Washington Archives - The Virginia Star

Advocates Warn of ‘Desperate’ Movement to Undermine the Electoral College

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 Admin

An organization’s efforts to circumvent states’ rights are “getting desperate” as they try new ways to push their interstate compact through state legislatures, two pro-Electoral College advocacy groups told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) is a group initiative to reform the U.S.’ two-step, Electoral College system by ensuring that the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide becomes the president. Now that NPV has enacted its interstate compact in all of the “easy,” bluer states as a standalone bill, it is getting creative to force the law through in swing states like Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan and Maine, Trent England of Save Our States and Jasper Hendricks of Democrats for the Electoral College told the DCNF.

Catholic Civil Rights Group Condemns State Legislation to Force Priests to Break Seal of Confession

March 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Bills in the states of Vermont, Delaware, and Washington would include in mandatory reporting laws information about child sexual abuse a priest learns during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a move the Catholic League states lacks sound reasoning.

Last week Catholic League President Bill Donohue warned the “seal of confession” is “under fire” in Vermont, noting the Catholic civil rights organization is once again “doing battle with lawmakers who want to violate” the priest-penitent privilege, mostly in legislation concerning the sexual abuse of minors.

Seattle Public Schools Consider Closures as Student Enrollment Plunges Post-Pandemic

February 14, 2023 Just the News

Seattle Public Schools may have to close some of its schools over the next few years as the district battles budget shortages and plummeting enrollment after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soft-on-Crime Progressives Push for Laws to Prevent Traffic Stops for ‘Less Severe’ Violations

February 13, 2023February 12, 2023 Admin

Leaders in multiple states and cities are embracing efforts to bar police from pulling drivers over for certain less-severe traffic violations, a move that some experts believe endangers public safety.

Eighteen State AGs Voicing Support for New York Gun-Industry Liability Law

January 23, 2023 The Center Square

A coalition of 18 state attorneys general, all Democrats, on Wednesday submitted an amicus brief in support of New York’s firearms industry accountability law.

Why We March: Historic 50th March for Life, First in Post-Roe Era

January 19, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Thousands of pro-life Americans and advocates from other nations will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Friday to celebrate the 50th March for Life, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

North Carolina, North Dakota, Among States Phasing Out Income Tax

January 17, 2023January 16, 2023 Just the News

Americans in search of economic freedom and opportunity are flocking to Florida, Tennessee and Texas, and at least part of the attraction is that these three states, along with six others (Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming and New Hampshire), don’t levy an income tax.

Other states may soon follow.

“There are 10 states that are in the process of moving their personal income tax to zero,” President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist said on the John Solomon Reports podcast.

Washington Lawmaker Introduces Proposal to Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage

January 8, 2023January 7, 2023 The Center Square

A Washington legislator who served time behind bars contends it is time for the state to stop saving millions on the backs of inmates who are paid pennies for work in prison jobs.

“This is an evolution of slavery,” Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, told reporters. She is proposing that inmates be paid minimum wage when they work in the kitchen or produce furniture or other goods.

Local Government’s Christmas Policy Parallels Woke Rules Found on College Campuses

December 26, 2022December 25, 2022 Admin

A memo shared by the free speech watchdog, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), reveals that employees of King County, Washington, are advised not to include “religious symbols” in their workspaces.

“Before adding any decorations to your workspace (including your virtual workspace), consider the likely effect of such decorations on all of the employees in and outside of your workgroup,” writes Workforce Equity Manager Gloria Ngezaho in the “Guidelines for Holiday Decorations for King County Employees.”

Washington State’s Dem Gov, Attorney General Propose Major Gun Control Measures

December 25, 2022December 24, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson held a press conference Monday to announce three new measures for the upcoming 2023 legislative session that aims to curb gun violence in the state.

The measures would ban assault style weapons, hold manufacturers and retailers accountable for gun sales and implement a permit-to-purchase requirement for all gun buyers, according to a press conference. Inslee cited an increase in gun violence as the reason for the new legislation, and believes the laws, along with mental health assistance, will curb gun violence in Washington.

Gen-Z’s First Congressman-Elect Says He Was Denied a Lease in D.C. Due to ‘Really Bad’ Credit

December 9, 2022December 8, 2022 Just the News

Florida Democratic Rep.-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost says he was denied a lease on a Washington, D.C., apartment after the landlord initially told him that his bad credit wouldn’t matter.

Frost is slated to become the first Gen-Z lawmaker in Washington when the next Congress is sworn in in January. He was previously a community organizer and will take over the seat of Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who unsuccessfully challenged Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in the upper chamber in November.

GOP Senate Challenger Tiffany Smiley Now Tied with Dem Incumbent Sen. Patty Murray in Washington State

November 1, 2022October 31, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Sen. Patti Murray is now tied with her Republican challenger and nurse Tiffany Smiley in the Washington Senate race, according to the results of a new survey published on Sunday.

The survey showed that Murray and Smiley each had the support of 46% of respondents, a two percentage point shift in favor of Smiley from the same poll conducted in September, according to pollster Moore Information Group. It also showed a three percentage point decrease in Murray’s net favorability ratings, while Smiley’s net favorability increased by the same amount.

Democratic Secretaries of State Warn ‘Independent State Legislature Theory’ Would Upend Elections

October 29, 2022October 28, 2022 The Center Square

Thirteen Secretaries of State led by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper, a case that will have the court considering the “independent state legislature” theory.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Moore v. Harper in December, a case brought forth after the Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature adopted a new congressional voting map based on 2020 Census results. A group of Democratic voters and nonprofit organizations alleged the map was a partisan gerrymander that violated the state constitution and challenged it in court, according to Ballotpedia.

Vaxxed Army Pilot Reprimanded, Denied Promotion for Questioning Vax, Investigation Bias

October 11, 2022October 11, 2022 Just the News

A U.S. Army pilot who reluctantly received a COVID-19 vaccination has been reprimanded and denied promotion — and could still face discharge and the loss of his wings — after questioning the vaccine and filing complaints about allegedly biased investigations of him, according to his wife and her attorney.

Jessica Hill-Budge, the wife of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge in the 7th Infantry Division’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, told Just the News that her husband is likely to lose his nearly 20-year military career due to improperly conducted official investigations of his case.

Washington’s Largest County Fails to Meet Goals After Spending over $230 Million in Taxpayer Dollars on Homeless Housing

October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 Admin

King County, Seattle, has poured $230 million into homeless housing projects in the area since 2020, but half of those properties are vacant and they have yet to meet even half their goal of housing 1,600 homeless people, according to The Seattle Times.

Eastern Washington Legislators Urge Biden to Lift Vaccine Mandate for Border Travel

October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 The Center Square

Two U.S. Representatives from Eastern Washington have signed onto a letter that urges the Biden Administration to drop all vaccine requirements for people entering the United States from Canada.

Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, say the decision to send the letter follows Canada lifting vaccine mandates for international travelers entering the country despite Biden’s refusal to follow suit.

Washington’s Largest School District Goes on Strike, Delaying Start of School for Thousands

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Teachers of the largest school district in Washington are on strike on what should have been the first day of classes after rejecting a deal that would have kept them working in classrooms.

The Seattle Education Association (SEA) could not come to an agreement with Seattle Public Schools (SPS), which has roughly 50,000 students, in Seattle, Washington, causing its members to strike Wednesday morning, SPS announced on its website. The SEA rejected the school district’s memorandum of understanding which would have kept teachers working under their current agreement and allowed students to return to school on time as contract negotiations continued.

Washington Will Ban Gas Cars, Copying California

August 30, 2022August 29, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington announced Wednesday that his state would be following California’s lead in banning the purchase of all gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Inslee touted California’s new rule, which was approved on Thursday, and stated that Washington was ready to adopt the rule to prohibit the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 at the end of 2022, according to a tweet he posted. The governor also said that his state already set an unenforced goal for all new car sales to be zero emissions vehicles by 2030, a move that would attempt to phase out cars powered by an internal combustion engine.

30 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic, at Least a Dozen States Are Under ‘Emergency’ Orders

August 23, 2022August 22, 2022 Admin

In October 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court stripped Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of the unilateral powers she was using when she declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whitmer had been using a 1945 law – which was prompted by a three-day race riot in Detroit three years earlier – that had no sunset provision in it and didn’t require approval by the state legislature.

In May 2021, Whitmer told a news agency that if she still had that 1945 state-of-emergency law, she would use those powers, but not for anything related to a pandemic.

Illegal Migrants Deny Being ‘Tricked’ into Getting on Buses to D.C., NYC

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Illegal migrants bused from the southern border to Washington, D.C, denied that they’re being “tricked” into boarding the buses, several of them told the Daily Caller News Foundation, contradicting claims made by the mayors of D.C. and New York City.

Commentary: Washington’s Incurable Case of Trump Derangement Syndrome

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Like Shakespeare’s King Lear, Donald Trump is a “man more sinned against than sinning.” Trump’s enemies invariably exceed him in excesses. They accuse him of dictatorial behavior even as they seek to turn America into a left-wing authoritarian regime. The wags who dubbed their feverish hatred of him “Trump Derangement Syndrome” were right. The condition is altogether real, spurring everything from the bogus Russia investigation to the equally outlandish FBI raid on his home.

‘If Abortion Isn’t Safe, You Aren’t Either’: Vandal Attacks Pregnancy Center

May 30, 2022May 29, 2022 Admin

A suspect vandalized a Washington state crisis pregnancy center by breaking the building’s windows and spray-painting the property early Wednesday morning.

The suspect targeted the Next Step Pregnancy Center in Lynwood, Washington, Next Step Pregnancy Center Director Heather Vasquez told KTTH talk radio host Jason Rantz. The center stayed open despite the vandalism and police have opened an investigation into the matter.

Justices Signal They’ll Rule in Favor of Football Coach Fired for Praying

April 26, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered the oral arguments heard on April 25, 2022, by Supreme Court justices in the Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case.

Carjackings Soar in Blue State After Democrats Tie Police Officers’ Hands

April 17, 2022April 16, 2022 Admin

Carjackings in Washington have soared after Democrats endorsed a rule that limited police pursuits, according to a major police association, King 5 News reported.

Washington recorded an 88% increase in car thefts since 2021, according data compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, King 5 reported. The state experienced 12,569 stolen vehicles between January and March 2022, compared to 6,692 thefts during the same time period in 2021.

Catholic Charities Met Abbott’s Bused Migrants with Tickets to Ride Elsewhere

April 14, 2022 Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, reports from Washington’s Union Station, where Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott sent migrants who crossed the border into his state.

Pro-Life Leaders Demand Investigation Into Whether Late-Term Infant Bodies Discovered May Have Survived Botched Abortions: ‘Beyond Horrific and Devastating’

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Leaders of a national pro-life organization are demanding an investigation into the deaths of five late-term infants whose bodies were discovered last week at a Capitol Hill region home in Washington, DC.

D.C. police discovered the bodies of the babies last Wednesday at a home occupied by pro-life activist Lauren Handy, WUSA9 reported.

Commentary: Washington Doesn’t Want Peace in Ukraine

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The United States is now overwhelmed with propaganda pushing for Americans to “stand with Ukraine” in its war with Russia. It is not enough to wish the people of Ukraine well. The media, Big Tech, and both political parties have made being a partisan of Ukraine some kind of moral duty. Those refusing to get swept up in anti-Russian hysteria can expect to be condemned as traitors and agents of Vladimir Putin.

Deep-Blue Washington State Contains Possible GOP U.S. House Seat Pickup

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022 Aaron Gulbransen

Deep blue Washington State contains a U.S. House district that is being targeted for Republican pickup.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has announced that it is targeting Washington’s 8th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Kim Schrier.

School District in Washington State Holding Racially Segregated Superintendent Search Meetings for Parents

February 11, 2022February 10, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A Washington school district plans to hold racially segregated meetings for parents and guardians who wish to participate in the search for a new superintendent.

As afternoon radio host Jason Rantz reported at MYNorthwest Wednesday, the Issaquah School District’s (ISD) weekly bulletin for February 7 listed its “upcoming events,” including separate meetings for “Parents/Guardians of Color.”

Supreme Court to Hear Case of Washington High School Football Coach Fired for Praying

January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 The Center Square

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments later this year in the case of a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying after games.

The case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School Board, involves Joe Kennedy who coached the football team at Bremerton High School from 2008 to 2015.

The issue began after Kennedy was hired when he would take a knee on the field after games to engage in personal prayer.

As Washington Shirks Federal Border Enforcement Role, Burden Falls to Frontline Sheriffs

November 1, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Acoalition of law enforcement agents, mostly comprised of sheriffs combatting cartel violence along the southern border, in cooperation with Border Patrol agents, is working to bring awareness to Americans of the dangers they face because of the Biden administration’s hands-off border enforcement policies.

“A nation without secure borders cannot stand,” argues Mark Hager, Army veteran and founder of the U.S. First Defense Coalition. “As a republic, the citizens of the United States are the responsible first line of defense,” he says, and sheriffs are “the only law enforcement branch elected by the people,” Hager told Just The News. “They are comparable to the grassroots of law enforcement.”

Also a historian and a professor, Hager notes that sheriffs “hold a special place in American history, and especially along our southern border, where they are protecting citizens when the federal government won’t.”

Democrat Push to Expand Government, Inject Race Alienates 2022 Swing Voters, Polling Shows

October 4, 2021October 3, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Newt Gingrich, who crafted the Contract with America that upset Washington’s political status quo a quarter century ago, has quietly been conducting one of the most extensive polling operations ever of swing voters ahead of the 2022 election. His takeaway: Democrats’ big government, race-focused and America-disparaging agenda could bust the fragile coalition that put Joe Biden in power last November.

His polling, shared with Just the News, shows Americans overwhelmingly think the United States is the greatest county in history, prefer free-market capitalism to big government socialism, reject the premise of critical race theory that skin color is a predeterminant to success, and oppose defunding the police.

School District Reportedly Hired a Consultant to Teach the ‘Privilege Pie’ Chart and a ‘Pyramid of White Supremacy’

September 29, 2021September 28, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A Washington state school allegedly required teachers to complete a training where teachers discussed their privilege based on particular attributes, according to an anonymous teacher.

One exercise in the Tumwater, Washington, school district’s “privilege” training included “The Privilege Pie,” where participants were told to color in sections prevalent to them, the teacher told advocacy group Parents Defending Education. The privileged identities included being white, a cisgender male, having an upper/middle class social status, Christian beliefs and a heterosexual sexual orientation.

Thousands of Public Workers Seek Vaccine Exemptions in Washington

September 18, 2021September 17, 2021 The Center Square

Doctor with mask on holding COVID-19 Vaccine

Some 4,800 state employees in Washington have already requested medical or religious exemptions from Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

According to information released this week by the state, those requests amount to nearly 8% of the 60,000 state workers who fall under Inslee’s 24 cabinet departments. As of Sept. 6, less than 50% of all employees in those agencies were verified as being fully vaccinated.

Inslee last month issued an executive order that all state employees, as well as K-12 and state university staff, must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or face dismissal.

Commentary: The Puppet Master of the Republic

September 1, 2021August 31, 2021 The Center Square

“Ya know, reality has a way of intruding. Reality eventually intrudes on everything.”

– Joe Biden

During last year’s Democratic primaries when everyone fumbled the ball, the leftist voters turned to socialist Bernie Sanders. Although the DNC figured Sanders would fizzle with baseline Democrats, they misread their comrades. When Sanders won California and Nevada, they hurriedly regrouped. Their strategy was to pair Joe Biden with a babysitter VP, and use them as their progressive shills.

Woodson Center Celebrates 40 Years of Transforming Poor Neighborhoods as Founder Announces Retirement

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The life-changing impact that Robert Woodson has had on the lives of countless individuals and communities was highlighted Thursday evening during a 40th-anniversary celebration of the center named for him in Washington, D.C.

One after another, the grassroots leaders and individuals who have been touched by Woodson’s work at the Woodson Center thanked the civil rights leader for the ways in which he has empowered blacks and others living in America’s inner cities and low-income neighborhoods.

‘Global Health Threat’: Untreatable Fungus Spreading In DC, Dallas, CDC Says

July 26, 2021July 25, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

An untreatable fungus is spreading in health facilities in Washington, D.C., and Dallas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC issued an update Thursday regarding Candida auris, an emerging strain of fungus resistant to medication causing infections, fever and death. The fungus was detected in two hospitals in Dallas and a nursing home in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported.

Commentary: Senate Republicans Just Handed Matches to Arsonists

April 25, 2021April 24, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

One of the most fateful decisions of Donald Trump’s presidency happened just weeks after Inauguration Day.

In March 2017, Republican lawmakers joined Democrats to demand Jeff Sessions, a former Senate colleague and Trump’s new attorney general, recuse himself from anything related to the investigation into alleged Russian election collusion. Sessions’ two brief meetings in 2016 with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak—a figure who appeared often in collusion-related drama—amounted to evidence of collusion, collusion perps insisted.

Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were just a few top Republicans who asked Sessions to step aside—so he did.

House Democrats Pass Legislation That Would Make Washington, D.C., Nation’s 51st State

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021 The Center Square

Democrats in the House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state in the union, a move that would almost certainly strengthen the Democrats’ Senate majority and bolster their ranks in the House.

The bill passed, 216-208, without any Republican support.

Top House Democrat Calls on FBI to Investigate Parler’s Financing, Possible Ties to Russia

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Thursday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate financing for Parler, including whether the social media site has any ties to Russia.

Part of Maloney’s rationale for investigating Parler’s links to Russia is that the social media site’s CEO, John Matze, founded the company shortly after traveling to Russia with his wife, who is Russian.

U.S. Representative Mark Green Repeats Intent to Object to Electoral College Results

January 7, 2021 Jason M. Reynolds

Not long before the tallying of and objections to the Electoral College results were disrupted by the violent protest at the Capitol, U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) had repeated his intention to contest the election results.

Green on Wednesday announced his intention to object to the slates of electors in “certain states.”

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden Denounces Violence in Washington

January 7, 2021 Jason M. Reynolds

Scott Golden, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, condemned the violence in Washington, D.C., and said the GOP is the party of law and order, a sentiment expressed by several state leaders.

Golden made the statement Wednesday in an email as well as on Facebook, which is available here.

Pandemic Delays Democrats’ Plans to Expand Health Care

December 29, 2020December 28, 2020 Admin

Democratic state leaders around the country who planned on introducing expanded health care measures such as a public option have now been forced to delay those plans as a result of pandemic budgetary difficulties.

Judge Michael Warren Commentary: Thanksgiving’s Historical Relationship with Religion

November 26, 2020November 25, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Turkey and stuffing. Detroit Lions Football. Turkey Trots. Parades and the arrival of Santa. Followed by frenzied shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Maybe a bit of charity on Giving Tuesday. The ultimate American holiday. What more could you need?

Gratitude. Blessings. Humility. Although historical debate surrounds the origins of Thanksgiving in colonial America, it has a deeply rooted core that today is overshadowed by consumerism and entertainment culture.

Crews Vacuum ‘Murder Hornets’ Out of Washington Nest

October 26, 2020October 25, 2020 The Associated Press

Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.

The state Agriculture Department had spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops.

Middle School Teacher Rips Student for Naming President Trump as Person He Admires

October 6, 2020October 5, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

A Tacoma, Washington middle school teacher took great offense when one of his students named President Trump as a person he admires.

The thing is, Perry G. Keithley Middle School sixth grade teacher Brendan Stanton (below) asked his virtual class this very question — “who is the one person you admire and why?”

‘Nothing Left in the Bucket’: Wildfire Resources Run Thin

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 The Associated Press

Justin Silvera came off the fire lines in Northern California after a grueling 36 straight days battling wildfires and evacuating residents ahead of the flames. Before that, he and his crew had worked for 20 days, followed by a three-day break.

Silvera, a 43-year-old battalion chief with Cal Fire, California’s state firefighting agency, said he’s lost track of the blazes he’s fought this year. He and his crew have sometimes been on duty for 64 hours at a stretch, their only rest coming in 20-minute catnaps.

Exclusive: Creator of Capitol Hill Musical ‘K Street’ Hosts First Zoom Table Read Wednesday

September 7, 2020September 7, 2020 Neil W. McCabe

The creator and producer of “K Street, NW: A Capitol Hill Musical” told the Star News Network what motivated him to capture search for love while balancing principle and compromise in Washington and set it to music.

“It is about a young woman from Iowa, who comes to Washington, D.C, to be a Hill intern and as she learns about Capitol Hill, she rises up the ranks to become a chief of staff for a senator with promising political prospects,” said Karl Amadeus Notturno, who is a Publicus Fellow at the Claremont Institute.

Commentary: Trump Remains the Only Man in Washington to See the Danger

July 18, 2020July 17, 2020 Virginia Star Staff

Donald Trump is still the only man in Washington who understands that America is in trouble and the nature of the trouble it is in.

We were reminded of this during his moving speech at Mount Rushmore, in which he honored our greatest of all statesmen while calling on Americans to defend—without apology—our home, our people, our heritage, and our principles.

One of the Two Protesters Hit by Driver While on Seattle Freeway Dies

July 6, 2020July 5, 2020 The Associated Press

One of two people hit by a man who drove his car onto a closed Seattle freeway late Saturday night and into a crowd protesting police brutality has died.