Guests - Kelly Walker, Lacey Nagao, and Betsy Smith

Parents Demanding Justice: Fighting Back Against DOJ Targeting of Concerned Parents

The Formation of a Nationwide Alliance

Parents across the nation are uniting to press for accountability regarding the Department of Justice's targeting of parents who expressed concerns at school board meetings. Seak Smith of Mom and Dad Army has joined forces with Kelly Walker, Sam Sorbo, and Alex Newman to form the Parents Demanding Justice Alliance, releasing a formal memo to members of Congress demanding accountability for what they see as government overreach.

"The Parents Demanding Justice Alliance is composed of advocates around the nation united in pressing for full accountability regarding the DOJ's targeting of parents who expressed good faith concerns at school board meetings and schools, a directive now under review by President Trump's weaponization working group," explains Walker.

The alliance aims to gather cases and stories to build a compelling case for why this issue should be a priority for the Trump administration. Walker notes, "We have our constitutional rights - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the 14th amendment. We're allowed to raise our children as we see fit unless you are charged with abuse or something egregious."

Real Stories of Parents Under Fire

The targeting of parents has had severe consequences for many families. Walker shares two particularly egregious cases from her network:

"In our group, we have two really egregious cases. They have lost their livelihood, jobs, reputation, and were put under investigation by our government. One particularly was in the military, and the other was just a mom who gathered parents to protest an all-ages drag story hour. She lost her job immediately and was put under several investigations."

Walker elaborates on the case of the California mother: "She's in Southern California, and there was an all-ages drag story hour sponsored by the LA County Supervisor using taxpayer funds. They invited a nearby preschool and planned to walk three and four-year-old children over with no notification to the parents. When she found out, she rallied about 50 parents within 24 to 48 hours, and they were able to block and get this event canceled."

The consequences were swift and severe: "She lost her job within days. They said she was a problem. An investigation was opened on her, her credit was ruined, and there's a series of things that happened in her life. She's barely crawling out of it now, and this was almost two years ago." Walker notes that this mother of four is still living in California, trying to rebuild her life.

Another case involves a Navy serviceman who simply asked a question at a school board meeting about his six-year-old twins: "He just wanted to know, 'If my kids attend an LGBTQ club social club at school that's sponsored by the school, will I be notified?' That's really all he asked, and that got things rolling for him to be targeted. He's been defamed in the LA Times, called a white supremacist and every name in the book just for expressing concerns about his twin children. He's been under numerous investigations."

The Weaponization of Government Against Parents

The alliance believes that parents are being unfairly targeted for simply exercising their right to advocate for their children. Kelly Walker explains that their efforts are now being recognized at the highest levels of government.

"On January 20th of 2025, there was an executive order called 'Ending Weaponization of the Federal Government,'" Walker notes. "It stated that the Department of Justice must take immediate and overdue steps, and it lists seven concerns. One of those is 'prior Justice Department guidance policy memorandum practices concerning the investigations of parents, schoolchildren who expressed sincere good faith concerns at local government meetings, including the October 4, 2021 memorandum of former Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding these issues.'"

Walker emphasizes that while no federal convictions resulted directly from Garland's memo, the federal government worked with state and local prosecutors to target parents. "What they did was they worked downstream with state and local prosecutors," he explains. "So what we want to get in the executive order is that all of that was based on this fraud from Merrick Garland's office."

The Impact on Families and Reputations

The fallout from government targeting extends beyond legal consequences. Walker shares his own experience: "We tried to rent a house and they denied our application because of a so-called criminal record, which is absolutely bogus. We have people who are applying for jobs, and this comes up in internet searches."

Smith adds that these issues are not limited to schools but are appearing in multiple institutions: "Everything that we're experiencing as a society, especially in the school and education system, we're seeing that bleed into different several institutions that we're supposed to trust. We're seeing this normalization of targeting children to create them as easy targets, as vulnerable victims to predators."

This extends to family courts as well, as Smith notes: "We have quite a few cases where family courts and the school system are involved, where parents are losing custody. The safe parent is losing custody, and the parent that is abusing the child is the one that gains full custody."

The Path Forward for Justice and Accountability

The alliance is working on multiple fronts to seek justice for affected parents. Walker is headed to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and discuss potential remedies.

"Ed Martin [Trump's former DC attorney/prosecutor appointed over the weaponization working group] has talked about different groups that were weaponized against getting restitution—not reparation," Walker explains. "Restitution means that specific parties were damaged. People were deprived of their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness because their government went to war against them."

Walker is specifically advocating for expunging records and turning back the clock for parents who were unjustly targeted. "We need to find a way and a mechanism to get those people's records expunged, turn the clock back, and say they didn't do anything wrong. It is the fault of the federal government because they set the tone and they worked directly with local and state law enforcement."

Smith emphasizes that their goal is not just awareness but concrete action: "I think we're kind of done with just the talking and just the awareness of what's going on. We need real action. We need real solutions."

The Broader Cultural Battle for Children's Innocence

At the heart of these conflicts is what Smith describes as a "concerted effort by many different factions to destroy our next generation." She explains, "You want to destroy a country, you destroy the next generation—fentanyl poisoning, hyper-sexualization of our children, all these things that they're doing to destroy boundaries and destroy the mental health of our kids."

Kathleen Winn notes that the issues cross traditional political lines: "We're seeing a lot of traditional families—Hispanic, Catholic, whatever, white, brown, black—who want their children to have just a wonderful, peaceful, fun childhood, where they get to be kids."

Walker adds that the common thread in many contentious issues is adults putting their agendas before children's wellbeing: "What's common with the COVID issues, CRT, transgender issues is these people are putting adult issues and politics before the lives and wellbeing of children."

Smith closes with a call for parents to remain vigilant: "I just want to encourage people that it may seem everyone's just trying to get by and just serve their family, but we're at a crossroads in this country. If we don't fight to preserve our freedoms, we will lose them. That's coming from me, the daughter of someone who escaped communism and genocide in Cambodia. It's just in my blood and in my DNA that preserving our freedom is something we need to actively do every day."

Christians Under Fire: The Seattle Confrontation Between Faith Groups and Activists

"Don't Mess With Our Kids" Rally Turns Violent

A Christian group's peaceful demonstration in Seattle recently escalated into violence when counter-protesters confronted them. The incident, part of a national "Don't Mess With Our Kids" tour organized by Mayday USA, saw 23 people arrested at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill.

Betsy Smith, who called in to discuss the situation, explained that the Christian group had applied for a permit to hold their gathering in a different location. "What they requested from city hall when they requested the legal permit was they wanted to be down by Pike Place Market, which is a beautiful waterfront market, more of a tourist area," Smith noted. "But the city actually put them in the Capitol Hill area, which is known as an LGBTQ area and is a bit of a sacred cow for the left because that's where CHOP/CHAZ was during the George Floyd riots."

According to Smith, this decision by city officials may have deliberately set the stage for confrontation: "I think the city kind of set up this group and put them in this area, and then 200 counter-protesters who quickly turned into rioters from the LGBTQ+ community showed up."

The situation quickly deteriorated, with video footage showing activists surrounding a mother holding a toddler who was trying to reach the Christian group. "There's now infamous video of a huge group of these activists surrounding a mom holding a toddler who was just trying to get to her Christian group so that they could worship," Smith described.

Police intervention led to physical confrontations and multiple arrests. Smith expressed concern about the limited equipment available to the officers: "The Seattle police are taking on these now purely violent Antifa rioters. They have no batons, they have no collapsible batons, they have nothing. They basically just have their gloved hands, and they're wearing bicycle helmets because they're bike cops."

Mayor Blames Christians and Trump

In the aftermath of the confrontation, Seattle's mayor held a press conference where, according to Smith, he blamed the Christian group and former President Trump for the violence rather than those who initiated physical attacks.

"The mayor goes before the media and blames guess who? The Christians and Donald Trump, who had nothing to do with this," Smith said. "They just assumed that these Christians are Trump supporters."

Smith clarified that the Christian group wasn't there to protest against the LGBTQ+ community: "They were completely peaceful, and they weren't there to rally against the LGBTQ+ community. They were there to rally for their pro-Christian, pro-America, pro-traditional family values, and they were not participating in any kind of violent behavior."

The counter-protesters, whom Smith described as "Trans-tifa," were "extreme transgender violent people with criminal records" who "started coming in and physically attacking the police, physically attacking the Christian rally-goers."

A Pastor's Perspective on Religious Liberty

Kathleen Winn shared a social media post from her son-in-law, a pastor in Seattle, offering a different perspective on the situation:

"I've ministered here 20 years, pastored our church for 12, seen many riding on a white horse to save Seattle from the secularist, to take back this land through the machinery of American politics. But true religious liberty isn't granted by governments or cultural power. That well isn't deep enough.

True religious liberty is the Spirit's power to worship with humility, grace, and truth, even without political rights or cultural influence. It's a mercy to not be persecuted, not a right. Jesus promised we would be. He even called it a blessing. So why are we so shocked when it happens?

The church isn't exploding in Iran, China, Myanmar, or Nigeria because they lack persecution, but because they persevere through it. Go ahead, protest, advocate, pray for freedom, fight injustice, amen. Just don't do it without love, as a banging gong or clashing political symbol, and don't use worldly weapons to fight a spiritual war.

Our battle isn't against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers. It's not humble contending when we're just trying to take back our rights. It confuses those we hope to reach with the crucified Christ who gave up his.

Being vindictive is not visionary. It's time to stop offering a Christianized version of worldly power, whether progressive or conservative. It's time we stop being surprised that the world acts worldly and start offering the world something better—a life under the reign of King Jesus.

The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. We don't win the world by proving how lost it is. We win it by embodying the world to come."

Smith responded to this perspective by acknowledging the spiritual dimension while also emphasizing the need for legal protection: "What Christians are experiencing in Seattle really is persecution as your son-in-law states. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced persecution and faced the demand to say no to God and to deny God, and they instead took a stand. I think that's what so many Christians in Seattle are doing and Christians around this nation."

Federal Investigation into Religious Persecution

The situation has drawn attention from federal authorities. Smith noted that "FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced that he is sending agents to Seattle to make sure that Christians are not being unlawfully persecuted, unlawfully prosecuted simply for expressing their rights to freedom of speech and rights to freedom of religion."

Winn emphasized that the conflict shouldn't be viewed solely through a political lens: "I do hope and pray every day that the bad guys, the evil, the predators, the people that are trying to harm our kids, don't give a damn if you like Joe Biden or like Donald Trump. That's not the point of this."

She added that Christians should approach these situations with their core values at the forefront: "As a Christian, if you come with, if you lead with grace and mercy and love and faith, you have a much better chance of getting where you want to go."

Andy Biggs for Governor: Turning Point Action Event Preview

Grassroots Support for Conservative Leadership

Lacey Nagao from Turning Point Action joined the program to discuss an upcoming campaign kickoff event for Congressman Andy Biggs' gubernatorial run. Despite recent polls showing opponent Karin Taylor Robson in the lead, Nagao expressed skepticism about polling data.

"I'm not here to talk about the polls because quite frankly, I don't believe in polls," Nagao stated. "I believe in what we see on the ground, and I can tell you the grassroots are so excited and so motivated by Andy. We've seen just such tremendous support."

The event, scheduled for Saturday at 2 PM at the Biltmore in Scottsdale, will feature several prominent conservative figures. "We will be having Andy, Charlie Kirk, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert's coming down, and many others," Nagao announced.

The Path to Republican Victory in Arizona

Nagao emphasized that Arizona remains fundamentally Republican despite recent Democratic victories. "Arizona, as you know, we're a Republican state. We have way more Republicans here. We just need them to show up and actually vote, and we need the Democrats in Tucson to stay home, and we need all the Republicans in Pima County to show up."

She highlighted Turning Point Action's successful voter mobilization efforts in previous elections. "That's where our Taste the Vote program came in. We knew we had to get people who normally would not vote to show up, and we proved that if we can do that, we can absolutely win Arizona."

According to Nagao, Biggs' relatability makes him an appealing candidate, particularly to younger voters. "He's the normal guy in the race. He's very relatable, and I think that's why the grassroots has supported him, especially young people, in such a huge way."

The free event is open to the public, with registration available at TPAction.com/Biggs.

Florida's Approach to Immigration Enforcement: A Model for Arizona?

Sheriff Grady Judd's Immigration Enforcement Challenges

Betsy Smith discussed Florida Sheriff Grady Judd's recent endorsement of President Trump and his frustrations with immigration enforcement. Despite making arrests, many migrants are released due to a lack of federal detention facilities.

Smith explained how Florida has implemented innovative solutions to this problem: "Florida has cross-trained every single street police officer in the state. They went through additional training and now they're able to stand shoulder to shoulder with ICE agents, not just in the apprehension of criminal illegal aliens, but also in the processing of the paperwork."

This approach has enabled Florida to be more effective in managing criminal illegal aliens, but Sheriff Judd still faces challenges with detention capacity. "Here we are, we get these guys into custody, and these are not good people. These are people with lengthy criminal histories who have been in and out of this country back and forth across the border. A lot of them have felony warrants," Smith explained.

She noted that while local jails can hold individuals with felony warrants, space limitations make it difficult to detain those held solely on ICE detainers awaiting deportation. "You can't necessarily just keep them in your jail because you have to save room in your jail for other bad criminals, local bad guys as well."

Creative Solutions for Detention Capacity

The Trump administration is exploring multiple options to address detention capacity issues. "They're literally using private facilities like the private ICE facility in New Jersey," Smith noted. "There are a lot of private prison facilities around this country that are profitable, and to lease them or lease spaces on short-term is very economic and a smart idea."

Smith also highlighted how smaller jurisdictions with excess jail capacity could be part of the solution: "The sheriff's department in Wheeling, Wyoming has multiple cells that are largely open because people in Wheeling don't commit a lot of crime. So they actually lease their cells to federal law enforcement, usually the Marshals."

This approach could be implemented nationwide, especially with the current influx of cases. "Especially now if we're seeing all these court battles, these criminal illegal aliens need to be held until they can be removed from the country."

The Critical Role of Local Cooperation

Smith emphasized that effective immigration enforcement requires cooperation between federal and local authorities. "Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a relatively small agency, and what they have done is many other federal law enforcement agencies – FBI, Marshals – they're all loaning out 100 agents here, 200 agents there. The IRS temporarily transferred 500 IRS agents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

This makes local law enforcement cooperation essential: "It's so important to have local law enforcement cooperation, not just to be able to remove illegal aliens but to keep the federal agents safe while they are doing this."

Communities that refuse to cooperate with ICE create dangerous situations for federal officers. "Every sheriff and every county board and every blue city mayor that says we're not going to cooperate with ICE really creates a dangerous situation for those ICE agents."

The Political Dimension of Immigration Enforcement

The discussion turned to the recent revelation of another potential assassination threat against President Trump by an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal history. Smith questioned why anyone would oppose removing such individuals: "These are not the best and the brightest. If someone's here and they're here illegally and they've committed numerous crimes, why are people fighting to keep those people?"

She criticized Democratic lawmakers who have advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrigo Garcia, an El Salvadoran citizen currently imprisoned in his home country. "A group of our Arizona lawmakers wrote a letter demanding that the El Salvadoran president release Kilmar Abrigo Garcia from prison. I don't understand how that would help anyone in Arizona, much less anyone in America. Let's not forget that Kilmar Abrigo Garcia is a domestic abuser, so I don't think it would help his wife, who is a frequent victim of his domestic abuse."

The conversation concluded with a call for bipartisan focus on community safety: "I think we can do those things and we can do them together and put our political biases aside for now, as long as you're just not trying to do crazy stuff. Let's just save Tucson together from the crazy people."