be vacated on funding construction for the border wall – instructing the court to reexamine the case in light of “changed circumstances”.

 

On October 4th, the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s decision regarding the use of Pentagon funds for construction of the border wall is vacated due to “changed circumstances”.

The SCOTUS ruling reads as follows:

“BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. V. SIERRA CLUB, ET AL. – The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with instructions to direct the District Court to vacate its judgments. The District Court should consider what further proceedings are necessary and appropriate in light of the changed circumstances in this case.”

In an article published by Newsweek regarding the decision by SCOTUS, the headline “Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Donald Trump’s Plan to Use $3.6 Billion for Border Wall” was crafted.

But it’s frankly unclear if that was the intention of SCOTUS, since the case was merely kicked back down to the lower courts in order to “consider what further proceedings are necessary and appropriate in light of the changed circumstances” without mentioning what the exact “changed circumstances” are that would prompt a reevaluation.

Perhaps the most obvious of “changed circumstances” in the case is that the case was originally Trump v. Sierra Club, which the Trump administration was legally challenged by a group of NGOs that included the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition in 2019 over his attempt to reallocate funds from the DoD budget to fund border wall construction.

In May of 2019, a preliminary injunction in the Trump v. Sierra Club case was issued that blocked the funding for the border wall, and then one month later, the district court ruled against former President Trump.

In June of 2020, the 9th Circuit upheld the decision from the district court.

This of course led to the case landing in the lap of the Supreme Court, which they never offered an official decision on the case, instead only allowing wall construction to continue in July of 2020 by denying the lower courts’ rulings to go immediately into effect.

SCOTUS’ ability to block the lower courts’ decisions reached in 2019 and 2020 stemmed from an original stay SCOTUS implemented in May of 2019 as SCOTUS wasn’t sure if special interest groups, like Sierra Club, have any lawful cause of action to sue the Department of Defense over transferring funds.

Yet a change of administration came in January of 2021, which completely changed the course of the case in question.

Come July of 2021, SCOTUS then delivered in an unsigned order which was the same exact written order that was delivered earlier in October, rejecting the appeal of the case and instructing the 9th Circuit to vacate their judgement and “consider what further proceedings are necessary and appropriate in light of the changed circumstances in this case.”

 

And as reports from this past July noted regarding SCOTUS’ decision to kick back the case to the lower courts, it’s because the Biden administration had informed the courts back in February of 2021 that they were going to postpone arguments on the case.

The reason for the Biden administration’s February decision to postpone arguments in the now dubbed Biden v. Sierra Club is because the administration has zero intention on fighting for a win in the case.

In short, the case has been dead since February, and SCOTUS’ decision from earlier in October is a carbon copy from the unsigned order delivered this past July over “changed circumstances”.

“Re-Fund the Police”: Law Enforcement Today launches nationwide campaign for Americans to back the blue

Editor note: In 2020, we saw a nationwide push to “defund the police”.  While we all stood here shaking our heads wondering if these people were serious… they cut billions of dollars in funding for police officers.  And as a result, crime has skyrocketed – all while the same politicians who said “you don’t need guns, the government will protect you” continued their attacks on both our police officers and our Second Amendment rights.

And that’s exactly why we’re launching this national crowdfunding campaign as part of our efforts to help “re-fund the police”.

For those looking for a quick link to get in the fight and support the cause, click here.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – You back the Blue.  You support the police.  You quietly buy an officer a cup of coffee at your local coffeehouse.  You bring homemade cookies to your local police station.  You make it a point to thank an officer when you see one out in public.  

You watch the news, aghast to see crowds of anti-police protesters and rioters committing acts of violence and massive property damage.  You pray daily for the Blue family.

And yet, you may feel quite alone.

Politicians and the mainstream news media would have you think that police support is at an all-time low.

Some of you may have found it necessary to take down your Thin Blue Line flags from your house, or to scrape off the Thin Blue Line sticker from your vehicles, due to the potential for violent retaliation by those who hate the police.

Yes, it is the loudest voices that are the ugliest.  They revile and attack those who back the Blue.  They call, “Defund the Police!” at every turn, fueled by the lie that police officers are racists who are out to kill.

But you are actually in excellent company in your support of the blue family.

According to a Gallup poll, 85% of Americans support law enforcement.  That means supporters of the Thin Blue Line are 285 million strong.

That would be 285 million who, like you, refuse join in the calls to defund the police.

And that means you are in the company of those who have logic and reason on their side.

After all, we at Law Enforcement Today bring you stories daily of exploding crime in police-defunded areas such as Austin, Portland,  New York City, or Los Angeles.

Homicide rates since defunding are up 58% in Atlanta, up 533% in Portland, and up 37% in Philadelphia.

Shootings in post-defunded New York City are up 64%, and they are up 51% in Los Angeles and up 18% in Chicago.

In addition, you have also followed our disturbing and often tragic stories of attacks on police officers in the era of police defunding.

Felonious attacks on police are on the rise, as documented by the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Data Collection.  

According to LEOKA:

“The 50 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the first 8 months of 2021 represent a 51.5 percent increase compared to the 33 officers killed during the same period in 2020.”

Also thanks to defunding, police departments across the country now lack training, resources, and equipment.  Ironically, calls for additional training in cultural awareness, de-escalation, and use of force often have to go unheeded due to the lack of financial resources.

Another irony is that the push to do away with less-lethal options such as Tasers and tear gas will simply lead to more fatal police shootings.

These alarming stories and statistics indicate beyond a doubt that defunding the police is absolutely the wrong move for this great country.  You know this, yet you and 285 million other voices are all too often silenced by social pressures as well as physical threats of violence.  

You are even told, “Silence is violence,” when it comes to refusing to stand against law enforcement.

Your voice matters, and you need to be heard.

As Law Enforcement Today National Spokesman Kyle Reyes points out:

“Americans have stood by in disbelief as this ‘defund the police’ movement has spread across America and ravaged our communities.  

“We’ve watched our cities burn, our officers be attacked and violence skyrocket.  

“It’s time to come out of the twilight zone.  It’s time to fight back.”

Do you want to join our private family of first responders and supporters?  Get unprecedented access to some of the most powerful stories that the media refuses to show you.  Proceeds get reinvested into having active, retired and wounded officers, their families and supporters tell more of these stories.  Click to check it out.

Law Enforcement Today, the nation’s largest police-owned media outlet, has developed a way to make your voice heard and oppose those who would seek to remove funding from those who protect and serve.

It’s called the “Re-Fund the Police” campaign.

Reyes explains:

“We wanted to make the “Re-fund the Police” campaign something that everyone- whether you can spare $1 or $1 million – can be a part of.

“People will donate to politicians all day long in hopes that person will get elected and possibly make a difference.

“We are asking for people to come forward and support those who make a difference and save lives every single day.”

Through your generous donations, Law Enforcement today will direct a media and advertising blitz to rally other Americans who, like you, are done with attacks on law enforcement, both physical and financial.  

Here’s what the funds go towards:

1. We’ve assembled a “strike team” of researchers and reporters who will delve deeply into the devastating impact that defunding the police has on communities and families.  They’re going after not just the “leaders” in Congress who are pushing to defund the police… but they’re exposing everyone from the local politicians and city councils who are behind it.  They’re also tracing the money of exactly who is funding this “defund the police” movement.
2.  We will focus on publicizing all the negative effects of defunding police while expressing support for our brothers and sisters in blue.  The advertising blitz will be a show of support for police officers all across America.

In addition, we will be sending a team of reporters into our communities to share positive stories of law enforcement, stories which are consistently ignored by the mainstream media.

As a thank-you for your generosity in standing strong for the blue family, we are offering access codes for Law Enforcement Today’s Wounded Officer documentary and Border Crisis documentary.  In addition, we offer additional perks such as stickers and Thin Blue Line face masks or yard signs.

Donors are also able to honor or memorialize a member of the blue family.

For those who cannot afford to contribute, we invite you to be a part of a nationwide chain of prayer warriors.  

You can join our prayer chain along with other supporters who are willing to pray for our brothers and sisters in blue.  

Also, when you sign up for our newsletter, we will keep you informed on how we are continuing to back the Blue, and bring you the stories the mainstream media will not touch.

Now to small businesses who are sick and tired of watching our cities burn as the “defund the police” movement spreads.

For business donors, we are pleased to offer a unique opportunity to make a difference in police departments across the country.

Reyes explains:

“We wanted to make sure small businesses could get in the fight, so we are rolling out the ‘adopt a police department’ program.”

Your business donation will be used to cover stories in the community of your choice, and expose those who are attempting to defund the police.  Those stories, if you choose, will also include a thank you to your business and a link back to your business website.  

In addition, your generous business donation will go toward advertising campaigns that highlight the negative effects of demonizing and defunding the police.

This will give you the opportunity to show to millions of Americans that, unlike “woke” anti-police organizations, you support and appreciate law enforcement.

Reyes points out:

“Corporate America rallied around the Black Lives Matter movement, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to a campaign that brought widespread looting and destruction in our cities.  

“This is an opportunity for businesses to show America that law and order and keeping people safe still means something to them.”

Please join your voice with Law Enforcement Today in this campaign to support all those who protect and serve us.

We invite you to visit the Re-Fund the Police website for further information.

If you have questions, or you want to start your own fundraising team, feel free to email us at [email protected]

It’s time to get in the fight.

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