(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — An investigation has been opened after a cellphone video that appears to show sheriff’s deputies punching and beating a Black man during a traffic stop went viral on social media, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Sunday. “We have launched an internal investigation into it and the circumstances surrounding this incident. We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorneys for Harvard University and the American Association of University Professors asked a federal judge Monday to prevent the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from the school.
Lawyers for university are seeking a motion for summary judgment to prevent the administration from withholding federal funding if the school does not comply with its list of demands.
At a hearing Monday, the government argued that its grant contracts with Harvard include language saying the government can terminate its contracts if the school does not align with the government’s priorities.
“Harvard should have read the fine print,” Michael Velchik, an attorney for government argued.
Government attorneys say the government’s priorities include combatting antisemitism, and that the administration will not fund institutions that fail to address antisemitism to its satisfaction.
The same money could be sent to HBCUs or any other university that does not discriminate on the basis of race, Velchik said.
Saying that the government can terminate its contract regardless of the reason, Velchik argued that Harvard should bring a termination of contract claim in the Court of Federal Claims.
When the judge pushed back that claims of constitutional violations cannot be brought in that court, Velchik maintained that this is a termination of contract issue.
“This case is only about money. Harvard is the richest university in history,” Velchik said. “Harvard wants billions of dollars that’s the only reason why we are here.”
Velchik said that recent pro-Palestinian protests have prompted students on campus to wear baseball caps to hide their identity and have prompted professors to avoiding walking through Harvard Yard. Federal taxpayers should not support this, he argued.
President Donald Trump issued an order to combat antisemitism, and the government’s policy is that that taxpayer dollars do not go to institutions that fail to address antisemitism, Velchik said.
Attorneys for Harvard pushed back, saying they brought the case against the government to protect the school’s constitutional and statutory rights.
“Until today I’m not sure we heard any explanation about what the agency priorities are,” Steven Paul Lehotsky, an attorney for Harvard, said.
The provision of funding contracts that allows the government to terminate contracts in pursuit of its priorities refers to research priorities, not institutions that the government prefers, Lehotsky said. For example, shifting from funding Covid vaccines to something else, not shifting from funding one institution to another, he said.
“This is an astounding theory that only the executive branch could possibly love,” Lehotsky said.
Lehotsky argued that the government simply did not want to follow the procedures mandated by Title VI. They can’t choose to follow it whenever they decide it is convenient for them, he argued.
If they have a provision that they can terminate funding for any reason, “that doesn’t mean that they get to set aside the Constitution,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said at the end of the hearing that she would try to get out an opinion as quickly as she can.
Trump, posting on his social media platform Monday, criticized Burroughs and called her “a TOTAL DISASTER.”
“She has systematically taken over the various Harvard cases, and is an automatic ‘loss’ for the People of our Country!” Trump wrote, saying that the government would “IMMEDIATELY appeal” if the judge rules in Harvard’s favor.
ABC News’ Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys on Monday asked a federal judge for a 30-day stay if he is ordered released from custody while awaiting trial.
The lawyers said their request comes after they were advised by the government that if released, the Department of Homeland Security would begin removal proceedings for the accused MS-13 gang member.
“Given the uncertainty of the outcome of any removal proceedings, Mr. Abrego respectfully requests that, should the Court deny the government’s motion for revocation, the issuance of an order releasing Mr. Abrego be delayed for 30 days to allow Mr. Abrego to evaluate his options and determine whether additional relief is necessary,” his lawyers wrote.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.
He was brought back to the U.S. last month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. said he anticipates making a decision Monday on whether Abrego Garcia should be released pending trial.
The attorneys said in Monday’s filing that the government does not oppose their request for a stay.
(NEW YORK) — A Florida man was arrested last week for allegedly threatening on X to kill “EVERY ONE” on what he believed was the Jeffrey Epstein client list, charging documents unsealed Monday show.
Terrell Bailey-Corsey allegedly posted the threats on X last Tuesday, seemingly reacting to a response from X’s AI agent Grok that disputed any such client list exists, as the FBI and Justice Department recently confirmed.
“Well @grok you’re wrong. Everyone involved if I see them in real life I will KILL. On sight,” Bailey-Corsey allegedly said. “I will KILL EVERYONE ON THE LIST. ON SIGHT. AND THEY ABSOLUTELY DESERVE IT.”
Roughly an hour after that post, Bailey-Corsey posted another message singling out three government officials — unnamed in the charging documents — saying he would “KILL YOU ON SIGHT.”
“IT’S TIME TO START KILLING POLITICIANS ON SIGHT,” he added minutes later.
Prosecutors detailed multiple other concerning messages they say were posted by Bailey-Corsey over the next several days, including a video posted where he threatened another unnamed government official.
News of Bailey-Corsey’s arrest was first reported by CourtWatch.
A public defender listed as representing Bailey-Corsey did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
As of Monday afternoon, Bailey-Corsey had not yet made his initial court appearance according to court records, and had not yet entered a plea.
Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorneys for Harvard University and the American Association of University Professors are in federal court Monday to argue against the Trump administration’s withholding of federal funds from the school.
Lawyers for university are seeking a motion for summary judgment to prevent the administration from withholding federal funding if the school does not comply with its list of demands.
At Monday’s hearing, the government is arguing that its grant contracts with Harvard include language saying the government can terminate its contracts if the school does not align with the government’s priorities.
“Harvard should have read the fine print,” Michael Velchik, an attorney for government argued.
Government attorneys say the government’s priorities include combatting antisemitism, and that the administration will not fund institutions that fail to address antisemitism to its satisfaction.
The same money could be sent to HBCUs or any other university that does not discriminate on the basis of race, Velchik said.
Saying that the government can terminate its contract regardless of the reason, Velchik argued that Harvard should bring a termination of contract claim in the Court of Federal Claims.
When the judge pushed back that claims of constitutional violations cannot be brought in that court, Velchik maintained that this is a termination of contract issue.
“This case is only about money. Harvard is the richest university in history,” Velchik said. “Harvard wants billions of dollars that’s the only reason why we are here.”
(NEW YORK) — Pedro Hernandez, the man convicted of kidnapping and murdering Etan Patz in 1979, should be retried or released, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based its decision on a flawed jury instruction given by a New York state judge about Hernandez’s purported confessions.
Hernandez, 64, is currently in state prison serving a sentence of 25 years to life after he was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping and murdering Patz, the 6-year-old boy whose face was the first placed on a milk carton to seek public help finding missing children.
A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, “We are reviewing the decision.”
Because of the lack of physical evidence, the trial — Hernandez’s second, after the first jury hung — hinged entirely on Hernandez’s purported confessions to luring Etan into a basement as he walked to his school bus stop alone in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
Hernandez, who has a documented history of mental illnesses and a low IQ, initially confessed after seven hours of questioning by three police officers. Immediately after Hernandez confessed, the police administered Miranda warnings, began a video recording and had Hernandez repeat his confession on tape. He did so again, several hours later, to an assistant district attorney.
When deliberating, the jury sent the judge three different notes about Hernandez’s confessions. One of them asked the judge to explain whether, if the jury found that Hernandez’s confession before he was read his rights “was not voluntary,” it “must disregard” the later confessions. The judge responded, without further explanation, “the answer is, no.”
The federal appeals court concluded “the state trial court’s instruction was clearly wrong” and “that the error was manifestly prejudicial.” The court said Hernandez must be released or retried within a reasonable amount of time.
Hernandez, a stock boy at a local convenience store, was accused of luring Patz to the basement with a bottle of soda. Patz vanished on the first day he was allowed to walk to the school bus stop alone on May 25, 1979.
(NEW YORK) — A second suspect in the weekend shooting of an off-duty United States Border Patrol agent in a New York City park has been taken into custody, authorities said on Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an accomplice of the suspect in the shooting and wounding of the off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was detained over night.
Noem did not initially identify the second person, but said he is also an undocumented migrant as she gave an update on the shooting at a press conference in New York.
The officer, who was shot in the face and arm just before midnight on Saturday, remained hospitalized and is expected to survive after exchanging gunfire with an undocumented migrant with a lengthy criminal record and outstanding arrest warrants. The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, an undocumented migrant from the Dominican Republic, was also shot in the incident and detained after he went to an area hospital for medical treatment.
Both suspects are believed to have entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, according to authorities. Noem, border czar Tom Homan and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott blamed former President Joe Biden and sanctuary city policies for permitting the men to remain in the country.
Mora Nunez entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and was released, Noem said. He has an active warrant for armed robbery in Massachusetts, according to officials.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said federal charges are expected in the case.
The shooting unfolded at 11:51 p.m. Saturday in Fort Washington Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department.
The 42-year-old Border Patrol agent was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he is being treated and is expected to make a full recovery, authorities said.
The shooting occurred near the Little Red Lighthouse in Fort Washington Park, which is directly beneath the George Washington Bridge, police said. The attack was captured on security video, which helped police quickly catch the suspect, authorities said.
A witness told police that she and the off-duty agent were sitting together on the rocks near the edge of the Hudson River when the suspected gunman and his accomplice approached them on a scooter, according to a DHS statement released on Sunday.
The security video, posted on social media by the DHS, showed two men on a scooter stop near where the victim and the witness were sitting. In the footage, the passenger is seen getting off the scooter and approaching the victim while the driver stays with the vehicle.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the video showed Mora Nunez allegedly drawing a firearm and the Border Patrol agent also pulling out a handgun to defend himself.
“The officer realized that he was being robbed and drew his service weapon in defense,” Tisch said.
Tisch alleged that Mora Nunez opened fire first and that there was an exchange of gunfire before the suspect appeared to limp back to his alleged accomplice and the two drove away on the scooter.
Tisch said Mora Nunez walked into a hospital in the Bronx at 12:18 a.m. with gunshot wounds to the groin and the leg that she said was “consistent with the injuries sustained” by the perpetrator in the security video.
The commissioner said it does not appear that the Border Patrol agent was targeted because of his job.
Mora Nunez underwent surgery and is in custody at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, Tisch said.
The initial police investigation has determined that the suspect, who DHS said is from the Dominican Republic, entered the country illegally in Arizona from Mexico in 2023, according to Tisch.
Tisch said Mora Nunez has two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York and has an active warrant for missing a court date on one of the cases.
Mora Nunez is also wanted by the NYPD for a robbery in December 2024 and a felony assault stabbing in January 2025. Both of those incidents occurred in the Bronx.
“In less than one year, he has inflicted violence in our city and once he’s charged for last night’s crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at Sunday’s news conference.
The Massachusetts warrant for Mora Nunez alleges he stole guns from a pawn shop in February 2025, Tisch said.
Adams said he visited the wounded Border Patrol agent in the hospital on Sunday.
The New York shooting comes roughly two weeks after a gunman opened fire at the entrance to the Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen, Texas.
The suspect in the July 7 shooting, identified as 27-year-old Ryan Louis Mosqueda, fired “many rounds” at the federal building that houses the U.S. Border Patrol office at the McAllen International Airport, according to McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.
The suspect was confronted and killed by Border Patrol agents and local police, according to McAllen police and the DHS.
Two police officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured in the attack, according to the DHS.
The motive for the McAllen shooting remains under investigation.
ABC News’ Armando Garcia and Jack Date contributed to this report.
(TICONDEROGA, N.Y.) — A Canadian man has been charged with murder in the death of his 9-year-old daughter in upstate New York over the weekend, authorities said on Monday.
Melina Galanis Frattolin’s body was found in a shallow pond on Sunday. Officials alleged that her father, Luciano Frattolin, falsely told police she had been kidnapped.
Frattolin, of Montreal, allegedly killed his daughter during a vacation to the U.S., concealed her body near Lake George and fabricated a story that she was abducted when he pulled over to go into the woods to urinate, Capt. Robert McConnell of the New York State Police said at a news conference.
McConnell said investigators believe Melina was killed Saturday evening, just hours after she called her mother to say that she and her father were on their way back to Montreal following a 10-day vacation to New York City and Connecticut.
“He allegedly murdered Melina and left her body in a remote area where she was later discovered by law enforcement,” McConnell said.
According to McConnell, Frattolin and his daughter’s mother have been estranged since 2019. He said the mother knew Frattolin had taken Melina on a vacation and told police she had no prior concerns about them traveling to the U.S. together.
The father and daughter entered the U.S. on July 11, McConnell said.
Frattolin has been charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a corpse and is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Ticonderoga Town Court later Monday.
Melina’s body was discovered on Sunday afternoon by New York State Police Forest Rangers at the shallow end of a pond in a remote area near Ticonderoga, New York, authorities said.
The kidnapping report from Frattolin led the New York State Police to issue an Amber Alert early Sunday. A massive search was launched, involving State Police K-9 and aviation units, New York State Park Rangers, the Essex and Warren County sheriff’s offices, the New York State Department of Conservation and the Ticonderoga Police Department.
“He fabricated the initial report of the abduction,” McConnell alleged during the news conference, adding that police began to focus on the father as a suspect after finding inconsistencies in his account of events and the timeline he provided.
A motive for the alleged killing remains under investigation. McConnell said Frattolin had no criminal history and that investigators found no evidence of domestic violence in his past.
McConnell said Melina lived with her mother full-time in Montreal.
The cause and manner of Melina’s death is pending the results of an autopsy.
According to police, Frattolin called 911 in Warren County late Saturday, claiming his daughter had been abducted by two strangers. The father allegedly claimed the girl was kidnapped around 9:40 p.m. after they pulled Interstate 87 at exit 22 near Lake George, where he allegedly falsely claimed he went into the woods to urinate, McConnell said.
McConnell alleged that the father falsely told police that as he was returning to his vehicle, he saw two men put his daughter in a white van and speed off.
Frattolin was placed under arrest in Essex County and booked at the Essex County Jail early Monday.
“This is certainly a difficult case and a heartbreaking investigation,” McConnell said. “The best we can do is provide some measure of justice to the family.”
(SEATTLE) — Alaska Airlines resumed operations late Sunday about three hours after having requested a ground stop for all of its flights, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“At approximately 8 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, Alaska Airlines experienced an IT outage that’s impacting our operations. We requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights until the issue is resolved,” the airline said in a statement Sunday evening.
The airline said it resumed operations at about 11 p.m. PT.
“We apologize to our guests for this inconvenience. There will be residual impacts to our operation throughout the evening. If you are traveling tonight, please check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport,” the statement continued.
On Monday, the airline said the issue was hardware-related and not the result of a cybersecurity incident.
“A critical piece of multi-redundant hardware at our data centers, manufactured by a third-party, experienced an unexpected failure,” the airline said in a statement. “When that happened, it impacted several of our key systems that enable us to run various operations, necessitating the implementation of a ground stop to keep aircraft in position. The safety of our flights was never compromised.”
ABC News has reached out to the FAA for more information.
(MINOT, N.D.) — A Delta regional jet on approach to Minot, North Dakota, made an “aggressive maneuver” to avoid a midair collision with a B-52 bomber, according to the Delta pilot.
“All of a sudden we just jerk really hard to the right — we just kept taking more turns and more turns and he gets on the announcement and says, ‘I’m sorry everybody, I’ll explain everything once we’ve landed safely,” passenger Monica Green told ABC News following the July 18 incident.
The flight, operated by SkyWest, had departed from Minneapolis. Once on the ground, the pilot apologized to passengers for the abrupt move and explained the situation.
“Given his speed … I don’t know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us. I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it,” the pilot said, according to a recording of the conversation. “So sorry about the aggressive maneuver, it caught me by surprise, this is not normal at all. I don’t know why they didn’t give us a heads up, because the Air Force base does have radar … long story short, it was not fun, but I do apologize for it and thank you for understanding. Not a not a fun day at work.”
It’s unclear how close the two jets came to each other or if a cockpit alarm was activated to warn the pilots of a potential collision. Minot is home to an Air Force base with B-52 bombers.
“We are aware of the recent reporting regarding commercial and Air Force aircraft operating in airspace around Minot International Airport. We are currently looking into the matter. We can confirm that a B-52 aircraft assigned to Minot AFB conducted a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair Friday evening,” an Air Force spokesperson told ABC News on Sunday evening.
SkyWest said it’s investigating the incident.
“SkyWest flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Minot, North Dakota, landed safely in Minot after being cleared for approach by the tower but performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path. We are investigating the incident,” according to a spokesperson.
