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  "path": "/article/788079/the-needle-local-hero-plays-darth-vader-theme-at-national-guard-and-gets-paid-freedom-250s-maga-sponsors-get-big-contracts-scotus-gives-trump-wins-and-losses-trump-admits-to-election-medd/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-30T17:31:08.000Z",
  "site": "https://washingtoncitypaper.com",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "The Needle",
    "Independent",
    "Public Citizen",
    "SCOTUS",
    "CNN",
    "Nation",
    "NYT",
    "Rolling Stone",
    "MSN",
    "See here",
    "WTOP",
    "AP",
    "Monday’s Needle rating"
  ],
  "textContent": "  * **Local hero** : When convicted felon and President **Donald Trump** sent the National Guard to march around D.C. last year, **Sam O** ’**Hara** blasted “The Imperial March” (**Darth Vader** ’s theme song) while following them. During one of the protests, an Ohio guardsman got so mad that he got D.C. police to handcuff O’Hara, who sued the government for violating his First Amendment rights and won. A settlement agreement obtained by the _Associated Press_ from D.C.’s attorney general shows the local government will pay O’Hara $50,000. Plus two points, one for peaceful creative protest and one for **Jeanine Pirro** losing. **+2** [Independent]\n  * **Party crashers** : America 250 was meant to be a bipartisan commission overseeing the semiquincentennial shenanigans but MAGA-loving corporate shills (aka Freedom 250) have infiltrated our 250th birthday party like everything else in this country (health care, online shopping, the World Cup). Data from Public Citizen shows $130 million in federal contracts have been awarded to FOTs (friends of Trump) for Freedom 250, which has turned into a celebration of the malignant narcissist himself. Corporations hoping to overcome regulatory issues are among the donors. Minus one point for loyalist extremists making a mockery of democracy. **-1** [Public Citizen]\n  * **Holding court** :**** We are unable to properly celebrate the four losses SCOTUS handed Trump yesterday—refusing to hear his appeal in the **E**.**Jean Carroll** case, ruling that he illegally fired Federal Reserve governor **Lisa Cook** , rejecting the GOP’s attempt to toss out mail-in ballots that are mailed on time but arrive late, and refusing to revive **Alan Dershowitz** ’s $300 million defamation suit against CNN—because they also handed him a big win in allowing him to fire the FTC commissioner, giving him new authority over some two dozen agencies that Congress intended to be independent. Today they gave him a win and a loss, allowing states to ban trans athletes from girls’ sports but keeping birthright citizenship the law of the land. Plus three points for the wins but minus three for giving a power-crazed maniac more power and transphobia. **0**[SCOTUS, SCOTUS, SCOTUS, CNN, SCOTUS, Nation, NYT, NYT]\n  * **Heavy meddle** : Trump claims he successfully meddled in California’s election, suggesting that GOP gubernatorial candidate **Steve Hilton** wouldn’t have advanced if he hadn’t contacted the U.S. attorney. At a speech last week, he bragged about calling up the U.S. attorney and asking him for a favor: Hilton was “definitely going to lose” but after the call Trump said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Hilton has won.” Minus one point for interfering in yet another election. **-1** [Rolling Stone, NYT, MSN]\n  * **Missing** : According to ICE Flight Monitor, 146 Venezuelans were deported from the U.S. and arrived in Caracas hours before the earthquakes last week, and now many are missing. One survivor says she escaped the hotel rubble with 20 others and went to seek help: “We walked about five kilometers, and I cried and cried … there was no communication.” (See here for how to help those in Venezuela.) Minus one point for upending lives, xenophobia, and putting people in harm’s way. **-1** [WTOP, AP]\n  * Monday’s Needle rating: **-203** Today’s score: **-1** Today’s Needle rating: **-204**\n\n",
  "title": "The Needle: Local Hero Plays Darth Vader Theme at National Guard and Gets Paid, Freedom 250’s MAGA Sponsors Get Big Contracts, SCOTUS Gives Trump Wins and Losses, Trump Admits to Election Meddling, and 100 Deported Venezuelans Are Missing"
}