Crime

Vice News reports: Kyle Rittenhouse loved cops, guns, President Trump, and “triggering the libs,” according to some of his former classmates at Lakes Community High School in Lake County, Illinois. His clothes were often branded with pro-police slogans, and he carried a Blue Lives Matter phone case, one student said. Some of his classmates joked that he’d be a mass …

The Daily Beast reports: Michigan state officials are investigating a voter-suppression robocall allegedly tied to blundering conservative operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman. The robocall was aimed at scaring Detroit voters away from using mail-in ballots, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson tweeted on Thursday. Benson announced that her office and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel would investigate the call’s …

The Detroit News reports: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is warning Detroit voters of a “racially charged” and false robocall that appears to be discouraging mail-in voting ahead of the November election. The recording tells voters that their personal information will be part of a public database that will then be used by police to track down people with …

Al Jazeera reports: A court in New Zealand has sentenced a self-confessed white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims as they prayed at two mosques in Christchurch to life imprisonment without parole, the first time such a sentence has been handed down in the country. Brenton Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 51 charges of murder, 40 …

Buzzfeed News reports: The law enforcement–obsessed 17-year-old who was charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests for Jacob Blake appeared in the front row at a Donald Trump rally in January. Kyle Howard Rittenhouse’s social media presence is filled with him posing with weapons, posting “Blue Lives Matter,” and supporting Trump for …

The Daily Dot reports: Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois has been charged with first-degree murder according to documents reviewed by the Daily Dot. According to the Lake County, Illinois Clerk of Courts public records, obtained by the Daily Dot, Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree murder in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and labeled a “fugitive from justice.” The complaint states that …

Courthouse News reports: Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges Tuesday against a California man who fatally shot a northern elephant seal on a beach on the Central Coast. In September 2019, authorities discovered the corpse of a northern elephant seal on a beach near San Simeon. The animal had been shot in the head. The beach — located off California Highway …

The Associated Press reports: When the U.S. government extended pandemic hardship loans to thousands of religious institutions, Jim Bakker and Morningside USA, his ministry in Blue Eye, Missouri, were among the most high-profile recipients. On April 28, the pastor received approval for an amount between $650,000 and $1.7 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds. Weeks before, Missouri filed a complaint, …

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports: Margaret Hunter was sentenced Monday to eight months’ home confinement and three years probation for her admitted role in a criminal conspiracy with her husband, former Rep. Duncan Hunter, to illegally use his campaign money for personal purposes. The sentencing Monday of Margaret Hunter, 45, wife and former campaign manager for former Rep. Duncan Hunter, …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is still fighting five-year-old felony securities fraud charges, has failed in his bid to kick a Democratic Harris County judge off his ongoing criminal case. An administrative judge in Houston, Susan Brown, denied Paxton’s motion to recuse Judge Jason Luong from the case. It’s a loss for Paxton’s team in …

The New York Post reports: A neo-Nazi ex-soldier who wanted to bomb CNN and incite a race war has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison — after prosecutors described him a self-confessed Satanist hellbent on overthrowing the government. US District Judge Daniel Crabtree decried having to follow such “low” sentencing guidelines for Jarrett William Smith, who committed “troubling …

The Hartford Courant reports: Stephen K. Bannon, former top advisor to President Donald Trump, was arrested while on a yacht off Westbrook early Thursday, law enforcement sources said. Bannon was arrested by inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service while cruising Long Island Sound near Westbrook in a $28 million mega yacht called Lady May. The massive yacht remained off West …

The Verge reports: The recently unsealed case alleges that Bannon and others broke repeated promises to put “100 percent” of donations toward the wall. The group secretly arranged private payments through a nonprofit, giving Kolfage $100,000 within months of starting fundraising. While claiming the funds went toward social media expenses, they allegedly diverted $350,000 to Kolfage — money Kolfage allegedly …

Buzzfeed News reports: Stephen Bannon, a former top aide to President Donald Trump, and Brian Kolfage, the leader of the crowdfunded “We Build The Wall” effort, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Kolfage, the criminal complaint said, “covertly took more than $350,000 in funds that has been donated to “We …

Toledo’s ABC News affiliate reports: The pastor of a Catholic church in Findlay was arrested and is being federally charged with numerous crimes related to sexual conduct with minors. Michael Zacharias, 53, is charged with coercion and enticement, sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud, or coercion. Investigators are aware Zacharias has engaged …

Philadelphia’s NBC News affiliate reports: Two New Yorkers now charged for an attack that broke the jaw of a teenage Sesame Place worker in a face mask dispute earlier this month at the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, theme park. The “unwarranted brutal assault” left the teen hospitalized for almost a week, Middletown Township police said. On Wednesday morning, U.S Marshals arrested …

Politico reports: Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone has unexpectedly dropped the appeal of his seven federal felony convictions for seeking to thwart a House investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Stone’s lawyers submitted a notice to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit withdrawing the appeal Monday night, about a month after President Donald Trump …

The Daily Beast reports: One of Jeffrey Epstein’s first known victims is the last holdout against his estate. Last January, a California woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate and British heiress Ghislaine Maxwell, who is facing federal charges for allegedly recruiting girls into the financier’s trafficking ring. Doe also claims Epstein introduced her to Donald …

The Washington Blade reports: A gay former assistant superintendent and contracting liaison for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has been charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $2.1 million in funds for personal use from two federal coronavirus relief programs. A statement released on Tuesday by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia says Kenneth P. Gaughan, …

The Austin Statesman reports: Austin police have arrested a man who a North Austin grocery store says broke all of the business’ windows after an employee asked him to wear a mask. Police on Thursday told the American-Statesman that they had arrested 31-year-old Wayne Ayres in connection to the vandalism at Fresh Plus Grocer in Hyde Park. The store manager …