The Conservative Cave

The ballroom is paid for with private funds you idiot. You just leaving that part out or just stupid?

Alleged Palisades arsonist became 'fixated' with Luigi Mangione, said blaze started 'out of resentment of the rich': prosecutors
The deranged firebug accused of igniting the devastating Palisades Fire had become "fixated" on Luigi Mangione in the lead-up to the deadly blaze -- and then allegedly suggested the inferno was started out of "resentment of the rich," prosecutors said.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, was obsessed with the accused health care CEO killer and had routinely searched "free Luigi Mangione" and "lets take down all the billionaires" online, court documents show.

In the weeks and hours before allegedly sparking the blaze that triggered the catastrophic Palisades Fire, Rinderknecht -- who worked as an Uber driver -- ranted to customers about Mangione's arrest, too.

"Many of defendant's Uber passengers on December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025, described defendant as angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being 'pissed off at the world' and Luigi Mangione, capitalism, and vigilantism," prosecutors noted in a trial memorandum.

When asked why someone would ultimately set the blaze, Rinderknecht allegedly responded that it "would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as 'we're basically being enslaved by them' and compared such an act of 'desperation' to the murder for which Mangione was charged," according to the memo.

republicans are thrilled at the prospect of spending $1 billion toward this ballroom obscenity

Eight days ago, Louise Lucas giddily and "ruthlessly" trolled Republicans over the success of Virginia's redistricting referendum. Today, the woman who began promoting T-shirts with the message "TEN F****N' ONE" may need to focus more on getting legal representation. The FBI raided Lucas' office and nearly a dozen other locations, apparently in a corruption probe that resulted in judicially approved search warrants:

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Federal agents are conducting a raid at the office of L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat who serves as Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore.

The FBI is serving multiple search warrants at the office in Portsmouth, Virginia, approved by a federal judge.

Sources say the warrants are tied to a major corruption investigation.

Agents are also searching a cannabis dispensary located next door to Lucas’ office.

According to the video report above, the investigation came as a complete surprise to Lucas. One has to wonder whether it comes as a surprise to Gov. Abigail Spanberger, too.

It shouldn't. Reports about Lucas' alleged ethical irregularities began to emerge last fall:

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Virginia Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D), a woman helping lead the charge to redraw the commonwealth’s congressional maps to favor Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, has used her donors’ cash to: bankroll her family business, fund her daughter’s political career, cut checks to churches who support her party, pay for casino events, support organizations where she is a member, and to cover tabs at restaurants dealing in steak and seafood.
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Lucas’s campaign has transferred $13,390 to the historically black Baptist church since 2021, according to public records. Milton Blount, who served as the church’s head pastor until his death in January, endorsed Lucas’s daughter, Lisa Lucas-Burke, for Portsmouth mayor in 2024, encouraged his followers to support the Democratic Party, and was involved in liberal politics. ...

Update: We've seen accusations that the FBI and Department of Justice is engaging in a partisan retaliation over the referendum. The Washington Post throws cold water on that theory:

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The FBI on Wednesday raided the Portsmouth offices and a cannabis retail business co-owned by state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate and one of the most powerful Democrats in the state, as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, according to two federal law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.

The exact nature and targets of the probe remain unclear, though the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation, said it involved allegations of bribery. One of those officials said the investigation began during the Biden administration.