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Category: Justice

  • MIL-OSI USA: Mississippi Man Indicted for Federal Civil Rights and Arson Charges for Setting Fire to Mormon Church

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    A federal grand jury in Gulfport, Mississippi, returned a six-count superseding indictment today charging Stefan Day, also known as Stefan Pete Day Rowold, with federal civil rights and arson violations for vandalizing and setting fire to a house of worship.

    According to the superseding indictment, on July 5, 2024, and July 7, 2024, Day set fire to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Wiggins, Mississippi. Counts one and four of the superseding indictment charge Day with arson for setting fire to the church. Counts two and five of the superseding indictment charge Day with intentionally damaging, defacing, and destroying religious real property because of the religious character of the property. Counts three and six of the superseding indictment charge Day with using fire to commit a federal felony offense.

    If convicted, Day faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the arson charges, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the civil rights charges, and a minimum penalty of ten years in prison for the use of fire to commit a federal felony offense.

    Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon for the Southern District of Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Jackson Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi State Fire Marshal, and the Wiggins Police Department.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Chloe Neely 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.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pictou — RCMP investigating suspicious incident in Pictou

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Pictou County District RCMP is asking for the public’s help in identifying a person of interest following a suspicious incident that occurred in Pictou.

    Yesterday, at approximately 10 p.m., RCMP officers responded to a report of an attempted abduction in the area of Denoon St. Investigators learned that an 18-year-old woman was walking home when she was approached by a man who offered her a ride. When the woman declined, the man exited his pickup truck and attempted to grab her.

    The victim was not physically injured and ran for help.

    The man of interest is described as white and in his 60s. At the time of the incident, he had a long white beard and was wearing a camouflage hat with an antlers emblem on the front, a camouflage jacket, and khaki pants.

    The vehicle of interest is described as a white Ford extended cab pickup with a black push bar. The truck was heavily rusted, had a very loud exhaust, and had a burned-out passenger headlight.

    Anyone with information about this incident, or with security camera footage of the area, is asked to contact the Pictou County District RCMP at 902-485-4333. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Salt River Man Convicted of Murder and Conspiracy

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, a jury found Clifton Nez Hamalowa, 47, of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, guilty of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Discharging a Firearm During, In Relation to, and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The guilty verdict followed a seven-day jury trial before United States District Court Judge John J. Tuchi.

    During trial, evidence showed that Hamalowa became angry with the victim one evening and then shot the victim in the head multiple times the following morning, August 29, 2020. Hamalowa dumped the victim’s body in a remote area of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation. Meanwhile, Hamalowa’s brother disposed of the victim’s car in Parker, Arizona, and Hamalowa’s sister made her daughter clean the victim’s blood from the crime scene on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Over the next two weeks, Hamalowa and his sister also intimidated witnesses into silence. Eventually, a witness was able to contact the Gila River Police Department so that officers could rescue the victim’s minor child who was still in the victim’s home.

    Hamalowa’s brother, Thomas Leon Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 108 months in prison on October 23, 2023. Hamalowa’s sister, Devonne Beth Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 84 months in prison on April 1, 2024.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Gila River Police Department jointly investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer E. LaGrange and Travis L. Wheeler, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
     

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-00751-PHX-JJT
    RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-037_Hamalowa

    # # #

    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 X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Stephenville — Man remains under investigation by Bay St. George RCMP for local crime spree

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    A 31-year-old Stephenville man remains under investigation by Bay St. George RCMP for a number of crimes committed on March 17, 2025.

    Shortly after 5:00 a.m. on Monday, a pickup truck was stolen from a business on Utah Drive and, around the same time, during a break and enter at a nearby business, generators and a number of propane tanks were stolen.

    While investigating the above matters, at approximately 7:00 a.m., police received a report of a stolen all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in Fox Island River. A 2022 Can AM Outlander was stolen from a residential property. The property owner witnessed the theft and followed the suspect. Police attempted to stop the operator of the ATV, who fled the area on the stolen side by side.

    Shortly before 11:00 a.m., Bay St. George RCMP recovered the stolen pickup truck in a snow bank near Crane Place in Stephenville. The abandoned vehicle was left running and was seized as part of the investigation.

    Shortly after this, the stolen Can Am Outlander ATV was observed by its owner, traveling along the T’railway. Police attended the area and, with the assistance of the owner, the ATV was located and recovered in Heatherton. The suspect was arrested nearby without further incident.

    Following these crimes, Bay St. George RCMP received a report of a second ATV that was stolen sometime overnight from a residential property in Point Au Mal, a 2019 black and blue 800 Can Am Commander XT.

    Police are continuing to look for the stolen property, including generators, currently of an unknown make or model, propane tanks and the 2019 Can Am Commander. An image of the Can Am Commander side by side ATV is attached.

    The investigation is continuing with charges anticipated.

    Anyone having information about these crimes or the current location of the stolen property is asked to contact Bay St. George RCMP at 709-643-2118. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Hazleton Men Charged With Drug Trafficking

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Cesar Altagracia Mateo Lara, a/k/a Miguel Carrasquillo Apolinaris, age 46, and Luis Mercado-Alicea, a/k/a Yensi Mateo, age 44, both of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges.

    According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that between November 2024 and February 2025, the defendants conspired to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl. The indictment also alleges that during that time the defendants distributed fentanyl and possessed fentanyl with intent to distribute it.   

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and the Hazleton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.

    This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

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

    The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 40 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

    Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mississippi Man Indicted for Federal Civil Rights and Arson Charges for Setting Fire to Mormon Church

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A federal grand jury in Gulfport, Mississippi, returned a six-count superseding indictment today charging Stefan Day, also known as Stefan Pete Day Rowold, with federal civil rights and arson violations for vandalizing and setting fire to a house of worship.

    According to the superseding indictment, on July 5, 2024, and July 7, 2024, Day set fire to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Wiggins, Mississippi. Counts one and four of the superseding indictment charge Day with arson for setting fire to the church. Counts two and five of the superseding indictment charge Day with intentionally damaging, defacing, and destroying religious real property because of the religious character of the property. Counts three and six of the superseding indictment charge Day with using fire to commit a federal felony offense.

    If convicted, Day faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the arson charges, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the civil rights charges, and a minimum penalty of ten years in prison for the use of fire to commit a federal felony offense.

    Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon for the Southern District of Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Jackson Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Mississippi State Fire Marshal, and the Wiggins Police Department.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Chloe Neely 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law Emeritus, Vermont Law & Graduate School

    Several U.S. climate regulations aim to reduce burning of fossil fuels, a driver of climate change. Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Most of the United States’ major climate regulations are underpinned by one important document: It’s called the endangerment finding, and it concludes that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to human health and welfare.

    The Trump administration is vowing to eliminate it.

    Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin referred to the 2009 endangerment finding as the “holy grail of the climate religion” when he announced on March 12, 2025, that he would reconsider the finding and all U.S. climate regulations and actions that rely on it. That would include rules to control planet-warming emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane from power plants, vehicles and oil and gas operations.

    But revoking the endangerment finding isn’t a simple task. And doing so could have unintended consequences for the very industries Trump is trying to help.

    EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announces plans to reconsider more than 30 climate regulations.

    As a law professor, I have tracked federal climate regulations and the lawsuits and court rulings that have followed them over the past 25 years. To understand the challenges, let’s look at the endangerment finding’s origins and Zeldin’s options.

    Origin and limits of the endangerment finding

    In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that six greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and that the EPA has a duty under the same law to determine whether they pose a danger to public health or welfare.

    The court also ruled that once the EPA made an endangerment finding, the agency would have a mandatory duty under the Clean Air Act to regulate all sources that contribute to the danger.

    The Court emphasized that the endangerment finding was a scientific determination and rejected a laundry list of policy arguments made by the George W. Bush administration for why the government preferred to use nonregulatory approaches to reduce emissions. The court said the only question was whether sufficient scientific evidence exists to determine whether greenhouse gases are harmful.

    The endangerment finding was the EPA’s response.

    The finding was challenged and upheld in 2012 by the U.S. District Circuit for the District of Columbia. In that case, Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA, the court found that the “body of scientific evidence marshaled by the EPA in support of the endangerment finding is substantial.” The Supreme Court declined to review the decision. The endangerment finding was updated and confirmed by the EPA in 2015 and 2016.

    Challenging the endangerment finding

    The scientific basis for the endangerment finding is stronger today than it was in 2009.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest assessment report, involving hundreds of scientists and thousands of studies from around the world, concluded that the scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is “unequivocal” and that greenhouse gases from human activities are causing it.

    According to the National Climate Assessment released in 2023, the effects of human-caused climate change are already “far-reaching and worsening across every region of the United States.”

    Summer temperatures have climbed in much of the U.S. and the world as greenhouse gas emissions have risen.
    Fifth National Climate Assessment

    During President Donald Trump’s first term, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt considered repealing the endangerment finding but ultimately decided against it. In fact, he relied on it in proposing the Affordable Clean Energy Rule to replace President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan for regulating emissions for coal-fired power plants.

    What happens if the EPA revokes the endangerment finding?

    For the Trump administration to now revoke that finding, Zeldin must first recruit new members of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board to replace those dismissed by the Trump administration. Congress created the board in 1978 to provide independent, unbiased scientific advice to the EPA administrator, and it has consistently supported the 2009 endangerment finding.

    Zeldin must then initiate rulemaking in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, provide the opportunity for public comment and respond to comments that are likely to be voluminous. This process could take several months if done properly.

    If Zeldin then decides to revoke the endangerment finding, lawsuits will immediately challenge the move.

    Even if Zeldin is able to revoke the finding, that does not automatically repeal all the rules that rely on it. Each of those rules must go through separate rulemaking processes that will also take months.

    Zeldin could simply refuse to enforce the rules on the books while he reconsiders the endangerment finding.

    However, a blanket policy abdicating any enforcement responsibility could be challenged in lawsuits as arbitrary and capricious. Further, the regulated industries would be taking a chance if they delayed complying with regulations only to find the endangerment finding and climate laws still in place.

    Zeldin’s cost argument

    Zeldin previewed his arguments in a news release on March 12.

    His first argument is that the 2009 endangerment finding did not consider costs. However, that argument was rejected by the D.C. Circuit Court in Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA. Cost becomes relevant once the EPA considers new regulations – after the endangerment finding.

    Moreover, in a unanimous 2001 decision, the Supreme Court in Whitman v. American Trucking Associations held that the EPA cannot consider cost in setting air quality standards.

    A repeal could backfire

    Repealing the endangerment finding could also backfire on the fossil fuel industry.

    States and cities have filed dozens of lawsuits against the major oil companies. The industry’s strongest argument has been that these cases are preempted by federal law. In AEP v. Connecticut in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act “displaced” federal common law, barring state claims for remedies related to damages from climate change.

    However, if the endangerment finding is repealed, then there is arguably no basis for federal preemption, and these state lawsuits would have legal grounds. Prominent industry lawyers have warned the EPA about this and urged it to focus instead on changing individual regulations. The industry is concerned enough that it may try to get Congress to grant it immunity from climate lawsuits.

    To the extent that Zeldin is counting on the conservative Supreme Court to back him up, he may be disappointed.

    In 2024, the court overturned the Chevron doctrine, which required courts to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations when laws were ambiguous. That means Zeldin’s reinterpretation of the statute is not entitled to deference. Nor can he count on the court overturning its Massachusetts v. EPA ruling to free him to disregard science for policy reasons.

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

    – ref. Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences – https://theconversation.com/revoking-epas-endangerment-finding-the-keystone-of-us-climate-policies-wont-be-simple-and-could-have-unintended-consequences-252271

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Revision to March 2024 Neighbourhood Policing Numbers

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Revision to March 2024 Neighbourhood Policing Numbers

    Neighbourhood policing statistics have been corrected today due to inaccuracies in the previous government’s police workforce data.

    The government has today published corrected neighbourhood policing numbers due to inaccuracies in the previous government’s police workforce statistics.  

    The issues were uncovered as part of a data validation exercise commissioned by the Home Secretary and carried out by the NPCC to establish an accurate picture of the number of officers serving in neighbourhood roles. It follows long-standing concerns from both the Home Office and police forces about the accuracy of previously published workforce figures for neighbourhood policing.  

    Whilst this does not mean that the overall police numbers were incorrect, it demonstrates that the real number of neighbourhood police officers working in our communities has been artificially inflated in recent years. The government is clear that the public – who have seen and felt the reduction in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs on their streets in recent years – deserve far better than this.  

    It comes as the government is introducing the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, to ensure that everyone has a named contactable police officer.

    As part of the data validation exercise, all police forces were asked to verify the previously published workforce data published under the “neighbourhood policing” category for March 2024. The work revealed substantial discrepancies between the previously published data and the updated figures being provided by forces which more accurately reflect the reality on the ground.  Of the 43 forces in England and Wales, 29 advised that their published combined neighbourhood officer and PCSO numbers should be revised down, whilst four forces revised their figures upwards. This resulted in an overall downwards revision of 2,611 compared to the figures published last year.  

    Forces have cited several reasons for revisions to their March 2024 data which have now been thoroughly tested by the Home Office with individual forces. Some forces say they made human resources (HR) errors after restructuring their neighbourhood policing model or relied on outdated HR systems. Others incorrectly categorised student officers in neighbourhood policing as default, despite them still being in the classroom and not out on our streets, fully trained. Errors also occurred through the incorrect categorisation of officers who perform roles that span multiple functions as in some cases, officers were recorded as working in neighbourhood policing roles when in reality they covered multiple duties, such as incident response. This blurring of the lines between officer duties did not accurately reflect the real number of dedicated neighbourhood officers patrolling our streets.  

    It is vital for both the government and police forces that they have a clear and accurate understanding of the state of neighbourhood policing in our communities.  

    The Home Office has now issued new instructions and guidance directly to forces on the categorisation of neighbourhood policing to ensure that we are recording them correctly, particularly on the distinction between response officers and neighbourhood police officers, and how to categorise classroom-based student officers. This means that systems are now in place to prevent these errors from happening in the future and to ensure that the data can be relied on going forward. The department will now require robust neighbourhood policing data returns from individual forces on a monthly basis to track the neighbourhood policing workforce more closely. This will be aligned with a strong performance framework harnessing national data to monitor performance and direct improvements in order to raise standards across the service.  

    The government’s flagship Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will put police back on the beat with 13,000 additional police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles in communities across the country. Each neighbourhood will have a named, contactable officer to tackle the issues facing their communities, and there will be guaranteed, intelligence-led patrols in town centres and high streets, with new powers to tackle the criminality and anti-social behaviour plaguing our streets.  

    Due to the quick work by forces to rectify the statistical errors, the numbers published today are provisional and will be confirmed in an official statistical release in the usual way.

    The Home Secretary has today written to the Home Affairs Select Committee to set out this information in more detail.

    Further information

    Table 1: March 2024 published data and NPCC revised data (as at 18 March 2025) 

    March 2024 published data March 2024 data submitted by NPCC Difference % Difference
    Officers (FTE) 13,424 10,664 -2,760 -21%
    PCSOs (FTE) 6,210 6,359 +149 +2%
    TOTAL (FTE) 19,634 17,023 -2,611 -13%

    Forces making large reductions (either in terms of numbers, FTE, or as a proportion of neighbourhood policing workforce):

    West Midlands Police

    A revision in previous statistics downwards of 649 officers from 1,045

    Reason: Following being placed into ‘Engaged’ status by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in December 2023 (following serious concerns over its investigations and victim outcomes), the force had redeployed a number of neighbourhood resources into ‘Responding to calls for service’ and ‘Investigations’. However, system identifiers on HR systems had not been updated which generated the significant administrative inaccuracy. West Midlands have since been removed from ‘Engaged’ status by HMICFRS.

    Gloucestershire Constabulary

    A revision in previous statistics downwards by 66% and a slight decrease for PCSOs

    Reason: Specialist functions, investigative resources, and patrol had previously been included in the neighbourhood policing category in error. The inaccuracy of the original data appears to be primarily related to the unique post identifiers in a recently implemented HR System, which Gloucestershire are looking to update.

    Suffolk Constabulary

    A revision in previous statistics downwards for a large number of officers and some PCSOs that will result in data fall by 52%

    Reason: The force has identified a series of errors in the categorisation of roles, such as the inclusion of student officers in the neighbourhood policing category when they should have been included as category 1b (Incident (Response) Management). additionally, several of Suffolk’s specialist reassurance teams were included in neighbourhood policing when they should have been recorded as category 1c (Specialist Community Liaison) and several senior manager posts were included in neighbourhood policing rather than 1d (‘Local Policing Command Team’).

    Thames Valley Police

    A revision in previous statistics downwards by 33% for neighbourhood officers and 20% downwards for neighbourhood workforce overall

    Reason: Identified discrepancies in how neighbourhood policing roles were recorded, following a recent internal review. The issues stemmed from technical limitations and differences between job titles and the detail of roles performed by officers.

    Merseyside Police

    A revision in previous statistics downwards by 209 neighbourhood officers, although offset by a 182 increase in PCSOs

    Reason: Student officers were mistakenly included as neighbourhood policing officers. All PCSOs were incorrectly categorised under 1c “Specialist Community Liaison”.  In addition, they had included local public order / neighbourhood tactical teams under 1a, when they should have been classified under 5f “Advanced Public Order.

    Dorset Police

    A revision in previous statistics downwards by 38% in overall neighbourhood policing numbers

    Reason: The force revised the figures to ensure that only those officers and PCSOs dedicated to neighbourhood policing functions were included. They excluded those in functions that do not contribute to neighbourhood policing including specialist functions, investigative resources, and patrol, which had previously been included in the neighbourhood policing category in error.

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    Updates to this page

    Published 19 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Apprehends Austin Homicide Suspect Sought in December Shooting

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Austin, TX – Members of the U.S. Marshals-led Lone Star Fugitive Task Force March 13 arrested a man sought for murder that occurred Dec. 21, 2024, in Austin. 

    Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Gomez, 26, was a suspect wanted by the Austin Police Department for a homicide that occurred in the 2500 block of Huntwick Road, where a victim was reported to have been shot inside a vehicle in the parking lot.  

    Austin police arrived on scene and located the male victim, who had sustained life-threatening gunshot wounds, and was pronounced deceased, despite lifesaving attempts. 

    On Feb. 16, the Austin Police Department, Homicide Unit, obtained a warrant for Rodriguez-Gomez in the City of Austin Municipal Court and requested immediate assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in the Austin Division. 

    On March 13, after members of the task force developed information that indicated Rodriguez-Gomez was residing in the 15200 block of Sparks Road in Manor, the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area and was arrested by a swarm of task force officers, with vital assistance provided by the Austin Police Department, Air Support Division. 

    Rodriguez-Gomez was transferred to the Austin Police Department and booked into the Travis County Jail where he will await further judicial proceedings. 

    According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Rodriguez-Gomez, a Mexican national, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with no legal status in the United States.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin – 

    Austin Police Department-Tactical Intelligence Unit
    Round Rock, and San Marcos Police Department
    Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office
    Texas Attorney General’s Office
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice OIG
    Texas Department of Public Safety
    U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
    U.S. DHS/Homeland Security Investigations

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Minnesota State Senator Charged with Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota state Senator Justin David Eichorn has been charged via federal criminal complaint with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to the criminal complaint, on March 12, 2025, Bloomington Police detectives began an undercover operation to target commercial sex involving juveniles.  Law enforcement placed online advertisements offering commercial sex.  Unbeknownst to the prospective sex buyers, it was in fact undercover law enforcement officers who received and responded to the messages.  

    On March 11, 2025, undercover officers began receiving messages from Eichorn, age 40, inquiring, “I saw your post and [sic] chance you are still available tonight?” and then later, “What’s a guy gota do to get with the hottest girl online tonight.” Over the course of messaging over several days, the undercover officer repeatedly said that she was not 18 but was, in fact, 17 years old. Even so, Eichorn proceeded to ask the undercover officer about pricing for various sex acts she might perform, and then Eichorn arranged an in-person meet-up to pay for commercial sex.  Eichorn also requested that the undercover officer—whom he believed to be a 17-year-old minor—send him “a naught[y] pic” including one “with lot less clothes.”  Eichorn arrived at the agreed-upon location to find law enforcement waiting to apprehend him.  In his car, among other things, law enforcement found cash and a condom.  

    “The U.S. Attorney’s Office has no tolerance for public officials who violate federal law—particularly those laws meant to protect children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.  “I am grateful to the Bloomington Police Department, to the FBI, and to all law enforcement officers who use undercover operations to identify and arrest child sex predators to prevent them from abusing real children.”

    “The actions alleged in this case are an appalling attempt to exploit an innocent and vulnerable minor,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “The FBI and our partners are committed to protecting children from predators who seek to harm them. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment, free from the threat of exploitation.”

    “If you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone’s child, expect to leave in handcuffs,” said Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges. “We will not tolerate predators in our community. I have long advocated for stronger penalties for these crimes, and this case is yet another example of why tougher laws are necessary.  Our state legislature must take this issue seriously—protecting children should never be up for debate.”

    Eichorn was charged by complaint today in U.S. District Court with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.

    A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican national indicted for assaulting federal agent

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Mexican national with physically attacking a federal law enforcement agent. 

    According to court documents, Diego Barron-Esquivel, 23, of Wichita was indicted on one count of forcible assault of a federal officer.

    In February 2025, Barron-Esquivel is accused of forcibly assaulting and causing bodily harm to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation officer while the officer was performing his official duties. 

    Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon is prosecuting the case.

    OTHER INDICTMENTS

    Charles Wayne Franke, 21, of Wellington, Kansas, was indicted on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child-production of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting the case. 

    Juan Francisco Ulloa-Gonzalez, 46, was indicted on one count of reentry of a removed alien. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon is prosecuting the case.
     

    Project Safe Childhood
    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Venezuelans Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Fake Green Cards

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendants Arrested During the Laken Riley Murder Investigation in Athens, Georgia

    ATHENS, Ga. – A Venezuelan man who entered the United States illegally and who admitted to possessing a fraudulent Green Ccard during the murder investigation of a 22-year-old nursing student was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison—above the federal sentencing guidelines—and to be deported along with his brother and a former roommate.

    Diego Jose Ibarra, aka “Gocho,” 29, was sentenced to serve a total of 48 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document on July 15, 2024. Argenis Ibarra, aka “Meny,” 25, of Venezuela, was sentenced to time served after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a fraudulent document on Dec. 10, 2024. Rosbeli Flores-Bello, aka “La Gorda,” 29, of Venezuela, was sentenced to time served after she pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a fraudulent document on Dec. 11, 2024.

    All three defendants are to be delivered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. Diego Ibarra will be placed in ICE custody at the conclusion of his federal prison sentence; Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello will be placed in ICE custody immediately. U.S. District Judge Tilman E. Self, III handed down the sentences on March 19 in Athens. There is no parole in the federal system.

    According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was made aware of Deigo Ibarra’s undocumented presence in the United States on Feb. 23, 2024, during the murder investigation of Laken Hope Riley, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered on Feb. 22, 2024, during a morning run at the University of Georgia, where she previously attended as an undergraduate prior to transferring to the Augusta University College of Nursing. At the time, an Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) officer approached Diego Ibarra because he matched the description of the primary suspect in the murder investigation, which was his brother, Jose Antonio Ibarra. Diego Ibarra gave the ACCPD officer a counterfeit U.S. Permanent Resident Card (also called a Green Card) as identification and was taken into custody. Jose Ibarra was convicted of Laken Riley’s murder on Nov. 20, 2024, in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court and is serving a life sentence.

    On April 30, 2023, Diego Ibarra illegally entered the United States, along with four other Venezuelan men, by crossing the border near the Ysleta station in El Paso, Texas. The men fled when approached by the United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents. Diego Ibarra resisted an agent’s efforts to detain him and grabbed the agent’s service radio, threw it into a nearby yard, and then attempted to bite the agent. Agents scuffled with him and another Venezuelan man for several minutes before the National Guard arrived and assisted in subduing both men. Diego Ibarra was taken to a local hospital after complaining of chest pains and pain in his back and leg, which he indicated to FBI agents he sustained from scaling and falling from the border fence during his illegal crossing. He admitted to illegally crossing the border, resisting arrest and attempting to avoid apprehension at any cost. He said his injuries were not from the fight with agents.

    According to information uncovered during the investigation and provided in multiple court documents, Diego Ibarra is likely affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), based on evidence including his multiple TdA tattoos and photos of him on social media making the TdA gang signs and wearing TdA clothing. Further investigation concluded that Diego Ibarra was previously removed from the United States to Mexico on April 3, 2023, after agents apprehended him illegally entering the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas. After the above incident on April 30, 2023, Diego Ibarra claimed asylum and fear of return to Venezuela. On May 11, 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) placed him in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, and he was released from immigration custody the following day. The ATD program required Diego Ibarra to wear a global positioning system (GPS) ankle monitoring device, and he was directed to report to New York, New York, pending asylum proceedings. He failed to report in New York as directed.

    On May 25, 2023, Diego Ibarra’s ankle monitor last “pinged” near Littleton, Colorado, and he cut it off at some point prior to his final arrest in Athens, Georgia. Diego Ibarra settled in Athens and was subsequently arrested three times by law enforcement: on Sept. 24, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license; on Oct. 27, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for theft by shoplifting; and on Dec. 8, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for shoplifting and for an outstanding arrest warrant that was issued when he failed to appear in court for his DUI charge. In addition, ACCPD responded to a domestic incident involving Diego Ibarra and his girlfriend on Sept. 26, 2023. And, while in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and housed in the Butts County Detention Center, Ibarra caused “severe water damage” inside the jail when he damaged the fire sprinkler system in a jail cell block. On June 25, 2024, jail officers found Ibarra in possession of two improvised weapons: a sharpened sprinkler head with a make-shift grip and a pen wrapped in saran wrap.

    Co-defendants Argenis Ibarra (Diego and Jose Ibarra’s younger brother) and Flores-Bello (Deigo and Jose Ibarra’s roommate) admitted to possessing a fraudulent U.S. Permanent Resident Card in the names of Argenis Jose Ibarra Ibarra and Rodrianny Brito Brito respectively on Feb. 23, 2024. In addition, agents found counterfeit Social Security cards for Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello in the apartment they shared with Diego and Jose Ibarra.

    Investigators determined that Argenis Ibarra entered the United States illegally on April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and the USBP returned him to Mexico. On April 30, 2023, the USBP encountered and arrested him near El Paso, Texas, and transported him to an ICE processing center in El Paso. Because the processing center lacked space, Ibarra was released on his own recognizance on May 4, 2023. Argenis submitted Form I-765 for Employment Authorization on Oct. 20, 2023, and Nov. 2, 2023, both of which were rejected.

    Flores-Bello illegally entered the United States on May 3, 2023, and was arrested by the USBP. She was transported to an ICE processing center in El Paso. On May 5, 2023, Flores-Bello was released on her own recognizance because the processing center lacked space. She provided a residential address in New York and was scheduled for immigration court there on Oct. 18, 2023. In Dec. 2023, she and Jose Ibarra, whom she met in New York, took a humanitarian flight from New York to Atlanta, Georgia. She settled in Athens and lived with the Ibarra brothers until Laken Riley was murdered.

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

    The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with critical assistance from FBI, GBI, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, University of Georgia Police Department and Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison prosecuted the case for the Government

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Last Sentence Imposed in Massachusetts-to-Vermont Drug Distribution Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on March 13, 2025, Christopher Morgan, 21, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 78 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. Morgan previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

    According to court records, Christopher Morgan and co-defendant Javon Calderon spent substantial time in Bennington, Vermont, in 2022 distributing fentanyl and cocaine. During a portion of that time, Morgan and Calderon were hosted by co-defendants and Bennington residents Shavonne Doucette and Kyle Winnie. Morgan and Calderon employed locals to sell drugs for them. Doucette and Winnie also occasionally sold drugs for Morgan and Calderon.

    In early September 2022, inside the Doucette/Winnie residence, Calderon and Morgan threatened with firearms and assaulted one such local distributor over a drug debt. Portions of the assault were captured on video and depicted Calderon striking and threatening the victim and holding a firearm to the victim’s neck while making threats. The video depicted Morgan pointing a firearm at the victim and issuing threats. The victim sustained scalp injuries that required staples.

    Like Morgan, Calderon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. On December 23, 2024, Chief Judge Reiss sentenced Calderon to 85 months of imprisonment to be followed by an 8-year term of supervised release. Doucette and Winnie pleaded guilty to making their residence available for the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine. On January 21, 2025, Doucette was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison to be followed a 3-year term of supervised release. On February 18, 2025, Winnie was sentenced to time-served followed by a 3-year term of supervised release.

    Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the HSI Special Response Team, the Vermont State Police, the Bennington Police Department, the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, the Rutland City Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne Smith. Morgan was represented by Peter Langrock, Esq.; Calderon was represented by Devin McKnight, Esq; Doucette was represented by Brooks McArthur, Esq.; Winnie was represented by Jordana Levine, Esq.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Charlotte Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Trafficking Kilograms of Cocaine from Charlotte to Wilmington

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RALEIGH, N.C. – A Charlotte man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for injecting large quantities of cocaine into the Wilmington area from early 2017 to July 2022. On November 5, 2024, Kinte Fisher, age 47, pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a quantity of cocaine.

    According to court documents and other information presented in court, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) started investigating Fisher for drug trafficking. The investigation revealed that Fisher, who lived in Charlotte, moved narcotics to a “stash house” that he maintained in Wilmington. From there, he would sell large quantities of cocaine.  Fisher often used the cover of visiting family to deliver cocaine to the area and supervised several other individuals involved in drug trafficking, including his girlfriend. Fisher also mailed packages containing narcotics using the United States Postal Service. Over a five-year period, Fisher distributed at least sixty-two kilograms of cocaine.

    On July 25, 2022, surveillance revealed that Fisher was traveling again to Wilmington. Agents with the FBI saw him enter his stash house with a backpack. A few moments later, Fisher left the apartment and threw a piece of plastic wrap into a municipal trash can before driving off. Law enforcement officers tested that plastic wrap, and it tested positive for cocaine residue. Based on that, law enforcement attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Fisher sped off.  A high-speed chase unfolded where Fisher sped through various areas, including one of Wilmington’s business districts. Fisher abandoned his car and continued to evade arrest on foot. Law enforcement caught up to Fisher at the Wilmington Riverwalk. As they closed in, Fisher tossed his cellphone into the river. A subsequent search of Fisher’s stash house found approximately 340 grams of cocaine, a scale, and drug packaging materials.

    This investigation was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The FBI and the Wilmington Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Logan Liles  prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:22-CR-101-D-1.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lawrence County Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Mail Fraud

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. –  A Lawrence County man has been sentenced for his role in a scheme to steal agricultural chemicals from his employer, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

    U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Christopher Michelfelder, 56, of Moulton, Alabama, to 63 months in prison.  In December 2024, Michelfelder pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

    According to the plea agreement, Michelfelder was the facility manager of the local branch of an international agricultural company that sells chemicals to customers. Over the course of a decade, he executed a scheme in which stole products from his employer.  He sold them to a third-party broker under the false pretense that the products belonged to his personal farm business, Midway Farms.  Michelfelder shipped the products via FedEx to an address that the broker would provide to him. The loss amount was over $6 million.

    The FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Columbus Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Exploiting Minor

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who sexually abused a young girl and created child pornography of the abuse was sentenced in federal court here today to 300 months in prison.

    Arturo Navarrete-Juarez, 30, pleaded guilty in July to sexually exploiting a minor. He was charged federally by a criminal complaint in March 2023.

    According to court documents, between October 2021 and December 2022, Navarrete-Juarez sexually abused a minor female and filmed some of the abuse. Specifically, the child was between the ages of 9 and 10 in the videos recovered by law enforcement.

    In March of 2023, the FBI investigated child sexual abuse material on a Tor network that featured Navarrete-Juarez. The defendant’s face was visible in the videos. Investigators also linked Navarrete-Juarez’s identity to the videos by distinctive tattoos on his hands, arms and chest and by the apartment depicted in the background of the videos.

    Navarrete-Juarez is a Mexican national and does not currently have legal status in the United States.

    Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer M. Rausch and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sens. Johnson, Grassley Continue to Fight for Unredacted Crossfire Hurricane Interview Transcripts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    WASHINGTON – On Monday, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel requesting their offices take immediate action to remove all redactions from interview transcripts relating to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General’s (DOJ OIG) examination of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

    In April 2023, the senators requested these unredacted transcripts from the DOJ OIG. However, the DOJ OIG informed the senators that the redactions in those transcripts were made by other government agencies, such as the FBI and DOJ, and the DOJ OIG lacked the authority to release the information.

    The senators’ recent letter calls on DOJ and FBI to work with the DOJ OIG to produce these unredacted versions of the transcripts as soon as possible.

    Read more about the letter in Daily Mail.

    The full text of the letter can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wisconsinites’ Years of Work Fighting Fentanyl

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act passed the Senate last week with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 84-16. 

    The HALT Fentanyl Act incorporates the permanent scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, which I first introduced in 2017 in the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act (SOFA). It ensures law enforcement has the tools they need to stop fentanyl’s flow into our country. 

    SOFA served as the template for the Trump administration’s temporary scheduling rule in 2018, and it recognizes the admirable devotion of Wisconsinites Dr. Tim Westlake and Lauri Badura (pictured above). Ms. Badura, who founded Saving Others for Archie, made it her life’s mission to end the fentanyl crisis after tragically losing her son, Archie, to fentanyl poisoning. 

    WATCH: Video message from families (including Baduras) to pass the HALT Act

    WATCH: 2017 video with Lauri telling Archie’s story

    As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, I met with President Trump last week and we discussed my plan to get spending back to pre-pandemic levels – saving a minimum of $700 billion.

    There is so much room for reducing the size of the federal government and balancing the budget is entirely doable. I look forward to working with the White House and getting spending under control.

    Thank you to Kevin O’Leary for highlighting my chart on Fox Business. This is an eminently reasonable approach to returning to a pre-pandemic level of spending. 

    WATCH: Sen. Johnson on Fox Business discusses his White House meeting 

    WATCH: Sen. Johnson on the Jesse Kelly podcast reviews his plan to balance budget

    • LISTEN: I joined the MAHA Alliance podcast for a powerful discussion on the MAHA movement, RFK Jr., and government corruption.
    • I was highly disappointed to hear that the nomination of Dr. David Weldon to lead the CDC has been withdrawn. Although we will never know exactly why his nomination was pulled, I suspect it had something to do with the fact he has had the courage to be skeptical of the consensus “narrative” surrounding the childhood vaccine schedule. Skepticism is the vital attribute of true science, and it is beyond unfortunate that someone with his background and integrity will not be able to help fix what is broken at the CDC. (I discussed this on Off the Record podcast with Emily Jashinsky.)
    • My X post on the news that Steak n’ Shake will soon be using Wisconsin butter instead of a “buttery blend”. 

    I helped introduce a bipartisan, bicameral bill to expand federal funding for bike and pedestrian safety. The bill is named for American diplomat and Wisconsin native Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, who was killed in 2022 while riding her bicycle in Bethesda. 

    The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Safety Transportation Act will expand federal funding opportunities for local governments to improve roadway safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.  

    While honoring Sarah, this bill will protect Wisconsinites by investing in infrastructure to enhance road safety for pedestrians and cyclists. By using taxpayer dollars effectively, it will help prevent further deaths from preventable traffic accidents and ensure Americans feel safe when using our roads.

    Thank you to everyone who participated in my 114th telephone town hall last week. 

    We are now streaming our town halls on X, so you can listen to it here.
     
    Questions asked include:

    11:45    Introduction
    13:45    Protecting personal information from DOGE 
    16:27    Will there be cuts to Social Security and Medicare?
    18:40    Justice System transparency 
    20:20    Wasteful spending examples
    24:00    Is Social Security a legal Ponzi scheme?
    29:00    ICE and deportations
    31:31    Federal worker layoffs 
    35:04    How do we make the spending cuts permanent?
    40:55    Inspector Generals and oversight
    43:30    Support for Veterans and the VA
    46:08    COVID-19 vaccine requirements for citizenship
    48:04    Wisconsin manufacturing and tariffs
    51:35    Controlling crime and fentanyl 
    54:35    Taxing pensions
    56:45    Bipartisanship
    1:00:25 Federal voter ID and proof of citizenship 
    1:02:36 Balancing the budget

     
    To join future telephone town halls live, sign up here. There is also a link on that page to submit written questions during the live town halls.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada announces appointment to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority Board of Directors

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Biography

    Marie Campagna – Chair, Board of Directors

    Marie Campagna has been a member of the WDBA Board of Directors since 2017 and has most recently served in the role of interim Chair since May 2024.

    Since retiring from her role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, Ms. Campagna was appointed as an Executive in Residence at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business. She is a facilitator in the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario’s CFO of the Future program.

    Ms. Campagna holds several governance positions that include Board Chair of Essex Energy Corporation, Member of the LaSalle Police Board, Member of Assumption University, Member of Invest Windsor Essex, Past Chair of Transform Shared Services Organization, and a past Board Member of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. She also previously held many board and committee positions with Essex Power Corporation, CMA Ontario, and CMA Canada.

    Ms. Campagna holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, a CPA designation, and is a Fellow and life member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBA from the University of Windsor.  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lone Star Fugitive Task Force Apprehend Fugitive who Fled to Mexico After 2019 San Antonio Homicide

    Source: US Marshals Service

    San Antonio, TX – The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS)-led Lone Star Fugitive Task Force (LSFTF) in San Antonio, with the assistance of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force (GCVOTF) in Laredo, has apprehended a San Antonio man wanted in connection with the 2019 murder of an elderly man. 

    Joe Michael Rubio, 24, was apprehended March 14 with the assistance of Mexican authorities from La Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC) in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His capture resulted from a multiagency effort that developed numerous leads.

    Rubio was detained, officially deported from Mexico, and placed into the custody of the U.S. Marshals GCVOTF in Laredo where he is currently awaiting extradition back to Bexar County. 

    On July 26, 2019, 77-year-old Jose Rodriguez was fatally shot outside a gas station on Fair Avenue in San Antonio’s South Side. After purchasing lottery tickets, he was confronted by two suspects in what police believe was an attempted robbery. During the altercation, Rodriguez sustained three gunshot wounds, including one to the face, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Rubio was subsequently charged with aggravated robbery and homicide. Members of the LSFTF followed multiple leads and gathered information suggesting that Rubio fled to Mexico upon learning of his active arrest warrant.

    In 2023, the LSFTF officially elevated the case involving Rubio to USMS Major Case status.

    “Through strong international partnerships, the U.S. Marshals Service collaborates with law enforcement agencies in Mexico and beyond to facilitate the apprehension of fugitives and uphold justice,” said Susan Pamerleau, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas. “These cooperative efforts play a vital role in enhancing public safety and ensuring that fugitives are held accountable.”

    The LSFTF thanks the Mexican authorities from La Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana for their critical assistance.

    The USMS Major Case Fugitive Program prioritizes the investigation and apprehension of high-profile offenders considered to be some of the country’s most dangerous individuals. These offenders tend to be career criminals with histories of violence or who pose a significant threat to public safety.

    Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force – San Antonio:

    Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO)
    Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS)
    Texas Attorney General’s Office (TXAGO)
    Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
    New Braunfels Police Department (NBPD)
    Texas Board of Criminal Justice OIG (TBCJ)
    Bexar County District Attorney’s Office (BCDA)
    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) U.S. Marshal Service (USMS)

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Art Advisor Lisa Schiff Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For Defrauding Clients

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that LISA SCHIFF, a Manhattan-based art advisor focused on contemporary art, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken for perpetrating a multi-year scheme in which she defrauded the clients of her art advisory business of approximately $6.5 million in connection with the purchase and sale of approximately fifty-five artworks. 

    Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For five years, Lisa Schiff breached the trust of her art advisory clients by diverting millions of dollars to pay her own business and personal expenses, and to fund a lavish lifestyle. Because of Schiff’s lies, and her illusory art advisory scam, Schiff will now serve a substantial sentence in prison.”   

    According to the Information, plea agreement, and statements made in court:

    From 2018 through May 2023, SCHIFF engaged in a scheme to defraud clients of her art advisory business, Schiff Fine Art (“SFA”) by diverting her clients’ funds—profits from the sale of her clients’ artworks or payments they made to purchase artwork—to pay her own personal and business expenses. SCHIFF advised clients regarding the purchase and sale of artworks and bought and sold artworks on behalf of clients in exchange for a commission. In her role as an art advisor, SCHIFF acted as an intermediary between art galleries and auction houses, and her clients, who were art collectors. Typically, when SCHIFF’s clients bought or sold artworks, payments were routed through SCHIFF’s business, SFA. In addition, when SCHIFF sold artworks on behalf of a client, she often had custody or control of the artworks to coordinate the sale. At times, SCHIFF, through SFA, also sold artwork on consignment on behalf of artists and other galleries.   

    Starting in about 2018, SCHIFF began defrauding her clients in two ways: not remitting payments to her clients when she sold their artwork while not disclosing to her clients that their artworks had, in fact, been sold; and not purchasing artworks on behalf of clients despite representing to her clients that she would purchase certain artworks on their behalf using their funds. Instead of using client funds as promised, SCHIFF diverted her clients’ money to pay her business and personal expenses. SCHIFF lied to her clients and galleries in furtherance of her fraud scheme. For example, when defrauding clients in connection with selling their artwork, SCHIFF at times lied to clients, claiming she had not sold the artwork, or the buyer was delayed in making the payment and SCHIFF still had custody of the artwork when, in fact, SCHIFF had sold the artwork, received payment from the buyer, and delivered the artwork to the buyer. When defrauding clients in connection with purchasing artwork on their behalf, SCHIFF lied to galleries from which she was supposed to purchase artwork on behalf clients, blaming delays in payment on clients when, in fact, clients had already paid SCHIFF for the purchase of the artwork and she had diverted the funds for her own use. In 2020, SCHIFF considered admitting to at least two of her victims that she had stolen millions from them, drafting letters of confession to them, but she never sent the letters and instead continued to defraud these two victims and others for three more years. Over approximately five years, SCHIFF defrauded at least 12 clients, one artist, the estate of another artist, and one gallery, collectively, of at least approximately $6.5 million. During her fraud, SCHIFF lived lavishly and incurred substantial debts, which she paid in part using her victims’ diverted funds.

    In about May 2023, SCHIFF could no longer conceal her scheme due to mounting debts. SCHIFF confessed to several clients that she had stolen their money.

    *                *                *

    SCHIFF, 54, of New York, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release. SCHIFF was further ordered to pay forfeiture of $6,408,538.20 and restitution of $9,147,789.26.

    Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team.

    This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cecilia Vogel and Jennifer Ong are in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Longtime Rollin’ 60s Crips Leader and Show Business Entrepreneur Charged in Federal Complaint Alleging Racketeering Crimes

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – A longtime leader of the South Los Angeles-based Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips street gang – who also is an entertainment entrepreneur and a self-proclaimed community activist – has been charged in a federal complaint alleging he ran a criminal enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud, and the 2021 murder of an aspiring rap musician, the Justice Department announced today.

    Eugene Henley Jr., 58, a.k.a. “Big U,” of the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles, is charged in the complaint with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

    Two other alleged members of the criminal enterprise – Sylvester Robinson, 59, a.k.a. “Vey,” of Northridge, and Mark Martin, 50, a.k.a. “Bear Claw,” of the Beverlywood area of Los Angeles – were arrested today on the same criminal complaint in which Henley is charged. 

    Robinson, and Martin are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Henley is considered a fugitive.

    “The allegations in the complaint unsealed today reveal a criminal enterprise that engaged in murder, extortion, human trafficking, and fraud – all led by a supposed anti-gang activist and purported music entrepreneur who was nothing more than a violent street criminal,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “Eliminating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice’s top priority. Today’s charges and arrests target the leadership of this criminal outfit and will make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles safer. I am grateful for the work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners.”

    “The lead defendant and others in this case have for too long gotten away with violent acts and stealing money from taxpayers and well-intentioned donors whether they use intimidation tactics or wield influence as rehabilitated original gangsters,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our partners have worked for four years to bring justice in this case and will continue to rule out this kind of criminal behavior plaguing the streets of Los Angeles.”

    In total, law enforcement in the last 24 hours arrested 10 Rollin’ 60s members and associates who are charged with various federal crimes, including drug trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and firearms offenses. Four defendants already were in custody. Law enforcement is seeking the whereabouts of five other defendants – three of whom are expected to be in custody shortly. Two defendants, including Henley, are considered fugitives.

    According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint filed Monday and unsealed today, from 2010 to the present, Henley’s criminal group – identified in court documents as the “Big U Enterprise” – operated as a mafia-like organization that utilized Henley’s stature and long-standing association with the Rollin’ 60s and other street gangs to intimidate businesses and individuals in Los Angeles. Henley is widely regarded as a leader within the Rollin’ 60s and rose to prominence in the street gang during the 1980s.

    While the Big U Enterprise at times partnered with the Rollin’s 60s and other criminal elements for mutual benefit, the Big U Enterprise is a distinct and independent criminal enterprise engaged in criminal activity including murder, extortion, robbery, trafficking and exploiting sex workers, fraud, and illegal gambling.

    For example, in January 2021, Henley murdered a victim – identified in the affidavit as “R.W.” – an aspiring musician signed to Uneek Music, Henley and Martin’s music label. Shortly before R.W.’s murder, Henley and Uneek Music paid for R.W. to travel to Las Vegas to record music at a Grammy Award-winning music producer’s studio.

    But R.W. did not record at the agreed-upon rate and instead recorded a defamatory song about Henley, causing Henley and Robinson to travel to Las Vegas to confront him. Henley allegedly drove R.W. to North Las Vegas, shot him in the head, and dragged the victim’s body off Interstate 15 into the desert and left it in a ditch. Henley returned to Los Angeles with Robinson and ordered studio workers to leave while his associate removed security surveillance footage from the studio. Henley allegedly later ordered witnesses to not speak with law enforcement about R.W.’s murder.  

    Not only did the enterprise expand its power through violence, fear, and intimidation, but it also used social media platforms, documentaries, podcasts, interviews, and Henley’s reputation and status as an “O.G.” (original gangster) to create fame for – and stoke fear of – the Big U Enterprise, its members, and its associates. 

    In furtherance of the enterprise, Henley allegedly submitted a fraudulent application for a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan in which he claimed that Uneek Music was operating at a $200,000 profit in 2019 despite operating at a $5,000 loss that year, which should have disqualified it from loan eligibility. 

    The enterprise also enriched itself by defrauding donors to nonprofit entities under the control of the Big U Enterprise, including Henley’s charity, Developing Options, a Hyde Park-based nonprofit. Henley marketed Developing Options as giving South Los Angeles youth alternative choices to gang violence, drugs, and other criminal activity. But the Big U Enterprise allegedly used it as a front for fraudulent purposes and to insulate its members from suspicion by law enforcement. 

    Henley allegedly embezzled large donations that celebrities and award-winning companies made to Developing Options, which Henley immediately converted to his personal bank account. According to the complaint, Developing Options is primarily funded through the City of Los Angeles’s Mayor’s Office through the Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) Foundation, portions of which receive federal funding, but also receives donations from prominent sources, including NBA players. 

    “The RICO charges against Mr. Henley and his associates reflect a pattern of crimes that runs the gambit from extortion to tax evasion, all under the umbrella of a well-organized criminal organization led by Mr. Henley,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “Additionally, Mr. Henley allegedly duped the County of Los Angeles by running a charitable organization that promoted anti-gang solutions while continuing criminal activity that was directly contrary to his charity. IRS-CI is proud to partner with fellow law enforcement organizations to investigate these criminal organizations to protect our communities from further harm.”

    “From day one, the Los Angeles Police Department has been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the FBI in this critical investigation,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. “The invaluable expertise provided by the Operations South Bureau FBI Task Force on the Rollin’ 60’s criminal street gang has played a pivotal role in securing these charges. This is a major step forward in our ongoing fight against gang violence, and it brings hope and relief to a community that has endured far too much. Together, we will continue to protect and serve, working tirelessly to ensure the safety of our neighborhoods.”

    Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, Henley would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison. If convicted, Robinson, and Martin would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 

    The FBI’s Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs; IRS Criminal Investigation; the United States Department of Justice Office of Inspector General; the Los Angeles Police Department; and the North Las Vegas Police Department are investigating this matter.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: European defence spending: three technical reasons for political cooperation

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Francesco Grillo, Academic Fellow, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University

    How much would it really cost the European Union to defend itself against aggression? In the immediate term, that question, of course makes us think of Russia, but we can no longer exclude multiple other possibilities, including the potential need to defend territory – say, Greenland – from a former ally.

    How much would it cost to defend Europe if we added in the need to defend the UK, Norway, Turkey or even Canada – and any other Nato country willing to pool resources to fill the void left by US disengagement? Is there an intelligent way to avoid painful trade-offs between this and, say, spending on healthcare or education?

    It looks like EU institutions are finally “doing something” (as former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi recently asked them to do). They may even break the taboo of raising common debt in order to increase spending on joint defence procurements.

    Yet, it also seems they are about to launch a plan that could change the very nature of the European Union without even tackling the question of its financial feasibility. The answer to how joint defence can be paid for certainly doesn’t come from the plan that the European Commission has unveiled on “rearming Europe”. At the very last line of that statement, a figure of €800 billion is posited, but it is not clear how the sum was calculated and quite a few critical qualifications are missing.

    The debate over how much it costs to prevent a war (which is a very different notion from fighting one), has been dominated by what I would call “the fallacy of the percentage of GDP”.

    In 2014 (at the time of Russia’s annexation of Crimea), the leaders of Nato countries agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence (specifying that retirement benefits to veterans should be included). Yet by 2022, the overall ratio for Nato defence spending had, in fact, shrunk from 2.58% of GDP to 2.51% (thanks to the sharp reduction in the percentage of GDP contributed by the US). And, according to the European Defence Agency, the EU is spending around €279 billion, which is 1.6% of its GDP. Most likely, the €800 billion figure that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was citing in her communique is simply an estimate of how much it would yield to increase that spending up to 2% of GDP for each of the next ten years.

    Politicians sometimes need to make back-of-the-envelope calculations, but I would argue that here it points to a much broader problem. Europe hasn’t yet bothered to try to develop a strategy for how this additional money would be spent. A proper strategy should, in fact, start from three key technical considerations. To which I would add a no-less important political one.

    1. Spending smart is better than spending big

    Technologies (including AI) are radically changing the equation. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza demonstrate that cheap drones are now the key to modern warfare – not super expensive F35 strike fighters. Why spend billions designing, building and maintaining 2,500 F35s when a drone the size of a mobile phone can cross enemy lines unnoticed?

    In a world in which data is a weapon, and a large-scale attack can be mounted by taking remote control of pagers, what generals call “supremacy” doesn’t necessarily belong to the biggest spender.

    Israel’s military budget is one-third that of Saudi Arabia, yet it dominates the Middle East because its perpetual state of conflict forces innovation. Russia spends less than half of the 27 EU member states, but it has much more experience in hacking other countries’ infrastructures. The EU spends as much as China, but China invests more than twice in research and development and is the world’s largest exporter of drones as a result.

    2. Spending together is better value

    The European parliament estimates that merging the 27 member states’ defence budgets would free up €56 billion (which is a third of what the defence bonds proposed by the Commission would raise).

    Yet the trend is to spend more alone than together. According to the European Defence Agency, the bloc has more than doubled its expenditure on new digital technologies; yet the percentage of that going into joint projects between member states fell from 11% before Ukraine’s invasion to 6.5% in 2023.

    Joint tech spending in Europe.
    Vision, CC BY-ND

    3. Homegrown suddenly looks safer

    Any common defence would also have to rely on “buying European” as much as possible. The F35 fighter jet is another good example here. Denmark agreed to buy 27 of them (to the tune of around €3 billion) with an idea to station four of them in Greenland. The problem is that, according to the former president of the Munich security conference Wolfgang Ischinger, they cannot even take off if remotely disabled by the US. Again, Europe is not walking the walk. The share of equipment that European nations import from the US has massively increased in the last five years.

    A new era for the union

    Defence is probably the most important issue when talking about the Europe of the future. It provides a concrete opportunity to fill a technological gap out of the necessity to do so. Spending on defence in the interests of self-protection may have longer-term benefits beyond the military arena. It has been often the case that military research leads to major breakthroughs that can applied in public services. Who knows. Military innovations with drone or AI technology on today’s battlefields could lead to beneficial uses in peace time.

    The historic opportunity to transform the way we protect ourselves may even force a radical rethinking of not just the EU treaties but of the nature of the EU. The idea of the “coalition of the willing” may, indeed, push Europe towards an alliance which does not include some of its members (such as Hungary) but does include non-members like the UK, Norway and even Turkey. New arrangements will need to be pragmatically flexible.

    Europeans need much more strategy, whereas we now largely have rhetorical announcements with little substance. And we need much more democracy. After all, defence is one of the defining dimensions of the state. Having a common defence policy in Europe could make people feel more like European citizens. But that cannot happen without engaging citizens in an intelligent debate.

    Francesco Grillo is affiliated with the think tank Vision.

    – ref. European defence spending: three technical reasons for political cooperation – https://theconversation.com/european-defence-spending-three-technical-reasons-for-political-cooperation-252410

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Update following fatal collision in Aldwych

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Police are continuing to investigate a fatal collision in Aldwych on Tuesday, 18 March.

    Emergency services were called to a location close to The Strand, near King’s College London’s campus at 11:41hrs following a collision involving a van and pedestrians.

    Sadly, a woman in her 20s was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family have been made aware and continue to be supported by specialist officers.

    A 27-year-old woman was taken to hospital where she remains in a serious condition. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. A 23-year-old man was taken to hospital and has since been discharged.

    Police arrested the driver of the van, a 26-year-old man at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving. He was further arrested whilst in custody on suspicion of drug driving offences. He has since been bailed with conditions while enquiries continue.

    Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, in charge of policing for the area said:

    “This was a tragic incident which has deeply affected the community.

    “I commend the actions of the emergency services and members of the public, who provided aid to those involved who tried to save this young woman’s life and help the others who were injured.

    “This area of London is extremely busy and those who have been in the area over the last 24 hours would have noticed an increased police presence as our enquiries continue.

    “Cordons have since been lifted, however we continue to work with those in the area, including King’s College London.

    “We are aware of inaccurate speculation online about this incident being terrorism related. We ask the public to refrain from this speculation to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and avoid causing further suffering to the family of the young woman.

    “Our thoughts remain with the family of the young woman who has died.”

    Chief Superintendent Thomas Naughton of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command said:

    “Our team is continuing to establish the facts around this extremely upsetting incident.

    “The investigation remains in the early stages and officers continue to gather CCTV and obtain witness statements from those at the scene.

    “The 26-year-old man who was arrested has since been bailed whilst our enquiries continue. This is a complex investigation which remains a priority to ensure justice for those affected.”

    Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref CAD 2771/18MARCH.

    To remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two women charged after October 2023 protest

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Two women have been charged with intending or likely to stir up racial hatred contrary to Sec 18(1) of the Public Order Act following an incident during a protest March in central London.

    Hadjer Boumazouna 27 (27.08.1997) and Fatiha Boumazouna 53 (15.07.1971), both of Croydon, are both due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 21 March. They were both charged via postal charge requisition in February.

    The charges relate to an incident near Trafalgar Square during a march organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign on Saturday, 28 October 2023.

    The two women attended a police station and were arrested on 29 October 2023 after an appeal was issued on the Met’s X account

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Raleigh Armed Narcotics Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RALEIGH, N.C. – Darius Donte Privette, a/k/a “Heavy,” a 31-year-old resident of Zebulon, N.C. was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine hydrochloride, and methamphetamine while armed in the Raleigh, Louisburg, and Zebulon areas.  Privette pled guilty on November 12, 2024.

    According to the court documents and other information presented in court, the investigation began on January 19, 2023, when officers with the Raleigh Police Department (RPD), stopped Privette on an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  While conducting a search incident to his arrest, law enforcement located and seized a large sum of money and a key to his car. 

    A search of Privette’s car resulted in the seizure of the following items: 13 round blue tablets labeled as Percocet but containing fentanyl and ANPP, a fentanyl precursor, with a total weight of 1.43 grams of fentanyl; 22 MDMA pills with a total weight of 8.55 grams; 5.88 grams of crack cocaine; 9.94 grams of cocaine; 48.2 grams of marijuana; a 9mm firearm; various ammunition; various drug paraphernalia including digital scales and rolling papers; and a total of $1,886.00 in U.S. currency.

    In an unrelated investigation, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Louisburg, North Carolina conducted three controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Privette in October and November 2023.  During each buy, Privette sold a confidential informant approximately one gram of crack in exchange for $100.  

    Law enforcement then executed a search warrant on Privette’s home on November 9, 2023.  In the upstairs bedroom, officers seized a large amount of marijuana, U.S. currency, and a firearm.  On the back porch, law enforcement found a drum-style large-capacity magazine inside a children’s backpack. In total, law enforcement recovered 3 firearms, 1 large-capacity magazine; approximately 348.8 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, 898.11 grams of marijuana, a drug ledger, and a total of $5,020.00.  

    The investigation further revealed that Privette had been previously convicted of Possessing Marijuana, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Fleeing Law Enforcement with a Motor Vehicle, and Possession with Intent to Sell Cocaine.

    Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Raleigh Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:24-CR-00199-D-001.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dublin man pleads guilty to 3 armed bank robberies

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A central Ohio man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal crimes related to three separate armed bank robberies. 

    Hussein A. Mohamed, 27, of Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of committing bank robbery, three counts of conspiring to commit bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

    Mohamed admitted to committing three armed bank robberies in Columbus within a week in April 2024.

    According to court documents, on April 11, 2024, Mohamed robbed the Telhio Credit Union on North Hamilton Road. He wore a dark Patagonia sweatshirt, light ripped jeans, white covid mask and black winter hat. Mohamed showed the bank teller a note on his cell phone that demanded cash and indicated he had a gun.

    On April 16, 2024, Mohamed committed two separate armed robberies.

    First, at approximately 4pm, he robbed a Fifth Third Bank on Bethel Road. He wore a red sweatshirt, light jeans, blue covid mask and black New Balance shoes. Again, he showed the teller a note on his phone demanding money and indicating he had a gun.

    About 45 minutes later, he committed another bank robbery, this time at Huntington Bank on North High Street. Mohamed had changed clothes between the robberies.

    At this final robbery, Mohamed showed his phone to one bank teller, who provided him with cash. He then told another teller to empty her drawer. When that victim told Mohamed she did not have any money in her drawer, Mohamed pulled a black firearm from the waist area of his pants, racked the slide on the handgun, and forced the tellers into the vault room while making threats.

    For reach of the three robberies, Mohamed conspired with another individual who was present in the vehicle used to travel to and from the robberies.

    Law enforcement officials recovered the clothing that Mohamed wore at each robbery, a loaded handgun, Mohamed’s wallet and identification at an apartment on Merriwick Crossing Drive in Columbus.

    He was arrested in May 2024.

    Bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Conspiring to commit bank robbery carries a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory seven years and up to life in prison, to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

    Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Damoun Delaviz and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE supports Armenia’s efforts to combat cybercrime

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE supports Armenia’s efforts to combat cybercrime

    Participants at a study visit on the development of a cybercrime database for a delegation of Armenian practitioners, Paris, 20 March 2025. (OSCE) Photo details

    The OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), in co-operation with the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, organized a study visit on the development of a cybercrime database for a delegation of Armenian practitioners from 18 to 20 March 2025 in Paris, France.
    The study visit was a crucial step towards Armenia’s goal of developing a robust cybercrime database in line with international good practices and interagency co-operation.
    The event brought together key Armenian institutions involved in cybercrime prevention and investigation, including representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Investigative Committee, Prosecutor General’s Office, National Police, Ministry of High-Tech Industry and other relevant agencies. Participants engaged in discussions with their French counterparts on international good practices, technical and legal frameworks for cybercrime databases, and strategies to strengthen cyber resilience.
    During the visit, the Armenian delegation met with officials from the French Ministry of Justice, the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), and the Cyberspace Command (COMCYBER) of the Ministry of the Interior. They also visited the Cyber Campus in the La Défense district, where they explored data-driven approaches to cybercrime investigations, co-operation between law enforcement and private sector stakeholders, and innovative approaches to combating digital threats.
    “The cyber domain has become a field of conflict, whether through information manipulation or its exploitation by criminal networks. It is crucial to combat these threats by developing capacities and strengthening international co-operation,” said Pascale Vincent, Head of the Arms Control and OSCE Department at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
    Alexandra Davin, Magistrate and Head of the Cybercrime Task Force at the Specialized Criminal Justice Division, highlighted the economic impact of cybercrime, particularly ransomware attacks. “Ransomware is projected to cost a total of $265 billion per year by 2031, a staggering increase from the estimated $5 billion in 2017 and $325 million in 2015,” she said.
    This initiative is part of the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Capacity Building on Combating and Preventing Cybercrime in Armenia” and is funded by France.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department Announces Actions to Combat Cost-of-Living Crisis, Including Rescinding 11 Pieces of Guidance

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    The Justice Department today announced that it is taking action in response to President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis.” First, the Department is withdrawing 11 pieces of guidance to streamline Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance resources for American businesses. Next, the Department is raising awareness about tax incentives for businesses related to their compliance with the ADA.

    The Jan. 20 Presidential Memorandum described the regulatory demands put in place by the prior administration and called on the heads of all executive departments and agencies to take appropriate actions to lower the cost of living throughout the country. Today’s withdrawal of 11 pieces of unnecessary and outdated guidance will aid businesses in complying with the ADA by eliminating unnecessary review and focusing only on current ADA guidance. Avoiding confusion and reducing the time spent understanding compliance may allow businesses to deliver price relief to consumers.

    In addition, to further the goals of the Presidential Memorandum and to aid businesses during tax season, the Department is highlighting tax incentives available for businesses to help cover the costs of making access improvements for customers or employees with disabilities. The Department expects that small businesses will find this reminder helpful in reducing costs, especially as they prepare their tax filings. An explanation of these tax incentives is featured prominently on the ADA.gov website.

    “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that businesses and members of the public can easily understand their rights and obligations, including the tax incentives that are available to help businesses comply with the ADA,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Putting money back into the pockets of business owners helps everyone by allowing those businesses to pass on cost savings to consumers and bolster the economy.”

    The Department has identified the following 11 pieces of guidance for withdrawal:

    1. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a business stop me from bringing in my service animal because of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
    2. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the Department of Justice issue exemptions from mask requirements? (2021)
    3. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Are there resources available that help explain my rights as an employee with a disability during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
    4. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a hospital or medical facility exclude all “visitors” even where, due to a patient’s disability, the patient needs help from a family member, companion, or aide in order to equally access care? (2021)
    5. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the ADA apply to outdoor restaurants (sometimes called “streateries”) or other outdoor retail spaces that have popped up since COVID-19? (2021)
    6. Expanding Your Market: Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments (2009)
    7. Expanding Your Market: Gathering Input from Customers with Disabilities (2007)
    8. Expanding Your Market: Accessible Customer Service Practices for Hotel and Lodging Guests with Disabilities (2006)
    9. Reaching out to Customers with Disabilities (2005)
    10. Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations (1999)
    11. Five Steps to Make New Lodging Facilities Comply with the ADA (1999)

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 20, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Violence triggers record displacements in Haiti’s capital

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    19 March 2025 Peace and Security

    In just one month, intensifying violence has forced over 60,000 people to flee their homes in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, marking another grim record in the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis.

    Gang violence, displacement and instability have long gripped Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country, but attacks over the past two months have shattered even the few remaining gang-free areas, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable.

    The Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed, and many neighbourhoods – once seen as relatively safe – are now under siege.

    Areas including Delmas, Carrefour-Feuilles, Martissant, Fort National, Pétion-Ville and Tabarre have been heavily impacted, forcing thousands of residents to flee in search of safety.

    The majority have sought refuge in 48 displacement sites, including 12 newly established ones, while others rely on overstretched host families for shelter.

    Forced to flee again

    “This alarming surge in displacements underscores the relentless cycle of violence devastating Haiti’s capital,” said Grégoire Goodstein, the UN migration agency’s (IOM) chief in Haiti.

    “We have never observed such a large number of people moving in this short time. Families are being uprooted time and time again, forced to leave everything behind as they flee for safety. Many of those displaced were already living in precarious conditions after previous displacements,” he explained.

    The crisis has reached unprecedented levels, with over one million people now forcibly displaced – three times the number recorded just a year ago.

    Yet, as suffering reaches new extremes, Haiti’s crisis continues to struggle for the world’s attention, and humanitarian efforts remain severely underfunded.

    Reaching a breaking point

    Humanitarian agencies warn that the situation is reaching a breaking point.

    “People fleeing violence need immediate protection, food, water and shelter. The situation is worsening by the day, and without additional support, we risk seeing an even greater humanitarian catastrophe unfold,” emphasised Mr. Goodstein.

    IOM continues its work in providing lifesaving assistance to displaced communities in Haiti.

    In the past month alone, over 16,000 people were reached with clean water and hygiene support, while 3,700 people benefited from emergency shelter, hygiene kits, medical care and psychosocial support.

    Despite these efforts, the growing number of displaced persons has stretched available resources to the limit.

    Call to action

    Beyond immediate aid, security in Haiti remains a pressing concern.

    Without greater international support, including enhanced resources for the Haitian National Police, restoring stability and protecting vulnerable communities will remain a challenge, IOM explained.

    From emergency relief to long-term recovery, the agency remains committed to providing relief and support for displaced Haitians, ensuring they receive the aid they need to survive and rebuild.

    However, without urgent international intervention, Haiti risks descending further into crisis.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    March 20, 2025
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