Villore - Following the defiant example of Roden Shipyards, Federation arms manufacturers have collectively refuted President Foiritan's nationalization mandate. A hastily arranged charter has been signed by twelve of the largest Gallentean corporations and delivered to the Presidential Office in Ladistier. According to sources, the charter states their explicit refusal to comply with the Hueromont Act and boldly demands that government troops leave corporate properties "with immediate effect."
In what many see as a surprising move, Federal Intelligence Office (FIO) Director Mentas Blaque has ordered federal agents to "belay prior enforcement directives and stand down." It is unknown if his actions represent direct insubordination, or if the order was issued by the president. The FIO refuses to comment.
In what many are calling the death throes of the Foiritan presidency, the Federation Senate voted by a two-to-one margin to begin impeachment hearings as early as next week. This is the latest in a series of national misfortunes for the beleaguered president, whose popularity since the outset of the Empyrean War has plummeted.
While confrontations between government and corporations have yet to turn violent, reports of civil unrest are trickling in from throughout the Gallente Federation. Populist groups are largely divided between the president's actions and the hawkish measures needed to rescue frontier Federation settlements from Caldari occupation. Libertarian groups decry the president's actions as a "totalitarian" attempt to take sovereign rights away from corporations, but have traditionally sided against pro-business causes.
As of now, the president has not officially responded to the corporation charter or the senate impeachment hearings.
This is a SCOPE breaking news story. More coverage will follow as details emerge.