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Gabby Petito's parents believe Brian Laundrie is still alive, recall learning tragic news
The parents of Gabby Petito described in heartbreaking detail the moments when they heard the news that their 22-year-old daughter’s remains were believed to have been found in Wyoming after she had been missing for weeks, and say they believe her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, is still alive.
Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Gabby’s mother and father, and her nearly lifelong stepparents, Tara Petito and Jim Schmidt, sat down for an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw that aired Tuesday on his show. The approximately 30-minute interview covered topics ranging from Nichole Schmidt’s early inkling that her daughter was not OK; the text messages Gabby’s parents sent to Laundrie's parents; and their belief that he is hiding out.
Nearly all of the four parents were scattered throughout the country when the FBI told them Sept. 19 that they "had some information that they wanted to share," Jim Schmidt recalled.
With Jim Schmidt in Wyoming, he met law enforcement agents at a conference room of the hotel where he was staying, he said. As he entered the room for the meeting that day, Jim could see through a window an FBI agent rushing in to meet him. He later learned it was because the agent wanted to share the news before word got out of their discovery.
"They described a piece of clothing to me that matched one of her favorite sweatshirts that we knew was … hers," Jim Schmidt recalled. "We were all crying in the room. You know, couldn't believe it, because we were holding out for hope. I knew what we were potentially going to find when we came here."
The others joined the meeting via conference call, where they learned that the FBI had found the remains of a body that matched Gabby’s physical description. Through tears, Petito’s mother described to McGraw learning that investigators had "found remains." CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.
In other developments:
- Gabby Petito: Parents say Brian Laundrie is a 'coward,' and still alive: LIVE UPDATES
- Brian Laundrie manhunt: Florida fugitive last seen a day earlier than previously believed, lawyer says
- Brian Laundrie stole, used Gabby Petito's credit card and 'ran from' police: family attorney
- Gabby Petito update: FBI’s decision to hold victim’s remains, cause of death ‘very unusual,’ Dr. Baden says
- Brian Laundrie search: Sister Cassie blasts parents second time over brother's whereabouts
Kevin McCarthy accuses Democrats of seeking to 'silence parents'
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy took aim at a new Department of Justice policy intended to crack down on alleged "threats of violence" against school officials, saying it was part of an effort by Democrats to muzzle parents.
"President Biden's latest decision is part of a disturbing trend in the Democrat Party to silence parents," McCarthy of California said on Twitter on Tuesday. "We should encourage family participation in our schools, not baselessly attack opposing views because leftist groups want control over curriculums."
At issue is a new DOJ effort to combat an alleged increase in violence and threats directed at schools boards and other school officials. Many parents have been attending meetings across the country to voice their displeasure with COVID-19 restrictions and the use of critical race theory in curricula.
"Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values," Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the effort in a statement Monday. "Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety."
Garland directed federal law enforcement agencies to work with state and local law enforcement to discuss the "disturbing trend" of harassment directed at school officials.
But in a statement Tuesday, McCarthy accused Democrats of being guilty of their own "disturbing trend," arguing that the new DOJ effort was an attempt to "silence parents from having a say in their own children's education." CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Sen. Hawley excoriates President Biden for weaponizing the DOJ against parents by using FBI to silence them
- Sen. Tom Cotton condemns Biden administration for 'sicking' Feds on concerned parents: 'Dangerous overreach'
- Missouri AG blasts DOJ directive as 'unconstitutional expansion' of federal power as criticism mounts
- Biden's ‘politicization’ of DOJ continues with new effort to combat threats against school boards, critics say
- Blackburn confronts Deputy AG Monaco about crackdown on alleged harassment of school officials
Biden faces hostile Michigan protesters as he arrives to promote stalling agenda
President Biden traveled to Michigan on Tuesday to promote his stalling "Build Back Better" agenda – but found an angry group of protesters waiting for him not far from the site where he delivered his speech.
Those opposing Biden in Howell numbered about 500, the Detroit Free Press reported, with many participating in profane chants against the president. Howell is located about midway between Detroit and the state capital city of Lansing.
At one point, the protesters cheered when a green front-end loader with a "No Biden" sign traveled down the road, according to the newspaper.
Another sign in the crowd read, "Build Back Broke," the Detroit News reported.
Many in the crowd told FOX 2 of Detroit that they didn’t like the size of the Democrats’ proposed $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill or the $3.5 trillion so-called reconciliation bill of safety-net spending that most members of Biden’s party hope to pass as a package.
"The money has to come from somewhere," protester Londa Gatt told FOX 2. "You can’t keep printing it."
The president said his agenda was crafted as a "reinvestment" in America in order for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global economy in the years ahead. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Pelosi handed major defeat by rising progressive Democrat stars, as Biden agenda put on ice
- Tucker Carlson: The left will now use armed agents to enforce their radical ideology
- Sen. Kennedy: The woke leftists are in disarray over spending agenda
- Will Cain: Biden administration treats Americans like the enemy
- Newt Gingrich: Bold Big Government socialism vs. timid Big Government socialism
- Biden not 'aware of what had transpired' in AUKUS submarine deal: Kerry
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SOME PARTING WORDS
Fox News' Tucker Carlson tore into Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday over a memo issued this week directing the FBI and other Department of Justice entities to focus on identifying and prosecuting threats of violence and harassment of school officials and board members.
"Criminality -- actual criminality, actual violence, actual murders, not metaphorical violence, hate crimes, but real violence, where people shoot each other and die -- is rising dramatically faster than it ever has in American history," the host said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "What's the Biden administration doing about this? Nothing. Because a lot of these people are their voters, their political allies. And speaking of political allies, the administration has no problem when its political allies terrorize sitting U.S. senators in bathrooms."
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