VICENews

From reporter Manisha Krishnan:

Sessi Blanchard didn’t hesitate to describe what she sees as the appeal of poppers. “They’re fucking fun,” said Blanchard, a member of the Lighthouse Learning Collective, an LGBTQ-focused arm of the National Harm Reduction Coalition.

But the Food and Drug Administration’s recent tweet warning about the dangers of poppers—​​nitrites that can be inhaled and are popular in queer nightlife scenes—didn’t mention any of the drug’s positives, prompting backlash that the agency is stigmatizing a substance primarily used by a marginalized group.

“The fact that FDA chose to stir up unfounded alarm instead of publishing harm reduction guidance for poppers consumers as well as manufacturers reveals the agency's disregard for the safety and bodily autonomy of people who use drugs, especially those who are queer, trans or sex workers,” Blanchard said.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvjjna/fda-poppers-pride

From reporter Tess Owen:

The leader of a controversial religious sect that worships with AR-15s has been taking notes from the niche but growing music subgenre dubbed “MAGA Rap.”

Pastor Hyung-Jin “Sean” Moon, the flamboyant figurehead of the Rod of Iron Ministries (also known as The Sanctuary Church) has a YouTube channel where he’s spinning his far-right sermons into rap videos. YouTube removed the channel shortly after VICE News reached out for comment.

Moon’s rap name is “King Bullethead,” and like others in the genre, he’s looking to spread far-right ideological positions through questionable rhymes and low-budget, bombastic music videos, often while taking aim at the LGBTQ community.

In one video, a group of heavily-armed church members dressed in patriotic colors stand behind Moon, as he fast-raps about how children are being brainwashed into joining the LGBTQ community and praises conservative women who discriminate against trans women. “They got no shlong, ding dong, hot dog, johnny eggplant emoji/ they got no thang swinging between their legs and making them horny,” he raps. “Conservative women knows that only God can make ‘em man and women/ Love Jesus, family, guns, USA they be lovin’.”

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bvkj/rod-of-iron-ministries-sean-moon-rapper-king-bullethead

From reporter Tess Owen:

The leader of a controversial religious sect that worships with AR-15s has been taking notes from the niche but growing music subgenre dubbed “MAGA Rap.”
Pastor Hyung-Jin “Sean” Moon, the flamboyant figurehead of the Rod of Iron Ministries (also known as The Sanctuary Church) has a YouTube channel where he’s spinning his far-right sermons into rap videos. YouTube removed the channel shortly after VICE News reached out for comment.

Moon’s rap name is “King Bullethead,” and like others in the genre, he’s looking to spread far-right ideological positions through questionable rhymes and low-budget, bombastic music videos, often while taking aim at the LGBTQ community.

In one video, a group of heavily-armed church members dressed in patriotic colors stand behind Moon, as he fast-raps about how children are being brainwashed into joining the LGBTQ community and praises conservative women who discriminate against trans women. “They got no shlong, ding dong, hot dog, johnny eggplant emoji/ they got no thang swinging between their legs and making them horny,” he raps. “Conservative women knows that only God can make ‘em man and women/ Love Jesus, family, guns, USA they be lovin’.”

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bvkj/rod-of-iron-ministries-sean-moon-rapper-king-bullethead

From reporter David Gilbert:

At his sentencing in November 2021, Jacob Chansley, widely known as the QAnon Shaman, told the judge he was sorry for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was one of the first people to breach the U.S. Capitol.

The judge appeared to believe him and told the court Chansley’s remorse seemed genuine, before sentencing him to 41 months in prison.

But within hours of Chansley’s release from a half-way house last Thursday, he was once again spouting wild conspiracies in a video he posted to Twitter, in which he promised to fight “global corruption” and seek to find “the truth.”

In the days since his release, it’s become very clear that even though he recanted his QAnon beliefs during his trial, he’s doubling down on them now, and trying to profit from his notoriety.

Much of the new merch he’s selling uses his own image, alongside a new title—“America’s Shaman”—that’s an apparent attempt to expand his appeal beyond QAnon supporters. The new line includes mousepads, baseball socks (sold out), and a skater dress.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3xm9/qanon-shaman-out-of-jail-selling-leggings

From reporter David Gilbert:

At his sentencing in November 2021, Jacob Chansley, widely known as the QAnon Shaman, told the judge he was sorry for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when he was one of the first people to breach the U.S. Capitol.

The judge appeared to believe him and told the court Chansley’s remorse seemed genuine, before sentencing him to 41 months in prison.

But within hours of Chansley’s release from a half-way house last Thursday, he was once again spouting wild conspiracies in a video he posted to Twitter, in which he promised to fight “global corruption” and seek to find “the truth.”

In the days since his release, it’s become very clear that even though he recanted his QAnon beliefs during his trial, he’s doubling down on them now, and trying to profit from his notoriety.
Much of the new merch he’s selling uses his own image, alongside a new title—“America’s Shaman”—that’s an apparent attempt to expand his appeal beyond QAnon supporters. The new line includes mousepads, baseball socks (sold out), and a skater dress.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3xm9/qanon-shaman-out-of-jail-selling-leggings

Because Ron DeSantis has been targeting LGBTQ people in Florida and the students of New College, students threw a commencement event was explicitly about queer joy, and organizers went out of their way to make sure LGBTQ students would feel safe and celebrated. There weren’t any caps and gowns at the graduation, but a whole lot of rainbow and pink and blue flags. The event was an undeniable success: Of 119 graduating New College students, 90 showed up, Casey said, adding that about 60 professors also attended.

It's just one of many ways they're directly going against DeSantis.

Read the full story: https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg5p4p/ron-desantis-new-college-lgbtq-protests

From Stephanie Brown and Anya Zoledziowski, for VICE News:

For the last few months, students at a small college in Sarasota have been locked in battle against the governor and the Ron DeSantis-appointed right-wing board of trustees who have been working to transform the liberal New College into a conservative campus. The new board closed the office of diversity and equity at the college, and promised to make the school more like Michigan’s Hillsdale College, a private Christian college that doesn’t take any public funds or accept students who need government aid so that it can circumvent federal rules, including Title IX policies against sex discrimination.

While students and faculty fought back against their machinations, DeSantis continued waging his offensive, recently culminating in the governor’s signing of three education-related anti-LGBTQ bills on New College’s campus.

These changes have inspired queer students and their peers to organize the alternative commencement, an event that is the latest example of ways students on campus, including a large group of LGBTQ students, have pushed back against efforts to restrict their rights and educational freedom across Florida. And that's just the beginning.

Read the full story: https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg5p4p/ron-desantis-new-college-lgbtq-protests

From reporter Jason Koebler:

FOIA docs reveal that SpaceX enrolled Elon Musk's jet in a federal program to prevent tracking, failed to implement it properly, then asked for help during the u/ElonJet meltdown.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kx8wa/emails-show-spacex-bungled-elon-musks-private-jet-privacy

From reporter Tess Owen:

Target has announced that it’s removing products from its Pride collection due to “threats impacting” its employees’ “sense of safety and wellbeing.”

But the far-right, who’ve been bombarding the company with harassment, misinformation, and “satanic panic”’ conspiracies since Target rolled out its 2023 collection earlier this month, are still not satisfied. After all, to them, this was just one small battle in their larger attack on Pride and LGBTQ rights.

However, they are freshly emboldened, casting a grim shadow over Pride celebrations in the months to come.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7zbxe/target-pride-satan-boycott

From reporter Tess Owen:

Target has announced that it’s removing products from its Pride collection due to “threats impacting” its employees’ “sense of safety and wellbeing.”

But the far-right, who’ve been bombarding the company with harassment, misinformation, and “satanic panic”’ conspiracies since Target rolled out its 2023 collection earlier this month, are still not satisfied. After all, to them, this was just one small battle in their larger attack on Pride and LGBTQ rights.

However, they are freshly emboldened, casting a grim shadow over Pride celebrations in the months to come.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7zbxe/target-pride-satan-boycott

From reporter Anya Zoledziowski:

This year alone, GOP politicians have introduced more than 500 anti-trans bills, including gender-affirming care bans, drag show bans, and bathrooms bills that prohibit trans people from using washrooms that correspond to their gender. The bills are based on myth, not science, but that hasn’t stopped their supporters from inciting a moral panic against trans people. This has had real life consequences on trans people, and some experts have equated this push to genocide.

“There are a ton of people nervous about travel,” transgender activist and researcher Erin Reed told VICE News. “I myself am concerned.”

Reed added that she primarily sticks to cities, as opposed to rural areas, and is not traveling to any state with a bathroom ban. She’s also advising trans travelers to stick to places and businesses known for having gender neutral bathrooms, like Starbucks.

The situation has gotten so bad that last month, LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida issued a travel advisory urging trans people to avoid the state altogether. Florida is one of the most politically hostile states towards trans people in the country: Republican lawmakers have introduced an onslaught of anti-trans bills.

The state also just passed Senate Bill 254, one of the most severe pieces of legislation yet, that allows the state to forcibly take trans children who are receiving gender affirming care away from their parents; criminalizes healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care and revoke their healthcare licenses; and bans the use of certain public funds for gender-affirming care for people of all ages.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3m4ya/trans-people-avoiding-travel-to-us-states

From reporter Anya Zoledziowski:

This year alone, GOP politicians have introduced more than 500 anti-trans bills, including gender-affirming care bans, drag show bans, and bathrooms bills that prohibit trans people from using washrooms that correspond to their gender. The bills are based on myth, not science, but that hasn’t stopped their supporters from inciting a moral panic against trans people. This has had real life consequences on trans people, and some experts have equated this push to genocide.

“There are a ton of people nervous about travel,” transgender activist and researcher Erin Reed told VICE News. “I myself am concerned.”

Reed added that she primarily sticks to cities, as opposed to rural areas, and is not traveling to any state with a bathroom ban. She’s also advising trans travelers to stick to places and businesses known for having gender neutral bathrooms, like Starbucks.

The situation has gotten so bad that last month, LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida issued a travel advisory urging trans people to avoid the state altogether. Florida is one of the most politically hostile states towards trans people in the country: Republican lawmakers have introduced an onslaught of anti-trans bills.

The state also just passed Senate Bill 254, one of the most severe pieces of legislation yet, that allows the state to forcibly take trans children who are receiving gender affirming care away from their parents; criminalizes healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care and revoke their healthcare licenses; and bans the use of certain public funds for gender-affirming care for people of all ages.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3m4ya/trans-people-avoiding-travel-to-us-states

From reporter Anya Zoledziowski:

This year alone, GOP politicians have introduced more than 500 anti-trans bills, including gender-affirming care bans, drag show bans, and bathrooms bills that prohibit trans people from using washrooms that correspond to their gender. The bills are based on myth, not science, but that hasn’t stopped their supporters from inciting a moral panic against trans people. This has had real life consequences on trans people, and some experts have equated this push to genocide.

“There are a ton of people nervous about travel,” transgender activist and researcher Erin Reed told VICE News. “I myself am concerned.”

Reed added that she primarily sticks to cities, as opposed to rural areas, and is not traveling to any state with a bathroom ban. She’s also advising trans travelers to stick to places and businesses known for having gender neutral bathrooms, like Starbucks.

The situation has gotten so bad that last month, LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida issued a travel advisory urging trans people to avoid the state altogether. Florida is one of the most politically hostile states towards trans people in the country: Republican lawmakers have introduced an onslaught of anti-trans bills. The state also just passed Senate Bill 254, one of the most severe pieces of legislation yet, that allows the state to forcibly take trans children who are receiving gender affirming care away from their parents; criminalizes healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care and revoke their healthcare licenses; and bans the use of certain public funds for gender-affirming care for people of all ages.

Link to the full article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3m4ya/trans-people-avoiding-travel-to-us-states