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(NEWPORT, Ore.) — Several officials in Lincoln County, Oregon have received an anonymous letter urging people to report “brown folks” they suspect are undocumented immigrants, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

“The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office recently learned about a letter being circulated throughout Lincoln County which encourages community members to track and report information regarding people of color, specifically community members that are believed to be undocumented,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook.

“We want to be unequivocal in our stance: this type of behavior is harmful, divisive, and inconsistent with the values we uphold as public servants and community members,” continued the post, signed by Sheriff Curtis Landers. “Targeting individuals in this manner erodes trust and undermines the sense of safety and inclusion that we strive to maintain in Lincoln County.”

The anonymous letter, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, is riddled with typos and makes various threats against undocumented immigrants.

State and local officials have condemned the letter.

“Attempts to intimidate our communities and their leaders through racist letter-writing campaigns has no place in Oregon, and we will continue to stand together in opposition to those who seek to divide us,” said Oregon State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in a statement, adding that the state is an “open, welcoming, and safe for all individuals.”

“It is time to rise above these despicable tactics and demonstrate the true spirit of inclusivity and compassion that defines the Oregon way,” Rosenblum continued.

Toledo, Oregon Mayor Rod Cross announced at a Dec. 18 city council meeting that he had received the letter, bearing an invalid return address, a few days prior. That letter, obtained by ABC News, warns that in the latter part of January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security will begin “the largest round-up of brown illegals in our history.”

“I am livid because I don’t know if history is just not getting taught anymore or if the memories of my father and his generation have just been wiped out of existed but this is not America,” Mayor Cross said at the city council meeting. “This is not who we are.”

President-elect Donald Trump made campaign statements in which he vowed to conduct a large-scale deportation operation of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. Though the anonymous letter refers to a “round-up of brown illegals,” it does not reference Trump or his past statements.

Sheriff Landers told ABC News he also received a copy of the letter in his personal PO box. He added that although the speech in the letter may not constitute a crime, he has notified the FBI for awareness. He said the mayor of Lincoln City, as well as several city council members. also received the letter.

In his Facebook statement, Sheriff Landers also stated that “Oregon law generally prohibits the inquiry or collection of an individual’s immigration or citizenship status, or country of birth, with few specific exceptions” defined by law.

“Consistent with this, the Sheriff’s Office does not inquire about, document, or share such information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” Landers’ statement continued. “These provisions are embedded in our policy manual and are essential to ensuring that our practices respect the rights and dignity of all individuals.”

According to the Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon became the first in the country to pass a statewide sanctuary law in 1987, which in part prohibits state and local law enforcement and government offices from “[participating] directly or indirectly in immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant.”

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(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to an estimated $1 billion ahead of its Christmas Eve drawing.

The estimated jackpot would make it the seventh-largest in the game’s history and its seventh billion-dollar prize.

It would also be the largest ever won in December, if a ticket matches all six numbers drawn.

The cash value of the jackpot is estimated to be $448.8 million.

The last time the jackpot was won was at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10. No one has won the grand prize in the last 29 drawings, as the jackpot has ballooned.

The Mega Millions jackpot has only been won on Christmas Eve once before, according to the game. A $68 million jackpot was won in New York on Dec. 24, 2002, though it was never claimed.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play. Tuesday’s drawing is at 11 p.m. ET.

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(NEW YORK) — As Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terrorism charges in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, supporters of the suspect continued to donate tens of thousands of dollars for a defense fund established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried Mangione is being turned into a martyr.

Several online defense funds have been created for Mangione by anonymous people, including one on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo that as of Tuesday morning had raised over $200,000.

The GiveSendGo defense fund for the 26-year-old Mangione was established by an anonymous group calling itself “The December 4th Legal Committee,” apparently in reference to the day Mangione allegedly ambushed and gunned down Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as the executive walked to his company’s shareholders conference at the New York Hilton hotel.

“We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation,” the anonymous group said in a statement.

The crowdfunding campaign prompted donations from thousands of anonymous donors across the country, many of them leaving messages of support for Mangione, including one person who called themselves “A frustrated citizen” and thanked Mangione for “sparking the awareness and thought across this sleeping nation.”

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for GiveSendGo said the company “operates with a principle of not preemptively determining guilt or innocence.”

“Our platform does not adjudicate legal matters or the validity of causes. Instead, we allow campaigns to remain live unless they violate the specific terms outlined in our Terms of Use. Importantly, we do allow campaigns for legal defense funds, as we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to access due process,” the GiveSendGo spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, “We understand the concerns raised by such campaigns and take these matters seriously. When campaigns are reported, our team conducts a thorough review to ensure they comply with our policies. While other platforms may choose a different approach, GiveSendGo’s core value is to provide a space where all individuals, no matter their situation, can seek and receive support, with donors making their own informed decisions.”

Other crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe have taken down campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense.

“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” the crowdfunding website said in a statement. “The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded.”

Amazon and Etsy have removed from their websites merchandise featuring Mangione, including T-shirts and tote bags reading “Free Luigi” and the phrase “Deny, Defend, Depose,” words police said were etched in the shell casings discovered at the scene of Thompson’s homicide.

“Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. It’s deeply disturbing,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told ABC News senior investigative reporter Aaron Katersky in an interview last week. “And what I would say to members of the public, people who, as you described, are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable. We are at the ready.”

When Mangione appeared in court Monday for his arrangement, more than two dozen young women, who had waited in the frigid cold outside the courthouse, said they were there to support the defendant.

Most of the women wore face masks and a few appeared visibly emotional as Mangione entered the courtroom.

“This is a grave injustice, and that’s why people are here,” one of the women, who said she arrived at the courthouse at 5 a.m., told ABC News.

Other supporters outside the courthouse chanted, “Free, free Luigi” and “Eat the rich,” and held signs reading, “People over profits” and “Health over wealth.”

Manhattan grand jury indicted Mangione last week on 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. Mangione is also facing federal charges that could get him the death penalty if convicted.

Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, raised concerns in court Monday that her client is being used by police and New York City Mayor Eric Adams as “political fodder.”

Angifilo also slammed last week’s extradition of Mangione back to Manhattan to face charges, calling Adams’ presence amid the massive display of force used in the transfer “the biggest staged perp walk I have seen in my career.”

“What was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference — that is utterly political,” she said, before referencing the mayor’s own criminal case. “The New York City mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence.”

Retired FBI special agent Richard Frankel said suspects have received unsolicited support in previous politically charged violent crimes.

“We saw it with the Unabomber,” said Frankel, an ABC News contributor, referring to Ted Kaczynski, the mathematician-turn-domestic terrorist who blamed technology for a decline of individual freedom and mailed handcrafted explosives to targeted individuals between 1978 and 1995.

Frankel said Eric Rudolph, who detonated a bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympic Games and carried out three additional bombings as he eluded capture for five years, also attracted supporters.

“In my opinion, they’re supporting individuals who have committed potentially terrorist acts, but it’s a politically charged act,” Frankel said.

Referring to the Thompson killing, Frankel added, “You can be up in arms about the health care industry, but you can’t threaten or actually hurt members of the health care industry.”

Most recently, Marine veteran Daniel Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was acting erratically on a New York City subway, after supporters donated more than $3 million to his legal defense fund.

Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Mangione is being turned into a martyr. Someone this week pasted “wanted posters” outside the New York Stock Exchange naming other executives.

A recent bulletin released by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a multi-agency law enforcement intelligence-sharing network based in Philadelphia, included a photo of a banner hanging from an overpass reading, “Deny, Defend, Depose,” which are the same words etched on shell casings police said were recovered from the Thompson homicide scene.

“Many social media users have outright advocated for the continued killings of CEOs with some aiming to spread fear by posting ‘hit lists,'” the bulletin, obtained by ABC News, reads.

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(SANTA CRUZ, Calif.) — A powerful storm pummeling the West Coast churned up waves as high as 60 feet, killing one man, sweeping another out to sea and prompting multiple rescues when a pier collapsed in Santa Cruz, California, authorities said.

A series of storms leading into Christmas are expected to continue to pound the West Coast on Tuesday with heavy rain, gusty winds and giant ocean waves.

On Monday, the wild weather turned deadly in Santa Cruz when a large wave hit a man, trapping him beneath debris at a beach, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

The death unfolded around 11:30 a.m. local time at Sunset State Beach in Santa Cruz, about 75 miles south of San Francisco. First responders managed to pull the man from the water, but he was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the sheriff’s office said. The man’s name was not immediately released.

The storm also caused the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf pier to partially collapse, according to the sheriff’s office. Three men, all members of a city crew working on the pier at the time, were thrown into the ocean, according to the sheriff’s office.

Lifeguards sprang into action and rescued two of the men, while the third worker swam to shore on his own. None of the men were seriously injured, according to Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley.

The incident lopped off a 150-foot section at the end of the pier, which was undergoing a $4 million restoration. Large chunks of the pier were left floating in the water.

Video showed one worker stranded on a piece of the pier floating in the water being rescued by a first responder on a jet ski.

The sheriff’s office also issued an evacuation order Monday afternoon for oceanfront residents along an approximately 3-mile stretch of shoreline just south of Santa Cruz, citing large swells and high tides.

The National Weather Service in the Bay Area warned that “dangerous and life-threatening beach conditions” are forecast for along the Pacific Coast through Tuesday, including rough seas and breaking waves up to 60 feet.

A separate rescue attempt occurred Monday near Monterey, where authorities believe high surf likely pulled a man into the ocean. The incident happened at Marina State Beach along the Monterey Bay around noon, according to the Marina Police Department.

“Bystanders attempted to assist the individual; however, due to extremely large waves and strong currents, their rescue efforts were unsuccessful,” police said in a statement.

Marina police officers, firefighters, U.S. Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol launched an extensive search for the man using boats and aircraft, but were forced to suspend the rescue operation when weather conditions became too dangerous, police said. The man, who was not immediately identified, remained missing Tuesday morning.

At the time of the search, the National Weather Service estimated waves in the Santa Cruz area to be 25 to 50 feet, according to police.

High surf warnings were issued up and down the West Coast from Washington to Southern California.

The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s office said first responders also made water rescues in a harbor near Capitola, about 4 miles south of Santa Cruz.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Nine states from Virginia to Maine are under snow alerts on Christmas Eve morning as a band of snow moves through the Northeast, bringing treacherous driving conditions.

A white Christmas?

The National Weather Service considers it a white Christmas if there’s 1 inch or more of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. on Christmas morning.

Boston is getting its first white Christmas in five years and New York City could see its first white Christmas in 15 years.

Christmas Eve forecast

On Christmas Eve morning, the heaviest snow is hitting upstate New York and northern New England where locally more than 1 foot of snow is possible.

A coating to 1 inch of snow is possible along Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston on Tuesday morning.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for DC and Philadelphia due to the dangerous combination of a glaze of ice with a potential coating of snow.

By Tuesday afternoon, the snow will end and the sun will come out in the Northeast, ushering in a dry Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day morning.

Meanwhile, a powerful storm system in the Pacific Ocean is producing extreme waves that are only seen every few years on the West Coast.

Waves could reach 60 feet in Northern California and southern Oregon and could reach 25 feet in Southern California on Tuesday morning.

This storm is bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms with lightning to Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay area.

Some of the rain could reach Southern California, including Los Angeles, by the evening.

Christmas Day forecast

On Christmas Day, temperatures will reach 35 degrees in New York City, 39 degrees in Chicago, 53 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and 59 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Temperatures will be slightly below normal in the Northeast and slightly above normal in the Midwest.

Showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast for Christmas Day from Texas to Mississippi to Tennessee.

Six to 12 inches of snow is forecast for the higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains, from Taos, New Mexico, to Big Sky, Montana.

It’ll be a rainy Christmas afternoon in Oregon and Washington, with snow in the Cascade mountain range.

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