Tag Archives: Kansas

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: When a group of Satanists attempted to hold a black mass at the Kansas state capitol last week, Kansas resident and right-wing broadcaster Doug Billings was apoplectic, demanding that Gov. Laura Kelly arrest the activists and organize a militia, if necessary, to prevent them from getting anywhere near the statehouse. While Gov. Kelly …

The Kansas City Star reports: A physical altercation inside the Kansas Statehouse Friday ended with Capitol Police arresting Satanic church leader Michael Stewart, capping off a morning of inflammatory religious demonstration. Stewart punched a man who repeatedly attempted to rip a booklet out of his hands while he called out to Satan from the Capitol’s first-floor rotunda. Less than an …

NBC News reports: In a scene straight from a horror movie, a babysitter in Kansas was checking for “monsters” to reassure a scared child — and discovered a man hiding under the child’s bed. The babysitter said one child she was babysitting complained there was a “monster” under the bed on Monday evening, the Barton County Sheriff’s Office said in …

Law & Crime reports: A youth pastor in Kansas will spend nearly three decades behind bars for stabbing his wife and kids because the family was going to be evicted from their home due to his piling debt. District Judge Jason B. Billam sentenced 42-year-old Matthew Lee Richards on Wednesday to 188 months in prison for one count of attempted …

The Kansas Reflector reports: All hail civil disobedience. Gov. Laura Kelly intervened Wednesday in satanists’ plans to conduct a black mass on March 28 at the Statehouse by declaring they would not be allowed inside. The satanists plan to defy her undivine wisdom. “We will be showing up on the 28th,” said Michael Stewart, founder and president of the Satanic …

Kansas City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Shawnee, Kansas, children’s pastor who attacked his family and set their house on fire to hide financial problems has pleaded guilty in connection with the incident. Matthew Lee Richards was charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson with risk of bodily harm after the Sept. 16, 2023, …

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: An ongoing tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas has become the largest in recorded history in the United States. “Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday. As of Jan. 17, …

Topeka’s Fox affiliate reports: A former Republican political candidate for the District 2 Congressional seat of Kansas has been arrested by local law enforcement after allegedly harassing a county court official numerous times. The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office announced on social media on Nov. 22 that 44-year-old Michael A. Ogle was arrested on Nov. 21 on charges of interference with …

ABC News reports: A Missouri woman is suing a Kansas hospital where she says she was denied an emergency abortion after she went into premature labor at 18 weeks of pregnancy, alleging she was denied emergency health-stabilizing care. The lawsuit comes a year after a government investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that hospitals in Missouri …

The Associated Press reports: Enforcement of a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students has been blocked in four states and a patchwork of places elsewhere by a federal judge in Kansas. U.S. District Judge John Broomes’ decision was the third against the rule from a federal judge in less than three weeks but more sweeping than the others. …

The Kansas City Star reports: The president of Blue Springs’ elected school board has resigned amid allegations raised online by a young woman who accuses him of grooming her about 10 years ago when she was a youth group leader in his church. “It is with a profound sense of responsibility and commitment to transparency that we acknowledge the recent …

The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is suing the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, alleging it deceptively marketed its COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Thomas County, comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar lawsuit in November. Kobach said at a news conference on Monday that Kansas is one of several states …

NPR reports: A Wichita pastor recently encouraged members of his church to mark Pride Month by checking out mass amounts of gay- and transgender-themed books from their local library. “One way you can love your neighbors and your community is to gather together some of the men in your church and go empty the local library of all their LGBTQ+ …

The Associated Press reports: Republican legislators in Kansas failed Monday to override the Democratic governor’s veto of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The vote was 82-43 in the state House to reverse Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto, but that was two votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority. The vote in the House was expected to be …

The Hill reports: Former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt (R) announced Friday that he will run for Congress in a bid to replace outgoing Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.).  The three-term attorney general is now gunning for the House after narrowly losing a 2022 gubernatorial bid to Gov. Laura Kelly (D). Schmidt embraced far-right positions on vaccines, transgender rights and critical …

The Kansas City Star reports: The International House of Prayer-Kansas City, plagued for months by sexual abuse allegations against its founder Mike Bickle, plans to close its doors and open a new, smaller organization. The news, first reported by The Roys Report, an online Christian media outlet, was based on a leaked recording of a Monday staff meeting at IHOP …

The Kansas City Star reports: U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican who represents Kansas’ 2nd District, announced Thursday he won’t seek reelection, creating another open race in a furious partisan fight for control of the House. LaTurner, 36, was first elected to the House in 2020. In a statement, LaTurner said it was time to “pursue other opportunities and have …

The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday vetoed a bill that would ban transgender minors from receiving gender transition surgeries and hormone therapy, setting up another veto override fight over efforts to regulate the lives of trans residents. The bill, she said, dictates to parents how to best raise and care for their children, adding that …

The Kansas City Star reports: A Kansas bill could consider a photo of a same-sex couple holding hands pornographic, some Democratic lawmakers warn. They say a bill aimed at barring children from accessing online material considered harmful to minors could carry serious unintended consequences for LGBTQ+ communities. The bill would require users to verify they are over 18 years old …

The Kansas Reflector reports: Kansas Republicans have condemned a fundraiser Friday night where attendees paid to kick and beat an effigy of President Joe Biden, distancing themselves from extremists who have seized control of the party. The Biden-bashing antics were part of a Kansas GOP event in Johnson County, where rocker Ted Nugent and disgraced former Kansas Attorney General Phill …