NewzIntel.com

Category: Gun Control

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Fleischmann Honors the Tenth Anniversary of the Fallen Five

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)

    Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), released the following statement commemorating the tenth anniversary of the July 16, 2015, terrorist attacks in Chattanooga that took the lives of five brave U.S. servicemen, remembered forever as the Fallen Five.

    “Ten years ago today, tragedy struck our Chattanooga community when a radical jihadist terrorist took the lives of five heroic servicemen and wounded two others in one of the darkest days Chattanooga and Tennessee have endured. Out of the horror and violence of that terrible day, our community has stood firmly together in love, support, kindness, and strength to honor and remember the ultimate sacrifice and legacy of the Fallen Five and to uplift and support their beloved families,” said Congressman Fleischmann.

    “Chattanoogans, Tennesseans, and Americans nationwide will never forget the Fallen Five. We will always pay homage to U.S Marine Gunnery Sergeant Thomas J. Sullivan, U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant David A. Wyatt, U.S. Marine Sergeant Carson A. Holmquist, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Squire K. “Skip” Wells, and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall J. Smith. Their dedication to America, our community, our military, our freedoms, and service to others will always be remembered.”

    “Please join Brenda and me in praying for the eternal souls of the Fallen Five who are home now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for their families and loved ones. We remember the eternal, healing words spoken through Psalms, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,’ and ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me’”.

    “May God bless the Fallen Five and their families, and may God continue to bless Chattanooga and our great nation.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Getting the CFC provisions right

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    Do you have clients with a substantial interest in a foreign company controlled by Australian residents?

    If so, make sure you’re correctly applying the CFC provisions. This involves disclosing all CFCs, and their income, in tax returns and the international dealings schedule.

    Our reviews have shown that some tax agents don’t fully understand the provisions, putting their clients at risk of lengthy reviews and costly amendments.

    Resources to use

    You can check your understanding of the CFC provisions by reviewing:

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Sets the Record Straight on Trump Administration’s Harmful Mass Deportation Agenda

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    WATCH: Padilla Sets the Record Straight on Trump Administration’s Harmful Mass Deportation Agenda

    Highlighted testimony from Alejandro Barranco — a veteran and the son of Narciso, who was violently detained by masked CBP agents in Orange County

    WATCH: Padilla criticizes Trump and Republicans for backtracking on pledge to target violent criminalsWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing to set the record straight on President Trump and Stephen Miller’s cruel mass deportation campaign, blasting the Administration for intentionally stoking fear and scapegoating immigrants.
    Padilla emphasized that far from the Trump Administration’s stated plan to target violent criminals, less than 10 percent of immigrants whom Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken into custody have serious criminal convictions, and there has been a staggering 500 percent increase in the number of arrests of noncitizens without criminal records. He stressed that these ICE sweeps often illegally profile and target people based on their race, accents, or occupation, while hurting the economy by ripping away farm workers, service industry employees, and other essential workers.
    Padilla called out Republicans for attempting to distract from the sharp turn in public opinion away from the President’s immigration policy by relitigating complaints from the Biden presidency more than six months into Trump’s second term. An all-time record 79 percent of Americans believe immigration is a good thing for the country.
    He also criticized the $150 billion funding surge to carry out Trump’s enforcement agenda in Republicans’ billionaire-first reconciliation bill, underscoring that ICE’s budget is now larger than the budget of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); U.S. Marshals Service, and Bureau of Prisons combined.
    “It’s clear why we’re here today: we’re here because Donald Trump is scapegoating immigrants,” Padilla said in committee. “It’s always been his outlet. This is their break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option when public sentiment turns against them and their agenda. It hasn’t been about only targeting violent criminals and it’s certainly not about fixing or modernizing our immigration system.”
    Padilla questioned three witnesses on the Trump Administration’s harmful immigration enforcement. He asked Deborah Fleischaker, a former ICE Acting Chief of Staff and longtime Department of Homeland Security official, to set the record straight that the Biden Administration encouraged ICE to do its job to detain violent criminals. He also highlighted the need for additional funding beyond immigration enforcement to support the hiring of more immigration judges and asylum officers.
    Padilla heard further from Alejandro Barranco — a Marine veteran and the eldest son of Narciso Barranco, who was violently detained by masked Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Orange County — about the dangers of indiscriminate immigration enforcement, including sweeping up hardworking people with no history of violent crime.
    PADILLA: The way they present it, the way they talk about President Biden’s administration and prior Democratic administrations is like it was never a priority for Democratic administrations to go after criminals, and that Democrats and Democratic administrations just didn’t care about the presence of dangerous people in our communities. Simply not true. … Ms. Fleischaker, you were in ICE leadership. In your view, in your experience, did the Biden Administration ever restrain ICE from pursuing serious criminals?
    FLEISCHAKER: We absolutely did not stop ICE agents from enforcing the law and going after public safety threats. In fact, we encouraged them to do so. We very much want to want to find and arrest public safety threats in the community. […]
    PADILLA: I don’t think anyone here would disagree with the idea of rooting out the ‘worst of the worst,’ even if we disagree over what immigration policy should be, but I believe it’s unacceptable that these raids are so indiscriminate that they end up sweeping up people with no history of violent crime, hardworking people trying to give their children a better life, like Alejandro’s father, Narciso. Alejandro, question is for you. … Is there anything else that you would like to share about the cruelty with which your father was treated or what your family’s gone through?
    BARRANCO: I think that the way they treated him and the way they handled that situation was very unprofessional. It showed men who were not trained. It doesn’t seem like it. … They were running with guns in their hand, with fingers on the trigger, pointing it at civilian vehicles. And honestly, I don’t think that’s for the best of public safety, and I believe that they should have better training and go out and chase after the real criminals.
    PADILLA: Well, I couldn’t agree more, and the more resources, personnel, funding, and otherwise that’s directed at again, just broad-based enforcement is less focus, less prioritization of those violent criminals that we know are out there, the Administration knows are out there, but they’re not the clear priority or focus.
    Padilla also expressed concern about indiscriminate immigration raids creating widespread fear, keeping people home from work, businesses, church, and public spaces, while limiting the reporting of crimes. He heard from Dr. Giovanni Veliz, a retired Minneapolis Police Department Commander, about the importance of building trust with immigrant communities to combat crime and keep police officers safe.
    Video of Senator Padilla’s opening remarks is available here, and his questions are available here.
    More information on the hearing is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Changes to personal transfer balance caps

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    On 1 July 2025, the general transfer balance cap (TBC) was indexed, increasing from $1.9 million to $2 million. This increase impacts members with a personal TBC. Members who started a pension before 1 July 2025 and haven’t previously reached or exceeded their personal cap are eligible for a proportional increase, based on their highest ever transfer balance and the amount of unused cap space.

    Members starting a pension for the first time on or after 1 July 2025 are entitled to a personal TBC of $2 million.

    Display of updated transfer balance caps

    Updated personal transfer balance caps are now available and members can view their updated personal TBC in ATO online services.

    Agents can view their client’s details in Online services for agents.

    Members’ personal TBC are calculated based on the information reported to and processed by us.

    To ensure members have a clear understanding of their cap entitlements, we encourage funds and advisers to report all TBC events as they occur.

    For more information see Transfer balance cap.

    Looking for the latest news for Super funds? You can stay up to date by visiting our Super funds newsroom and subscribingExternal Link to our monthly Super funds newsletter and CRT alerts.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Springfield Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Methamphetamine Trafficking, Illegal Firearms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Greene County, Mo., and possessing firearms.

    Russell Lee Deck, Jr., 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Wimes to a total sentence of 25 years in federal prison without parole, followed by three years of supervised release.

    On Nov. 8, 2024, Deck pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Deck admitted he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County from June 1 to Aug. 25, 2022, and to possessing firearms.

    The drug trafficking conspiracy ended when a Springfield police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Deck on Aug. 18, 2022. When the officer pulled behind Deck’s vehicle in a hotel parking lot and activated his lights, Deck put the car in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle. The officer got out of his vehicle, pulled his duty weapon, and ordered the vehicle’s occupants to stop. Instead, Deck drove forward, then put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle again before fleeing the parking lot.

    A police pursuit ensued, with Deck driving at a high rate of speed in a residential neighborhood, while Deck’s passenger shot at the officer’s vehicle. The pursuit ended when Deck crashed into a Jeep SUV at an intersection. While the Jeep suffered significant damage, the innocent driver appeared to be unharmed. Deck’s passenger fled the crash on foot and was arrested after Greene County deputies found the passenger hiding under a car. Shell casings and damage from gunfire were located throughout the neighborhood.

    Officers removed Deck from the wrecked vehicle and found two bags containing a total of 46.2 grams of methamphetamine in Deck’s pockets. Inside Deck’s vehicle, officers found two handguns on the front passenger side floorboard.

    Deck’s passenger who fired the shots during the pursuit, Blake Basten, was sentenced in federal court to a total sentence of 10 years for two counts of felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 27, 2024.

    Deck’s co-defendant in the drug trafficking conspiracy, Justin Hollingsworth, was sentenced to a total sentence of 18 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on June 24, 2024.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

    Project Safe Neighborhoods

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Springfield Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Methamphetamine Trafficking, Illegal Firearms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Greene County, Mo., and possessing firearms.

    Russell Lee Deck, Jr., 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Wimes to a total sentence of 25 years in federal prison without parole, followed by three years of supervised release.

    On Nov. 8, 2024, Deck pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Deck admitted he participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County from June 1 to Aug. 25, 2022, and to possessing firearms.

    The drug trafficking conspiracy ended when a Springfield police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Deck on Aug. 18, 2022. When the officer pulled behind Deck’s vehicle in a hotel parking lot and activated his lights, Deck put the car in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle. The officer got out of his vehicle, pulled his duty weapon, and ordered the vehicle’s occupants to stop. Instead, Deck drove forward, then put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the officer’s vehicle again before fleeing the parking lot.

    A police pursuit ensued, with Deck driving at a high rate of speed in a residential neighborhood, while Deck’s passenger shot at the officer’s vehicle. The pursuit ended when Deck crashed into a Jeep SUV at an intersection. While the Jeep suffered significant damage, the innocent driver appeared to be unharmed. Deck’s passenger fled the crash on foot and was arrested after Greene County deputies found the passenger hiding under a car. Shell casings and damage from gunfire were located throughout the neighborhood.

    Officers removed Deck from the wrecked vehicle and found two bags containing a total of 46.2 grams of methamphetamine in Deck’s pockets. Inside Deck’s vehicle, officers found two handguns on the front passenger side floorboard.

    Deck’s passenger who fired the shots during the pursuit, Blake Basten, was sentenced in federal court to a total sentence of 10 years for two counts of felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 27, 2024.

    Deck’s co-defendant in the drug trafficking conspiracy, Justin Hollingsworth, was sentenced to a total sentence of 18 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on June 24, 2024.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

    Project Safe Neighborhoods

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Joplin Man Indicted for Felon in Possession of Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his possession of a firearm recovered following a shooting in Joplin, Mo.

    Andrew M. Reed, 22, was charged in a single count indictment with being a felon possession of a firearm. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint filed on July 2, 2025.

    According to an affidavit filed in support of the original complaint, police officers responded to the area of 5th and Joplin Avenue in Joplin, Mo., on Feb. 15, 2025, in reference to gunshots, and recovered several spent cartridge casings in the area. Officers recovered a firearm with a thirty-round extended magazine loaded with ammunition consistent with the spent shell casings. Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a male, later identified as Reed, hiding the firearm.

    Reed has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

    The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Brown It was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.

    Operation Take Back America

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of a Firearm Following Arrest in Northwest D.C.

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant Charged as Part of Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Initiative

               WASHINGTON – David Oday Smith, 39, of the District of Columbia, has been charged in an indictment, unsealed today in U.S. District Court, on a federal firearms charge as part of the “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” initiative. 

               The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

               Smith is charged federally with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

               According to court documents, on July 14, 2025, members of the MPD’s Fourth District Crime Suppression Team were on patrol on the 5700 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest, when they noticed Smith hiding behind a bus stop with a black satchel.

               As officers approached, Smith immediately fled and eventually discarded his black satchel. Officers searched the satchel and discovered a Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol, containing one .40 caliber round loaded in the chamber and 14 additional rounds in the magazine.

               Smith is prohibited from possession of a firearm and ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions, including a 2009 second degree murder conviction in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

               This case is being prosecuted under the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful initiative. Make D.C. Safe Again is a law enforcement initiative in support of President Trump’s Executive Order to Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful. Make D.C. Safe Again aims to crack down on gun violence, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties for offenses, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.

               The case is being investigated by the ATF Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Liss is prosecuting the case.

               An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    25cr207

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Local man gets over 10 years after picking up and delivering “aparatos”

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LAREDO, Texas – A 25-year-old Laredo resident has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Fernando Tadeo Cerda, 25, pleaded guilty July 19, 2023.

    U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has now ordered Cerda to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for the drug trafficking conviction. At the hearing, the court considered Cerda was subject to a mandatory 10 years in prison due to being previously convicted of smuggling aliens. 

    Cerda had also admitted he violated his term of supervised release and received another nine months to be served consecutively for a total 129-month-term of imprisonment.  

    The investigation revealed Cerda had conspired with his uncle, Jesus Garza, to coordinate delivery of large amounts of cocaine. 

    On Nov. 27, 2020, Cerda met with Garza and provided him a duffle bag containing the drugs. As Garza departed the location in Laredo, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop and discovered the bag with five bricks which contained over 5,000 grams of cocaine.

    Cerda later admitted Garza had instructed him to pick up and deliver “aparatos” (kilograms of cocaine). He further stated he made a total of four deliveries and was paid $1,000.

    He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    Garza, 63, Laredo, had also pleaded guilty and later sentenced to 48 months in prison. 

    Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Scott Bowling prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Eat the rich’ — Why horror films are taking aim at the ultra-wealthy

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Heather Roberts, PhD Candidate in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario

    Samara Weaving in the horror film ‘Ready or Not.’ Weaving plays Grace, a bride who must survive until dawn on her wedding day as her in-laws hunt her down. (Searchlight Pictures)

    This story contains spoilers about ‘Ready or Not’ and ‘The Menu.’

    When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez held their lavish three-day wedding celebration in Venice recently, it wasn’t just a party — it was a spectacle of wealth, reportedly costing between US$47 million and US$56 million.

    Critics highlighted the environmental toll of such an event on the fragile, flood-prone city, while protesters took to the streets to condemn the wedding as a tone-deaf symbol of oligarchical wealth at a time when many can’t afford to pay rent, let alone rent an island.

    The excessive show of opulence felt like the opening of a horror film, and lately, that’s exactly what horror has been giving us. In films like Ready or Not (2019) and The Menu (2022), the rich aren’t simply out of touch; they’re portrayed as predators, criminals or even monsters.



    Read more:
    Horror comedy ‘The Menu’ delves into foodie snobbery when you’re dying for a cheeseburger

    These “eat-the-rich” films channel widespread anxieties about the current socioeconomic climate and increasing disillusionment with capitalist systems.

    In a world where the wealthy and powerful often seem to act with impunity, these films expose upper-class immorality and entitlement, and offer revenge fantasies where those normally crushed by the system fight back or burn it all down.

    Horror takes aim at the wealthy

    Originally a quote from social theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution, “eat the rich” has re-emerged in recent years in public protests and on social media in response to increasing socioeconomic inequality.

    In cinema, eat-the-rich films often use grotesque hyperbole or satire to reveal and critique capitalist systems and the behaviours of the wealthy elite.

    Film scholar Robin Wood argues that horror films enact a return of what is repressed by dominant bourgeois — that is, capitalist — ideology, typically embodied by the figure of the monster.

    He cites The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), a classic example of anti-capitalist sentiment in horror that depicts Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his working-class family as monstrous victims of the 1970s industrial collapse. Rather than accept repression, they return as cannibalistic monsters, making visible the brutality of capitalist systems that exploit and degrade people like obsolete commodities.

    But in eat-the-rich horror, it is the wealthy themselves who become the monsters. The locus of repression becomes their privilege, which is often built on exploitation, inequality and invisible or normalized forms of harm.

    These films render these abstract systems tangible by making the elite’s monstrosity visible, literal and grotesque.

    Revenge horror for the 99 per cent

    Recent horror films are increasingly using genre conventions to critique wealth, privilege and the systems that sustain them.

    Ready or Not turns the rich into bloodthirsty monsters who maintain their fortune through satanic rituals and human sacrifice. Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the Le Domas family, board game magnates who initiate new family members with a deadly game of hide-and-seek. She must survive until dawn while her new in-laws hunt her down to fulfil a demonic pact.

    The film critiques the idea of inherited wealth as something earned or honourable, combining humour and horror to reflect anxieties about class entrenchment and the moral decay of the elite.

    Trailer for the 2019 horror film ‘Ready or Not.’

    The Le Domases are monstrous not only for their violence, but for how casually they justify it. When several maids are accidentally killed in the chaos, they react with self-pity, indifferent to who must be sacrificed to maintain their wealth.

    In The Menu, the rich are portrayed as monstrous not through physical violence, but through their moral failings — like financial crimes and infidelity — and their hollow consumption of culture.

    Celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) lures wealthy foodies to his exclusive island restaurant, using food as a weaponized form of art to expose guests’ hypocrisy and misdeeds. In one scene, guests are served tortillas laser-printed with incriminating images, such as banking records and evidence of fraudulent activity.

    The tortilla scene from the 2022 horror film ‘The Menu.’

    The film criticizes consumption in an industry where food is no longer a source of enjoyment or sustenance, but a status symbol for the elite to display their wealth and taste.

    Why these films are striking a nerve now

    It’s no surprise that audiences are turning to horror to make sense of systems that feel increasingly bleak and inescapable. In Canada, the cost of living continues to outpace wages, housing affordability remains an issue for many, while grocery prices are a source of horror in their own right.

    A university degree, once considered a reliable path to stability, no longer guarantees the financial security of a salaried job. Many Canadians now rely on gig economy jobs as supplementary income.

    Meanwhile, the wealth gap is increasing and obscene displays of wealth — like a multi-million-dollar wedding — can feel disconnected, even offensive, to people experiencing financial precarity.

    Eat-the-rich films tap into this collective sense of injustice, transforming economic and social anxieties into a cathartic spectacle where ultra-wealthy villains are held accountable for their actions.

    Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and executive chef Julian Slowik, played by Ralph Fiennes, in ‘The Menu.’
    (Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures)

    At the end of Ready or Not, the members of the Le Domas family explode one by one and their mansion burns down. In The Menu, the guests are dressed up like s’mores and immolated. In both films, fire serves as a symbolic cleansing of the wealthy, their power and the systems that protect them.

    More than that, these films provide someone to root for: working-class protagonists who are targeted by the elite but ultimately survive. Former foster child Grace fights her way through a pack of murderous millionaires, while escort Margot/Erin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is spared when she rejects the pretentiousness of fine dining and orders a humble cheeseburger instead.

    In this way, horror becomes a form of narrative resistance, illustrating class rage through characters who refuse to be consumed by the systems trying to oppress them. While inequality and exploitation persist in reality, eat-the-rich films offer escape, and even justice, on screen.

    Heather Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Eat the rich’ — Why horror films are taking aim at the ultra-wealthy – https://theconversation.com/eat-the-rich-why-horror-films-are-taking-aim-at-the-ultra-wealthy-260550

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Raleigh County Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crime

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BECKLEY, W.Va. – Carey Ann Trotter, also known as “Carey Ann Metz-Wood,” 41, of Crab Orchard, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 1, 2024, Trotter possessed approximately 10.51 grams of methamphetamine and a total of 25.95 grams of para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic opioid, in several packages. As part of her guilty plea, Trotter admitted that she intended to use some of the controlled substances and aid and abet another individual in the possession and distribution of controlled substances.

    Trotter further admitted to possessing a Glock model 21 .45-caliber pistol, a CBC model 817 .17-caliber rifle, and a 26-round high-capacity magazine for .45-caliber ammunition. Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Trotter knew she was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of her prior felony conviction for delivery of oxycodone in Raleigh County Circuit Court on January 3, 2017.

    Trotter is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.

    Trotter’s co-defendant, Joshua Mason Trotter, 44, of Crab Orchard, pleaded guilty on May 27, 2025, to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Joshua Mason Trotter admitted to possessing the Glock model 21 .45-caliber pistol and CBC model 817 .17-caliber rifle on July 1, 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2025.

    Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.

    United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum is prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-cr-22.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Oklahoma City Duo Plead Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearms Following Shooting at Apartment Complex

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    OKLAHOMA CITY – LARRY WELCH, 29, and JACOB MADISON, 24, both of Oklahoma City, have each pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

    On May 6, 2025, a federal Grand Jury returned a two-count Indictment, charging both Welch and Madison with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to public record, on April 7, 2025, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a reported shooting at an apartment complex. Witnesses told police that prior to the shooting, they had been involved in a dispute with the shooting suspects, later identified as Welch and Madison. Nobody was injured as a result of the shooting. Officers reviewed nearby surveillance video which showed Welch and Madison opening fire on the unarmed witnesses and then fleeing the complex. Officers canvassed the area, and shortly thereafter arrested Welch and Madison, who were found hiding in a residential backyard shed on a nearby property. Law enforcement also recovered two firearms, which Welch and Madison used during the shooting.

    Public records show that both Welch and Madison have lengthy criminal histories. Welch has previous felony convictions that include:

    • possession of a firearm after felony conviction in Cherokee County District Court case number CF-2015-629;
    • injuring or burning a public building in Mayes County District Court case number CF-2015-0228; and
    • feloniously pointing a firearm in Cleveland County District Court case number CF-2019-1389.

    Madison has previous felony convictions that include:

    • second-degree burglary in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2020-1275;
    • knowingly receiving or concealing stolen property in Canadian County District Court case number CF-2022-437; and
    • possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction, unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, committing a felony with a firearm with a defaced ID number, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia in McClain County District Court case number CF-2023-0072.

    On July 16, 2025, both Welch and Madison pleaded guilty, and both admitted they possessed a firearm despite their previous felony convictions. 

    At sentencing, the defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison each, and fines of up to $250,000.

    This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laney Ellis (SAUSA) is prosecuting the case. SAUSA Ellis is an attorney with City of Oklahoma City whose position is funded by a federal Project Safe Neighborhoods grant awarded to the City of Oklahoma City to enhance efforts to address and reduce violent crime.

    Reference is made to public filings for additional information. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Traffic Firearms from Maine to New York

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BANGOR, Maine: A Syracuse, New York man was sentenced on Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor for conspiring to violate federal firearms laws and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Tyquinn Montell Cannon (aka “Q”), 32, to 45 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Cannon pleaded guilty on June 17, 2024.

    According to court records, beginning in May 2022, Cannon knowingly conspired with others in Maine and New York to illegally obtain firearms at federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) in central and southern Maine using straw purchasers. Two of the coconspirators in Maine would arrange for the straw purchase of firearms, and Cannon would deliver, or arrange the delivery of, the illegally obtained firearms to coconspirators in New York. In September 2022, Cannon was found in possession of a Glock .40 caliber pistol, which had earlier been straw purchased at an FFL in Maine. Cannon is prohibited from possessing firearms due to felony drug convictions in Illinois.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Massachusetts State Police investigated the case.

    STRAW PURCHASING: A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Clewiston Felon Sentenced To Prison For Unlawfully Possessing Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Jose Ignacio Carrizalez III (27, Clewiston) to seven years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. Carrizalez pleaded guilty on March 12, 2025.

    According to court documents, on April 12, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Carrizalez’s residence after he sold a firearm to a confidential informant and offered to sell another one. During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement seized multiple firearms, assorted ammunition, and a “switch” designed for use in converting a semi-automatic pistol into a machine gun. Carrizalez is a convicted felon and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick L. Darcey.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cedar Rapids Man Who Conspired to Distribute Thousands of Fentanyl Pills Sentenced to Federal Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    A man who conspired to distribute fentanyl pills was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison.  Jaylon William Throgmartin, age 22, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

    In a plea agreement and at the sentencing hearing, evidence showed that Throgmartin distributed thousands of fentanyl pills between December 2023 and October 2024.  Throgmartin also facilitated the sale of a firearm in exchange for fentanyl pills.  In January 2025, he distributed at least one fentanyl pill to someone who overdosed.  The victim recovered after receiving Narcan.  

    Throgmartin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Throgmartin was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Iowa Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence‑driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    Throgmartin is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 25-CR-5.

    Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force Commemorates 20 Years Investigating, Apprehending West Texas Fugitives

    Source: US Marshals Service

    San Antonio, TX – The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) is commemorating the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force’s 20 years of service as part of the Western District of Texas.

    The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force (LSFTF) is a multi-agency task force focused on the reduction of violence within the Western District of Texas through the identification, investigation, and apprehension of fugitives wanted for egregious crimes against the community. Since its inception in March 2005, the task force has investigated and apprehended over 58,991 fugitives, including 1,795 wanted for murder.  

    The Western District of Texas consists of 93,000 square miles, 68 counties, 809 miles of border with Mexico, with eight divisions located in Austin, Alpine, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, San Antonio and Waco.

    Notable historical cases, arrests, and awards in the Western District of Texas include: 

    In April 2017, the Austin division was presented the Outstanding Team Award at the 34th Annual 100 Club of Central Texas Awards Banquet. 

    June 2022, the Austin division conducted a fugitive investigation that led to the arrest of Kaitlin Armstrong, sought for the May 2022 murder of professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson. Armstrong was apprehended at a hostel in Costa Rica following a 43-day fugitive investigation with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Office of International Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service.

    February 2024, the Alpine division investigated the whereabouts of Ivan Ramos-Hernandez, who fled from Presidio Police, engaging them in a high-speed pursuit and firing gunshots. Ramos-Hernandez fled to Ojinaga, Mexico, where he was apprehended by Mexican authorities following a multi-agency collaboration with assistance provided from Homeland Security Investigations, Custom Border Protection, U.S. Probation, Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Presidio Police and Mexican officials. Ramos-Hernandez attempted a violent escape one last time during transport that was halted by authorities. 

    January 2022, the Del Rio division was contacted by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force to locate and apprehend Oscar Rosales, who was wanted for capital murder, when he shot and killed Corporal Charles Galloway with the Harris County Constables Office during a traffic stop. Rosales fired multiple rounds from an assault rifle and fled from the scene. Rosales was added to the Texas10 Most Wanted Fugitive list and was believed to have fled to Mexico. Investigators in the Del Rio division worked directly with Mexican authorities and coordinated his apprehension in Acuna, Mexico. 

    August 2017, the El Paso division initiated a fugitive investigation to apprehend Javier Gonzalez and Manual Gallegos, members of the Kinfolk Outlaw Motorcycle Gang sought for multiple counts of engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Gonzales and Gallegos were arrested in two separate incidents within a 10-day span with additional assistance from El Paso Police Department’s SWAT team.

    April 2025, the Midland division adopted the apprehension of Noah Gilbert Olgin, who was wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, injury to a child, deadly conduct and a federal supervised release violation for possession of a firearm, following an incident where he was involved in a drive-by-shooting in Odessa, that resulted in a serious injury to a child.  Olgin was arrested in Midland with assistance from the Midland SWAT team. 

    November 2022, the Pecos division arrested Jose Hernandez, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive apprehended in Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, through a coordinated effort with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force and Mexican authorities. Hernandez was sought on a bond violation for two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. 

    January 2024, the San Antonio division joined efforts to apprehend Romeo Nance, who was wanted in connection with a mass shooting in Joliet, Illinois, that killed eight people and wounded one other person. The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, Joliet Police Department, and the Will County Sheriff’s Department requested immediate assistance from the LSFTF who located and observed Nance at a gas station in Natalia, Texas. As members of the LSFTF attempted to contain Nance in his vehicle, he fled on foot, taking his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

    June 2020, the Waco division was contacted by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division to locate 20-year-old Pfc. Class Vanessa Guillen, a Fort Hood soldier who had been reported missing under unusual circumstances in April 2020. Joining CID’s investigation, task force members determined Guillen had been murdered by another soldier. Less than 24 hours after Guillen’s remains were located in a shallow grave near a river, the LSFTF identified Spc. Aaron David Robinson and his girlfriend Cecily Aguilar as primary suspects in her murder. As task force members attempted to take Robinson into custody, he fatally shot himself. Aguilar pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced to 30 years of incarceration. In 2021, the Waco Division received the Distinguished Group Award for District Task Forces at the 40th United States Marshals Service Director’s Honorary Awards in recognition of locating Guillen’s remains and identifying those responsible for her death. In July of 2022, personnel in the Waco Division were recognized for their outstanding service, selfless pursuit of justice, and assisting in bringing closure for Guillen’s family and friends by being granted the 69th Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.   

    On June 2, the Waco Division received the Distinguished Group Award for the District Task Forces at the 43rd United States Marshals Service Director’s Honorary Awards for a two-year-old cold case from Leon County, involving a missing child, and possible homicide of the child’s mother. The division conducted an intensive investigation that resulted in the recovery of the mother’s decomposed remains found buried in a field and completed a multifaceted arrest operation that resulted in the arrest of the suspect and safe recovery of the missing child. During the conclusion of the arrest, multiple firearms, ammunition, body armor, and narcotics were seized, and the suspect was indicted on capital murder.

    “I am immensely proud of the Deputy U.S. Marshals and the numerous task force officers of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, men and women who are fully devoted to making their communities safer for their fellow citizens by apprehending offenders wanted for the most serious crimes such as murder and child abuse, while ensuring the equal application of justice for all,” said Marshal Susan Pamerleau, U.S. Marshal of the Western District of Texas.  

    U.S. Marshals task forces combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. Fifty-eight local task forces are dedicated to reducing violent crime by locating and apprehending wanted criminals. They also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters.  Task force officers are state and local police officers who receive special deputations with the U.S. Marshals. While on a task force, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force across the Western District of TexasSAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Marshals Service is commemorating the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force’s 20 years of service as part of the Western District of Texas.

    The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force (LSFTF) is a multi-agency task force focused on the reduction of violence within the Western District of Texas through the identification, investigation, and apprehension of fugitives wanted for egregious crimes against the community. Since its inception in March 2005, the task force has investigated and apprehended over 58,991 fugitives, including 1,795 wanted for murder.  

    The Western District of Texas consists of 93,000 square miles, 68 counties, 809 miles of border with Mexico, with eight divisions located in Austin, Alpine, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, San Antonio and Waco.

    Notable historical cases, arrests, and awards in the Western District of Texas include: 
    In April 2017, the Austin division was presented the Outstanding Team Award at the 34th Annual 100 Club of Central Texas Awards Banquet. 
    June 2022, the Austin division conducted a fugitive investigation that led to the arrest of Kaitlin Armstrong, sought for the May 2022 murder of professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson. Armstrong was apprehended at a hostel in Costa Rica following a 43-day fugitive investigation with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Office of International Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service.
    February 2024, the Alpine division investigated the whereabouts of Ivan Ramos-Hernandez, who fled from Presidio Police, engaging them in a high-speed pursuit and firing gunshots. Ramos-Hernandez fled to Ojinaga, Mexico, where he was apprehended by Mexican authorities following a multi-agency collaboration with assistance provided from Homeland Security Investigations, Custom Border Protection, U.S. Probation, Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Presidio Police and Mexican officials. Ramos-Hernandez attempted a violent escape one last time during transport that was halted by authorities. 
    January 2022, the Del Rio division was contacted by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force to locate and apprehend Oscar Rosales, who was wanted for capital murder, when he shot and killed Corporal Charles Galloway with the Harris County Constables Office during a traffic stop. Rosales fired multiple rounds from an assault rifle and fled from the scene. Rosales was added to the Texas10 Most Wanted Fugitive list and was believed to have fled to Mexico. Investigators in the Del Rio division worked directly with Mexican authorities and coordinated his apprehension in Acuna, Mexico. 
    August 2017, the El Paso division initiated a fugitive investigation to apprehend Javier Gonzalez and Manual Gallegos, members of the Kinfolk Outlaw Motorcycle Gang sought for multiple counts of engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Gonzales and Gallegos were arrested in two separate incidents within a 10-day span with additional assistance from El Paso Police Department’s SWAT team.
    April 2025, the Midland division adopted the apprehension of Noah Gilbert Olgin, who was wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, injury to a child, deadly conduct and a federal supervised release violation for possession of a firearm, following an incident where he was involved in a drive-by-shooting in Odessa, that resulted in a serious injury to a child.  Olgin was arrested in Midland with assistance from the Midland SWAT team. 
    November 2022, the Pecos division arrested Jose Hernandez, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive apprehended in Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, through a coordinated effort with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force and Mexican authorities. Hernandez was sought on a bond violation for two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. 
    January 2024, the San Antonio division joined efforts to apprehend Romeo Nance, who was wanted in connection with a mass shooting in Joliet, Illinois, that killed eight people and wounded one other person. The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, Joliet Police Department, and the Will County Sheriff’s Department requested immediate assistance from the LSFTF who located and observed Nance at a gas station in Natalia, Texas. As members of the LSFTF attempted to contain Nance in his vehicle, he fled on foot, taking his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 
    June 2020, the Waco division was contacted by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division to locate 20-year-old Pfc. Class Vanessa Guillen, a Fort Hood soldier who had been reported missing under unusual circumstances in April 2020. Joining CID’s investigation, task force members determined Guillen had been murdered by another soldier. Less than 24 hours after Guillen’s remains were located in a shallow grave near a river, the LSFTF identified Spc. Aaron David Robinson and his girlfriend Cecily Aguilar as primary suspects in her murder. As task force members attempted to take Robinson into custody, he fatally shot himself. Aguilar pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced to 30 years of incarceration. In 2021, the Waco Division received the Distinguished Group Award for District Task Forces at the 40th United States Marshals Service Director’s Honorary Awards in recognition of locating Guillen’s remains and identifying those responsible for her death. In July of 2022, personnel in the Waco Division were recognized for their outstanding service, selfless pursuit of justice, and assisting in bringing closure for Guillen’s family and friends by being granted the 69th Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.   
    On June 2, the Waco Division received the Distinguished Group Award for the District Task Forces at the 43rd United States Marshals Service Director’s Honorary Awards for a two-year-old cold case from Leon County, involving a missing child, and possible homicide of the child’s mother. The division conducted an intensive investigation that resulted in the recovery of the mother’s decomposed remains found buried in a field and completed a multifaceted arrest operation that resulted in the arrest of the suspect and safe recovery of the missing child. During the conclusion of the arrest, multiple firearms, ammunition, body armor, and narcotics were seized, and the suspect was indicted on capital murder.

    “I am immensely proud of the Deputy U.S. Marshals and the numerous task force officers of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, men and women who are fully devoted to making their communities safer for their fellow citizens by apprehending offenders wanted for the most serious crimes such as murder and child abuse, while ensuring the equal application of justice for all,” said Marshal Susan Pamerleau, U.S. Marshal of the Western District of Texas.  

    U.S. Marshals task forces combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. Fifty-eight local task forces are dedicated to reducing violent crime by locating and apprehending wanted criminals. They also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters.  Task force officers are state and local police officers who receive special deputations with the U.S. Marshals. While on a task force, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force across the Western District of Texas:

    • Austin Police Department-Tactical Intelligence Unit
    • Police Departments:  Anthony, Buffalo, Crystal City, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Georgetown, Killeen, New Braunfels, Nolanville, Round Rock, San Marcos, Uvalde, and Waco, Texas.
    • Sheriff’s Offices:  Bexar County, Coryell County, Dimmett County, Ector County, Hays County, McLennan County, Maverick County, Midland County, New Braunfels, Real County, Travis County, Val Verde County, Williamson County, and Zavala County.
    • District Attorney’s Offices: Bexar County, and Val Verde County.
    • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
    • Midland Fire Marshals Office
    • Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
    • Texas Attorney General’s Office
    • Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) – Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
    • Texas Department of Public Safety
    • Texas Parks and Wildlife Division
    • Texas National Guard Joint Counterdrug Task Force
    • U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
    • U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Stronger security for ATO online services (myGov and ATO app)

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    3 steps to secure

    We encourage you to be proactive and secure your ATO online services access (through myGov) to protect against fraud. Read the following steps to check you have the strongest security possible for your circumstances.

    Step 1: make your myID as strong as possible

    We recommend using myID, the Australian Government’s Digital ID app, as your sign in option to access ATO online services (through myGov).

    myID requires you to verify your ID in the app making it harder for fraudsters to impersonate you.

    Download the myID app from the App Store or Google Play. Set up your myID to a Strong or Standard identity strengthExternal Link. For the highest security, set up your myID to Strong if you can.

     

    Step 2: use your myID to access or link to ATO online services

    Using your myID to link to or access ATO online services through myGov:

    • helps protect you from fraudsters trying to impersonate you or access your account
    • gives you a flexible sign in option – your myID isn’t locked to a specific mobile number or device, and can be set up again using only an internet connection if you get a new phone
    • sets your ‘online access strength’ – this means you must always use your myID to access ATO online services through myGov because it’s the most secure access method.

    If you’re already linked to ATO online services, use your myID to sign in to myGovExternal Link and access ATO online services to secure your account.

    If you don’t have a myGov account or aren’t linked to ATO online services, find out how to get started. To secure your access, use your myID to create or sign in to your myGov account and then link to the ATO.

    Step 3: get the ATO app and allow push notifications

    The ATO app is a simple and easy way you can access and manage your tax and super on the go. The ATO app is free to download and use.

    The ATO app’s year-round security benefits include:

    • real time security messages alerting you when key changes are made to your ATO account
    • the ability to lock your account to help keep you safe.

    Even if you don’t use the app to manage your tax, it provides an additional level of security.

    Download the ATO app from the App Store or Google Play. Once installed, make sure to enable push notifications so you’re instantly alerted to changes in your account.

     

    More information

    For more information about protecting your identity, see How to stay scam safe.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos gang member sentenced to 100 months for heroin trafficking

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    LAREDO, Texas – A 33-year-old Laredo man has been sentenced for possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Raul Garcia Jr. aka Rule pleaded guilty Aug. 6. 2024.

    U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has now ordered Garcia to serve 100 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about Garcia’s numerous prior convictions and contacts with law enforcement. In handing down the sentence, the court noted this was a serious crime.

    The investigation began in January 2024 when law enforcement learned Garcia may have been selling fentanyl in the Laredo area. Over the next three months, authorities discovered Garcia was selling narcotics out of his home.

    A search warrant in March of that year resulted in the discovery of heroin packaged for street sale. A month later, law enforcement obtained a second search warrant and again found heroin. Similar to previously found drugs, the heroin was also packaged for street sale.

    The searches also revealed methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, money and stolen firearm.

    At the time of his plea, Garcia admitted to possessing the drugs located and seized throughout the investigation.

    He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Laredo Police Department’s Narcotics Division conducted the investigation with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Chamberlin and Leslie Cortez prosecuted the case.

    This case is being prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) Sailors perform daily operations [Image 2 of 3]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    PACIFIC OCEAN (July 17, 2025) Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Kenneth Rettig, from Gastonia, North Carolina, left, and Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jesus Hernandez, from Tulare, California, right, conduct a spot check for the M18 aboard the Harpers Ferry-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) in the Indo-Pacific region on July 17, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance region and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Isabel Mendoza)

    Date Taken: 07.17.2025
    Date Posted: 07.22.2025 06:56
    Photo ID: 9194908
    VIRIN: 250717-N-DM179-1024
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    Size: 647.04 KB
    Location: US
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    PUBLIC DOMAIN  

    This work, USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) Sailors perform daily operations [Image 3 of 3], by SN Isabel Mendoza, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.

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  • MIL-OSI Africa: Bogus lawyer sentenced to prison

    Source: Government of South Africa

    Tuesday, July 22, 2025

    A bogus lawyer has been sentenced to six years of direct imprisonment after his conviction on multiple charges, including three counts of fraud, one count of theft, two counts of forgery, and two counts of uttering.

    According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Johannes Tebogo Motse posed as a legal practitioner – “unlawfully representing unsuspecting clients in various courts during 2022”.

    “He forged critical legal documents, including a right of appearance certificate, a fidelity fund certificate and an admission certificate to deceive his victims.

    “One of the complainants paid Motse R15 000 to prosecute an appeal. After receiving no legal service, the client reported the matter to the police. Investigations revealed that Motse was not registered with the Legal Practice Council of South Africa,” the NPA said.

    He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Rustenburg.
    “In aggravation of sentence, State Advocate Matshidiso Ramakgaphola highlighted the prevalence of such crimes in the court’s jurisdiction and emphasised that the offences were premeditated and meticulously executed.

    “The charges of fraud, forgery, and uttering were taken together for sentencing, and he received six years of direct imprisonment. On the charge of theft, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he repays the complainant R15 000 by 31 August 2025. 

    “He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm under Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000,” the NPA said.

    Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, said: “These sentences underscore the NPA’s commitment to combating bogus legal practitioners and protecting the integrity of the legal profession and the public”. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Summer of good initiatives

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    In the summer, the corridors of the Polytechnic University are empty, but the Dobro.Center “Harmony” continues to unite students, teachers, partners and all those who are not indifferent for good deeds.

    The Polytechnic regularly collects humanitarian aid at the university headquarters

    On June 15, Medical Worker’s Day, curators of military hospitals of St. Petersburg met. The event was organized by the “For Friends” community. Polytechnic was represented by the responsible curator of the military hospital 122 MSC Tatyana Nam and a volunteer of the university headquarters

    On June 21, children from Mariupol arrived for summer vacation in Zelenogorsk. Volunteers of “Harmony”, who are part of the regional headquarters

    On June 25, at the Family and Children Assistance Center of the Kalininsky District of St. Petersburg, SPbPU volunteers together with students of the Higher School of Linguistics and Pedagogy of the Humanitarian Institute held a training program with elements of art therapy for children aged 7-12. The event became part of the positive leisure camp “LetoVmeste”.

    In addition, in June, a concert was held at Clinical Hospital No. 122 for military personnel dedicated to Russian Language Day. Kirill Grishin read poems by classic Russian poets. Maria Guner shared her original poems and fascinating stories about the classics of Russian culture and literature. Vera Ugai performed heartfelt songs about the Motherland, love, hope and dream. Tatyana Nam told stories about great polytechnicians. Konstantin Zakharov concluded the concert with songs to the guitar. According to tradition, volunteers visited the wards, presented gifts and treats to patients.

    On June 26, the Polytechnicians performed vocal compositions at the General Surgery Clinic of the Kirov Military Medical Academy. The concert was supplemented by numbers by the soloist of the chapel Ilya Zavatsky and the string quartet of the Troitsky Cultural Center.

    On June 27, a concert was held at the hospital of the North-West District Scientific and Clinical Center named after L. G. Sokolov featuring a female vocal quartet and theater and film actor Oleg Kharitonov. In conclusion, all those gathered sang the song “I love you, life!” Volunteers talked to patients and presented gifts. The servicemen asked to bring books if possible, and to organize “home tournaments” in backgammon and board games at the hospital.

    Harmony has new challenges, big projects and inspiring stories ahead.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Russia and Abkhazia have approved plans for joint development until 2030

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    During the official visit to Abkhazia, the Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation with representatives of the republic’s Ministry of Economy. Particular attention was paid to the implementation of joint projects within the framework of existing intergovernmental agreements.

    “Over the past 4 years, the Program for the Socioeconomic Development of the Republic of Abkhazia has been successfully implemented. The volume of trade between our countries has grown by 60%. According to the results of several months of 2025, the growth in trade turnover was about 30%. Russia provides support for the socioeconomic development of the Republic. We see enormous potential for the development of agriculture and tourism in the Republic. Abkhazia is a reliable and friendly partner for us. We have common ideas and initiatives, the same view of the situation in the world, which should become multipolar,” said Alexander Novak.

    One of the significant results of the meeting was the extension of the basic agreement on socio-economic cooperation until 2030. This will create the basis for a new five-year program for 2026–2030, which should come into force by the end of 2025.

    “The difficulties that the republic faces are not easy, but with the support of the Russian Federation, we can overcome them. It is very important for us to implement all the programs that we have outlined. Based on the results of 2022-2025, we see positive results: trade turnover has grown significantly, GDP has increased by 187%. These are serious indicators. I am confident that the implementation of the current program will give a special impetus to the development of the economy of our Republic,” said Badra Gunba, President of the Republic of Abkhazia.

    During the visit, the 20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz Intergovernmental Commission was held, where the parties agreed on further steps for the development of the republic. In particular, the following will be continued: the implementation of the State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of Abkhazia for 2022-2025, the extension of the basic agreement on socio-economic cooperation until 2030.

    In the coming years, it is planned to develop and implement sectoral development work maps in the areas of energy, tourism, transport, healthcare and education, social protection of the population, investment climate, real estate cadastre, customs and tax administration, and public utilities. “The main objective of these maps is to further develop the economy of Abkhazia in conjunction with the formation of a common social and economic space between our countries, and to create a favorable investment climate,” commented Sergey Nazarov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia. “As well as eliminating infrastructure restrictions for economic development, attracting investment and tourists to the republic, expanding social protection measures for the population, improving the quality and accessibility of services provided to citizens of the republic in the social sphere, and the standard of living of the population of the republic as a whole.”

    The delegation also visited the site of the future Children’s Republican Hospital, the Sukhum International Airport named after V.G. Ardzinba, to assess the progress of joint projects. The extension of the agreement until 2030 cements the long-term partnership between the two countries.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Alexander Novak: Russia and Abkhazia continue to strengthen strategic partnership

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Alexander Novak met with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba

    July 21, 2025

    Alexander Novak met with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba

    July 21, 2025

    Alexander Novak met with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba

    July 21, 2025

    20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz intergovernmental commission. Broad composition

    July 21, 2025

    20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz intergovernmental commission. Broad composition

    July 21, 2025

    20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz intergovernmental commission. Broad composition

    July 21, 2025

    Signing ceremony of the protocol of the 20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz intergovernmental commission

    July 21, 2025

    Signing ceremony of the protocol of the 20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz intergovernmental commission

    July 21, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Alexander Novak met with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba

    As part of an official visit to the Republic of Abkhazia, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak met with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba. During the talks, the parties discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation, including issues of socio-economic development, strengthening infrastructure and expanding humanitarian ties.

    “Over the past four years, the program for the socio-economic development of the Republic of Abkhazia has been successfully implemented. The volume of trade between our countries has grown by 60%. According to the results of several months of 2025, the growth in trade turnover was about 30%. Russia provides support for the socio-economic development of the republic. We see enormous potential for the development of agriculture and tourism in the republic. For us, Abkhazia is a reliable and friendly partner. We have common ideas and initiatives, the same view of the situation in the world, which should become multipolar,” said Alexander Novak.

    The President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba noted that the difficulties the republic faces are not easy, but with the support of the Russian Federation, they can be overcome. “It is very important for us to implement all the programs that we have outlined. Based on the results of 2022-2025, we see positive results: trade turnover has grown significantly, GDP has increased by 187%. These are serious indicators. I am confident that the implementation of the current program will give a special impetus to the development of the economy of our republic,” the head of Abkhazia noted.

    During the visit, the 20th meeting of the Russian-Abkhaz Intergovernmental Commission was also held, at which the parties discussed key areas of cooperation and outlined further steps for the socio-economic development of the republic.

    The delegation visited a number of significant sites, including the site of the future Children’s Republican Hospital, the Sukhum International Airport named after V.G. Ardzinba. “Despite the existing challenges, our work remains systematic, and cooperation remains practical. Russia and Abkhazia continue to consistently strengthen their strategic partnership. Today, we are jointly building a common space of security and sustainability, implementing large-scale programs for the development of key industries,” noted Alexander Novak.

    During the meeting, the parties agreed on a number of important decisions. Among them are the continuation of the implementation of the State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Abkhazia for 2022–2025, the extension of the basic agreement on socio-economic cooperation until 2030, which will create the basis for a new five-year program for 2026–2030. The agreement should come into force by the end of the year.

    “I am confident that the results of our joint work will create the basis for sustainable movement forward, will strengthen our strategic partnership and will bring tangible benefits to the citizens of Russia and Abkhazia,” Alexander Novak summed up.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: $HAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Colombier Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: CLBR)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Class Action Attorney Juan Monteverde with Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Colombier Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: CLBR) related to its merger with Metroplex Trading Company (“GrabAGun”). The proposed transaction is valued at $150 million with the current equity holders of GrabAGun receiving $100 million of stock in the combined company and $50 million of cash. Is it a fair deal?

    Click here for more info https://monteverdelaw.com/case/colombier-acquisition-corp-ii/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

    NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:

    1. Do you file class actions and go to Court?
    2. When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
    3. What cases did you recover money in and how much?

    About Monteverde & Associates PC

    Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

    No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

    Contact:
    Juan Monteverde, Esq.
    MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC
    The Empire State Building
    350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740
    New York, NY 10118
    United States of America
    jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com
    Tel: (212) 971-1341

    Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com).  Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: $HAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Colombier Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: CLBR)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Class Action Attorney Juan Monteverde with Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. The firm is headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and is investigating Colombier Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: CLBR) related to its merger with Metroplex Trading Company (“GrabAGun”). The proposed transaction is valued at $150 million with the current equity holders of GrabAGun receiving $100 million of stock in the combined company and $50 million of cash. Is it a fair deal?

    Click here for more info https://monteverdelaw.com/case/colombier-acquisition-corp-ii/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

    NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE EQUAL. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:

    1. Do you file class actions and go to Court?
    2. When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
    3. What cases did you recover money in and how much?

    About Monteverde & Associates PC

    Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

    No one is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

    Contact:
    Juan Monteverde, Esq.
    MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC
    The Empire State Building
    350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740
    New York, NY 10118
    United States of America
    jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com
    Tel: (212) 971-1341

    Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com).  Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mobile Man Sentenced To 92 Months In Prison For Felon In Possession Of A Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MOBILE, AL – Edwards Cordell Burks, Jr., was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock.

    According to court documents, in November 2024, members of the Mobile Police Department (MPD) responded to a local hospital where two individuals were receiving treatment for gunshot wounds. During the course of MPD’s investigation, and after speaking with victims and witnesses, MPD developed Burks as a suspect in those shootings. MPD officers also located and secured the crime scene off Spring Hill Avenue. Surveillance from a nearby business captured the shooting. The shooter in the surveillance footage appears to be Burks. Three bullet casings were collected from the scene and a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) notice for Burks went out to law enforcement. Two days after the shooting, an MPD officer on regular patrol observed Burks walking on the sidewalk within a mile of the crime scene. The officer detained Burks and located a loaded firearm in his waistband.  The firearm and casings from the scene were compared via the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), a match was generated indicating that the firearm from Burks was the same firearm used in the shooting two days before. Burks is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possession a firearm.

    At sentencing, Judge Beaverstock imposed a 92-month sentence of incarceration and a 3-year term of supervised release upon Burks’ discharge from prison. Burks has also been charged with state assault offenses based on the shootings which remain pending.

    The Mobile Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Beth Stepan prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

    This case exemplifies the mission of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary Noem Hosts Press Conference to Provide Updates on the Shooting of Customs and Border Protection Officer

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    Headline: Secretary Noem Hosts Press Conference to Provide Updates on the Shooting of Customs and Border Protection Officer

    Secretary Noem Hosts Press Conference to Provide Updates on the Shooting of Customs and Border Protection Officer
    aunica.brockel

    Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem will deliver an update in New York following the July 19 shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer during what appears to have been an attempted robbery. The New York Police Department (NYPD) is actively investigating the incident. Secretary Noem will be joined by federal and local law enforcement partners, including officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, CBP leadership and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division.

    Watch on YouTube

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: THREE SANTA ROSA COUNTY MEN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR THEIR ROLES IN DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – David Kennedy, 41; Michael McQueen, 51; and Roosevelt Jones, 52, of Milton, Florida, were sentenced to federal prison for trafficking in controlled substances in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The sentences were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

    “Working with our state and local partners, federal law enforcement was able to dismantle a significant drug trafficking ring that plagued Santa Rosa County for years,” stated United States Attorney Heekin.  “We are pleased with this successful operation, in particular, because all three men are repeat drug trafficking offenders. President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to Take Back America by cracking down on the drug traffickers plaguing our communities, and my office will not stop aggressively pursuing those who seek to victimize our citizens by flooding our streets with poisonous drugs.”   

    Court documents reflect that covert undercover purchases of illegal drugs, as well as surveillance and judicially authorized wiretap intercepts of telephone communications, enabled law enforcement to execute multiple search warrants in Milton that led to the seizure of cocaine, pure methamphetamine, fentanyl, and marijuana.  In addition, law enforcement seized firearms and illicitly derived United States currency.

    David Kennedy was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

    Michael McQueen was sentenced to 11½ years in federal prison to be followed by 6 years of supervised release.

    Roosevelt Jones was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison to be followed by 6 years of supervised release.  

    “Partnerships are key to disrupting drug trafficking activity, and we have great partners,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “Our communities will be safer with these drug peddlers off the streets.”

    “The successful collaboration between the federal, state, local agencies, and our Narcotics Detectives has been instrumental in removing dangerous drugs from our streets,” said Sheriff Bob Johnson, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. “More importantly, this joint effort led to the arrest of key drug dealers, ensuring they are held accountable for their actions and making our communities safer.”

    The case involved a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office; the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the Pensacola Police Department; the Gulf Breeze Police Department; and the Florida Highway Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). 

    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Brooklyn Man Charged with Arson of 10 NYPD Vehicles

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Jakhi McCray with arson for setting 10 New York City Police Department vehicles and a trailer on fire in a locked parking lot.  McCray was arrested today and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.

    Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, New York Division (ATF); Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and Robert S. Tucker, Commissioner, New York Fire Department (FDNY) announced the arrest.

    “This destructive act of arson was deliberate, dangerous, and deeply disruptive,” said United States Attorney Nocella.  “Setting police vehicles ablaze is not a form of protest—it is a federal crime.  Our Office will not tolerate violence or destruction that undermines law enforcement efforts to ensure public safety and will prosecute this individual to the fullest extent of the law.”

    Mr. Nocella also expressed his thanks to the ATF-NYPD Arson & Explosives Task Force, the FDNY Marshalls, and the United States Marshalls Services NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force for their valuable contribution to the case.

    “Intentionally setting fire to police vehicles is a dangerous criminal act and a direct threat to public safety. The ATF Arson and Explosives Task Force — which includes ATF, the NYPD, and FDNY — is fully committed to identifying and bringing to justice anyone responsible for these dangerous and unlawful acts. This arrest demonstrates our shared resolve and unified approach to protecting our communities.  We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, the NYPD and the FDNY for their continued partnership in pursuing justice,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Miller.

    “The arson attack against New York City Police Department vehicles in Bushwick, Brooklyn was as cowardly as it was criminal,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “The defendant in this case may have wanted to send a message – but all he did was mobilize the full force of the NYPD, the ATF, and the FDNY to identify, locate, and arrest him.  Now, through the work of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, he will face much-deserved justice.  Thank you to all the NYPD detectives, as well as our law enforcement partners, who closed this case.”

    “Burning a police vehicle is an intolerable crime that could have killed a police officer,” stated FDNY Commissioner Tucker.  “We are grateful to our FDNY Fire Marshals for their role in investigating this crime, and our partners in law enforcement for their assistance in identifying the suspect.  Arson is a serious crime that must be punished.”

    According to the complaint, at 12:52 a.m. on June 12, 2025, McCray was recorded on surveillance video scaling a fence into a secure private lot for reserve NYPD vehicles assigned to precincts in northern Brooklyn.  The lot contained numerous NYPD vehicles and was located on DeKalb Avenue between Wilson Avenue and Central Avenue in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.  McCray remained in the lot for approximately 32 minutes, during which he lit 10 NYPD vehicles and one trailer on fire.

    At approximately 1:24 a.m., an NYPD officer arrived to inspect the lot.  As he approached, the officer saw the fire and observed McCray attempting to escape by scaling a fence, then fleeing through an existing hole in the fence.  Subsequently, NYPD personnel recovered at the scene a cigar lighter torch and a pair of sunglasses.  They also discovered 22 retail fire starters and 10 BBQ dragon egg fire starters that were placed under three undamaged vehicles.  It was later determined that the sunglasses had McCray’s fingerprints on them.  The vehicles were ignited two days before protests were scheduled to be held over the June 14-15, 2025 weekend.  The NYPD has estimated that the total replacement cost of for the damaged vehicles is over $800,000.

    The charge in the complaint is an allegation, and McCray is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, McCray faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca M. Urquiola is in charge of the prosecution.

    The Defendant:

    JAKHI MCCRAY
    Age: 21
    Brooklyn, New York

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-MJ-238

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man who Possessed Multiple Machinegun Conversion Devices Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    A man who possessed multiple machinegun conversion devices on more than one occasion was sentenced on July 18, 2025, to 108 months in federal prison.

    Gentile Kahungu, age 19, who was living in Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 31, 2025 guilty plea to possession of a machinegun. The evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Kahungu possessed a total of 18 machinegun conversion devices, two of which were connected to firearms.  On June 25, 2024, Kahungu possessed some of the devices in his bedroom in his home in Marion along with a tan Glock magazine and ammunition. When he was later arrested in Cedar Rapids, he possessed additional machinegun conversion devices, along with a tan Glock firearm that had a machinegun conversion device connected to it.  The evidence at the hearing also established that Kahungu’s Glock firearm was used during two other shootings, one in Marshalltown, Iowa, and one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

    Kahungu was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Kahungu was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

    Kahungu is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Marshalltown Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 24-CR-00088.

    Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –