Latest news with #MichiganAG
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Patrick Lyoya family to speak after decision not to retry Christopher Schurr
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The family of Patrick Lyoya is hosting a press conference Thursday morning after a prosecutor decided not to retry the former Grand Rapids police officer who shot and killed their son in 2022. Lyoya's parents will be joined by civil rights attorneys Ven Johnson and Ben Crump at the 9 a.m. press conference. They'll be addressing Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker's decision to not retry Christopher Schurr. The attorneys are also expected to outline the next steps in the family's civil lawsuit again Schurr. Will Michigan AG retry Christopher Schurr in death of Patrick Lyoya? Schurr shot and killed Lyoya during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. He was charged with second degree murder, but a mistrial was declared on May 8 after the jury was unable to make a unanimous decision on whether to convict or acquit him of second degree murder or, as a second option, manslaughter. The 12-member jury included nine women and three men; Ten were white, one was Hispanic and one was Black. The mistrial followed five and a half days of testimony and 21 hours of jury deliberations. On May 22, Becker announced he would not retry Schurr. Schurr juror: One holdout kept former officer from being acquitted 'I did not arrive at (the decision) lightly,' Becker said at the time. 'Basically, what it boils down to is I don't think we reach a different verdict if I do do a retrial in this case.' Lyoya's family has filed a civil wrongful death suit against Schurr. Thursday's press conference will share the latest on that case, 'aimed at securing justice and accountability for Patrick's preventable death,' a media advisory says. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan AG Dana Nessel drops all charges against U-M pro-Palestinian protesters
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has dropped all charges against seven pro-Palestinian protesters arrested last year on the University of Michigan Diag. The seven were facing misdemeanor charges of trespassing as well as felony charges of resisting and obstructing police. The defendants in the cases were: Oliver Kozler, Samantha Lewis, Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, Michael Mueller, Asad Siddiqui, Avi Tachna-Fram and Rhiannon Willow. All had pleaded not guilty. The group hugged each other, smiled and posed for a photo with their attorneys in the courtroom after learning the news. "I told you, 'it's a great day,' " Lewis said to the others, when their lawyers entered the courtroom from a meeting in the judge's chambers. Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, left, is stunned as his lawyer, Lauren Askew, right, informs him on Monday, May 5, 2025, that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was dropping all charges against him and six other protesters arrested last year on the University of Michigan Diag. Outside the courthouse before the proceedings began, about 50 demonstrators rallied in front of a sign reading "Drop the charges." Speakers used an amplifier to address the crowd decrying the war in Gaza as genocide. Inside the courthouse, the decision to drop the charges stunned defense lawyers, who were prepared to offer closing arguments in a preliminary exam that began in February. Last month, Nessel faced calls for her to recuse herself for what critics describe as bias in the case. In a statement issued after the court hearing, Nessel defended herself and her decision to seek the felony charges. 'We did so based on the evidence and facts of the case," the statement said. "I stand by those charges and that determination." Nessel criticized Ann Arbor District Judge Cedric Simpson for the slow pace of the case, saying there'd been "months and months" of court hearings without a ruling on whether there was enough evidence to send the case to circuit court for trial. "During this time, the case has become a lightning rod of contention," Nessel's statement said. 'Baseless and absurd allegations of bias have only furthered this divide. The motion for recusal has been a diversionary tactic which has only served to further delay the proceedings." Another factor in her decision, Nessel said, was a letter from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, defending Nessel from accusations of bias. The letter was submitted to the court May 2. "The notion that AG Nessel is biased against Muslims and Americans of Arab descent is unfounded and deeply offensive," the letter said. "Nessel has a strong history of uplifting those in both the Muslim and Arab American communities." Nessel said the letter was inappropriate. The Free Press has asked her office to elaborate, but didn't receive an immediate response. "We have learned that a public statement in support of my office from a local nonprofit has been directly communicated to the court," Nessel's statement said. "The impropriety of this action has led us to the difficult decision to drop these charges." Nessel did not attend the hearing. Inside the courtroom, one of her deputies, Robyn Liddell, made the motion to dismiss the case. When none of the defense attorneys objected, Simpson agreed to the dismissal. The courtroom was packed with spectators, many of them wearing keffiyehs. They burst into applause at the decision and began chants of "Free Palestine." Amir Makled, who represented Lewis, said the charges never should have been brought. "This was not about trespass, this was not about a felony conduct," Makled said. "This was the criminalization of free speech, and today, the state of Michigan agrees." John Minock, who represented Tachna-Fram, said his client was relieved. "This was a difficult prosecution, given the First Amendment implications, and I'm glad the state finally saw fit to dismiss it," he said. After the hearing, the group moved outside where a small celebration started. Spectators enjoyed coffee and bagels while the defendants and their lawyers addressed the group. Lewis blasted Nessel. "I think that the possibility of recusal was going to be so embarrassing for Nessel that she just couldn't bear it," Lewis said. "And so while all of us, and that includes all of you, refused to cower, she did. And that just goes to show that the bullies and badges and the top pig are just cowards." Lewis acknowledged she still faces charges in a separate case involving a protest at Festifall, the school's annual student organizing fair. A hearing in that case is scheduled for next month and she hopes to see those charges dismissed as well. "I don't want to speak too soon, but I think that this is a really good sign," she said. Lauren Askew represents MacKeen-Shapiro and gave him the news before the hearing, after an earlier meeting among the attorneys. MacKeen-Shapiro appeared speechless at the news. "I thought she was just happy to see me but then I'm like, 'why are my parents crying?' " he said. MacKeen-Shapiro appeared in court wearing an ankle tether to monitor his movements. He was ordered to wear it after being charged with a bond violation for an incident in March when he was seen hanging posters in an area known as the Fish Bowl inside Mason Hall. His bond allowed him on campus, but only to attend class. According to a police report on the incident, MacKeen-Shapiro was photographed by private security agents. They turned their photographs over to police, who identified MacKeen-Shapiro in them. MacKeen-Shapiro said he wore the tether to graduation over the weekend and was looking forward to getting it removed now that the case had been dropped. Like many protesters at U-M, these defendants faced misdemeanor trespassing charges, but Nessel decided to seek felony charges in September for resisting and obstructing police, punishable by up to two years in prison. Nessel said at the time that they used "physical force to counter" the police officers who were trying to clear them from an encampment they had established on the Diag. Assistant Michigan Attorney General Shawn Ryan, left, speaks to various defense attorneys including John Minock, Lauren Askew, Stacie Greskowiak McNulty and Jamil Kamel Khuja as defendants, arrested and charged from a pro-Palestinian protest that occurred on the University of Michigan campus last May, show for a preliminary exam in the Washtenaw 14A-1 District Courtroom of Judge Cedric Simpson in Ann Arbor, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Defense attorneys said they were offered plea deals before the exam began, but their clients turned them down. "They don't feel like they've done anything wrong," Makled said. The decision to drop the charges came after two full days of testimony spread out over three months. It included testimony from several U-M police officers who took the stand to describe their interactions with the defendants. Police were trying to clear an encampment established on the Diag to protest the war in Gaza and the university's refusal to divest its endowment holdings in companies connected to Israel. Fire Marshal Andrew Box also testified that the tents and other parts of the encampment posed a fire hazard. The officers described the protesters' conduct such as ignoring police commands to move back, throwing tables and chairs in the path of police and linking arms and refusing to move. The officers' body cameras captured video of the confrontations that were played in court, often with the officers narrating what the court was seeing. (This story has been updated with additional information and to correct the spelling of attorney John Minock's name.) Contact John Wisely: jwisely@ On X: @jwisely This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG drops charges against U-M pro-Palestinian protesters
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Roku Violated Child Privacy Laws, Michigan Attorney General Alleges in Lawsuit
Roku has illegally collected personal information of children without the required notice and without obtaining parental consent, the Michigan attorney general alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. In a statement, Roku said it 'strongly disagrees' with the 'inaccurate claims' in the lawsuit. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the lawsuit against Roku in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The suit alleges that the streaming platform company violates the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. More from Variety CNBC Strikes Distribution Deals With Apple, Roku for CNBC+ Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Ravi Ahuja Resigns From Roku Board 1982 Milwaukee Brewers Documentary 'Just a Bit Outside' Acquired by Roku 'Roku has blatantly violated children's privacy laws, illegally exposing kids across Michigan to invasive data collection practices,' Nessel, a Democrat, said in a statement. 'We cannot allow companies to jeopardize the security of our children's personal information. My office remains committed to holding accountable companies that violate the rights of Michigan families and seek to profit at the expense of children's safety and privacy.' Roku said it will challenge the lawsuit. 'Roku strongly disagrees with the allegations in today's filing, which do not reflect how our services work or our efforts to protect viewer privacy,' the company said. 'We plan to challenge these inaccurate claims and look forward to demonstrating our commitment to trust and compliance.' The company's statement continued, 'Roku respects and values the privacy of our users. We do not use or disclose children's personal information for targeted advertising or any other purpose prohibited by law, nor do we partner with third-party web trackers or data brokers to sell children's personal information. We take the responsibility of creating a safe and trusted online environment seriously. Our viewers rely on Roku for engaging content, and we take pride in connecting our viewers to the streaming content they love every day.' According to the Michigan AG's lawsuit, Roku (unlike some competitors) does not offer parents the option to create children's profiles, 'subjecting both parents and children to many of the same data collection practices.' The lawsuit alleges that Roku systematically collects, processes and discloses the personal information of children, including their locations, voice recordings, IP addresses and persistent identifiers that track children's browsing histories on Roku and across the internet. All of these are categories of personal information protected under COPPA, according to the Michigan AG's office. The lawsuit further alleges that Roku enables third-party channels to collect children's personal information to 'attract content providers to its platform and increase advertising revenue.' In addition, Roku is alleged to have enhanced its collection and monetization of children's personal information through partnerships with third-party web trackers and data brokers, 'some of which have been sued by the FTC for tracking individuals' locations,' according to the Michigan attorney general. Roku also 'actively misleads parents about its collection of their children's personal information, and it sows confusion about parents' rights to protect their children's personal information,' the lawsuit alleges. The attorney general's lawsuit seeks 'to stop Roku's alleged illegal data collection and disclosure practices, to require Roku to comply with federal and state law, and to recover damages, restitution, and civil penalties for Roku's years of alleged misconduct,' according to the Michigan AG. A copy of the lawsuit is available at this link. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in May 2025
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Experiencing issues with your Social Security payments? Michigan AG seeks information
Michigan residents who may be dealing with issues regarding their Social Security now can file a form with the state to share their experience and help identify ongoing issues, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday. Due to a reshaping of The Social Security Administration (SSA) by the Trump administration, recipients have reported a number of challenges, including delays in receiving earned benefits, difficulty contacting customer service, and disruptions in claim processing, according to the Michigan AG's office. 'Social Security supports millions of people across our state,' Nessel said in a news release. 'Reports of disruptions to these benefits, directly caused by the Trump administration's reckless decision to fire employees with no regard for the consequences, are unacceptable. By collecting accounts from residents, my office can track trends, identify recurring issues, and better advocate for Michigan residents who rely on these essential benefits.' Officials said they may share the information collected for future "federal" action, but will not share personal identifying information without consent. The form is on the Department of Attorney General's website. As of December 2023, 1,686,000 individuals received Social Security payments in Michigan. The Social Security Administration's Chicago regional office lists 48 Michigan sites, including: Adrian Alpena Ann Arbor Battle Creek Bay City Benton Harbor Big Rapids Cadillac Chesterfield Clawson Dearborn Detroit - Conner Detroit 7 Mile Detroit - Downtown Detroit - East Detroit - Highland Park Detroit - Northwest Detroit - Southwest Escanaba Farmington Flint - downtown Fort Gratiot Grand Rapids Grand River Holland Houghton Inkster Ironwood Jackson Kalamazoo Lansing Livonia Ludington Marquette Monroe Mount Pleasant Muskegon Flint - north Owosso Petoskey Pontiac Roseville Saginaw Sault Ste. Marie Sterling Heights Traverse City West Branch Wyandotte Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG's office offers place to report problems with Social Security
