Morning Wire - Reiner Son Arrested & FBI Kneecaps Terror Plot | 12.16.25

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Hollywood reels after the gruesome deaths of iconic director Rob Reiner and his wife and the arrest of their son, the FBI says they’ve foiled a major left-wing terrorist plot in Los Angeles, and the manhunt continues for the Brown University shooter. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. - - - Ep. 2540 - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 - - - Today's Sponsors: Balance of Nature - Go to https://balanceofnature.com/pages/lock-in-for-life for 50% off the Whole Health System FOR LIFE with this limited-time offer! Shopify - Go to https://Shopify.com/morningwire to sign up for your $1-per-month trial period and upgrade your selling today. - - - Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacy morning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hollywood is reeling after the gruesome stabbing death of iconic director Rob Reiner and his wife and the arrest of their son. Nick Reiner, a suspect in this case, he was subsequently booked for murder and is being held on $4 million bail. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Tuesday, December 16th, and this is Morning Wire. The FBI says they've foiled a major terrorist plot aimed at Los Angeles, arresting four minutes. members of a radical left-wing group. Each is charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device in violation of Title 26, United States Code Section 5861D.

And the latest on the manhunt for the Brown University shooter. The FBI is now offering a reward of $50,000 for information that can lead to the identification, the arrest, and the conviction of the individual responsible who we believe to be. armed and dangerous. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Getting a wide variety of whole food ingredients into my diet is key for me and our sponsor, Balance of Nature's Whole Health System makes it simple. With their convenient blend of fruits and vegetables and easy to take capsules, I can ensure that I'm getting essential nutrients every day without the hassle of prep work or meal planning. It's an easy way to support my wellness

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So, Megan, this news stunned Hollywood. These were two famous people living in. a very safe, high-end neighborhood. What have investigators disclosed so far? Yeah, so what authorities are telling us right now, Georgia, is that emergency services were called to the Reiner's home. At that point, firefighters arrived and they discovered the bodies of Rob and Michelle Reiner. Now, it's been widely reported that the couple were stabbed to death, and that specifically their throats were cut. Now, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has not officially released their causes of death yet, but the LAPD has classified them as homicides.

And the Reiner's son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, has been taken into custody. He was picked up later that night, and he's being held on $4 million bail. And what do we know about the circumstances leading to Nick Reiner's arrest? Do we know where that took place or where he was? We have some information. So police have not officially named Nick Reiner the sole suspect, and they haven't offered any information on motive. And we don't have formal criminal charges yet. But L.A. police chief, Jim McDonald, has said that he was, quote, unquote, booked for murder. And this comes

amid a backdrop of some known family issues. So just to go over a few of those, Nick has publicly struggled with drug addiction since he was 15 years old. He had been in and out of rehabs. He'd experienced extended periods of homelessness. In 2015, he co-wrote and his father directed the semi-autobiographical film being Charlie about drug addiction and the pressures that it can put on families. In fact, the father and son said at the time that it mirrored some of their real-life experiences. It really clicked for me because we didn't bond a lot as a kid. When I saw him do that, it was something that I'm interested in, I was like, wow, like he really knows a lot, and like it made me feel closer to him.

Then another thing that we do know is that the Reiner's daughter, Romy, who is 28 years old, reportedly found her parents' bodies. And there are reports that she was the one who told police that her brother was the likely perpetrator. There have been reports of a shouting match, very loud family argument between father and son the night before at a Christmas party at Conan O'Brien's house. But we don't know what that argument was about. Now, Reiner and his work were beloved. Audiences will recognize a lot of the films that he directed Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, when Harry met Sally, many more. So this is devastating to the entertainment industry.

What's the reaction from Hollywood been so far? Yeah, it really has been devastating. There has been just an outpouring of grief, of shock, to give you just a few of the condolences that we're hearing from across the entertainment industry. Ron Howard said Reiner was a superlative filmmaker, a supportive colleague, and at all times a dedicated citizen. Ben Stiller called his death a huge loss.

Former President Barack Obama credited Reiner for giving audiences, quote, some of our most cherished stories. And then speaking of Obama, a lot of stars also highlighted Reiner's political activism. Of course, Reiner was a man of the political left, and he was very outspoken. And that did, at times, ruffle some feathers on the other side of the political aisle. He was known for calling President Trump things like mentally unfit and treasonous, which might be why in his reaction to the news, President Trump posted on true social that Reiner suffered from Trump derangement syndrome and even suggested that that might have had something to do with these murders, though he did also say that the Reiner's

deaths was a very sad thing and said that he hopes they rest in peace. Other Republicans just simply offered some prayers. Senator Ted Cruz, for instance, said that he and his family are mourning the loss of a comedic and storytelling master. And he said that his films touched us deeply and spoke to are fundamental humanity. Well, a tragic story, and he'll be remembered for some of those iconic films. Megan, thanks for reporting. Yep, my pleasure. This episode is brought to you by Shopify.

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Hey, Cabot. So a sigh of relief in Los Angeles this week. What have we learned so far about this plot? Yeah, one of those stories that gets scarier, the more you dig into it. On Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that after a thorough FBI investigation, the DOJ had thwarted what they called a, quote, massive and horrific left-wing terror plot to bomb a number of locations across L.A. on New Year's Eve. The alleged plan was being organized by a group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front. They are a militant, Antifa-style group. A social media account for this radical group includes a slew of anti-American and anti-Israel posts, including slogans like, quote, Death to Ice.

death to America, and capitalism prevents liberation. One recent post reads, quote, there are no morals for us to appeal to. No sense of justice or what is right. We cannot vote ourselves out of a mass colonizer occupation. So you get the idea. This is a radical and now violent left-wing group. All right, so some violent language leading apparently to some violent action. How was this plot uncovered? So we're still learning the details. Attorney General Bondi simply said that this had been a long investigation. But it appears the turning point came when the FBI first obtained clear plans for this terror attack. According to the DOJ affidavit, which was obtained by Daily Wire White House correspondent Mayor Margaret Ollahan,

one of the group's leaders, Audrey Carroll, unknowingly provided an eight-page outline of the plot to a law enforcement source. That document dubbed Operation Midnight Sun outlined plans to drop backpacks containing IEDs at five separate locations across Los Angeles. Those bombs would then be detonated simultaneously. The FBI said the targets chosen included large American corporations and companies. They didn't give us any specific names, but did say in a press conference that they were, quote, similar to Amazon. In recent weeks, the group allegedly took concrete steps to carry out their attack, purchasing bomb-making materials and then traveling to a remote location in the Mojave Desert

to test their explosives. Now, it was there that the FBI, who was monitoring them with a surveillance plane, swept in with a SWAT team to arrest four individuals. Here's Akeel Davis from LA's FBI field office describing the scene and then playing just really remarkable surveillance footage from that FBI plane. They had precursor chemicals there and they were going to make, they were going to create these these bombs in the desert. What they are starting to do is put their chemicals and, and wares and the components out on the,

on the table there. Now, look, there might be some fun. folks at home who are skeptical about the seriousness of this plot. Well, based on the affidavit, the suspects knew exactly what they were doing. Carol, the apparent leader of the group, allegedly told her co-conspirators, quote, what we are doing will be considered a terrorist act. So this was not just a case of, you know, some left-wing kids hanging on their basement, talking a big game.

This was seemingly very real. The FBI says the group also planned a number of follow-up attacks after this one on New Year's Eve. Those would potentially target ICE personnel and other, immigration enforcement offices. And it's also worth noting, according to the FBI, this plot was thwarted in large part thanks to President Trump's recent crackdown on domestic terror groups like Antifa. Here's Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Assaley making that point. This investigation was initiated in part due to the September 2025 executive order signed by President Trump to root out left-wing domestic terror organizations in our country, such as Antifa

and other radical groups like. the Turtle Island Liberation Front. As a result of those directives, we built this case. Now, each of the four individuals arrested have now been charged with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device. The FBI says they do plan on filing additional charges in the coming weeks as they gather more evidence. Sounds like a very serious attack thwarted here by the FBI. Thank goodness. Gavin, thanks so much for reporting. Absolutely. Law enforcement continued to investigate a shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to give us the latest on the shooting. So Tim, a major bombshell in this case dropped on Sunday when they released the person of interest that they had initially apprehended. What do we know so far? Yeah, as we reported yesterday, officials concluded that they didn't have the evidence to charge that man, which has made some wonder how law enforcement came to detain this man in the first place. There's been some speculation in the media that this has caused some tension between local law enforcement and federal agents. The lead that led to this detainment was apparently worked by the FBI.

Director Cash Patel even seemed to take credit on Sunday. Patel posted on X that the FBI's cellular analysis survey team provided critical geolocation capabilities, and as a result, FBI's Boston Safe Streets Task Force with assistance from the U.S. Marshals and Coventry PD detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island. And then, of course, late Sunday night, they held a big press conference where local officials announced that they would actually be releasing their person of interest. Here's CNN law enforcement expert John Miller, reading between the lines of what happened in that

press conference. You see FBI agents. You see U.S. Marshal. There will be a lot of federal officials there. And police were very careful to subtly point out during this press conference. This was an FBI handled lead. And, you know, they got it once it was brought back to the station and the involvement of the attorney general and so on.

there been some friction between the Providence Police and the FBI today over this, I'm going to tell you there has been. So potentially a lot of interagency friction going on on this case, and that, of course, is made worse because of the stakes here. So they've released their initial person of interest? Does that mean they're back to square one with this search? Well, it looks like they at least took a huge step back. But as we noted yesterday, officials have been pretty tight-lipped about what they have and what they don't have. But what state and local officials have told us so far is that they are still looking for the person that was seen in CCTV footage that the police released over the weekend. Here was Providence Mayor Brett Smiley asking for help from the community.

That is one piece of additional evidence in a way in which this community can help. If you have a camera and you are nearby, the video that was released was the corner of Hope and Waterman streets. And if you are in that area and you have video, you have home video, ring camera, security camera, you're a small business owner. Please reach out to us. And community members have apparently responded. The FBI and local law enforcement released new video and photos of the suspect yesterday. And the FBI also posted a $50,000 bounty on information that would lead to his arrest. Meanwhile, Smiley has been adamant that the community remains safe.

Here he was on ABC News yesterday morning. We understand that there is a high degree of anxiety. And after this individual was released last night, I understand that that anxiety level has risen in our community. But it's no different than a day ago, which is that we've received, continue to receive zero credible threats to our community, Brown or the broader community.

So Mayor Smiley, obviously trying to project calm, but that is pretty tough job when there is a mass shooter out on the loose. Yeah, very unnerving. Now, we finally have the names of the two student victims from Brown University. What do we know about those students? Yeah, their names are Ella Cook

and Muhammad Aziz Ummersakov. Cook was a second year student from Alabama, vice president of Brown's Republican Club, and from all accounts will be dearly missed. Here's the cathedral church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, that was Cook's home church, announcing her death to the congregation. Many of you heard about the tragedy, which happened to Brown University, the shootings which took place and a number of young people who died. And sadly, tragically, one of those people is one of our parishioners. Ella Cook was one of those.

And for those of you who knew her, who know her, she was just incredibly grounded and generous and faithful and bright light. Umar Zakhov was an Uzbek national in his first year at Brown. A go-fundmi written by his sister described him as incredibly kind, funny, and smart. These were undergrad's very young students. Tim, thanks for reporting. Good to be on. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're listening to the show, you can now watch the show free on Daily Wire Plus.

We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.