The US is killing someone by firing squad for the 1st time in 15 years. Here's a look at the history
It was a punishment for mutiny in colonial times, a way to discourage desertion during the Civil War and a dose of frontier justice in the Old West. In modern times, some consider it a more humane alternative to lethal injection. The firing squad has a long and thorny history in the U.S.
South Carolina on Friday is scheduled to put the first person to death by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years. Brad Sigmon , who was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents in 2001, chose it over the two other methods in South Carolina — the electric chair and lethal injection.
Since 1608, at least 144 civilian prisoners have been executed by shooting in America, nearly all in Utah. Only three have occurred since 1977, when the use of capital punishment resumed after a 10-year pause. The first of those, Gary Gilmore , caused a media sensation in part because he waived his appeals and volunteered to be executed. When asked for his last words, Gilmore replied, 'Let's do it.'
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Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Fake images, conspiracy theories swirl around LA protests
There were numerous scenes of protesters throwing rocks or other objects at law enforcement officers and setting cars ablaze, including a number of self-driving Waymo taxis. At the same time, false images spread to revive old conspiracies that the protests were a planned provocation, not a spontaneous response to the immigration raids. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The confrontation escalated Monday as new protests occurred and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced — on social platform X — that he was mobilizing 700 Marines from a base near Los Angeles to guard federal buildings. They are expected to join 2,000 members of the California National Guard whom Trump ordered deployed without the authorization of the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, who normally has command of the troops. Advertisement The latest deployments prompted a new wave of misleading images to spread — some purporting to show Marines and the military service's weapons in action. One was a still from 'Blue Thunder,' a 1983 action-thriller about a conspiracy to deprive residents of Los Angeles of their civil rights. It features a climactic dogfight over the city's downtown. Advertisement Darren L. Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub, said conservatives online were 'building up the riots in a performative way' to help bolster Trump's claims that Los Angeles had been taken over by 'violent, insurrectionist mobs.' Linvill said the posts were also 'a bit self-fulfilling.' 'As they direct attention to it,' he said, 'more protesters will show up.' James Woods, an actor who has become known for spreading conspiracy theories, used his account on X to rail against the state's elected officials, especially Newsom, a Democrat. He also reposted a fabricated quote, attributed to former president Barack Obama, discussing a secret plot to impose socialism on the country, as well as a video of burning police cars that was from 2020. An innocuous photograph of a pallet of bricks, actually posted on the website of a building materials wholesaler in Malaysia, was cited as proof that the protests were organized by nonprofit organizations supported by George Soros, the financier who, to the feverishly conspiratorial right, has become a mastermind of global disorder. 'It's Civil War!!' an account on X wrote Saturday, claiming that the bricks had been placed near the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 'Democrat militants.' X posted a Community Note pointing out that the photograph had nothing to do with the protests, but it still was seen more than 800,000 times. It was also widely reposted, including by several seemingly inauthentic accounts in Chinese. The online trope dates at least to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. It reappeared in 2022 after a conspiratorial post by Representative Lauren Boebert, Republican of Colorado, who suggested that bricks for a paving project near Capitol Hill were intended for violent protests after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Advertisement 'These days, it feels like every time there's a protest, the old clickbaity 'pallets of bricks' hoax shows up right on cue,' the Social Media Lab, a research center at the Toronto Metropolitan University, wrote on Bluesky. 'You know the one, photos or videos of bricks supposedly left out to encourage rioting. It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters.' It also fits into the narrative that protests against government policies are somehow inauthentic. On his own platform, Truth Social, Trump also suggested that the protesters were 'Paid Insurrectionists!' Numerous posts echoed unsubstantiated claims that the protests were the work of Soros as well as local nongovernment organizations or Democratic elected officials, including the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Some posts disparaging the protests were shared by accounts with deceptive handles that closely resembled those of official government sources or news organizations. Mike Benz, a conspiracy-minded influencer on X who last year claimed that the Pentagon used pop star Taylor Swift as part of a psychological operation to undercut Trump, advanced an outlandish theory that the mayor had links to the CIA and had helped start riots in the city where she lives. He based that simply on Bass's role as a board member for the National Endowment for Democracy, the congressionally mandated organization formed during the Reagan administration to promote democratic governance around the world. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the theme was echoed by accounts across social media linked to Russia, which often amplifies content that discredits the United States. The Kremlin and its supporters have long accused Soros or the United States government of covertly sponsoring 'color revolutions' to overthrow governments -- from the Arab Spring countries swept up by mass street protests in 2011 to Ukraine. Advertisement 'It is nationwide conspiracy of liberals against not only Trump but against American people in general,' Alexander Dugin, a prominent nationalist in Russia, wrote on X on Sunday. Disinformation in situations like these spreads so quickly and widely that efforts to verify facts cannot keep up, said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at Free Press, an advocacy organization that studies the intersection of media, technology and the law. She described it as part of 'a much longer effort to delegitimize peaceful resistance movements.' 'Information warfare is always a symptom of conflict, stoked often by those in power to fuel their own illiberal goals,' she said. 'It confuses audiences, scares people who might otherwise have empathy for the cause and divides us when we need solidarity most.' This article originally appeared in
Miami Herald
16 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Fake Images and Conspiracy Theories Swirl Around LA Protests
Misleading photographs, videos and text have spread widely on social media as protests against immigrant raids have unfolded in Los Angeles, rehashing old conspiracy theories and expressing support for President Donald Trump's actions. The flood of falsehoods online appeared intended to stoke outrage toward immigrants and political leaders, principally Democrats. They also added to the confusion over what exactly was happening on the streets, which was portrayed in digital and social media through starkly divergent ideological lenses. Many posts created the false impression that the entire city was engulfed in violence, when the clashes were limited to only a small part. There were numerous scenes of protesters throwing rocks or other objects at law enforcement officers and setting cars ablaze, including a number of self-driving Waymo taxis. At the same time, false images spread to revive old conspiracies that the protests were a planned provocation, not a spontaneous response to the immigration raids. The confrontation escalated Monday as new protests occurred and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced -- on the social platform X -- that he was mobilizing 700 Marines from a base near Los Angeles to guard federal buildings. They are expected to join 2,000 members of the California National Guard whom Trump ordered deployed without the authorization of the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, who normally has command of the troops. The latest deployments prompted a new wave of misleading images to spread -- some purporting to show Marines and the military service's weapons in action. One was a still from 'Blue Thunder,' a 1983 action-thriller about a conspiracy to deprive residents of Los Angeles of their civil rights. It features a climactic dogfight over the city's downtown. Darren L. Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub, said conservatives online were 'building up the riots in a performative way' to help bolster Trump's claims that Los Angeles had been taken over by 'violent, insurrectionist mobs.' Linvill said the posts were also 'a bit self-fulfilling.' 'As they direct attention to it,' he said, 'more protesters will show up.' James Woods, the actor who has become known for spreading conspiracy theories, used his account on X to rail against the state's elected officials, especially Newsom, a Democrat. He also reposted a fabricated quote, attributed to former President Barack Obama, discussing a secret plot to impose socialism on the country, as well as a video of burning police cars that was from 2020. An innocuous photograph of a pallet of bricks, actually posted on the website of a building materials wholesaler in Malaysia, was cited as proof that the protests were organized by nonprofit organizations supported by George Soros, the financier who, to the feverishly conspiratorial right, has become a mastermind of global disorder. 'It's Civil War!!' an account on X wrote on Saturday, claiming that the bricks had been placed near the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 'Democrat militants.' X posted a Community Note pointing out that the photograph had nothing to do with the protests, but it still was seen more than 800,000 times. It was also widely reposted, including by several seemingly inauthentic accounts in Chinese. The online trope dates at least to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. It reappeared in 2022 after a conspiratorial post by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who suggested that bricks for a paving project near Capitol Hill were intended for violent protests after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 'These days, it feels like every time there's a protest, the old clickbaity 'pallets of bricks' hoax shows up right on cue,' the Social Media Lab, a research center at the Toronto Metropolitan University, wrote on Bluesky. 'You know the one, photos or videos of bricks supposedly left out to encourage rioting. It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters.' It also fits into the narrative that protests against government policies are somehow inauthentic. On his own platform, Truth Social, Trump also suggested that the protesters were 'Paid Insurrectionists!' Numerous posts echoed unsubstantiated claims that the protests were the work of Soros as well as local nongovernment organizations or Democratic elected officials, including the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Some posts disparaging the protests were shared by accounts with deceptive handles that closely resembled those of official government sources or news organizations. Mike Benz, a conspiracy-minded influencer on X who last year claimed that the Pentagon used pop star Taylor Swift as part of a psychological operation to undercut Trump, advanced an outlandish theory that the mayor had links to the CIA and had helped start riots in the city where she lives. He based that simply on Bass' role as a board member for the National Endowment for Democracy, the congressionally mandated organization formed during the Reagan administration to promote democratic governance around the world. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the theme was echoed by accounts across social media linked to Russia, which often amplifies content that discredits the United States. The Kremlin and its supporters have long accused Soros or the United States government of covertly sponsoring 'color revolutions' to overthrow governments -- from the Arab Spring countries swept up by mass street protests in 2011 to Ukraine. 'It is nationwide conspiracy of liberals against not only Trump but against American people in general,' Alexander Dugin, a prominent nationalist in Russia, wrote on X on Sunday. Disinformation in situations like these spreads so quickly and widely that efforts to verify facts cannot keep up, said Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at Free Press, an advocacy organization that studies the intersection of media, technology and the law. She described it as part of 'a much longer effort to delegitimize peaceful resistance movements.' 'Information warfare is always a symptom of conflict, stoked often by those in power to fuel their own illiberal goals,' she said. 'It confuses audiences, scares people who might otherwise have empathy for the cause and divides us when we need solidarity most.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Holyoke drug sweep: 10 arrested in multi-agency operation targeting open-air dealing
HOLYOKE ― A multi-agency operation led to 10 arrests and the recovery of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and cash, Holyoke police announced. The sweep targeted open-air drug dealing in Soucy Park, Sargeant Street and Cabot Street in Holyoke, Holyoke Police Department said in a social media post on Friday. On Wednesday, officers saw Antoine Diaz, 44, of Agawam, in a suspected drug deal at Soucy Park. Diaz drove away, but police stopped his car and found seven vials of cocaine. Police arrested Diaz, and charged him with possession of a Class B drug, Holyoke police said. In the park, officers arrested Maria Gonzalez, 55, of Chicopee, and charged her with possession of a Class B Drug. Juan Carlos Llorens-DeJesus, 38, was arrested after police found him with 2 grams of crack cocaine, more than 2 grams of fentanyl, and cash, Holyoke police said. Police said they charged Llorens-DeJesus, of Holyoke, with distribution of Class A and Class B drugs. On Sargeant Street, officers saw Steven Devers, 36, of Indian Orchard, in suspected drug activity, according to the statement. Devers tried to flee and threw heroin mixed with fentanyl from a fourth floor, police said. Officers said they caught Devers and recovered about 100 bags of heroin mixed with fentanyl, 27 vials of cocaine and money. Devers is charged with distribution of a Class A drug, possession with the intent to distribute a Class A and B drug, and for the possession of a Class A and B drug, police said. Anthony Broden, 41, of West Springfield, also was arrested during the sweep on two active warrants. On Cabot Street, officers saw Omar Albira-Torres, 46, of Springfield, in suspected drug deals, according to the statement. Police arrested him and found about 7 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, according to the Holyoke police, and he was charged with possession with the intent to distribute a Class B drug, possession of a Class B drug and on an arrest warrant. Luis Vazquez Jr., 50, of West Springfield, also was arrested for possessing crack cocaine, police said. Meanwhile, Pedro Rosado-Torres, 53, of Holyoke, and Jessica Dahlke, 40, of Belchertown, were arrested for outstanding warrants, Keenan said. Thomas Miklovich, 42, of Hadley, was charged with the possession of a class A drug and trespassing. The sweep was conducted by the Holyoke Police Narcotics Task Force, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Massachusetts State Police, Hampden District Attorney's SAFE Unit and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Big Y plans changes to its Tower Square store Trump cancels $87 million grant for planned low-carbon cement plant in Holyoke How a Springfield agency's mission evolved since its founding after the Civil War Springfield seeks to boost economic sustainability for Mason Square families Read the original article on MassLive.
