Newsmax host Joseph Pinion announces run to unseat Chuck Schumer and flip it red

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Joseph Pinion, host of the Newsmax program “Saturday Agenda,” announced his candidacy Monday to become the Republican nominee to challenge Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in November.

A former candidate for the New York State Assembly and a Yonkers native, Pinion is a strong advocate for freedom and recently called attention to the case of an Air Force veteran sitting in a Florida prison for little more than self-defense, according to the conservative businessman.

Pinion announced his Senate run in a video shared online on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“The promise of Dr. King’s dream is vanishing! Too many politicians are focused on Left vs. Right, instead of Right vs. Wrong. I am running for U.S. Senate to unseat Chuck Schumer!” the tweet stated.

 

New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy told The New York Post that the state party is excited about Pinion’s candidacy.

“We are very excited about what Joe brings to this race and his ability to expand our party,” Langworthy said. “He is a young dynamo with a national network, and as a self-made man.”

Pinion called attention to the plight of Michael Giles in a recent Newsmax episode.

“For the last 11 years, an American patriot named Michael Giles has been sitting in a Florida prison for the high crime and misdemeanor of self-defense,” he said. “An Air Force veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East, Michael was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa when life as he knew it came to a screeching halt.”

“On a night out with friends at a club in Tallahassee, he found himself separated from his friends when a brawl erupted between local fraternities,” Pinion explained. “During the melee, Michael was pinned in the crowd, and then punched in the head by an assailant. He responded by taking out the handgun, for which he had a concealed carry permit, and firing one bullet into the leg of his attacker.”

 

Giles was convicted of aggravated battery in 2011, and the 1st District Court of Appeals rejected his appeal in November of 2017.

“In a sane world, this was obviously self-defense,” Pinion said. “Instead, this United States Air Force man with no criminal history found himself under arrest for Second Degree Attempted Murder.”

He noted that at the trial, witnesses testified that Michael was assaulted and said the man who struck Giles also admitted to the assault under oath.

“For Michael’s part, his defense team made the obvious argument: Florida is a stand your ground state. Michael Giles possessed a permit to legally carry his gun on his person,” Pinion said. “He had no duty to retreat. He had every right to meet force with force in defense of his life. And yet when the dust finally settled, a jury found this married father of three young children guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.”

Making matters worse, Giles was sentenced to 25 years in prison due to Florida Statute 775.087, which is commonly referred to as the 10-20-life law, Pinion explained, before noting that the law was repealed as unjust in 2016.

“And yet Michael remains behind bars as a result of that law until this very day,” Pinion said.

In sharing a video of the segment on Facebook, Pinion called on followers to get involved.

“An American Patriot has been sitting in a Florida prison for 11 years for the “crime” of self-defense. Based on a Mandatory Minimum Law that has since been repealed, he still has 14 years remaining on this unjust prison sentence. Help us right this injustice and bring Michael Giles home,” he wrote.

“Go to DearDeSantis.com and sign our petition to have @flgovrondesantis review his case and help grant this American Patriot a pardon.”

Tom Tillison

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