Congressman Matt Gaetz Fights For Our Own Illinois Republican Leader Terry Newsome
Congressman Matt Gaetz Fights For Our Own Illinois Republican Leader Terry Newsome
Newsome is an elected Republican Precinct Committeeman
June 3, 2023
Val Ojeda, Writer
Political Commentry
Terry Newsome. I had the opportunity to meet this larger-than-life individual just a few weeks ago. Terry is of Italian descent and reminded me of Tony Soprano of the hit series on HBO, but instead of being a mobster, he's a Patriot.
Terry, a lifelong resident of Illinois, lives in DuPage County. He's married with twins. A member of the Republican Party, he is also an elected Precinct Committeeman. Terry is also a supporter of President Trump, with no apologies. Terry loves his country. He's pro-life and is a staunch defender of the Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights.
As I followed Terry, I found he was present in Washington DC to hear President Trump on January 6th when the election was challenged. However, he did not enter the Capitol building later. As you know, hundreds of loyal supporters of President Trump are being persecuted for entering the Capitol that day. Remember, the Capitol belongs to the people and many of these citizens have every right to be there. Tell that to the FBI though.
However, the Democrats weaponized the FBI to list these honest Americans as “terrorists” Later they did so to Terry, not for the J6 events.
Allow me to explain.
Terry is very outspoken. This came in handy as he began attending School board meetings and speaking at these hearings over the sexualization of our children. As you recall, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB818 the “student grooming” laws that expand the teaching of sexuality in our schools to students as young as five years old.
Right now, books and manuals are being provided to these young angels instructing them on how to masturbate and engage in same-sex, sex, including penetration. These handbooks use visual aids as cartoons to instruct them to give oral sex to people of the same sex. Mind you, these visuals are so explicit that if they were shown to any child in public that individual could be arrested and become a sex offender for life. Yet, teachers are teaching this every day with these manuals.
Therefore, Terry became vocal. His daughters attend school in Downers Grove. Like any parent, he wants what's best for them, including the best education. But this shouldn't include his children being exposed to these liberal ideologies that find it acceptable to embrace sex at such a young age. This would only create a wider problem of having children out of wedlock, to increase more cases of abortion. Since Roe vs. Wade was affected with protections, 65 million babies lost their lives. Imagine how this would increase soon.
Terry became a part of a new movement of parents fighting for parental rights. They comprised “mama bears” and fed up parents betrayed by the politicians because they bought into the new age agenda of social activism. The problem is, for every inch they gained in victory, the Democrats in elected office took miles away from them. A never winning battle.
As a matter of fact, 6th Congressional District Congressman Sean Casten went on the attack against Terry, who now was identified as a leader among the parent's movement. By doing this, Sean placed Terry on the map with hate groups such as ANTIFA that have created a “DOXXING” campaign to ruin his credibility, attack his family and target his employment. They also threatened his life..... many times.
Terry, ever the fighter, continued to fight back by exposing the new laws that robbed our children of their innocence. It's so bad that if you are a teacher of faith and refuse to teach these pornographic student guides, your teaching certificate may be revoked. Just recently the Illinois General Assembly passed a law guaranteeing the right of men to use little girls restrooms in schools. This is the society we live in, and that's why Terry is fighting against them.
Like him or not, Terry is shaking things up. Thousands of conservatives and even parents who aren't political, follow Terry. Indeed, though Terry has been around the block, he is becoming quite the leader among the Illinois Republicans. As an elected official and using his parental platform, he has created an Illinois Grassroots Platform.
I asked Terry why he was doing this, and he said, "Val, I had to make this choice because as a parent someone had to step forward in defense of parental rights to prevent any more of these nonsense laws being created to expose our children to sex and other activists ideas to influence the thinking of our children"
This is why he's moving forward to create a new movement to fight back. A grassroots organization bringing together conservative groups to fight together instead of separately. Many look at Terry to lead the way.
With this improved conservative leadership, they look to win races to take back Illinois. They will fight against the present GOP establishment and develop improved strategies to recruit, develop and train new candidates to finally win back Springfield.
Because they have been bold about their plans, it has created a house divided within the GOP with them demanding the resignation of the Chairman Don Tracy. According to Illinois Review, the Conservative publication that Vargas is editor-in-chief of, this organization wants grassroots representation in the central committee, so they may have a voice. It may just happen.
Because Terry is very visible on the national scene with many articles written about him, now he is receiving attention from the Biden Administration. He found this out in December 2022 when he and his family were flying out to Arizona to attend the Charlie Kirks Save America Conference.
Waiting to receive his tickets, Terry was flagged and told he could not board. Homeland Security advised that he was recently placed on the FAA terror watchist afforded to those like Al Qaeda or the Taliban. After hours of them communicating with Washington DC they granted him a one-time waiver to fly.
Now this concerned Terry. They initiated an investigation just to find that the Southern Poverty Law Center placed him on their in-house unofficial target list and forwarded his name to the FBI. Because he was in DC on January 6, 2021, they listed him as a “domestic terrorist”.
Terry then reached out to elected officials he knew personally and even decided to reach out to Rep. Matt Gaetz, a fighter of those labeled as domestic terrorists by the Biden Administration.
Here is a letter he sent to Congressman Gaetz:
My name is Terry Newsome, a father of sophomore twins in a western suburb of Chicago. November of 2021 after speaking out against nasty oral sex images in my childrens school and a "children's" drag bingo in our local public library IL Democrats, radical leftist, ANTIFA, SPLC and our government have attacked, harassed and threatened me. Last December I was suddenly placed on a Domestic Terror Watch List. I was very fortunate that Matt Gaetz and other congressmen took notice. Matt sent the attached Demand Letter to Garland, Wrey and Mayorkas, All three agencies responded with an acknowledgement response to Gaetz staff but never responded to the below demand questions that Matt asked of them.
Has Mr. Newsome, at any point, been placed on a watchlist of any sort?
Why has Mr. Newsome been labelled “SSSS” in airport security?
Is the DOJ, FBI, or DHS maintaining a watchlist of anyone present in Washington, D.C., or near the Capitol on January 6, 2021?
Is the DOJ, FBI, or DHS maintaining a watchlist of anyone who attends and participates in school board meetings?
Just as quickly as I was unfairly without notice I placed on the watch list I suddenly came off the watch list! In addition to Matt Gaetz, TX Congressman Troy Nehls reached out to the TSA on my behalf as well. I'm not a terrorist, racist or anti- LGBTQ. I'm a father who defends my children and an American who peacefully attended J6 without breaking any laws who has been aggressively attacked by the left and our government for no other reason than that we don't agree.
The Epoch Times just reported on Congressman Gaitz request to the Biden Administration for information about placing Terry on the watch list.
Here was his formal request:
Reposting of the Epoch Times article of Congress Matt Gaitz demanding answers for Terry's case.
Epoch Times
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) demanded answers on why a Chicago father was placed on a government watchlist after he spoke out against pornographic content in his kids’ school.
Terry Newsome first got involved in politics in summer 2021, after learning that the school was offering students access to a sexually explicit children’s book that addressed controversial ideas of sexuality and gender.
In December 2022, months after beginning to speak out, Newsome learned while en route to TurningPoint USA’s AmericaFest that he had been placed on a government watchlist, which required him to receive substantially more screening to fly. Specifically, Newsome had been designated “quad-S,” a plane ticket classification requiring one to undergo extensive additional screening, even though he had been charged with no crime in a court of law.
Those designated with quad-S—an acronym standing for Secondary Security Screening Selection (SSSS)—are subject to substantially invasive screening.
Quad-S boarding pass holders are traditionally removed from the line and brought elsewhere for additional screening. This screening is nothing if not thorough—passengers are asked to remove all items from their bags, which are then examined individually while the bag is thoroughly searched. The designation is just a rank removed from the no-fly list.
The same thing happened while Newsome was en route to CPAC in Maryland in March.
For months, Newsome—who has been flying regularly since 2000 and has been Transportation Security Administration precheck approved for over 10 years—tried to learn why he had been placed on the list. But he got no answers from the agencies he contacted.
The FBI refused to answer a Freedom of Information Act request, saying that revealing such information could compromise the national security goal of the watchlist initiative. The TSA responded ambiguously to a request submitted on Newsome’s behalf by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn’t reply at all.
When he reached out to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), whose constituency he is in, Newsome said he received little assistance.
Durbin did not reply to a query on the matter from The Epoch Times.
Now, Gaetz is demanding answers amid revelations that Newsome is not the only one who has received the quad-S designation on his ticket after conservative political activism.
‘Unaccountable Secret Police’
In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray obtained by The Epoch Times, Gaetz wrote: “It has come to my attention that Mr. Terrence Newsome, among other individuals, has been labeled ‘Secondary Security Screening Selection’ (SSSS) while traveling by air.
“Mr. Newsome is an American citizen who has not been charged with and should not be under investigation for any crimes, especially those relating to national security.”
Gaetz acknowledged, as does Newsome, that Newsome was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
Epoch Times Photo
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) poses for a photo with Terry Newsome (R) at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Maryland on March 2, 2023. (Courtesy of Terry Newsome)
However, Newsome, who was substantially weakened by treatment for stage 4 cancer at the time, left the protest prior to the U.S. Capitol breach and has been charged with no crimes in connection to the events of the day.
“Like millions of Americans, he was present in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, but has not so much as been accused of violating any laws that day,” Gaetz wrote. “It is alarming to consider that Mr. Newsome may have been placed on a terrorist watchlist for participating in 1st Amendment activities—a watchlist that circumvents due process and subjects him to dehumanizing treatment in airports.”
Gaetz continued: “Despite the United States’ commitment to due process and liberty, many of our citizens are facing discrimination from our own government, akin to what some political dissidents face in third world, authoritarian countries. The United States is not a police state. It is unconstitutional for American citizens to have their liberty infringed upon by an unaccountable secret police.”
After fighting the charges with the assistance of several members of Congress, Newsome has apparently been removed from the quad-S designation. But questions remain on why he was ever there at all.
“I didn’t know what else to do, so I started reaching out to members of Congress for help,” Newsome wrote in a statement on the matter. “Congressman Matt Gaetz stepped up and sent a letter on my behalf to the DOJ, FBI, and DHS asking why I was being treated this way despite never having committed a crime.
“I guess they didn’t have an answer, because the next thing I knew I was off the ‘SSSS’ list and back to flying without any trouble, with one exception—they still kept my TSA Pre Check privileges.”
Newsome still doesn’t have an explanation why he ended up on the list. “I never got an explanation, and from what I’ve been told, it isn’t easy to get off these lists—few do, and even fewer know why they are on it in the first place.”
Closing the letter, Gaetz requested information on Newsome’s case, asking if the Chicago father had been placed on a watchlist and why he was designated quad-S, placing the issue into Gaetz’s larger concerns about the weaponization of the federal government.
Others Designated Quad-S
Newsome is not the only person who has been on the wrong side of the federal government and found himself designated quad-S, according to investigation by the Center for Self Governance (CSG), a political nonprofit.
Zoe Warren, who serves as coordinator for CSG’s Political Weaponization of Labels and Government initiative, discussed cases that were similar to Newsome’s in an interview with The Epoch Times.
One he referenced was Briana Bundy, the wife of Mel Bundy. Mel Bundy participated in a 2014 standoff with the federal government in Nevada that was ultimately resolved peacefully.
After initially declining to press charges for the incident, the federal government charged Mel Bundy in 2016, but the same did not happen to his wife.
Nevertheless, Briana Bundy later learned that she had been designated quad-S. Though she’s still allowed to fly, Warren reported that she has been “embarrassed” by having to fly with U.S. Marshals on either side of her while she is handcuffed.
Jan. 6 Connection
Warren said that the protocol has also been used against others like Newsome who were present on Jan. 6 but committed no crime. He reported that CSG has discovered at least a dozen cases of Jan. 6 defendants placed on quad-S designation.
Gaetz, who is aware of these and other cases, directed several questions about the matter to federal law enforcement officials.
“Is the DOJ, FBI, or DHS maintaining a watchlist of anyone present in Washington, D.C., or near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?” Gaetz asked.
Protesters gather at the police line on the west side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Special to The Epoch Times)
After undertaking the largest manhunt in DOJ history to round up Jan. 6 defendants, federal law enforcement has been charged with a series of civil liberties violations of Jan. 6 defendants, both before and after finding them.
The FBI has been accused of wrongfully using Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a tool intended for purely foreign threats, against Jan. 6 participants.
Those arrested in connection to Jan. 6 have faced conditions that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) describes as “nothing short of human rights violations” while detained in the D.C. Metropolitan Jail and other facilities.
Newsome’s case and the case of other Jan. 6 participants suggests that even those who did nothing wrong have faced penalties for being present in the capital city that day.
School Board Meetings
It’s also unclear whether Newsome’s activism against sexually explicit content in his kids’ school led to his placement on the list.
Since October 2021, the Biden administration has been under fire for allegedly targeting parents like Newsome who spoke out against left-wing initiatives and content at their children’s schools.
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many students across the country began learning remotely, parents got a window into their children’s education. Several discovered that controversial, disputed ideas about sexuality, gender, and race were being taught as fact, leading to a spurt of parents showing up at school board meetings to protest the content.
On Oct. 4, 2021, the attorney general directed the FBI to partner with local law enforcement and U.S. attorneys to identify parental threats at school board meetings against faculty and “prosecute them when appropriate.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies at a House Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington on March 29, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The FBI responded to the memo by allegedly placing “threat tags,” indicating the possibility of a terror or violent crime incident, on parents who attended school board meetings, leading to concerns that the FBI was cracking down on First Amendment-protected speech.
In his letter, Gaetz connected the issues, asking whether the FBI, DOJ, or DHS is keeping a watchlist of any parents who spoke at their children’s school board meetings.
Gaetz’s letter comes amid a GOP-led investigation into the weaponization of the federal government through the House Judiciary Committee, as Republicans claim that federal law enforcement has been “weaponized” against the political rivals of President Joe Biden.
We support Terry because, like the many thousands in our country who are becoming targets of the Biden Administration for just being Conservative. We are now coming together angry and upset about this unnecessary profiling, treating Republicans as criminals.
Every day the liberal Democrats are taking away our constitutional freedoms. Just recently it was by taking away our right to own weapons. For who are they to strip us of our rights guaranteed by the constitution? Terry, like many other Americans, doesn't know what the next day will bring to them from either the government or outside agitators such as ANTIFA and other groups.
Terry is getting attacked everyday on social media because they feel it's “best” to expose him. For what? Is this not America and does one have the Constitutional right of opinion? In one case of this harassment comes an individual that I have confirmed is under federal investigation. This 52-year-old woman from Evanston who I'll be releasing her name shortly is organizing this pathetic attack. She should no better as her husband is a practicing attorney in Illinois. If discovered he is helping her, the ARDC may disbar him.
For what are they to gain by attacking conservatives? After all, they are one and the same, this deranged woman and Joe Biden. These people have no souls because most are atheists. They embrace LGBTQ and what to promote the understanding of grown men sleeping with little boys if it's “consensual” This is the mindset of these fools.
For what is being done? I'm from the old school. If a bird were to shit on the hood of my car, I would then climb a tree and shit in that bird's nest, tossing eggs on the way down. In the business of revenge, when attacked, you don't play defense, you go on the offensive.
When you come after those that mean to do you harm, you don't go after the King, you go after the Prince. Make them feel real pain for the actions that they have done by having those that are close to them receive attacks. Let them feel the pain for the king's actions. It will be their punishment.
Is this not what President Trump's platform is now? He is conducting a scorched earth policy on Democrats and Republicans that were responsible for robbing him of the election. Trump is the payback candidate and he will win.
This is the ideology we have to embrace to defeat the Democrats and win back our great country, so many more Terry Newsome are targeted. It's time that we rise together to make this happen. I give props to Rep. Gaetz to defending Terry. Gaetz understands what Terry is going through because he himself was accused of sleeping with minors. A charge that was found to be untrue. All lies to discredit him because of his support for Trump.
A special thank you to Joel Valdez, Gaetz communications director, who I've known for 7 years when he was Turning Point USA at the University of Illinois. When I was with the Trump campaign staff as the Hispanic Coalition Leader, we faced down ANTIFA ourselves at the University as they attempted to raid a Charlie Kirk event. Valdez, I believe, helped Terry get his message to Gaitz to fight back.
Conservative brothers helping brothers.
Terry is doing amazing things to help promote parents, students, and the grassroots. He's not doing this for selfish reasons, but just to provide a better life for his family and yours. Let us support Terry, as he will roll out a calendar of events to discuss plans to defeat the Democratic machine. This grassroots coalition that he and his colleagues have will be the spear for the Republican Party in Illinois.
Terry keep it up. We stand with you!
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