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Category: Law

  • MIL-OSI USA: FBI Director Shows Up to Budget Hearing With “No” Timeline for Budget, Walks Back His Criticism of Trump’s Plan for Big Cuts at FBI

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    Asked about FBI budget, Patel tells Senate Appropriations Committee: “I’m not asking you for anything at this time.”
    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and questioning***
    Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee hearing on the FY26 budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, grilled Director Kash Patel on President Trump’s proposed budget for the FBI, the Department of Justice’s sweeping cancellation of grants to local law enforcement, and how the FBI is focusing its resources.
    In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:
    “The FBI does really crucial work to keep our nation safe—whether it’s stopping criminal organizations, or domestic terrorists. It protects our nation’s secrets, prevents cyber attacks, keeps our children safe from harm, and a lot more. So, this is really sober work with extremely high stakes.
    “And I’m concerned that instead of focusing on the incredibly important mandate—to keep Americans safe and to help impartially enforce our laws—under your leadership, Director Patel, the FBI has been weaponized to go after Americans who disagree with the President. FBI resources have been diverted away from combatting terrorism to focusing on immigration requests.
    “All of this—the diverted mission, fewer resources, fewer agents, heightened politicization—is happening now under your watch, and it is, I believe, making Americans less safe.”
    [LACK OF FBI SPEND PLAN AND FULL FY26 BUDGET]
    Senator Murray began her questioning by pressing Director Patel on where the FBI’s statutorily-required spend plan and its full FY26 budget is.
    “As Ranking Member Van Hollen noted earlier, this hearing is being held without the FBI’s fiscal year 2025 spend plan and a full budget request for fiscal year 2026. The spend plan, is required by law, it was due to Congress over a week ago, we have not yet seen it. That is really absurd. The FBI is our nation’s leading law enforcement agency, with a budget of $10.7 billion dollars—and it is critical that we understand how you are spending taxpayer dollars. So, Director Patel, when should we expect the FY25 spend plan for the FBI? Have you seen it, have you reviewed it, when will we get it?”
    “I will get you an answer ma’am. I don’t have a timeline on that,” replied Director Patel.
    Senator Murray noted, “It was due last week, by law.”
    “I understand,” said Director Patel.
    Senator Murray asked for clarification, “And your answer is you just understand, you’re not going to follow the law?”
    Director Patel dodged, stating: “My answer is that I am following the law, and I’m working with my interagency partners to do this and get you the budget that you are required to have.”
    “And you have no timeline?” Senator Murray inquired.
    “No,” stated Director Patel.
    Senator Murray then asked Patel about when the full FY26 FBI budget will arrive, stating: “Well we also need a full budget request—not a single paragraph full of wild talking points that we saw with the ‘skinny’ budget proposal. We’re now having a budget hearing without a budget request. So, Director Patel, where is the FY 2026 budget request for the FBI?”
    “It’s being worked on ma’am,” said Director Patel.
    “Have you reviewed it? Have you approved it?” Senator Murray continued to press.
    Director Patel responded, “Not yet.”
    Senator Murray asked for more details, “When will you get it?”
    “As soon as I can get it from my interagency partners and get it approved,” Director Patel replied.
    “Six months from now?” Senator Murray pressed.
    Director Patel continued to provide no details, stating: “I don’t know ma’am. I’m not going to make up a timeline.”
    Senator Murray pushed back, “Well, how do we as a Congress do our budget and our work without that request and without the spend plan?”
    Director Patel demurred, stating, in part: “I’m doing the best I can.”
    Senator Murray emphasized, “That is insufficient and deeply disturbing. No response?”
    Director Patel stated, “I have given my response.”
    [PATEL WALKS BACK CRITICISM OF TRUMP BUDGET REQUEST]
    Senator Murray then asked Director Patel about his apparent disagreement with President Trump’s budget request for the FBI. On Wednesday, Patel told House appropriators that he disagreed with the more than half a billion dollar proposed cut to the FBI budget that President Trump asked Congress to make in his preliminary request submitted last week. Patel told House lawmakers: “We have not looked at who to cut. We are focusing our energies on how not to have them cut by coming in here and highlighting to you that we can’t do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.” On Wednesday, Patel said the FBI actually requested an increase in the request it submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
    “Well, the FBI is already down 1,900 employees since 2023 as a direct result of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. And under the Trump administration, FBI agents, analysts, linguists, cyber experts, and scientists are being asked to do a lot more in order to keep us safe. Director Patel, we all know that budget cuts will reduce the FBI’s ability to counter threats of terrorism, and it will hinder its ability to keep pace with firearm background checks, and shutter operations that combat violent crime, drugs, gangs, and transnational organized crime,” said Senator Murray. “Now, I understand that you told our House colleagues yesterday that you don’t want to reduce the FBI workforce—meaning that you disagree with what President Trump is proposing?”
    “No, I agree that we can sustain the mission with the proposed budget, and I agree with the budget,” replied Director Patel—walking back his sharp criticism of the funding levels for FBI in President Trump’s proposed budget.
    “That’s different than what you told the House yesterday. What are you communicating to the President and the White House about what you need, and again, we don’t have a budget request from you, so I’m not sure what you are asking us for,” pressed Senator Murray.  
    Director Patel said, “I’m not asking you for anything at this time.”
    Senator Murray asked, “You can operate without a budget?”
    “I never said that,” replied Director Patel.
    Without further details, Senator Murray said, “Well, this is unprecedented. Ok, well, let me just go to another topic, since you are not going to answer that.”
    [CUTS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT]
    Senator Murray then asked Director Patel about how the FBI’s mission is affected by the sweeping cuts in funding the Trump administration has already made for its local law enforcement partners, stating: “The FBI partners with state, local, and Tribal law enforcement organizations. They provide critical intelligence and operational capabilities to combat violent crime, gangs, terrorist threats, and fentanyl trafficking—challenges that our local communities really can’t face alone. I’m going to give you an example. A few years ago, the Southeast Washington Safe Streets FBI task force worked with our Benton County and Franklin County Sheriff’s Offices, multiple Tri-Cities’ police departments, and the state corrections department to carry out one of the largest-ever drug seizures in the region’s history. Now we’ve got an administration already cutting more than $800 million in assistance in 2025 to local law enforcement organizations while proposing a half billion dollar cut for the FBI. Director Patel, can you explain to this Committee how cutting resources for our local law enforcement partner agencies the FBI relies on to help your bureau keep people safe, how do you expect the FBI and local law enforcement to do more without those significant resources they need?”
    “The FBI will continue to do what it does, which is work with embedded state and local law enforcement officers in our joint terrorism task force, the street task force, and our gang task forces. Those are a priority. Those billets have been maintained. Those billets have not been reduced. And with my reorientation, reprogramming—that we’ve notified congress to—you will see an augmentation in the field in every single state in this country,” replied Director Patel, dodging the question in its entirety.
    Senator Murray noted, “Again, we need to see the numbers and we need to see that budget from you.”
    [BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM]
    She continued her questioning by pressing Director Patel on whether he will maintain the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)and support adequate funding for it, stating: “The FBI is really on the front lines of keeping guns out of the hands of very dangerous criminals. The NICS serves a really critical role in enhancing national security and public safety by conducting background checks, you know this. They are supported by the vast majority of American people. And I wanted to ask you this morning: will you commit to continuing to fund and run the FBI background check system?”
    “Yes,” replied Director Patel.
    [POLITICIZATION OF FBI]
    Senator Murray concluded her questions by grilling Director Patel on how the FBI is focusing its resources: “President Trump has turned the Department of Justice into a tool to go after his perceived enemies, and many of the actions we have now seen at the FBI are alarming. The FBI has reassigned and pushed out career FBI agents for political reasons. We’ve seen fear and intimidation promoted throughout the Bureau, including by polygraphing your own staff. We’ve seen the arrest of a sitting judge in Wisconsin. During your confirmation hearing, you committed that there would be no politicization, no retribution at the FBI under your leadership. You have reportedly placed FBI employees responsible for investigation January 6th cases on leave. Is that keeping up your promise of no politicization, no retribution?”
    Director Patel avoided the question, saying, “It is because that is wildly inaccurate. Let me tell you what the FBI has done since I got there…—”
    Senator Murray interjected, “Well, that is not my question.”
    Director Patel again demurred.
    “But you have placed on leave FBI employees responsible for the investigation of January 6, that sounds political to me,” Senator Murray pressed.
    “I have not placed anyone on leave who has not violated their ethical obligation or their oath to the constitution,” Director Patel said.
    Senator Murray asked, “So, if they were investigating January 6, you believe they were violating an ethic obligation?”
    “Nope, I think the common theme here is you putting words in my mouth and I am not going to tolerate it, nor will the men or women of the FBI,” Director Patel said.
    “Well, you did place on leave an analyst responsible for investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Is that politicization, is that retribution?” Senator Murray pushed back.
    Director Patel continued to dodge the question, “No, not if she broke the law or the ethical guidelines. I don’t know which case you are talking about but that’s the standard. We will hold ourselves inordinately accountable and we will not be strayed from our mission because people think we are politicizing the bureau. If you want to talk about someone who is attacked by a weaponized bureau, you are looking at him and now he’s the director of the FBI and he’s cleaning it up.”
    Senator Murray concluded by emphasizing: “Well, I would just say to everyone who is listening, The FBI needs to be focused on its mission to keep the entire country safe, it should not be weaponized for partisan political gain.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray Grills Kristi Noem on Frozen Disaster Relief, Slams Trump’s Lawless, Inhumane Immigration Policy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    ICYMI: In Senate Floor Speech, Senator Murray Calls Out Trump’s Staggeringly Lawless and Inhumane Immigration Policy
    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and questioning***
    Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the FY26 budget for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, blasted the Trump administration’s lawless and inhumane immigration policies and grilled Secretary Kristi Noem on her Department’s sweeping funding freeze, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief and public safety grants, and its plans to weaken FEMA and recent denials of disaster declarations.
    In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:
    “As Senator Murphy mentioned in his opening statement, Secretary Noem, under your leadership, we have seen you ignore our appropriations laws, our constitution, common sense, and even basic humanity.
    “Like a lot of Americans, I really have been horrified by the lawlessness, incompetence, and cruelty we have all witnessed.
    “And for all the talk about going after criminals—you have sidetracked DHS staff who are investigating drug dealers, terrorists, human traffickers.
    “And rather than photo ops, we need more of your focus on providing basic diligence, because your crackdown has roped in American citizens and people who are here legally, with no criminal record.
    “Now, I’m not going to ask you whether that was right or wrong—I know it’s wrong. The world knows it’s wrong.
    “And I think the first thing history is going to say about your leadership is that you were responsible for so many of these travesties, so I’m deeply concerned.
    “You have deported a four-year-old U.S. citizen with cancer, you’ve disappeared people to a notorious prison in El Salvador, and you have spent $100 million in taxpayer dollars to air TV ads thanking President Trump.
    “That is really reckless, it’s unacceptable, and in my opinion, cannot continue. The American people are paying for this with our taxpayer dollars—and with their most basic rights.”
    [DEVASTATING FEMA FUNDING FREEZE]
    Senator Murray began her questioning by detailing how Secretary Noem and the Trump administration have so far frozen or cancelled over $100 billion in FEMA disaster relief and grants approved by Congress, stating: “We are talking about everything from disaster relief to grants that keep people safe. But when my staff has requested information on the status of this unacceptable hold-up, the Department failed to provide any acceptable justification. This illegal freeze—and it is illegal—is taking a real toll on communities who are waiting on the investments that Congress has delivered.” Senator Murray asked Secretary Noem, “Will you commit to immediately unpausing these funds?”
    Secretary Noem dodged, stating: “Well, Senator, thank you for covering a lot of topics there. Let me touch on a few of those right away. What the Trump administration is doing, I know he’s targeting the law for the first time…”
    Senator Murray interjected: “I’m asking you about the funds that are out there.”
    Secretary Noem again completely demurred: “Under the Biden administration, illegal aliens were prioritized over American citizens. Now the scales of justice have been leveled, citizens are treated the same.”
    Senator Murray continued to push, “Madam Chair, I am going to reclaim my time, because I asked you a specific question. Madam Secretary, I know your answer—I heard it previously. I’m asking you a specific question.”
    “The grants that you are referencing have been paused and reevaluated to make sure that they are truly being spent in the way to which they were appropriated,” replied Secretary Noem. “Many of these grants were being diverted—”
    Senator Murray interjected, “Madam Secretary, these funds were passed on a bipartisan basis by members in this Congress.”
    Secretary Noem continued to refuse to answer the question directly, and Senator Murray responded: “Madam Chair, we are talking about $100 billion [in frozen FEMA funding and grants]. It is not credible that all the recipients—it is not credible that $100 billion is used to break the law—that just cannot be true.”
    [OVERSPENDING AT DHS]
    Senator Murray moved on, stating: “On the other hand, I am very concerned that DHS is now dramatically overspending funding that Congress has not provided. If you were a CEO doing that, I don’t think you’d be in your job long. We need accountability, and we need answers. And that includes informative responses to oversight questions sent to the department over the last three months. I am ranking member on this committee. I have worked with every member of this committee. We take our responsibility seriously to fund your department and others. We need to have answers, we need to have accountability, and we need to make sure you’re not overspending money that you were not allocated.”
    Secretary Noem said, “Well, thank you for that question… I’ve worked many, many jobs in my life, but I also have been a CEO.”
    “I’m not questioning your credentials, I’m questioning your spending,” Senator Murray responded.
    Secretary Noem avoided answering the question directly, but conceded that as her Department spends at a rate beyond what Congress has appropriated, she is hopeful Republicans will provide new funding mid-way through the fiscal year through their partisan reconciliation process, stating: “We are prioritizing where our security needs are in this country, and we are hoping that this body will agree that reconciliation is necessary to address the things that have been neglected in this country for too long, that we have the technology upgrades, the manpower upgrades that are necessary. So, the $170 billion request for the Department of Homeland Security is incredibly important to make sure we have the tools that we need.”
    “The fact is that you’ve not been given this funding. Saying that it’s going to come in reconciliation that has not passed is not an acceptable answer,” replied Senator Murray.
    [DISASTER RELIEF]
    Senator Murray turned to discussing FEMA and disaster relief, stating: “A lot of disaster relief has been politicized. You’ve endorsed eliminating FEMA outright. We have seen an upheaval at FEMA that is going to put lives in jeopardy. One in five FEMA employees have been pushed out, taking this administration’s so-called buyout offer. We are losing indispensable staff just weeks away from fire and hurricane season, and over $100 billion in disaster relief and FEMA grants are still being held up. DHS is making it a lot harder to qualify for relief, something people in my home state of Washington are experiencing firsthand. Multiple requests from governors have been rejected in recent weeks, including a request from our state, and we haven’t been given any response about this. And I’m watching this and I’m thinking: has President Trump directed you to prioritize funding for Republican states?”
    “Absolutely not,” said Secretary Noem.
    “Have you directed your staff to prioritize funding to Republican led states over Democratic states?” Senator Murray asked.
    “Absolutely not. Under this administration, there will not be any politicization of support, relief, FEMA assistance, or grants given based on politics. Every single person will be treated the same,” committed Secretary Noem, in part.
    “Madam Secretary, there is a clear trend of Republican led states getting very fast responses and funding. Democrat led states are being forced to wait. We have never treated FEMA as a partisan issue in this country,” concluded Senator Murray.
    Last month, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to slam Trump’s lawless immigration policy, highlighting the absence of any semblance of due process, and demanding full details of the secret agreement with El Salvador and the names and status of all the individuals sent to El Salvador. In April, she also met with farmworkers, advocates, and community members in Washington state to listen to their concerns amid a recent spike in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity—including large-scale raids and the detention of local activists and leaders. Senator Murray has championed comprehensive, humane, and fair immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. During Trump’s first administration, Senator Murray helped lead the charge in pushing back against Trump’s appalling treatment of migrant children and families at the southern border—cosponsoring the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which would require unaccompanied children and vulnerable individuals to be provided with legal assistance during immigration court proceedings, the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act to end family separations at the border, and legislation to prevent the separation of families at sensitive locations such as schools, religious institutions, and hospitals, among many other efforts.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: One Former Federal Bureau of Prisons Official Sentenced for Federal Civil Rights Violation for Failing to Obtain Medical Care for an Inmate Who Died

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    She and a Second Official Also Sentenced for Making False Statements in the Federal Investigation

    Former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lieutenant Shronda Covington, 49, was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison followed by 12 months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for violating the civil rights of an inmate in her custody and control by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in the inmate suffering, bodily injury, and for lying to federal investigators about the offense. The inmate later died of injuries he sustained over the course of a 30-hour period spanning Jan. 9 and 10, 2021.

    Former BOP nurse Tonya Farley, 54, was also sentenced today to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release for lying to federal investigators about the circumstances of the death of the inmate, who was entrusted to her care.

    According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Covington was on duty and working in her official capacity at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia, on Jan. 9, 2021. She willfully failed to ensure that the inmate, a 47-year-old man identified as W.W., was provided with necessary medical care during her shift, even though she knew that W.W. had serious medical needs, and W.W. suffered bodily injury as a result. Covington was also found guilty of making false statements to federal agents about the incident.

    Another BOP official, former lieutenant Michael Anderson, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the inmate’s death and was sentenced to three years in prison.

    “Federal correctional officials who fail to do their jobs at the cost of inmate safety should be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Further, officials who obstruct investigations of their misconduct violate the public’s trust.”

    “Custody includes a responsibility for safety and wellbeing,” said U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Corrections staff must uphold that responsibility for persons in their care – or they will be held accountable for their failure to do so, like the defendants in this case.”

    “This case is a powerful reminder that BOP officials who disregard their responsibility to provide a humane environment for inmates will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Tim Edmiston of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region.

    Evidence presented at trial established that, in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 2021, W.W.’s cellmate reported to facility staff that W.W. was exhibiting unprecedented behavior, including that he was suddenly disoriented, unable to talk, unable to stand or walk without falling, and unable to control his bladder. Over the course of two days, BOP officials knew of but disregarded W.W.’s symptoms.

    Without medical attention to address his medical crisis, W.W. fell into walls and other objects numerous times, causing significant bruising and bleeding to his head and body. Although BOP policy requires staff to provide necessary medical care to inmates, defendant Covington failed to respond to repeated calls for help from the officers she supervised during her shift on the morning of Jan. 9, 2021.

    On the morning of Jan. 10, 2021, W.W. finally fell head-first into a wall and then to the floor in an observation cell, where — despite inmate-observers’ continued calls for help — he lay for an hour and 40 minutes before officers rendered aid. An autopsy concluded that W.W. died of blunt force trauma to his head and that the lack of medical assistance he received during his series of falls and after his last fall contributed to his death.

    Farley was the last medical provider to see W.W. before his death. Despite BOP policies requiring her to confer with a physician about W.W.’s care, and despite Farley’s admission that she should have conferred with a physician and sent W.W. to the hospital, Farley failed to take these steps. She then falsely told federal investigators that she had conferred with a physician, even though she had not done so. Farley also misled investigators about her conversations with another prison official.

    The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to Prison For Federal Civil Rights Crime in Connection with Death of Inmate at West Virginia Jail

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Steven Nicholas Wimmer, 25, of Bluefield, was sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

    With his guilty plea, Wimmer acknowledged that he responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B. Officers, including Wimmer, then escorted Q.B. to an interview room, where officers struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone. Wimmer admitted that officers struck Q.B. in the interview room in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod. Wimmer further admitted that he was a member of the conspiracy who injured Q.B. inside the interview room while Q.B. was restrained, handcuffed, and posed no threat.

    Wimmer and former Southern Regional Jail corrections officer Andrew Fleshman pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2023, to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Fleshman, 22, of Shady Spring, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. On Nov. 29, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted six other defendants in connection with the death of Q.B. In November 2024, former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters each pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B., resulting in his death. Sentencing hearings for Holdren, Snyder, and Walters are scheduled for June 16. On Aug. 8, 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating Q.B.’s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing hearings for Boothe and Toney are scheduled for June 9.

    On January 27, a federal jury convicted defendant Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail, on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up the death of Q.B. Lester is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15.

    Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia made the announcement.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.

    Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-134.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Honduran Men Sentenced to Prison for their Roles in International Human Smuggling Conspiracy

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Note: See superseding indictment here.

    Two Honduran men were sentenced today to three years in prison for their roles in a scheme to illegally smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, for almost a year, Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 29, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 38, both of Utila, Honduras, conspired with at least six others to bring Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States via two vessels, the Masita III and the M/V Pop. The vessels sailed from Utila, Honduras to Louisiana. The aliens and/or their family members paid thousands of dollars to be brought illegally into the United States by boat. Upon arrival, the aliens were picked up by co-conspirators and driven further into the United States. The co-conspirators then placed some of the aliens in jobs at U.S. factories and other businesses knowing that the aliens lacked authorization to enter, remain, or work in the United States. The defendants were part of the vessels’ crew on multiple voyages.

    In February 2022, the defendants attempted to illegally bring 23 Honduran nationals from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65’ sportfishing vessel. During the voyage, the M/V Pop developed engine trouble and lost power. The co-conspirators then chartered a boat to bring fuel to the disabled vessel so that it could complete its journey to the United States. Before the chartered boat reached the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the vessel approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore. Inside the vessel, law enforcement officers also found 24 kilograms of cocaine.

    Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez were convicted after trial of conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

    The lead defendant in the case, Carl Allison, previously pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Three additional co-conspirators, all Honduran nationals, pleaded guilty last year for their roles in the scheme: Darrel Martinez, 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Allison; and Lenord Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and assist aliens to enter the United States unlawfully and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. A fifth man, Honduran national Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, was extradited from Honduras in April and is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Maldonado’s trial is scheduled for June 16. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Maldonado is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.

    The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. The HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office also provided valuable assistance.

    Deputy Chief Rami Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in Honduras provided assistance.

    The sentencings are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, OIA, and OPDAT, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 334 U.S. convictions; more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.

    This case is also supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Tennessee Man Indicted on Arson and Explosive Charges for Setting Fire to Nonprofit Organization

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    A federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee returned an indictment on May 7, charging Regan Darby Prater, 27, with arson for firebombing the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee; and with carrying an explosive device during the commission of the arson. Prater appeared in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill E. McCook and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. He was held pending trial, which has been set for July 15 in United States District Court, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

    According to court documents, on March 29, 2019, Prater used an explosive to firebomb the Highlander Center’s administrative building, resulting in a fire that consumed the entire structure. Court documents also allege that Prater was inspired by the March 15, 2019, mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and left a symbol of the Iron Guard, a World War II-era Romanian Nazi organization, spraypainted in the Highlander Center’s parking lot. The same symbol appeared on the Christchurch gunman’s rifle as he livestreamed his attacks.

    If convicted, Prater faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison on the arson charge, and an additional ten years in prison on the explosive charge.

    Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Knoxville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey T. Arrowood and Anne-Marie Svolto of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Kyle Boynton and Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Vice Chair Ciscomani Questions DHS Secretary Kristi Noem About Morale and Recruitment and the Need to Streamline the Immigration System

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani, who serves as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, questioned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during an oversight hearing about the Department’s budget.  

    Ciscomani questioned Secretary Noem about morale and recruitment numbers within the DHS and the need to facilitate pathways for legal immigration. For full clips and excerpts of the hearing, please see below. Excerpts have been edited for length and clarity. 

    Ciscomani: Do you mind just speaking of the morale of the agents and your efforts on recruiting and retention? I think that goes hand in hand with the technology piece as well.  

    Secretary Noem: The morale of the Department of Homeland Security agencies and departments and the employees that work there is fantastic. We have incredible numbers in recruitment. People who want to be a part of the agency are signing up and submitting applications. I referenced earlier that CBP has over 50%. I believe it’s 54% increase in recruitment ICE as well. Maintaining and excelling at its recruitment efforts and getting officers and people who want to be a part of the team or are coming out of retirement. We have the Coast Guard at 108% increase in its recruitment… And then you look at the Secret Service because of the recruitment efforts that we’ve had in putting those agents back on focusing on hiring expertise, hiring experience instead of DEI programs, the Secret Service recruitment is up almost 200%. The applications we’ve gotten have been fantastic by telling our story and that they can be a part of an agency that protects the most powerful [people] in the world. It truly has been inspirational. So I believe that some of the narrative that the Democrats have used to attack the Department of Homeland Security just simply isn’t true. The people that are wanting to come and work for us are inspirational and they’re true Americans. 

    Ciscomani: As an immigrant myself, I know how complex the immigration system is. I became a citizen in 2006, and then 16 years later, I became a member of Congress. No other country in the world would give you that opportunity. I believe in the American dream and fighting for that American dream that so many people still seek. There’s been much media attention again, on the increase in deportations and removal of aliens, which I remain fully supportive of. That being said, I think we should also be highlighting and incentivizing those who are going through the process legally…and make that process less burdensome in order to disincentivize the use of cartels and bad actors. In my family’s experience, it took us 13 years from the moment we came into the US to the moment we became US citizens. There have to be some improvements around these guidelines. So can you speak on how your budget request will facilitate easier legal pathways for potential immigrants? 

    Secretary Noem: Yeah, absolutely. And you’ve correctly identified it. Part of the problem that we’ve had in this country for many years is that it takes far too long for a person to legally come through our immigration process and to become a U.S. citizen. And that needs to be fixed… We need to make sure that we’re getting more immigration judges. I’ve been having conversations with our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and with the Department of Justice on what we can do to get more judges to the table so that we can process not just backlogged claims, but illegal [sic] applications to come to this country as well, and then more immigration courts. So when you look at not just the Fiscal Year 26 request, but also reconciliation dollars, it is to address the needs that we have to address the invasion, secure the border, to make sure that our ICE officers have enough backup, help, equipment and tools going forward to make sure that we’re addressing what has happened here criminally and illegally, but also addressing within our other agencies what we can do to make sure that we’re processing those legal applications. President Trump is determined to do that, and we have that addressed in the budget request from the different Cabinet secretaries and agencies to make sure we have the resources to start getting after that backlog. 

    Watch Ciscomani’s entire first round of questions here.  
    Watch Ciscomani’s entire second round of questions here.  

    ### 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Pressley Rallies at 24-Hour Vigil to Defend Medicaid, Protect Vulnerable Communities

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    With Republicans threatening massive cuts to Medicaid in their reconciliation bill, Pressley is standing with seniors, folks with disabilities, children, and everyone whose lives depend on it

    “Medicaid is not some line item on a spreadsheet. Medicaid is healthcare. Medicaid is a lifeline. No one should be in the business of taking away health care from people.”

    WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) rallied with caregivers, advocates, and fellow lawmakers at a 24-hour vigil to protect Medicaid from Republicans’ cruel budget cuts that would devastate communities across this country. Congresswoman Pressley made clear that Medicaid isn’t just a line item in the Republican budget, but a lifeline for millions of families who call this country home.

    “Half of the children in America are covered by Medicaid. It allows people with complex chronic conditions to afford the medications they need to stay alive. And 10% of Medicaid enrollees are over the age of 60. It allows our elders and our neighbors with disabilities to receive care in their homes and to stay in their communities. This Republican reconciliation bill guts the programs that hold our communities together – Medicaid, but also SNAP, Head Start, and the VA – programs that give people a fighting chance,” Congresswoman Pressley declared. “Again, the cruelty is the point. Calling Medicaid a lifeline is not exaggeration, it is a fact.”

    With Republicans proposing disastrous cuts to essential, life-saving programs including Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and the VA, Congresswoman Pressley has been speaking out and leveraging every tool to defend vulnerable communities that stand to be harmed by Republican’s reckless budget.

    In the House Financial Services Committee’s markup of Republicans’ reconciliation bill, Rep. Pressley shared the a powerful story of a family from a Republican district at risk from the proposed Medicaid cuts. In the House Oversight Committee’s markup of the bill, she challenged Republicans to oppose devasting cuts to food assistance – only to be met with silence.

    A full transcript of her remarks at today’s Medicaid vigil is available below and video is available here.

    Transcript: Pressley, Lawmakers, Advocates Rally in 24-Hour Vigil to Defend Medicaid, Protect Vulnerable Communities
    U.S. Capitol Building
    May 8, 2025

    They kept thanking me for being here – I said, “Are you kidding me?” This is my family right here – my movement family. There’s no place I’d rather be – and I had to be.

    I wanted to thank you all for being here. I’m so grateful for you justice-seekers, you freedom-fighters – you could’ve chosen to be anywhere else, but you chose to be here.

    Not because of your jobs, your titles – I’m not here because I’m your Congresswoman, I’m here because I’m your sister in struggle and solidarity. I’m here because I’m a human being who gives a damn about other human beings. 

    Because we are one human family – and our destinies are truly tied.

    I am so inspired by all of you. I have long believed that every great movement requires three things: imagination, strategy, and stamina.

    Can you all give yourselves permission to radically dream that every person who needs care, can get it?

    You are employing the strategy of peaceful protest and civil disobedience, which has been proven throughout history to be the way that we resist tyranny, that we resist oppression, that we advance progress.

    And many of you have been here for 24 hours – so you are certainly demonstrating your stamina.

    So imagination – I am just audacious enough to believe that we can protect Medicaid.

    That we can have care, not cuts.

    I’m just audacious enough to dream and to imagine that everyone deserves care.

    We are joined together by a moral purpose and a moral moment: to defend Medicaid and the people we love from a Republican budget that is cruel by design.

    The cruelty is the point.

    A budget that would rip $880 billion from Medicaid – not to save money, but to bankroll tax cuts for Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s billionaire friends. Billionaires who don’t need another dime. People who will never face the agony of choosing between medicine and rent, groceries and insulin.

    Medicaid is not some line item on a spreadsheet.

    Medicaid is health care. Medicaid is a lifeline. No one should be in the business of taking away health care from people.

    This is not about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about right and wrong, good and evil – it is as simple that.

    Denying people healthcare – that’s wrong. That’s evil.

    Republicans are firing food inspectors in the Department of Agriculture. They are dismantling public health agencies like the CDC and NIH. They are bringing back measles.

    All this as a part of the so-called DOGE initiative.

    How frightening that these clueless DOGE bros are determining the future of our country.

    Suddenly, our greatest wealth as a nation is the health of our people.

    I’m all for a government that is more efficient – but this ain’t it.

    There is nothing efficient about making people sicker.

    There is nothing efficient about making people hungrier.

    There is nothing efficient about making people poorer.

    There is nothing efficient about making people more vulnerable. 

    There is nothing efficient about buying more toy rockets for Elon Musk while working parents can’t afford baby formula or blood pressure medication.

    The shame and the sham of it all.

    Cutting Medicaid would hurt folks from every walk of life and at every stage of their life.

    Medicaid covers 2 out of 5 births in this country. Slashing Medicaid will only accelerate the maternal health crisis and widen the racial disparities that already harm Black women in my district – the MA 7th – and across the country.

    Donald Trump is a dictator, y’all. And the reason why Republicans is because they want a citizenry that is ignorant and uninformed.

    They want a citizenry that is indifferent to the suffering of their neighbors.

    They want a citizenry that is inactive.

    The only way to beat a dictator is with defiance.

    And that’s what you’re doing here today.

    So I thank you – I thank you on behalf of the children of this country.

    Half of the children in America are covered by Medicaid. It allows people with complex chronic conditions to afford the medications they need to stay alive.

    And 10% of Medicaid enrollees are over the age of 60. It allows our elders and our neighbors with disabilities to receive care in their homes and to stay in their communities.

    This Republican reconciliation bill guts the programs that hold our communities together – Medicaid, but also SNAP, Head Start, and the VA – programs that give people a fighting chance.

    Again, the cruelty is the point.

    Calling Medicaid a lifeline is not exaggeration, it is a fact.

    Policy is not abstract. It is not neutral. 

    Policy and budgets determine who lives.

    Policy and budgets determine who dies.

    Policy and budgets determine who survives, who thrives.

    This is policy violence.

    This is a fight for dignity. It is a fight for justice. And we will do everything we can to stop this cruel budget from becoming law.

    Again, we are appealing to people of conscience.

    It only takes four Republicans to do the right thing, y’all.

    Four to stand with the people that they serve, instead of being a cult of cowards, complicit in the wholesale harm of our people.

    It just takes four Republicans of conscience to do the right thing, to stand up for the people they serve.

    Four to show a shred of humanity. Four to protect Medicaid.

    Let’s make sure they hear us. Today, tomorrow, and every day until they do.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Parmelee Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon

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

    PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Parmelee, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. The sentencing took place on May 7, 2025.

    Leonard Little Thunder III, a/k/a Yamni Little Thunder, age 19, was sentenced to six years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    Little Thunder was indicted by a grand jury in February 2024. He pleaded guilty on February 5, 2025.

    The conviction stems from an incident that occurred in November 2023 within the boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On November 29, 2023, the victim, an adult male, was outside his residence near Mission, South Dakota, with multiple family members. Little Thunder drove past the residence multiple times before stopping and producing a short barrel shotgun. Little Thunder fired at the victim, causing a wound to the victim’s head. Little Thunder then fled the scene, but he was arrested a short time later at a residence south of Mission. The shotgun was seized as evidence, and Little Thunder will forfeit ownership of the shotgun to the United States.

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

    This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

    This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

    Little Thunder was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison

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

    FORT WAYNE–Yesterday, Jakwan D. Braster, 30 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after his guilty plea to maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

    Braster was sentenced to a total of 100 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

    According to documents in the case, Braster maintained a drug house in Fort Wayne from February through August 2020 for the purpose of distributing and manufacturing controlled substances.  In August 2020, he illegally possessed firearms despite his prior felony conviction for resisting law enforcement, and he possessed those firearms in order to facilitate and protect his drug trafficking at his drug house.   

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fort Wayne Police Department.  Also assisting in this investigation were the Drug Enforcement Administration’s North Central Laboratory, the Indiana State Police Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony W. Geller and Teresa L Ashcraft.

    This case was part of 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.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Men Charged in Southern District of Indiana for Illegally Reentering the United States after Previous Deportation Following Criminal Convictions or Charges

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

    Southern District of Indiana—Last week, three illegal aliens were arrested and charged federally with unlawfully reentering the United States after previously being deported following immigration proceedings. The charges follow an immigration and enforcement removal operation that took place in Evansville and Bloomington, Indiana between April 29 and May 1.

    According to court documents, each of the three men are Mexican nationals who illegally returned to the United States and were found by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Southern District of Indiana. As outlined below, court documents allege that each man had previously been convicted of crimes they committed in the United States, or had charges pending against them, or both.

    • Martin Cortez-Lopez, 36, was arrested on April 29 in Bloomington. Cortez-Lopez had previously been convicted in Florida on charges of resisting an officer with violence, possession of a controlled substance, and disorderly intoxication in a public place causing a disturbance. He currently faces charges in Monroe County, Indiana, following two incidents, one resulting in charges of possession of cocaine and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and the other resulting in charges of possession of cocaine and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.
    • Jaime Ortiz-Guzman, 46, was arrested on May 1 in Bloomington. Ortiz-Guzman had previously been convicted in Indiana on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He currently faces charges in Monroe County, Indiana, for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.
    • Amin Reynosa-Diaz, 28, was arrested on April 29 in Evansville. Reynosa-Diaz had previously been convicted in Indiana of domestic battery. He currently faces charges in Hampton County, Virginia, for driving while intoxicated, and is wanted on multiple warrants for failing to appear in court. He has previously been removed from the United States on at least one occasion.

    If convicted, each man faces up to between two and ten years in prison.

    These charges and arrests are the latest prosecutions of illegal aliens who were found in the Southern District of Indiana after unlawfully re-entering the United States after having been previously deported. Specifically, these prosecutions involve illegal aliens who were previously convicted of crimes they committed in the United States, or who are facing pending charges, or both, for offenses including rape, domestic violence resulting in serious bodily injury, child molestation, burglary, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

    The following investigative agencies collaborated to make this investigation and recent warrant execution possible:

    • Immigration and Customs Enforcement
    • Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • Drug Enforcement Administration
    • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
    • Homeland Security Investigations
    • U.S. Marshals Service

    Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Haney, Meredith Wood, Todd S. Shellenbarger, and Matthew B. Miller, who are prosecuting these cases. 

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

    An indictment or criminal complaint are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Parex Resources Announces Voting Results of Shareholders’ Meeting

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Parex Resources Inc. (“Parex” or the “Company”) (TSX: PXT) is pleased to announce that on May 8, 2025, it held its annual general meeting of shareholders (the “Meeting”) and all matters presented for approval have been fully authorized and approved.

    At the Meeting, shareholders approved the election of nine nominees as directors of Parex to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed. The results of the ballot were as follows:

    Director VOTES IN FAVOR VOTES WITHHELD
    Number Percentage Number Percentage
    Lynn Azar 62,921,412 99.41% 375,419 0.59%
    Sigmund Cornelius 62,947,636 99.45% 349,195 0.55%
    Wayne Foo 62,313,105 98.45% 983,726 1.55%
    Mona Jasinski 63,132,823 99.74% 164,008 0.26%
    Jeff Lawson 63,142,309 99.76% 154,522 0.24%
    G.R. (Bob) MacDougall 62,922,121 99.41% 374,710 0.59%
    Glenn McNamara 61,045,206 96.44% 2,251,625 3.56%
    Imad Mohsen 62,936,760 99.43% 360,071 0.57%
    Carmen Sylvain 61,673,298 97.44% 1,623,533 2.56%
             

    In addition, a non-binding advisory resolution concerning the Company’s approach to executive compensation was approved. The results of the ballot were as follows:

      VOTES FOR
    		  
      Number Percentage  
      60,730,718 95.95%  
           

    Full voting results on all matters considered at the Meeting are available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

    About Parex Resources Inc.

    Parex is one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in Colombia, focusing on sustainable conventional production. The Company’s corporate headquarters are in Calgary, Canada, with an operating office in Bogotá, Colombia. Parex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PXT.

    For more information, please contact:

    Mike Kruchten
    Senior Vice President, Capital Markets & Corporate Planning
    Parex Resources Inc.
    403-517-1733
    investor.relations@parexresources.com

    NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

    PDF available: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c5d624f6-5469-49f4-84c4-e0c701fadfb7

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford, Britt Introduce MOMS Act to Help Build Culture of Life, Support Women, Strengthen Families

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
    WASHINGTON, DC — Ahead of Mother’s Day this Sunday, US Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), and colleagues introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act. This legislation provides critical support to women during challenging phases of motherhood – prenatal, postpartum, and early childhood development – and bolsters access to resources and assistance to help mothers and their children thrive.
    This comes at an important moment. In 2023, the number of US births reached their lowest since 1979, according to provisional CDC data, and the total fertility rate in America hit an all-time low. Last year, fertility and birth rates remained near record lows, reflecting a continued, concerning trend in America.
    “As the dad of two daughters, I believe every woman deserves support as she prepares to welcome a child. The MOMS Act is a commonsense step to make sure moms, babies, and families get connected to the resources they need right in their local community. I’ll keep fighting to protect the unborn and to equip mothers with the support they need every step of the way,” said Lankford, co-chair of the Senate Values Action Team.
    “The Republican Party is the party of life, the party of parents, and the party of families. At the heart of the MOMS Act is building a comprehensive culture of life to give moms, children, and families the support system they need to thrive and live their American Dream. As a mom myself, I don’t have to wonder what other moms are facing – I’m living it. I know firsthand that there is no greater blessing in life than our children and I also understand the types of challenges that women face during their pregnancy journeys and while raising their kids. I’m proud to support women throughout these seasons of motherhood, and the MOMS Act is part of my continued commitment to fight on their behalf,” said Senator Britt.
    Background
    The MOMS Act would establish a website of resources—Pregnancy.gov—for expecting and postpartum moms, as well as those with young children. The purpose of the website is to increase access to adoption agencies, pregnancy resource centers, and other relevant public and private resources available to pregnant women near their zip code and surrounding areas. These resources include health and well-being services, financial assistance, and material and legal support. HHS would also be required to include and maintain a national list of federal funding opportunities available to non-profit and healthcare entities for pregnancy support.
    This legislation would also improve access to pre- and post-natal resources by establishing two grant programs: one program for non-profit entities to support, encourage, and assist women in carrying their pregnancies to term and to careing for their babies after birth, and a second grant program to purchase necessary medical equipment and technology in rural areas and other medically underserved areas to support prenatal and post-natal telehealth appointments.
    The MOMS Act also includes Senator Kevin Cramer’s (R-ND) Unborn Child Support Act, which allows states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy.
    Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Justice (R-WV), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have cosponsored the MOMS Act.
    This legislation is also endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Americans United for Life, March for Life Action, the National Right to Life Committee, Students for Life Action, Concerned Women of America, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the Human Coalition.
    The full text of the bill can be viewed HERE. A section-by-section of the bill can be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Arrest after stolen vehicle located in Elizabeth Vale

    Source: New South Wales – News

    Man arrested in Elizabeth Vale after fleeing in a stolen car.

    About 12.30am this morning Friday 9 May, police observed a stolen car travelling on Henley Beach Road, Mile End.

    The Honda sedan took off from patrols and was last seen in the back streets of Mile End.

    Police sighted the car a short time later travelling on South Road towards the Port River Expressway.

    With the assistance of PolAir and Dog Operations Unit the car was tracked to Main North Road where it was successfully spiked at the intersection of Park Terrace, Salisbury.

    The car was dumped and three people were seen running from the car into nearby backstreets.

    With the continued assistance of PolAir and Dog Operations PD Arlo located a 22-year-old man from Solomon Town nearby on Chaddenwick Road where he was arrested. He has been charged with unlawful possession and his bail has been refused and he will appear in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court later today.

    Police conducted a search of the area and were unable to locate the following two suspects.

    Police conducted vehicle checks on the Honda which showed that it had been stolen from a Brompton home last month.

    Police ask anyone who may have CCTV or dash cam footage which may assist in the investigation to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: NuVista Energy Ltd. Announces Strong First Quarter 2025 Results and Significant Progress on Our Shareholder Return Strategy

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NuVista Energy Ltd. (“NuVista” or the “Company“) (TSX: NVA) is pleased to announce strong financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and to provide an update on our operational performance. Our high-quality asset base continues to deliver strong returns across commodity price cycles, supported by the consistent achievement of new production milestones. We made significant progress on our NCIB to return capital to shareholders and further enhanced our financial strength by successfully amending and renewing our three-year covenant-based credit facility. Having completed a strong first quarter, we are pleased to reaffirm our annual capital and production guidance.  

    Operational and Financial Highlights

    During the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, NuVista:

    • Achieved our highest-ever quarterly average production of 89,516 Boe/d, surpassing our guidance range of 87,000 – 88,000 Boe/d and representing a 12% increase in production compared to the first quarter of 2024. The production composition for the first quarter was 28% condensate(1), 10% NGLs and 62% natural gas;
    • Executed a net capital expenditure(3) program of $153.4 million, resulting in the drilling and completion of 9 and 24 wells, respectively;
    • Generated adjusted funds flow(2) of $191.9 million ($0.94/share, basic(4)), reflecting a 42% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024;
    • Realized free adjusted funds flow(3) of $35.0 million ($0.17/share, basic(4));
    • Delivered a strong operating netback(5) at $28.41/Boe and a corporate netback(5) at $23.84/Boe, reflecting increases of 30% and 28%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2024;
    • Repurchased and cancelled 3.6 million common shares, at an average price of $12.86 per common share, for a total cost of $45.8 million. Since the inception of the Company’s normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) in 2022, we have repurchased and cancelled 40.5 million common shares for an aggregate cost of $487.3 million or $12.04 per share;
    • Strengthened our financial position through the amendment and renewal of our three-year covenant-based credit facility, increasing the facility size to $550 million and extending its maturity by one year to May 8, 2028;
    • Exited the period with $2.7 million of available cash and net debt(2) of $267.6 million, maintaining a favorable net debt to annualized first quarter adjusted funds flow(2) ratio of 0.3x; and
    • Achieved net earnings of $112.2 million ($0.55/share, basic), reflecting a 214% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024;

    Notes:

    (1) Natural gas liquids are defined by National Instrument 51-101 –Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities to include ethane, butane, propane, pentanes plus and condensate. Unless explicitly stated in this press release, references to “NGL” refers only to ethane, butane and propane and references to “condensate” refers to only to condensate and pentanes plus. NuVista has disclosed condensate and pentanes plus values separately from ethane, butane and propane values as NuVista believes it provides a more accurate description of NuVista’s operations and results therefrom.
    (2) Each of “adjusted funds flow”, “net debt” and “net debt to annualized first quarter adjusted funds flow” are capital management measures. Reference should be made to the section entitled “Specified Financial Measures” in this press release.
    (3) Each of “free adjusted funds flow” and “net capital expenditures” are non-GAAP financial measures that do not have any standardized meanings under IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Reference should be made to the section entitled “Specified Financial Measures” in this press release.
    (4) Each of “adjusted funds flow per share” and “free adjusted funds flow per share” are supplementary financial measures. Reference should be made to the section entitled “Specified Financial Measures” in this press release.
    (5) Each of “operating netback” and “corporate netback” are non-GAAP ratios that do not have any standardized meanings under IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Reference should be made to the section entitled “Specified Financial Measures” in this press release.
       

    Operations Update

    Operations during the first three months of 2025 have progressed well. We have reached new corporate production milestones facilitated by the consistent utilization of our two drilling rigs and established completions crew.

    Notable operational achievements in the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, included:

    • Sustaining production above 90,000 Boe/d for the month of March, which exhibits our productive capability prior to our planned expansions coming on-stream later in the second quarter of 2025;
    • Drilling a 4-well Lower and Mid-Montney co-developed pad in Gold Creek, which is slated to come on-stream early in the third quarter of 2025. This pad offsets a 6-well co-developed pad, that in its first year produced an average of 1,250 Boe/d per well (50% condensate), which is 45% above the Gold Creek historical average;
    • Completing and bringing a 5-well pad in Elmworth online early in the second quarter of 2025. Notably, execution performance on this pad continued to set new benchmarks for the area. These improvements have resulted in average drilling and completion costs per well on the pad coming in 17% below the offsetting pad, which was executed in 2024. Production from this pad will be an important datapoint as development moves toward the higher condensate weighted portion of Elmworth;
    • Bringing a 5-well pad in Bilbo online in January, which targeted three benches, including the Lower Montney. The pad has reached its IP60 milestone producing on average 1,580 Boe/d per well, including 46% condensate. Importantly, the Lower Montney exceeded the IP60 average, producing 1,850 Boe/d and over 50% condensate; and
    • Completing a 14-well pad and commencing the drilling of an additional 8-well pad in Pipestone. These wells will underpin our growth into the newly expanded Pipestone infrastructure beginning later in the second quarter.

    Return of Capital to Shareholders and Balance Sheet Strength

    NuVista’s approach to capital allocation remains unchanged, maintaining a clear focus on the compounding benefits of absolute growth and reducing outstanding shares to deliver industry-leading total returns. We intend to allocate a minimum of $100 million in 2025, to the repurchase of the Company’s common shares under our NCIB and will allocate at least 75% of any incremental annual free adjusted funds flow above $100 million towards additional share repurchases.

    Given our strong operational and financial performance year-to-date, and based on our current commodity outlook at US$60/Bbl WTI and US$3.50/MMBtu NYMEX, we expect to generate over $200 million in free adjusted funds flow in 2025, positioning us to materially exceed our minimum threshold for the year.

    We remain focused on our disciplined and value-adding growth strategy, and providing significant shareholder returns. We continue to view share repurchases as the most effective initial method of returning capital to shareholders and will reassess this approach as our growth plan progresses.

    As at March 31, 2025, we maintained a strong financial position with $2.7 million in cash and no amounts drawn on our covenant-based credit facility, resulting in net debt of $267.6 million. This remains well below our net debt soft ceiling of $350 million, reinforcing our ability to keep net debt to adjusted funds flow at or below 1.0x, even in a stress case of US$45/Bbl WTI and US$2.00/MMBtu NYMEX. For the first quarter, our net debt to annualized adjusted funds flow was 0.3x.

    Further strengthening our financial position, on May 8, 2025, we renewed and amended our three-year, covenant-based credit facility, increasing its facility size by $100 million from $450 million to $550 million and extending the maturity by one year to May 8, 2028.

    Board Retirement Update

    After 22 years of leadership at NuVista, Mr. Ronald (Ron) Poelzer has decided to retire from our Board, and as such, will not be standing for re-election at this year’s annual shareholders’ meeting. Ron has been a distinguished leader and steadfast advocate for the oil and gas industry, leaving a lasting legacy through the many individuals he has worked with and mentored. As a co-founder of NuVista, he has played a vital role on our board and has been instrumental in shaping NuVista into the strong industry player we are today. His strategic insight, vision, and leadership have helped guide our growth and position us for long-term success.

    The Board of Directors, management team, and all of us at NuVista extend our deepest gratitude to Ron for his invaluable contributions since the Company’s inception in 2003, and we thank him for his long and impactful service while wishing him and his family continued success and happiness in retirement.

    2025 Guidance Update

    Production thus far in 2025 has continued to perform well, with NuVista exceeding first quarter guidance. As previously communicated, the majority of our 2025 growth will come from the Pipestone area with the start-up of a third-party gas plant (“Pipestone Plant”), which is expected to be online late in the second quarter of 2025. Additionally, our annual guidance reflects the planned 4-year turnaround operations that are scheduled to impact production from our Pipestone South, Gold Creek and Elmworth operations during June and July. As such, our second quarter production guidance is 75,000 – 77,000 Boe/d. Subsequent to the planned turnaround and commissioning of the Pipestone Plant, the infrastructure will be in place to support production of approximately 100,000 Boe/d in the fourth quarter of 2025. We reiterate our annual production guidance of approximately 90,000 Boe/d.

    Further we reaffirm our annual net capital expenditure guidance target of approximately $450 million, which will allow us to continue to prioritize at least a triple-digit return of capital to shareholders through the repurchase of our outstanding common shares. However, given recent volatility we continue to monitor the macro environment with a focus on prioritizing economics and returns, as such, if commodity prices continue to weaken and persist, we have the flexibility to adjust our capital program to maximize shareholder returns and preserve our growth economics for a more robust price environment.

    Please note that our updated corporate presentation will be available at www.nuvistaenergy.com on May 8, 2025. NuVista’s management’s discussion and analysis, condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and notes thereto, will be filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) on May 8, 2024 and can also be obtained at www.nuvistaenergy.com.

    FINANCIAL AND OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS      
      Three months ended March 31  
    ($ thousands, except otherwise stated) 2025   2024   % Change  
    FINANCIAL      
    Petroleum and natural gas revenues 371,405   309,024   20  
    Cash provided by operating activities 232,663   147,893   57  
    Adjusted funds flow (3) 191,886   135,413   42  
    Per share, basic (6) 0.94   0.65   45  
    Per share, diluted (6) 0.94   0.64   47  
    Net earnings 112,152   35,769   214  
    Per share, basic 0.55   0.17   224  
    Per share, diluted 0.55   0.17   224  
    Total assets 3,579,218   3,134,976   14  
    Net capital expenditures (1) 153,411   187,856   (18 )
    Net debt (3) 267,568   261,171   2  
    OPERATING      
    Daily Production      
    Natural gas (MMcf/d) 334.8   292.8   14  
    Condensate (Bbls/d) 25,178   24,220   4  
    NGLs (Bbls/d) 8,542   7,022   22  
    Total (Boe/d) 89,516   80,042   12  
    Condensate & NGLs weighting 38%   39%    
    Condensate weighting 28%   30%    
    Average realized selling prices (5)      
    Natural gas ($/Mcf) 3.91   3.08   27  
    Condensate ($/Bbl) 98.17   95.10   3  
    NGLs ($/Bbl) (4) 40.53   27.23   49  
    Netbacks ($/Boe)      
    Petroleum and natural gas revenues 46.10   42.43   9  
    Realized gain (loss) on financial derivatives 2.18   (0.18 ) (1,311 )
    Other income 0.01   0.05   (80 )
    Royalties (3.89 ) (4.47 ) (13 )
    Transportation expense (4.75 ) (4.47 ) 6  
    Net operating expense (2) (11.24 ) (11.51 ) (2 )
    Operating netback (2) 28.41   21.85   30  
    Corporate netback (2) 23.84   18.58   28  
    SHARE TRADING STATISTICS      
    High ($/share) 14.51   12.11   20  
    Low ($/share) 10.61   9.59   11  
    Close ($/share) 13.60   11.88   14  
    Common shares outstanding (thousands of shares) 200,664   206,332   (3 )

    Notes:

    (1) Non-GAAP financial measure that does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Reference should be made to the section entitled“Specified Financial Measures”.
    (2) Non-GAAP ratio that does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Reference should be made to the section entitled“Specified Financial Measures”.
    (3) Capital management measure. Reference should be made to the section entitled“Specified Financial Measures”.
    (4) Natural gas liquids (“NGLs”) includes butane, propane and ethane revenue and sales volumes, and sulphur revenue.
    (5) Product prices exclude realized gains/losses on financial derivatives.
    (6) Supplementary financial measure. Reference should be made to the section entitled“Specified Financial Measures”.
       

    Advisories Regarding Oil and Gas Information

    BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 Bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

    Any references in this press release to initial production rates are useful in confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however, such rates are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will continue production and decline thereafter. While encouraging, readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating the aggregate production for NuVista.

    This press release contains certain oil and gas metrics, which do not have standardized meanings or standard methods of calculation and therefore such measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies and should not be used to make comparisons. Such metrics have been included herein to provide readers with additional measures to evaluate NuVista’s performance; however, such measures are not reliable indicators of NuVista’s future performance and future performance may not compare to NuVista’s performance in previous periods and therefore such metrics should not be unduly relied upon. Management uses these oil and gas metrics for its own performance measurements and to provide security holders with measures to compare NuVista’s operations over time. Readers are cautioned that the information provided by these metrics, or that can be derived from the metrics presented in this presentation, should not be relied upon for investment or other purposes.

    In this press release reference is made to 2025 price outlook in the forecast of annual free adjusted funds flow. The forecast is based on 2025 price assumptions of: US$60/Bbl WTI, US$3.50/MMBtu NYMEX, C$1.95/GJ AECO and 1.38:1 CAD:USD FX.

    Basis of presentation

    Unless otherwise noted, the financial data presented in this press release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) also known as International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).

    Natural gas liquids are defined by National Instrument 51-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities” to include ethane, butane, propane, pentanes plus and condensate. Unless explicitly stated in this press release, references to “NGL” refers only to ethane, butane and propane and references to “condensate” refers to only to condensate and pentanes plus. NuVista has disclosed condensate and pentanes plus values separately from ethane, butane and propane values as NuVista believes it provides a more accurate description of NuVista’s operations and results therefrom.

    Production split for Boe/d amounts referenced in the press release are as follows:

    Reference Total Boe/d Natural Gas
    %    		 Condensate
    %    		 NGLs
    %
             
    Q1 2025 production – actual 89,516 62 % 28 % 10 %
    Q1 2025 production – guidance 87,000 – 88,000 63 % 28 % 9 %
    Q2 2025 production – guidance 75,000 – 77,000 62 % 29 % 9 %
    2025 annual production guidance ~90,000 61 % 30 % 9 %

    Advisory regarding forward-looking information and statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words “will”, “expects”, “believe”, “plans”, “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward looking statements, including but not limited to:

    • that the amendment and renewal of our three-year covenant-based credit facility will strengthen our financial position;
    • our expectation that a 4-well Lower and Mid-Montney co-development pad in Gold Creek will be brought on-stream in the second quarter;
    • our expectation that an 8-well pad in Pipestone will be brought on-steam late in the third quarter and the anticipated benefits therefrom;
    • our expectations regarding production from the 5-well pad in Elmworth and the anticipated benefits therefrom;
    • our expectation that we will generate $200 million in free adjusted funds flow in 2025;
    • our intention to allocate $100 million to repurchase our common shares in 2025, with at least 75% of any incremental free adjusted funds flow also allocated to the repurchase of our common share pursuant to our NCIB;
    • our expectation that we will have fulfilled the $100 million repurchase commitment to shareholders in the first half of the year;
    • that our soft ceiling net debt will allow our current production levels to be sustainable and maintain an adjusted funds flow ratio below 1.0x in a stress test price environment of US$45/Bbl WTI and US$2.00/MMBtu NYMEX;
    • NuVista’s ability to continue directing free adjusted funds flow towards a prudent balance of return of capital to shareholders and debt reduction, while investing in high return growth projects;
    • the anticipated allocation of free adjusted funds flow;
    • guidance with respect to second quarter 2025 production and production mix;
    • the expected timing of start-up of the Pipestone Plant and the anticipated benefits thereof;
    • our expectations that following the planned turnaround and commissioning of the Pipestone Plant, the infrastructure will be in place to support production of approximately 100,000 Boe/d in the fourth quarter of 2025;
    • our 2025 full year production, full year production mix and net capital expenditures guidance ranges;
    • our plan to continue to maintain an efficient drilling program by employing 2-drill-rig execution;
    • our future focus, strategy, plans, opportunities and operations; and
    • other such similar statements.

    The future acquisition of our common shares pursuant to a share buyback (including through our normal course issuer bid), if any, and the level thereof is uncertain. Any decision to acquire common shares pursuant to a share buyback will be subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and may depend on a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the Company’s business performance, financial condition, financial requirements, growth plans, expected capital requirements and other conditions existing at such future time including, without limitation, contractual restrictions and satisfaction of the solvency tests imposed on the Company under applicable corporate law. There can be no assurance of the number of common shares that the Company will acquire pursuant to a share buyback, if any, in the future.

    By their nature, forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond NuVista’s control, including the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, current and future commodity prices and inflation rates; that (i) the tariffs that are currently in effect on goods exported from or imported into Canada continue in effect for an extended period of time, the tariffs that have been threatened are implemented, that tariffs that are currently suspended are reactivated, the rate or scope of tariffs are increased, or new tariffs are imposed, including on oil and natural gas, (ii) the U.S. and/or Canada imposes any other form of tax, restriction or prohibition on the import or export of products from one country to the other, including on oil and natural gas, and (iii) the tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed by the U.S. on other countries and retaliatory tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed by other countries on the U.S., will trigger a broader global trade war which could have a material adverse effect on the Canadian, U.S. and global economies, and by extension the Canadian oil and natural gas industry and the Company, including by decreasing demand for (and the price of) oil and natural gas, disrupting supply chains, increasing costs, causing volatility in global financial markets, and limiting access to financing; the impact of ongoing global events, including Middle East and European tensions, with respect to commodity prices, currency and interest rates, anticipated production rates, borrowing, operating and other costs and adjusted funds flow; the timing, allocation and amount of net capital expenditures and the results therefrom; anticipated reserves and the imprecision of reserve estimates; the performance of existing wells; the success obtained in drilling new wells; the sufficiency of budgeted net capital expenditures in carrying out planned activities; access to infrastructure and markets; competition from other industry participants; availability of qualified personnel or services and drilling and related equipment; stock market volatility; effects of regulation by governmental agencies including changes in environmental regulations, tax laws and royalties; the ability to access sufficient capital from internal sources and bank and equity markets; that we will be able to execute our 2025 drilling plans as expected; our ability to carry out our 2025 production and capital guidance as expected, and by extension the oil and gas industry; and including, without limitation, those risks considered under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Information Form.

    Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. NuVista’s actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements, or if any of them do so, what benefits NuVista will derive therefrom. NuVista has included the forward-looking statements in this press release in order to provide readers with a more complete perspective on NuVista’s future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. NuVista disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    This press release also contains financial outlook and future oriented financial information (together, “FOFI”) relating to NuVista including, without limitation, net capital expenditures in 2025, production and free adjusted funds flow which are based on, among other things, the various assumptions disclosed in this press release including under “Advisory regarding forward-looking information and statements” and including assumptions regarding benchmark pricing as it relates to the 2025 capital allocation framework. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the FOFI contained in this press release does not include the potential impact of tariff or trade-related regulation that have been announced by the U.S. and Canada, including the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada effective March 4, 2025. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and the impact of the tariffs on NuVista’s business operations and financial condition, while currently unknown, may be material and adverse and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on FOFI. NuVista’s actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these FOFI, or if any of them do so, what benefits NuVista will derive therefrom. NuVista has included the FOFI in order to provide readers with a more complete perspective on NuVista’s future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

    These forward-looking statements and FOFI are made as of the date of this press release and NuVista disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements and FOFI, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities law.

    Specified Financial Measures

    This press release uses various specified financial measures (as such terms are defined in National Instrument 52-112 – Non-GAAP Disclosure and Other Financial Measures Disclosure (“NI 51-112”)) including “non-GAAP financial measures”, “non-GAAP ratios”, “capital management measures” and “supplementary financial measures” (as such terms are defined in NI 51-112), which are described in further detail below. Management believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP measures provides useful information to investors and shareholders as the measures provide increased transparency and the ability to better analyze performance against prior periods on a comparable basis.

    (1)   Non-GAAP financial measures

    NI 52-112 defines a non-GAAP financial measure as a financial measure that: (i) depicts the historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow of an entity; (ii) with respect to its composition, excludes an amount that is included in, or includes an amount that is excluded from, the composition of the most directly comparable financial measure disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity; (iii) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity; and (iv) is not a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation.

    These non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized financial measures under IFRS Accounting Standards and might not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Investors are cautioned that these measures should not be construed as alternatives to or more meaningful than the most directly comparable GAAP measures as indicators of NuVista’s performance. Set forth below are descriptions of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release.

    • Free adjusted funds flow

    Free adjusted funds flow is adjusted funds flow less net capital expenditures, power generation expenditures, and asset retirement expenditures. Each of the components of free adjusted funds flow are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to disclosures under the headings “Capital management measures” and “Net capital expenditures” for a description of each component of free adjusted funds flow. Management uses free adjusted funds flow as a measure of the efficiency and liquidity of its business, measuring its funds available for additional capital allocation to manage debt levels and return capital to shareholders through its NCIB program and/or dividend payments. By removing the impact of current period net capital and asset retirement expenditures, management believes this measure provides an indication of the funds NuVista has available for future capital allocation decisions.

    The following table sets out our free adjusted funds flow compared to the most directly comparable GAAP measure of cash provided by operating activities less cash used in investing activities for the applicable periods:

      Three months ended March 31  
    ($ thousands) 2025   2024  
    Cash provided by operating activities 232,663   147,893  
    Cash used in investing activities (178,028 ) (166,027 )
    Excess cash provided by operating activities over cash used in investing activities 54,635   (18,134 )
         
    Adjusted funds flow 191,886   135,413  
    Net capital expenditures (153,411 ) (187,856 )
    Power generation expenditures —   (1,680 )
    Asset retirement expenditures (3,480 ) (6,450 )
    Free adjusted funds flow 34,995   (60,573 )
    • Net Capital expenditures

    Net capital expenditures are equal to cash used in investing activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital, other asset expenditures, and power generation expenditures. The Company includes funds used for property acquisitions or proceeds from property dispositions within net capital expenditures as these transactions are part of its development plans. NuVista considers net capital expenditures to represent its organic capital program inclusive of capital spending for acquisition and disposition proposes and a useful measure of cash flow used for capital reinvestment. There were no differences between capital expenditures and net capital expenditures for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and March 31, 2024, as NuVista did not complete any property acquisitions or dispositions during these periods.

    The following table provides a reconciliation between the non-GAAP measure of net capital expenditures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure of cash used in investing activities for the applicable periods:

      Three months ended March 31  
    ($ thousands) 2025   2024  
    Cash used in investing activities (178,028 ) (166,027 )
    Changes in non-cash working capital (398 ) (23,509 )
    Other asset expenditures 25,015   —  
    Power generation expenditures —   1,680  
    Net capital expenditures (153,411 ) (187,856 )

    The following table provides a breakdown of net capital expenditures and power generation expenditures by category for the applicable periods:

      Three months ended March 31
    ($ thousands, except % amounts) 2025 % of total 2024 % of total
    Land and retention costs — — 964 —
    Geological and geophysical 363 — 185 —
    Drilling and completion 131,494 86 128,965 69
    Facilities and equipment 19,720 13 56,101 30
    Corporate and other 1,834 1 1,641 1
    Net capital expenditures 153,411   187,856  
    Power generation expenditures —   1,680  

    (2)   Non-GAAP ratios

    NI 52-112 defines a non-GAAP ratio as a financial measure that: (i) is in the form of a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation; (ii) has a non-GAAP financial measure as one or more of its components; and (iii) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity. Set forth below is a description of the non-GAAP ratios used in this MD&A.

    These non-GAAP ratios are not standardized financial measures under IFRS Accounting Standards and might not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Investors are cautioned that these ratios should not be construed as alternatives to or more meaningful than the most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards measures as indicators of NuVista’s performance.

    Per Boe disclosures for petroleum and natural gas revenues, realized gains/losses on financial derivatives, royalties, transportation expense, G&A expense, financing costs, and DD&A expense are non-GAAP ratios that are calculated by dividing each of these respective GAAP measures by NuVista’s total production volumes for the period.

    Non-GAAP ratios presented on a “per Boe” basis may also be considered to be supplementary financial measures (as such term is defined in NI 51-112).

    • Operating netback and corporate netback (“netbacks”), per Boe NuVista calculated netbacks per Boe by dividing the netbacks by total production volumes sold in the period. Each of operating netback and corporate netback are non-GAAP financial measures. Operating netback is calculated as petroleum and natural gas revenues, realized financial derivative gains/losses and other income, less royalties, transportation expense and net operating expense. Corporate netback is operating netback less general and administrative expense, cash share-based compensation expense (recovery), financing costs excluding accretion expense, and current income tax expense (recovery).

      Management believes both operating and corporate netbacks are key industry benchmarks and measures of operating performance for NuVista that assists management and investors in assessing NuVista’s profitability, and are commonly used by other petroleum and natural gas producers. The measurement on a Boe basis assists management and investors with evaluating NuVista’s operating performance on a comparable basis.

    • Net operating expense, per BoeNuVista calculated net operating expense per Boe by dividing net operating expense by NuVista’s production volumes for the period.

      Management believes that net operating expense, calculated as gross operating expense less processing income and other recoveries, which are included in NuVista’s statements of earnings, is a meaningful measure for investors to understand the net impact of the Company’s operating activities. The measurement on a Boe basis assists management and investors with evaluating NuVista’s operating performance on a comparable basis.

    (3)   Capital management measures

    NI 52-112 defines a capital management measure as a financial measure that: (i) is intended to enable an individual to evaluate an entity’s objectives, policies and processes for managing the entity’s capital; (ii) is not a component of a line item disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity; (iii) is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements of the entity; and (iv) is not disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity.

    NuVista has defined net debt, adjusted funds flow, and net debt to annualized fourth quarter adjusted funds flow ratio as capital management measures used by the Company in this press release.

    • Adjusted funds flow

    NuVista considers adjusted funds flow to be a key measure that provides a more comprehensive view of the company’s ability to generate cash flow necessary for financing capital expenditures, meeting asset retirement obligations, and fulfilling its financial commitments. Adjusted funds flow is calculated by adjusting cash flow from operating activities to exclude changes in non-cash working capital and asset retirement expenditures. Management believes these elements are subject to timing variations in collection, payment, and occurrence. By excluding them, management is able to provide a more meaningful performance measure of NuVista’s ongoing operations. Specifically, expenditures on asset retirement obligations may fluctuate depending on the company’s capital programs and the maturity of its operating areas, while environmental remediation recovery is tied to an infrequent incident that management does not expect to recur regularly. The settlement of asset retirement obligations is managed through NuVista’s capital budgeting process, which incorporates the available adjusted funds flow.

    A reconciliation of adjusted funds flow is presented in the following table:

      Three months ended March 31
        2025   2024
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 232,663 $ 147,893
    Asset retirement expenditures   3,480   6,450
    Change in non-cash working capital (44,257) (18,930)
    Adjusted funds flow $ 191,886 $ 135,413

    Net debt is used by management to provide a more comprehensive understanding of NuVista’s capital structure and to assess the company’s liquidity. NuVista calculates net debt by considering cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, long-term debt (the credit facility), senior unsecured notes, and other liabilities. Management uses total market capitalization and the ratio of net debt to annualized adjusted funds flow for the current quarter to analyze balance sheet strength and liquidity.

    The following is a summary of total market capitalization, net debt and net debt to annualized current quarter adjusted funds flow:

      March 31, 2025 December 31, 2024
    Basic common shares outstanding (thousands of shares)   200,664   203,701
    Share price(1) $ 13.60 $ 13.82
    Total market capitalization $ 2,729,030 $ 2,815,148
    Cash and cash equivalents $ (2,677) $ —
    Accounts receivable and other   (135,657)   (132,538)
    Prepaid expenses   (47,985)   (45,584)
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities   256,804   206,862
    Current portion of other liabilities   16,907   18,351
    Long-term debt   —   5,353
    Senior unsecured notes   163,698   163,258
    Other liabilities   16,478   16,801
    Net debt $ 267,568 $ 232,503
    Annualized current quarter adjusted funds flow $ 767,544 $ 548,236
    Net debt to annualized current quarter adjusted funds flow   0.3   0.4

    (1)  Represents the closing share price on the TSX on the last trading day of the period.

    (4)  Supplementary financial measures

    This press release may contain certain supplementary financial measures. NI 52-112 defines a supplementary financial measure as a financial measure that: (i) is intended to be disclosed on a periodic basis to depict the historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow of an entity; (ii) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity; (iii) is not a non-GAAP financial measure; and (iv) is not a non-GAAP ratio.

    NuVista calculates “adjusted funds flow per share” by dividing adjusted funds flow for a period by the number of weighted average common shares of NuVista for the specified period by dividing operating netback for a period by the number of weighted average common shares of NuVista for the specified period.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
       
    Mike J. Lawford Ivan J. Condic
    President and CEO VP, Finance and CFO
    (403) 538-1936 (403) 538-1945

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Budd Introduces PELL Act to Advance American Competitiveness by Unlocking Workforce Potential

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)
    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) introduced the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act today, to expand Pell Grant eligibility for high-quality, short-term workforce programs. The bill benefits individuals seeking to advance their careers without long-term debt while also providing American businesses with a broader, better-prepared talent pool ready to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving economy.
    “We cannot build tomorrow’s workforce based on the blueprint for yesterday’s economy. By modernizing Pell Grant eligibility, we can open the door for millions of Americans to gain in-demand skills, while creating more family-sustaining careers. In as little as eight weeks, students can earn industry-recognized credentials and practical knowledge – the real currency of today’s labor market. It’s time to build a workforce strategy as modern and dynamic as the economy we’re preparing it for,” said Senator Budd.
    “Vocational opportunities deserve the same respect and financial support our country directs toward a four-year college education. In the same amount of time or less, a high school graduate can be working at a high level, in a specialized trade. We should be incentivizing more of that. I’m grateful to Senator Budd for leading this effort to increase access to skilled trades training and other non-traditional forms of education that can unlock the American Dream for a generation of young people,” said Senator McCormick.
    “Too many students are pushed into debt seeking a four-year degree that doesn’t suit job market demands. That needs to change. Our legislation will expand access to high-quality, short-term job training programs to close the skills gap, reduce college debt and ensure more students can enter the workforce in high-demand industries,” said Senator Grassley.
    “There is a worker shortage in America. This bill will help fix this problem by offering students the chance to pursue skill-based programs. It will help Americans get back to work. This bill benefits American workers, employers, and consumers,” said Senator Ricketts. 
    Senators Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) joined Senator Budd in introducing the bill.
    Read the full bill text HERE.
    Background
    The Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act:
    Helps low-income students move into good-paying, in-demand jobs quickly by expanding opportunities to participate in high-quality, short-term workforce programs.
    Provides quality assurance for participating programs, allowing any institute of higher education to participate that meets all requirements.
    Equips students with the skills and credentials needed for jobs in in-demand industries.
    Ensures program prices are aligned with economic value, so students and taxpayers receive a positive return on investment.
    Senator Budd’s bill served as the original framework for the workforce Pell Grant expansion that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce included in its reconciliation bill last week, the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan. 
    Senator Budd will champion the inclusion of the PELL Act in the Senate’s reconciliation bill to help close the skills gap and strengthen the economy. Senator Budd published an opinion piece in The News & Observer today outlining the bill’s merits: How we can get more Americans the work skills they need.
    The PELL Act was previously introduced during the 118th Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Locate Missing Michigan Teen in North Carolina, Arrest Person of Interest

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Detroit, MI – U.S. Marshals in North Carolina May 7 recovered a Roseville teen who was reported missing April 20 and arrested a person of interest in her disappearance.

    Roseville Police were contacted at approximately 8:20 a.m. Easter morning and, after working with several local agencies to locate the teenage child to no avail, referred the case to the Roseville detective bureau April 21. Roseville police obtained CCTV footage from a local gas station showing the teen purchasing a bottle of water before exiting the store.  

    April 30, based on a tip the child had been spotted in neighboring Clinton Township, detectives from Roseville Police, along with other local agencies, canvassed the area of Hayes and Clinton River roads and learned the child had been seen in a trailer park just days before.

    Roseville Police contacted the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in the Eastern District of Michigan May 5 and requested assistance from the agency’s Missing Child Unit.  USMS investigators developed information that the child, deemed by the agency a critically missing and endangered, had been in the area as recently as May 4 and were able to obtain surveillance video of her.  

    After executing numerous search warrants, USMS investigators by May 7 had developed information regarding a person of interest they believed had come from North Carolina to Michigan and picked up the teen around 4:30 p.m. May 4.

    That same day, USMS investigators in Michigan developed information the person of interest was at an extended stay motel in the City of Raleigh, North Carolina, and sent a collateral lead to USMS investigators in the Eastern District of North Carolina, who, working with members of the Raleigh Police Department, went to the motel where they arrested the person of interest, who has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The teen was located, safely recovered and transported to the Raleigh PD Detectives Division as the investigation continued.

    “The U.S. Marshals Service holds the mission of locating and recovering critically missing children as the highest priority,” said Owen Cypher, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan. “It is our honor to protect our most vulnerable victims, we will continue to support our state and local partners with this endeavor.”

    “The safe recovery of this missing child reflects the power of strong partnerships,” said Glenn M. McNeill, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “I commend the dedicated personnel from the United States Marshals Service and the Raleigh Police Department whose collaboration, focus, and swift action brought this case to a successful close. Their work is a clear example of what can be accomplished when agencies operate as one team, committed to protecting our most vulnerable.”

    “The Roseville Police Department is committed to investigating all cases of missing and runaway children who, regardless of age, face significant risks including homelessness,” said Roseville Police D/LT. Andrew Beemer. “We are grateful to the U.S. Marshals Service for their swift and professional work alongside our detectives to help bring (the teen) home.”

    “Protecting our children is one of our highest priorities, and we never take that responsibility lightly,” said Raleigh Police Department Chief Rico Boyce. “We are proud to have assisted in the investigation and safe recovery of a missing child.  The Raleigh Police Department is committed to standing with our community and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to stop those who seek to harm our youth. This work depends on strong collaboration, trust, and shared dedication to keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

    In May 2015, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act was passed and clarified the USMS’ discretionary authority to support law enforcement requests for assistance on any missing child cases. As such, the USMS assists state, local, and other federal law enforcement agencies, upon request, in locating and recovering missing children, while focusing agency resources on “critically missing child” cases – those that involve a suspected crime of violence or where factors are identified by law enforcement that indicate an elevated risk to a missing child. 

    In 2016, the Missing Child Unit was established within the USMS Sex Offender Investigations Branch to manage JVTA implementation. The MCU develops and manages training, guidance, and enforcement initiatives as well as provides overall oversight of the program. The MCU is in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and assists with missing child case information sharing. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Rebukes Trump’s Misuse of Military in Immigration Enforcement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Over the past three months, the Trump Administration has surged military personnel to the Southwest Border, Guantanamo Bay, and the U.S. southern coasts. The Administration has spent nearly $500 billion and engaged tens of thousands of troops, Navy warships, armored combat vehicles, and military aircraft in its immigration enforcement operation.

    On Thursday, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to address the unprecedented and likely illegal use of the U.S. military in domestic law enforcement. 

    A video of Senator Reed’s remarks may be viewed here.

    A copy of Senator Reed’s letter to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General may be viewed here.

    A transcript of Senator Reed’s floor speech follows:

    REED:  Mr. President, I rise to address President Trump’s dangerous and inappropriate use of the U.S. military to carry out his immigration enforcement campaign. 

    Before I discuss the Trump Administration spending nearly half a billion dollars and sending tens of thousands of troops, ships, combat vehicles, and aircraft away from their real missions, I want to make clear that border security is a priority.  I do not support open borders.  And I believe that those who enter the United States and break our laws should be subject to deportation in accordance with the law and due process.  I have voted time and time again for billions of dollars of increased support for border agents, detection technology, and physical barriers where it makes sense. 

    Mr. President, it is no secret that our borders have been under pressure for more than a decade because of a broken immigration system that Congressional Republicans have consistently refused to help fix.  We have considered bipartisan immigration reform bills in 2006, in 2007, in 2013, and in 2024, all of which were shut down by Republicans.  The mess that we have today rests largely on their decision to put political advantage above real progress.

    Now, President Trump is ignoring Congress, ignoring the law, ignoring the Courts, and ignoring the Constitution in order to implement an immigration policy that fails to respect due process, adversely impacts our innovation economy, and to the point of my remarks, degrades our military.  In the name of his anti-immigrant efforts, President Trump is using the U.S. military to conduct operations on American soil that it has neither the training or authority to carry out.  Our troops, who are already stretched thin for time and resources, are now burning time, assets, morale, and readiness for these overblown operations.

    The President has declared an emergency at the border to justify using the military for civilian law enforcement.  This, despite border encounters currently at the lowest level since August of 2020.  Over the past 12 months, since President Biden’s executive actions last June, there has been a continued, significant decrease in unlawful border crossings – including a?more than 60 percent decrease in encounters?from May 2024 to December 2024. 

    In short, all along the Southern Border we have seen a dramatic drop in illegal crossings and migrant encounters, well before President Trump took office.  A national emergency?  It seems not. 

    We already have an entire federal agency to protect our borders and address illegal immigration: the Department of Homeland Security.  DHS includes Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other law enforcement groups.  I have voted consistently to give these agencies additional resources to carry out their missions.  But immigration enforcement is not, and must not become, a function of the Department of Defense. 

    Our military has long provided technical and logistical support to DHS at the border, but always and exclusively in a supporting role, drawing a clear line between military law enforcement authorities.  Indeed, since the Reconstruction Era, U.S. presidents have been prohibited from using the military in civilian law enforcement by a law known as the Posse Comitatus Act.  This law has kept the commander-in-chief from wielding the military as a domestic political weapon, and it continues to provide an important check on the President’s ability to use the military domestically against American citizens.

    I understand American citizens asking if it matters which Department enforces immigration, as long as the job gets done.  Well, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned by the President’s current approach, even if one agrees with him politically.

    Most alarmingly, President Trump is taking real steps to militarize immigration enforcement.  Once he uses the military for this reason, it will be easier for him to use it for other purposes.  And given the tenor of his public statements, it is a reasonable fear that he may someday order the use of the armed forces in American cities and against American citizens.

    Indeed, the Brennan Center – a law and public policy institution – recently analyzed President Trump’s military actions at the border and concluded, quote: “Using the military for border enforcement is a slippery slope.  If soldiers are allowed to take on domestic policing roles at the border, it may become easier to justify uses of the military in the U.S. interior in the future.  Our nation’s founders warned against the dangers of an army turned inward, which can all too easily be turned into an instrument of tyranny.”

    Beyond these concerns, there are real, immediate consequences for our troops, which we are seeing right now.

    Readiness

    One of the military’s top priorities is readiness.  America faces real, growing threats from China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries, and the Department of Defense needs to be laser focused on preparing troops to defend our interests abroad.

    It is difficult to explain the border missions as anything but a distraction from readiness.  We should acknowledge the jobs that our troops are actually doing there.  In the past, up to 2,000 National Guard and Reserve troops would rotate to the border each year to assist DHS and Customs and Border Patrol with basic monitoring, logistics, and warehousing activities.  These missions were designed to be “behind the scenes” logistical support to free up Border Patrol agents from administrative duties and return them back to the field to conduct their core mission of immigration enforcement.

    Today, however, Trump has surged more than 12,000 active-duty troops to the border to carry out a variety of expanded missions that do not look anything like “behind the scenes” administrative support.  For example, one Marine battalion has been stringing miles and miles of barbed wire across the California mountains.  Multiple Army infantry companies are patrolling the Rio Grande riverbank on foot, rifles loaded.  Navy aircrews are flying P-8 Poseidons – the most advanced submarine hunting planes in the world – over the desert.  Two Navy destroyers are loitering off our East and West Coasts, looking for migrant boats in the water.  And at least one Army transportation unit is changing the oil and tires on Border Patrol trucks all day, every day. 

    In addition, the Administration has wasted massive amounts of defense dollars by flying migrants out of the country using military aircraft.  Often, they have had to return them to the United States mainland just days later.  According to U.S. Transportation Command, it costs at least $20,000 per flight hour to use a C-130 and $28,500 per flight hour to use a C-17.  In comparison, contracted ICE flights that regularly transport migrants inside of the U.S. cost only $8,500 per flight hour.  President Trump’s decision to use military aircraft instead of ICE aircraft to shuttle migrants across the globe—to as far away as India—is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars and servicemembers’ time.

    Just yesterday, we learned that the White House wanted to fly migrants, on military aircraft, to Libya, which is one of the most dangerous, hostile locations on earth.  Human rights groups have called the conditions in Libya’s network of migrant detention centers “horrific” and “deplorable.”  The plan has been cancelled for now, but it is unconscionable for the Trump Administration to consider sending migrants to Libya and endangering our troops in the process.

    Further, the Department of Defense has informed Congress that the current surge in border missions—including troop deployments and military flights—could cost as much as $2 billion by the end of the fiscal year.  Secretary Hegseth has claimed that the border mission is so overwhelming that we will have to withdraw massive numbers of troops from Europe in order to meet the demand.  Incredibly, he has also claimed that the border missions will have “no impact” on our military readiness.

    However, we know that these border missions are harming military readiness.  Last month, when the NORTHCOM commander testified before the Armed Services Committee, I asked how his forces on the border mission are maintaining their required military training.  He testified that his troops are spending 5 days a week supporting Customs and Border Patrol and other agencies, and only 1 day a week training.  In other words, 20 percent – at most – of our servicemembers’ time is being spent training on their critical military tasks.

    In my personal engagements with commanders at all levels, they have made clear that readying their formations requires extensive time and training, as well as stability for families.  Border missions will not build these warfighting requirements.  Border missions will distract from training, drain resources, and undermine readiness.  The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, has assessed previous military support missions to DHS and found them to be detrimental to unit readiness.  Specifically, in its 2021 report, GAO found that, quote, “separating units in order to assign a portion of them to the Southwest Border mission was a consistent trend in degrading readiness ratings.”

    Guantanamo Bay

    In February, President Trump issued an unprecedented order to the Defense Department to begin transporting and detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  For decades, the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay has housed a facility called the Migrant Operations Center that is used to temporarily house migrants who are saved at sea while traveling in unsafe vessels from Cuba, Haiti, or other nearby nations.  The facility is typically unoccupied and is kept in a low-level operational state until needed and, until February, it was run by private contractors.  The intended use for this center was never to house migrants flown from the United States to Guantanamo Bay. 

    Nonetheless, President Trump ordered the military to expand the Migrant Operations Center to accommodate up to 30,000 migrants who would be brought there from the United States.  Within weeks, approximately 1,000 active-duty troops were sent to Guantanamo to build tents for this massive number of migrants.  However, once built, the tents were found not to meet ICE standards and, to date, they have never been used and are now being dismantled.  The hundreds of troops sent down for the mission have had very little to do in the meantime. 

    Since February, around 500 individuals identified by the Administration as illegal migrants have been flown to Guantanamo Bay, and most have been detained for no more than two weeks.  Rather than being taken to the Migrant Operations Center, about half of these migrants have been held on the other side of the island at the detention facility that was built and used for law of war detainees – such as 9/11 terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

    There are currently 15 law of war detainees remaining on Guantanamo Bay.  The facilities housing these detainees have deteriorated significantly in the 20 years since they were built, and the military personnel who guard these individuals also endure the same tough conditions in these dilapidated facilities.   Needless to say, these servicemembers have been stretched thin.  Last fall, it was a significant morale boost for them when the remaining law of war detainees were moved to a “newer” facility.  Naturally, it was a blow to morale when, just one month later, they were ordered back to the older, more decrepit facility to make way for migrants at the newer facility.

    While it is crystal clear that the military is in charge of the law of war detention center at Guantanamo Bay, it is not clear who is legally responsible for the migrants being held there.  Longstanding law dictates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintain “custody and control” of migrants, but in the detention center, the military maintains control.  This leads to questions about who is in charge and accountable.  When I have asked those questions, the answers have often been contradictory.  That’s disturbing.  

    To investigate these issues, I traveled to Guantanamo Bay in March with several colleagues, including Senators Shaheen, Peters, King, and Padilla. We conducted a firsthand examination of the missions underway there and met with military servicemembers, ICE officers, and DHS officials to fully understand the costs and military readiness impacts of these missions.  This trip raised many new questions and concerns. 

    I have grave doubts about the legality of removing migrants from the U.S. to Cuba, a foreign nation, and detaining them there.  There are at least a dozen open cases and court orders impacting the Guantanamo mission.  The detention center has only been used for law of war detainees, and it is reckless to equate migrants with international war criminals. 

    I was outraged by the scale of wastefulness that we found there.  It is obvious that Guantanamo Bay is an illogical location to detain migrants.  The staggering financial cost to fly these migrants out of the United States and detain them at Guantanamo Bay—a mission costing tens of millions of dollars a month—is an insult to American taxpayers.  President Trump could implement his immigration policies for a fraction of the cost by using existing ICE facilities in the U.S., but he is obsessed with the image of using Guantanamo, no matter the cost.

    I am also frustrated that my Senate colleagues and I had to fly to Cuba to get answers to the questions that Defense Secretary Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Noem have been ducking for months.  By avoiding questions, they are putting servicemembers and officers on the ground in the position of trying to make sense of contradictory and political orders without any guidance or support from the Pentagon or DHS headquarters.

    Domestic Law Enforcement

    Since coming into office, the Trump Administration has expanded the role of the military in immigration enforcement in other troubling ways.  The movement of migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay is unprecedented, and the buildup of 12,000 active duty troops at the Southern Border, including the Army’s 10th Mountain Division and 100 armored Stryker combat vehicles, has a huge impact on our military posture.  This is a larger force than we deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003.

    This Administration has purposely placed many of our military forces into the immigration debate in this country, and I fear it will also place them in legal and ethical risk.

    For example, on March 30th, a military flight traveled from Guantanamo Bay to El Salvador with foreign nationals on board, including seven Venezuelans.  To my understanding, not a single DHS official or civilian was on the flight, meaning that military personnel maintained both custody and control of the migrants, contrary to longstanding DOD policy and practice. 

    Here is an image of that plane unloading in El Salvador.  As you can see, the crew does not include any DHS officials or civilian law enforcement personnel – only uniformed troops, who are physically handing migrants to the Salvadoran police.

    This flight would clearly have been in violation of various immigration laws and policies, recent judicial orders, and the Posse Comitatus Act, as the military carried out a core law enforcement function of deportation without any DHS officials present.  After the fact, the Administration tried to explain itself by saying it used, quote, “counter-terrorism” authorities rather than law enforcement authorities.  I am not aware of any counter-terrorism authorities that would authorize such a flight. 

    Accordingly, last month I sent a letter to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General asking that office to conduct an inquiry into the incident and any laws or Defense Department policies that may have been violated.  I expect the IG to exercise his independence in carrying out this inquiry, and I am disturbed that the Administration continues to put servicemembers in legal and physical jeopardy through these reckless orders.  Mr. President, I would submit that letter for the record.

    I am also concerned about the Trump Administration’s dubious creation of “National Defense Areas” along the Southern Border in recent weeks.  These National Defense Areas, first designated in New Mexico and later expanded into Texas, were created when the Department of Interior transferred land, including the Roosevelt Reservation—a 60-foot-wide strip along the border—to the Department of Defense.  So now, large swaths of the border are considered military installations.  The Administration has created these zones so that when a migrant crosses the border in those areas, prosecutors can charge them with both entering the U.S. illegally and trespassing on a military installation.  In effect, the National Defense Zones evade the long-standing protections of the Posse Comitatus Act by allowing military forces to act as de facto border police, detaining migrants until they can be transferred to Customs and Border Protection.  In the Administration’s telling, this approach permits military involvement in immigration control without invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807.

    This is both unprecedented and a legal fiction.  As the Brennan Center report found, quote: “No matter how the Trump administration frames these activities… they are civilian law enforcement functions.  He cannot turn them into military operations by misusing the language of war.  These civilian law enforcement activities are not “incidental” — they are the reason for creating the installation.”

    The Administration is also considering using military bases to detain thousands of migrants inside the United States.  Unlike in past emergencies, when military bases near the border were used to hold migrants during large surges, this administration is seeking to use installations deep within the country, including in New Jersey, Indiana, Delaware, California, and Virginia.  One could be forgiven for extrapolating that these bases are being selected to hold round-ups of migrants in major cities. 

    The President is not taking these military actions out of necessity; he is testing the boundaries of our legal system, and, in my view, violating them.  If left unchecked and unchallenged, he will go much, much further in employing the armed forces in to enforce domestic immigration laws, traditionally a civilian law enforcement function.

    For years, Mr. Trump has publicly expressed his desire to use U.S. military personnel for domestic law enforcement.  During the last campaign, he repeatedly claimed that, if elected, he would order the National Guard and active-duty military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants.  He even said that he would deploy the military to conduct local law enforcement in cities, and that troops could shoot shoplifters leaving the scene of a crime.

    Trump’s defenders often say that he is joking or exaggerating when he makes such claims.  But we know these are not idle threats.  In his first 100 days in office, he has declared multiple national emergencies and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport migrants without due process.  Indeed, he has even unapologetically deported U.S. citizens in violation of the Constitution.  We have all seen the chilling videos of masked and hooded ICE agents arresting civilians on the street – scenes we are accustomed to seeing on the nightly news in countries run by dictators.  The Administration is expanding its operation one step at a time, and President Trump’s deployment of forces to the border, the military deportation flights, and the establishment of National Defense Areas can be interpreted as setting the stage to invoke the Insurrection Act and order the military to carry out domestic law enforcement inside the country. 

    In fact, we have seen this situation before.  In June 2020, then-President Trump, infuriated by protesters in front of the White House and across the country, ordered his staff to prepare to invoke the Insurrection Act to allow him to deploy active-duty military forces to patrol the streets of DC and other cities.  Then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley talked him out of it, but the President clearly views this as a serious option.

    Beyond the immorality of Trump’s desire to deploy the military domestically, to do so would simply be illegal.  As I mentioned, the doctrine of Posse Comitatus is sacred in our nation to separate the military from direct law enforcement responsibilities. 

    The use of National Guard or active-duty troops should be reserved only to those rare circumstances where civilian law enforcement has collapsed, and state leaders have specifically asked for presidential assistance.  Their deployment should never be at the sole discretion of a President, as Trump has demonstrated that such power begs abuse.

    Ultimately, U.S. military members are trained to engage the enemies of the United States abroad with deadly force, not to arrest migrants on the Southern Border or to deport them from U.S. cities.  The military has a sacred role in our country, but the public’s trust is easily lost, and a pillar of our society is cracked when the commander-in-chief uses the military recklessly. 

    Our constitutional system is fundamentally designed to separate military and civilian roles, reserving police powers for law enforcement agencies, and endowing the military with the superior weaponry and firepower necessary to fight and win the nations’ wars.  When we allow the military to be used in the routine exercise of the police power, the nation teeters on the brink of autocracy and military rule.  One need not be a student of history to see how easily this backsliding can occur.  It is all around us in the world today.

    Trump’s clear intent to use the U.S. military in potentially illegal and certainly inappropriate ways for his own political benefit is antithetical to the spirit of our American democracy. Such power is the hallmark of authoritarians around the world.

    President Trump and Secretary Hegseth must use common sense, follow the law, and immediately cease the military border deployments and deportation flights.  And my colleagues, particularly my colleagues in the majority, should demand the same and hold the Administration accountable for its actions.

    I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Delivering Real Results for Colorado: Gov. Polis Signs Landmark Housing Bill Into Law, Celebrates Actions for Coloradans on Education, Housing, Public Safety

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, Governor Polis marked the end of the successful 2025 legislative session with House Speaker McCluskie, Senate President Coleman, House Majority Leader Duran, Senate Majority Leader Rodriguez and Lt. Governor Primavera and then signed SB25-002 – Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures to break down barriers to modular housing and discussed the successful 2025 legislative session. 

    “We are delivering real results for hardworking Coloradans, and during this session, we took major actions that will create more housing Coloradans can afford, support students and educators, cut through government red tape, and improve safety across our state. It’s fitting that I’m signing the modular housing bill, a law that will create more housing options that Coloradans can afford, to kick off the next 30 days of bill signings. We know our work is far from over, and I will continue looking for new opportunities to make life better for all Coloradans,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    During his 2025 State of the State address, the Governor outlined key priorities for the legislative session that would build on Colorado’s work to break down barriers to housing, improve public safety in Colorado communities, and invest in students and educators. These successful legislative priorities resulted in new laws that will help reduce costs and strengthen Colorado communities. 

    MORE HOUSING NOW: 

    IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY: 

    • SB25-310 – Proposition 130 Implementation: This law supports funding for local law enforcement agencies to help recruit peace officers by providing financial reimbursements and tuition assistance for initial and continuing education and training for peace officers, as well as pay incentives and bonuses. The bill also provides funding to ensure that the families of fallen officers get the support they need after losing their loved one in the line of duty.
    • HB25-1062 Penalty for Theft of Firearm: This legislation cracks down on gun theft by reclassifying firearm theft as a class 6 felony regardless of the value of the firearm stolen.
    • HB25-1171 – Possession of Weapon by Previous Offender Crimes: This legislation adds first-degree motor vehicle theft to the list of criminal offenses that would make an individual ineligible to possess a firearm.
    • SB25-281 – Increase Penalties Careless Driving: adjusts penalties for persons convicted of careless driving, making each individual seriously injured or killed in a careless driving event a separate violation and clarifies that careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death is an included crime for the purposes of the “Victim Rights Act”.
    • Budget to Make Colorado Safer: Governor Polis continues working to make Colorado safer for everyone and by signing this year’s budget, Colorado continues investing in preventing and addressing crime. This includes:
      • Youth Crime Prevention: Helping to prevent at-risk youth from entering the criminal justice system through increased funding for prevention services.
      • Community Corrections Capacity: The budget also provides $2.4 million to invest in community corrections placement, increasing capacity.
      • Supporting Crime Victims: Additionally, this budget implements Colorado’s Proposition KK, designating $30.0M in spending authority to crime victims’ services, $8 million for mental health services, and $1 million for school safety. $15 million ongoing for critical public safety communication infrastructure, supporting over 1,000 local, regional, state, tribal, and federal public safety entities.
      • Funding for CBI’s Colorado Gangs Database: The Colorado Gangs database (CoG) is an application that stores gang information such as gang names, gang members, gang contacts, and is used by law enforcement as an investigative tool. It allows law enforcement the ability to add and change any information about the gangs, tracking gangs, and gang members that they contact during patrol or other investigative efforts conducted by law enforcement. This information is also queryable in the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC), which provides law enforcement with the most accurate information possible.
    • HB25-1146 – Juvenile Detention Bed Cap: This legislation allows judicial districts to utilize more juvenile detention beds to ensure that individuals deemed high-risk do not re-enter communities before receiving the rehabilitative services they need. 

    FULLY FUND SCHOOLS AND SUPPORT COLORADO’S WORKFORCE: 

    • HB25-1320 – School Finance Act: This legislation implements Colorado’s student-focused school finance formula without bringing back the budget stabilization factor. It also increases per-pupil funding again to $11,864, an increase from FY24-25 of $412 per student, or an average of $9,000 per classroom.
    • SB25-315 – Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness Programs: This legislation realigns Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness administration and funding to ensure all students have the opportunity to graduate high school with postsecondary credit, an industry-recognized credential, or work-based learning experience.
    • HB25-1278 – Education Accountability System: This legislation modernizes Colorado’s K-12 accountability system for the first time since 2009 to better measure student outcomes, including the creation of a new sub-indicator to support postsecondary and workforce readiness before graduation.
    • HB25-1192 – Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement: This legislation ensures that every student takes a course incorporating all financial literacy standards before they graduate high school, as well as practice filling out financial aid forms so that they are equipped with the know-how to plan for and secure their financial futures.
    • HB25-1038 – Postsecondary Credit Transfer Website: This law will support students by providing more information about how their credits earned through prior learning, concurrent and dual enrollment, and GT Pathways courses will transfer to each Colorado public institution. By allowing students to evaluate and compare the value of their transfer credits across institutions and programs, students can save money and more successfully plan their educational journeys. 

    DRIVING COLORADO’S ECONOMY: 

    FREE STATE OF COLORADO: 

    BOLD CLIMATE GOALS AND IMPROVING AIR QUALITY: 

    • HB25-1267 – Support for Statewide Energy Strategies: This legislation builds on our EV success by empowering the Division of Oil and Public Safety to adopt retail EV charging rules to promote consistency and provide for a more seamless EV charging experience.
    • HB25-1269 Building Decarbonization Measures: This law will make it simpler for buildings to comply with statewide standards by complying with a local standard and will help achieve the administration’s 2030 carbon emission reduction targets. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Alan Wilson achieves key legislative win as House passes bill to speed up investigations into child sexual abuse materialRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – Attorney General Alan Wilson announced a major victory today in the fight to protect South Carolina’s children. The House has officially passed Senate Bill 74, the Administrative Subpoena Bill, a top legislative priority this cycle for the Attorney General’s Office and a critical tool in the mission to stop child predators in their tracks. 

     

    “This is a HUGE WIN not only for our office but for South Carolina’s children and families,” said Attorney General Wilson. “S.74 cuts through red tape and empowers our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce to move swiftly to issue administrative subpoenas in child sexual exploitation cases, dramatically reducing the time it takes to find child predators and protect children actively being harmed.” 

     

    The passage of this bill would not have been possible without the support of our state legislators. “I want to personally thank the members of the South Carolina House and Senate for recognizing the urgency of this issue and getting it done. Your support is saving lives,” Attorney General Wilson said. 

     

    We also extend deep gratitude to our law enforcement partners across the state. Their relentless work, day in and day out, helped drive this effort forward. Their endorsement of this bill underscores its critical importance in bringing child predators to justice faster and more effectively. 

     

    Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie said, “I am pleased to have offered support of this bill and happy to see it is headed to the Governor’s desk. This bill is instrumental in effectively and without delay prosecuting individuals committing internet crimes against children. I appreciate the leadership of Attorney General Alan Wilson and the work of our legislature to get this bill passed.” 

     

    Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said, “The partnership between local law enforcement and the Internet Crimes Against Children task force is invaluable when it comes to investigating and arresting criminals who prey on our children. Allowing the Attorney General to sign administrative subpoenas will speed up our ability to catch these criminals and hold them accountable. This bill is critical to protect children and get predators off the street quicker. Thank you to Attorney General Wilson for leading the charge and Senator Hembree and Representative Travis Moore for pushing this important legislation.” 

     

    The bill now heads to Governor Henry McMaster’s desk for his signature to be signed into law. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Alan Wilson announces new and additional State Grand Jury charges alleging public corruption by former Williamsburg Co. Supervisor Tiffany CooksRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today the return of a sixteen-count indictment by the South Carolina State Grand Jury alleging new and additional counts of public corruption against former elected Williamsburg County Supervisor Tiffany Teonta Cooks. Cooks and Williamsburg County Sheriff Stephen Renard Gardner were also indicted by the State Jury in March for various corruption offenses, and Sheriff Gardner was then suspended by order of Governor McMaster.

    The State Grand Jury issued an indictment of Tiffany Cooks for the following offenses:

         2025-GS-47-11 (Williamsburg County)

    • Count 1: Official Misconduct in Office, Common Law: 0-10 Years
    • Count 2: Offering Anything of Value to Influence Action of Public Official or Employee, Ethics Act Violation, § 8-13-705: 0-10 years and/or $0-$10,000
    • Count 3: Embezzlement of Public Funds, Value $10K or More, § 16-13-210: 0-10 years and a fine in the discretion of the court
    • Count 4: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 5: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 6: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 7: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 8: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 9: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 10: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 11: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 12: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 13: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 14: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 15: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500
    • Count 16: Acceptance of Rebates or Extra Compensation, § 16-9-230: 3 mos – 5 years and $100 – $500

    The new indictments generally allege that former Supervisor Cooks “obtain[ed] personal profit and benefit to herself by having government funds, above and beyond her legitimate salary, improperly paid to her in part by having the money routed to her through payments in addition to her salary for alleged participation in ‘community projects.’”  The indictments also generally allege that Cooks “improperly offer[ed] and g[a]ve thousands of dollars of government funds to herself and other officials and employees of Williamsburg County beyond their legitimate salaries through additional pay for alleged participation in ‘community projects,’ with the intent of influencing the discharge of their official duties, for their aid, assistance, collusion with, and allowance of fraud on Williamsburg County government, and to induce them to perform acts and fail to perform acts in violation of their official duties.”

    Former Supervisor Cooks had previously been indicted in March for the following offenses:

         2025-GS-47-05 (Williamsburg County)

    • Count 1: Criminal Conspiracy, § 16-7-410: 0 – 5 years and/or fine of up to $5000
    • Count 3: Misconduct in Office, Common Law: 0-10 years
    • Count 5: Offering Anything of Value to Influence Action of Public Official Ethics Act Violation, § 8-13-705: 0-10 years and/or $0-$10,000
    • Count 6: Embezzlement, § 16-13-210: 0-10 years and a fine in the discretion of the court
    • Count 9: Money Laundering, Value $20,000 but Less Than $100,000, § 16-9-230: 0-10 years

    The March indictments generally alleged that former Supervisor Cooks conspired a “scheme to improperly pay thousands of dollars of government funds to Gardner, and avoid taxes or withholdings on the amounts paid, by routing the government money to Gardner under the guise of checks written to a third party.” The March indictments also alleged that Sheriff Gardner “secretly obtain[ed]” and Cooks “secretly provide[d] personal profit and benefit to Stephen Renard Gardner by having government funds, above and beyond Gardner’s legitimate salary, improperly paid to him.”

    The cases were investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, which functions in partnership with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Section. The cases will be prosecuted by the Chief Attorney of the State Grand Jury Section Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General S. Creighton Waters, Assistant Attorney General Savanna Goude, and Assistant Attorney General Walt Whitmire.

    Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Member of Drug Trafficking Organization That Distributed Heart Shaped Pills Resembling Candy, Laced with Lethal Drugs, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Investigation resulted in what is believed to be one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts and the region – over eight million individual doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder

    BOSTON – A Lynn, Mass. man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking organization (DTO) on the North Shore of Massachusetts. In November 2023, millions of doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder, with street value estimated to be over $7 million, was seized from a stash location and clandestine laboratory used by the organization.

    Sebastien Bejin, a/k/a “Bash,” 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In January 2025, Bejin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute and one count of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Bejin was charged in November 2023 along with alleged co-conspirators Emilio Garcia and Deiby Felix. The defendants were later indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2023.

    In July 2023, an investigation began into an overdose death in Salem, Mass. which led investigators to the drug trafficking organization led by Bejin, Garcia and Felix.

    On Nov. 1, 2023 searches were conducted at four locations frequented by Bejin and Garcia. The searches resulted in what is believed to be, one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts and the region. The seizure included nine kilograms (20 pounds) of pink heart shaped fentanyl-laced pills pressed to look like candy. Additional narcotics and five firearms were also seized. During the course of the investigation over 150 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine were seized, along with multiple additional kilograms of cocaine and dozens of kilograms of cutting agents, including xylazine, that are used to adulterate controlled substances.

    In total, more than an estimated eight million individual doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder was seized. The street value is believed to be upwards of $8 million.

    Garcia and Bejin would travel to the stash location on a daily basis and then bring quantities of suspected controlled substances from the premises to supply lower-level dealers.

    A search of Felix’s residence resulted in the seizure of more than three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of pressed pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl and a firearm. A subsequent search of the basement of Felix’s residence revealed a clandestine drug laboratory that had been built into a small room. Multiple industrial pill presses, mixing equipment and other manufacturing paraphernalia and equipment were also recovered. Within multiple large storage bins located within the laboratory, over 100 pounds of suspected fentanyl powder was also discovered.

    Garcia pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2025. Felix pleaded guilty on Feb. 3, 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2025.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Lynn, Lynnfield and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Participating in Violent Kidnappings in the Chicago Suburbs

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for conspiring to abduct several victims at gunpoint in the Chicago suburbs.

    SEDGWICK WILLIAMS participated in kidnappings in Naperville, Ill., and Westchester, Ill., in the fall of 2019.  Williams and a co-conspirator also attempted a third kidnapping in South Holland, Ill., but they were unsuccessful and were arrested fleeing from the intended victim’s residence.

    A federal jury last year convicted Williams, 48, of Chicago, and co-defendant TAI HON LA, 35, of Beach Park, Ill., of participating in the kidnapping conspiracy and other related charges.  On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso sentenced Williams to 50 years in federal prison.  La is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2025.

    Two other defendants pleaded guilty in the case.  IVAN AYERS, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to participating in the kidnapping conspiracy and is set to be sentenced on June 10, 2025.  JONATHAN VARGAS, 38, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to kidnapping the first victim in Naperville and is set to be sentenced on June 5, 2025.

    Williams’s sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The case was investigated with assistance from the Naperville Police Department, Westchester Police Department, South Holland Police Department, Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.

    According to evidence presented at trial, the first kidnapping occurred in Naperville on Oct. 17, 2019.  The conspirators posed as law enforcement officers to handcuff and abduct a man at gunpoint outside of his electronics store, which they then burglarized.  The conspirators forced the victim into a car and transported him to Chicago, where they assaulted him and extorted his family.

    The conspirators carried out the kidnapping in Westchester on Nov. 16, 2019.  Posing as federal agents, the conspirators handcuffed and abducted a man at gunpoint outside of his residence.  The conspirators forced the victim into his home, where they seized another victim and forced them both into the basement.  Two other victims later arrived at the residence and were also forced into the basement at gunpoint.  The conspirators stole cash and jewelry before fleeing.

    The conspirators attempted the third kidnapping in South Holland on Dec. 11, 2019, but the intended victim was able to call 911 and the South Holland Police arrived before the conspirators could gain access to the house.

    “Williams orchestrated a series of incredibly violent abductions and armed robberies throughout Chicago and the neighboring suburbs,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Jodrey and Kate McClelland argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Williams and his co-conspirators ruthlessly threatened, restrained, beat, robbed, kidnapped, terrorized, and tortured people for their own personal gain.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Five Charged with Trafficking Narcotics in the Waterbury Area

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of  Connecticut, Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo today announced that ZACHARY FOSTER, also known as “Lee,” 58, of Waterbury; KEVIN LUCAS, 61, of Waterbury; PHILLION HARVEY, also known as “Dawg,” 52, of New Haven; RONALD McDOWELL, 58, of Waterbury; and KENYA BROWN, 43, of Bristol; have been federally charged with conspiring to traffic narcotics in and around Waterbury.

    As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on November 26, 2024, Foster was sentenced in New Haven federal court to approximately 35 months of imprisonment, time already served, and four years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.  In February 2025, an investigation by the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force determined that Foster had resumed his drug trafficking activity.  Between February and April 2025, investigators intercepted hundreds of calls between Foster and his associates coordinating the distribution of cocaine, crack, and fentanyl.

    During the investigation, a search of a stash location that Foster maintained at a residence on National Avenue in Waterbury revealed approximately one kilogram of cocaine, and a search of a location he maintained on Meriden Road in Waterbury revealed approximately 600 dose bags of fentanyl.  Harvey, McDowell, and Brown also were found in possession of distribution quantities of fentanyl.

    On April 16, 2025, a federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned an indictment charging each of the five defendants with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, cocaine and fentanyl.  If convicted of the charge, based on the type and quantity of drug attributed to each defendant, and based on Foster’s previous conviction for a serious drug felony offense, Foster faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and Lucas, Harvey, McDowell, and Brown each faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Foster also faces additional penalties if he is found to have violated the conditions of his supervised release.

    Foster, Lucas, and McDowell were arrested on federal criminal complaints on April 3, 2025, and are currently detained.  Brown was arrested on April 25, 2025, and is released on $100,000 bond, and Harvey was released on April 29, 2025, and is released on a $50,000 bond.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    This matter is being investigated by the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The DEA Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan J. Keefe and Natasha M. Freismuth.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Rock Hill Cop Convicted at Trial of Receiving, Sending Child Sexual Abuse Materials

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal jury in Columbia has convicted Daniel Paul Shealy, 36, of Rock Hill, on 18 counts of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.* The jury returned a guilty verdict following three days of testimony and an hour and a half of deliberation.

    According to evidence presented during trial, in 2023 investigators with the York County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that three videos depicting the sexual abuse of children were flagged on the social messaging app Kik, under the username “orgasmd0nor.” Investigators with the YCSO and FBI traced the account and IP address to Shealy, a detective and former school resource officer with the Rock Hill Police Department.

    Further investigation revealed that Shealy was a member of more than 40 private groups on Kik designed for users to trade child sexual abuse materials, including groups with references to minors, teens, and incest in the titles. According to testimony from a Kik representative, users in such groups often exchange images and videos of rape, sexual assault, bestiality, and other abuse of children. Investigators testified during trial that after receiving the tip, they executed a search warrant on Shealy’s phone and his Kik account. Shealy’s phone was in his patrol car and accessible through his thumbprint and a passcode, which was his badge number. 

    Agents recovered 126 explicit videos of children from Shealy’s phone and Kik account, which Shealy had received or distributed to others on the internet. The files included recordings of prepubescent minors in bondage and constraints and child sex abuse materials represented the majority of explicit recovered from his Kik account.

    When Shealy testified at trial, he admitted that he operated the orgasmd0nor account and that he accessed child sex abuse material on the platform. He also admitted that he never reported the any of the videos to Kik or to law enforcement because he either did not know how to report or was concerned about his privacy related to his intimate life. Shealy taken into custody at the conclusion of the trial. 

    “The facts alone in this case were disturbing but became even more appalling because the defendant was a police officer, an individual given immense public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “We remain committed to holding those who betray public trust accountable and protecting our most vulnerable citizens, our children. We’re grateful to the FBI, York County Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case and our trial attorneys that worked diligently to bring this man to justice.”

    “The FBI is unwavering in its commitment to safeguarding children from individuals who perpetrate physical and sexual abuse or engage in the exploitation of minors through the distribution of child sexual abuse material, as proved in this case,” said Reid Davis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia Field Office. “We hope this verdict represents a meaningful step toward justice for the victims and ensures that the defendant is held fully accountable under the law.”

    He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, lifetime supervision to follow the term of imprisonment, and sex offender registry requirements.  United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. presided over the trial and will sentence Shealy after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

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

    The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia field office, the York County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and Elle E. Klein are prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Johnson County Man Sentenced for Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PIKEVILLE, Ky. – A Hagerhill, Ky., man, Jason Ryan Campbell, 46, was sentenced on Thursday to 40 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, for production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.  

    According to his plea agreement, on August 27, 2022, Campbell engaged in the production of child pornography. Specifically, upon searching his phone, law enforcement located two videos taken of Campbell and a minor victim engaging in sexual conduct. Law enforcement also found additional videos and photos of child pornography on his phone. 

    Under federal law, Campbell must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life. 

    Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Olivia Olson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.

    The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Kentucky State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

    This case was prosecuted 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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

    – END –

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 21 Armed and Violent Drug Traffickers and Gang Members from Spokane Area Facing Federal Drug and Firearm Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced that 21 individuals have been charged following the return of 15 separate indictments alleging dozens of charges against these defendants.  Certain of the individuals indicated are not yet in federal custody.

    The arrests follow a long-term joint federal investigation that began in October 2024, led by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This 7-month long investigation has targeted violent individuals and armed drug traffickers in Spokane as well as individuals operating in what has become nothing less than an open-air drug market on Division Street downtown..  These individuals have been problems in multiple states, impacting multiple communities during their lifetimes, in not only Washington State, but also Texas, Nevada, North Dakota, Montana, Alabama, Idaho, Oregon, and California.

    Upon release of the latest indictment, which was unsealed earlier today upon the arrest of several additional suspects, Acting United States Attorney Rich Barker stated, “I am grateful for the coordinated efforts of so many law enforcement agencies, who worked together to coordinate the takedown of this alleged drug trafficking operation.”  Acting U.S. Attorney Barker continued, “It is an honor work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners on such important prosecutions, which help remove illegal drugs and firearms from our community.  Our community and nation are safer, because of the work of our law enforcement and prosecution teams.”

    To date, agents seized just shy of 14-pounds of methamphetamine, over 1 kilogram of heroin, over 16,000 fentanyl pills, over 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, almost $60,000 in drug proceeds, as well as four vehicles and 36 firearms.  In connection with the prosecution, the United States has filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Eastern District of Washington against a local Spokane apartment complex located near North Central High School, which allegedly was being used to distribute illegal drugs and a place for individuals to obtain firearms. Properties such as this one are not only a community safety issue as a free for all of illicit activity, they are also a drain on public resources that could be used elsewhere.  For example, in the last 2.5 years, records show there have been approximately 58 separate calls for service at the address.

    According to unsealed charging documents, the following individuals, many of whom have ties to various street gangs and who have a history of violence, have been charged in connection with the investigation. Additionally, the names of others indicted in connection with this investigation will be unsealed upon the arrest of those individuals.

    Andrew Vincent Auerbach, charged with Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking.  Auerbach has a prior federal conviction for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

    Daryl Edward Boone, 45, charged with Possess with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, Possess with Intent to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl, Distribution of 5 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine

    James M. Ferguson, 33, charged with Unlawful Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun

    Jonathan Jacob Inglis, 40, pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl. On January 30, 2025, he was sentenced to 151 months in prison.

    Nathan Carlson Johnson, 44, charged with Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine.

    James Lelacheur, 56, charged with Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine.

    Christopher Wayne O’Neal, charged with Distribution of 5 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine.  O’Neal is currently in Spokane County Jail stemming from a separate drug trafficking investigation.

    Gabriella Sherif Rizkalla, charged with multiple counts of Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, and Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine

    Roland Dewayne Sanders, 36, charged with Distribution of Fentanyl, Distribution of 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl.  Sanders was on federal supervised release at the time of his offense and utilized his minor child to assist in the distribution of fentanyl.

    Bernie Ray Shaw Jr., 45, charged with Distribution of Fentanyl

    Courtney A. Wheeler, charged with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking and Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking

    Andrew Lee Williams, charged with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking and Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking

    Anthony Dale Williams, charged with Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking and Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking, multiple counts of Distribution of 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Distribution of Cocaine.

    Certain of the individuals will be arraigned at the Spokane Federal Courthouse on May 9, 2025, at 10:00am.

    The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted the investigation along with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Moses Lake Police Department, Border Patrol, and the Washington Department of Corrections. Additional assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

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

    WILLIAMS et al – 2:25-CR-75-RLP

    SANDERS – 2:25-CR-15-MKD

    LELACHER – 2:24-CR-16-MKD

    FERGUSON – 2:24-CR-158-RLP

    JOHNSON – 2:24-CR-159-MKD

    AUERBACH – 2:25-CR-16-TOR

    INGLIS – 2:23-CR-56-TOR

    SHAW – 2:24-CR-163-MKD

    BOONE – 2:24-CR-164-RLP

    United States of America v. Real Property Known as 625 West Maxwell Avenue Spokane Washington et al, 2:25-cv-00148-RLP

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Accused of Concealing Death of Disabled Veteran for Years to Reap Financial Benefits

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

    ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from Salem, Missouri was indicted on Wednesday and accused of concealing the death of his uncle, a U.S. Army veteran with quadraplegia, for at least five years so that he could steal at least $650,000 of his disability benefits.

    Brian K. Ditch, 44, is now facing four felony counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of theft of government property and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    The indictment alleges that Ditch was solely responsible for his uncle’s care beginning in 2008, and kept his uncle locked in his garage and under his control so he could fraudulently obtain his government benefits. Instead of properly caring for his uncle, Ditch trapped him in the garage for over 24 hours at a time, forcing his uncle “to sit in his own urine and feces without the ability to eat or drink,” the indictment says. After his uncle’s death around 2019, Ditch concealed his death and the body so that he could continue to receive the money, the indictment says. It says Ditch told relatives that he had moved his uncle into a nursing home.

    His uncle received $9,559 per month in Disability Compensation benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the indictment says. The VA would not have continued to pay had they known Ditch’s uncle was dead, the indictment says. Ditch’s uncle also received a total of $235,210 in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Retirement Insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration since 2008.

    Ditch used the money to buy exotic reptiles, fund lavish vacations and enrich himself, the indictment says. Salem police officers found the uncle’s partially frozen body in a trash can in March, as well as three shotguns, the indictment says. As a convicted felon, Ditch is barred from possessing firearms.

    Ditch is expected to plead not guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Friday.

    Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    “The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General is committed to holding accountable anyone who exploits veterans or steals their VA benefits,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the VA OIG’s Central Field Office. “VA’s programs and services are established to justly compensate deserving veterans and the VA OIG will bring to justice those who would defraud these programs.”

    The Salem Police Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Kanawha County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun Crime

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

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Larry Joe Chapman, 44, of St. Albans, was sentenced today to three years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 28, 2024, law enforcement officers responded to a reported shoplifting at a MacCorkle Avenue business in South Charleston. The officers found that Chapman, the subject of the shoplifting call, had locked himself in the storage room of the business. Chapman unlocked the door for the officers, and officers found him in the storage room with a knife in his hand with the blade open. Officers disarmed and arrested Chapman, took him outside, and searched him. Officers found a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380-caliber pistol and over $1,000 in merchandise belonging to the business on Chapman’s person. Officers later determined that the firearm was stolen.

    Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Chapman knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for breaking and entering a building other than a dwelling on February 5, 2018, and conspiracy to operate and attempt to operate a clandestine drug laboratory for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine on November 8, 2013, both in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

    Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the South Charleston Police Department.

    United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess and former Assistant United States Attorney Samuel D. Marsh prosecuted the case.

    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.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-125.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Stepmums, alien mums, robot mums, vengeful mums: 7 films to watch this Mother’s Day

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Gildersleeve, Professor of English Literature, University of Southern Queensland

    With Mother’s Day around the corner, you may be wondering what gift you’ll give mum – or any of the mums in your life. This year, why not skip the fancy dinner and offer one of the most precious gifts there is: quality time, in front of the TV.

    When I asked seven experts what movies they’d recommend for Mother’s Day, I wasn’t expecting I, Tonya or Alien: Romulus – but their responses have made me realise just how multifaceted the experience of motherhood is, and how weirdly and wonderfully it can be reflected onscreen.

    So here’s what to watch if you want to laugh, cry, or scream, in an ode to mothers everywhere.

    I, Tonya (2017)

    The first film from Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap Entertainment – which earned Robbie an Oscar nomination for best actress – is an ideal viewing choice for anyone wanting to support Aussie female talent.

    Former American figure skater Tonya Harding became a household name in 1994, after her then-husband Jeff Gillooly orchestrated an assault on her primary rival, Nancy Kerrigan, in a bid to block Kerrigan from representing the United States at that year’s Winter Olympics.

    I, Tonya presents the event, and those of Harding’s career leading up to it, from a more sympathetic perspective than usual. Although it is careful to open with the caveat that the story is derived from “irony-free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly”, the film presents Harding’s life as one of abuse and cruelty at every turn.

    The judges can’t stand her “unfeminine” power. Her husband only shows love through violence. And her heartless mother, LaVona (Alison Janney) is desperate to cash-in on the financial gains from her career success, while simultaneously resenting it.

    Janney’s performance as LaVona won her the Academy Award for best supporting actress, a title thoroughly deserved as an ice-cold LaVona chainsmokes through barbed criticisms and physical threats. While I, Tonya may not be the most obvious choice for a film to watch on Mother’s Day, it certainly will make you appreciate yours.

    – Jessica Gildersleeve

    Stepmom (1998)

    Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon, is a family weepy for anyone who needs a cathartic cry. Directed by Chris Columbus, the comedy–drama follows the story of terminally ill woman Jackie Harrison (Sarandon) as she comes to grips with the fact her ex-husband’s new girlfriend Isabel (Roberts) will soon be her children’s stepmother.

    The film, like others under Columbus’ direction, is a critique of domestic dysfunction (think Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire, or Nine Months), and an exploration of the lengths characters will go in order to restore the ruptured (nuclear) family, whether literally or symbolically.

    Despite its melodramatic machinery and predictable ending, Stepmom offers a nuanced portrayal of the struggles of children during separation or divorce. We see 12-year-old Anna and her little brother, Ben, an aspiring magician, caught in an emotional tug-of-war between their loyalty to their dying mother and their natural affection for their new stepmum.

    In an honest moment, an anxious Ben asks his dad, “can you ever fall out of love with your kids?”

    “No, that’s impossible,” Dad responds.

    In an equally realistic thread, the sullen Anna begrudgingly turns to Isabel for advice on boys, clothes and makeup – their relationship soon resembling one of sisters rather than adversaries (controversially, Roberts’ character even takes it upon herself to explain the concept of “snowblowing” to the tween).

    In 1998, Stepmom was ahead of its time – not in its representation of motherhood, but in its acknowledgement the nuclear family was, even back then, a thing of the past.

    – Kate Cantrell

    Double Jeopardy (1999)

    Like most thrillers made in the 1990s, Double Jeopardy begins in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States: the epicentre for murder and mist.

    Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) is living the idyllic waterfront life with her husband Nick (Bruce Greenwood) and son Matty. After being convinced by Nick to go yachting, Libby wakes up on the boat (during what could best be described as a mist storm) to discover Nick is missing, and there is an endless path of blood from her hands to the yacht’s edge.

    Libby is tried and convicted for Nick’s murder. While grieving her son in jail, she finds out her husband is actually alive and has framed her. Libby’s cellmate tells her about the “double jeopardy” rule: you can’t be tried for the same crime twice.

    The montage of Libby preparing for revenge in jail signals an uptick in campy action. Upon her release, we’re introduced to parole officer Travis (Tommy Lee Jones). A game of cat and mouse ensues that is equal parts thrilling and ridiculous.

    Ultimately, Libby must choose between vengeance and getting her son back. Will she follow the rules and wait, or will she put her relentless jail workouts to good use? Double Jeopardy is profoundly stupid and fun, with all the unexpected charm of a midday movie that pulls you in, despite not making much sense.

    It’s just the kind of movie my mum and I have found ourselves glued to on a Saturday afternoon – cheerleaders for revenge.

    – Kathleen Williams

    Monster-in-Law (2005)

    What lengths would you go to protect your son from marrying someone unsuitable? One of the first references to the roles of the mother-in-law can be traced back to Latin literature, and the comedic play Hecyra, by Roman playwright Terence, which was first successfully performed in 160 BC. The play’s comedic twist is that the mother-in-law is accused of hating her son’s wife.

    The 2005 box office hit Monster-in-Law (2005) follows this trajectory and takes it to the extreme. Viola Fields (Jane Fonda) becomes manipulative and acts downright dirty to prevent her son, Kevin (Michael Vartan), from getting married to his fiancée Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) – who she thinks is not good enough for him.

    This romantic comedy has the conventions of love, romance, a wedding, and overall impending chaos. It is about a mother trying to do what she thinks is best for her son, as well as the fragile links between romantic love, familial love and matriarchy.

    In parts, the film transgresses into slapstick territory, as Kevin remains oblivious of Viola’s volatile antics towards Charlie. The tension between the two strong female leads hilariously spirals out of control in the lead-up to the wedding.

    Monster-in-Law is a feel-good film that draws on the close bond between mother and child, making it good viewing for Mother’s Day.

    – Panizza Allmark

    The Wild Robot (2024)

    There’s a cultural belief that once your baby is in your arms, you’ll immediately know how to look after them, or that you can draw on your own experience of being mothered, or find the right path in one of eleventy billion parenting books.

    But even if you did have a good experience of being mothered (and many don’t), or you find some great books, parenthood remains a journey of uncertainty and trial and error.

    When I took my young children to see The Wild Robot, I laughed and cried way more than them. Not just because the animation was so beautiful, or because the story was so moving, but because of the non-didactic moments that resonated so strongly with how we parents feel.

    We often don’t know what we’re doing; we’re trying our best, and wishing it will be the right thing – playing out an internal war between wanting to protect our children and wanting them to forge their own path.

    In The Wild Robot, Roz the robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) is focused on helping her adopted gosling Brightbill (Kit Connor) learn how to fly – something she has no experience of. More importantly, Brightbill must fly on a migration flight with other birds, where she can’t join him.

    The film mirrors the beautiful and horrifying knowledge parents carry: if we do our job, our children will become their own individuals who are able and willing to leave us. All we can hope is we’ve formed a bond that will make them want to return.

    – Rebecca Beirne

    My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

    Was your mother born overseas? It’s likely. Nearly half of all Australians have a parent born overseas. Or perhaps you married into a family where your “new mum” was born overseas?

    Your mother-in-law counts on Mother’s Day. Don’t forget it. And if you married into a wonderfully loud Greek/Italian family as I did, then your mother-in-law is likely a hard worker who deserves to be entertained. So why not offer her, and all the mums in your life, a sweet, disarming rom-com about a clash of cultures and a life milestone all mums can get behind: a wedding. A Big Fat Greek Wedding, to be precise.

    Written by and starring Nia Vardalos, this film tells the tale of Toula Portokalos, who, at the “advanced” age of 30, remains persistently unmarried in the early aughts Chicago. In Greek terms, this is already a tragedy. The title does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of what comes next.

    The real charm of the film is the clash of cultures that anyone with any ethnic background will recognise.

    My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a small film with huge global success. Will your mum care it was made with a budget of just US$5 million but grossed more than US$360 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable films of all time, with a more than 6,150% return? Probably not.

    But she’ll love John Corbett, that tall guy who was also in Sex in City (and he’s really good in this one). Just make sure you skip the sequels.

    – Ruari Elkington

    Alien: Romulus (2024)

    Not everyone wants to watch saccharine romantic comedies on Mothers’ Day. If you can relate, dystopian horror film Alien: Romulus (2024) offers much darker pleasures.

    Feminist scholars have long found the Alien franchise to be rife with symbolism and repressed fears about motherhood, birth and reproductive organs. Alien: Romulus goes further than the original 1979 film in making the theme of sexual violation explicit. As you might expect from Fede Álvarez, the director of Evil Dead (2013), there is plenty of body horror as human characters are assaulted and orally impregnated by Alien species.

    The film also includes neo-Marxist messages about “the company” and its violation of workers’ bodies. Working mums may enjoy the dark humour of a futuristic corporation that literally sucks the life out of workers before politely thanking them for their service.

    Leading action woman Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) is more vulnerable and relatable than the iconic character Ripley of previous films. When Rain discovers her work contract has tipped over into slavery, she joins up with her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux) and his pregnant sister Kay (Isabela Merced) to hijack a space station.

    They must then manage a coolly indifferent IT operating system called “MU/TH/UR” to control the ship. The fact Kay is pregnant does not bode well; her baby eventually bursts out as a hideous alien-human mutant which tries to eat her.

    Alien Romulus is basically every unspeakable anxiety about pregnancy and motherhood realised through spectacular special effects. It’s also the franchise’s best film since the original.

    – Susan Hopkins

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Stepmums, alien mums, robot mums, vengeful mums: 7 films to watch this Mother’s Day – https://theconversation.com/stepmums-alien-mums-robot-mums-vengeful-mums-7-films-to-watch-this-mothers-day-255004

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –