On Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Secretary Kristi Noem would be visiting Springfield the following morning to tout her “Making America Safe Again” agenda and speak out against Gov. JB Pritzker’s immigration policies and Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state. No time or location for her press conference was publicized, but it was believed that she would make an appearance in front of the Governor’s Mansion at 10 a.m.
The Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, Illinois State AFL-CIO, 50501 Illinois and other activist groups began encouraging their supporters to show up and stage a counterprotest. A crowd gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion this morning, many with signs and some with their faces obscured to conceal their identities, but Noem did not appear.
Instead, the press conference took place near the apartment building on Eighth Street where Emma Shafer, 24, was killed in July 2023. Her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Calixto Pichardo, who was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. as a child with his mother, has been charged with three counts of murder in Shafer’s death but not taken into custody. Law enforcement has said they believe he fled to Mexico after the killing. Pichardo was granted DACA status as a teenager, but at the time of Shafer’s death it had expired and he was no longer eligible for DACA due to a previous felony conviction.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias held a press conference across from the Governor’s Mansion at 10:30 a.m. in response to Noem’s visit.
“The combination of cowardice, incompetence and cruelty is a very scary mix,” Giannoulias said. “So while I’m glad she’s not here, we need to step up as as a society, as a country and as a democracy to monsters like Kristi Noem.”
This article appears in A legacy and a vision.
LOL. Noem juked and jived the woke lunatics and left them shouting at the clouds, like usual. Amazing job by whoever in the Trump administration that leaked the fake location to the woke mob.
The article writes,
“Pichardo was granted DACA status as a teenager, but at the time of Shafer’s death it had expired and he was no longer eligible for DACA due to a previous felony conviction.”
Why are you trying so hard to dance around the fact that Emma’s suspected killer was an illegal immigrant who had no right to be in America, and should have obviously been deported years before he murdered Emma Shafer?
By the way, Gabriel Calixto was pals with Nick Dodson, who has written articles for this publication.
The woke lunatics claim to have loved Emma Shafer, but they desperately want to protect the next Gabriel Calixto. Amazing.
Or maybe the real story is that she ran scared—ducked out the back so she wouldn’t have to face those “woke lunatics.” That’s not some 4D chess move, that’s pure cowardice wrapped in a MAGA flag. Typical really.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“Or maybe the real story is that she ran scared”
That would be a total fantasy, much like all of the stories that the woke lunatics tell themselves and each other.
The Trump administration has done this MANY times. It’s extremely common, especially for Trump’s motorcade. They leak fake plans to the media, someone in the media tips off the woke mob, and then the mob shows up in the wrong location with egg on their face while Trump smoothly sails to his next location.
And it has nothing to do with cowardice. It’s called wisdom. There’s no reason to go anywhere near the woke mob, because the woke mob LOVES political violence.
If Emma Shafer were conservative, Gabriel Calixto would be your new hero.
She campaigned in South Dakota touting Christian values which seem to be absent now. She should have comforted the victim’s family (as Jesus would do). She goes after defenseless animals and defenseless humans. What can I say? It speaks for itself.
Hi xxxx,
You wrote,
“She goes after defenseless animals and defenseless humans.”
The criticisms of Noem for euthanizing her own dog are hilarious coming from a group who thinks it’s perfectly fine for a mom to kill her own unborn child in the womb.
If leaking fake motorcade routes and ducking out the back is your idea of strength, it explains a lot about your standards. When did running scared from protest signs become “strategy”? Oh right—when hiding replaced leading.
You call it wisdom. I call it what it is: a cult of personalities so fragile they need decoys just to avoid hearing dissent. But sure, keep pretending it’s some brilliant tactical maneuver. Just don’t act surprised when the rest of us see it for what it is—fear wrapped in a flag and sold as swagger.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“If leaking fake motorcade routes and ducking out the back is your idea of strength, it explains a lot about your standards.”
I didn’t say strength, I said wisdom. The reason that it’s wise to not go anywhere near the woke lunatics is because the woke lunatics LOVE political violence. If something terrible happened to Miss Noem, you and the other woke lunatics would be doing cartwheels in the street. It would be foolish for a conservative to go anywhere near you.
You wrote,
“When did running scared from protest signs become “strategy”?”
Staying far away from woke lunatics who want you dead is a very good strategy for staying alive.
You wrote,
“You call it wisdom. I call it what it is: a cult of personalities so fragile they need decoys just to avoid hearing dissent.”
You should look into the psychological concept of “projection”.
The woke lunatics are the cult who avoid hearing dissent at all costs. That’s why they wanted to shut down Noem’s press conference. If the woke lunatics had their way, conservatives wouldn’t be allowed to speak at all, ever, unless they were regurgitating woke talking points like you do.
The woke lunatics are so fragile that they instantly melt down when someone doesn’t play along with their fantasy games like a man can become a woman or it’s fine for a mom to kill her baby in the womb.
You wrote,
“But sure, keep pretending it’s some brilliant tactical maneuver. Just don’t act surprised when the rest of us see it for what it is—fear wrapped in a flag and sold as swagger.”
Trust me, I’m never surprised when the woke lunatics construct a fantasy story and then try to convince everyone else that it’s true. It’s all the woke lunatics ever do.
You’re out here spinning ghost stories about “woke mobs” while pretending like Jan 6th was a guided tour. Spare me the tough talk. The only political violence this country has seen lately came from flag-waving cosplayers smashing windows, assaulting cops, and trying to hang the Vice President because their feelings got hurt over a lost election.
But sure—keep pretending a handful of protestors with signs are some unhinged death squad. The cowardice you’re defending isn’t wisdom, it’s weakness with a PR team. Noem bailed because she didn’t want to face tough questions, not because she was under siege.
And the cult talk? Hilarious. You’re in a movement that worships a guy who tried to overturn democracy, praises dictators, and whose followers treat basic press questions like assassination attempts. That’s not a political party—that’s a group therapy session for people allergic to accountability.
You said “woke lunatics LOVE political violence”—unless you’re talking about your fellow MAGA supporters storming the Capitol and beating cops with Blue Lives Matter flags, I’d keep that accusation on mute. No one’s forgotten which side brought zip ties and gallows.
So if hiding from public view, lying about your location, and calling it “strategy” is your idea of leadership—congrats, you’ve traded courage for cosplay.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“The only political violence this country has seen lately came from flag-waving cosplayers smashing windows, assaulting cops, and trying to hang the Vice President because their feelings got hurt over a lost election.”
Another fantasy from the woke lunatics. I understand why the woke lunatics want to pretend like the George Floyd riots never happened but everyone knows who has a monopoly on political violence. Dozens of people were killed during the George Floyd riots, billions of dollars in damage was done, and only one person died on Jan 6th – a Trump supporter. Democrats are the ones with a monopoly on political violence, and it’s been that way for 50 years.
Putting aside the actual deaths, the last 10 years has seen an endless stream of threats toward conservatives from the woke lunatics and the two actual assassination attempts on Trump. The woke lunatics LOVE political violence. Outside of smoking pot, political violence is literally their favorite thing. Democrats have a total and complete monopoly on political violence despite the fantasy tales of Jan 6th composed by woke lunatics such as yourself.
You wrote,
“But sure—keep pretending a handful of protestors with signs are some unhinged death squad.”
The woke lunatics are obviously unhinged and they’re obviously a death cult. Read the signs at their demonstrations. Read their Facebook posts. They wish pain, suffering, and death upon their political enemies on a regular basis. Read the Facebook posts of the people who come to Springfield City Council to speak every week and then tell me that they aren’t unhinged woke lunatics who LOVE political violence.
You wrote,
“Noem bailed because she didn’t want to face tough questions, not because she was under siege.”
I understand the woke tendency to just keep repeating your fantasy until people believe it’s true, but woke lunatics don’t ask or answer questions. They make demands, threaten, intimidate, and silence. Nobody who showed up at the governors mansion intended to ask Noem a question. Their goal was to silence her.
You wrote,
“And the cult talk? Hilarious. You’re in a movement that worships a guy who tried to overturn democracy, praises dictators, and whose followers treat basic press questions like assassination attempts. That’s not a political party—that’s a group therapy session for people allergic to accountability.”
If the leftists aren’t a cult then go ahead and tell me one tenet of the ideology that you are allowed to disagree with and remain in the good graces of the mob. Just one! I won’t be holding my breath waiting for your answer because you will never be able to list one single thing.
On the other hand, Trump supporters are always disagreeing with each other and disagreeing with Trump without getting cast out into the wilderness. Half of Trump’s cabinet (and Trump himself) are former democrats who are able to see what unhinged losers the left has become. There is a wide umbrella of beliefs among republicans. The democrats have total uniformity of belief and when democrats deviate an inch from woke ideology then the woke lunatics rain down hellfire upon them.
The reason you call Trump supporters a cult is because woke lunatics can’t help but to project when speaking about their political opponents. Everything they accuse Trump and Trump supporters of doing is actually an admission of their own practices and internal beliefs.
You wrote,
“You said “woke lunatics LOVE political violence”—unless you’re talking about your fellow MAGA supporters storming the Capitol and beating cops with Blue Lives Matter flags, I’d keep that accusation on mute. No one’s forgotten which side brought zip ties and gallows.”
You will have a difficult time finding ANY Trump supporter who thinks that Jan 6th was a good idea. On the other hand, the woke lunatics LOVE riots and they LOVE wishing pain, suffering, violence, and death upon their political opponents.
Ah yes, the predictable flood of whataboutism. When cornered on an actual, organized attack on the U.S. Capitol, your instinct is to shout “BUT GEORGE FLOYD RIOTS!” like that somehow erases the gallows and zip ties brought by your team in broad daylight, on live TV.
Let’s break this down. Protesters reacting to decades of systemic injustice after a man was murdered on camera is not the same as a tantrum thrown because your cult leader lost a fair election. One was a cry for accountability. The other was a violent attempt to overturn democracy. You can try to blur the lines all you want, but history won’t.
And no, you don’t get to call others a “death cult” when your side built a shrine to a guy who told an armed mob to march on the Capitol and now sells them “Never Surrender” merch after being indicted four times. Your movement turned victimhood into a business model.
You claim “no one on the right defends Jan 6”—yet here you are, minimizing it, downplaying the violence, and pretending the whole thing was just cosplay gone wild. Meanwhile, you foam at the mouth over Facebook posts and city council speeches like they’re evidence of an armed insurrection.
Let’s be honest: you’re not mad about violence—you’re mad when your side faces consequences. You cheer when cops beat protestors, but cry foul when insurrectionists get jail time. That’s not principle. That’s pure hypocrisy.
And about this idea that Democrats are some hive-mind cult while Republicans are a free-thinking rainbow coalition? Please. You follow a guy who demands loyalty oaths and excommunicates anyone who questions him. You don’t have a “big tent”—you have a purity test that starts with “Did you praise Trump today?” and ends with “Do you want to inject bleach or just pray it away?”
You said: “Democrats have a monopoly on political violence.”
Weird how you forgot about:
– The attempted kidnapping of a sitting governor.
– Pipe bombs on Jan 6.
– Death threats against election workers.
– Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and QAnon kooks openly fantasizing about civil war.
But yeah, let’s hyperventilate about pot-smoking liberals and angry tweets.
Bottom line? You can keep ranting about “woke mobs” and spinning Jan 6 into a fairy tale, but the facts don’t change. Your side brought the gallows. Your side beat the cops. Your side smeared poop on the walls of the U.S. Capitol. You don’t get to lecture anyone about violence, mobs, or morality.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“Ah yes, the predictable flood of whataboutism. When cornered on an actual, organized attack on the U.S. Capitol, your instinct is to shout “BUT GEORGE FLOYD RIOTS!” like that somehow erases the gallows and zip ties brought by your team in broad daylight, on live TV.”
George Floyd Riots:
Dozens killed
Billions in monetary damage
Lasted for weeks and months across America
Jan 6th:
One killed (a Trump supporter)
2.7 million in damage
Lasted for 4 hours in one building
You wrote,
“Let’s break this down. Protesters reacting to decades of systemic injustice after a man was murdered on camera is not the same as a tantrum thrown because your cult leader lost a fair election.”
Thank you for proving my point that the democrats LOVE political violence. They uniformly praise the George Floyd riots and speak of how great they were. On the other hand, you won’t find a single republican who said Jan 6th was a good idea. Democrats have a monopoly on political violence. The democrats LOVE political violence!
You wrote,
“And no, you don’t get to call others a “death cult” when your side built a shrine to a guy who told an armed mob to march on the Capitol”
Since you live in a world of lies and propaganda you probably don’t know that virtually none of the Jan 6th rioters were armed. The only person to fire a weapon that day was the police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt (Trump supporter) in the head.
You wrote,
“Your movement turned victimhood into a business model.”
LOL. Literally the entire democrat platform is built upon intersectionality, a.k.a., a contest of who can claim the most victimhood.
You wrote,
“You claim “no one on the right defends Jan 6”—yet here you are, minimizing it, downplaying the violence, and pretending the whole thing was just cosplay gone wild.”
Jan 6th was a bad idea. The reason it was a bad idea is because political violence is wrong. The democrats and woke lunatics, on the other hand, love political violence and think it’s great as long as the victims are their political enemies.
You wrote,
“Meanwhile, you foam at the mouth over Facebook posts and city council speeches like they’re evidence of an armed insurrection.”
Watch the city council speakers and then go on Facebook and read their Facebook posts. Every single one of the speakers posts regularly promoting or advocating political violence against their opponents. They proclaim Luigi Mangione is their hero and they lament that Thomas Cooks missed his shot. The city council speakers LOVE political violence. The only thing they love more than political violence is smoking pot.
You wrote,
“Let’s be honest: you’re not mad about violence—you’re mad when your side faces consequences.”
Thank you for again proving my point. The democrats and woke lunatics believe that violence is the appropriate consequence for political speech that they disagree with.
You wrote,
“And about this idea that Democrats are some hive-mind cult while Republicans are a free-thinking rainbow coalition? Please.”
Again, because you live in a world of lies and woke propaganda, you probably don’t know that in 2016, Donald Trump was the FIRST presidential candidate to hold the gay flag on stage at a campaign event. Neither Obama nor any of his predecessors held a gay flag on stage while campaigning for president.
Donald Trump is a former democrat and half of his cabinet were democrats 4 years ago. Trump made HISTORIC electoral gains among minorities. There is much disagreement among republicans about every issue under the sun.
On the other hand, you appear to have declined my challenge to name one single tenet of woke ideology which you are allowed to disagree with while staying in the good graces of the woke mob.
I’ll give you another chance. Please name one single tenet of woke ideology which a democrat is allowed to disagree with without catching hell from the woke mob. I won’t be holding my breath waiting for your answer.
You wrote,
“You said: “Democrats have a monopoly on political violence.”
Weird how you forgot about:
– The attempted kidnapping of a sitting governor.
– Pipe bombs on Jan 6.
– Death threats against election workers.
– Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and QAnon kooks openly fantasizing about civil war.”
Because you live in a world of lies and woke propaganda, you probably don’t know that the Whitmer kidnapping scheme was an entrapment operation by the FBI and the majority of the participants were FBI agents who egged on a couple of clueless losers. The governor was never in any danger.
You probably don’t know that the Jan 6th pipe bomber was a government agent and the FBI had 26 agents in the crowd who were inciting the riot.
I don’t know much about threats against election workers but I do know that threatening people is wrong. On the other hand, the woke lunatics threaten their political opponents on a regular basis with zero repercussions. The woke mob LOVE threatening their opponents.
I don’t know much about the Proud Boys but I do know that civil war would be a very bad thing and fantasizing about it is a bad idea because political violence is wrong. I wish the democrats and woke lunatics understood that political violence and civil war is wrong, but they love it much more than the Proud Boys do. The Proud Boys were formed as a response to Antifa. The Proud Boys want to beat up Antifa, while Antifa want to burn down cities.
You wrote,
“You don’t get to lecture anyone about violence, mobs, or morality.”
Of course I do. I think political violence is wrong. The woke lunatics LOVE political violence and they are an immoral mob. Therefore, I get to lecture them.
My congratulations, Burger Addict. You are a Grade-A, 4 chan-level shitposter. The only real reason I come here anymore is to see your trolling. It’s fortunate that all these people pay so much attention to you or you might not have anything else to do.
Hi Hot Dog Enjoyer,
You wrote,
“It’s fortunate that all these people pay so much attention to you or you might not have anything else to do.”
Oh my gosh, I couldn’t imagine. If the woke lunatics started ignoring me, my burger addiction would really go off the rails.
You’ve said “woke” so many times I’m starting to think it’s your emotional support word. Maybe take a breath—no one’s trying to take your bumper stickers away.
Every time someone challenges you, you spiral into a thesaurus of buzzwords and conspiracies. That’s not strength, that’s panic in a patriotic wrapper.
If you really think shouting “woke” on repeat counts as an argument, you might be the snowflake you’re always warning us about.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“You’ve said “woke” so many times I’m starting to think it’s your emotional support word.”
How else can I refer to the woke lunatics such as yourself without saying “woke”?
You wrote,
“Every time someone challenges you, you spiral into a thesaurus of buzzwords and conspiracies. That’s not strength, that’s panic in a patriotic wrapper.”
What I do is reply to the things that people say to me.
I understand that’s difficult for the woke mind to comprehend because it’s something that the woke lunatics are absolutely unable to do. Woke lunatics such as yourself would rather undergo involuntary gender re-assignment surgery than answer a question or respond to what someone is actually saying to them.
You wrote,
“If you really think shouting “woke” on repeat counts as an argument, you might be the snowflake you’re always warning us about.”
I understand why the woke lunatics dislike being referred to as “woke”. In their own delusional minds, the woke lunatics are in the center of the political spectrum. Anyone an inch to the right of them is a “nazi” and the only way to be a “leftist” is to be a full-blown communist. Therefore, in the woke mind, “woke” doesn’t even exist.
However, despite your complaints, “woke” is the perfect word to refer to the radical leftist lunatics. Why use nine syllables when just one syllable does the trick?
You wrote,
“How else can I refer to the woke lunatics such as yourself without saying ‘woke’?”
It’s wild how you use “woke” like it’s seasoning—just sprinkle it over everything and hope it adds flavor. Spoiler: it doesn’t.
You wrote,
“What I do is reply to the things that people say to me.”
You reply, alright—just not to reality.
You wrote,
“Woke lunatics would rather undergo involuntary gender re-assignment surgery than answer a question.”
Honestly, are you okay? That sentence went from zero to weird faster than your keyboard could keep up.
You wrote,
“Woke is the perfect word…”
We get it—you read one headline in 2016 and built an entire personality out of it. Time to update the firmware.
You didn’t write,
Anything that required thinking past your favorite buzzword.
But hey, keep grinding—your next comment might be the one that finally gets shared in your group chat.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“It’s wild how you use “woke” like it’s seasoning—just sprinkle it over everything and hope it adds flavor. Spoiler: it doesn’t.”
I understand that you don’t like the word “woke”. None of the woke lunatics like that word, for the reason I’ve already mentioned.
I’d like to get back to the subject of the article and ask you a question.
Why do you and the other woke lunatics prefer to protect the next Gabriel Calixto instead of protecting the next Emma Shafer.
You do realize that if the Biden administration had enforced the immigration laws that Trump is enforcing now, Emma Shafer would still be alive, right?
You wrote,
“If the Biden administration had enforced the immigration laws that Trump is enforcing now, Emma Shafer would still be alive.”
Interesting theory, but it doesn’t hold up. Trump’s deportation numbers were actually lower than those of previous administrations. For instance, in 2012 alone, the Obama administration deported over 409,000 individuals, while Trump never surpassed 260,000 in a single year.
You wrote,
“Why do you and the other woke lunatics prefer to protect the next Gabriel Calixto instead of protecting the next Emma Shafer?”
Exploiting a tragedy to push a political agenda is not only insensitive but also misleading. If you’re truly concerned about safety, perhaps focus on comprehensive solutions rather than scapegoating entire communities.
You didn’t write,
Any acknowledgment of the complexities surrounding immigration enforcement.
But I suppose nuance isn’t your strong suit.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“Interesting theory, but it doesn’t hold up. Trump’s deportation numbers were actually lower than those of previous administrations. For instance, in 2012 alone, the Obama administration deported over 409,000 individuals, while Trump never surpassed 260,000 in a single year.”
Gabriel Calixto was arrested by the federal government on May 4, 2021 on the charge of improper entry. DHS determined he was eligible to be removed from the country. Instead, the Biden administration released him in August 2021. Two years later he murdered Emma Shafer.
Do you care to respond to that fact instead of citing some random irrelevant statistics?
After knowing that fact, are you going to acknowledge that Emma Shafer would still be alive had the Biden administration enforced immigration law?
You wrote,
“If you’re truly concerned about safety, perhaps focus on comprehensive solutions rather than scapegoating entire communities.”
Trump is pursuing a comprehensive solution. He’s deporting everyone who has no legal right to be in America. Every crime committed by an illegal immigrant never had to happen, because they have no legal right to be here. What comprehensive solution were you referring to? Waving a magic wand to soften the hearts of criminals?
You want to protect the next Gabriel Calixto but Trump is protecting the next Emma Shafer.
You wrote,
“Gabriel Calixto was arrested… DHS determined he was eligible to be removed… Biden released him… Two years later he murdered Emma Shafer.”
So your entire argument boils down to: one person = entire policy failure. That’s not a “fact,” that’s emotional blackmail dressed up as logic. If a U.S. citizen commits murder, do we dismantle citizenship?
You wrote,
“Are you going to acknowledge that Emma Shafer would still be alive had the Biden administration enforced immigration law?”
No. Because pretending a single data point proves causality is lazy at best and manipulative at worst. You’re not looking for solutions—you’re looking for scapegoats.
You wrote,
“Trump is pursuing a comprehensive solution…”
Trump’s “solution” was/is chaos: broken asylum systems, family separations, and lower deportations.. (Source: Cato Institute)
You didn’t write,
Anything about investing in smarter screening, community support, or real reform.
Because that would require actually caring about safety—not just using it as a punchline.
Hi BeyondBurgerLogic,
You wrote,
“So your entire argument boils down to: one person = entire policy failure. That’s not a “fact,” that’s emotional blackmail dressed up as logic.”
It’s very logical that when you deport criminals who have no legal right to be here, they are then unable to commit further crimes against Americans. I understand that it’s hard for the woke lunatics to comprehend this logic, because logic, along with common sense, is among the many things which elude them.
You wrote,
“If a U.S. citizen commits murder, do we dismantle citizenship?”
No, because unlike Gabriel Calixto, US citizens have a legal right to be in America. So US citizen murderers should go to jail and should not be exiled. I know that the woke lunatics would rather give them probation and a nice back rub, and make them promise to never murder again, but I think jail is more appropriate.
You wrote,
“No. Because pretending a single data point proves causality is lazy at best and manipulative at worst. You’re not looking for solutions—you’re looking for scapegoats.”
Thank you for proving my point. The woke lunatics would rather protect the Gabriel Calixtos of the world than the Emma Shafers of the world.
My next question would be “Why?”, but there’s no way you could look within your darkened soul to answer that question. I already know that would be asking too much of you.
To you, Emma Shafer is just one of the hundreds of eggs you need to crack to make an open borders omelette.
You wrote,
“Trump’s “solution” was/is chaos: broken asylum systems, family separations, and lower deportations.. (Source: Cato Institute)
You didn’t write,
Anything about investing in smarter screening, community support, or real reform.
Because that would require actually caring about safety—not just using it as a punchline.”
This is all so retarded that I’m utterly unable to respond to it. Maybe if I smack myself in the head with a hammer 17 times, then I’ll be dumb enough to understand your point.