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A Pennsylvania prosecutor is calling on state lawmakers to close a "loophole" that allowed a registered sex offender to become a parent via surrogacy.
Footage of Brandon Keith Riley-Mitchell celebrating the first birthday of his son, Atticus, with husband Logan Steven Riley went viral this week, stoking criticism from conservatives that erupted upon revelation of his status as a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania.
The scrutiny comes after Riley-Mitchell, 39, and his partner had previously raised more than $2,000 via a crowdfunding drive to become fathers using a gestational surrogate.
"In gestational surrogacy, the child is not biologically related to the surrogate mother," Riley wrote on GoFundMe. "Instead, an embryo is created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) using an anonymous donor egg. The embryo is then transferred to the gestational surrogate who carries the baby as if it were any other pregnancy. Once the baby is born, the intended parents (Brandon and I) would have full legal custody."
The fundraiser, which has since been removed but is still archived, did not indicate details of Riley-Mitchell's prior conviction in 2016 for sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography.
WASHINGTON—The man who attempted to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identifies as a transgender woman and was deeply mentally ill and suicidal, according to court documents first obtained by The Daily Wire.
The Department of Justice is recommending that the defendant, 29-year-old Nicholas Roske, be sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to kill the Supreme Court justice in 2022, according to a Friday filing outlining the case against Roske. Roske pled guilty to the attempt to kill a United States Supreme Court Justice in April 2025, three years after authorities arrested him in Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools.
A filing from Roske’s defense attorneys shows that Roske now goes by “Sophie Roske” and that his legal team will refer to him using female pronouns. A footnote on the filing, obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire, explains that the defense will not use Roske’s legal name “out of respect” for the would-be assassin.
“The case is captioned as United States v. Nicholas John Roske,” lawyers for Roske state. “That name remains Ms. Roske’s legal name, and she has not asked to recaption the case. Out of respect for Ms. Roske, the balance of this pleading and counsel’s in-court argument will refer to her as Sophie and use female pronouns.”