(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. Capitol Police officer has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice over allegations he encouraged an alleged participant of the Jan. 6 riot to delete social media posts that showed the person joining the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol, authorities said Friday.
Michael Riley, an officer with more than 25 years of experience, was not on duty inside the Capitol building itself during the riot — but afterward messaged an unidentified individual over Facebook who allegedly had posted selfies and other videos showing themselves inside the Capitol, an indictment said.
“Hey [Person 1], im a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance,” Riley allegedly wrote. “Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to [be] charged. Just looking out!”
The person then exchanged dozens of more messages with Riley showing them inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment.
“I get it… it was a total sh** show!!!” Riley allegedly wrote. “Just wanted to give you a heads up… Im glad you got out of there unscathed. We had over 50 officers hurt, some pretty bad,” the indictment said.
The two continued to converse over Facebook direct messaging for several days after, according to charging documents. In one exchange, Riley joked the alleged rioter could come stay with him in D.C. at a later date and he could arrange a tour for him so he could “legally” see it, authorities said.
The alleged rioter was later arrested on Jan. 19, according to the charging documents, and the individual told Riley “the fbi was very curious that I had been speaking to you” and warned him they would likely be reaching out to him, according to the indictment.
Riley then allegedly deleted all of his Facebook messages to and from the rioter, the charges said.
Later, according to the indictment, Riley sent a message to the rioter saying a mutual friend sent him a video showing the man smoking weed in the Capitol, and said it made him so “shocked and dumbfounded” that he deleted all of their prior messages.
Riley made his first appearance in court Friday afternoon following his arrest on two counts of obstruction of justice.
The government did not seek his detention and he was ordered released on several conditions, including that he remove any firearms from his home.
He did not enter a plea in the case. His attorney said they expected he will be arraigned on both charges sometime later this month.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger called the allegations “very serious” and said the officer is being placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the case. The officer will also be subjected to an administrative USCP investigation.
The officer had worked most recently as a K-9 tech.
(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — Nikolas Cruz wants to enter a guilty plea in the killing of 17 people in the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting, a defense attorney said in court Friday.
On Feb. 14, 2018, Cruz, then 19, gunned down 14 students and three staff members at his former school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was taken into custody that day.
Fred Guttenberg, father of 14-year-old victim Jaime Guttenberg, tweeted Friday, “My only comment is to remember the victims. Remember Jaime. Rather than talk about the murderer.”
Manuel Oliver, father of 17-year-old victim Joaquin Oliver, told ABC News Live Friday, “I think it’s time to put some — speed it up a little bit. Every day is a new day that we suffer.”
“I can’t wait for this to be over so I can move on, at least without the weight of not knowing what’s gonna happen to this person,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 721,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 66.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 15, 9:54 am
Vaccine requirement for foreign travelers to begin Nov. 8
Beginning Nov. 8, foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. by air and nonessential travelers crossing land borders must show proof of full vaccination to enter the U.S., the White House announced Friday.
Essential workers crossing via land, like those who come for work or school, have until January to become fully vaccinated.
Air travelers will still be required to show proof of a negative test within 72 hours of departure, in addition to their vaccination status.
Oct 15, 9:12 am
FDA panel hours away from vote on J&J boosters
The independent FDA advisory panel is meeting Friday and will hold a nonbinding vote on whether the Johnson & Johnson booster shot should be used.
Officials with the National Institutes of Health will also present data Friday on whether it’s safe and effective to mix-and-match vaccine booster doses.
Oct 14, 7:18 pm
CDC advising states to preorder Pfizer’s vaccine for young children
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising states to order Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 ahead of a vote on its authorization.
An independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to discuss the vaccine on Oct. 26, and a vote is expected soon after. In planning documents posted by the CDC, the agency is advising states to order their doses in advance of the meeting, with preorders starting Oct. 20.
This is meant to “ensure that vaccine can be placed in many locations nationwide, making it easier for children to get vaccinated” and “allow for a manageable and equitable launch,” the CDC said.
A decision from the CDC on recommending the vaccine is not likely until early November; the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
Oct 14, 3:17 pm
FDA panel votes in support of authorizing Moderna booster
The independent FDA advisory panel on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize Moderna vaccine boosters for Americans 65 and older, anyone 18 and older with underlying conditions and those frequently exposed to the virus through work or home life.
The recommendation is in line with what the FDA and CDC authorized for Pfizer booster shots last month.
The FDA panel will meet on Friday on J&J boosters. Following next week’s meetings from the CDC’s independent advisory group, Moderna and J&J boosters could be authorized and recommended for specific populations as soon as Oct. 22.
(WASHINGTON) — The most restrictive abortion law in the country will remain in effect, after a federal appeals court sided with Texas on Thursday in an ongoing legal battle with the Department of Justice.
The law, known as SB8, bans physicians from providing abortions once they detect a so-called fetal heartbeat — which can be seen on an ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
The law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, was briefly paused after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction last week barring its enforcement. Days later, the law was reinstated after a panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary administrative stay.
In the latest development of the high-profile case, the court rejected the Justice Department’s request to again halt Texas’ ability to enforce the law. In a 2-1 order Thursday night, a panel of judges granted Texas’s request to continue to stay the preliminary injunction while it pursues its appeal.
The court’s order did not detail its reasoning behind the ruling, which is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Next stop, #SCOTUS,” University of Texas constitutional law professor Steve Vladeck said in a post on Twitter following the ruling.
Under the law, private citizens can sue a person they “reasonably believe” provided an illegal abortion or assisted someone in getting it in the state, and is crafted to prevent any state official, other than judges, from being responsible for enforcement.
In a 113-page ruling initially granting the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman was scathing in targeting the state in how he says it schemed to evade judicial review.
“A person’s right under the Constitution to choose to obtain an abortion prior to fetal viability is well established,” Pitman wrote. “Fully aware that depriving its citizens of this right by direct state action would be flagrantly unconstitutional, the State contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme to do just that.”
After the injunction was issued, some abortion providers in Texas briefly resumed providing abortions after cardiac activity was detected, only to have the ban back in effect within 48 hours.
Since the law went into effect, women have had to travel hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion out-of-state, inundating neighboring states’ abortion clinics. Abortion providers in Texas have that some clinics may have to close down for good due to the law.
(NEW YORK) — A New York City police officer has been charged with murder and attempted murder Thursday for allegedly shooting two women, killing one, at a home in Brooklyn.
The officer, identified by police as Yvonne Wu, 31, who was off-duty at the time, is believed to have shot both women — one of whom she was dating — when they returned to the home where the officer’s girlfriend lived.
Police said the off-duty officer shot a 24-year-old woman in her chest, “possibly more than one time,” at the Bensonhurst home. The victim, identified as Jamie Liang, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and was pronounced dead, police said.
The other woman, a 23-year-old, who was in the romantic relationship with the officer, was shot in the torso and is expected to survive, police said.
Wu is a police officer in the 72nd District, which encompasses the Park Slope and Sunset Park areas of Brooklyn.
She had worked for the NYPD for 5 1/2 years. Police said she was at a local hospital for evaluation.
“We believe it is domestic in nature. We believe all three parties knew each other,” Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said at a press conference Wednesday evening.
“We believe they had an intimate relationship,” he said of the officer and the 23-year-old woman.
Wu remained at the scene and told police she had shot the two women, according to police.
Police said they were still investigating, but recovered a gun on the scene and “there’s a very good chance it is her service weapon,” Kemper said.
“The whole incident is horrible, but these cops performed great, just heroically, and this is what NYPD cops come upon every single day,” Kemper said. “Is this an incident they would want to come upon? No. But unfortunately throughout their careers they come upon this.”
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — There is renewed criticism of a juvenile court judge in Rutherford County, Tennessee, following a joint ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio report that alleges Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversaw a juvenile justice system where Black children were disproportionally and illegally hit with criminal charges.
The investigation centers around a 2016 incident where 11 Black children, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, were allegedly arrested for not stopping a fight captured on video. Ten of the children were charged with “criminal responsibility for conduct of another.”
Frank Ross Brazil, an attorney who represented several of the children, told ABC News that criminal responsibility is a prosecutorial theory and not a charge under Tennessee law.
“If you and I are in a car, and there’s something illegal in the car and I’m arrested for possessing it, you could be also found guilty of possessing that substance by the theory of criminal responsibility for another,” he said. “So, that being applied as a charge in and of itself is unlawful.”
The ProPublica report detailed systems set up by Davenport, which allegedly lead to the improper arrest and detention of children.
Davenport has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment and declined an interview with ProPublica.
In 2003, Davenport allegedly set up a “process” where police in Rutherford County took children into custody, transported them to the detention center for screening and then filed charging papers. In the 2016 incident, the children were arrested, taken for processing and then released after they had been charged, the lawsuit alleges.
A class-action lawsuit filed, and later settled, against Rutherford County alleges this process was a violation of Tennessee law. For many juvenile misdemeanor offenses, state law requires that police officers release children with a citation or a summons rather than taking them into custody, according to the lawsuit.
The Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center also reportedly used a “filter system,” where staff could decide to hold a child before they had a hearing using undefined criteria instead of the precise categories outlined in Tennessee law, Brazil said. Davenport has “ultimate administrative authority” over the detention center, according to the lawsuit.
According to ProPublica, records from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts showed that in 2014, the last year where this type of data is available, children were detained on average in 5% of juvenile cases statewide. In Rutherford County, children were detained in 48% of cases, the report said.
The class-action lawsuit alleged that these policies led to potentially thousands of children being illegally arrested, illegally detained or both.
Dylan Geerts, a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, but not a part of the 2016 incident, was one of those children. When he was 15, he said he was arrested for stealing change and small items from a car.
“They essentially put me in solitary confinement for between 22 and 23 hours a day,” Geerts, now 23, told ABC News. “[They] took me off of my medications by force, not by doctor’s orders or anything. They just didn’t allow me to have my bipolar medication.”
“I was kept awake for close to 30 something hours by the staff, purposefully,” he added. He was released on house arrest after four days.
“I really struggled through my teenage years after that,” Geerts said, noting that he had fallen in with the “wrong crowd” during his time in juvenile detention.
Before his arrest, he said he had been hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. Although he had support from his family, following his arrest, he was hospitalized for attempting to harm himself and was later diagnosed with PTSD.
“Whenever you get taken off of a medication like that,” he said. “It can take weeks to months for it to work again if it does at all.”
The lawsuit was settled in June of this year for $11 million. As a part of the settlement, Brazil said Rutherford County denied any wrongdoing and each child who was improperly detained got $5,000 and each child who was improperly arrested got $1,000.
“It’s been heartbreaking, actually, to talk to these people’s families and to hear individually so many hundreds of stories,” he said.
“You’d like to hope, being a father to my children of my own, I like to hope that this kind of thing does not happen in the 2000s in America, but it does,” Brazil added. “It’s happening to a certain set of people disproportionately.”
Brazil said that the lawsuits have brought some change to Rutherford County. A federal injunction in 2017 ended the county’s “filter system.”
Although there was an investigation into the arrests in 2016, the police officers involved only received reprimands or short-term suspensions. The officials who recommended the charge did not participate in the investigation and had no mention of it in their personnel files, according to ProPublica.
Davenport is still the juvenile court judge for Rutherford County.
Geerts said that knowing the injunction has stopped the “filter system” has made him feel better. However, he said he wants the state legislature to mandate that counties release numerical data about their juvenile arrest rates. And, he said, he would like to see Davenport challenged when she goes up for election next year.
“I hope that people out here will take that into account and be sure that they can voice their opinion and let people know that, yeah, that’s not cool,” he said.
“Like you’re not making kids better, you’re honestly making them worse” he said. “People don’t belong in a box on their first offense, especially if you’re going to play doctor and take their medication away and lock them inside of a cell.”
Following the release of ProPublica’s report, state lawmakers have called for action.
“We are concerned about the recent reports and believe the appropriate judicial authorities should issue a full review,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s press secretary Casey Black said in a statement to ABC News.
Tennessee State Sen. Jeff Yarbro called the report’s findings “wrong on so many levels” in a tweet Saturday.
“It’s a horror show plain and simple, it’s abusive and it doesn’t even resemble law,” Yarbro, who is the Democratic Leader in the State General Assembly, told ABC affiliate WKRN.
Tennessee State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, who called for a federal investigation after the 2016 incident, said the state and the county failed children and their families in a statement to WKRN.
“As an attorney, I am limited in sharing my personal opinion on sitting judges, but these individuals, through their own acts and admissions, have proven themselves wholly unfit for the important positions they currently hold,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 719,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 66.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 14, 7:18 pm
CDC advising states to preorder Pfizer’s vaccine for young children
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising states to order Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 ahead of a vote on its authorization.
An independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to discuss the vaccine on Oct. 26, and a vote is expected soon after. In planning documents posted by the CDC, the agency is advising states to order their doses in advance of the meeting, with preorders starting Oct. 20.
This is meant to “ensure that vaccine can be placed in many locations nationwide, making it easier for children to get vaccinated” and “allow for a manageable and equitable launch,” the CDC said.
A decision from the CDC on recommending the vaccine is not likely until early November; the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Oct 14, 3:17 pm
FDA panel votes in support of authorizing Moderna booster
The independent FDA advisory panel on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize Moderna vaccine boosters for Americans 65 and older, anyone 18 and older with underlying conditions and those frequently exposed to the virus through work or home life.
The recommendation is in line with what the FDA and CDC authorized for Pfizer booster shots last month.
The FDA panel will meet on Friday on J&J boosters. Following next week’s meetings from the CDC’s independent advisory group, Moderna and J&J boosters could be authorized and recommended for specific populations as soon as Oct. 22.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik, Cheyenne Haslett
Oct 14, 3:02 pm
White House to donate 17 million J&J doses to African Union
When President Joe Biden meets with his Kenyan counterpart in the Oval Office Thursday, he’ll announce a one-time donation of over 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union. This is in addition to the 50 million doses the U.S. has already donated to the African Union.
“We are hopeful this donation will help AU countries build vaccination programs and get shots into arms,” the White House said.
The doses will ship immediately.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Oct 14, 2:03 pm
Region sees hospitalizations at highest point in nearly 10 months
Alaska currently has the country’s highest infection rate, followed by Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia and Idaho, according to federal data.
In the Department of Health and Human Services’ Mountain Region – which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming — hospital admissions are at their highest point in nearly 10 months, according to federal data.
In the last five weeks, Michigan daily cases have nearly doubled and Minnesota daily cases have nearly tripled, according to federal data.
In New Hampshire and Vermont, daily cases are up by 40% and 43% respectively in the last month.
Over the last month, the U.S. has reported more than 47,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, including nearly 9,000 deaths recorded in the last week, according to federal data.
But hospital admissions have dropped by about 9.2% in the last week.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 14, 1:27 pm
Moderna says half dose will be just as effective
Dr. Jaqueline Miller, who presented data to the FDA committee on Thursday on behalf of Moderna, said the half dose works to boost antibody protections back up to the initial level.
“We chose the 50 microgram dose for the booster because we believe we should vaccinate with the lowest amount of antigen needed to induce an immune response at least equal to that in study 301 [the initial clinical study of Moderna vaccine], which was linked to vaccine efficacy of 93%,” Miller said.
Miller added that “reducing the booster dose to 50 micrograms will also increase the worldwide vaccine supply of mRNA.”
Americans who had a normal immune response to the first two shots and are getting a booster will need a half dose. But immunocompromised Americans — people receiving cancer treatment or organ transplant recipients, for example — need a full dose for their third shot to try and initiate the immune response they didn’t get from the first two.
Moderna officials said they’re preparing a letter explaining this administration to health care workers.
According to the FDA’s review of Moderna’s data, there was no evidence of increased side effects from booster doses.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Oct 14, 1:07 pm
Labor Department to issue new vaccine mandate
The U.S. is making progress in the fight against COVID-19 with daily cases and hospitalizations on the decline, but the nation must to do more to vaccinate Americans, President Joe Biden said Thursday.
The Labor Department will soon issue a vaccine mandate for workplaces with 100 or more employees, Biden said.
Biden called on more businesses to “step up” and more parents to get their children vaccinated when eligible.
“We can’t let up now,” he said.
Oct 14, 11:54 am
FDA’s independent committee hours away from vote on Moderna booster
The FDA’s independent committee is meeting on Thursday and will vote in hours on whether to greenlight the Moderna booster for: people 65 and older; people 18 and older who are at high risk of severe illness because of an underlying health condition; and people 18 and older whose job may put them at greater risk for exposure to the virus.
In introductory remarks Thursday, the FDA’s Peter Marks urged the independent panel to “harmonize” its decision with what has already been decided for Pfizer in order to avoid unnecessary confusion for the public.
Pfizer boosters have been authorized for people over 65, all adults with underlying medical conditions and adults whose job puts them at high risk.
The vote is scheduled for about 4:45 p.m.
Oct 13, 6:49 pm
Pending vaccine distribution for kids will be based on population: CDC
Initial distribution of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old will be based on a state’s population of eligible children, according to a new planning document distributed to state immunization managers by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The document, obtained by ABC News, was sent to state officials in advance of the vaccine being authorized by federal regulators. The authorization could happen as soon as early November.
The pediatric vaccine will be shipped in 100-dose packs, each with 10 vials, the document said.
A person familiar with the planned rollout told ABC News that while the government purchased 65 million doses total, the initial shipment may be closer to the 10 million to 20 million range.
After an initial distribution, a “weekly supply will be made available to help sustain the network,” according to the document.
Oct 13, 2:00 pm
COVID No. 1 cause of death for 35- to 54-year-olds in September
COVID-19 was the leading of death among people ages 35 to 54 — and the second-leading cause overall — in September, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcare.
The research also estimates that since June more than 90,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 could have been prevented with vaccines, and more than half of those occurred last month.
In January, COVID-19 was the nation’s No. 1 cause of death, the analysis found. In July, before the delta surge, COVID-19 briefly dropped to eighth.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s police union chief is urging officers to defy the city’s requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status by Friday.
Under the mandate, all city employees must submit their vaccination status by the end of the workweek. Unvaccinated workers who refuse to submit to semiweekly testing will be placed on unpaid leave.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said, “It’s safe to say that the city of Chicago will have a police force at 50% or less for this weekend coming up,” in a video shared on YouTube Tuesday.
He urged officers, “Do not fill out the portal information,” and to file for exemptions. Under the mandate employees can apply for medical or religious exemptions, which will be reviewed on a case by case basis, but they’ll still be required to undergo regular testing.
“I’ve made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody, let alone that information about your medical history,” Catanzara said.
He threatened to take Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court if she enforced the mandate.
The Chicago FOP did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
“I can guarantee you that no-pay status will not last more than 30 days,” Catanzara said. “There’s no way they’re going to be able to sustain a police department workforce at 50% capacity or less for more than seven days without something budging.”
There’s been a contentious back and forth between the police union and Lightfoot.
In a press conference Wednesday she said: “There’s all kinds of things that that guy will say, must of it untrue, patently false. We’re not trying to do anything other than create a safe workplace.”
“He’s threatening litigation, I say bring it. Because we’re going to create a safe workplace for all of our employees and by doing that, we create safety for members of the public as well,” she added.
When asked, “What will the city do if over 50% of cops go into work and get sent home this week?” she replied, “I don’t expect that to happen.”
Police have been hit hard by coronavirus.
Four Chicago police officers died of COVID-19 last year, Lightfoot noted. On Tuesday, the Chicago police union’s former president Dean Angelo, 67, died after a weekslong battle with COVID-19, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Nationally, at least 228 officers have died of COVID-19 this, and 245 died in 2020, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. The page said COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers in both years.
San Francisco also announced a vaccine requirement for about 35,000 municipal workers in June and those who refuse and don’t get an exemption could be fired. New York announced the same requirement, which includes teachers and cops, which took effect mid-September, affecting some 340,000 city employees.
However, the Chicago police union isn’t the only one voicing opposition to the mandate.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he won’t enforce a mandate for LA County workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1 for his agency. The mandate allows for religious and medical exemptions.
“No, I am not forcing anyone,” Villanueva said during a town hall-style event on Facebook Live last week. “The issue has become so politicized there are entire groups of employees that are willing to be fired and laid off rather than get vaccinated. I don’t want to be in a position to lose 5, 10% of my workforce overnight on a vaccine mandate.”
In a statement on Oct. 8, Villanueva said, “The Department will continue requiring all of our employees to register with the Fulgent system but will only seek voluntary compliance and testing for the unvaccinated.”
Similarly, in New York City, last week the city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association, shared a statement opposing the vaccine mandate for emergency responders.
“In the PBA’s view, the COVID-19 vaccine is a medical decision that members must make in consultation with their own health care providers. We have pushed to make the vaccine available to all members who seek it, and we will continue to protect the rights of members who are not vaccinated,” President Patrick Lynch said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Luchiano Lewis was sentenced Thursday to the maximum of nine years to life in prison for his role in the murder of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors.
Majors, 18, was stabbed to death on Dec. 11, 2019, in upper Manhattan’s Morningside Park, just off the campus of Columbia University.
Lewis, who was 14 at the time and charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree robbery last month.
The two other teens arrested in connection to the slaying were 16-year-old Rashaun Weaver, who has pleaded not guilty, and a 13-year-old juvenile who pleaded guilty and is serving his sentence.
Lewis said the three middle school friends plotted to rob people in the park and pinned the idea on Weaver. Prosecutors said Weaver wielded the knife.
In the last moments of her life, a security camera caught Majors trudging up a flight of steps in the park, dripping blood and struggling to breathe. As she reached the street she collapsed against a lamppost and died minutes later of stab wounds.
Majors’ father, Inman Majors, briefly exited the courtroom Thursday while the video of his daughter’s final moments was played.
As the prosecutor read a family statement, Inman Majors sobbed audibly.
“We still find words inadequate to describe the immeasurable pain, trauma, and suffering that our family has endured since her senseless murder,” Majors’ parents wrote in a statement.
“Tess was a brilliant student, a voracious reader, a poet and a fledgling journalist. She had big dreams. She loved everything about music. … She loved meeting new people with different ideas and beliefs than her own,” her parents said. “But mostly she loved her family and friends, her cats, and especially her younger brother. Her family misses her every moment of every day.”
“Our hearts ache as we watch Tess’s friends return to school, perform concerts, start new jobs, and experience all the things that our daughter never will,” they continued. “It is hard for many old friends to be around us. Our grief is too profound. We are too changed from the people we used to be. Our lives are forever changed, and not a day goes by that we don’t think about what could have been for Tess’s future.”
Lewis, now 16, apologized and said he felt ashamed, embarrassed and “sad in the role I played in destroying two families.”
When Lewis told Majors’ father “I’m deeply sorry for your loss,” he wept and covered his eyes with his hand.
Lewis broke down as he apologized to his father, who was seated alone in the courtroom. “Dad, I’m sorry I failed you,” Lewis said.
Judge Robert Mandelbaum appeared skeptical of Lewis’ sincerity, saying “sadly and troublingly the defendant has learned no lessons.”
The judge noted the “multiple violent acts” Lewis has been involved in while incarcerated, including the beating of another inmate with a piece of metal wrapped in a sock.
Mandelbaum said in handing down the sentence, “The defendant was and is extremely young. He has his whole life ahead of him but Tessa Majors does not.”
(WASHINGTON) — In the nine months since the Jan. 6 attack, even as their physical injuries heal, some Capitol Police officers still do battle with unseen wounds and memories.
As part of their department’s efforts to assist with that healing, the agency has now added two “wellness dogs” to its health program.
ABC News spoke with two officers in that program who have supported each other, with help from Lila, a 3-year old black lab from California.
Invisible injuries
U.S. Capitol Police officer Jeffrey Albanese, a 14-year veteran, said his role on Jan. 6 was to make sure all emergency personnel who needed to be in the Capitol could enter.
But what haunts him is having listened to radio calls from officers in distress.
“Hearing the cries for help, hearing, ‘We need officers here, we need officers at this place.’ Just hearing your responses back, ‘This is all we have.’ So, I’d say, you know, for me that was profound,” Albanese said.
One of those who needed assistance was fellow officer Caroline Edwards, who is dealing with prolonged effects from the attack, including a traumatic brain injury.
She was working on the Capitol’s West Front, when she saw a crowd of about 200 protesters coming at her. As they came closer, they began tearing down fences and barricades, Edwards said, using them to attack her and her fellow officers.
She has struggled in the months since.
“You kind of have this, this guilt of like, ‘Am I, am I making this up?’ — because I can’t tell you know I can’t show in a tangible way that I’m injured, but you know I really have to tell people I’m not feeling good today,” Edwards said.
The “hardest part about having a traumatic brain injury is just the unseen injury part,” she added. “You kind of have to tell people yourself like, I’m not feeling good today, I gotta, I gotta stop you have to set your own boundaries which is it difficult for anybody, let alone a police officer.”
Edwards said it’s been hard being away from her fellow officers during her recovery. “The injury takes you out of that tight-knit police community that you kind of come to know and love, and you see everybody working, you see everybody, suffering, and you have to sit home and not be able to do anything about it.”
Thanks to a peer support group, she said, she knew her feelings of guilt were understood.
Comfort dogs
As they spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill, both Albanese and Edwards were joined on by their four-legged colleague.
In the past few weeks, the department has hired two new comfort dogs, Lila and Leo, to address trauma as well as support the long-term health and well-being of their employees.
Dogs on Capitol Hill aren’t a new concept; they are often tucked away in congressional offices, led on leashes held by staffers and lawmakers. On Fridays, they can be seen roaming the halls when Congress often isn’t in session.
Wellness Coordinator Dimitri Louis, who began working at the Capitol in 2016, and joined the police force full-time focusing on wellness and resiliency, said since Jan. 6 there’s been an increased demand for the program’s resources.
Soon after the insurrection, several service animals were brought to Capitol Hill by other support agencies, including neighboring police departments. Officers quickly noted their positive impact.
Louis, who wasn’t a dog person before meeting Lila, now calls her a blessing.
“She originally started off as a seeing-eye dog, but through her training, they realize how much she loves squirrels and that distraction can be an issue. So, she got retrained to be very comfortable around people around crowds and to be very very social,” he said.
Lila moved in with Louis in June. Her canine colleague, Leo, joined the police force just two weeks ago with the goal to “lower anxiety, bring smiles and improve the overall well-being of all our employees, both sworn and civil,” Louis said.
Every day for Lila looks different. Some days, members of the police force can request her. Other times, she comes by to greet fellow members of the force. And some days, she just hangs out with Louis as he works in his office. However, he said, she does work at least 40 hours per a week.
And much like many other dogs “she does love chasing squirrels, which sometimes can be a challenge. She loves chasing squirrels, she really just loves being around people. It’s awesome that for her temperament and her personality, She loves what she does for work,” he said.
