Slade Sohmer, the now-former editor-in-chief of the left-leaning publication The Recount, was arrested on Friday on charges of possessing more than 1,300 images of child pornography including images of toddlers, according to court documents.

Sohmer was released on $100,000 bail on Monday, after being charged with two counts of possession and two counts dissemination of child pornography.

Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey told TheWrap on Tuesday that Sohmer’s collection of images and videos, some involving children as young as 3 or 4 years old, was “one of the most egregious cases” she had ever seen.

In addition to the imagery, authorities obtained text chats, also allegedly from Sohmer, sharing how to kidnap and rape a child. Shelvey said the disturbing chats added “a level of extreme cruelty” to the case.

Sohmer, 44, was dismissed from his job as editor last month, around the time the Berkshire District Attorney began an investigation into allegations of child porn.

He faces between five to 10 years if convicted on the charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is due back in court on Dec. 21.

“Unfortunately, the nature of these charges do not allow them to ask that he be held without bail,” Shelvey said. Sohmer was ordered not to contact minors under 18 and was forbidden from accessing the internet, although he is allowed the use of a cell phone.

A cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in June led to the Oct. 18 search of Sohmer’s home in Otis, Massachusetts, where officials found the images and videos of child pornography, the D.A. told TheWrap.

Local paper The Berkshire Eagle first reported that prosecutors claim Sohmer not only possessed and disseminated, but produced the content.

In a statement to TheWrap, The Recount said that Sohmer was no longer editor-in-chief of the political site specializing in video and social media journalism. His departure came “following a company restructure exercise in early October to focus on our editorial and commercial plans,” the statement said. A company spokesperson had no further comment.

Sohmer has a longstanding journalism career at a number of New York City-based digital outlets. In addition to The Recount, where he served as editor-in-chief for four years, he was the managing editor for news and video at Mic, a political news radio host at SiriusXM, and was cofounder of the internet news site Hyper Vocal.

More in U.S.

My Dad Was A Famous Alien Abductee. I Thought He Was A Joke — Here's Why I'm Not So Sure Anymore.

HuffPost

How can you generate additional income by investing with our AI signal system?News Portal・

AdAd

Learn More

Undo

Ukrainian orphan Natalia Grace's adoptive parents accused her of being an adult who was posing as a child. Here's where Michael and Kristine Barnett are now.

Business Insider

This Architect Explained Why This One House Survived The LA Fires, And The Reasons Are Truly Fascinating

BuzzFeed

The charges against Sohmer additionally cast Sohmer’s time as a summer camp counselor and director in a different light. The journalist also went mildly viral for his dealings with young children in 2018 after posting a Twitter thread about visiting his mother’s fourth grade class.

A 2014 Instagram post from Summer 365 — who advise and advocate for sleepaway camps and summer programs — featured a picture of Sohmer with several young campers in the background. The caption identifies him as “camp legend Slade Sohmer.” Sohmer’s LinkedIn lists him as a codirector a Camp Power since 2010.

Summer 365 did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Buzzfeed ran the story about visiting his mother’s fourth grade classroom in 2018. Via a series of tweets, he said he was worried about telling the class of 10 year-olds, who peppered him with questions, that he lives with his boyfriend.

“It’s not like I misjudged these kids or had any preconceived notions,” he told BuzzFeed at the time. “I just don’t know what today’s fourth graders know about love and sexuality and gender and all its modern permutations. I’m glad it went down the way it did, but it’s not like I expected them to throw tomatoes at me after the big reveal.”

The post Former Editor in Chief of Political News Site The Recount Arrested for Child Pornography appeared first on TheWrap.

A Philadelphia sports fan, who went on a misogynistic tirade against a female Green Bay Packers fan in viral video, lost his job and won't be allowed to ever attend another Eagles home game, officials said Tuesday.

The ugly scene was captured on cellphone video during the Eagles' NFC wild-card round victory Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly.

The "individual will not be permitted to attend any future events at Lincoln Financial Field," a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The widely shared video showed a man in an Eagles jacket bending over, cusping his hands over his mouth and verbally abusing the female fan in the row in front of him. That fan did not appear to respond to him.

Online sleuths connected the offending fan to a New Jersey management consulting firm, BCT Partners, that denounced its employee’s behavior.

And by late Tuesday night, the company said it had parted with the employee it identified as Ryan Caldwell, a business analyst with a speciality in information technology.

"The language was vile, it was disgusting, it was unacceptable and horrific," BCT Partners founder Randal Pinkett told NBC News on Wednesday.

"It was diametrically opposed to the values that we espouse at BCT. We're a company that's founded on inclusion, on respect, on dignity and the behavior was just in complete contrary to everything that we stand for at this organization."

Pinkett, who reality TV fans might remember as the Season 4 winner of “The Apprentice,” declined to discuss Caldwell's work performance.

But Pinkett wished his now-former employee well and hopes he can pick up the pieces from Sunday night's incident.

"It's not just that we have parted ways with Mr. Caldwell, but we were very clear in our statement that we extended grace and support to him, that he could be better," Pinkett said.

"What troubles me is his behavior, but what also troubles me is the cancel culture that we live in, that doesn't afford people grace that we don't have the opportunity to be better people and learn from our mistakes."

In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, Caldwell apologized for his behavior.

“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret. What began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable," according to his statement.

"In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller. I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, and to my wife, family, and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the City of Philadelphia, and all who were offended."

The Eagles won the game 22-10, advancing to play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon.

The fan targeted by Caldwell's rants, Ally Keller, and her fiancé, Alex Basara, told NBC Philadelphia they were initially having a good time at the game, even enjoying friendly banter with rival fans.

“He started out with playful jabs at first or kind of just saying things to us right when we sat down,” Basara told NBC Philadelphia. “I chatted with him for a bit. But then he just kept saying some of the same things. Continued through the entire game. It got worse and worse as the game went on. We were surrounded by Eagles fans. We were getting all the attention.”

The man's comments became nastier as the Eagles' lead grew, the couple said.

“And then he just said, ‘Actually, you’re not even good-looking enough to be talking to me,’” Keller said. “And then I said, you know, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘You know what that means.’ And so I said, ‘Have you looked in the mirror yourself?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but I’m a man. I’m allowed to be ugly. You’re a woman.’”

Basara said recording the incident is what ended up de-escalating it.

Keller said she was hesitant to say too much to the home team's fan because the atmosphere was hostile.

"If it did turn into an altercation or something physical, all they see is me messing with an Eagles fan, and then I become the target," she said. "And then what happens with my fiancé at that time in that scenario? It’s a dangerous situation.”

Philadelphia fans, and Eagles supporters in particular, have long had a rough reputation they believe is overblown.

At one point in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, an arraignment court was established in the basement of the team's former home at Veterans Stadium to deal with fans apprehended for drunkenness, fighting and more on Sundays in the fall.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, providing rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the president’s departure from the 2024 race.

“We were friends for 50 years,” the first lady said in an interview with The Washington Post published Wednesday. “It was disappointing.”

Pelosi was among the top Democrats to express reservations about Joe Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in November after the president’s halting debate performance in June. As Biden remained adamant he would stay in the race, Pelosi made waves in an interview as she opened the door to the possibility he should end his campaign.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi said on MSNBC in July.

In the extensive interview, the first lady also publicly disclosed her conversation with Trump when the two spoke at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last month.

“I had a good meeting with your husband in the Oval Office,” the president-elect said, according to the first lady. “Yes,” she replied, “because you’re both talkers.”

Asked why she would engage with Trump following the bitterness of the campaign, she replied, “Joe and I respect our institutions, our traditions.”

“It’s very important to me that they continue and we — ” she continued. “What would be the point of nastiness?”

The interview provides rare insight into how the first family is navigating the end of the Biden presidency, including the summer weeks during which Democrats privately and publicly pushed for her husband to step aside from the race.

“Let’s just say I was disappointed with how it unfolded,” Jill Biden said. “I learned a lot about human nature.”

Pelosi privately told President Biden in July that polling showed he could not defeat Trump and could upend Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he remained in the race, CNN previously reported. A source with direct knowledge described Biden as “seething” at Pelosi at the time.

More in Politics

Freshman GOP senator sets social media ablaze with 'best' response to Hegseth’s answer on gender question

Fox News

Taylor Swift Goes Natural, Here’s How She Really LooksThe Noodle Box・

AdAd

Undo

One Of MAGA’s Biggest Idols Snubs Trump’s Inauguration

The Daily Beast

CNN defamation trial: Judge scolds CNN’s lead counsel, orders apology to plaintiff: ‘This isn’t kindergarten’

Fox News

After Trump’s victory in November, Pelosi placed blame for Democrats’ loss on Biden. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” the California Democrat said during an interview with a New York Times podcast.

Pelosi, however, praised Biden’s leadership following his farewell address Wednesday evening, saying the nation is stronger for it and touting several of his accomplishments.

“President Joe Biden is one of the most consequential presidents in American history. With the wisdom and magnificent leadership of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, our nation has been graced by four historic years of progress, hope and unity for hard-working American families,” Pelosi said in a post on X.

It is unclear whether Joe Biden and Pelosi have spoken since July.

The first lady said she still believes her husband could have served another four years — even as he recently said that might not be the case.

“Sure,” she said “I mean, today, I think he has a full schedule. He started early with interviews and briefings, and it just keeps going.”

The first lady expressed concern that the president won’t receive credit for some of his accomplishments, including infrastructure investments. But she also acknowledged the complicated dynamics of her husband pardoning their son Hunter in the closing weeks of his presidency.

“Joe really wrestled with that decision,” Jill Biden said. “I mean, we started — he started at the point where he said he wasn’t going to pardon Hunter. But then I think things changed. Circumstances changed, and it became quite apparent and obvious that the Republicans weren’t going to stop.”

As her work at the White House winds down, the first lady said, “I hope that women see me as a reflection of themselves. You know, a mom, a grandmom, a working woman, a sister, a friend.”

“I hope that they remember Joe as a strong, empathetic president with integrity and character,” she said. “I mean, character really is everything, isn’t it?”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Rashard Rose contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

Conservatives erupted Tuesday on social media following an exchange between Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., regarding gender identity.

"How many genders are there?" the freshman Montana senator asked Hegseth on Tuesday. "Tough one."

Hegseth responded, "Senator, there are two genders."

"I know that well, I’m a Sheehy, so I’m on board," Sheehy responded, referencing the "she" and "he" that make up his last name.

Top 5 Moments From Pete Hegseth's Senate Confirmation Hearing

After Hegseth laughed at the senator's joke, Sheehy then went on to ask Hegseth, a fellow combat veteran, the diameter of a round fired out of a M4A1 rifle and how many pushups he could do.

Read On The Fox News App

The line of questioning, particularly the exchange on gender which Sheehy previously joked about on the campaign trail, immediately drew a response from conservatives.

"Right on," Rep Darrell Issa, R-Calif., posted on X.

'Clear Vision': Conservatives Rally Around Hegseth After 'Crushing' Fiery Confirmation Hearing

"QUESTION OF THE DAY," conservative influencer Benny Johnson posted on X.

"Legitimately the best joke every [ever] told in Congress," conservative commentator Ian Haworth posted on X.

"BEST EVER!" radio host Steve Gruber posted on X.

"Well, it looks like the new senator from Montana is a huge upgrade," RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway posted on X in reference to former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, whom Sheehy defeated in November.

"Montana knew what they were doing when they put @TimSheehyMT in the Senate," conservative commentator and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines posted on X.

"A-freakin’-MEN!" Wendy Rogers, Republican state senator from Arizona, posted on X.

Sheehy told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that Hegseth is going to do a "great job" and "we support him."

"That's why my questions were directed the way they were," Sheehy said. " I wanted to remind people what this job is really about and it's supporting the war fighter and protecting America."

Original article source: Freshman GOP senator sets social media ablaze with 'best' response to Hegseth’s answer on gender question