Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said in a social media post that she stopped Democrats from sending $1 million to an addiction center with ties to ISIS, and has called for a fraud investigation.

She went on to say that Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah helped her stop the funds, but called on the Department of Justice to investigate the alleged fraud scheme.

‘It is undeniable that expressing admiration for someone who sought to commit atrocities against the United States raises most serious concerns.’

The center was located above a Somali restaurant that was run by three people who live in the same house, and they have a relative who tried to join ISIS, according to Ernst.

She posted a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding an investigation into Generation Hope MN that is based in Minneapolis. The organization was established in 2019 and is described as a Somali-led addiction recovery and substance use disorder center.

Ernst said the group lists on their 501(c)(3) non-profit application three people as directors who live at the same address. She documented the organization’s spending profile and said it suggests “minimal direct services, opaque financial reporting, and heavy reliance on contractor payments,” which she said “should trigger immediate scrutiny, not federal taxpayer dollars.”

In addition, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame was arrested in 2015 along with nine others for preparing to travel to Syria in order to join the ISIS terrorist group. He is the older brother of Generation Hope MN founder Abdirahman Warsame.

The older Warsame agreed to a plea deal that included a 30-month sentence.

“Should someone with such associations be considered worthy of taxpayer funding?” she wrote. “We do not know Abdirizak Warsame’s current views on ISIS or its goals, nor how his influence may shape his brother’s actions and aspirations, but it is undeniable that expressing admiration for someone who sought to commit atrocities against the United States raises most serious concerns.”

RELATED: Minnesota news outlet is getting wrecked online for story on Somali migrants’ economic impact

Abdirahman Warsame responded to the accusations in a post on the Facebook page for the organization and denied many of the claims.

“To be clear, Generation Hope has never committed fraud, or submitted falsified paperwork. In addition, we have not received any federal funding related to this proposed request,” the statement reads.

“Generation Hope is a grassroots organization rooted in the community at large, created from a place of pain and hope for the future,” he added. “We have served the recovery community for nearly seven years, and we plan to continue to do so.”

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The Los Angeles Police Department has angered officials of the Latino Equality Alliance after saying that a man flinging bags of poop at their center is not criminally prosecutable.

Members of the Mi Centro LGBTQ Community Center in Boyle Heights have been cleaning up small bags of dog poop being deposited at the center for months. They say it’s an expression of hate-filled fecal vandalism against the LGBTQ community.

‘This “legal loophole” has left the center and its youth vulnerable to continued harassment without consequence.’

In August, the center posted an image of the dog poop in a post on Facebook that called the acts “abhorrent” as well as “unacceptable.” Some of the poop was tossed onto the awning in front of the center.

Months later, a suspect was identified with the aid of surveillance video, but police reportedly told the center that the dog poop deposits “do not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution.” Because the man has left poop inside of bags, it only meets the far lower standard of a littering infraction.

“This ‘legal loophole’ has left the center and its youth vulnerable to continued harassment without consequence,” reads a statement from the center.

LEA Executive Director Eddie Martinez told the media that police needed “substantial evidence” to prove the acts constituted a hate crime.

“They said a bag of poop is not enough to be arrested,” Martinez lamented.

RELATED: Rainbow Pride fence vandalized with sexual images and anti-gay message; police investigating as hate crime

Bell Police Department Chief Damian Velasco said at the same press conference that officers had contacted the suspect and were waiting to hear from him to determine “what the mindset is and what exactly is going on.”

The center describes itself as serving LGBTQ+ persons of “Latinx” and “Latine” descent.

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A Las Vegas special education aide is accused of dragging an autistic elementary school student by the arm 30 feet down a hallway.

Clark County School District Police on Friday arrested 21-year-old Zachary May at J.E. Manch Elementary School, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The arrest report said the student stood up after being dragged and attempted to kick May in the shin, the paper added.

May faces one felony count of battery on a vulnerable person and one felony count of child abuse or neglect, the Review-Journal noted, citing North Las Vegas Justice Court records.

Police said school surveillance video showed May dragging the student from a classroom doorway into a hallway shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday, the paper said.

The student has limited verbal communication abilities and had entered an open classroom and greeted students before May arrived and attempted to get the student to leave, the paper said, citing the arrest report.

Police said a person who witnessed the incident indicated that the student fell to their knees before May “aggressively grabbed (them) by the arm and dragged (them) out of the classroom while (the student) was still on the floor,” the Review-Journal reported.

The witness didn’t hear May say anything to the student, but he showed frustration on his face, the paper reported, citing police.

About five minutes later, video showed the student running away from May and turning a corner in the school’s hallway, the Review-Journal said, citing the arrest report. May turned the corner, grabbed the student, and again dragged the student down the hallway — this time for about 4 feet, the paper said, citing the arrest report.

The teacher’s assistant also was seen hovering over the student at one point, KVVU-TV reported.

RELATED: Florida classroom assistant jailed after ‘knee-jerk’ physical reaction to 6-year-old autism student’s behavior: Cops

Two of the elementary school’s assistant principals told police they reviewed the school’s surveillance video and saw May grab the student by the arm and drag the student for about 30 feet, the Review-Journal reported.

The arrest report said the student stood up after being dragged and attempted to kick May in the shin, the paper added.

More from the Review-Journal:

Police said they visited the student’s house for a wellness check following the incident and took photos of the student’s arms. The arms did not show any fresh injuries, bruising or marks, the arrest report said.

Police placed May into handcuffs on Friday morning and briefly spoke to him inside a conference room at Manch Elementary, according to the arrest report. When asked about Thursday’s incident, May told police that he placed a minor restraint on the student after they escaped him.

May’s felony arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 9, the paper said, citing court records.

A separate KVVU report said May has been employed with the district since January 2025 and was last assigned to Manch Elementary School as a specialized programs teacher assistant.

Police told the station he will be placed on unpaid leave after negotiation.

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On Monday at their end-of-season media conference, Baltimore Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti made statements about the team’s quarterback Lamar Jackson that deeply upset fans and NFL commentators.

When asked whether Lamar Jackson was consulted before head coach John Harbaugh was fired, Bisciotti said that while he had spoken with Lamar, whom he described as “nonconfrontational,” he didn’t play an “outsized part” in the decision.

He also said that when it comes to hiring a new head coach, Jackson has “a lot of say, but he has no power.”

“Let me translate that for you,” says BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock. “What he’s saying is: Lamar Jackson is not a leader.”

“It’s not that leaders look for confrontation, but they’re not afraid of confrontation. They don’t avoid confrontation. They don’t avoid conflict. They settle conflict. … That’s not Lamar Jackson,” he says.

“[Jackson] knows what he can actually do, and that’s play quarterback, make enough plays with his arms and feet to be an exceptional quarterback, but that’s it. He’s not a leader. They don’t have the traditional quarterback leadership with Lamar Jackson.”

The fans and critics who have complained about Jackson’s lack of power when it comes to team decisions clearly don’t understand this about him, says Jason. But Bisciotti “[knows] exactly who Lamar Jackson is” — not a “business mogul who we need to be conferring with before making business decisions” but an “overgrown [child].”

Part of Jackson’s growing up journey needs to involve “[keeping] his mama out of his business,” says Jason. Jackson’s mother, Felicia, has operated as his manager since his NFL debut and to this day plays a central role in his contract negotiations.

Jason warns that if she gets “gassed up by the idiots on ESPN and other places that talk about ‘player empowerment’ and ‘Lamar must have influence,”’ she’s going to create major problems between her son and Steve Bisciotti.

If Jackson were anything like former Ravens’ heart-and-soul leaders Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, it’d be a different story.

“Steve Bisciotti makes it crystal clear we don’t have a Ray Lewis situation here with Lamar Jackson. We have a great quarterback who likes to play video games, who can’t stay healthy for 17 games, particularly now as he ages and takes more hits. We want to keep this quarterback, but we’re not going to treat him like he’s Ray Lewis or Ed Reed,” says Jason.

To hear more of his commentary, watch the video above.

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