Latest news with #D.C.MetropolitanPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proud Boys' $100 Million Lawsuit Puts Trump In A Lose-Lose Position
Five members of the Proud Boys pardoned by President Donald Trump for orchestrating the Capitol insurrection have turned around and sued the federal government, forcing Trump's administration into an awkward position. The lawsuit from members of the neofascist group — all of whom were convicted and given lengthy sentences for the key roles they played in the riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — claims they were the victims of 'egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump.' The complaint, which seeks $100 million in restitution, compares their punishment to 'placing one's enemies' heads on a spike outside the town wall as a warning to any who would think to challenge the status quo.' Their lawsuit effectively leaves Trump's administration with two politically unappetizing options: Defend the Biden administration's prosecution after Trump pardoned them and nearly all other Jan. 6 offenders, or force American taxpayers to shell out for a settlement with them. The plaintiffs include Proud Boys leader Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, who was convicted of plotting the attack on the Capitol and sentenced to 22 years in prison ― the longest sentence handed down to anyone tried over Jan. 6. At a press conference Friday, Tarrio called the lawsuit a chance for Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, to rectify the Biden administration's errors. 'Today, we call on her to honor her commitment to the American people, to right the wrongs of her predecessor and to hold accountable those who violated our rights,' he said. 'We trust President Trump's judgment. He doesn't make mistakes.' Three of the other men ― Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs and Zachary Rehl ― were found guilty of spearheading the attack in the absence of Tarrio, who couldn't enter Washington, D.C., due to a prior arrest. They were sentenced to 18, 17 and 15 years in prison, respectively. The final Proud Boy in the lawsuit is Dominic Pezzola, who was captured on video using police equipment to break through glass at the entrance of the building. He was given 10 years in prison. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, which refers to the Proud Boys as a 'patriotic activist organization for young men.' The complaint says the men suffered greatly during their time in detention, where some of them endured 'solitary confinement under deplorable and unsanitary conditions' and were denied access to visits from their families and lawyers. Trump referred to them as 'hostages' when he signed his executive order pardoning riot participants in January. The Proud Boys lawsuit comes the same day Shane Lamond, the former leader of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's intelligence division, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking information to Tarrio ahead of the Jan. 6 attack. The Proud Boys Are Back, Thanks To Trump Pardons Corrupt Cop Who Leaked To Proud Boys Learns His Fate 'Adolescence' Is A Must-Watch For Parents Of Young Boys. But Here's What It Gets Wrong About Incel Culture.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Corrupt Cop Who Leaked To Proud Boys Learns His Fate
Shane Lamond, the former leader of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's intelligence division, will spend 18 months in prison for leaking information ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Lamond on Friday morning. Tarrio is a free man after President Donald Trump pardoned him in January. Tarrio had been sentenced to serve 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy charges but instead was in the courthouse on Friday, watching the proceedings. Also present was Oath Keepers leader Elmer Stewart Rhodes. Like Tarrio, Rhodes was charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump commuted Rhodes' 18-year sentence. Lamond was found guilty last year of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators at the FBI and Department of Justice after a bench trial before Jackson in Washington, D.C. He waived his right to a jury trial. Prosecutors originally sought a sentence of four years. The FBI and DOJ opened a probe into Lamond's conduct in 2021 after the December 2020 burning of a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church in Washington, D.C. Tarrio was charged with destroying the banner and sentenced to five months in prison. At Lamond's trial, prosecutors said it was thanks to Lamond that Tarrio was tipped off about the banner investigation and learned that a warrant for his arrest was incoming. At trial, prosecutors accused Lamond of telling Tarrio that police had footage of Tarrio burning the banner and warning him that the FBI and Secret Service were 'all spun up' about the Proud Boys' presence in Washington. Tarrio had appeared on Infowars and said members of the extremist group would start prowling public events incognito or dressed up as supporters of Joe Biden. Lamond kept that conversation — and many others — from his colleagues at the department who were pursuing the banner probe. One omission included a meeting of Tarrio and Lamond just three days after the banner burning. Ahead of the meeting, Tarrio pressed Lamond about how the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department perceived the Proud Boys. Lamond wouldn't say over text. Instead, he asked Tarrio to meet him for a beer at a local bar. Lamond denied ever hearing a confession from Tarrio that night at the bar or at any other time in their communications leading up to Jan. 6. When Tarrio took the stand at Lamond's trial, the Proud Boys leader denied ever making a confession to Lamond but stumbled when prosecutors presented him with a secret Telegram chat. The chat showed Tarrio asking Lamond if police would add the hate crime enhancement to the destruction charge and Lamond telling him he had been asking supervisors at MPD about it. The intelligence division chief told Tarrio that if he were going to be charged with a hate crime, then police would have to start investigating hate crime charges for Trump flags burned in the district. From the witness stand, Tarrio smirked and told the courtroom: 'Whoever said this is a genius because he is right.' Records showed that Lamond and Tarrio spoke for months over text, sharing at least 500 texts. They typically used iMessage or Google to chat. But after the 2020 election, Lamond asked Tarrio to move their conversations to an encrypted texting app. A forensic review of Lamond's and Tarrio's devices showed many of the messages in the encrypted app were set to delete automatically, something a law enforcement officer would not typically do, or be encouraged to do, when engaging with a confidential human source. Lamond's supervisors also told the judge during the trial that using Telegram to speak with a source secretly, or disclosing investigators were 'all spun up' was something that would have never been authorized by the department. FBI agents who testified about the texts between the men said the imbalance in Lamond's relationship with Tarrio was clear: Tarrio rarely provided useful information to Lamond about Proud Boys activities or whereabouts that weren't already available through Tarrio's own social media posts. Messages on Tarrio's device showed him telling fellow Proud Boys that he knew the warrant was incoming thanks to his D.C. cop contact. The knowledge, according to prosecutors, allowed Tarrio to coordinate his arrest on Jan. 4, 2021, giving him a helpful alibi for his whereabouts on Jan. 6. He was only held in jail briefly, however, and then he was ordered out of Washington, D.C. Tarrio obliged; he left D.C. and headed to a hotel room in Baltimore, Maryland, where he watched the rioting unfold and cheered on Proud Boys from afar online and in private discussions. As Lamond sat right across from him inside Jackson's courtroom last year, Tarrio said he had lied to fellow Proud Boys about knowing the warrant was coming. It was a sort of 'marketing ploy,' Tarrio said, because he knew it would invigorate and excite members of the extremist group. Lamond has denied being a 'double agent' and denied having any sympathy for the Proud Boys. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Responds After Two Israeli Embassy Staff Shot Dead in D.C.
President Donald Trump raged against antisemitism and 'hatred' after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead on Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The victims, a man and a woman, were exiting an event at the museum when the shooting occurred, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith said at a press conference. A single suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, is in custody, she added. The suspect 'chanted 'free, free Palestine,' while in custody,' Smith continued. Trump took to Truth Social early Thursday morning, writing: 'These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!' Details of the shooting were still being investigated overnight, but Smith said the suspect was believed to have acted alone. 'Prior to the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum. He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun, and opened fire, striking both of our decedents,' she told reporters. The suspect entered the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, according to Smith. Once handcuffed, he disclosed the location of a weapon, which has been recovered by police, she added. She said police do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the community. The victims were a couple, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told the press conference. He said the man had bought a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his partner next week in Jerusalem. 'We are a resilient people,' Leiter said. 'The people of Israel are resilient people. The people of the United States of America are resilient people. Together, we won't be afraid. Together we'll stand and we're going to overcome moral depravity of people who think that they're going to achieve political gains through murder.' Attorney General Pam Bondi told the press conference the suspect 'will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' 'I am on the scene of the horrible shooting outside the Washington, DC Capital Jewish Museum with @USAttyPirro,' Bondi had written on X. 'Praying for the victims of this violence as we work to learn more.' Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy, said in a statement on X that two staff members were shot 'at close range' while attending a Jewish event at the museum. Two witnesses, Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher, told the Associated Press they were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and saw a man come inside appearing distressed. Kalin said the man was initially offered water and aid by people who did not realize he was the suspect. 'This event was about humanitarian aid,' Kalin told AP. 'How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.' The museum said in a statement it was 'deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence.' The incident comes amid a renewed Israeli offensive in warn-torn Gaza this week, prompting rebukes from several Western allies. France, Britain and Canada called Israel's renewed campaign and withholding of humanitarian aid 'egregious.'
24-04-2025
- Politics
Noem says she felt her bag being dragged away but thought it was a grandchild
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she felt something brush against her leg as a thief was dragging away her purse at a Washington restaurant on Sunday. Noem said she thought one of her grandchildren who was dining with her had kicked her by accident. "I think I was a busy grandma with four grandkids under the age of 4, and I was taking care of them and feeding them food and enjoying my family, yeah, but certainly had my purse even touching my feet," she said. Authorities said a man wearing a mask took Noem's bag, which contained $3,000, her DHS access card, passport, makeup bag, apartment key and other items."It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my feet, actually felt my purse, he hooked it with his foot and dragged it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it," Noem said on 'The Vince Show' podcast. "It was professionally done," Noem said. "It tells me that this happens all the time to people, and that they live in communities where this is a danger." Noem said she wasn't sure if she was targeted because she was the DHS secretary. A DHS official said the secretary had the cash with her because her family was in town and she was treating them to Easter festivities. "Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren -- she was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts," the official said. The Secret Service is investigating, according to the DHS official. The Secret Service deferred any comment on the incident to DHS. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has not commented on the case.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aircraft down near DC's Reagan Airport, takeoffs and landings halted
ARLINGTON, Va. — An aircraft went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, and all takeoffs and landings have been halted, according to the airport and law enforcement. Multiple helicopters, including those from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. military, were flying over the scene of the incident in the Potomac River. D.C. Fire and EMS said on X that fireboats were on the scene. Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball. The airport said emergency personnel were responding to 'an aircraft incident on the airfield.' Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android No other details were immediately available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
