Crime

Cops: Man Twerked Nude On Catholic Church’s Altar

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A New Orleans man arrested on charges that he repeatedly damaged a 100-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary on the campus of St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Metairie is now accused of illegally entering the church’s locked sanctuary and defiling the altar, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said. Paul Laborde Jr., 56, a …

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Haley: New York Gov Should Pardon “Brave” Vigilante

The Hill reports: GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) should pardon Daniel Penny, who was arrested in relation to the killing of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway earlier this month. Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday that Penny, a 24-year-old …

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Cops: Republican RI Councilman Found Smoking Crack

Providence’s CBS affiliate reports: Cranston City Councilman Matthew Reilly was arrested Monday morning after he was reportedly caught smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine in his car. Reilly, 41, was taken into custody Monday afternoon shortly after a passerby alerted an officer patrolling Pontiac Avenue that a man parked across the street appeared to be choking. The officer walked …

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Cops: 12 Year-Old Killed TX Sonic Worker With AR-15

CBS News reports: Police charged a 12-year-old boy with murder after he allegedly shot and killed a Sonic employee in north central Texas, authorities said Sunday. The boy and a 20-year-old, Angel Gomez, arrived at a Sonic Drive-In in Keene, Texas, on Saturday night, police said. Sonic employee Matthew Davis, 32, confronted Gomez after he allegedly became disorderly in the …

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Police: Man Who Attacked Dem Rep’s Staffers Recently Sued CIA, Claims “Torture From The Fourth Dimension”

NBC News reports: U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that the suspect was identified as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham, who lives in Fairfax County. He entered Connolly’s office around 10:49 a.m. ET. The congressman wasn’t in his office at the time of the assaults, the department said. One of the victims is an intern who was on her …

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Money Beg For NYC Subway Chokehold Killer Hits $2M

The New York Post reports: A fundraiser for Daniel Penny neared the $2 million mark Sunday, with his attorneys saying donations have kept rolling in because the subway chokehold case has “struck a chord” in the psyche of people across the country. The “Legal Defense Fund” for Penny — the 24-year-old former Marine charged with manslaughter in the death of …

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Philly Newspaper Hacked Ahead Of Mayoral Primary

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: The Philadelphia Inquirer and outside cybersecurity experts continued Sunday to scramble to restore systems after an apparent cyberattack disrupted operations over the weekend. The Inquirer had been unable to print its regular Sunday newspaper, and it was not clear until late Sunday afternoon that it would be possible to print Monday’s editions of The Inquirer and …

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French Catholic Priests Issued Scannable ID Cards So People Can Tell Which Ones Are Accused Pedophiles

France 24 reports: Old sins cast long shadows. After centuries of secrecy, the French Bishop’s Conference (CEF) has decided it will be more transparent by equipping priests, bishops and deacons with digital, scannable identification cards. No bigger than a bankcard, the IDs will certify whether or not its holder is fit to perform a sermon or has the right to …

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WSJ Editorial Board Defends NYC “Subway Samaritan”

From the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal: Was Mr. Penny wrong to intervene? The details of what happened will presumably be presented at trial, but it’s clear his intention wasn’t to kill Neely. It was to protect himself and others. As a 24-year-old veteran, he may have felt a particular responsibility to do so. We sometimes call such …

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Defense Fund For Accused Subway Killer Nears $1M

Gothamist reports: Attorneys for Daniel Penny have collected more than $900,000 for a legal defense fund through a website that bills itself as a Christian fundraising platform and has supported several divisive right-wing cases. Like many crowdsourcing sites, GiveSendGo supports various causes, such as medical bills and funeral expenses. It has promoted itself as “The #1 Free Christian Fundraising Site” …

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Christians Vandalize “Satanic” Sculpture Park [VIDEO]

The Argus Leader reports: Porter Sculpture Park, listed by TIME Magazine as one of the top 50 American Roadside attractions in 2010, was vandalized Wednesday, May 10. It will now take up to several years to repair the damage, said the creator and operator of the park Wayne Porter. The guardians, which look like human-sized skeletons with protruding ribs and …

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Texas Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Click2Houston reports: A former employee of a Magnolia church is now the center of an investigation after he reportedly turned himself in and confessed to ‘inappropriate behavior with adolescents’ during his time at the ministry. Court documents state that Michael Anthony Romero was charged with indecency of a child involving sexual contact.  He also said that he had previously touched …

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Ohio Catholic Priest Found Guilty On Child Sex Charges

The Mansfield News Journal reports: Guilty on all five counts was the verdict Friday in the federal sex-trafficking trial of the Rev. Michael Jude Zacharias, a Roman Catholic priest who has led parishes in Mansfield and Fremont. The jury’s decision was announced a little before 5 p.m. Friday. Zacharias, 56, was found guilty of all five counts of sex trafficking, …

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Death Toll In Kenyan Jesus/Starvation Cult Rises To 179

Reuters reports: Kenyan investigators unearthed 29 more bodies on Friday in a continuing search for victims of a doomsday cult in the country’s southeast. The death toll now stands at 179. Authorities this week have searched for remains in shallow graves scattered throughout the Shakahola forest and for any survivors as hundreds of people are still reported missing. Kenya’s Deputy …

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Money Pours Into Defense Fund In NYC Subway Killing

From the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo: Daniel Penny is, a twenty-four-year-old college student and decorated Marine veteran, facing a criminal investigation stemming from him protecting individuals on a NYC subway train from an assailant who later died. Funds are being raised to pay Mr. Penny’s legal fees incurred from any criminal charges filed and any future civil lawsuits that may …

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Charges To Be Filed In Killing Of NYC Subway Rider

The New York Daily News reports: Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran whose chokehold killed Jordan Neely on a Manhattan subway train, is to be charged with second-degree manslaughter and will turn himself in to police on Friday, sources told the Daily News. Penny, 24, is expected to turn himself in at the Fifth Precinct stationhouse on Elizabeth St. in Chinatown, …

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Couple Assaulted Outside Store For Buying Bud Light

Global News reports: “Possible hate-motivated” assaults outside of a Vaughan liquor store last weekend were likely initiated over a suspected Bud Light purchase, police say. York Regional Police issued a news release about the incident, which happened at around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. A man and a woman were allegedly accosted by several males outside of a store located in the …

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TX Man Who Killed BLM Protester Gets 25 Years [Video]

The Associated Press reports: A U.S. Army sergeant who fatally shot an armed protester at a Black Lives Matter march in Texas was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday, after prosecutors used his social media history and text messages to portray him as a racist who may commit violence again. Daniel Perry’s sentence now pushes the case toward a …

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Juror Fan Of Far-Right Podcaster Found Trump Liable

The New York Daily News reports: A juror in E. Jean Carroll’s case against Donald Trump, who told the court his sole source of news was a prominent conservative commentator, was among those who found the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation, according to court records unsealed Wednesday. Juror No. 77, a Bronx native who works in security, …

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Oakland Diocese Files For Bankruptcy Over Abuse Suits

San Francisco’s ABC affiliate reports: The Diocese of Oakland has announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in light of over 330 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse. In a press release, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland says that the lawsuits have come after a new California statute allows claims that have expired to be filed. RCBO says that …

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