A Democratic congressman is facing heat from conservatives on social media after promoting the idea of a "street fight" at a protest pushing back against Elon Musk’s recent efforts to slash government waste through the newly created DOGE office.

"This will be a congressional fight, a constitutional fight, a legal fight, and on days like this a street fight, yes we will stand," Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who has represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District since 2020, said at a rally in Baltimore on Monday outside the Social Security Office. 

Mfume, who was elected to fill the seat of the late Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, added that DOGE stands for "the department of government evil."

Conservatives on social media were quick to criticize Mfume. They accused him of inciting violence and wondered aloud why more media outlets weren’t picking up the comments. 

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"A ‘street fight’ to stop cuts to wasteful spending?" GOP Sen. Mike Lee posted on X. "Those are fighting words. And they’re not honorable words."

"Remember when Trump pumped his fist and said fight after someone almost blew his brains out and the press claimed it was a call to violence?" Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. "Meanwhile…"

"You can almost hear the Democrat party’s 31% approval rating slide further down a hill with clips like this," Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. "Not only are Democrats openly promoting political violence, they’re promoting political violence over funding trans surgeries in South America."

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"WATCH: @RepKweisiMfume (D-MD) riles his supporters up for a ‘street fight’ against President Trump's agenda on rooting out government waste and corruption," the Trump White House’s rapid response team posted on X. 

"So @realDonaldTrump, what’s the plan for dealing with Congressional members who are inciting violence?" Women For America First Executive Director Kylie Jane Kremer posted on X. " This has to stop & there should be consequences for any MOC who continues to do this."

"Dems calling for a 'street fight," the American Firearms Association posted on X. "Never give up your firearms because we all know these Communist Dems are thirsty for blood!"

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Mfume spokesperson said, "Congressman Mfume was talking about going neighbor to neighbor and person to person to fight to win the hearts, minds, and souls of disaffected voters who didn’t participate in the last election or who are turned off by the current process."

"He believes everybody needs to be engaged and you have to be able to fight where people are to talk with them and to get them engaged and bring them back to the fold."  

The spokesperson added that Mfume is "not opposed to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse."

"He is the Ranking Member of the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and that has been a focus of his bipartisan work alongside Subcommittee Chair Pete Sessions for the last two years. Congressman Mfume supports many things to make government run better, including ending cost overruns at the Department of Defense, tackling the underworld of fraud and improper payments associated with government spending, and establishing a scorecard within agencies which measures their ability to curb waste – he has worked with at least a dozen inspector generals on these issues."

The Trump administration appears primed to target the Social Security Administration as part of its DOGE efforts, Fox News Digital previously reported, prompting strong pushback from Democrats who have largely opposed DOGE, arguing it represents a constitutional crisis and a threat to democracy.

"We have one simple message, which is: Elon Musk, keep your hands off our Social Security," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told the crowd in Baltimore. 

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"Over the last 21 days, we have seen Elon Musk conducting illegal raids on federal agencies with his DOGE crew," the senator said. "This is a recipe for corruption by the DOGE boys."

Musk and other Republicans have argued that a significant amount of waste exists in the federal entitlement system and pushed back on the accusation that legitimate benefits will be taken away. 

"At this point, I am 100% certain that the magnitude of the fraud in federal entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, etc) exceeds the combined sum of every private scam you’ve ever heard by FAR," Musk recently posted on X. "It’s not even close."

"On no planet does @DOGE want to take away anyone’s Social Security check," Sen. Lee posted on X. "And on no planet is violence warranted by what @DOGE is actually trying to do—stop waste, fraud, and abuse in government."

Musk responded to Lee's post by saying, "Yeah, I can’t emphasize this enough! The goal of auditing the Social Security Administration is to stop the extreme levels of fraud taking place, so that it remains solvent and protects the social security checks of honest Americans!"

Fox News Digital previously reported that, according to Just Facts, a nonprofit research institute, SSA disbursed roughly $2 billion in fraudulent or improper payments in 2022, which it calculated was enough "to pay 89,947 retired workers the average annual old-age benefit of $21,924 for 2023."

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady contributed to this report

Lawmakers in Democrat-run Maryland are considering a bill to roll back sanctuary policies and increase cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in certain scenarios.

Maryland’s Senate Bill 387, or the Protecting Marylanders From Violent Offenders Act of 2025, would require local law enforcement and correction officers to turn over illegal immigrants to ICE if the individual was convicted of a violent crime, terrorism, participation in a criminal street gang, or an aggravated felony such as trafficking drugs or firearms.

Republican Sen. William Folden, the bill’s author, told FOX45 Baltimore that the bill is "only for the most violent offenders."

"This isn’t about trying to turn any communities against each other," Folden said. "This is about keeping our communities safe from these repeat violent offenders that some jurisdictions keep putting back out into the community and that’s not safe for anyone."

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Critics of the bill, however, say the legislation threatens constitutional rights.

Sanctuary policies in Howard and Prince George's County currently prohibit local authorities from cooperating with ICE agents. 

Maryland’s attorney general has also issued guidance to local authorities on immigration detainers in a 2025 memorandum, stating detainers "are requests only; local officers are not obligated to honor them, and, in fact, risk violating constitutional rights by doing so."

The Maryland bill, which is currently under committee consideration in the state Senate, would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025, if enacted.

TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has conducted a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, with ICE officials making several criminal arrests over the last weeks in many left-leaning "sanctuary" cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, and Washington, D.C.

While leaders in some sanctuary cities have refused to cooperate with ICE as immigration raids continue, Trump border czar Tom Homan delivered a bold message to those cities: "We're going to keep coming" no matter what.

"They're not going to stop us," he said Sunday, stressing that criminal illegal immigrant gang members such as Tren de Aragua have "no safe haven" from the rule of law.

"We're going to find them. We're going to arrest them, and take them off the streets," Homan said, referring to the criminal gang members.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

Baltimore and its Democratic mayor have teamed up with progressive groups to file a lawsuit aimed at stopping President Donald Trump’s executive orders that dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion "programs and preferencing" as the president described in one of his directives.

Baltimore's Mayor Brandon Scott – along with the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, American Association of University Professors, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United – filed suit in Maryland federal court this week against Trump and several cabinet heads.

Scott did not respond to a request for comment but said in a statement that Trump’s order goes beyond attacking DEI but "aims to establish the legal framework to attack anyone or any place who dares to celebrate our diversity."

"Baltimore citizens risk losing vital federal funding due to this executive order, putting jobs and livelihoods at stake," the mayor added. The city council is also listed as a plaintiff.

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Baltimore, the nation's 30th largest city, is 60% Black, 27% White, 8% Hispanic and 2% Asian, according to the Census Bureau.

Trump’s order seeks to erase roles within the bureaucracy that include diversity officers as well as "equity"-related endeavors.

Paulette Granberry Russell, the CEO of the diversity officers’ association, said in a statement that Trump’s orders will undermine the ability for higher education to open "opportunity, innovation and progress for people across the nation."

"As the nation’s leading association for diversity officers and professionals in higher education, we will use all tools available, including the legal process, to block these harmful orders," Granberry Russell said.

An official for the restaurant industry group said that eateries rely on workers of all ethnic backgrounds and that diversity is what sets the food service sector apart from others.

"President Trump wishes to see the end of all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs of any kind whatsoever – and we will not stand for it," its interim president, Teofilo Reyes, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the White House disagreed with Baltimore’s assertions.

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"Minorities in America have recognized the Democrat Party’s empty promises and failed policies. That’s why President Trump earned historic support from Black, Latino, Asian, and Arab Americans by prioritizing secure borders, economic opportunity, and an America First foreign policy," Trump's Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital.

Fields said the left’s "divisive focus" on DEI has undermined decades of progress toward true equality and that Trump and his administration reject such "backward thinking."

"[The White House] will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American Dream," Fields said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., who represents most of Baltimore City in Congress. Mfume did not ultimately offer a response to the inquiry.

The legal filing opens with a quotation from West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett – a 1943 Supreme Court case brought by a Jehovah’s Witness family that ruled students cannot be compelled to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation it is that no official ... can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matter of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein," Justice Robert Jackson, an FDR appointee, wrote in his ruling.

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The filing itself alleges that if "lawful DEI programs are suddenly deemed unlawful by presidential fiat, plaintiffs must either risk prosecution for making a false claim or censor promotion of their values."

"Our Constitution does not tolerate that result."

It goes on to allege that Trump’s "goal is to punish those who recognize or choose to speak out about this country's history on issues of enslavement, racial exclusion, health disparities, gender inequality, treatment of individuals with disabilities, and discrimination."

The lawsuit was reportedly assisted or organized in part by Democracy Forward, a nonprofit organization founded during the first Trump administration that claimed to have identified a number of severe "threats to democracy, social progress and rule of law" that Trump represented after his 2016 win.

Democracy Forward boasted on its website that it has sued the Trump administration more than 100 times thus far.

The group’s president, Skye Perryman, said in a statement on the Baltimore lawsuit that the Constitution protects all Americans regardless of occupation and that Trump’s anti-DEI orders "offend these protections and others."

"The coalition bringing this suit represents people of diverse professions and backgrounds who are all harmed by these unlawful orders, which have chilled their activities and provision of essential services," Perryman said.

Baltimore Ravens star kicker Justin Tucker was accused in a bombshell report Thursday of sexual misconduct by several massage therapists during a period spanning four years, including his rookie season, when he helped the team win a Super Bowl. 

Six massage therapists in the Baltimore area accused the NFL kicker of exposing himself during sessions at four different high-end spas and wellness centers, brushing the alleged victims with his genitals and other acts of alleged sexual misconduct from 2012-2016.

The allegations were first revealed in a report by The Baltimore Banner.

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Tucker released a statement through his attorneys Thursday not long after the news broke, calling the allegations "unequivocally false."

"Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism. I have never before been accused of misconduct of any kind, and I have never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during a massage therapy session or during other bodywork," Tucker’s statement said. 

"I have never received any complaints from a massage therapist, have never been dismissed from a massage therapy or bodywork session and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business." 

Tucker, a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro during his 13-year NFL career, took aim at the outlet’s reporting, calling it "desperate tabloid fodder." 

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"It is no surprise that the paper’s interactions with me were marked by journalistic failures at every turn," Turner said. "When I first learned that the newspaper was writing this article, they refused to reveal the full claims they were planning to make against me. 

"It wasn’t until I was forced to hire the leading defamation law firm in the U.S. to write to the paper that they finally revealed what they were planning on writing. Then, when they did finally provide some of this information, they gave me next to no time to provide a response. It is clear why. They had no interest in what I (or anyone else) had to say." 

Tucker accused the outlet of "deliberately misconstruing events as nefarious" and relying on "third-party speculation."

"The newspaper had already written this false, salacious profile well before ever attempting to speak to me or any of the bodywork professionals I have worked with closely for the better part of the last decade. The newspaper made no effort to interview these key witnesses until prompted to do so by my defamation attorney because they did not want to hear what they had to say about me."

The Baltimore Banner told Fox News Digital in response to Tucker's remarks, "We stand by our story as published."

According to the report, the accusers said they ended sessions early or refuse to work with Tucker again because of the allegations. The report also says Tucker was banned from returning to two of those spas, a claim Tucker’s legal team denied. 

Among the allegations leveled in the report, five women claimed the NFL player was erect during sessions with him and that he fully or partially exposed himself, while others made other accusations of egregious acts.  

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the NFL said it learned of the accusations from the reporter investigating the story and that allegations were not previously reported to the league. 

"We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter," the statement continued. 

The Ravens told Fox News Digital, "We are aware of The Baltimore Banner’s story regarding Justin Tucker. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation." 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear challenges to gun laws in Delaware and Maryland.

The justices turned away an appeal from a group of gun enthusiasts and firearm advocacy groups in Delaware to block the state’s prohibition on assault-style rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines after a lower court refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the ban.

Delaware’s gun safety laws were enacted in 2022 and ban various semi-automatic "assault" long guns, including the AR-15 and AK47, though it allows those who owned such weapons prior to the law being enacted to keep the firearms under certain conditions, according to Reuters.

The high court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, also declined to hear a case challenging Maryland's handgun licensing requirements, which requires people to get safety training, submit fingerprints and pass a background check before buying a handgun. 

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The challengers argued that the handgun law violates the Second Amendment by making it too hard for people to get guns. 

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The law was passed following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed.

A three-judge appeals court panel later struck down the law after a landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights and said firearm laws must have strong roots in the country's historic traditions, though the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later revived the law after the majority found that it does fit within historic firearm regulations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE – Baltimore ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officials on Thursday arrested eight migrants, including four convicted of child molestation and one murderer, in suburban Maryland. 

The arrests happened during an exclusive Fox News ride-along with the government agency. 

One of the migrants apprehended was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor and exposing himself in public several times. Another migrant, from the Philippines, was previously convicted of molesting a 10-year-old girl.

According to ICE, the one migrant convicted of murder was living in the U.S. on a permanent visa status.

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"The people we are out for are the worst of the worst," Baltimore field office Director Matthew Elliston told Fox News' David Spunt. "It's not the average person who is in the country illegally. If we are targeting you, there is a reason."

The goal is simple for the Baltimore ICE Field Office: arrest and then deport as many illegal migrants with criminal records as possible. ICE agents’ goal at the start of the day was to capture eight targets, and all eight targets are now in custody.

Now all eight of those migrants are behind bars and await hearings in front of immigration judges and potential deportation.

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According to ICE data obtained by the House Homeland Security Committee in September, there are at least 650,000 criminal illegal immigrants on the agency’s "non-detained docket," meaning they are free in the U.S. interior. Of those, 14,944 are murderers and over 20,000 have been convicted of sexual assault.

Although not officially a sanctuary state, Maryland, which is led by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and a majority Democratic state assembly, is considered immigrant friendly. The city of Baltimore, meanwhile, has an official policy that does not allow law enforcement to ask residents about their immigration status.

ICE data indicates that Baltimore ERO arrested 570 migrants with either a criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge in fiscal year 2024.