A Buffalo man has been sentenced to 50 months in prison for forcibly removing the badge and radio of a Washington, D.C. police officer during the Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Judge Amy Berman Jackson noted that the attack was an assault on the institutions of democracy, and ordered the defendant to pay $1,000 in restitution to the officer.
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Heidi Allen, a 17-year-old survivor of the Oxford High School shooting, testified in a Michigan court hearing on Friday. She recalled how she helped save a severely wounded girl during the shooting, and expressed her feelings of being in the right place at the right time. The hearing will decide the sentence of the accused shooter, Ethan Crumbley, with the judge considering Allen's testimony and other witness accounts before making a decision.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suggested that he would consider pardoning former President Donald Trump if he is elected to the White House next year. DeSantis cited the example of former President Gerald Ford pardoning former President Richard Nixon in 1974, saying that it was a decision made in order to move the country forward. The suggestion has been met with criticism, but DeSantis has maintained that the decision would be made in the best interests of the country.
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to implement reforms passed by Congress that will significantly strengthen how the military handles sexual assault cases. The order transfers the decision to prosecute certain major crimes, including sexual assault, out of the chain of command and assigns them to independent military attorneys. It also requires the military to provide training to all personnel on the new system and to review and update policies and procedures to ensure that victims are treated with dignity and respect. This order is a major step forward in the effort to ensure justice for victims of sexual assault in the military and to hold perpetrators accountable.
A third person has been charged in the federal case involving classified material taken from the White House to former President Donald Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker, is accused of helping Trump's aide Walt Nauta move boxes of classified documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago, and then lying to federal investigators about it. The charges against De Oliveira, Trump, and Nauta could have serious implications, and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance believes that De Oliveira's charges could be the “final nail in the coffin” for Donald Trump if he flips.
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with three new felonies related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, including two counts of ordering the deletion of a computer server and one count of willfully retaining documents. The Justice Department has opposed Trump's request to view and discuss documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence, and has filed a motion for a protective order to allow Trump and his attorneys to view and discuss documents only in a secure facility. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and the case is expected to move forward in the coming weeks.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for the state's new Black history curriculum, which requires students to teach students about the "benefits" of slavery. This has sparked debate over the role of slavery in American history and the role of the government in determining what should be taught in schools. Sen. Scott has argued that there is no silver lining in slavery and that everyone should appreciate this.
Former President Donald Trump has been hit with an additional charge of willful retention of national defense information as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. The indictment has swelled from 38 to 42 counts, including the new charge related to the Iran war plan document allegedly flaunted at Bedminster. Trump has denied the charges and called it "prosecutorial misconduct" while ordering the White House to release all documents related to the case.