While the scuffles may be verbal as leading Republicans jostle to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, down at the state level things have actually turned physical — at least in Michigan, and not for the first time. Tensions boiled over within the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday resulting in an altercation at a hotel to which the police were called. The GOP’s state committee came together for a meeting at the Doherty Hotel in Clare as members have been feuding over the party’s direction and the leadership approach of the new chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, The Detroit News reports. Some Michigan Republicans arriving at the venue on Saturday were frustrated to find the meeting was limited only to members of the state committee and was taking place behind a locked door. In an interview with The Detroit News, James Chapman, a Republican from Wayne County, said he had travelled to Clare for the meeting but was forced to listen to it through a locked door. Mr Chapman said he and others said the Pledge of Allegiance together in the lobby outside the meeting, after which he jiggled the doorknob of the meeting room. It was then that Mark DeYoung, chairman of the Clare County Republican Party, approached the door, saw someone flip him off through a small window, and opened it. “He kicked me in my balls as soon as I opened the door,” Mr DeYoung said, adding that Mr Chapman ran at him and slammed him into a chair. Mr DeYoung gave his account to the outlet over the phone from an emergency room where he said he was being treated for a broken rib. For his part, Mr Chapman alleges that Mr DeYoung had swung at him and said: “I’ll kick your ass.” Mr DeYoung denies this happened. Continuing, Mr Chapman says he removed his glasses, took Mr DeYoung by the legs and knocked him down: “When you see me taking my glasses off, I’m ready to rock.” Multiple police officers were at the scene after the scuffle and Mr DeYoung said he intended to press charges against Mr Chapman. “We’re so divided,” Mr DeYoung said from the hospital. “I just wish we could come together.” This is also not the first time internal tensions have erupted. The Washington Post reported in June: “At least four county parties in Michigan have been at open war with themselves, with members suing one another or putting forward competing slates that claim to be in charge. The night before an April state party meeting, two GOP officials got into a physical altercation in a hotel bar over an attempt to expel members.” Other tension stems from criticism of Ms Karamo, who became the chairwoman in February, for not providing more information about fundraising and spending. The Post also reported that she has struggled to raise money and abandoned the party’s longtime headquarters. Ms Karamo had recently removed Matt Johnson, the budget committee chairman, citing “dereliction of duty and several other grievances”. Mr Johnson had said spending was “so far out of proportion with income as to put us on the path to bankruptcy”. The Michigan Republican Party was trounced in the 2022 midterms — Ms Karamo lost a run for secretary of state in November by 14 percentage points to her Democrat rival — and has found itself out of power in the state legislature for the first time in four decades. The Democratic Party also controls the state Senate and Governor Gretchen Whitmer comfortably won reelection by 11 points in November 2022. Continuing internal struggles will likely make it even harder for a Republican candidate to take the state in 2024’s presidential election. Read More Trump attorney who was key to election conspiracies retires from legal practice Forget everything else: These four states will decide the presidency Trump tells Michigan Republicans that EVs will ‘decimate’ state’s auto industry Prosecutors are prepared to hit Trump and his allies with new charges, sources say Trump mocked for bursting into bizarre moaning sounds at Michigan GOP dinner

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Terrified villagers say they are being attacked by 7ft tall armoured aliens that look like the Green Goblin from Spider-Man. Locals described the extraterrestrials as having large heads and yellowish eyes. They claim they have attacked them every night for nearly a month since 11 July. A 15-year-old girl was allegedly grabbed from behind and had her neck cut when she resisted. Community members said they can’t sleep because they are in fear. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The claims have been made by members of the Ikitu indigenous people in the rural district of Alto Nanay, north east of Lima, Peru. They said the aliens are immune to their hunting weapons and called on the Peruvian military to step in to protect them from further interstellar intrusion. Villagers also claimed that the alien prowlers wear protective armour. Community leader Jairo Reátegui Ávila said: “These gentlemen are aliens. “They appear to be armoured like the Green Goblin from Spider-Man. “I shot one of them twice and he wasn’t injured, he rose and disappeared. “We’re very frightened about what’s happening here in our community.” He added: “Their shoes are round-shaped, which they use to float. “They float about one metre from the ground and there is a red light on the heel. “Their heads are long, they wear a mask and their eyes are yellowish. “They are experts at escaping.” Villagers have started carrying out night patrols to hunt down the alien intruders. They have requested a military presence from the authorities, however it reportedly takes a 10-hour river trip to reach the community from Iquitos City. Some villagers described the aliens as being like ‘pelacaras’, strange beings that feast on human fat and organs. According to reports, the police reached the remote area on board a speeder vessel and toured the village perimeter, including the area where the teenager was allegedly attacked. It is unclear if the authorities found anything to corroborate the villagers’ claims and if the government intends to deploy military personnel to the area for a sustained period of time. According to a 2017 national census, there are around 1,350 people who identify as being a member of the Ikitu community. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Donald Trump was indicted on seven charges relating to the storage of classified national defence documents dating from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The 45th president of the United States will now appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, his lawyer has since confirmed. Should he ultimately be convicted, he could face a maximum combined sentence of 100 years in prison. Following the latest dramatic development to place his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in jeopardy, Mr Trump insisted on Truth Social: “I am an innocent man”. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” he seethed in a separate post. The Department of Justice has been investigating the potential violation of the Espionage Act for some time but has so far not made any comment on the indictment. Mr Trump’s rivals for the nomination have rallied behind him by criticising the “weaponisation of federal law enforcement”. One of those is Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has meanwhile been accused of sharing fake AI images of Mr Trump embracing Dr Anthony Fauci, in the hope of discrediting him. Read More What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing Will Donald Trump be arrested and jailed after classified documents indictment? Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next