Whether you are in the market for Medicare, or a current Medicare beneficiary, you have shark-infested waters to navigate.

Your basic choice is between Original/Traditional Medicare (TM) plans with a supplemental policy you’ll need for full coverage, and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which is neither Medicare or an advantage, but can be virtually (or actually) premium free with all sorts of added perks such as vision, dental, hearing, gym memberships, etc.

For many seniors on fixed incomes, there is really little choice, which is why MA plan enrollments are steadily increasing, now enrolling 51% of Medicare eligible seniors.

But buyer beware. There are no free lunches in life.

With TM, the federal government pays directly to providers from the taxpayer funded Medicare Trust Fund. Beneficiaries pay premiums and deductibles, but have access to a wide range of doctors and hospitals. A supplemental or “Medigap” plan will limit out-of-pocket expenses since TM has no out-of-pocket expense limit. Average administrative costs are 2%.

With MA, the federal government pays a third party (often a commercial insurance company) a fixed amount per enrollee to manage patient care. The amount is based on patient “risk.” MA profits by making patients appear sicker (through upcoding of risk) and minimizing what they spend on actual patient care. MA insurers can keep up to 15% as overhead and profit.

Taxpayers pay an average of $321 more per enrollee per year for MA vs. TM with an average annual profit of $1,608 per enrollee (2016-2018).

MA risk scores are 19% higher than in TM (more dollars coming in) but pay less for patient care through restricted networks, hidden fees for costly care such as chemotherapy, denial of prior authorizations (13% more than TM) and denial of payments (18% of charges that would have been approved by TM).

But wait. There’s more.

Enter direct contracting entities (DCEs), developed during the Trump administration to privatize TM using the same playbook as MA, increasing capitation payments by upcoding diagnoses and spending as little as possible on care. Think of DCEs as MA on steroids. Middlemen/insurers can keep up to 40% in overhead/profit, spending only 60% on patient care. Any company can be a DCE and the majority are investor owned.

If your doctor’s practice joined a DCE and you are a TM enrollee, you were automatically swept into this program without your consent and likely without your knowledge. Most people have never heard of DCEs. The idea was to expand DCEs to all of TM in eight years.

If a senior is auto-aligned with a DCE, the only way to remove themselves from the DCE is to change primary care providers to one not participating in a DCE. This is difficult for most patients and especially seniors. Just as MA aggressively markets to seniors, DCEs are aggressively marketing to physician practices.

Several DCEs, along with their parent and affiliated companies, have been involved in health care fraud and malfeasance by overcharging, but have settled for hundreds of millions of dollars rather than go to court.

In January 2022, 54 members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding an end to the DCE program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services canceled the DCE program at the end of 2022 but rebranded it as ACO-REACH (Accountable Care Organization-Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health) which went live Jan. 1. The entities/companies charged with fraud as DCEs were not excluded from participating in ACO-REACH.

This program is a threat to Traditional Medicare and aims to completely privatize Medicare by 2030.

Health care in the United States is expensive, inefficient and often ineffective. It is past time to remove the profit from health care and enact improved Medicare for All, with everyone in, no one out.

For more information, please see pnhp.org and protectmedicare.net.

Christine Llewellyn, M.D., of Williamsburg is a retired radiologist most recently employed at VCU Health. The opinions here are solely hers.

SPOTSYLVANIA — Rival fans attending the Class 4 boys soccer state championship game Saturday phrased the question of “Who’s No. 1?” to fit their school names.

“Whose field? Smithfield!,” the fans of the 2021 state champion Packers chanted to the Jamestown supporters. The Jamestown contingent replied en masse, “Whose town? Jamestown!.”

For now, the Jamestown faithful own bragging rights. The Eagles captured their first state title since 2015, and fifth overall, with a 1-0 win over the Packers on Saturday at Spotsylvania High. Freshman James Snead scored the only goal the Eagles needed on a rebound shot from 18 yards with 19 minutes, 1 second remaining.

The Eagles (21-4) required only the one goal thanks in no small measure to a terrific performance in goal by junior Caleb Nixon. He made several clutch and difficult saves to blunt a Smithfield onslaught that lasted from the middle of the first half to the middle of the second.

That combined to give Phil Geyer, who won a state championship as a Jamestown player in 2012, his first state title in three seasons as the Eagles’ coach. It’s the program’s fifth in the past 22 years.

“It’s way more nerve-racking on the sideline, I can tell you that,” Geyer said. “On the field, you’re so focused on what you’re doing, but on the sideline you’re constantly looking up at the clock.

“It’s amazing. I’m just so happy for the seniors. Every one of them, when I started, told me this is what they wanted to do.”

While the huge senior class has been the backbone of the team, sophomore Max Cooper, who entered the game with 44 goals, has been the star.

It appeared at the start things would be no different on Saturday as the Eagles controlled the run of play in the first 20 minutes. Cooper had a near-miss on one shot and gifted Stefan Williams with a nice cross on a shot he missed into the side-netting by a foot or two.

But, as Packers coach Jason Henderson said afterward, his players started slowly because they played to a penalty shootout Friday in winning their semifinal. Once the Muepu brothers, midfielder Andy and forward Onesime, got into rhythm, they spearheaded a lengthy assault on the Eagles’ goal.

Unfortunately for the Packers (16-7-1), Nixon was at his best. He made the first of four very good saves by tipping Logan Young’s blast from about 25 yards just over the crossbar with 13 minutes to play in the first half.

Nixon had two more good saves before halftime, then made the save of the game early in the second half on a hard shot by Onesime Muepu from inside 10 yards. Muepu created the one-on-one by flicking the ball to his right to beat a defender.

“One is a phenomenal player,” Nixon said. “I know he absolutely loves to get the ball down the line, he’s very speedy and technical, so my first reaction was just to get in front of the ball.

“I’m grateful I got a solid touch on it and it went out of bounds.”

The Eagles regained competitiveness in the midfield shortly thereafter and broke through at the midpoint of the second half after Camden Anderson-Tayman launched a shot on goal. The Packers’ Tanner Clifton headed it out, but Snead gathered it at the top of the box and rocketed it into the goal.

“We worked so hard for that goal the whole time and it finally came in,” Snead said. “It meant everything to me.

“I love this team so much and my brother (William Snead) is on it. It’s unreal.”

And unusual because, for a rare game, Cooper did not score a goal. That didn’t bother him at all.

“This was a team effort today, not an individual thing,” he said. “That’s OK because we won and now we’ve really cemented our legacy here.”

Whose town? Jamestown!

Lionsbridge FC saw its 19-game unbeaten streak against USL League Two opponents end Saturday night with a 2-1 loss to Christos FC in Baltimore.

The Newport News-based Lions went ahead in the 26th minute when Logan Finnegan converted a pass from Christian Hatley. The hosts pulled even with a few seconds remaining before halftime, the first goal the Lions had yielded in 377 minutes.

Lionsbridge goalkeeper Nathan Jones saved a penalty kick in the 67th minute to preserve the tie, but Christos took the lead soon after and became the first Chesapeake Division opponent to defeat Lionsbridge since the division was created before the 2021 season. Christos capitalized when experienced Lionsbridge player Davide Matarazzi was ejected for a tackle in the 71st minute, his second yellow card of the match.

Dakota Jonke, making his debut with the Lions, took a late shot that hit a post. Lionsbridge leads the division at 5-1, while Christos (3-0-2) is its nearest competitor.

Lionsbridge will return home to TowneBank Stadium in Newport News to play the D.C. United U23 squad at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Va. Beach United defeats Patuxent

Also in USL League Two, Virginia Beach United rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Patuxent Football Athletics.

Nate Lam scored in the 90th minute to break a 1-1 tie.

Patuxent (0-5-1) went ahead in the 14th minute on a penalty kick, but Logan Beus equalized for VBU (3-2) in the 33rd.

VBCFC falls before big Annapolis crowd

Virginia Beach City FC lost 3-0 to the Annapolis Blues in a clash that drew 7,665 to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the second-largest regular-season crowd in National Premier Soccer League history.

Despite key saves by VBCFC goalkeeper Jack DesRoches, Annapolis went ahead with three goals in about 16 minutes, starting in the 67th by Miles Lam. Eric Gwadz and Jackson Ruckman added the last two goals at the home stadium of Navy’s football team.

LOCAL BASEBALL

Pilots earn second consecutive victory

After five consecutive losses to open the Coastal Plain League season, the Peninsula Pilots have won two games in a row.

Saturday night, they erased a two-run deficit to beat Wilson 5-3 before 3,147 at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.

The Pilots got effective pitching by starter Dalton Barham, a Norfolk State left-hander who gave up one run and four hits in four innings, and by Todd Mozoki, who shut out the Tobs (5-3) for four innings without yielding a hit or walk. He struck out five.

Mozoki’s James Madison teammate Mason Dunaway, a Hickory High graduate, was 2 for 4 and scored twice. Australian native Keenan Spence hit a home run, and VMI’s Justin Starke was 2 for 4 with a triple, a run and two RBIs.

For the Tobs, Patrick Fultz and Garrett Anglim each had two hits and drove in a run.

COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD

UVA men place 11th at NCAA

Virginia’s men posted their third-highest NCAA Championships finish, taking 11th in Austin, Texas, as some Cavaliers earned All-American honors. Among them:

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Nate Mountain took fourth at 8 minutes, 35.99 seconds and Derek Johnson was eighth in 8:37.29.

In the triple jump, UVA’s Owayne Owens was eighth at 16.36 meters (53 feet, 8.25 inches). In the 800, Conor Murphy was fifth in a personal-best 1:46.43.

It’s difficult to overstate how much Connor Hall is dominating at Langley Speedway this year.

In off weeks from the CARS Tour, a feeder series for NASCAR’s top levels, he has been competing at his hometown track in Hampton.

Hall continued that momentum Saturday nibht by winninhg both twin 50-lap features Saturday night, giving him six Late Model victories at Langley in 2023. That doesn’t include his CARS Tour triumph the previous week on the same track.

Opening his latest night of success, Hall won the opener by 811-thousandths of a second over fellow CARS Tour driver Brenden Queen in a race that took about 26 1/2 minutes. Danny Edwards was a relatively distant third, 3.736 seconds off the lead.

In the nightcap, Hall moved his way through the field and prevailed by 0.731 of a second over Ryan Matthews. Nick Smith placed third, 3.943 seconds behind Hall.

Queen, the only driver besides Hall to place among the top five in both races, was fourth and Justin Carroll fifth.

Champ Kart: Dannie Wyatt nipped Cullen Roberts by a scant 28-thousandths of a second for a 20-lap victory that included 12 competitors and took about 7 minutes and 15 seconds. It was Wyatt’s second triumph of the year.

Third-place Ryan Hudgins, who began the night leading the standings, was just 70-thousandths off the lead, and fourth-place Timmy Waltrip and fifth-place Jeffrey Johnson were less than a half-second trailing Wyatt.

Virginia Racers: Jacob Derrick drove to a 2.719-second victory over Donovan Edwards in a 50-lap clash that took more than 15 minutes and included 15 drivers.

Derrick posted his division-leading third victory of the season.

Grand Stock: Tim Wilson cruised to a 3.197-second victory over Paul Lubno in a 30-lap race with just seven drivers that took about 9 1/2 minutes. Bill Eaker took third, 5.642 seconds from the lead.

Wilson equaled Chris Roberts, who began the evening atop the standings, with his fifth victory of the season.

Super Truck: Rick Poust propelled his way to a 25-lap triumph by 2.262 seconds over Chris McEvoy in a 12-driver race that took about 13 minutes for its leaders.

Donald Brown placed third, 6.698 seconds behind Poust, who took his initial victory of the year. Hunter Waltrip, who led the standings beforehand, took sixth.

Enduro: Charlie Bryant closed the night with a 30-lap victory, outracing 20 rivals. It was Bryant’s first triumph of the season.

Stephen Flinn was the runner-up, with Thomas Fontaine third and Bryant’s son Cody fourth. Cody Bryant began the night three points ahead of his father for the top spot in the standings.

Leaders from Saturday night in Hampton, with car numbers in parentheses.

Late Model 50 #1: (19 starters); 1. (77) Connor Hall; 2. (03) Brenden Queen; 3. (26) Danny Edwards; 4. (41) Woody Howard; 5. (21) Greg Edwards.

Late Model 50 #2: (19 starters); 1. (77) Connor Hall; 2. (51) Ryan Matthews; 3. (12) Nick Smith; 4. (03) Brenden Queen; 5. (91) Justin Carroll.

Champ Kart 20: (12 starters); 1. (18) Dannie Wyatt; 2. (27) Cullen Roberts; 3. (4) Ryan Hudgins; 4. (17) Timmy Waltrip; 5.(30) Jeffrey Johnson.

Grand Stock 30: (7 starters); 1. (17) Tim Wilson; 2. (14) Paul Lubno; 3. (29) Bill Eaker; 4. (47) Nate Lundin; 5. (22) Mike Parker.

Super Truck 25: (12 starters); 1. (9) Rick Poust; 2. (3) Chris McEvoy; 3. (05) Donald Brown; 4. (19) Bill Wallace; 5. (15) Chase McAdams.

Virginia Racers 50: (15 starters); 1. (88) Jacob Derrick; 2. (26) Donovan Edwards; 3. (57) Chase Johnson; 4. (08) Cody Bryant; 5. (9) Ayden Millette.

Enduro 30: (21 starters); 1. (88) Charlie Bryant; 2. (05) Stephen Flinn; 3. (64) Thomas Fontaine; 4. (08) Cody Bryant; 5. (17) Alex Floroff.

Pilkerton prevails at Virginia Motor Speedway

Jeremy Pilkerton of Loveville, Maryland, held off hard-charging Davis Lipscombe of Mechanicsville in the closing laps to score his second Pro Late Model victory of the year at Virginia Motor Speedway in Middlesex County.

Pilkerton called the race the best he ever had been a part of. Its only caution flag flew on lap 24 for Curtis Hughes, when something broke on his car.

Pilkerton regained control on the restart and finished ahead of Lipscombe and third-place Billy Hubbard on the dirt.

Modified: T.J. Dehaven prevailed in a 25-lap race, making the decisive pass of Bret Hamilton on the 11th lap.Hamilton held off Chase Butler, the fastest qualifier, for second place.

Sportsman: Brett Adkins passed Adam Breeden to go ahead on the third lap and cruised to a 25-lap victory.Hunter Wright, Steve Causey and Breeden completed the top four.

Limited Stock Car: Starting on the front row, Cory Bradley of Hopewell set the pace and prevailed in a 20-lap race without a caution flag.

Raymond Harper and Johnny Brooks, the top qualifier, were second and third, respectively.

The speedway will take Father’s Day weekend off and return to racing June 24. Bella’s Pizza in Tappahannock, about 25 miles from the speedway, will host the open VMS Race Car and Classic Car from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day.

Saturday’s results at the dirt track in Jamaica, in Middlesex County, with car numbers (starting positions in brackets).

Pro Late Model 30: (12 starters); 1. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[1]; 2. 71-Davis Lipscombe[6]; 3. 29H-Billy Hubbard[4]; 4. 92-Nick Davis[5]; 5. 08-Ray Love Jr.[8].

Sportsman 25: (8 starters); 1. 16-Brett Adkins[4]; 2. 00-Hunter Wright[5]; 3. 9-Steve Causey[3]; 4. 01-Adam Breeden[1]; 5. 23-Matt Meads[2].

Limited Stock Car 20: (12 starters); 1. 41-Cory Bradley[1]; 2. 55-Raymond Harper[3]; 3. 7-Johnny Brooks[4]; 4. 01-Trent Clemans[2]; 5. 14-Ryan Hutchens[5].

Lafayette fell just short of defending its Class 3 girls soccer state title, falling 1-0 to Brentsville District in the championship game Saturday at Riverbend High.

Arkansas recruit Peyton McGovern scored the game-winner for the Tigers (22-1) with about 20 minutes remaining in the second half. McGovern scored on a drive that began about 10 yards outside the top of the penalty box as she dribbled past numerous midfielders and defenders before slotting the ball past Rams goalkeeper Eva Fields.

“We knew about her and knew we’d have to be on top of our game to stop her,” Lafayette coach Kelli Ernst said. “That was a hard goal to concede because I thought Ceci Riggs and Riley Bennett did a phenomenal job of shutting her down otherwise.

“We were shorthanded today, so we were a little tired at that point. Still we battled the entire game.”

Ernst was referring to the absence of Lexi King, who tallied 15 goals and eight assists this season, but missed the state final because she was injured early in the week.

“We were able to put a lot of pressure on them in the first half and we had more shots on goal, but we missed that extra player,” Ernst said.

Taylor Walker, who scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Wilson Memorial on Friday, led the attack. A sophomore who notched 33 goals and 27 assists this season, she is one of many expected to return next season.

The Rams will suffer a significant loss on defense with the graduation of Jasmin Piggott, who was selected Class 3 Region A Co-Player of the Year, and in the midfield, where Sam Lynch (five goals, 11 assists) was all-region first team. Almost all of the other key players should return.

That group includes Bennett (13 goals, five assists), Riggs (16 goals, 10 assists), Kira Moore and Mandi Lynch. All, like Walker, were selected first-team all-region except for Mandi Lynch, who was selected to the second team.

All, save King, who is a junior and will be back, are sophomores or freshmen.

“It was a very exciting season,” Ernst said. “A lot of people questioned us after we lost so many seniors off of last year’s state championship team, but everyone stepped up and showed Lafayette is a strong program.

“We will be in the (state championship) hunt for years to come.”

Sparked by an unusual double play, the Norfolk Tides ensured themselves of a series victory Saturday in Pennsylvania with a 4-2 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Drew Rom pitched the first five innings for the win. Reliever Noah Denoyer worked a shutout sixth but walked the first two batters in the RailRiders’ seventh, the final inning.

Tides manager Buck Britton summoned Reed Garrett, who yielded a fly-ball single to Franchy Cordero. But on that play, four Tides combined to retire the two men who began the sequence on base, throwing out Rodolfo Duran at home and Elijah Dunham at third. Garrett then struck out Carlos Narvaez to end the game.

The International League-leading Tides took a 43-17 record and a five-game winning streak into the doubleheader nightcap. Three of those victories have come against the RailRiders, with the series finale set for Sunday afternoon.

In Saturday’s opener, Norfolk went ahead 2-0 in the first. Terrin Vavra singled and scored on Jordan Westburg’s two-out home run to left field.

The RailRiders pulled even at 2 in the second on Estevan Florial’s home run to right-center. But the Tides went ahead to stay on the fourth as Joey Ortiz tripled and scored on a double by Hudson Haskin, who then crossed the plate for a 4-2 edge on Daz Cameron’s single.

MIAMI (AP) — Follow along for live updates on former President Donald Trump, who has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate. The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president faces criminal charges by the federal government he once oversaw. Trump faces the possibility of prison if convicted.

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What to know:

— A timeline of events leading to Trump’s indictment in the classified documents case

— Indictment accuses Trump of scheming and lying to keep secret papers

— A look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and what’s next

— Trump faces a string of inquiries in various states and venues as he campaigns for a return to the White House

— Does the indictment stand to damage Trump’s standing with voters?

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STANDING OVATION FOR TRUMP AT NORTH CAROLINA GOP DINNER

An indictment by the Department of Justice is an attempt to “thwart the will of the American people,” former President Donald Trump said at a state GOP convention dinner in North Carolina.

“I promise you this: If you put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and American will be a free nation once again,” he said to a standing ovation.

The indictment is an attempt to damage his chances for a second term, he alleged.

Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.

In appearances at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, Trump sought to frame the 37 criminal charges he’s facing as an attack on not just him but also his supporters.

“In the end they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I’m just standing in the way,” he said in North Carolina.

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TRUMP VOWS TO CONTINUE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN EVEN IF CONVICTED

Former President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to continue his bid for a second term even if he is convicted in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

“I’ll never leave,” he told Politico in an interview aboard his plane after speaking at a Republican state convention in Georgia. He further predicted that he will not be convicted and sidestepped questions about whether he would pardon himself if elected.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The indictment unsealed Friday accuses Trump of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.

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MIKE PENCE DECLINES TO SHARE REACTION TO TRUMP INDICTMENT

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that he has read the indictment outlining federal charges against former President Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

But he declined to share his personal reaction to the content of the indictment, which included photographs of boxes with classified information stacked in a bathroom and on a ballroom stage, or to criticize Trump, whom he is challenging for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

“I’ve read the indictment,” Pence said in an interview with The Associated Press in North Carolina, where he addressed state Republicans.

“I also know that every American’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. And as I said today, we now know the Department of Justice’s view of these matters. But the former president is entitled to present his defense. And we don’t know what the facts of that are.”

“That’s why I said today I’m going to urge patience, encourage people to be prayerful for the former president, but also for all those in authority and for the country going forward,” said Pence, who formally launched his 2024 campaign this week.

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TRUMP SIGNS AUTOGRAPHS AND POSES FOR PHOTOS AT LOCAL WAFFLE HOUSE

After speaking at the Georgia Republican Convention, Trump stopped by a local Waffle House, where he signed autographs, posed for photos and chatted with supporters.

“We did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump said of federal authorities unsealing a lengthy indictment accusing him of mishandling national security secrets and then covering up his actions.

He is scheduled to speak to another Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

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TRUMP CALLS INDICTMENT AN ATTACK ON HIS CAMPAIGN

Speaking Saturday at the Georgia Republican Convention, Trump cast his federal indictment as an attempt to hurt his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term in office.

In his first public appearance since the 37 felony counts against him were unsealed, Trump blasted the indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless.”

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump said, later adding, “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes. He is scheduled to speak to another Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

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TRUMP ARRIVES IN GEORGIA FOR STATE GOP CONVENTION APPEARANCE

Former President Donald Trump arrived Saturday in Georgia to chants of “Four more years! Four more years!” from supporters waving signs that read, “Witch Hunt.”

About 100 eager supporters turned out at Columbus airfield for Trump’s first public appearance since federal authorities unsealed a lengthy indictment accusing him of mishandling national security secrets and then covering up his actions.

He’s headed to Georgia Republicans’ state convention, where he’s expected to blast the prosecution as a political exercise because he’s running for president again.

He doesn’t have to convince his audiences Saturday.

Michael Sellers, a 67-year-old Trump backer who came to the airfield, said he’d read the indictment and was aware of accusations that Trump sought to resist returning classified records, which previous presidents have routinely done when coming across such material in their possession.

“It’s criminal what they’re doing to him,” Sellers said. Asked whether he believes Trump will win another term in 2024, Sellers said, “He won the last time. He will win again.”

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TRUMP SUPPORTERS CHEER FORMER PRESIDENT IN GEORGIA

Scores of Trump supporters braved the beating sun to cheer the former president’s arrival in Columbus, Georgia, as he prepared to deliver two state GOP convention speeches Saturday in the wake of his federal criminal indictment.

Backers waved “Witch Hunt” signs, unbowed a day after federal authorities unsealed a lengthy charging document that depicted Trump as willfully mishandling national security secrets after leaving office and then covering up his actions.

Jan Plemmons, a 66-year-old Trump supporter, called the charges “absolutely ridiculous” and said she’s ready to hit the campaign trail with Trump as he runs for another term in 2024.

“I was watching Fox News this morning, and it’s just crazy,” Plemmons said, as her oversized foam “Make America Great Again” hat bobbed with each emphasis. “It’s just to divert attention.”

Plemmons said she does not dislike Trump’s primary rivals but sees the former president as “the man to put back in the White House and fix this mess that we’re in now.”

— Bill Barrow

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INDICTMENT EXPECTED TO ADD FUEL TO GOP CAMPAIGN AGAINST JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Congressional Republicans have prepared an aggressive campaign against the Justice Department for months, a key part of former Trump’s public defense against this week’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents.

The GOP counter-offensive against federal prosecutors and others who have investigated Trump avoids the substance of the charges facing the former president. Instead, they have tried to discredit law enforcement and President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, for instance, has issued a series of letters to the Justice Department demanding documents related to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s handling of classified records. Jordan has also aggressively sought to undercut Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who in April filed charges against Trump in a New York hush money investigation.

Democrats say Republicans are sowing conspiracy theories with potentially dangerous consequences.

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NOT ALL PLAN WARM WELCOME FOR TRUMP IN GEORGIA

Although most of the GOP activists attending the Georgia Republican Party convention Saturday are voicing support for Trump, some are suggesting his indictment and record make him a bad choice for the party’s presidential nominee in 2024.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has called for Trump to drop out of the race, got a polite but reserved reception Saturday morning at a party breakfast where Hutchinson touted his bid for the Republican presidential nomination as a “consistent conservative.”

Hutchinson didn’t mention Trump in his speech but told reporters that the Republican Party “should not lose its soul” in defending Trump, saying the evidence so far suggests he treated national secrets “like entertainment tools.”

— Jeff Amy

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TRUMP HEADED TO GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA FOR CAMPAIGN APPEARANCES

Trump is set to campaign in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, making his first public appearances since his federal indictment on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents.

Friendly audiences are expected to welcome Trump at the two state party conventions.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020.

A campaign official described Trump’s mood as “defiant” Friday after the indictment was unsealed. Trump has insisted publicly that he committed no wrongdoing and is likely to repeat that theme during Saturday’s appearances.

Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. His rivals have handled news of his indictment cautiously, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also scheduled to address North Carolina Republicans on Saturday.

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DEMOCRATS CALL FOR PEACEFUL PROCESS; GOP SPEAKER SAYS CASE MAY DISRUPT NATION

The Democratic leaders of both congressional chambers are urging supporters and detractors of Trump alike to let the case against him peacefully run its course in court.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, also from New York, released a statement saying Trump’s indictment must “play out through the legal process, without any outside political or ideological interference.”

“We encourage Mr. Trump’s supporters and critics alike to let this case proceed peacefully in court,” Schumer and Jeffries said.

That was a departure from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, who suggested that the nation’s core legal values were being undermined.

“This is going to disrupt this nation because it goes to the core of equal justice for all, which is not being seen today,” McCarthy said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And we’re not going to stand for it.”

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SECRET SERVICE PREPARES FOR TRUMP COURT APPEARANCE

The U.S. Secret Service is preparing for Trump’s appearance at a federal court in Miami on Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him on 37 felony counts related to his handling of classified documents.

Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency “will not seek any special accommodations outside of what would be required to ensure the former Presidents continued safety” in connection with Trump’s appearance.

He added: “As with any site visited by a protectee, the Secret Service is in constant coordination with the necessary entities to ensure protective requirements are met. We have the utmost confidence in the professionalism and commitment to security shared by our law enforcement partners in Florida.”

Trump’s April 4 arraignment in his New York case, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, attracted a crush of media and protesters, involved multiple street closures, extra security screenings and shut down non-Trump court business for an afternoon.

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TRUMP KEPT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN BATHROOM, SHOWER OF CLUB, INDICTMENT SAYS

The indictment alleges Trump kept classified documents in the bathroom and shower at his Florida estate, as well as various other locations that included a ballroom, storeroom, office and bedroom.

Prosecutors noted that “tens of thousands of members and guests” visited the “active social club” of Mar-a-Lago between the end of Trump’s presidency in January 2021 through the August 2022 search. They argued that “nonetheless” Trump stored documents “in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.”

The indictment claims that, for a two-month period, some of Trump’s boxes were stored in one of Mar-a-Lago’s gilded ballrooms. A picture included in the indictment shows boxes stacked in rows on the ballroom’s stage.

The indictment also shows photographs of boxes that spilled over in the storage room, including a document marked SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY” which means information releasable only to members of the intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the photo the classified document is redacted.

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LAWYER SAID TRUMP SUGGESTED HE REMOVE DAMAGING DOCUMENTS

The indictment unsealed Friday also says that, unaware of any records being moved, Trump’s attorney on June 2, 2022, identified 38 documents with “classified” markings and placed them in a folder, which he sealed with clear duct tape handed to him by Trump valet Walt Nauta. The valet then took the attorney to see the former president.

“Did you find anything? Is it bad? … Is it good?” the lawyer said Trump asked.

The attorney told federal authorities that he discussed the folder of classified material with Trump and how the material should be handled. The attorney told authorities that as they discussed the attorney taking the materials with him, Trump gestured in a way that suggested he wanted the attorney to identify “anything really bad” and “you know, pluck it out.” The lawyer clarified that Trump did not articulate such instructions beyond making that “plucking motion.”

The attorney told authorities that he did not take anything out of the folder and that he instead immediately contacted the FBI and another Trump attorney. On June 3, according to the indictment, the second Trump attorney acted as the official custodian of records on Trump’s behalf and turned the material to the FBI.

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INDICTMENT ALLEGES VALET MOVED BOXES AT TRUMP’S DIRECTION

The indictment alleges that Nauta acted “at Trump’s direction” to move move “approximately 64 boxes” of documents from the Mar-a-Lago storage room to the former president’s residence. Nauta’s actions occurred between May 23, 2022, and June 2, 2022, according to the indictment.

That total includes “approximately 30 boxes” Nauta allegedly moved on June 2, the same day Trump’s legal team was expected to examine the cache. Nauta’s actions that day came hours after he talked briefly via phone with Trump, prosecutors allege. Neither Trump nor Nauta, according to the indictment, disclosed to the former president’s attorneys that Nauta had moved any of the storage room contents.

According to prosecutors’ timeline, Trump met later that day with one of his attorneys and Nauta escorted the attorney to the storage room for his review of the documents

LEESBURG — A day after quieting one South Hampton Roads potent offense, Woodgrove ace Abbey Lane stymied another one.

Lane, a junior right-hander, tossed a four-hit shutout and permitted only one runner to reach second base to lead Woodgrove to a 3-0 victory over Hickory in the Class 5 softball state championship game Saturday at Riverside High School.

Hickory (20-5) was playing in its second consecutive state championship game after falling 2-1 against Stone Bridge last season. The Hawks were bidding to become Chesapeake’s first softball state champ since Grassfield in 2015.

Instead, Woodgrove (27-1), of Purcellville, won its 18th consecutive game and collected the program’s fifth state title since 2011.

Lane, who has committed to George Mason, shut out Nansemond River in the semifinals Friday, and she handed Hickory its first shutout loss since April (5-0 against Nansemond River). The Hawks managed just three singles before Emily Miller’s leadoff double in the seventh inning.

Lane walked one and struck out three, and Hickory’s first three hits were spread apart in the second, fifth and sixth innings.

“We only had three strikeouts, but we haven’t seen a pitcher like that back home who gets in on your hands like she does,” Hawks coach Shane Smith said. “We did a good job laying off her riseball, but she threw quite a few more change-ups than she did yesterday and got in on our hands.”

Hickory’s Miller turned in another solid outing in the circle, giving up single runs in the second, third and sixth innings.

Emma Hooftallen doubled and scored on an Alaina Santoli single in the second, Erynn Thompson hit an RBI double in the third and Santoli laced an RBI triple in the sixth.

Class 5🥎championship: Woodgrove 3, Hickory 0. FINAL. pic.twitter.com/CHIzbseJOO

— 757Teamz (@757teamz) June 10, 2023

Jami Frankenberry, [email protected]. Twitter @JamiVP