Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division via X
(COLORADO SPRINGS, CO) — The Drug Enforcement Administration said it detained more than 200 people — including members of the military — at an unlicensed underground nightclub in Colorado on Sunday, officials told ABC News.
Officials said among those that were detained were active-duty military members. DEA Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen said that alleged members of gangs, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, were present at the venue.
At approximately 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, officials conducted a “multi-agency enforcement operation” at what they called an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division posted a video on X showing the operation underway on Sunday morning.
Of the hundreds of people inside the nightclub, at least 114 were migrants that DEA officials said were in the country illegally. They are now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Close to 300 people were inside the nightclub and 114 illegal migrants were taken into custody, with most from Central and South America, officials said.
“Drugs and weapons have also been seized at this underground nightclub,” the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division said on X.
The operation was led by the DEA and involved around 10 federal agencies along with the local sheriff’s department, officials said. The investigation took several months and included undercover operations, officials said.
Authorities said they used drones, a helicopter and an armored vehicle for the operation.
The Army confirmed that service members from Fort Carson, Colorado, were present at the club and that it is conducting a joint investigation with DEA.
The Army would not say how many service members were allegedly involved, whether any were arrested or remain in custody, or if they were charged.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Sunday that “cocaine, meth and pink cocaine was seized” during the operation, and that two people were arrested on existing warrants.
“As we approach his 100 days in office @POTUS Trump’s directive to make America safe again is achieving results!” Bondi said.
Officials said they also found evidence of prostitution and suspect human trafficking was at play at the nightclub.
Mike Moon, the property owner, told ABC Colorado Springs affiliate KRDO he had “no idea” what was happening in the space and the tenants’ lease was about to expire at the end of April.
“It’s shocking to me that in this political climate that something like this was even happening and that people thought this was a good idea to do something like this,” Moon said.
The space is an event center with a stage and a bar in the back, but there was no liquor license for the club, officials said.
There were no injuries to law enforcement, but one man suffered life-threatening injuries jumping out of a window trying to flee, officials told ABC News.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report
Columbia County Deputy Brandon Sikes, a crime suppression officer with the department since 2018, was killed during a standoff along Interstate 20, according to Columbia County Sheriff Clay N. Whittle on Sunday.
Sikes is survived by his wife, Amber, who is also an employee of the sheriff’s office in Columbia County, Georgia.
Another deputy, Gavin White, who is also a crime suppression offering, was shot during the incident and taken to the hospital for treatment, Whittle said.
The deadly encounter began Saturday afternoon around 6:30 p.m. when the two deputies attempted to serve a temporary protective order to a suspect identified as James Blake Montgomery. During the encounter, both deputies were shot.
Montgomery then barricaded himself inside an RV, police said.
Montgomery tried to drive away under fire, police said, and the RV crashed into a median barrier on I-20, westbound next Exit 194.
Law enforcement quickly surrounded the vehicle, they said, deploying drones and robots to assess the situation. Initially, they said, it was unclear whether Montgomery was alive inside.
After a prolonged standoff, Montgomery was found dead inside the motorhome, officials said. Sheriff’s officials, aided by local, state and federal agencies, discovered multiple pipe bombs and bomb-making materials inside the RV, including at least one device rigged with a remote switch, according to Whittle on Sunday.
Beneath the motorhome, investigators found several propane cylinders, raising concerns about the potential for a catastrophic explosion, the sheriff continued.
Deputy Andrew Brown was among those who engaged Montgomery during the firefight. Whittle credited Brown with saving the life of another wounded deputy, Gavin White, by dragging him across three patrol cars and driving him directly to Doctor’s Hospital while still under fire.
“Probably saving his life, according to the doctors,” Whittle said.
Authorities also recovered an illegally modified fully automatic AR-style rifle, numerous magazines, several handguns and boxes of ammunition from the motorhome, they said.
Investigators also found jars containing unknown liquids, which could be bomb-making materials or related to Montgomery’s previously known illegal steroid operation, Whittle added.
Both Sikes and Montgomery are undergoing autopsies at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Atlanta.
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson posted a statement on Facebook on Saturday, saying, “Heartbroken and praying for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and our neighbors in Columbia County. Our prayers are with the families of the fallen, the entire Sheriff’s Office, and all who are grieving this unimaginable loss. We honor their sacrifice and pray for the difficult days ahead.” Columbia County is situated within the Augusta-Richmond County metropolitan area.
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp also shared a statement on X on Saturday, offering condolences and saying that he is “painfully reminded of why those who wear a badge have more than earned our enduring respect and appreciation.”
ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh contributed to this report.
(KANSAS CITY, MI) — In what officials called “a senseless act,” a paramedic Graham Hoffman, 29 years old, had been with the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022.
“Early Sunday morning, Firefighter Hoffman was critically injured after being stabbed in the chest, piercing his heart, while transporting a patient to a local hospital on what began as a routine medical call from the police,” a statement from the city said. “His partner immediately initiated a crew emergency.”
He was rushed to North Kansas City Hospital, where he died from his injuries, Fire Chief Ross Grundyson said.
“KCFD crews worked tirelessly to save Firefighter Hoffman’s life en route to North Kansas City Hospital,” the city’s statement added. “Lifesaving efforts continued in the emergency room before Graham was moved into surgery. Despite the heroic efforts … Firefighter Hoffman, succumbed to his injuries in the intensive care unit.”
Officials said the suspect was in custody on Sunday, but did not provide details.
“I expect and will demand justice,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said at a news conference on Sunday. “I never expected a line of duty death like this one.”
“Graham was a dedicated professional who loved serving his city,” the KCFD posted on Facebook. “He will be greatly missed.”
(OCEAN COUNTY, NJ) — Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire in New Jersey that has burned over 15,000 acres, with strong winds on Sunday complicating their efforts, officials said.
The Jones Road Wildfire, located in Ocean County, has burned 15,300 acres and is only 65% contained as of Sunday, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The National Weather Service issued an “increased risk of rapid fire spread” for Sunday afternoon for portions of southern New Jersey. Minimum humidity values will be around 30% to 35%, combined with “northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with 30 to 40 mph gusts.”
Officials said these windy conditions are complicating the containment process for this wildfire, with the gusts causing already-burned trees to fall throughout the woods, creating serious hazards.
“The NJ State Forest Fire Service is again requesting for folks to stay out of the woods that were affected,” the Lacey Township Police Department said in a statement on Sunday. “It’s a dangerous combination of fire and wind.”
Firefighter operations will continue for the “next several days” due to these powerful winds, officials said.
The NWS said the wind should “diminish fairly rapidly by early this evening.”
The New Jersey State Forest Service is urging the public to avoid fire-affected wooded areas, warning of dangerous conditions. The NWS also said outdoor burning is “strongly discouraged” during this time.
Trace amounts of rain fell over the southern portion of the fire on Saturday, and precipitation that “varied in amount” hit the northern section of the flames. Crews are “currently mopping up hotspots and patrolling the fire perimeter,” the forest fire service said.
So far, one commercial building and multiple outbuildings and vehicles were destroyed by flames, with a complete damage assessment underway, officials said.
Officials said they will provide more updates on the fire’s containment on Monday afternoon.
The Jones Road Wildfire was first spotted at approximately 9:45 a.m. on April 22 in the Greenwood Wildlife Management area in Waretown, New Jersey, officials said.
A 19-year-old man, Joseph Kling of Waretown, was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire and charged with second-degree aggravated arson for allegedly purposely destroying a forest; and third-degree arson for allegedly recklessly endangering buildings or structures, New Jersey officials announced on Thursday.
Kling was arrested after investigators determined the fire to be “incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire,” officials said.
The origin of the fire, according to investigators, is near the Waretown address the Kling listed as his home.
During his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon, Kling did not enter a plea to the charges. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
ABC News’ Jason Volack and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Friday said he has a strong suspicion that the Trump administration deported a 2-year old U.S. citizen to Honduras “with no meaningful process.”
The U.S. citizen, identified in the filings as “V.M.L” was initially detained with her undocumented mother and sister at a routine immigration check-in in New Orleans earlier this week. After the father of the 2-year old learned that his family was detained, his lawyer called immigration officials to inform them that V.M.L is a U.S. citizen and could not be deported, according to court documents.
“Around 7:30 p.m. the same day, V.M.L.’s father received a call from an ICE officer, who spoke to him for about a minute,” according to a court filing submitted by the father’s attorney. “The officer said that V.M.L.’s mother was there, and that they did not have much time to speak to each other and that they were going to deport his partner and daughters.”
According to the court filing, when the father reached out to an official for Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, he was told that he could try to pick up V.M.L but that he would also be taken into custody.
On Thursday, an attorney for a family friend, who had been given temporary provisional custody of the child, filed for a temporary restraining order, requesting the immediate release of the 2-year-old, saying she was suffering irreparable harm by being detained.
In response to that motion, lawyers with the Justice Department said it was in the best interest of the minor that she remain in legal custody of her mother and added that she was not at “risk of irreparable harm because she is a U.S. citizen.”
“V.M.L. is not prohibited from entering the United States,” the DOJ lawyers said in the court filing.
Before the court responded to the habeas petition and a motion for temporary restraining order, the 2-year old, along with her mother and sister, were deported to Honduras, according to court filings.
“That family filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for a temporary restraining order, which was never ruled on because of their rapid early-morning deportation,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
The ACLU said that the 2-year old and two other U.S. citizen children in a separate case, were deported from the U.S. “under deeply troubling circumstances that raise serious due process concerns.”
In his April 25 order, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty said he tried to reach the 2-year-old’s mother over the phone, to ascertain whether she, in fact, wanted her child deported with her, as the government had contended, but was told by government attorneys that wouldn’t be possible because the mother had just been released in Honduras.
Doughty scheduled a hearing in the case for May 16, saying he was taking the step in “the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”
(MILWAUKEE) — The federal government announced two separate arrests Friday of a current judge and a former judge alleged to have assisted undocumented immigrants who authorities claim were violent criminals, moves that have raised red flags among Democrats and others.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday by the FBI over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest last week. Her arrest took place hours after federal authorities arrested former New Mexico Judge Joel Cano and his wife Nancy Cano for allegedly housing a Venezuelan national with reported gang ties, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Bondi spoke with ABC News Live’s Kyra Phillips Friday afternoon to discuss the cases and dismissed critics who accused the Trump administration of intimidating judges who oppose their crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
“Nobody is above the law, not even a judge,” Bondi told Philips.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Judge Dugan’s arrest earlier Friday in a social media post, which was briefly deleted and reposted.
“Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” Patel said in the new post. “We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest.”
Dugan was charged with two criminal counts of “obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.
County court records show the undocumented immigrant in the Milwaukee case — Eduardo Flores-Ruiz — was set to appear in court on April 18 before Dugan for a pretrial conference in a case where he has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse connected to an incident on March 12. The case is ongoing.
Federal prosecutors allege Flores-Ruiz illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico and was issued an Expedited Removal order in January 2013, according to a criminal complaint.
Bondi alleged that Flores-Ruiz beat his roommate and a woman so badly that they needed to be hospitalized and that he continued to be belligerent in the hospital before his arrest.
According to the complaint, Dugan allegedly sought to help Flores-Ruiz evade arrest by federal officers from an ICE task force.
When Judge Dugan learned ICE officers were present in court to arrest Flores-Ruiz, she became “visibly angry” and said the situation was “absurd” before leaving the bench and entering her chambers, according to the complaint, which cited witnesses who spoke to the FBI.
Dugan and another unidentified judge then allegedly approached the arrest team in the public hallway, according to the complaint. She was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” and asked one of the officers whether they were present for a court appearance, the complaint alleged.
When the officer replied they were there to make an arrest, the complaint alleges Judge Dugan asked if they had a judicial warrant, to which the officer responded, “No I have an administrative warrant.”
Multiple witnesses cited in the complaint later allegedly said Judge Dugan returned to her courtroom after directing members of the arrest team to the office of the court’s chief judge.
“The courtroom deputy then saw Judge DUGAN get up and heard Judge DUGAN say something like ‘Wait, come with me,'” the complaint states. “Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge DUGAN then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the ‘jury door,’ which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse.”
“So she continues, continues with her docket, finishes her docket. Two victims sit in court all morning long waiting and at the end. The prosecutors say ‘What happened? Why didn’t the case get called?'” Bondi said.
A DEA agent saw Flores-Ruiz and his attorney in the public hallway of the courthouse and he appeared to be making efforts to evade arrest, the complaint says. After he was encountered by FBI and DEA agents outside the building, Flores-Ruiz “turned around and sprinted down the street” before he was ultimately apprehended, according to the complaint.
Dugan was arrested Friday morning at the courthouse, a law enforcement official confirmed to ABC News.
She appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday on the two charges, but did not enter a plea. She was released on her own recognizance.
Dugan retained former United States Attorney Steven Biskupic to represent her and he said in a statement that the judge will “defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated.”
“Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge,” Biskupic said in a statement.
If convicted on the charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison.
Bondi responded to the statement by stating that everyone is entitled to their day in court but reiterated that so are victims of crimes.
“They didn’t get it because she let a criminal defendant walk out a door. She helped them. She obstructed justice,” Bondi told Phillips.
Judge Dugan’s arrest angered Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who accused the federal agents of “showboating” and contended Dugan was not a flight risk.
“They’re just trying to have this show of force and in the process of a courthouse where people need to go for court proceedings, they’re scaring away people from participating in the court process,” the mayor told reporters.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, in a statement on Friday afternoon, criticized President Donald Trump and the White House for what he said were efforts “to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”
Evers said he would continue to have faith in the justice system “as this situation plays out in the court of law.” He did not mention Dugan by name.
In an interview Friday, Phillips asked AG Bondi if she thought the government’s actions were intimidating people in the court system, but she dodged the question.
“We’re attempting to protect citizens, make America safe again,” she said.
Bondi brought up the New Mexico case, where former Judge Joel Cano faces a charge of tampering with evidence.
Court documents allege that on Feb. 28, an alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member was arrested at the Canos’ residence.
On April 24, agents served a search warrant at their residence and conducted an interview with Cano where he admitted to destroying a cell phone that belonged to the alleged gang member by smashing it with a hammer and throwing it in the trash, according to the complaint and Bondi.
“Cano stated that he destroyed the cellphone and further admitted that he believed the cellphone contained photos or videos that would reflect negatively on Ortega,” the complaint states. “Through further questioning, agents ascertained that … Cano destroyed the cellphone believing that it contained photographs of Ortega holding firearms that Ortega had uploaded onto social media platforms which would be additional incriminating evidence against him.”
Cano and his wife have not yet entered pleas in their cases, according to court records, and did not immediately have defense attorneys listed for them.
Bondi reiterated that the immigrants connected to the judges were allegedly violent.
Phillips again pushed Bondi about the arrests, asking if there was concern that the federal government was just going after judges, but the AG maintained that the charges were serious.
“Those are the people that have to be arrested and taken out of our country. Doesn’t matter who you are, no one can harbor them, not even a judge,” she said.
Phillips questioned how far the government was willing to go to arrest undocumented immigrants, and if that meant that mayors and governors could be targeted.
Bondi appeared to dodge the question and reiterated that the administration’s goal is to keep people safe.
“I would hope a mayor, I would hope a governor would never harbor anyone,” she said.
(GAZA) — Initial findings in an ongoing Israel Defense Forces investigation found that Israeli tank fire caused damage to a United Nations structure in central Gaza in March, killing one UN staffer and injuring five others.
The incident occurred one day after the ceasefire collapsed, according to a release from the IDF on Thursday. The IDF said it attacked the structure because of “suspicions of enemy presence.”
UN staffer Marin Marinov was killed in the Deir al Balah strike, UN Secretary General Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told ABC News in an email in March.
The injured staffers were Neil Arnold, Joel Fournet, Nicolas Berthon, Alexandru Baban and David Petrov, Haq said.
The IDF initially denied involvement in the strike, saying it “did not strike a UN compound in Deir al Balah.” On Thursday, it apologized for “the unintentional harm to the UN employee and share the grief of the family.”
“The IDF continues to conduct thorough investigation processes in order to draw lessons and examine additional steps to prevent incidents of this type,” it said. “The IDF sees great importance in continuing the dialogue with international organizations, as part of efforts to coordinate, draw lessons, and prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The UN has opened its own fact-finding mission to learn more surrounding the circumstances of the strike.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN under-secretary-general and UNOPS executive director, responded to the IDF’s latest statement on the incident, saying: “We acknowledge the reported initial findings of the Israeli Defense Forces today that a tank round was the cause of the death of a UNOPS colleague in Deir al Balah. This is consistent with known facts to the UN: this incident was a result of a tank round into a fully deconflicted UNOPS premises. Full accountability must be ensured with respect to the grave violations of international law that have been committed.”
A week after the incident, the UN said it was “comfortable with the assertion” that rounds were fired by an Israeli tank during its initial gathering of security information, Haq told ABC News last month.
The UN secretary general announced that the organization planned to “reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza” on March 24, four days after the strike.
“In the past week, Israel carried out devastating strikes on Gaza, claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians, including United Nations personnel, with no humanitarian aid being allowed to enter the Strip since early March,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for UN secretary general, said in a statement in March. “As a result, the Secretary-General has taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar and our concern over the protection of civilians intensifies.”
The Israeli government has blocked the delivery of all goods, food and medical supplies into Gaza for more than eight weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was blocking aid because Hamas refused to release more hostages in an extension of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Fifty-eight hostages remain in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
The March 19 strike brought the number of UN staff members killed in Gaza since Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to 280 people, the UN secretary general said in March.
The March UN building strike is one of several incidents where the IDF has acknowledged accountability.
It recently took responsibility for misidentifying targets and firing on a convoy of emergency medical vehicles on March 23, killing 15 medical and humanitarian workers.
It’s unclear from the IDF if any Israeli soldiers will be held accountable for deadly UN strike.
(NEW YORK) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison — the maximum he faced — on Friday after pleading guilty to a series of fraudulent schemes.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced him to 87 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
A tearful Santos told the judge he regrets defrauding the voters who supported his 2022 run for Congress before she handed down the sentence.
“My conduct betrayed my supporters and the institutions I swore to uphold,” he said during his sentencing hearing in a New York federal court.
He began to cry and struggled to get out the words as he tried to express remorse for the crimes he committed.
“I undermined the faith in the very institutions I swore to uphold,” he said. “I cannot rewrite the past but I can control the road ahead.”
He urged Seybert to impose a lenient sentence, arguing he can positively contribute to the community he “robbed.”
Judge rebukes Santos’ repeated lies
Santos, 36, was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faced a sentence of 75 to 87 months imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
Santos did not take any questions from reporters as he arrived at federal court in Central Islip for the Friday morning sentencing hearing.
His attorney, Andrew Mancilla, described his client’s conduct bluntly, arguing the former congressman is “forever stained” by his actions.
“Everyone hates George Santos,” Mancilla told the court ahead of the sentencing, claiming his client is not the “caricature drawn by the media.”
“He is a 36-year-old gay man with no criminal record who came from a broken family,” Mancilla said. “He built this ego of a man he wanted to be, not who he was.”
But prosecutors argued Santos has shown little remorse for his crimes, has blamed the Department of Justice and committed an “unprecedented” series of crimes.
“He has committed crime after crime after crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Harris said. “He has repeatedly proven he is unable to tell the truth.”
Harris rebuked Santos for suggesting the prosecution was politically motivated and argued the former congressman has demonstrated a “genuine lack of contrition.”
“This case is not the product of so-called lawfare. It is the result of years and years of deceit,” he said.
Seybert agreed, calling out Santos for his repeated lies and lack of remorse.
“It’s incredible that he did not stop with the lies,” she said. “It’s incredible now that he tries to blame the government.”
Before imposing her sentence, Seybert noted she has “sympathy” for Santos, believes he is a talented man and hopes he will eventually contribute to society.
“Mr. Santos, words have consequences,” she said, noting the same words that won him a seat in Congress landed him in court.
“You have a future, and I am sad to say in one sense that it is going to be shortened by the sentence I am about to impose,” she added.
As the sentence was read, Santos covered his face with his hands.
He was not immediately remanded and will report to prison at a future date.
Prosecutors highlight ‘social media blitz’
In a court filing ahead of Friday’s sentencing hearing on Long Island, federal prosecutors requested the maximum possible sentence — amounting to seven years and three months — calling his conduct a “brazen web of deceit” that defrauded donors and misled voters.
They also argued the former New York congressman’s recent “social media blitz” shows he “remains unrepentant for his crimes” in a subsequent filing. In one example, prosecutors pointed to an April 4 post on Santos’ X account that stated, “No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit.” The post was made the same day the DOJ filed its initial sentencing recommendation.
Santos, meanwhile, insisted in a letter to Seybert this week that he has “accepted full responsibility” for his crimes. He said he can be both “profoundly sorry” and upset by the Justice Department’s recommendation of a lengthy prison sentence.
“But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head. True remorse isn’t mute; it is aware of itself, and it speaks up when the penalty scale jumps into the absurd,” Santos’ letter said.
Santos included a selective chart to suggest the government’s sentencing recommendation is out of step with other political prosecutions, citing former Illinois Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. being sentenced to 30 months for misusing $750,000 in campaign funds or ex-New York Rep. Michael Grimm being sentenced to eight months for concealing $900,000 in wages and taxes.
Santos had asked for a two-year prison sentence.
Former campaign treasurer set to be sentenced
Prosecutors alleged Santos, with the help of his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, falsified Federal Election Commission filings, fabricating donor contributions and inflating fundraising totals to meet the $250,000 threshold required to join the National Republican Congressional Committee’s coveted “Young Guns” program.
Marks pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in 2023 and is awaiting sentencing in May.
Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024. The Republican was expelled from Congress in December 2023.
As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution and forfeiture.
The judge agreed to delay Santos’ sentencing, which had initially been scheduled for Feb. 7, after Santos asked for more time to make money off of his podcast to satisfy his restitution and forfeiture.
Members of the Concerned Citizens of NY-03, an organization formed in 2023 by voters from across the region Santos once represented in response to his actions, spoke out following the hearing.
“My reaction in sitting in the courtroom was, ‘Cry me a river,’ when he got that sentence,” Jody Kass Finkel, the head of Concerned Citizens of NY-03, said outside the courthouse. “He has betrayed the public trust.”
(MILWAUKEE) — A Milwaukee County circuit judge has been arrested by the FBI over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant “evade arrest,” according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on obstruction charges, according to Patel.
“The FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” he posted. “We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(DECATUR, Ala.) — An Alabama man died on Tuesday, a week after he was shocked with a stun gun while being arrested, according to a statement from the Decatur Police Department.
Authorities released a nearly-30-minute video from body camera footage of John Scott Jr.’s arrest on the evening of April 15 outside of his mother’s home in Decatur. In a statement last week, authorities said they received a call about concerns over Scott’s
When officers arrived that evening, body camera footage shows a cordial conversation between Scott and the officers. Scott asks officers their names and shakes their hands.
At one point, Scott, who is sweating profusely, appears agitated and uneasy as five officers stand near him telling him to either enter the ambulance or he will be detained by police. Scott refuses to enter an ambulance called to the scene after officers spend about 15 minutes telling him that he needs to receive medical treatment.
Police then proceed to handcuff Scott after he refuses to enter the ambulance. As he resists, it appears that a stun gun is deployed and officers strike him near the head as they attempt to cuff his hands behind his back.
Scott says that he can’t breathe a few times as officers hold him down. After police handcuff Scott and attempt to put him in the police vehicle, he appears to continue to keep struggling. What sounds like spitting can be heard in the footage. One of the officers claims that Scott spit on him in the video. A spit-hood appears to be placed over Scott’s head.
The police department said in a statement last week that officers made a visit earlier that day to the same location after receiving a call that Scott had taken his mother’s cell phone. Scott returned the cell phone before the officers arrived, according to police. Once law enforcement reached the location, Scott’s mother indicated that her son might not be taking his medication and was having a “mental breakdown”, according to authorities.
Lee Merritt, Scott’s family attorney, told ABC News in an interview on Thursday that Scott took medications for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Officers believed that Scott exhibited signs of using “illicit substances,” according to a statement from law enforcement last week, but a mental health liaison was called to the scene and determined that Scott was not “an imminent threat of harm to himself or others and did not meet criteria for forced hospitalization,” according to a police statement last week.
It was a second 911 call that day that ended in Scott’s arrest, according to a statement from police last week. When Scott was taken to the Morgan County Jail, it was difficult to place him in a cell due to his “size” and “passive resistance,” according to a follow-up statement from police on Tuesday.
After over an hour in his cell, jail staff noticed Scott exhibited signs of medical distress and he was transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital in an ambulance, according to the Tuesday statement.
Merritt told ABC News that Scott was foaming from his mouth in his cell when inmates notified police of his condition. Scott died after a week in the hospital with no pre-existing physical conditions, according to Merritt. The family will conduct an independent autopsy and are still not aware of his exact cause of death, according to Merritt.
The Morgan County Coroner told ABC News over the phone on Thursday that Scott’s autopsy was completed that day, but he could not release the findings because of the ongoing investigation. The oficial said that the autopsy report could take another two months to be completed after test results are finished.
In a statement last week, the Decatur Police Department said that Scott had an active warrant issued by Morgan County, but Merritt told ABC News that the warrant was for a misdemeanor traffic incident, which he said did not make an arrest necessary.
The Decatur Police Department said in the Tuesday statement that officials have made a request to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the FBI for assistance with the investigation into Scott’s death.
“The FBI is aware of the death of John Scott, Jr. and takes allegations of federal law violations seriously,” the agency told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday. “The FBI reviews allegations of criminal conduct and conducts further investigation if there is evidence of a potential violation of federal law.”
Merritt told ABC News that the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office will take over the investigation and the family plans to file a lawsuit within 30 days of Scott’s death.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for a statement.
Merritt told ABC News that he also represents the family of Steve Perkins, another Black man who died after an altercation with Decatur police. Perkins was shot and died on Sept. 29, according to Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY. One former officer has been charged in his death.
