Crime

Hemant Mehta reports at Only Sky: Michael Capps, a former Kansas lawmaker who once sponsored a bill to put the words “In God We Trust” in every federal building, has been found guilty of committing COVID relief fraud and money laundering. In 2018, the Republican was appointed to the Kansas State House and won his own election bid later that …

Today in Crazy Trumpland: Former President Donald Trump informed his Truth Social followers they need to keep his 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories alive before it becomes a “cold case.” He also claimed, without explanation, that “at least” 17 percent of votes were “switched” in 2020. “The change in the Election was Complete & Total, with Millions of votes switched, …

“The highly partisan Unselect Committee Report purposely fails to mention the failure of Pelosi to heed my recommendation for troops to be used in D.C., show the ‘Peacefully and Patrioticly’ words I used, or study the reason for the protest, Election Fraud. WITCH HUNT!” – Donald Trump, posting today to his Truth Social account. As has been widely reported, Trump …

The New York Times reports: Declaring that the central cause of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was “one man,” the House committee investigating the assault delivered its final report on Thursday, describing in extensive detail how former President Donald J. Trump had carried out what it called “a multipart plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election” and …

NBC News reports: A man who carried what appeared to be a hammer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, got into a standoff Thursday with the FBI for hours before special agents arrested him for his role in the riot, law enforcement officials said. The FBI arrested Eric Christie on Thursday after several hours in which he refused …

Washington DC’s ABC affiliate reports: A Texas man who attempted to cut power to the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6 was found guilty Wednesday of seven criminal counts by a D.C. judge. Christopher Ray Grider waived his right to a jury and instead sat for a bench trial. Grider was arrested last January and indicted on eight counts, including …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: A seat in the Florida House sits empty following the resignation of Rep. Joe Harding amid accusations of lying to get a pandemic Payment Protection Program loan for hundreds of thousands of dollars. To fill the seat, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a special election would be held, with the primary coming in March, with the full …

Las Vegas’s Fox affiliate reports: A Las Vegas pastor allegedly molested a child under the age of 14 years old while several adults knew about the situation and did nothing, according to authorities. Isaac Luna-Valencia, 48, is being held at Clark County Detention Center without bail as of Thursday on lewdness with a child and kidnapping charges. Witnesses said members …

Politico reports: A federal judge has turned down an effort by former President Donald Trump to block aspects of New York Attorney General Tish James’ drive to place the Trump business empire under court supervision due to what she claims is persistent fraud. U.S. District Court Donald Middlebrooks coupled his ruling Wednesday with a stern warning to Trump and his …

Politico reports: A lawyer for Donald Trump said Wednesday he will try to dismiss a lawsuit by a woman alleging the former president raped her in the 1990s by arguing New York’s Adult Survivors Act is unconstitutional, but a judge suggested he is not inclined to throw out the case. Lawyers appeared in federal court in Manhattan in a lawsuit …

The Associated Press reports: An 800-page report set to be released by House investigators as soon as Wednesday will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud. The resulting Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of Trump’s followers threatened democracy with …

The Daily Beast reports: Gay New York City council member Erik Bottcher has told The Daily Beast that Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD have offered “any and all support and protection” after his apartment building was besieged by anti-Drag Queen Story Hour protesters, and the sidewalk defaced with hateful, homophobic slurs directed against him, including “OK Groomer,” “Child Predator,” …

Billings’ CBS affiliate reports: A Lame Deer pastor was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on sexual abuse charges alleged to have occurred on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Dean Alan Smith, 66, pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: A video of a woman having an angry outburst at Miami International Airport and throwing a computer at an airline agent is quickly gaining traction as the airport anticipates another record-breaking holiday travel season. The video, posted on Only in Dade’s Instagram, shows a woman screaming in the middle of a crowded American Airlines gate on …

From the Justice Department: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and John Gay, the Inspector General of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the “Port Authority”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging DANIEL ABAYEV and PETER LEYMAN with two counts of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions. The Indictment charges …

CNN reports: The January 6 committee made a startling allegation on Monday, claiming it had evidence that a Trump-backed attorney urged a key witness to mislead the committee about details they recalled. Though the committee declined to identify the people, CNN has learned that Stefan Passantino, the top ethics attorney in the Trump White House, is the lawyer who allegedly …

Gainesville’s ABC affiliate reports: Former state Rep. Joe Harding, a Republican from Ocala, could go on trial in May to face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements. Harding’s attorney, Peggy-Anne O’Connor, filed a motion Monday in federal court in Gainesville to move the trial to May. It had initially been scheduled for Jan. 11. The motion …

Law & Crime reports: The Donald Trump supporter who threatened to kill a California congressman will spend more than a year behind bars. Joshua Hall, 22, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Monday, according to an announcement from the Justice Department. Hall had pleaded guilty in October to making threats to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) …

Boston’s CBS affiliate reports: A doctor from Ashland was arrested Tuesday and is facing charges in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to newly released court documents. Jacquelyn Starer, 68, is captured on body camera footage striking a police officer, a criminal complaint alleges. Starer “is a practicing physician licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts,” according …

The Monroe News reports: Robert Auxter, 75, of Monroe, who had been a pastor and a deacon at Monroe’s Grace Lutheran Church, is charged with two felony counts of gross sexual imposition by the Ottawa Common Pleas Court of Ottawa County in Port Clinton, Ohio. According to court documents, he is charged with having sexual contact with a person younger …