St. Louis Man Who Gunned Down Police Officer Demond Taylor Is Released on $5,000 Bond
August 29, 2025
St. Louis officials charged 46-year-old Brandon Levy with first degree murder in the shooting death of off-duty Police Officer Demond Taylor 17 years ago in the Academy neighborhood in St. Louis. Taylor was gunned down when he was driving to pick up one of his sons along Page Boulevard.
Three witnesses identified Levy as the man who shot and killed Officer Levy.
FBI Special Agent Chris Crocker released a statement on X following the arrest of Levy this weekend.
The FBI had been working hand-in-hand with local St. Louis homicide detectives for years to solve the case.
Authorities noted that officer Taylor would have turned 52 this past Sunday.
Levy was charged with one count of first-degree murder, but he has now been released, posting a $5,000 cash-only bond.
“After a confined docket hearing on August 25, 2025, Associate Circuit Judge Michael Colona modified the defendant’s bond to $50,000 cash-only, requiring 10 percent to be posted. The State requested that the bond conditions imposed on August 23, 2025, remain in place. The defendant posted bond, and the court released him under court-ordered conditions.
Trans Killers: Minnesota Was Not the First
August 29, 2025
The Covenant School, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The perpetrator of the August 27 Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis was 23-year-old Robin Westman (born Robert Westman), a transgender individual. According to ABC News, driver’s license records listed Westman as female, and a 2020 Minnesota district court order approved a name change from Robert to Robin after noting the minor “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
This was not the first transgender shooter, and not the first time a Christian school was targeted. The 2023 Nashville school shooting occurred on March 27 at The Covenant School. The shooter was identified as Aiden Hale (previously referred to by police as Audrey Elizabeth Hale), a 28-year-old former student of the school. Police initially identified the shooter as a woman but later confirmed Hale was transgender. Six people were killed in the attack, including three children, all nine years old.
The 2022 Colorado Springs Club Q shooting was another example. Because the nightclub catered to an LGBTQ audience, many initially assumed the attacker would be a white supremacist. Instead, the perpetrator was Anderson Lee Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The attack left five people dead and 19 others injured.
Additional incidents include the 2018 Aberdeen, Maryland, Rite Aid shooting, where 26-year-old Snochia Moseley, a transgender individual transitioning from female to male, killed three people and wounded three others at a distribution center before taking her own life.
In 2019, at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado, 16-year-old Alec McKinney (born Maya McKinney), a transgender boy, carried out a shooting with an accomplice that left one person dead and eight others injured. McKinney told police he specifically targeted students who mocked his gender identity and admitted he had been planning the attack for weeks.
One of the most bizarre and far-reaching murder rings in recent years is the Vegan Transgender Extremist Zizian Cult, a group of about 30 members, mostly young transgender women, linked to at least six murders and labeled as extremists by U.S. law enforcement. The group was led by Jack “Ziz” LaSota, a 34-year-old transgender woman with a computer science degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who once interned at NASA.
Writing under the name “Ziz,” LaSota published disturbing theories claiming that each brain hemisphere has a separate gender identity and that these identities often desire to kill one another.
Members practiced “unihemispheric sleep,” attempting to sleep with one eye open to prevent one hemisphere from “destroying” the other, a philosophy that has reportedly contributed to suicides within the cult.
Several members became key figures in violent crimes. Michelle Zajko, 32, was tied to the murder of her parents, Richard and Rita Zajko, who were shot to death in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, on December 31, 2022. Daniel Blank, 26, Zajko’s Vermont housemate who has been described as having Asperger’s syndrome, was also involved. In November 2022 in Vallejo, California, Zizian members attacked an 80-year-old landlord, impaling him with a sword and blinding him in one eye; the victim fatally shot one assailant in self-defense.
The same landlord, Curtis Lind, was later stabbed to death on January 17, 2025, with Maximilian Snyder charged in the killing. Just days later, on January 20 in Coventry, Vermont, U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland, 44, was killed during a shootout after a traffic stop. Zizian member Teresa Youngblut, 21, is accused of opening fire, while another member, Felix “Ophelia” Bauckholt, was also killed in the exchange.
The wave of violence culminated on February 16, 2025, when LaSota, Zajko, and Blank were arrested in Frostburg, Maryland. They were found trespassing on private property while dressed in black and carrying weapons. LaSota, described by prosecutors as the leader of the extremist Zizians, was ordered held without bail.
One of the most disturbing prevented cases involved Elizabeth Ballesteros West, formerly Francisco Frank Paramo, a 56-year-old transgender woman from Cottage Grove, Oregon. West was arrested by the FBI in January 2024 for allegedly plotting a mass shooting at her workplace over claims of “transphobia.” Federal prosecutors charged her with interstate threatening communications.
The investigation began after West posted alarming messages on a transgender support Facebook page on September 26, 2023. She wrote that she was “at the end of my rope,” feared losing her job, and declared she had “no alternative” after being bullied by “transphobic a**holes.” She added, “I’ll probably have to go out in a blaze of glory.” Beyond her workplace, West expressed violent intentions toward Jews and Black people and openly embraced neo-Nazi ideology.
When the FBI searched her property, agents discovered a massive weapons cache: 11 handguns, 16 rifles, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun accessories, dozens of violent drawings, and a notebook titled Black Shadow Journal. According to an FBI informant, West had a history of reckless behavior, once playing Russian roulette during Christmas 2022 while in a dissociative state. She had also been arrested in 1993 for placing a shotgun in her father’s mouth and pulling the trigger, though the case was later dropped.
West’s personal history revealed long-standing mental health struggles, including diagnoses of bipolar disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and PTSD. The FBI also tied her to white supremacist activity, noting she and her boyfriend had attended neo-Nazi rallies in Washington state and even hosted participants at their home. Her social media was filled with memes and propaganda glorifying Hitler, promoting racial violence, and threatening mass attacks.
During initial interviews, West downplayed the threats, claiming she was only projecting suicidal thoughts while struggling with the stress of gender transition. This raises broader concerns about undiagnosed mental health issues and the possible effects of hormone use.
A research report published in PubMed Central found that approximately 58 percent of transgender patients had at least one DSM-5 diagnosis, compared with 13.6 percent of cisgender patients. Similarly, a study published in ScienceDirect concluded that transgender people are about six times more likely than the general population to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders, findings echoed in the American Journal of Psychiatry’s review of treatment utilization.
Recent surveys reinforce this troubling pattern. The 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People reported that 71 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth experienced anxiety symptoms, while 44.4 percent reported recent suicidal ideation and nearly 7 percent admitted to a recent suicide attempt.
The Clock Ticks Down on an Army Black Hawk Pilot’s Two Decades of Military Service as Defense Department Inaction Ends His Career
August 29, 2025
Image: Wikimedia Commons (Sgt. Andrew Johnson)
Before the military imposed its 2021 COVID-19 shot requirement, Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge had built an impeccable 18-year career flying Black Hawk helicopters. His trajectory changed dramatically when he refused the COVID shot on principle—a stance that now threatens to end his career.
[CW3 Budge] was grounded for 18 months, unable to operate a Black Hawk. During this time, he was given a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR), and as an act he considers reprisal, he was also forced to go through a Flying Evaluation Board. Though the FEB exonerated him of any wrongdoing, his command still issued a GOMOR which eventually resulted in a loss of promotion status through a Special Selections Review Board. ‘This entire debacle has cost my family nearly $40,000 in legal fees and nearly $40,000 in lost pay on top of all the emotional and psychological stress,’ he lamented.
According to a subsequent report, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George advised CW3 Budge to file with the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR), promising to resolve the situation. Despite this assurance and repeated appeals to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from journalist J.M. Phelps and other concerned advocates, CW3 Budge faces retirement on October 6, 2025—the direct result of his stance against what the Defense Secretary himself has characterized as experimental and unlawful.
Why are CW3 Budge and his advocates being ignored? Rumors are beginning to circulate that his previous behavior and warranted actions taken against the shot during the COVID era might be the hidden reason his two-decade military career now hangs in the balance.
“Even as they tried to destroy my livelihood and my family, I couldn’t afford to be fearful during this time,” CW3 Budge admitted to The Gateway Pundit. “I did all I could to stand against the mandate and now I’m being held accountable for those actions which are forcing me out of the Army,” he lamented. “All the while, those that implemented it illegally are not being held accountable.”
“Nobody can pass judgment on a situation like I’ve gone through until they’ve stood in my shoes,” he shared. “I was expected to put everything aside, including my own health and the health of my family, while they used coercive tactics and isolation to attempt to silence me and get me to abide by their unlawful rules.”
CW3 Budge can only recall “raising [his] voice” once in this process. “Did I disobey an unlawful order and push back? Yes,” he admitted. “For it, I’m called unbecoming and unprofessional, [but] they wanted me to stay silent and give in, [and] that’s not my nature when you’re coming after me and my family,” he said. “Where’s the same level of professionalism they expected from me in those who treated us like criminals?”
According to retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub, CW3 Budge is the one who was “nothing less than assaulted,” while his perpetrators walk scot-free. The Gateway Pundit also interviewed the former UH-60 Black Hawk pilot and Battalion Commander who has known CW3 Budge for several years.
CW3 Budge once served under Gaub’s command, a time that also included two combat tours. He described him as “a fighter” that can be “aggressive when he is determined to do what is right,” Gaub recalled. “But isn’t that the kind of person we want in our nation’s military—one that has the courage to do what it takes to stand against tyranny and unlawful orders?”
“At a time when Army Aviation is suffering from a severe loss of talent and experience as result of [the tyrannical enforcement of the] COVID-19 shot,” Gaub asserted, “Budge is the last person you should want to get rid of—an experienced Black Hawk maintenance test pilot with years of combat experience.” To the contrary, he argued, “You need to be bending over backwards to keep people like this, not bending over backwards to get rid of them as a result of his opposition to a mandate that has now been acknowledged as illegal.”
“You’ve taken Budge from a patriotic [warrant] officer serving in the military, trying to defend his nation, and turned him into a target of the chain of command, threatening his livelihood and his family,” Gaub shared. “On top of that, you went on a revenge trip, put him through boards to try to remove his flight wings, restricted his ability to travel, and attempted to keep him from his family—and now people are concerned about how he reacted?”
“[His command] backed him into a corner, and now you’re wondering why he responded negatively to you when you’re the one who attacked him,” Gaub said, noting “It definitely wasn’t the other way around as you were the one enforcing the jab against his lawful objections.”
“If you’re going to hold someone like Brandon Budge accountable for not reacting exactly like you wanted him to, particularly when you’re the ones coming after him with an illegal mandate, then what exactly did you expect the outcome to be?”
“Why would you hold him accountable for how an officer should act in this situation and not hold the people accountable who forced the illegal mandate on him?” Gaub questioned. In his opinion, “It is absolutely critical in this case and I’m sure in many others.”
“Brandon is just one example of a number of people who found themselves pushing back against their chain of command that was assaulting them with a potentially harmful or even deadly jab,” he offered. “That’s the greater issue here.”
Budge is one of tens of thousands of service members impacted by “the illegal mandate,” Gaub noted. “From what I’ve witnessed,” Gaub said, “I can’t think of a single person in that group of people who’s been properly addressed through the chain of command up to the Secretary of Defense.”
Can Defense Secretary Hegseth or Army Chief George intervene for Warrant Officer Budge while there’s still time? The answer may depend on whether enough Americans demand justice.
For those active on X, please consider supporting this campaign:
@SecDef Hegseth, if you truly believe the COVID shot was “unlawful as implemented,” surely you understand why ‘We the People’ are calling upon you to intervene for CW3 Brandon Budge. While his stance against the COVID shot requirement may have been expressed differently than… pic.twitter.com/PrsVCCCUhR
In an exclusive statement to Talking Points Memo UM shared, “The University of Michigan, including Michigan Medicine, is one of multiple institutions across the country that has received a federal subpoena as part of a criminal and civil investigation into gender-affirming care for minors.”
“In light of that investigation, and given escalating external threats and risks, we will no longer provide gender affirming hormonal therapies and puberty blocker medications for minors.”
“The University of Michigan, including Michigan Medicine, is one of multiple institutions across the country that has received a federal subpoena as part of a criminal and civil investigation into gender-affirming care for minors,” the statement reads. “In light of that investigation, and given escalating external threats and risks, we will no longer provide gender affirming hormonal therapies and puberty blocker medications for minors.”
The move follows a flurry of subpoenas from the Trump administration which indicated that institutions could be subject to criminal and civil charges if they did not cease all such activities.
The Department’s investigations include healthcare fraud, false statements, and more.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi noted at the time, “Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice.”
“Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
“Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding. Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.”
“Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
Illegal Alien Boyfriend Arrested in Mexico for Brutal 2023 Stabbing Death of Illinois Immigrant Activist Emma Shafer
August 28, 2025
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the arrest in Mexico Thursday of 27-year-old Gabriel Calixto-Picardo in the brutal stabbing death of his girlfriend, immigrant activist Emma Shafer, 24, that occurred at Shafer’s Springfield, Illinois home on July 11, 2023.
Calixto was brought to the U.S. by his mother when he was 5 years old and had DACA status until he was jailed for kidnapping a previous girlfriend who says Calixto was later granted asylum after he was released from prison in 2021 and after his deportation case was dropped because of fears of torture in his native Mexico.
Noem highlighted Shafer’s murder in a visit to Springfield earlier this year. Noem was denounced by Shafer’s mother, who joined a protest against Noem and complained she had not given permission for Noem to speak about her daughter.
Emma Shafer, family photo.
The vicious illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years after stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer has been ARRESTED. We will continue to work with federal authorities to coordinate extradition proceedings.
THANK YOU to our law enforcement partners for bringing this perpetrator to justice.
The vicious illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years after stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer has been ARRESTED. We will continue to work with federal authorities to coordinate extradition proceedings.
In July 2023, police responded to the 1000 block of S. 8th Street after a call from a woman saying her brother had injured his girlfriend.
When they arrived, officers found Shafer stabbed to death. A short time later, a warrant was issued for Calixto’s arrest.
NPR Illinois reported on the arrest of Calixto and the background of Shafer (excerpt):
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, the Springfield Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service announced today that Gabriel P. Calixto, wanted in connection with the 2023 murder of 24-year-old Emma Shafer, has been apprehended in Mexico.
Calixto was indicted by a Sangamon County Grand Jury and is charged with three counts of First-Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Domestic Battery.
On July 11, 2023, Springfield Police officers responded to a residence in the 1000 block of South 8th Street, where they discovered Ms. Shafer deceased. Shafer, 24, was found dead in her home. The Sangamon County Coroner said Shafer sustained multiple sharp force injuries.
Shafer has been described as a young woman intent on making a difference. She was the membership chair of the Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group, an incoming board member for the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, a former organizer with Faith Coalition for the Common Good, and an active volunteer with countless other community groups.
Shafer was part of the leadership council of Resister Sisterhood, a Springfield activist group advocating for progressive causes. She had been active in work for the LGBTQ community, fighting for women’s rights, and bodily autonomy.
Emma Marie Shafer, 24, community organizer, died July 11, 2023. A Springfield native born on April 13, 1999, she graduated from Springfield High School, received an Associate Degree in Political Science at Lincoln Land Community College, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from the New School in New York City. She was the membership chair of the Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group, an incoming board member for the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, a former organizer with Faith Coalition for the Common Good, and an active volunteer with countless other community groups.
…From early childhood, Emma pursued twin passions — theater and social justice…
…Emma was a life-long activist. Even as a child, she tended to go sit with the kid eating lunch alone and recruit her friends to join them. She recognized inequities in the way certain classmates were treated and spoke up to ask adults to realize the harm they were causing. As a teenager, she participated in several youth service projects with Westminster Presbyterian Church, such as helping repair homes for low-income families in Appalachia and later joined the Appalachian Service Project staff. Emma was very involved in public office, serving as an intern in the office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Fellow in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and a committee clerk at the State of Illinois House of Representatives. At the time of her death, she was making special concoctions and connections at The Wakery. She then had just been hired to work for M.H. Action, where she was looking forward to advocating for the rights of people who live in manufactured homes.
…Her favorite part of organizing was canvassing — going door-to-door and meeting people to hear and address any concerns they had, always working towards a more equitable community. Held hour-long one-on-one meetings with anyone who had a cause, usually scheduling those meetings at a downtown local business. She hosted weekly “soup night” gatherings in her home, bringing together advocates she believed needed to know each other.
2023 WAND-TV report on Calixto’s kidnapping of ex-girlfriend Kathryn O’Brien and his immigration status (excerpt):
WAND News is learning more about the criminal record of Gabriel Calixto Pichardo. Calixto was initially charged with violating an order of protection, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful restraint after a 2018 kidnapping incident. Calixto agreed to plea guilty to a kidnapping charge and was sentenced to six years in prison.
In 2020, court records show Calixto’s plea was vacated for constitutional reasons. He immediately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, unlawful restraint, and was resentenced to six years behind bars. However, he was released early.
WAND News asked the Madison County State’s Attorney what the constitutional reasons were, to allow Calixto to plea to a lesser felony charge.
State’s Attorney Thomas Haine released the following statement:
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Emma Shafer. What transpired here is deeply disturbing and upsetting. In October 2020, prior to my administration, this defendant’s guilty plea was modified. The reason for this modification is frustratingly unclear. There was no hearing held on the modification, and there is no transcript. The employment of the former assistant state’s attorney responsible for this modification terminated in February 2021. My office will continue to assist the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office and the other authorities in Sangamon County in any manner.”
More:
…About six months after he was released in the kidnapping case, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Calixto. He was charged with improper entry and the Department of Homeland Security began removal proceedings.
Court records show Calixto was born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. by his mom when he was five years old. He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status—or DACA—when he was 15. But his status expired while in prison, and he was no longer eligible for DACA because he had committed a felony.
Court records show U.S. Attorneys ultimately declined to prosecute him for improper entry. WAND reached out to learn why the case was dropped.
“I’m restricted to providing only the information that’s contained in the publicly-filed court documents, and the office will not be releasing further comment at this time,” a spokeswoman shared in a statement to WAND News.
Calixto had filed an application for asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture, based on his fear of harm in Mexico due to his severe mental illness. O’Brien told WAND News that Calixto was allowed to stay in the United States because he was granted this asylum status.
…Just two years after Calixto was released on bond by immigration officials, he was accused of murdering Shafer. Weeks after the murder, Calixto is still on the run.
WCIA-TV reported on Noem’s visit to Springfield last May where spoke in front of Shafer’s home where she was murdered. In the video report, an activist ally of Shafer’s said Emma would have been out protesting Noem that day (well, if she hadn’t been murdered by her illegal alien boyfriend.)
Excerpt:
On Wednesday, Noem speculated about Shafer’s case and used her death as a political talking point, and not only without her family’s consent, but while Shafer’s mother was actively protesting Noem’s trip to Springfield.
…Following Noem’s speech, Shafer’s family members released a statement expressing their disappointment:
My daughter Emma radiated love and light everywhere she went and for all people. Even as a child, she was a friend to everyone and someone who spoke up for the less fortunate. She dedicated her life – her career and her free time – to causes of social justice and equity. That was just who she was.
To see her used by Secretary Noem and others to advance a cruel and heartless political agenda is not just deeply painful to us – it is an insult to her memory. Noem’s words are in direct conflict with who Emma was as a person. Emma built up community and stood with all members, including immigrants.
No parent should have to experience the loss of a child. But every time her name is brought into these conversations – conversations she would have wanted nothing to do with – we have to relive the pain of her death.
Secretary Noem, as a mother still grieving the loss of a child, I beg you to stop. This is not who she was. This is not helping us. Her memory should live in all the people she touched and the causes that she fought for. And I ask all of you to remember Emma as she was. And to live your life as she did: with courageous empathy and love for all.
Video of Noem’s remarks in Springfield:
I went to Springfield, Illinois, to join Angel families to call for the end for dangerous sanctuary city policies under J.B. Pritzker and bring attention to an at-large illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years for the stabbing of Emma Shafer.
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