Latest news with #KuKluxKlanAct
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
On This Day, April 20: Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil spill kills 11
April 20 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1871, the U.S. Congress passed the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, authorizing President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations and use military force to suppress the Klan. In 1902, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie isolated radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. In 1961, Radio Havana announced that seven members of the group which attempted an overthrow of Fidel Castro's communist government in Cuba had been executed. It raised the number of executions over the previous three days to 24. In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could order low-cost housing for minorities in a city's white suburbs to ease racial segregation. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a $165 billion Social Security rescue plan to keep the retirement system solvent. In 1992, Madonna signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Time Warner to form an entertainment company that would make her the world's highest paid female pop star. In 1999, two teenage boys killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., before turning their guns on themselves. In 2008, Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 auto race, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar event. In 2010, an explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon BP oil rig off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and caused a massive oil spill. It became the largest U.S. marine oil spill in history, stretching over almost three months and releasing about 4.9 million barrels of crude. In 2011, Michel Martelly, an entertainer who performed under the name "Sweet Micky," was elected president of Haiti in a runoff with former first lady Mirlande Manigat. In 2012, a Pakistani Bhoja Air jetliner on a flight from Karachi crashed 5 miles from Islamabad, killing all 127 people aboard. In 2013, an earthquake in China's Sichuan province killed nearly 200 people and injured thousands. In 2021, a Minnesota jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd. He was later sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. In 2024, Hell's Kitchen, with music by Alicia Keys, debuted on Broadway. The musical won Best Lead Actress for Maleah Joi Moon and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Kecia Lewis at the Tony Awards.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
District of Columbia drops civil lawsuit against Jan. 6 groups, citing ‘challenges' facing the city
Washington, D.C., and the victims of the violent, pro-Trump insurrection attempt on Jan. 6 lost an opportunity for recompense on Monday when D.C.'s attorney general dropped a civil lawsuit filed against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia groups. In 2021, then-Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine announced the suit, relying on the Ku Klux Klan Act to bring the case. At the time, Racine said: The history will show that when these acts like the KKK act and other laws were used against hate groups — what did they do? What do cowards do? They go running. They go hiding. They get decentralized, and frankly, they're less dangerous. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the KKK Act was used to some success in breaking up chapters of the klan. It was also used more recently to punish extremists who held a deadly rally in Charlottesville back in 2017. But D.C.'s current attorney general is Brian Schwalb. And the statement his office issued Monday explaining the decision to drop the case referred to 'challenges currently facing the district.' 'Given the challenges currently facing the District and the relatively small potential recoveries the District could obtain, OAG's resources are now needed and best used elsewhere,' the office said. Let's take a look a some of the 'challenges' currently facing the district. The federal government just passed a budget that imposed steep cuts on Washington, which has long been the target of a Republican Party eager to impose federal authority over the city (the Senate passed a measure that would restore that funding, but it's unclear whether Republicans in the House will support it). Meanwhile, Trump is on the record as saying he thinks the feds should 'take over' the city altogether. When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently authorized painting over a street mural in her city honoring the Black Lives Matter movement, she was fairly clear that it was in response to the White House, saying: 'I'm not going to talk about specifics, about my conversations, but I think it's safe to say that people don't like it, didn't like it.' So it certainly seems like the administration is having its way with the city government, whether that's through Trump's appointment of Ed Martin, a pro-insurrectionist lawyer tapped as the district's top federal attorney, or his initial backing of a budget that threatens to impose strict austerity. This scenario is precisely why I was so disgusted by the Biden administration's support for a 2023 GOP-backed bill that forced changes to D.C.'s criminal code, which had been changed by the city council in response to the racial justice protests in the summer of 2020. In signing on to that power grab, Trump's predecessor set the stage for the federal government to impose its will on the district's residents. And Trump seems more than willing to take that power grab to the next level. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
District of Columbia drops civil lawsuit against Jan. 6 groups, citing ‘challenges' facing the city
Washington, D.C., and the victims of the violent, pro-Trump insurrection attempt on Jan. 6 lost an opportunity for recompense on Monday when D.C.'s attorney general dropped a civil lawsuit filed against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia groups. In 2021, then-Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine announced the suit, relying on the Ku Klux Klan Act to bring the case. At the time, Racine said: The history will show that when these acts like the KKK act and other laws were used against hate groups — what did they do? What do cowards do? They go running. They go hiding. They get decentralized, and frankly, they're less dangerous. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the KKK Act was used to some success in breaking up chapters of the klan. It was also used more recently to punish extremists who held a deadly rally in Charlottesville back in 2017. But D.C.'s current attorney general is Brian Schwalb. And the statement his office issued Monday explaining the decision to drop the case referred to 'challenges currently facing the district.' 'Given the challenges currently facing the District and the relatively small potential recoveries the District could obtain, OAG's resources are now needed and best used elsewhere,' the office said. Let's take a look a some of the 'challenges' currently facing the district. The federal government just passed a budget that imposed steep cuts on Washington, which has long been the target of a Republican Party eager to impose federal authority over the city (the Senate passed a measure that would restore that funding, but it's unclear whether Republicans in the House will support it). Meanwhile, Trump is on the record as saying he thinks the feds should 'take over' the city altogether. When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently authorized painting over a street mural in her city honoring the Black Lives Matter movement, she was fairly clear that it was in response to the White House, saying: 'I'm not going to talk about specifics, about my conversations, but I think it's safe to say that people don't like it, didn't like it.' So it certainly seems like the administration is having its way with the city government, whether that's through Trump's appointment of Ed Martin, a pro-insurrectionist lawyer tapped as the district's top federal attorney, or his initial backing of a budget that threatens to impose strict austerity. This scenario is precisely why I was so disgusted by the Biden administration's support for a 2023 GOP-backed bill that forced changes to D.C.'s criminal code, which had been changed by the city council in response to the racial justice protests in the summer of 2020. In signing on to that power grab, Trump's predecessor set the stage for the federal government to impose its will on the district's residents. And Trump seems more than willing to take that power grab to the next level. This article was originally published on
The Hill
18-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DC drops Proud Boys lawsuit
The Washington, D.C., attorney general's office has dropped its lawsuit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a court filing, the attorney general's office said the city was unlikely to be able to find enough money to justify continuing the case against the conservative groups. The case was being dismissed with prejudice, which means the claims against the defendants cannot be brought again. It was originally brought by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) in 2021. The complaint was against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and named several individuals over their roles in the Capitol riot, which forced the evacuation of Congress as it sought to certify the 2020 election results. Racine argued the people involved broke both local D.C. and federal laws, including a statute that stemmed from the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which focused on violent conspiracies. The lawsuit was seeking damages from the defendants for 'restitution and recompense' for those injured. The Hill has reached out to the attorney general's office for comment. A spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post that there were challenges facing the District and there were 'relatively small potential recoveries' they could make from the case. As a result, office of the attorney general 'resources are now needed and best used elsewhere.' In a post on social platform X, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio reacted to the news. 'Another exoneration? If God is with us… Who can be against us,' Tarrio said. Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, were pardoned by President Trump when he regained office earlier this year. They both said they would like to see the president seek retribution on their behalf. Tarrio was released from prison in January after receiving a full pardon from Trump, ending his 22-year sentence after being convicted of sedition related to the riot. Stewart had his sentence commuted by Trump to time served. He was serving an 18-year prison term for the Capitol attack.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DC drops Proud Boys lawsuit
The Washington, D.C., attorney general's office has dropped its lawsuit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a court filing, the attorney general's office said the city was unlikely to be able to find enough money to justify continuing the case against the conservative groups. The case was being dismissed with prejudice, which means the claims against the defendants cannot be brought again. It was originally brought by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) in 2021. The complaint was against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and named several individuals over their roles in the Capitol riot, which forced the evacuation of Congress as it sought to certify the 2020 election results. Racine argued the people involved broke both local D.C. and federal laws, including a statute that stemmed from the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which focused on violent conspiracies. The lawsuit was seeking damages from the defendants for 'restitution and recompense' for those injured. The Hill has reached out to the attorney general's office for comment. A spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post that there were challenges facing the District and there were 'relatively small potential recoveries' they could make from the case. As a result, office of the attorney general 'resources are now needed and best used elsewhere.' In a post on social platform X, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio reacted to the news. 'Another exoneration? If God is with us… Who can be against us,' Tarrio said. Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, were pardoned by President Trump when he regained office earlier this year. They both said they would like to see the president seek retribution on their behalf. Tarrio was released from prison in January after receiving a full pardon from Trump, ending his 22-year sentence after being convicted of sedition related to the riot. Stewart had his sentence commuted by Trump to time served. He was serving an 18-year prison term for the Capitol attack. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
