Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (21st District of New York)
Joint Statement from New York Reps. Elise Stefanik, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, and Mike Lawler on SALT Negotiations | Press Releases | Congresswoman Elise Stefanik
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Source: US Justice – Antitrust Division
Headline: Tennessee Man Indicted on Arson and Explosive Charges for Setting Fire to Nonprofit Organization
A federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee returned an indictment on May 7, charging Regan Darby Prater, 27, with arson for firebombing the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee; and with carrying an explosive device during the commission of the arson. Prater appeared in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill E. McCook and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. He was held pending trial, which has been set for July 15 in United States District Court, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement after President Donald Trump nominated Lesley Woods Murphy to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska: “Lesley Woods Murphy has spent her career working to bring criminals to justice and ensure the law is firmly enforced. Her experience in complex legal matters, remarkable successes in court, and efforts to improve public safety through strong law enforcement partnerships will no doubt make her an excellent U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska. For these reasons, I was honored to recommend Lesley to serve Nebraskans in this capacity, and I look forward to her swift confirmation in the United States Senate.”While her nomination is pending, Woods Murphy has also been appointed as the Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, effective immediately. From 2017-2023, Woods Murphy served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Nebraska. She most recently served as an AUSA for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney for the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
Published: May 08, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that the Maine Resiliency Center will receive an $8,526,240 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The funding is being supported through OVC’s Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP). This grant will go toward the Maine Resiliency Center’s critical work to provide support to those affected by the October 25, 2023, mass shootings in Lewiston. Senator Collins contacted Attorney General Pam Bondi to strongly advocate for funding for the Center.
“The Lewiston shooting robbed the lives of 18 innocent people and shook the community and our entire state to its core. A year and half later, others injured are still recovering from that horrific day. As the community works to rebuild, the Maine Resiliency Center remains a critical part of this recovery process. I am thankful this federal funding will go toward supporting these efforts,” said Senator Collins.
“We launched the Maine Resiliency Center in the wake of the awful tragedy in Lewiston to create a space dedicated to providing support, resources, and hope to help the local community heal and thrive. This funding will allow this important work to continue for victims, their families, first responders, and the larger community. We are so thankful to Senator Collins for her efforts and helping to secure this critical support,” said Jim Martin, LCSW, Chief Executive Officer of Community Concepts.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
TUCSON, Ariz. – Hassan Omar Kassim, 19, and Alexandra Brooke Wisdom, 19, of Tucson, were arrested on May 6, 2025, and charged by criminal complaint for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, Aid and Abet, and Conspiracy to commit the same offense.
On April 20, 2025, a Tucson Police Department officer assigned to the Operations Division West (“ODW”) Community Response Team (“CRT”) was conducting operations in the area of Stone Avenue and Fort Lowell in Tucson, Arizona. The officer was dressed in plain clothes and driving an unmarked City of Tucson vehicle when he observed a dark colored car traveling southbound at a high rate of speed. The officer followed the vehicle and broadcast its license plate number to other members of ODW CRT. The vehicle then turned, and an individual leaned out of the rear passenger window of the car and fired a gun at the officer’s unmarked vehicle. The occupants of the car continued to engage the officer, including making a U-turn during which additional shots were fired by the rear passenger. The officer was unharmed. A marked patrol vehicle responded to the area and attempted to stop the car, but the occupants failed to yield and after a short pursuit, officers lost sight of the car. Through a subsequent investigation, detectives and special agents identified Kassim as one of the occupants of the car during the shooting. They also determined that Wisdom was in the car before and after the shooting, and that Wisdom drove and abandoned the vehicle sometime after fleeing from police.
The National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) was established by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide an innovative framework to enhance federal support of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution authorities in enhancing public safety. PSP began as a pilot program, the Violence Reduction Network, in 2014 and is designed to promote interagency coordination by leveraging specialized law enforcement expertise with dedicated prosecutorial resources to promote public and community safety. PSP serves as a DOJ-wide program that enables participating sites to consult with and receive expedited, coordinated training and technical assistance, and an array of resources from DOJ to enhance local public safety strategies. This model enables DOJ to provide jurisdictions of different sizes and diverse needs with data-driven, evidence-based strategies tailored to the unique local needs of participating cities to build their capacities to address violent crime challenges. PSP has engaged with more than 60 sites since the program’s inception.
A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Tucson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam D. Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: 25-MJ-05951
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-074_Kassim, et al.
# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
BOSTON – A Dominican national, residing in Fall River, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to charges related to passport fraud and other offenses.
Hector Eduardo Arias Mejia, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to two years and one day in prison and one year of supervised release. The defendant is also subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In March 2025, Arias Mejia pleaded guilty to misuse of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and making a false statement in an application for a United States passport. In December 2023, Arias Mejia was indicted by a federal grand jury.
According to the charging documents Arias Mejia unlawfully used the identity of a United States citizen from Puerto Rico since at least 2011. In 2011, using that stolen identity, Arias Mejia was convicted in the Fall River District Court of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, for which he served an 18 month jail sentence. In 2016, again using the stolen identity, Arias Mejia was convicted in the Fall River District Court of three counts of possession with intent to distribute drugs and was sentenced two years in jail.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in Santo Domingo; Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – Edgar Balderas, 27, of San Diego, California, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 148 months in prison for participating in a massive fentanyl trafficking conspiracy that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills from Southern California to destinations throughout the United States, including the District. Balderas was one of more than two dozen co-defendants arrested over the course of 2023 in D.C., Virginia, Maryland, San Diego, and Los Angeles and charged in the conspiracy.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division.
Balderas, aka “Nano,” pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. In addition to the 148-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Balderas to serve five years of supervised release.
The impetus for this investigation was the overdose death of Diamond Lynch, a young mother in Southeast D.C. In addition to investigating and prosecuting the death-resulting case, law enforcement followed the evidence and uncovered a vast network of traffickers who transported fentanyl from Mexico to Los Angeles to the District of Columbia. Since then, investigators have seized more than 450,000 fentanyl pills, 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, and 30 firearms.
According to court documents, Balderas conspired with a Los Angeles-based fentanyl trafficker to supply him with fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills, which the trafficker would, in turn, supply to his D.C.-based customers. He began supplying the trafficker with fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills in Fall 2022 and continued until the L.A.-based trafficker’s arrest in late-February 2023.
After the Los Angeles-based trafficker’s arrest in late-February 2023, Balderas attempted to begin dealing fentanyl directly to D.C.-based fentanyl distributors. For example, Balderas began communicating via Instagram with a D.C.-based co-defendant in this case the month after the Los Angeles-based trafficker’s arrest. The purpose of these communications was to arrange for the direct sale of fentanyl pills to the D.C.-based co-conspirator, along with other D.C.-based clients of the Los Angeles-based fentanyl trafficker.
| DEFENDANT | AGE | LOCATION | CHARGES/SENTENCE |
|
Hector David Valdez, aka “Curl” |
27 |
Santa Fe Springs, California |
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit international money laundering. |
|
Craig Eastman |
21 |
Washington, D.C. | Sentenced Feb. 6, 2025, to 165 months for conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl. |
| Charles Jeffrey Taylor | 21 | Washington, D.C. | Pleaded guilty Feb. 28, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Raymond Nava, Jr. | 20 |
Bell Gardens, California |
Sentenced Sept. 17, 2024, to 14 years for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Ulises Aldaz | 28 |
Bell Gardens, California |
Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 95 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Max Alexander Carias Torres | 27 |
Bell Gardens, California |
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit international money laundering |
| Teron Deandre McNeil, aka “Wild Boy” | 34 | Washington, D.C. |
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit wire fraud |
|
Marvin Anthony Bussie, aka “Money Marr” |
22 | Washington, D.C. | Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Marcus Orlando Brown | 29 | Washington, D.C. | Sentenced Oct. 3, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Columbian Thomas, aka “Cruddy Murda” | 27 | Washington, D.C. | Sentenced Oct. 22, 2024, to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Wayne Rodell Carr-Maiden | 30 | Washington, D.C. | Sentenced April 29, 2024, to 45 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Andre Malik Edmond, aka “Draco” |
23 | Temple Hills, Maryland | Sentenced July 22, 2024, to 130 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Treyveon James Johnson, aka “Treyski” |
20 | Alexandria, Virginia | Sentenced Sept. 5, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Karon Olufemi Blalock, aka “Fat Bags” |
30 | Alexandria, Virginia |
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Conspiracy to commit money laundering |
|
Ronte Ricardo Greene, aka “Cardiddy” |
29 | Washington, D.C. | Pleaded guilty Feb. 27, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Melvin Edward Allen, Jr., aka “21” | 39 | Washington, D.C. | Pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Darius Quincy Hodges, aka “Brick” |
34 | Glen Allen, Virginia | Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Lamin Sesay, aka “Rock Star” |
28 | Alexandria, Virginia | Pleaded guilty Feb. 7, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Paul Alejandro Felix | 26 |
Glendale, California |
Sentenced Nov. 12, 2024, to 164 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
|
Omar Arana, aka “Frogs” |
27 |
Cudahy, California |
Sentenced May 2, 2025, to 93 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Edgar Balderas, Jr., aka “Nano” | 27 |
San Diego, California |
Sentenced May 8, 2025, to 148 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Raul Pacheco Ramirez | 30 |
Long Beach, California |
Sentenced Nov. 26, 2024, to 95 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Giovani Alejandro Briones | 30 | Victorville, California | Sentenced Feb. 20, 2025, to 90 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. |
| Alfredo Rodriguez Gonzalez | 26 | Rosarito, Mexico |
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit international money laundering. |
The prosecutions followed a joint investigation by the DEA Washington Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with additional support from the DEA Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside Field Offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office, and the Charles County, Maryland Sheriff’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Southern Districts of California, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Maryland.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, Solomon S. Eppel, and Iris Y. McCranie of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section.
23cr73
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Blue Springs, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.
Jon Hopkins, Jr., 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 14 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hopkins to serve supervised release for Life following his incarceration and to pay $15,000 in restitution to his victims.
On October 29, 2024, Hopkins pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. According to court documents, while Hopkins was employed with Honeywell in Kansas City, Missouri, he was discovered to be in possession of an electronic device within the Honeywell facility in a secure classified area which prohibits electronics. His electronic device was lawfully searched, and law enforcement discovered images depicting child pornography during an initial review. A federal search warrant was obtained, and following detailed forensic analysis, hundreds of images and videos of child pornography were discovered on his phone, many of which focused on preteen girls. These images included depictions of 10 previously identified child pornography victims.
Hopkins is also charged in Jackson County, Missouri with the felony offenses of Statutory Rape or Attempted Statutory Rape in the First Degree of a child less than 12 years old, as well Statutory Sodomy or Attempted Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree of a child less than 12 years old. Those charges have been pending while this federal case has been ongoing.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General, as well as the Independence Missouri Police Department.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator John Cornyn and several of their colleagues to introduce the Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act, which would codify President Trump’s Executive Order subjecting illegal immigrants who kill American citizens to the death penalty. Earlier today, Sen. Tuberville joined Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) for a press conference about the bill.
“Over the past four years, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris welcomed more than 10 million illegal immigrants into this country with open arms,” said Sen. Tuberville. “As a direct result, innocent Americans like Laken Riley and Rachel Morin have lost their lives. It’s simple: if you’re in this country illegally and you murder an American citizen, you should face the death penalty. President Trump has essentially stopped the crisis at our southern border. Republicans in Congress must do our part to ensure no more American blood is shed at the hands of criminals who shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
“Violent predators who enter our country illegally and brutally murder American citizens should be subject to the death penalty as a consequence of their heinous actions,” said Sen. Cornyn. “By enshrining President Trump’s Executive Order into law, this legislation would protect the American people, make our country safe again, and ensure no future President can singlehandedly undo this consequence for taking innocent lives.”
Joining Senators Tuberville and Cornyn in cosponsoring the bill are Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jim Justice (R-WV), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).
Watch the full press conference here or Sen. Tuberville’s remarks here.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Biden administration’s reckless open-border policy and failure to enforce the law, millions of illegal immigrants flooded into the United States, creating the worst immigration crisis in history. After entering the U.S., many illegal immigrants subsequently committed crimes, including violent felonies and murder. For example:
August 5, 2023 – An illegal immigrant from El Salvador attacked, raped, and murdered 37-year old Rachel Morin, a mother of five, in Bel Air, Maryland. The perpetrator had previously attacked a 9-year old girl and her mother in Los Angeles.
December 4, 2023 – An illegal immigrant from Mexico stabbed 16-year old Lizbeth Medina to death and left her body in a bath tub in Edna, Texas.
February 22, 2024 – An illegal immigrant from Venezuela murdered 22-year old Laken Riley as she went for a run in Athens, Georgia.
March 22, 2024 – An illegal immigrant from Mexico shot and killed 25-year old Ruby Garcia while in her car, then left her body on the side of a highway in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
June 17, 2024 – Two illegal immigrants from Venezuela kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and strangled 12-year old Jocelyn Nungaray to death in Houston, Texas.
January 26, 2025 – Two illegal immigrants, one from Ecuador and the other from Venezuela, bound, gagged, and beat 63-year old George Levin to death in Chicago, Illinois.
March 12, 2025 – An illegal immigrant from Honduras choked 52-year old Camillia Williams, a mother of five and grandmother, to death, then dumped her body in the woods in Marietta, Georgia.
As President Trump highlighted, since America’s founding, capital punishment has been an essential tool for deterring and punishing murder. When illegal immigrants come into the United States and murder law-abiding American citizens, they should face the death penalty. The Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act would ensure that this deterrent is applied to predators illegally crossing our border and committing violent crimes here.
The Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act would:
Amend the Criminal Code to create a new aggravating factor for illegal immigrants who murder U.S. citizens
Help direct juries to administer the death penalty when an illegal immigrant murders a U.S. citizen
Fully implement and permanently codify President Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025 Executive Order, “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety,” specifically Section 3(b)(i) of the Executive Order, which states that the “Attorney General shall, where consistent with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime involving … [a] capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
Source: New Zealand Police
Emergency services are in attendance at a serious crash between a truck and car in Favona this morning.
The crash, at the intersection of Harania Avenue and Favona Road, was reported to Police at about 10.20am.
Early indications suggest one person has been seriously injured.
Diversions are in place and motorists are being advised to expect delays.
The Serious Crash Unit has been notified.
ENDS.
Holly McKay/NZ Police
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jim Banks (R-IN), Jim Justice (R-WV), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today introduced the Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act, which would codify President Trump’s Executive Order subjecting illegal immigrants who kill American citizens to the death penalty:
“Violent predators who enter our country illegally and brutally murder American citizens should be subject to the death penalty as a consequence of their heinous actions,” said Sen. Cornyn. “By enshrining President Trump’s Executive Order into law, this legislation would protect the American people, make our country safe again, and ensure no future President can singlehandedly undo this consequence for taking innocent lives.”
“This legislation sends a strong message across the globe: we will not tolerate the senseless murder of innocent Americans at the hands of illegal immigrants any longer,” said Sen. Daines. “I’m proud to join Senator Cornyn to take decisive action and support President Trump’s efforts to make our communities safe again.”
“When criminal illegal aliens murder American citizens, they should receive the harshest penalties,” said Sen. Ricketts. “After four years of Biden’s open border policies, measures must be taken to secure our communities. This bill will deter criminals and punish illegal aliens who callously take American lives.”
“Over the past four years, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris welcomed more than 10 million illegal immigrants into this country with open arms,” said Sen. Tuberville. “As a direct result, innocent Americans like Laken Riley and Rachel Morin have lost their lives. It’s simple: if you’re in this country illegally and you murder an American citizen, you should face the death penalty. President Trump has essentially stopped the crisis at our southern border. Republicans in Congress must do our part to ensure no more American blood is shed at the hands of criminals who shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
“Illegal immigrants who murder American citizens deserve the death penalty,” said Sen. Banks. “I fully support codifying President Trump’s executive order to ensure these monsters face justice.”
“Under the Biden administration’s open-border agenda, illegal immigration surged—and with it, a horrifying rise in violent crimes committed by those who should never have been here in the first place,” said Sen. Tim Scott. “This legislation will help restore the rule of law, protect our communities, and ensure that no more families suffer the kind of unimaginable loss that so many already have. We owe it to the victims and their families to hold these criminals fully accountable.”
“If you come into this country illegally and murder an American citizen, you should absolutely face the full force of the judicial system,” said Sen. Justice. “There is no gray area, no excuse, and zero tolerance for this kind of evil. I am proud to support this bill because it puts American lives first and ensures the most brutal crimes committed by illegal aliens are met with the strongest punishment under law.”
Background:
Under the Biden administration’s reckless open-border policy and failure to enforce the law, millions of illegal immigrants flooded into the United States, creating the worst immigration crisis in history. After entering the U.S., many illegal immigrants subsequently committed crimes, including violent felonies and murder. For example:
August 5, 2023 – An illegal immigrant from El Salvador attacked, raped, and murdered 37-year old Rachel Morin, a mother of five, in Bel Air, Maryland. The perpetrator had previously attacked a 9-year old girl and her mother in Los Angeles.
December 4, 2023 – An illegal immigrant from Mexico stabbed 16-year old Lizbeth Medina to death and left her body in a bath tub in Edna, Texas.
February 22, 2024 – An illegal immigrant from Venezuela murdered 22-year old Laken Riley as she went for a run in Athens, Georgia.
March 22, 2024 – An illegal immigrant from Mexico shot and killed 25-year old Ruby Garcia while in her car, then left her body on the side of a highway in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
June 17, 2024 – Two illegal immigrants from Venezuela kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and strangled 12-year old Jocelyn Nungaray to death in Houston, Texas.
January 26, 2025 – Two illegal immigrants, one from Ecuador and the other from Venezuela, bound, gagged, and beat 63-year old George Levin to death in Chicago, Illinois.
March 12, 2025 – An illegal immigrant from Honduras choked 52-year old Camillia Williams, a mother of five and grandmother, to death, then dumped her body in the woods in Marietta, Georgia.
As President Trump highlighted, since America’s founding, capital punishment has been an essential tool for deterring and punishing murder. When illegal immigrants come into the United States and murder law-abiding American citizens, they should face the death penalty. The Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act would ensure that this deterrent is applied to predators illegally crossing our border and committing violent crimes here.
The Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act would:
Amend the Criminal Code to create a new aggravating factor for illegal immigrants who murder U.S. citizens;
Help direct juries to administer the death penalty when an illegal immigrant murders a U.S. citizen;
And fully implement and permanently codify President Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025 Executive Order, “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety,” specifically Section 3(b)(i) of the Executive Order, which states that the “Attorney General shall, where consistent with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime involving … [a] capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country.”
Source: United States Department of Justice 2
Note: See superseding indictment here.
Two Honduran men were sentenced today to three years in prison for their roles in a scheme to illegally smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, for almost a year, Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 29, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 38, both of Utila, Honduras, conspired with at least six others to bring Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States via two vessels, the Masita III and the M/V Pop. The vessels sailed from Utila, Honduras to Louisiana. The aliens and/or their family members paid thousands of dollars to be brought illegally into the United States by boat. Upon arrival, the aliens were picked up by co-conspirators and driven further into the United States. The co-conspirators then placed some of the aliens in jobs at U.S. factories and other businesses knowing that the aliens lacked authorization to enter, remain, or work in the United States. The defendants were part of the vessels’ crew on multiple voyages.
In February 2022, the defendants attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65’ sportfishing vessel. During the voyage, the M/V Pop developed engine trouble and lost power. The co-conspirators then chartered a boat to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Before the chartered boat reached the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the vessel approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore. Inside the vessel, law enforcement officers also found 24 kilograms of cocaine.
Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez were convicted after trial of conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.
The lead defendant in the case, Carl Allison, previously pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Three additional co-conspirators, all Honduran nationals, pleaded guilty last year for their roles in the scheme: Darrel Martinez, 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Allison; and Lenord Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and assist aliens to enter the United States unlawfully and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. A fifth man, Honduran national Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, was extradited from Honduras in April and is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Maldonado’s trial is scheduled for June 16. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Maldonado is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.
The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance.
Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in Honduras provided assistance.
The sentencings are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, OIA, and OPDAT, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 334 U.S. convictions; more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.
This case is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Source: United States Department of Justice 2
A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Steven Nicholas Wimmer, 25, of Bluefield, was sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
With his guilty plea, Wimmer acknowledged that he responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officers, including Wimmer, then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Wimmer admitted that officers struck Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Wimmer further admitted that he was a member of the conspiracy who injured Q.B. inside the interview room while Q.B. was restrained, handcuffed, and posed no threat.
Wimmer and former Southern Regional Jail corrections officer Andrew Fleshman pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2023, to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Fleshman, 22, of Shady Spring, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, and Walters are scheduled for June 16. On Aug. 8, 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing hearings for Boothe and Toney are scheduled for June 9.
On January 27, a federal jury convicted defendant Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. Lester is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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. 5:23-cr-134.
Source: United States Department of Justice 2
A federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee returned an indictment on May 7, charging Regan Darby Prater, 27, with arson for firebombing the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee; and with carrying an explosive device during the commission of the arson. Prater appeared in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill E. McCook and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. He was held pending trial, which has been set for July 15 in United States District Court, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2019, Prater used an explosive to firebomb the Highlander Center’s administrative building, resulting in a fire that consumed the entire structure. Court documents also allege that Prater was inspired by the March 15, 2019, mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and left a symbol of the Iron Guard, a World War II-era Romanian Nazi organization, spraypainted in the Highlander Center’s parking lot. The same symbol appeared on the Christchurch gunman’s rifle as he livestreamed his attacks.
If convicted, Prater faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison on the arson charge, and an additional ten years in prison on the explosive charge.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Knoxville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey T. Arrowood and Anne-Marie Svolto of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Kyle Boynton and Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are 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.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Know Your Immigration Rights
If you or a loved one encounter immigration enforcement officials, it is essential that you know your rights and have prepared your household for all possible outcomes.
Ask for a warrant: The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects you from unreasonable search and seizure. You do not have to open your door until you see a valid warrant to enter your home or search your belongings.
Your right to remain silent: The Fifth Amendment protects your right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. You are not required to share any personal information such as your place of birth, immigration status or criminal history.
Always consult an attorney: You have a right to speak with an attorney. You do not have to sign anything or hand officials any documents without speaking to an attorney. Try to identify and consult one in advance.
The New York City Office of Civil Justice and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) support a variety of free immigration legal services through local nonprofit legal organizations. To access these resources, dial 311 and say “Action NYC,” call the MOIA Immigration Legal Support Hotline at 800-354-0365 Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or visit MOIA’s website.
Learn more here: KNOW YOUR IMMIGRATION RIGHTS – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries
Source:
Congressman Keith Self introduced the Military Chaplains Act of 2025 alongside Congressman Morgan Luttrell in an effort to support and protect military chaplains across all branches of the armed forces.
Various bad actors within the Department of Defense have undermined statutory protections and retaliated against military chaplains in an effort to secularize the military chaplaincy program. This included, but was not limited to, chaplains who were punished for: providing solicited Biblical teaching on human sexuality; seeking a religious exemption from the COVID19 vaccine; delivering sermons or performing rites, rituals, or counseling consistent with tenets of their faith. These punishments often included downgraded performance reports, resulting in missed promotions and involuntary separation from the armed forces. Others included degraded fitness reports, removal from their operational unit, travel permission denials, mandatory training denials, and many other forms of retribution that directly harmed—and for those who were not separated, continue to harm—their careers.
While basic protections exist for the chaplain’s religious freedom and rights of conscience— including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Section 533 of the Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA, and the First Amendment—explicit statutory protections for chaplains within the Department of Defense are still needed. Currently, the above statutes are fully captured in DoDI 1300.17 as well as the individual regulations for each military branch. However, these protections are not codified in Title 10 of the United States Code.
Additionally, Title 10 does not lay out the full scope of chaplains’ duties. In some of the branches, Title 10 allows chaplains to perform rites, rituals, and ceremonies. There are many other things chaplains can and should be doing, such as advising command on moral decision making. There are many areas where they are permitted to do these things, but because it is not explicitly stated in statute, it is not consistently implemented across branches.
“The military chaplain’s ability to freely exercise their religious duties is not only a Constitutional right, but it is essential to forming the conscience and character of our warfighters,” said Congressman Self. “As someone who benefited from the counsel of chaplains during my 25 years in the Army, I believe we must ensure they can serve without sacrificing their God-given freedoms. Though we currently have an administration that values the chaplain corps, that may not always be the case. That’s why this legislation to safeguard religious liberty in our armed forces is urgently needed.”
If enacted, the Military Chaplains Act would:
1. Establish statutory protections for chaplains, ensuring they can live and serve in
alignment with their sincerely held religious beliefs and the tenets of their religious
endorsing organization.
2. Clarify the broad scope of a chaplain’s purpose, role, and duties. These duties extend
beyond facilitating the free exercise of religion to include advising on spiritual matters,
including policy and command decisions.
3. Provide explicit statutory protections, subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, that all responsibilities are free from “censorship, undue restriction, or
fear of retribution.”
4. Institute a clear standardization of the chaplain across branches of the armed forces.
This bill is currently supported by First Liberty Institute and Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty (CALL).
“Chaplains are leaders in our fighting force, responsible for maintaining spiritual readiness. It is imperative that we provide them with the tools and protections necessary to fulfill their duties in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs and the tenets of their religious endorsing body. The Military Chaplains Act of 2025 not only provides these tools but also ensures that chaplains can serve without censorship, undue restrictions, or fear of retribution.”
—Erin Smith, Associate Counsel at First Liberty Institute
“The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty fully supports the Military Chaplains Act of 2025 and believes it is long overdue! No service member should ever be denied their constitutionally protected rights to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and this law will ensure our Military Chaplains are decidedly the most qualified among religious professionals.”
—Bishop Derek Jones, Executive Director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty
Read the full bill text HERE.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22)
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today announced the 15 projects she has submitted to the House Appropriations Committee in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Community Project Funding (CPF) process.
The CPF process allows municipalities and non-profits to submit federal funding requests for high-priority community projects with strong local support in New York’s 24th Congressional District. Each application was subjected to a rigorous review process to ensure that it is a sound use of taxpayer dollars and that applicants have a clear and accountable plan to spend funds on targeted projects within a year.
A list of Rep Tenney’s submitted FY26 projects can be found below:
“The Community Project Funding Process allows Congress to hear directly from municipalities and community leaders about their needs. This year, I submitted 15 projects on behalf of our district to improve essential infrastructure, enhance public safety, and revitalize our local communities. I remain committed to advocating for these projects throughout the appropriations process and will continue to be a strong voice for protecting your hard-earned tax dollars while representing our district in Congress,” said Congresswoman Tenney.
Community leaders who submitted and worked with Rep Tenney’s office on various funding proposals expressed their appreciation for her advocacy:
“On behalf of Genesee County, I extend our sincere thanks to Congresswoman Tenney for championing this critical investment in our region’s infrastructure. The proposed water project will play a vital role in strengthening our water system—not only for the City of Batavia, but for communities, farms, and businesses throughout Genesee County. This funding brings us one step closer to securing long-term reliability, capacity, and growth potential for the entire county,” said the Genesee County Legislature Chair, Shelley Stein.
“The Town of Lyons and the Wayne County Regional Land Bank greatly appreciate Congresswoman Tenney’s commitment to our Resurgence of the Town of Lyons Canal Street District project. This neighborhood revitalization addresses legacy community needs by transforming blighted properties in the heart of downtown into quality housing, commercial space, enhanced infrastructure, and improved access to essential services,” said the Town of Lyons Supervisor, Jim Brady.
“The Flight of Five is more than a historic marvel — it’s the beating heart of Lockport’s canal heritage and a cornerstone of our tourism future. With possible Phase III funding on the horizon, we’re poised to take the next critical step in fully restoring this 19th-century engineering wonder. This investment not only honors the legacy of the Erie Canal, but positions Lockport as a must-see destination for millions of visitors exploring the Niagara region,” said the President/CEO Greater Lockport Development Corporation, Vicki Smith.
“We sincerely thank Congresswoman Tenney for selecting Oswego as one of 15 projects in the FY26 Appropriations Bill. This vital support moves us closer to replacing our 150-year-old police station with a modern facility that will enhance public safety, support emergency response, and provide space for community outreach and critical services. This project will help build a stronger, safer Oswego for all,” said the City of Oswego Police Chief, Phil Cady.
“On behalf of the residents of the Town of Phelps, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Congresswoman Claudia Tenney for her support of our Route 14 wastewater infrastructure project. We deeply appreciate Congresswoman Tenney’s efforts in advancing our funding request to the Appropriations Committee for review and consideration. Her advocacy brings us one step closer to a much-needed sewer line project that will significantly enhance development opportunities not only within our town but in the Town and City of Geneva. Federal funding is essential to ensure the timely construction of this project, which will serve thousands of visitors to the Finger Lakes region while supporting long-term growth for our community. We are especially grateful for Representative Tenney’s commitment, hard work, and her willingness to listen to the needs of our residents. Her support reflects a strong partnership between federal leadership and local priorities,” said the Town of Phelps Town Supervisor, Bill Wellman.
“We are thankful for Congresswoman Tenney continuous support of Watertown International Airport, these lights are so important to airport users. The runway 10 lights help decrease delays and keep airplanes landing when visibility is limited. It’s vital for our residents, tourism, business, and DOD communities that rely on the airport for safe and reliable air transportation,” said the Watertown International Airport Director of Aviation, Grant Sussey.
“This investment in critical infrastructure keeps villages like Geneseo moving forward while keeping tax rates and housing affordable. Most importantly, you are replacing lead water service pipes and ensuring that our sanitary sewer is safe, and keeping it separate from our storm sewer. Finishing the project will leave us ADA compliant and offer enhanced walkability to our village,” said the Geneseo Village Mayor, Christopher Ivers.
“First, we would like the thank Congresswoman Tenney for including us in the Appropriations bill. We are deeply grateful for her advocacy, commitment, and unwavering support of our community. This funding will have a transformative impact on our community that will enable us to expand critical infrastructure, enhance resources, and provide greater opportunities for those we serve. The project we are looking to fund will foster long-term growth and positive changes for Waterloo,” said the Mayor of Waterloo, Walt Bennett.
“The Town of Torrey is thrilled to have been selected by Congresswoman Tenney to provide funding through the Congressional Appropriations process for the Town’s Water District #2 serving the Perry Point area. This funding will provide the residents of the district with a reliable and safe supply of water at a reasonable cost while protecting the waters of Seneca Lake. The Town of Torrey is very appreciative of the efforts that Congresswoman Tenney has made on behalf of Torrey residents and the 24th Congressional District,” said the Supervisor of the Town of Torrey, Peter Martini.
“On behalf of the residents of Wyoming County, especially those living around Silver Lake, and the Board of Supervisors, I extend our sincere appreciation for Congresswoman Tenney’s selection of the Silver Lake dredging project to submit to the House Appropriations Committee. Congresswoman Tenney understands and shares the values we hold as part of our proud agricultural heritage. An integral part of the environmental stewardship we are tasked with is to fulfill our mission of a healthier and more resilient Silver Lake. It is not only an essential component of our county’s robust tourism industry, but is also a prime drinking water source for multiple communities spanning Wyoming and Livingston counties. This important funding will help to preserve sensitive habitats, protect water quality and enhance public waterway access. We are deeply grateful to Congresswoman Tenney for her unwavering support in this project and for Wyoming County,” said the Chairwoman of the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors, Rebecca Ryan.
“The Village of Mexico would like to take this opportunity to express their appreciation for Congresswomen Claudia Tenney’s continued support of the Village and Town of Mexico. This project if awarded would help insure continued safe and accessible water far into the Future,” said the Mayor of the Village of Mexico, Terry Grimshaw.
“Wayne County is humbled and so very grateful by this support from Congresswoman Tenney’s office to be selected as one of the 15 projects submitted for consideration. The House Appropriations funding opportunity provides a meaningful modernization of a rural facility offering healthcare and behavioral health treatment and services. Wayne County Health Building renovations would help expand support and treatment to all ages for critical outpatient treatment and support services in our rural community,” said Wayne County Public Health Director Diane Devlin, Aging & Youth Director Amy Haskins, and Interim County Administrator Mark Humbert.
“The town of Throop is incredibly grateful to Congresswoman Tenney for selecting Throop’s Water District #3 project as a candidate for Community Project Funding. This investment will provide safe, reliable drinking water, as well as fire protection to residents who’ve long relied on aging private wells with poor water quality. Investing in this project will significantly improve the quality of life, health, and public safety for residents within this proposed water district. This project also has broader implications to the entire water system. This water district will vastly improve the area’s water infrastructure resiliency by completing a critical loop to an existing main line, creating essential system redundancy that benefits the broader network. Congresswoman Tenney has a steadfast commitment to ensuring all communities are supported, especially those in rural areas. Rural communities are the backbone of this region, and Congresswoman Tenney’s continued support for them is invaluable. Her support for this project is a powerful example of how by working together, elected officials can strengthen our infrastructure, safeguard our future, and impact the lives of our residents,” said the Town of Throop Supervisor, Eric Ridley.
“On behalf of Schuyler County, I want to say thank you to Congresswoman Tenney for supporting our project submission to improve our county’s Emergency Operations Center. This new Emergency Operations Center will house our county’s Emergency Management department, 911/Dispatch, Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Schuyler County Public Health Office to improve emergency response times and recovery efforts for our taxpayers and visitors. Thank you again to Congresswoman Tenney for advocating for the project. We are appreciative of your efforts in supporting critical emergency infrastructure projects NY-24,” said the Chairman of the Schuyler County Legislator, Carl H. Blowers
“We very much appreciate the fact that Congresswoman Tenney recognizes the infrastructure needs of local governments and is working to secure $2 million in funding for the Orleans County Public Safety Building. Fixing a roof may be not be the most exciting project, but it was very necessary to maintaining that building and ensuring safe working conditions for our public safety team. We are very thankful Congresswoman Tenney delivered for us,” said the Orleans County Legislature Chairman, Lynne Johnson.
###
Source: US State of North Dakota
She and a Second Official Also Sentenced for Making False Statements in the Federal Investigation
Former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lieutenant Shronda Covington, 49, was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison followed by 12 months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for violating the civil rights of an inmate in her custody and control by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in the inmate suffering, bodily injury, and for lying to federal investigators about the offense. The inmate later died of injuries he sustained over the course of a 30-hour period spanning Jan. 9 and 10, 2021.
Former BOP nurse Tonya Farley, 54, was also sentenced today to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release for lying to federal investigators about the circumstances of the death of the inmate, who was entrusted to her care.
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Covington was on duty and working in her official capacity at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia, on Jan. 9, 2021. She willfully failed to ensure that the inmate, a 47-year-old man identified as W.W., was provided with necessary medical care during her shift, even though she knew that W.W. had serious medical needs, and W.W. suffered bodily injury as a result. Covington was also found guilty of making false statements to federal agents about the incident.
Another BOP official, former lieutenant Michael Anderson, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the inmate’s death and was sentenced to three years in prison.
“Federal correctional officials who fail to do their jobs at the cost of inmate safety should be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Further, officials who obstruct investigations of their misconduct violate the public’s trust.”
“Custody includes a responsibility for safety and wellbeing,” said U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Corrections staff must uphold that responsibility for persons in their care – or they will be held accountable for their failure to do so, like the defendants in this case.”
“This case is a powerful reminder that BOP officials who disregard their responsibility to provide a humane environment for inmates will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Tim Edmiston of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region.
Evidence presented at trial established that, in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 2021, W.W.’s cellmate reported to facility staff that W.W. was exhibiting unprecedented behavior, including that he was suddenly disoriented, unable to talk, unable to stand or walk without falling, and unable to control his bladder. Over the course of two days, BOP officials knew of but disregarded W.W.’s symptoms.
Without medical attention to address his medical crisis, W.W. fell into walls and other objects numerous times, causing significant bruising and bleeding to his head and body. Although BOP policy requires staff to provide necessary medical care to inmates, defendant Covington failed to respond to repeated calls for help from the officers she supervised during her shift on the morning of Jan. 9, 2021.
On the morning of Jan. 10, 2021, W.W. finally fell head-first into a wall and then to the floor in an observation cell, where — despite inmate-observers’ continued calls for help — he lay for an hour and 40 minutes before officers rendered aid. An autopsy concluded that W.W. died of blunt force trauma to his head and that the lack of medical assistance he received during his series of falls and after his last fall contributed to his death.
Farley was the last medical provider to see W.W. before his death. Despite BOP policies requiring her to confer with a physician about W.W.’s care, and despite Farley’s admission that she should have conferred with a physician and sent W.W. to the hospital, Farley failed to take these steps. She then falsely told federal investigators that she had conferred with a physician, even though she had not done so. Farley also misled investigators about her conversations with another prison official.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Source: US State of North Dakota
A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Steven Nicholas Wimmer, 25, of Bluefield, was sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
With his guilty plea, Wimmer acknowledged that he responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officers, including Wimmer, then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Wimmer admitted that officers struck Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Wimmer further admitted that he was a member of the conspiracy who injured Q.B. inside the interview room while Q.B. was restrained, handcuffed, and posed no threat.
Wimmer and former Southern Regional Jail corrections officer Andrew Fleshman pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2023, to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Fleshman, 22, of Shady Spring, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, and Walters are scheduled for June 16. On Aug. 8, 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing hearings for Boothe and Toney are scheduled for June 9.
On January 27, a federal jury convicted defendant Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. Lester is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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. 5:23-cr-134.
Source: US State of North Dakota
Note: See superseding indictment here.
Two Honduran men were sentenced today to three years in prison for their roles in a scheme to illegally smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, for almost a year, Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 29, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 38, both of Utila, Honduras, conspired with at least six others to bring Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States via two vessels, the Masita III and the M/V Pop. The vessels sailed from Utila, Honduras to Louisiana. The aliens and/or their family members paid thousands of dollars to be brought illegally into the United States by boat. Upon arrival, the aliens were picked up by co-conspirators and driven further into the United States. The co-conspirators then placed some of the aliens in jobs at U.S. factories and other businesses knowing that the aliens lacked authorization to enter, remain, or work in the United States. The defendants were part of the vessels’ crew on multiple voyages.
In February 2022, the defendants attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65’ sportfishing vessel. During the voyage, the M/V Pop developed engine trouble and lost power. The co-conspirators then chartered a boat to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Before the chartered boat reached the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the vessel approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore. Inside the vessel, law enforcement officers also found 24 kilograms of cocaine.
Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez were convicted after trial of conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.
The lead defendant in the case, Carl Allison, previously pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Three additional co-conspirators, all Honduran nationals, pleaded guilty last year for their roles in the scheme: Darrel Martinez, 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Allison; and Lenord Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and assist aliens to enter the United States unlawfully and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. A fifth man, Honduran national Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, was extradited from Honduras in April and is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Maldonado’s trial is scheduled for June 16. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Maldonado is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.
The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance.
Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in Honduras provided assistance.
The sentencings are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, OIA, and OPDAT, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 334 U.S. convictions; more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.
This case is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
CHICAGO—As part of a national surge of resources to arrest accused child sex abuse offenders and combat child exploitation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Chicago Field Office has announced the arrest of seven (7) Chicago-area subjects and one (1) Florida-based subject. These arrests were part of a nationwide effort by all 55 FBI field offices for Operation Restore Justice, which led to the apprehension of more than 205 subjects last week.
Operation Restore Justice, which launched on April 28 and concluded on May 2, marked a national FBI effort between federal, state, and local partners. FBI Chicago’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force (CEHTTF), which includes Task Force Officers (TFO) from local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, was responsible for the investigation and apprehension of the accused. The defendants in Chicago’s investigations are charged with various child abuse or exploitation crimes, including possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography; transferring obscene material to a minor; or coercion and enticement. One of these investigations required the support of FBI Chicago’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team during the execution of an arrest warrant on April 30.
“The Department of Justice will never stop fighting to protect victims — especially child victims — and we will not rest until we hunt down, arrest, and prosecute every child predator who preys on the most vulnerable among us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “I am grateful to the FBI and their state and local partners for their incredible work in Operation Restore Justice and have directed my prosecutors not to negotiate.”
“Every child deserves to grow up free from fear and exploitation, and the FBI will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those who exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Operation Restore Justice proves that no predator is out of reach and no child will be forgotten. By leveraging the strength of all our field offices and our federal, state and local partners, we’re sending a clear message: there is no place to hide for those who prey on children.”
“Predators who seek to exploit or abuse our children are a danger to society and will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta. “Combatting child sexual abuse stands as one of our top criminal investigative priorities. As Child Abuse Prevention Month comes to a close, the FBI reaffirms our commitment of utilizing every tool in our arsenal to keep our children and communities safe.”
“The charges announced today are the result of a collaborative law enforcement effort led by the FBI that seeks to hold these defendants accountable and provide justice for vulnerable victims,” said Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago will never waver in our commitment to protecting our nation’s children.”
As the nation marked National Child Abuse Prevention month in April, Operation Restore Justice was the result of a dedicated and targeted effort, reflecting countless hours of work by hundreds of special agents, intel analysts, and other FBI personnel. It further emphasizes the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Bureau works relentlessly to investigate these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of prevention, community education, and the FBI’s never-ending pursuit of criminals who exploit our children.
The FBI proactively identifies individuals involved in child sexual exploitation and the production of child sexual abuse material through our far-reaching, nationwide network of personnel and law enforcement partners. The Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) program provides a rapid, proactive, and comprehensive capacity to counter all threats of abuse against children. The FBI also leads a Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force which includes nearly 100 international TFOs representing over 60 countries to expand our ability to address the threat worldwide. The FBI also partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 at 1-800-THELOST and on missingkids.org. In further partnership and collaboration with NCMEC, the FBI launched the Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) in 2004 to identify individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children and the production of child sexual abuse material. To date, ECAP has identified 36 individuals.
For more information about the crimes investigated by the FBI as well as the variety of resources we provide to protect and keep children safe, please visit:
As always, the FBI urges the public to remain vigilant and report any suspect crime against a child to 9-1-1 and local law enforcement immediately, as well as the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), online at tips.fbi.gov, or by contacting the Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Asked about FBI budget, Patel tells Senate Appropriations Committee: “I’m not asking you for anything at this time.”
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and questioning***
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee hearing on the FY26 budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, grilled Director Kash Patel on President Trump’s proposed budget for the FBI, the Department of Justice’s sweeping cancellation of grants to local law enforcement, and how the FBI is focusing its resources.
In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:
“The FBI does really crucial work to keep our nation safe—whether it’s stopping criminal organizations, or domestic terrorists. It protects our nation’s secrets, prevents cyber attacks, keeps our children safe from harm, and a lot more. So, this is really sober work with extremely high stakes.
“And I’m concerned that instead of focusing on the incredibly important mandate—to keep Americans safe and to help impartially enforce our laws—under your leadership, Director Patel, the FBI has been weaponized to go after Americans who disagree with the President. FBI resources have been diverted away from combatting terrorism to focusing on immigration requests.
“All of this—the diverted mission, fewer resources, fewer agents, heightened politicization—is happening now under your watch, and it is, I believe, making Americans less safe.”
[LACK OF FBI SPEND PLAN AND FULL FY26 BUDGET]
Senator Murray began her questioning by pressing Director Patel on where the FBI’s statutorily-required spend plan and its full FY26 budget is.
“As Ranking Member Van Hollen noted earlier, this hearing is being held without the FBI’s fiscal year 2025 spend plan and a full budget request for fiscal year 2026. The spend plan, is required by law, it was due to Congress over a week ago, we have not yet seen it. That is really absurd. The FBI is our nation’s leading law enforcement agency, with a budget of $10.7 billion dollars—and it is critical that we understand how you are spending taxpayer dollars. So, Director Patel, when should we expect the FY25 spend plan for the FBI? Have you seen it, have you reviewed it, when will we get it?”
“I will get you an answer ma’am. I don’t have a timeline on that,” replied Director Patel.
Senator Murray noted, “It was due last week, by law.”
“I understand,” said Director Patel.
Senator Murray asked for clarification, “And your answer is you just understand, you’re not going to follow the law?”
Director Patel dodged, stating: “My answer is that I am following the law, and I’m working with my interagency partners to do this and get you the budget that you are required to have.”
“And you have no timeline?” Senator Murray inquired.
“No,” stated Director Patel.
Senator Murray then asked Patel about when the full FY26 FBI budget will arrive, stating: “Well we also need a full budget request—not a single paragraph full of wild talking points that we saw with the ‘skinny’ budget proposal. We’re now having a budget hearing without a budget request. So, Director Patel, where is the FY 2026 budget request for the FBI?”
“It’s being worked on ma’am,” said Director Patel.
“Have you reviewed it? Have you approved it?” Senator Murray continued to press.
Director Patel responded, “Not yet.”
Senator Murray asked for more details, “When will you get it?”
“As soon as I can get it from my interagency partners and get it approved,” Director Patel replied.
“Six months from now?” Senator Murray pressed.
Director Patel continued to provide no details, stating: “I don’t know ma’am. I’m not going to make up a timeline.”
Senator Murray pushed back, “Well, how do we as a Congress do our budget and our work without that request and without the spend plan?”
Director Patel demurred, stating, in part: “I’m doing the best I can.”
Senator Murray emphasized, “That is insufficient and deeply disturbing. No response?”
Director Patel stated, “I have given my response.”
[PATEL WALKS BACK CRITICISM OF TRUMP BUDGET REQUEST]
Senator Murray then asked Director Patel about his apparent disagreement with President Trump’s budget request for the FBI. On Wednesday, Patel told House appropriators that he disagreed with the more than half a billion dollar proposed cut to the FBI budget that President Trump asked Congress to make in his preliminary request submitted last week. Patel told House lawmakers: “We have not looked at who to cut. We are focusing our energies on how not to have them cut by coming in here and highlighting to you that we can’t do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.” On Wednesday, Patel said the FBI actually requested an increase in the request it submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“Well, the FBI is already down 1,900 employees since 2023 as a direct result of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. And under the Trump administration, FBI agents, analysts, linguists, cyber experts, and scientists are being asked to do a lot more in order to keep us safe. Director Patel, we all know that budget cuts will reduce the FBI’s ability to counter threats of terrorism, and it will hinder its ability to keep pace with firearm background checks, and shutter operations that combat violent crime, drugs, gangs, and transnational organized crime,” said Senator Murray. “Now, I understand that you told our House colleagues yesterday that you don’t want to reduce the FBI workforce—meaning that you disagree with what President Trump is proposing?”
“No, I agree that we can sustain the mission with the proposed budget, and I agree with the budget,” replied Director Patel—walking back his sharp criticism of the funding levels for FBI in President Trump’s proposed budget.
“That’s different than what you told the House yesterday. What are you communicating to the President and the White House about what you need, and again, we don’t have a budget request from you, so I’m not sure what you are asking us for,” pressed Senator Murray.
Director Patel said, “I’m not asking you for anything at this time.”
Senator Murray asked, “You can operate without a budget?”
“I never said that,” replied Director Patel.
Without further details, Senator Murray said, “Well, this is unprecedented. Ok, well, let me just go to another topic, since you are not going to answer that.”
[CUTS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT]
Senator Murray then asked Director Patel about how the FBI’s mission is affected by the sweeping cuts in funding the Trump administration has already made for its local law enforcement partners, stating: “The FBI partners with state, local, and Tribal law enforcement organizations. They provide critical intelligence and operational capabilities to combat violent crime, gangs, terrorist threats, and fentanyl trafficking—challenges that our local communities really can’t face alone. I’m going to give you an example. A few years ago, the Southeast Washington Safe Streets FBI task force worked with our Benton County and Franklin County Sheriff’s Offices, multiple Tri-Cities’ police departments, and the state corrections department to carry out one of the largest-ever drug seizures in the region’s history. Now we’ve got an administration already cutting more than $800 million in assistance in 2025 to local law enforcement organizations while proposing a half billion dollar cut for the FBI. Director Patel, can you explain to this Committee how cutting resources for our local law enforcement partner agencies the FBI relies on to help your bureau keep people safe, how do you expect the FBI and local law enforcement to do more without those significant resources they need?”
“The FBI will continue to do what it does, which is work with embedded state and local law enforcement officers in our joint terrorism task force, the street task force, and our gang task forces. Those are a priority. Those billets have been maintained. Those billets have not been reduced. And with my reorientation, reprogramming—that we’ve notified congress to—you will see an augmentation in the field in every single state in this country,” replied Director Patel, dodging the question in its entirety.
Senator Murray noted, “Again, we need to see the numbers and we need to see that budget from you.”
[BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM]
She continued her questioning by pressing Director Patel on whether he will maintain the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)and support adequate funding for it, stating: “The FBI is really on the front lines of keeping guns out of the hands of very dangerous criminals. The NICS serves a really critical role in enhancing national security and public safety by conducting background checks, you know this. They are supported by the vast majority of American people. And I wanted to ask you this morning: will you commit to continuing to fund and run the FBI background check system?”
“Yes,” replied Director Patel.
[POLITICIZATION OF FBI]
Senator Murray concluded her questions by grilling Director Patel on how the FBI is focusing its resources: “President Trump has turned the Department of Justice into a tool to go after his perceived enemies, and many of the actions we have now seen at the FBI are alarming. The FBI has reassigned and pushed out career FBI agents for political reasons. We’ve seen fear and intimidation promoted throughout the Bureau, including by polygraphing your own staff. We’ve seen the arrest of a sitting judge in Wisconsin. During your confirmation hearing, you committed that there would be no politicization, no retribution at the FBI under your leadership. You have reportedly placed FBI employees responsible for investigation January 6th cases on leave. Is that keeping up your promise of no politicization, no retribution?”
Director Patel avoided the question, saying, “It is because that is wildly inaccurate. Let me tell you what the FBI has done since I got there…—”
Senator Murray interjected, “Well, that is not my question.”
Director Patel again demurred.
“But you have placed on leave FBI employees responsible for the investigation of January 6, that sounds political to me,” Senator Murray pressed.
“I have not placed anyone on leave who has not violated their ethical obligation or their oath to the constitution,” Director Patel said.
Senator Murray asked, “So, if they were investigating January 6, you believe they were violating an ethic obligation?”
“Nope, I think the common theme here is you putting words in my mouth and I am not going to tolerate it, nor will the men or women of the FBI,” Director Patel said.
“Well, you did place on leave an analyst responsible for investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Is that politicization, is that retribution?” Senator Murray pushed back.
Director Patel continued to dodge the question, “No, not if she broke the law or the ethical guidelines. I don’t know which case you are talking about but that’s the standard. We will hold ourselves inordinately accountable and we will not be strayed from our mission because people think we are politicizing the bureau. If you want to talk about someone who is attacked by a weaponized bureau, you are looking at him and now he’s the director of the FBI and he’s cleaning it up.”
Senator Murray concluded by emphasizing: “Well, I would just say to everyone who is listening, The FBI needs to be focused on its mission to keep the entire country safe, it should not be weaponized for partisan political gain.”
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
ICYMI: In Senate Floor Speech, Senator Murray Calls Out Trump’s Staggeringly Lawless and Inhumane Immigration Policy
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and questioning***
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the FY26 budget for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, blasted the Trump administration’s lawless and inhumane immigration policies and grilled Secretary Kristi Noem on her Department’s sweeping funding freeze, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief and public safety grants, and its plans to weaken FEMA and recent denials of disaster declarations.
In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:
“As Senator Murphy mentioned in his opening statement, Secretary Noem, under your leadership, we have seen you ignore our appropriations laws, our constitution, common sense, and even basic humanity.
“Like a lot of Americans, I really have been horrified by the lawlessness, incompetence, and cruelty we have all witnessed.
“And for all the talk about going after criminals—you have sidetracked DHS staff who are investigating drug dealers, terrorists, human traffickers.
“And rather than photo ops, we need more of your focus on providing basic diligence, because your crackdown has roped in American citizens and people who are here legally, with no criminal record.
“Now, I’m not going to ask you whether that was right or wrong—I know it’s wrong. The world knows it’s wrong.
“And I think the first thing history is going to say about your leadership is that you were responsible for so many of these travesties, so I’m deeply concerned.
“You have deported a four-year-old U.S. citizen with cancer, you’ve disappeared people to a notorious prison in El Salvador, and you have spent $100 million in taxpayer dollars to air TV ads thanking President Trump.
“That is really reckless, it’s unacceptable, and in my opinion, cannot continue. The American people are paying for this with our taxpayer dollars—and with their most basic rights.”
[DEVASTATING FEMA FUNDING FREEZE]
Senator Murray began her questioning by detailing how Secretary Noem and the Trump administration have so far frozen or cancelled over $100 billion in FEMA disaster relief and grants approved by Congress, stating: “We are talking about everything from disaster relief to grants that keep people safe. But when my staff has requested information on the status of this unacceptable hold-up, the Department failed to provide any acceptable justification. This illegal freeze—and it is illegal—is taking a real toll on communities who are waiting on the investments that Congress has delivered.” Senator Murray asked Secretary Noem, “Will you commit to immediately unpausing these funds?”
Secretary Noem dodged, stating: “Well, Senator, thank you for covering a lot of topics there. Let me touch on a few of those right away. What the Trump administration is doing, I know he’s targeting the law for the first time…”
Senator Murray interjected: “I’m asking you about the funds that are out there.”
Secretary Noem again completely demurred: “Under the Biden administration, illegal aliens were prioritized over American citizens. Now the scales of justice have been leveled, citizens are treated the same.”
Senator Murray continued to push, “Madam Chair, I am going to reclaim my time, because I asked you a specific question. Madam Secretary, I know your answer—I heard it previously. I’m asking you a specific question.”
“The grants that you are referencing have been paused and reevaluated to make sure that they are truly being spent in the way to which they were appropriated,” replied Secretary Noem. “Many of these grants were being diverted—”
Senator Murray interjected, “Madam Secretary, these funds were passed on a bipartisan basis by members in this Congress.”
Secretary Noem continued to refuse to answer the question directly, and Senator Murray responded: “Madam Chair, we are talking about $100 billion [in frozen FEMA funding and grants]. It is not credible that all the recipients—it is not credible that $100 billion is used to break the law—that just cannot be true.”
[OVERSPENDING AT DHS]
Senator Murray moved on, stating: “On the other hand, I am very concerned that DHS is now dramatically overspending funding that Congress has not provided. If you were a CEO doing that, I don’t think you’d be in your job long. We need accountability, and we need answers. And that includes informative responses to oversight questions sent to the department over the last three months. I am ranking member on this committee. I have worked with every member of this committee. We take our responsibility seriously to fund your department and others. We need to have answers, we need to have accountability, and we need to make sure you’re not overspending money that you were not allocated.”
Secretary Noem said, “Well, thank you for that question… I’ve worked many, many jobs in my life, but I also have been a CEO.”
“I’m not questioning your credentials, I’m questioning your spending,” Senator Murray responded.
Secretary Noem avoided answering the question directly, but conceded that as her Department spends at a rate beyond what Congress has appropriated, she is hopeful Republicans will provide new funding mid-way through the fiscal year through their partisan reconciliation process, stating: “We are prioritizing where our security needs are in this country, and we are hoping that this body will agree that reconciliation is necessary to address the things that have been neglected in this country for too long, that we have the technology upgrades, the manpower upgrades that are necessary. So, the $170 billion request for the Department of Homeland Security is incredibly important to make sure we have the tools that we need.”
“The fact is that you’ve not been given this funding. Saying that it’s going to come in reconciliation that has not passed is not an acceptable answer,” replied Senator Murray.
[DISASTER RELIEF]
Senator Murray turned to discussing FEMA and disaster relief, stating: “A lot of disaster relief has been politicized. You’ve endorsed eliminating FEMA outright. We have seen an upheaval at FEMA that is going to put lives in jeopardy. One in five FEMA employees have been pushed out, taking this administration’s so-called buyout offer. We are losing indispensable staff just weeks away from fire and hurricane season, and over $100 billion in disaster relief and FEMA grants are still being held up. DHS is making it a lot harder to qualify for relief, something people in my home state of Washington are experiencing firsthand. Multiple requests from governors have been rejected in recent weeks, including a request from our state, and we haven’t been given any response about this. And I’m watching this and I’m thinking: has President Trump directed you to prioritize funding for Republican states?”
“Absolutely not,” said Secretary Noem.
“Have you directed your staff to prioritize funding to Republican led states over Democratic states?” Senator Murray asked.
“Absolutely not. Under this administration, there will not be any politicization of support, relief, FEMA assistance, or grants given based on politics. Every single person will be treated the same,” committed Secretary Noem, in part.
“Madam Secretary, there is a clear trend of Republican led states getting very fast responses and funding. Democrat led states are being forced to wait. We have never treated FEMA as a partisan issue in this country,” concluded Senator Murray.
Last month, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to slam Trump’s lawless immigration policy, highlighting the absence of any semblance of due process, and demanding full details of the secret agreement with El Salvador and the names and status of all the individuals sent to El Salvador. In April, she also met with farmworkers, advocates, and community members in Washington state to listen to their concerns amid a recent spike in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity—including large-scale raids and the detention of local activists and leaders. Senator Murray has championed comprehensive, humane, and fair immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. During Trump’s first administration, Senator Murray helped lead the charge in pushing back against Trump’s appalling treatment of migrant children and families at the southern border—cosponsoring the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which would require unaccompanied children and vulnerable individuals to be provided with legal assistance during immigration court proceedings, the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act to end family separations at the border, and legislation to prevent the separation of families at sensitive locations such as schools, religious institutions, and hospitals, among many other efforts.
Source: United States Attorneys General 1
She and a Second Official Also Sentenced for Making False Statements in the Federal Investigation
Former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lieutenant Shronda Covington, 49, was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison followed by 12 months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for violating the civil rights of an inmate in her custody and control by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in the inmate suffering, bodily injury, and for lying to federal investigators about the offense. The inmate later died of injuries he sustained over the course of a 30-hour period spanning Jan. 9 and 10, 2021.
Former BOP nurse Tonya Farley, 54, was also sentenced today to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release for lying to federal investigators about the circumstances of the death of the inmate, who was entrusted to her care.
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Covington was on duty and working in her official capacity at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia, on Jan. 9, 2021. She willfully failed to ensure that the inmate, a 47-year-old man identified as W.W., was provided with necessary medical care during her shift, even though she knew that W.W. had serious medical needs, and W.W. suffered bodily injury as a result. Covington was also found guilty of making false statements to federal agents about the incident.
Another BOP official, former lieutenant Michael Anderson, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the inmate’s death and was sentenced to three years in prison.
“Federal correctional officials who fail to do their jobs at the cost of inmate safety should be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Further, officials who obstruct investigations of their misconduct violate the public’s trust.”
“Custody includes a responsibility for safety and wellbeing,” said U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Corrections staff must uphold that responsibility for persons in their care – or they will be held accountable for their failure to do so, like the defendants in this case.”
“This case is a powerful reminder that BOP officials who disregard their responsibility to provide a humane environment for inmates will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Tim Edmiston of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region.
Evidence presented at trial established that, in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 2021, W.W.’s cellmate reported to facility staff that W.W. was exhibiting unprecedented behavior, including that he was suddenly disoriented, unable to talk, unable to stand or walk without falling, and unable to control his bladder. Over the course of two days, BOP officials knew of but disregarded W.W.’s symptoms.
Without medical attention to address his medical crisis, W.W. fell into walls and other objects numerous times, causing significant bruising and bleeding to his head and body. Although BOP policy requires staff to provide necessary medical care to inmates, defendant Covington failed to respond to repeated calls for help from the officers she supervised during her shift on the morning of Jan. 9, 2021.
On the morning of Jan. 10, 2021, W.W. finally fell head-first into a wall and then to the floor in an observation cell, where — despite inmate-observers’ continued calls for help — he lay for an hour and 40 minutes before officers rendered aid. An autopsy concluded that W.W. died of blunt force trauma to his head and that the lack of medical assistance he received during his series of falls and after his last fall contributed to his death.
Farley was the last medical provider to see W.W. before his death. Despite BOP policies requiring her to confer with a physician about W.W.’s care, and despite Farley’s admission that she should have conferred with a physician and sent W.W. to the hospital, Farley failed to take these steps. She then falsely told federal investigators that she had conferred with a physician, even though she had not done so. Farley also misled investigators about her conversations with another prison official.
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Attorneys General 1
A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Steven Nicholas Wimmer, 25, of Bluefield, was sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
With his guilty plea, Wimmer acknowledged that he responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officers, including Wimmer, then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Wimmer admitted that officers struck Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Wimmer further admitted that he was a member of the conspiracy who injured Q.B. inside the interview room while Q.B. was restrained, handcuffed, and posed no threat.
Wimmer and former Southern Regional Jail corrections officer Andrew Fleshman pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2023, to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Fleshman, 22, of Shady Spring, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, and Walters are scheduled for June 16. On Aug. 8, 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing hearings for Boothe and Toney are scheduled for June 9.
On January 27, a federal jury convicted defendant Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. Lester is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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. 5:23-cr-134.
Source: United States Attorneys General 1
Note: See superseding indictment here.
Two Honduran men were sentenced today to three years in prison for their roles in a scheme to illegally smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, for almost a year, Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 29, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 38, both of Utila, Honduras, conspired with at least six others to bring Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States via two vessels, the Masita III and the M/V Pop. The vessels sailed from Utila, Honduras to Louisiana. The aliens and/or their family members paid thousands of dollars to be brought illegally into the United States by boat. Upon arrival, the aliens were picked up by co-conspirators and driven further into the United States. The co-conspirators then placed some of the aliens in jobs at U.S. factories and other businesses knowing that the aliens lacked authorization to enter, remain, or work in the United States. The defendants were part of the vessels’ crew on multiple voyages.
In February 2022, the defendants attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65’ sportfishing vessel. During the voyage, the M/V Pop developed engine trouble and lost power. The co-conspirators then chartered a boat to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Before the chartered boat reached the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the vessel approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore. Inside the vessel, law enforcement officers also found 24 kilograms of cocaine.
Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez were convicted after trial of conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.
The lead defendant in the case, Carl Allison, previously pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Three additional co-conspirators, all Honduran nationals, pleaded guilty last year for their roles in the scheme: Darrel Martinez, 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Allison; and Lenord Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and assist aliens to enter the United States unlawfully and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. A fifth man, Honduran national Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, was extradited from Honduras in April and is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Maldonado’s trial is scheduled for June 16. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Maldonado is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.
The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance.
Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in Honduras provided assistance.
The sentencings are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, OIA, and OPDAT, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 334 U.S. convictions; more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.
This case is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Source: United States Attorneys General 1
A federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee returned an indictment on May 7, charging Regan Darby Prater, 27, with arson for firebombing the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee; and with carrying an explosive device during the commission of the arson. Prater appeared in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill E. McCook and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. He was held pending trial, which has been set for July 15 in United States District Court, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2019, Prater used an explosive to firebomb the Highlander Center’s administrative building, resulting in a fire that consumed the entire structure. Court documents also allege that Prater was inspired by the March 15, 2019, mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and left a symbol of the Iron Guard, a World War II-era Romanian Nazi organization, spraypainted in the Highlander Center’s parking lot. The same symbol appeared on the Christchurch gunman’s rifle as he livestreamed his attacks.
If convicted, Prater faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison on the arson charge, and an additional ten years in prison on the explosive charge.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Knoxville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey T. Arrowood and Anne-Marie Svolto of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Kyle Boynton and Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are 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.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani, who serves as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during an oversight hearing about the Department’s budget.
Ciscomani questioned Secretary Noem about morale and recruitment numbers within the DHS and the need to facilitate pathways for legal immigration. For full clips and excerpts of the hearing, please see below. Excerpts have been edited for length and clarity.
Ciscomani: Do you mind just speaking of the morale of the agents and your efforts on recruiting and retention? I think that goes hand in hand with the technology piece as well.
Secretary Noem: The morale of the Department of Homeland Security agencies and departments and the employees that work there is fantastic. We have incredible numbers in recruitment. People who want to be a part of the agency are signing up and submitting applications. I referenced earlier that CBP has over 50%. I believe it’s 54% increase in recruitment ICE as well. Maintaining and excelling at its recruitment efforts and getting officers and people who want to be a part of the team or are coming out of retirement. We have the Coast Guard at 108% increase in its recruitment… And then you look at the Secret Service because of the recruitment efforts that we’ve had in putting those agents back on focusing on hiring expertise, hiring experience instead of DEI programs, the Secret Service recruitment is up almost 200%. The applications we’ve gotten have been fantastic by telling our story and that they can be a part of an agency that protects the most powerful [people] in the world. It truly has been inspirational. So I believe that some of the narrative that the Democrats have used to attack the Department of Homeland Security just simply isn’t true. The people that are wanting to come and work for us are inspirational and they’re true Americans.
Ciscomani: As an immigrant myself, I know how complex the immigration system is. I became a citizen in 2006, and then 16 years later, I became a member of Congress. No other country in the world would give you that opportunity. I believe in the American dream and fighting for that American dream that so many people still seek. There’s been much media attention again, on the increase in deportations and removal of aliens, which I remain fully supportive of. That being said, I think we should also be highlighting and incentivizing those who are going through the process legally…and make that process less burdensome in order to disincentivize the use of cartels and bad actors. In my family’s experience, it took us 13 years from the moment we came into the US to the moment we became US citizens. There have to be some improvements around these guidelines. So can you speak on how your budget request will facilitate easier legal pathways for potential immigrants?
Secretary Noem: Yeah, absolutely. And you’ve correctly identified it. Part of the problem that we’ve had in this country for many years is that it takes far too long for a person to legally come through our immigration process and to become a U.S. citizen. And that needs to be fixed… We need to make sure that we’re getting more immigration judges. I’ve been having conversations with our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and with the Department of Justice on what we can do to get more judges to the table so that we can process not just backlogged claims, but illegal [sic] applications to come to this country as well, and then more immigration courts. So when you look at not just the Fiscal Year 26 request, but also reconciliation dollars, it is to address the needs that we have to address the invasion, secure the border, to make sure that our ICE officers have enough backup, help, equipment and tools going forward to make sure that we’re addressing what has happened here criminally and illegally, but also addressing within our other agencies what we can do to make sure that we’re processing those legal applications. President Trump is determined to do that, and we have that addressed in the budget request from the different Cabinet secretaries and agencies to make sure we have the resources to start getting after that backlog.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
With Republicans threatening massive cuts to Medicaid in their reconciliation bill, Pressley is standing with seniors, folks with disabilities, children, and everyone whose lives depend on it
“Medicaid is not some line item on a spreadsheet. Medicaid is healthcare. Medicaid is a lifeline. No one should be in the business of taking away health care from people.”
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) rallied with caregivers, advocates, and fellow lawmakers at a 24-hour vigil to protect Medicaid from Republicans’ cruel budget cuts that would devastate communities across this country. Congresswoman Pressley made clear that Medicaid isn’t just a line item in the Republican budget, but a lifeline for millions of families who call this country home.
“Half of the children in America are covered by Medicaid. It allows people with complex chronic conditions to afford the medications they need to stay alive. And 10% of Medicaid enrollees are over the age of 60. It allows our elders and our neighbors with disabilities to receive care in their homes and to stay in their communities. This Republican reconciliation bill guts the programs that hold our communities together – Medicaid, but also SNAP, Head Start, and the VA – programs that give people a fighting chance,” Congresswoman Pressley declared. “Again, the cruelty is the point. Calling Medicaid a lifeline is not exaggeration, it is a fact.”
With Republicans proposing disastrous cuts to essential, life-saving programs including Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and the VA, Congresswoman Pressley has been speaking out and leveraging every tool to defend vulnerable communities that stand to be harmed by Republican’s reckless budget.
In the House Financial Services Committee’s markup of Republicans’ reconciliation bill, Rep. Pressley shared the a powerful story of a family from a Republican district at risk from the proposed Medicaid cuts. In the House Oversight Committee’s markup of the bill, she challenged Republicans to oppose devasting cuts to food assistance – only to be met with silence.
A full transcript of her remarks at today’s Medicaid vigil is available below and video is available here.
Transcript: Pressley, Lawmakers, Advocates Rally in 24-Hour Vigil to Defend Medicaid, Protect Vulnerable Communities
U.S. Capitol Building
May 8, 2025
They kept thanking me for being here – I said, “Are you kidding me?” This is my family right here – my movement family. There’s no place I’d rather be – and I had to be.
I wanted to thank you all for being here. I’m so grateful for you justice-seekers, you freedom-fighters – you could’ve chosen to be anywhere else, but you chose to be here.
Not because of your jobs, your titles – I’m not here because I’m your Congresswoman, I’m here because I’m your sister in struggle and solidarity. I’m here because I’m a human being who gives a damn about other human beings.
Because we are one human family – and our destinies are truly tied.
I am so inspired by all of you. I have long believed that every great movement requires three things: imagination, strategy, and stamina.
Can you all give yourselves permission to radically dream that every person who needs care, can get it?
You are employing the strategy of peaceful protest and civil disobedience, which has been proven throughout history to be the way that we resist tyranny, that we resist oppression, that we advance progress.
And many of you have been here for 24 hours – so you are certainly demonstrating your stamina.
So imagination – I am just audacious enough to believe that we can protect Medicaid.
That we can have care, not cuts.
I’m just audacious enough to dream and to imagine that everyone deserves care.
We are joined together by a moral purpose and a moral moment: to defend Medicaid and the people we love from a Republican budget that is cruel by design.
The cruelty is the point.
A budget that would rip $880 billion from Medicaid – not to save money, but to bankroll tax cuts for Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s billionaire friends. Billionaires who don’t need another dime. People who will never face the agony of choosing between medicine and rent, groceries and insulin.
Medicaid is not some line item on a spreadsheet.
Medicaid is health care. Medicaid is a lifeline. No one should be in the business of taking away health care from people.
This is not about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about right and wrong, good and evil – it is as simple that.
Denying people healthcare – that’s wrong. That’s evil.
Republicans are firing food inspectors in the Department of Agriculture. They are dismantling public health agencies like the CDC and NIH. They are bringing back measles.
All this as a part of the so-called DOGE initiative.
How frightening that these clueless DOGE bros are determining the future of our country.
Suddenly, our greatest wealth as a nation is the health of our people.
I’m all for a government that is more efficient – but this ain’t it.
There is nothing efficient about making people sicker.
There is nothing efficient about making people hungrier.
There is nothing efficient about making people poorer.
There is nothing efficient about making people more vulnerable.
There is nothing efficient about buying more toy rockets for Elon Musk while working parents can’t afford baby formula or blood pressure medication.
The shame and the sham of it all.
Cutting Medicaid would hurt folks from every walk of life and at every stage of their life.
Medicaid covers 2 out of 5 births in this country. Slashing Medicaid will only accelerate the maternal health crisis and widen the racial disparities that already harm Black women in my district – the MA 7th – and across the country.
Donald Trump is a dictator, y’all. And the reason why Republicans is because they want a citizenry that is ignorant and uninformed.
They want a citizenry that is indifferent to the suffering of their neighbors.
They want a citizenry that is inactive.
The only way to beat a dictator is with defiance.
And that’s what you’re doing here today.
So I thank you – I thank you on behalf of the children of this country.
Half of the children in America are covered by Medicaid. It allows people with complex chronic conditions to afford the medications they need to stay alive.
And 10% of Medicaid enrollees are over the age of 60. It allows our elders and our neighbors with disabilities to receive care in their homes and to stay in their communities.
This Republican reconciliation bill guts the programs that hold our communities together – Medicaid, but also SNAP, Head Start, and the VA – programs that give people a fighting chance.
Again, the cruelty is the point.
Calling Medicaid a lifeline is not exaggeration, it is a fact.
Policy is not abstract. It is not neutral.
Policy and budgets determine who lives.
Policy and budgets determine who dies.
Policy and budgets determine who survives, who thrives.
This is policy violence.
This is a fight for dignity. It is a fight for justice. And we will do everything we can to stop this cruel budget from becoming law.
Again, we are appealing to people of conscience.
It only takes four Republicans to do the right thing, y’all.
Four to stand with the people that they serve, instead of being a cult of cowards, complicit in the wholesale harm of our people.
It just takes four Republicans of conscience to do the right thing, to stand up for the people they serve.
Four to show a shred of humanity. Four to protect Medicaid.
Let’s make sure they hear us. Today, tomorrow, and every day until they do.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Parmelee, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. The sentencing took place on May 7, 2025.
Leonard Little Thunder III, a/k/a Yamni Little Thunder, age 19, was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Little Thunder was indicted by a grand jury in February 2024. He pleaded guilty on February 5, 2025.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred in November 2023 within the boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On November 29, 2023, the victim, an adult male, was outside his residence near Mission, South Dakota, with multiple family members. Little Thunder drove past the residence multiple times before stopping and producing a short barrel shotgun. Little Thunder fired at the victim, causing a wound to the victim’s head. Little Thunder then fled the scene, but he was arrested a short time later at a residence south of Mission. The shotgun was seized as evidence, and Little Thunder will forfeit ownership of the shotgun to the United States.
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, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Little Thunder was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.