Portland Police Chief Bob Day wiped away tears Friday as he addressed new information showing that two illegal immigrants shot during a federal immigration enforcement encounter had ties to the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).

Day confirmed a Department of Homeland Security statement identifying the two individuals — Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras — as Venezuelan criminal illegal aliens with suspected ties to TdA.

Both were shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent after Moncada, the driver of the vehicle, allegedly "weaponized his vehicle" and attempted to run over agents, prompting an agent to fire in self-defense, according to DHS.

"They do have some nexus to involvement with TDA. We can confirm that," Day said, pausing and choking up.

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Day said he initially hesitated to disclose the suspected gang connection, citing what he described as the "historic injustice of victim blaming" by law enforcement, including within his own agency.

"I want to speak for just a moment, specifically to my Latino community," Day said.

"It saddens me that we even have to qualify these remarks because I understand or at least have attempted to understand your voices, your concern, your fear, your anger," Day said, removing his glasses mid-sentence and wiping tears from his eyes. 

"This information, in no way, is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday," the chief added.

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Day emphasized that he was disclosing the suspected gang ties for transparency only and that the information should not be interpreted as excusing or justifying the shooting, which remains under investigation.

"But it is important that we stay committed to the rule of law, that we stay committed to the facts, that we stay a trustworthy and legitimate police department for all Portlanders," he said.

Day said both suspects remain hospitalized in stable condition and are in federal custody.

"They are in custody of federal law enforcement, but they appear to be on the road to recovery, and I’m grateful for that," Day said.

DHS has rejected early reports suggesting the two were a married couple, calling such claims "revolting lies." The agency said instead that Moncada was a suspected gang associate and that Zambrano-Contreras was allegedly involved in a TdA-linked prostitution operation.

Day has come under fire previously from Camilla Wamsley, the director of Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, who said the facility has endured dozens of nights of violence and that Portland police have been largely absent while responding to protests under direction from the mayor and city council.

Day has previously stated that his force will not assist in immigration enforcement operations, but noted that Portland Police manages public safety in the surrounding neighborhoods during demonstrations.

"I hereby plead incompetence and stupidity."

That’s probably the best defense that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz can offer if he is criminally charged in the shocking multi-billion-dollar taxpayer ripoffs that grow larger by the day.

Given his earned reputation, his excuse of incompetence would be credible.

Nearly every social service program receiving federal dollars was fleeced by fraudsters right under Walz’s nose, including child nutrition, daycare, healthcare, housing, and autism aid. Most of the perpetrators were Somalians who comprise a powerful voting block that the governor treasures like gold.

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Walz was repeatedly warned of the swindles as far back as 2019 when he first took office. Instead of stopping the scams and prosecuting the grifters, he indulged them by establishing a culture of permissible fraud.

The scandal has already claimed Walz’s political career, forcing him to abandon his bid for re-election. But if he reckoned that quitting would somehow shield him from legal culpability, he is mistaken. There is mounting evidence that Walz was willfully complicit, deliberately refusing to expose or pursue the monumental thefts and, instead, launching aggressive measures to scuttle any legal scrutiny and criminal consequence.  

The governor’s own state workers at the Department of Human Services issued a blistering statement blaming him as 100% responsible. Witnesses say he retaliated against whistleblowers and schemed to discredit the well-documented fraud reports.

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If true, Walz’s aberrant actions run dangerously close to criminal behavior involving cover-ups and obstruction.  

Nine federal agencies, including the FBI, are now working to unravel the full breadth and depth of the colossal cons.  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent scores of investigators and lawyers to Minnesota to prosecute the web of fraud and deceit.

They will inevitably weigh whether Walz should face criminal charges himself.

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There are several federal statutes to consider. 18 USC 371 makes it a crime to conspire with others to defraud the government. At present, there is no known evidence that Walz directly participated in the scams themselves or accepted money.

However, if he plotted to cover up the fraud by impairing, obstructing or defeating efforts to bring the fraudsters to justice, the conspiracy statute is applicable. So, too, are the various obstruction of justice laws.

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There is also 18 USC 2, the aiding and abetting statute where accomplices are treated the same as the main perpetrators. That law gave rise to the "willful blindness doctrine" recognized by our courts.

An example is a businessman who intentionally ignores or turns a blind eye to his partner’s money laundering, resulting in charges against both. Similarly, a public official such as Walz can be indicted for deliberate inaction where he has a clear duty to act.

Finally, 18 USC 3 is relevant whenever concealment occurs. Whoever knows that a crime has been committed but "hinders apprehension, trial or punishment," is guilty of accessory after the fact. That bears a striking resemblance to what Walz is accused of doing.

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All of this invites the question of the governor’s motive. If not money, how did he stand to benefit by suppressing the avalanche of fraud? That’s the easy part. Votes.

Walz, together with liberal elites and their media handmaidens, have long dismissed the rumors and reports of Somali-engineered fraud as "racist." Apparently, in Minnesota it is politically incorrect to enforce the law against immigrants from that particular East African country. It’s just not fashionable.

God forbid that putting criminals behind bars might lose electoral support. It’s chic to turn the other cheek.

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So, the Somalian fraudsters were gifted a "get-out-of-jail" free card, courtesy of the governor and his cronies. Walz, in turn, secured their votes. It was a nifty quid pro quo, but with an alternate currency —votes. As protection rackets go, it was slick.   

That cozy arrangement is manifested in a recently uncovered audio recording of a 2021 conversation between Walz’s Attorney General Keith Ellison and Somali hustlers who were soon after convicted of scamming millions of dollars. They were heard leaning hard on the AG to "protect" them in exchange for support and campaign donations.  

Ellison eagerly capitulated but now denies any wrongdoing. He returned the cash.           

It is too early to know whether a criminal case will be filed against Minnesota’s beleaguered governor. The U.S. Attorney and DOJ lawyers are still digging through the mountains of evidence.

However, as noted above, the only tenable defense Walz may be able to conjure up is incompetence and stupidity. It is something that jurors might readily accept.

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After all, ineptitude became the governor’s calling card. He infamously conceded his own buffoonery in the 2024 Vice Presidential debate when he called himself a "knucklehead." He was such a gaffe factory that the Kamala Harris campaign squirreled him away from the media.     

Walz achieved the impossible. He made his running mate look like a genius. His bizarre on-stage antics were constant fodder for mockery. Baffling verbal goofs, such as boasting that he had "become friends with school shooters," left voters scratching their heads or snickering.  

A series of demonstrable lies about his military service and his peculiar treks to China only compounded the impression of a man who is either a serial fabricator or not right in the head. Maybe both are true.  

And who can forget his epic bungling of the George Floyd riots in 2020. He radicalized the tragic death, thereby ginning up the ensuing violence. As Minneapolis burned, Walz dithered. Afterwards, he blamed the looting and torched buildings on systemic racism.

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So, it’s not a stretch to imagine that an indictment alleging Walz was wittingly complicit in his state’s massive welfare fraud scandal might be met with a defense of "misfeasance" (careless or incompetent execution of a lawful duty) to combat the incriminating evidence of "malfeasance" (a deliberate, unlawful act).   

It’s a distinction that can mean the difference between conviction and acquittal.

Should Walz find himself in the dock sometime soon… don’t be surprised if he portrays himself as a blockhead who was intellectually incapable of grasping the obvious.

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