(ATLANTA) — Former President Donald Trump, in a court filing Wednesday, asked the judge overseeing his Georgia election interference case to dismiss two more counts against him.
Trump’s filing urges the judge to dismiss counts 15 and 27 of the indictment, which charge him with conspiracy to commit filing of false documents as well as the filing of false documents.
The first charge relates to the so-called alternate elector plot, and accuses Trump and other defendants of mailing false documents related to that effort to the chief judge of U.S. district court in Georgia, as an alleged “substantial step.”
The second charge accuses Trump and attorney John Eastman of filing a document that included “materially false statements” in a federal lawsuit.
Trump’s attorneys claim those charges must be dismissed because the state “lacks the authority” to punish conduct that is related to the federal government. They claim the statue used in the indictment “reaches too far” and that the state “has no jurisdiction or authority to enforce federal criminal law.”
“As such, the state is without jurisdiction or authority to prosecute President Trump when the plain purpose of doing so is to protect the integrity of federal matters,” the filing states.
The filing comes after the judge in the case previously dismissed six counts in the indictment, three of which were against Trump. The former president initially faced 13 counts in the case, and now faces 10.
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty last August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
The former president has blasted the district attorney’s investigation as being politically motivated.
(NEW YORK) — As pro-Palestinian protesters gather in solidarity and their tents, sleeping bags and banners dot the greenspace on campuses across the U.S., many students — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — could be seen at makeshift tables this week over a Seder dinner to honor the Passover holiday.
The start of this year’s Jewish holiday of Passover, which marks the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, coincided with intensifying calls against Israel’s war in Gaza on college campuses.
“We as Jews have this idea of ‘Tikkun olam’ — to repair the world,” said Zoe Kanter, a student protester with Yale Jews for Ceasefire. “And that’s really a guiding principle for me … recognizing where there is injustice and suffering and working to repair it any way possible.”
At Passover Seders — when Jews traditionally gather to recount the story of the Exodus, share symbolic dishes and pray — participants reflect on themes of oppression, persecution, freedom and liberation, with many bringing contemporary social justice issues into their Seder rituals.
This year, some set aside an empty seat at the Seder table for hostages abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack. Others put an olive on the Seder plate to recognize solidarity with Palestinians.
Family of man killed when Chicago police fired 96 times during traffic stop file wrongful death suit In Israel, at least 1,700 people have been killed and 8,700 others injured since Oct. 7, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There are about 133 hostages still being held by Hamas, 36 of which have been declared dead, according to Israeli officials.
In Gaza, at least 34,183 people have been killed and 77,143 injured since the start of the Israeli retaliation for the Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Aid organizations, including the United Nations, have said that the Palestinian territory is experiencing a humanitarian crisis amid ongoing blockades to the region.
Some Jewish protesters say their faith is tied to their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and “Palestinian liberation.”
“A belief in justice and a belief in doing the right thing, a belief in human equality and dignity has been instilled within me, in keeping with my Judaism,” said Elijah Bacal, a student protester with Yale Jews for Ceasefire. “It’s a very complicated issue, and I’m very involved in Jewish life on campus, and I’ve had a lot of difficult and nuanced conversations.”
Students across the country have been sleeping out on campuses day and night to call for their respective schools to divest funding connected to companies enabling Israel’s war effort.
The protests on campuses have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators and officials; still, more than 200 students at Columbia, NYU and Yale have been arrested for trespassing, after allegedly violating campus policies regarding interrupting academic operations or other encampment restrictions.
New York Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD have noted that individuals unaffiliated with the universities have been to blame for several instances of violence and offensive rhetoric: “We will not be a city of lawlessness, and those professional agitators seeking to seize the ongoing conflict in the Middle East to sow chaos and division in our city will not succeed,” Adams said in a statement.
For Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli students — those whose identities have been tied to the conflict overseas — the conflict has prompted tough conversations among peers.
Some Jewish students continue to be on the frontlines of protests against Israeli policy and bombardment in Gaza.
“Passover has always taught me to think about who is oppressed and what we can do to fight for their freedom,” said one student in a statement released by Columbia University Apartheid Divest. “Palestinians in Gaza have been bombed and starved by Israel for months, and we have a responsibility to speak out against these atrocities, especially as our university is funding this violence through investments.”
Other Jewish students have stood in support of Israel’s actions following the Hamas attack.
“We pray for the return of each and every hostage from Hamas’ captivity to safety,” said Columbia University’s Students Supporting Israel earlier this month. “It’s been 6 months of a war Israel didn’t start. End this war. Defeat Hamas. Bring them all home now.”
The Columbia group has denounced the ongoing protests on campus, saying that “the situation on campus has become completely untenable — no student can be expected to work, study, express themselves and grow academically on a campus in which their basic needs — specifically their safety — are not met,” in an online statement.
Concerns in the Jewish community about safety and antisemitism have affected the holiday celebration for some.
Columbia Rabbi Elie Buechler told students in an April 21 WhatsApp message to “return home as soon as possible” due to safety concerns on campus amid the holiday, according to student newspaper Columbia Daily Spectator.
“The events of the past few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Buechler said according to the news outlet.
However, the school’s Hillel told students they “do not believe” students should leave the school at this time and that it will remain open amid unrest.
“This is a time of genuine discomfort and even fear for many of us on campus,” said the campus’ Center for Jewish Student Life. “Columbia University and the City of New York must do more to protect students. We call on the University Administration to act immediately in restoring calm to campus.”
Shira, a freshman Jewish student at Columbia, told ABC News that she’s been impacted by the protests and hadn’t feared for her safety before the recent, intensifying wave of protests.
“It’s not only like mentally exhausting I found this past few days, it’s been like physically affecting me,” the student said in an interview. “It’s just so awful the things that I’ve been hearing and seeing and I have found that I haven’t been able to focus on any of my schoolwork. I haven’t been able to go to classes just because of the constant shouting and screaming for violence against Jews. It’s heartbreaking.”
Among Jewish protesters, they say they continue to have conversations and debate about the movement, protests and protest language.
Gabriel Colburn, a member of Yale Jews for Ceasefire, added: “It’s important to be honest that sometimes we do have different lived experiences and instinctive feelings about some of the language that is involved in these protests. And that’s OK. We can have those different feelings and still continue to work together and have the hard conversations that are needed to rally around the cause of divestment and ceasefire.”
Bacal added: “I’m very grateful for how much people really accommodate and embrace pluralism and a wide range of perspectives,” referring to his fellow protesters.
Jewish protesters also told ABC News that they believe generalized accusations of antisemitism against pro-Palestinian protesters are being used to “shut down very legitimate protests and grievances about what Israel is doing in Gaza right now,” said Colburn.
“Israel has, in many ways, perpetrated this genocide in the name of Jews around the world,” said Colburn. “As a Jew, I take the danger of antisemitism very, very seriously. And it is precisely because that danger is real that it is all the more important not to instrumentalize and cheapen the charge of antisemitism.”
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s encampment, the Passover holiday isn’t the only Jewish tradition to be honored among protesters.
MIT Jews for Ceasefire plans to host a Shabbat dinner in their encampment on Friday as well: “People have been so excited to have us share our Jewish traditions within this community,” said student protester Quinn Perian.
“They’ve been constantly checking up on all of us, when everyone here has been going through so much, as well. It’s just been really incredibly nice and empowers them to be out here and to just see what’s possible when we all fight for liberation together.”
(NEW YORK) — Investigators are searching a wooded area in Manorville, New York, as part of the Gilgo Beach murders investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The search began Tuesday and continues Wednesday, the sources said.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the specific nature of the search.
“The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the District Attorney’s Office on an ongoing investigation,” the district attorney’s office said. “We do not comment on investigative steps while they are underway. We will make further statements when appropriate.”
Rex Heuermann has been charged in connection with the deaths of four women whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach on Long Island more than a decade ago. The women, known as the “Gilgo Four,” have been identified as Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Amber Costello, whose bodies were found covered in burlap in December 2010, according to court records.
He has pleaded not guilty to their murders.
Authorities have said their investigation continues to see if they can link Heuermann to any of the six other victims found in the general area.
While officials have not discussed what they are looking for in the new search, Manorville has come up in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders in the past.
The remains of Jessica Taylor, a 20-year-old sex worker, were found several miles east of the “Gilgo Four” in March 2011. Other remains from Taylor were previously discovered in Manorville, in eastern Long Island, in July 2003.
The remains of Valerie Mack, a 24-year-old escort, were found in April 2011 about a mile and a half east of Taylor’s remains and a little over 2 miles east of the “Gilgo Four.” Mack’s partial remains were previously discovered in Manorville in September 2000, and police have suggested there may be a connection to Taylor’s remains.
No one has ever been charged in their deaths.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(PHOENIX) — Chaos and confusion have ensued after the Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling April 9 that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 could go into effect, despite it predating Arizona becoming a state.
The ban prohibits all abortions, with the only exception being to save the life of the mother. After lawmakers had initially signaled they would pass legislation throwing out the ban before it went into effect, lawmakers blocked the effort at the last minute and state Republicans have indicated they do not want to move too fast to repeal the ban.
“The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times,” Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said during a state House session last week.
“Abortion is a complicated topic — it is ethically, morally complex,” said Toma. “I understand that we have deeply held beliefs.”
This comes weeks after an Arizona lawmaker took to the legislature’s floor to share that she is planning to get an abortion for a nonviable pregnancy.
Now, for doctors trying to avoid arrest and patients needing medical care, there is a growing sense of urgency and anger about the future.
“I didn’t go to medical school to go to jail,” Dr. DeShawn Taylor, a physician and owner of Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix, told “Nightline.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said she would urge Arizonans who are pregnant to “make a plan.”
“I can’t believe I’m having to say that,” Mayes said in an interview with “Nightline.”
Mayes, a Democrat, has said that “no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state,” but also acknowledges that she can’t stop local prosecutors from bringing charges.
Anyone found guilty of violating the strict abortion ban could face two to five years in state prison.
Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, the owner of Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix — the state’s busiest abortion provider — says she hasn’t taken a day off since the state Supreme Court’s decision was issued.
Clinics like Goodrick’s have had to periodically halt abortion services since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion was allowed in Arizona up to 24 weeks, then a 15-week ban was put into place and soon, a near-total ban is set to go into effect.
There is uncertainty over when the total abortion ban could go into effect — some think it could be two weeks, others say 45 days or even 60 days.
“What we’re hearing from patients is fear – calling – ‘when is this effective?’ ‘Oh my gosh, can I get the care that I need?’ I mean, one patient called, she didn’t even have a positive pregnancy test yet, but her period was late and she was panicking, [saying,] ‘What if it’s positive, where am I going to go? What’s going to happen?'” Goodrick said.
A patient, who asked that ABC News call her Penelope, said she feels a “profound amount of sadness for women who might not be able to get care in a few weeks.”
“It would be financially irresponsible to have a child right now for us,” Penelope said.
“Law being from 1864? It’s hard to really articulate how I feel about that. The fact that the law is so old, in some ways it proves to me just how archaic our government can be sometimes,” she said.
Another patient at Camelback Family Planning told ABC News she doesn’t feel she can put her body through another pregnancy.
“For me to carry another baby would be a lot of wear and tear on my body and I want to raise a daughter that I have now,” Amaretta, who did not provide her last name, said.
Clinic administrators said the facility is also a point of access for women in the South, where more and more states have ceased nearly all abortion services — they have gotten patients from Texas, the deep South and even Idaho and Ohio.
Taylor also says she is working nonstop, and her biggest concern is the criminalization of the procedure.
Despite her convictions, Taylor said she has to abide by the laws and can’t risk going to prison — but she will continue to provide care until she can’t do it anymore.
“I feel that I just want to be real about my intention to stay free. Black women physicians are 2% of the physician workforce here in the United States, so my existence matters. They come here because I’m here and I don’t take that for granted,” Taylor said.
(WEST RICHLAND, Wash.) — A former police officer suspected in the killings of his ex-wife and girlfriend has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials said Tuesday night. The child he was accused of abducting was “uninjured” and taken “safely” into custody, the police added.
Oregon State Police Captain Kyle Kennedy said the suspect — Elias Huizar — led Troopers on a chase after a failed traffic stop on the I-5 in Eugene around 2:40 p.m. PT.
There was a gunfire exchange between the suspect and officers, he said. No troopers were hurt in the incident, according to Kennedy.
The suspect continued on, crashed into a commercial vehicle and spun into the median. Huizar then shot himself, authorities said Tuesday night.
The abducted 1-year-old child, Roman Santos, who was previously identified by the authorities as Roman Huizar, was taken “uninjured” and “safely” into custody by OSP troopers, police said.
As police searched for the suspect throughout the day on Tuesday, he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder for allegedly shooting and killing his ex-wife, 31-year-old Amber Rodriguez, outside Wiley Elementary School on Monday afternoon, officials said.
Authorities allege Huizar shot and killed Rodriguez during school dismissal and was waiting behind a portable area where he knew she would be.
Hours later, authorities said they found another homicide victim, “a known associate of the suspect,” while serving a search warrant at Huizar’s residence. Authorities said in the amber alert for the then-missing child that Huizar was also suspected of killing his girlfriend.
The Amber Alert was issued Monday following the alleged abduction of the 1-year-old. It was canceled late Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, police said there was a possible sighting of Huizar in Portland, Oregon, overnight, driving a black sedan. A clerk at a convenience store in the city called 911 just before 1 a.m. to report he believed Huizar had stopped to purchase a drink and had a child in the backseat of the car, Portland police told ABC News. Officers responded but did not locate Huizar, the child or the vehicle until Tuesday afternoon.
Huizar was previously employed by Richland School District as a substitute teacher from Nov. 2021 to June 2023, an official confirmed.
Huizar served as a police officer in Yakima, Washington, from June 2013 to February 2022, the department said. He resigned “immediately following discipline,” a spokesperson for the department told ABC News.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the circumstances of the discipline.
“The tragedies we are learning about in West Richland are heartbreaking. Words cannot express the deep sympathy we feel for all affected by these terrible acts of violence,” Yakima Police Chief Matt Murray said in a statement. “We remain ready to assist in any way we are able.”
(FAIRBANKS, Alaska) — A Douglas C-54 aircraft transporting fuel crashed into a frozen river shortly after takeoff Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Two people were on board the plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is also investigating the incident.
Preliminary information showed that the Part 91 fuel transport flight operated by Alaska Air Fuel crashed into the Tanana River after taking off from Fairbanks International Airport around 10 a.m. local time, officials said.
“The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement shortly before 2 p.m. local time.
The NTSB deployed agents to the scene of the crash and will recover the plane, the agency said.
The airport said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation.
NYPD officers detain pro-Palestinian students and protesters who had set up an encampment on the campus of New York University to protest the Israel-Hamas war, in New York on April 22, 2024. (Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Protests calling for the divestment of college and university funds from Israeli military operations have continued to spread on campuses across the country, including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and more.
The student protests — some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments and have led to hundreds of arrests — have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University.
More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus.
At New York University, more than 150 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on April 22, police said. At Yale, about 45 protesters were charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing and were arrested on April 22.
The protests on campuses have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials and protesters including the NYPD blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.
Some students have said the on-campus tension have created concerns about safety, which some universities have responded by opting for remote or hybrid learning options.
“Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns,” said Columbia University President Minouche Shafik. “The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas. We need a reset.”
Tensions have been high on college campuses nationwide since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. The Israeli military then began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,183 people and injured 77,143 others in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,700 people have been killed and 8,700 others injured, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Here’s a look at what’s happening elsewhere across the country:
Yale University
For the past week, hundreds of student protesters have been advocating for Yale’s divestment from military weapons manufacturers.
“We do have this opportunity as students at an institution like this, that if we can sway our institution to stop investing in weapons manufacturing that is contributing to the deaths of Palestinians, then we can maybe sway a lot of universities — or at least be a part of a movement, the tide turning against war and for peace,” Zoe Kanter, a student protester with Yale Jews For Ceasefire, told ABC News.
The university has policies against occupying outdoor spaces and warned students about the use of law enforcement and disciplinary action, including reprimand, probation, or suspension to clear the space.
University administrators said in a statement to ABC News that it “spent several hours in discussion with student protesters yesterday, offering them the opportunity to meet with trustees” in exchange for clearing the encampment.
Students declined their offer, telling ABC News that their demands are clear: disclose investments and divest money from Israeli weapons manufacturers. Students pointed to successful movements that motivated Yale University to divest from the fossil fuel industry and its holdings in U.S. companies conducting business in South Africa due to the South African government’s apartheid policy.
“It’s easy to look back at history and look back at the moral and political conflicts that have gripped the country and the world throughout history and discern what side you would have liked to have been on,” said student Elijah Bacal, another member of Yale Jews for Ceasefire. “But the hard thing is to, in the moment, seize on those opportunities to do the right thing and have the courage to stand up for what you think and know is right. I think we are on the right side of history here.”
University officials said that many of the students participating in the protests have done so peacefully, but are “aware of reports of egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts.”
The statement continued: “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities.”
Early Monday at 6:30 a.m., almost 50 students were removed and arrested, according to the New Haven Police Department. A group of over 200 protesters later took their place, and the department told ABC News it has no plans to arrest any non-violent protesters.
In a letter to students from President Peter Salovey, he said the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility decided to not recommend a policy of divestment from military weapons manufacturers. The university school did not disclose if or how much the school invests in Israeli military forces.
“The ACIR—a committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni—arrived at this conclusion after hearing from student presenters and engaging in careful deliberation,” Salovey said in the letter. “This is part of a formal process and relies on the university’s guide to ethical investing that has served Yale well for decades. Any member of the Yale community is invited to write to the ACIR or to attend future open meetings. There are available pathways to continue this discussion with openness and civility, and I urge those with suggestions to follow them.”
Yale Jews for Ceasefire told ABC News that they would like to see more openness from the administration: “It is impossible for us as a community to make a decision about divestment without transparency and disclosure .. and they weren’t open to that,” said student Gabriel Colburn, a member of Yale Jews for Ceasefire.
New York University
More than 150 people were arrested at New York University on Monday night, police said.
Students, faculty and others were arrested after school officials asked the New York Police Department for help clearing a plaza on NYU’s Manhattan campus, police said. Many of those arrested were “still being processed through the night and most, if not all, will be released,” the department said.
“There is a pattern of behavior occurring on campuses across our nation, in which individuals attempt to occupy a space in defiance of school policy,” Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for operations, said in a social media post. “Rest assured, in NYC the NYPD stands ready to address these prohibited and subsequently illegal actions whenever we are called upon.”
The NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition — a group that launched an encampment on campus Monday said — they were met with “violent arrests of NYU students and faculty members by the NYPD directly facilitated by NYU President Linda Mills,” and over 130 students and faculty were arrested, the group said in a statement Tuesday.
The group said over 100 NYU students faculty and community members were released as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
“We want to underscore how this event demonstrated on a smaller scale the globalized violence of an institution like NYU,” NYU PSC said. “We recognize that this violence reflects institutional desperation to suppress the student movement, resistance and the truth.”
According to the university, protesters at NYU on Monday broke through barriers that had been set up around Gould Plaza, a square outside the Stern School of Business, the school’s Global Campus Safety department said in a statement.
Protesters began a demonstration in front of the business school “without notice to the university, and without authorization,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement.
Officials warned those who’d entered the square on Monday that they needed to clear the plaza by 4 p.m.
“If you leave now, no one will face any consequences for today’s actions—no discipline, no police,” safety officials said in a message delivered to those in the plaza. That message was also shared on the university’s official social media channels.
“The one safety requirement we made was that no additional protesters could enter Gould Plaza,” the message said. “With the breach of the barricades early this afternoon, that requirement was violated, and we witnessed disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community.”
The university said additional protesters suddenly breached the barriers that had been put in place and joined protesters in the plaza and that “many refused to leave” after being told to disband within an hour.
NYU officials appealed to the NYPD for help, according to a letter shared by Daughtry, the NYPD deputy commissioner.
The NYU PSC said its demands are for NYU to end all war profiteering and investment in what protesters are calling a “genocide,” a complete academic boycott of Israel, IOF-trained cops off of campus and that NYU protect free speech on campus and provide full amnesty to all students and faculty penalized for their pro-Palestine activism.
It is unclear if or how much the school invests in the Israeli military.
Harvard suspends Palestine Solidarity Committee
Harvard University suspended the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, a student group that has been under a spotlight, as debate raged on college campuses around the country.
The group said in a statement that it has faced “unprecedented repression” over the past six months, including doxxing, racist harassment and targeted administrative crackdowns.
“Harvard has shown us time and again that Palestine remains the exception to free speech. After standing idly by as pro-Palestine students faced physical and cyber harassment, death threats and rape threats and racist doxxing, Harvard has now decided to dismantle the only official student group dedicated to the task of representing the Palestinian cause,” the group said in a statement to ABC News.
Harvard University has not immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
In January, top Harvard officials implemented new guidelines and restrictions for protests on campus amid heightened scrutiny regarding on-campus debate around the Israel-Gaza war, according to student newspaper the Harvard Crimson.
“Harvard can suspend our organization, but it cannot suspend our movement,” PSC said.
The group became the center of debates on college campuses after it released a statement on the conflict after the Hamas attack, saying the Israeli regime is “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” — the group announced in a post on Instagram Monday.
“Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence,” the Harvard student groups said in their statement last October, after the Hamas attack.
Tuesday evening, Harvard announced the closure of the Harvard Yard through the end of the week. “Harvard Yard is closed to the public through Friday, April 26,” a Harvard web page for visitors read. “During this time no tour groups are permitted in the Yard.” The Harvard Crimson noted that the decision was made in anticipation of further protests
Massachusetts universities camp out
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are also camping out in protest, calling for an end to the university’s funding to the Israeli Ministry of Defense that has been captured in past university financial reports, including projects such as “autonomous robotic swarms.”
“These are really direct ways in which MIT is complicit in this genocide that’s going on,” said student protester Quinn Perian, referring to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Perian is a member of the MIT Jews for Ceasefire group that is among those protesting on campus: “What we’ve seen is this community that’s formed around our demands that basic human dignity be recognized, as this community of fighting for liberation for all.”
In a statement to local news outlet WGBH, MIT said it is “aware of the tents, and are determining next steps with a focus on ensuring the campus is physically safe and fully functioning. MIT Police were on scene throughout the night and will continue to be present.”
MIT has yet to respond to ABC News’s request for comment.
Similar encampments have also taken over Tufts University.
In a statement, Tufts spokesperson Patrick Collins told ABC News that officials are “actively and closely monitoring the situation.”
“While students are permitted to express their views, including demonstrating on campus, we will hold accountable any community members who engage in conduct that violates university policy,” Collins said. “Regarding the students’ demands, our position on this has been clear and consistent for several years: We do not support the BDS movement.”
The BDS movement refers to a pro-Palestinian “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” movement against Israel’s policy in Palestinian territories.
Sanya Desai, a Tufts student and protester, pointed to Tufts’s celebration of former student activists who fought for Tuft to withdraw investments related to South African apartheid: “It’s very two-faced, and it’s very, very much painting an image of being on the right side of history.”
The movement against apartheid investments began in 1977 at Tufts and ended in 1989 when the university divested, according to the Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History.
Desai told ABC News she hopes Tufts won’t take 12 years to divest in Israeli military operations.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul and Matt Foster contributed to this story.
A man walks past Israeli and US flags alongside portraits of Israelis taken hostage by the militant Palestinian group Hamas in front of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in New York on April 23, 2024. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University has said they are making “important progress” with representatives of the student encampment on campus as protests calling for the divestment of college and university funds from Israeli military operations have continued to spread on campuses across the country.
The student protests — some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments and have led to hundreds of arrests — have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City.
“We are making important progress with representatives of the student encampment on the West lawn,” Columbia University said in a statement released early Wednesday, adding that student protesters have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents and that protesters will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave.
Columbia University also said that student protesters in the encampment have agreed to comply with all requirements of the New York City Fire Department and that encampments have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language.
More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus.
The protests on campus have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials, including the NYPD, as well as protesters blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.
(NEW YORK) — An influential, deep-pocketed suspect under criminal investigation.
Secret negotiations with federal prosecutors to hammer out a deal.
A lack of consultation with victims of the crime.
Those are circumstances attorney Paul Cassell says motivate him into action.
A former federal judge who teaches law at the University of Utah, Cassell is hardly a household name. But his work pursuing justice for crime victims has achieved global notoriety.
In particular, Cassell was instrumental in pulling back the curtain on sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement, by persuading a federal judge to order the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over its correspondence with defense lawyers that preceded Epstein’s so-called “sweetheart deal” in 2007.
“And then through years of litigation it became clear that it was just a monstrous deal giving immunity to all sorts of defendants and to a very significant sex trafficking organization,” Cassell said.
Now, Cassell has set his attention on a different kind of case — the DOJ’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing, in a criminal conspiracy to defraud case tied to crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. With just a few months remaining before that case could be dismissed, Cassell is pressing for public disclosure of prosecutors’ negotiations with Boeing’s attorneys.
“Here we are with another well-connected, powerful wealthy defendant who was cutting a sweetheart deal and keeping the victims out of the picture,” Cassel said. “We think that the communications between Boeing and the Justice Department will show that Boeing got concessions from the department that nobody else would ever have gotten.”
The troubled aerospace giant is facing intense scrutiny following the mid-air blowout of a door plug on an Alaskan Airways flight in January and allegations from whistleblowers, which Boeing has denied, that the company has taken shortcuts that compromised safety.
The Alaskan incident came almost three years to the day since Boeing was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, for allegedly lying to the Federal Aviation Administration during its evaluation of the 737 MAX aircraft. More than 300 people perished in two MAX crashes, the first in Indonesia in October 2018; the second in Ethiopia five months later.
In the final days of the Trump administration, the DOJ quietly forged an agreement which fined Boeing $243.6 million and required the company to pay $1.77 billion in compensation to its airline customers and $500 million to the victims’ beneficiaries. Boeing was also required to disclose any allegations of fraud, cooperate with the government, and avoid committing any felony offense. Subject to those conditions, the DOJ agreed to defer criminal prosecution for three years on the conspiracy charge.
In a “Statement of Facts” filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, the government and Boeing pinned the deception on two Boeing technical pilots. The only technical pilot criminally charged was later acquitted by a federal jury. In reaching the agreement with Boeing, the DOJ determined that “the misconduct was neither pervasive across the organization, nor undertaken by a large number of employees, nor facilitated by senior management.”
The DOJ’s conclusions were seemingly at odds with a report on the design, development and certification of the 737 Max, published four months earlier by a U.S. House committee, which found that “design flaws,” “management failures,” and a “culture of concealment” contributed to the “chain or errors that led to the crashes.”
As with the Epstein deal, federal prosecutors neglected to consult with the victims’ families before reaching a deal, a requirement under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
“Epstein was a strikingly similar situation, so it was very surprising that they hadn’t learned their lesson,” Cassell said.
Michael Stumo, whose daughter Samya, 24, was killed in the Ethiopian crash, said families from around the world “exploded in outrage” when they learned of the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
“When the corporation is fined, nobody’s held accountable. It’s just a check written by the corporation,” Stumo said. “We need individual accountability.”
When Cassell first appeared in December 2021 to assert the victims’ statutory rights, the DOJ initially took the position that the families had no valid legal claim, because Boeing was not charged with negligent homicide and the government did not allege that the crashes were caused by the fraudulent conduct.
Attorneys for Boeing wrote that the company “acknowledges and profoundly regrets the inestimable impact of these tragic accidents,” but agreed with the government that the victims’ had no standing to intervene.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor disagreed, ruling after an evidentiary hearing that the DPA was negotiated in violation of the victims’ rights and that Boeing’s conspiracy was a direct and proximate cause of the crashes that led to their deaths.
“In sum, but for Boeing’s criminal conspiracy to defraud the FAA, 346 people would not have lost their lives in the crashes,” O’Connor wrote.
The Department of Justice has since hosted two conferral sessions for families to express their views to prosecutors, including one meeting attended by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Yet those positive developments for the families were tempered by Judge O’Connor’s subsequent determination that he had no authority to grant any remedies for the government’s violation of their rights, because charging decisions and DPA’s are solely within the discretion of prosecutors.
An appellate court agreed that Judge O’Connor had no authority to alter or rescind the DPA, but clarified that O’Connor retains authority to ensure that the final outcome is in the public interest and protects victims’ rights. The appropriate time for the families to object, the appellate court ruled, would be when, and if, the DOJ seeks to dismiss the case.
The government has until July 7 to decide whether to move to dismiss the criminal case, to extend the agreement, or to proceed with a prosecution.
“If they move on July 7 to dismiss the charges against Boeing, we need to be ready on July 8, to explain why that’s not the proper outcome,” Cassell said. “The families are pushing. They realize it’s an uphill battle to undo a deal that’s already been done.”
Cassell and other victims’ advocates are now engaged in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, trying another path to obtain the communications between the DOJ and Boeing on an expedited timeline. The government says it has so far turned up 184,000 potentially relevant emails and more than 30 terabytes of data related to its investigation of Boeing. But the DOJ says it needs another several weeks to review documents before it can make even an “initial determination” as to which records, if any, will be provided to the victims’ families.
Separately, in Chicago federal court, families suing Boeing in connection with the crash in Ethiopia have petitioned a magistrate judge multiple times for permission to share with the DOJ confidential deposition testimony and exhibits they’ve obtained in discovery from Boeing. They are seeking to provide the documents to the DOJ and Judge O’Connor prior to a final decision on the DPA. Boeing opposed the families’ motion. The DOJ, which is not a party to the civil litigation, filed a letter in support.
“These materials bear directly on the issue of whether or not it is in the public interest to dismiss the pending criminal charge … that has been filed against Boeing,” attorneys for the families argued in a February court filing.
The magistrate has so far rejected the families’ request three times, but has not closed the door on another attempt.
Prosecutors are scheduled to meet with the families of the victims and their attorneys again on Wednesday, for what may be the final opportunity for the families to press their case for criminal prosecution.
Michael Stumo plans to be there, but he says he’s keeping his expectations in check.
“I do not have high hopes,” Stumo said
Boeing and the Department of Justice declined ABC News’ requests for comment.
The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on the Alaska Airlines flight and is examining whether the company violated the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, three sources familiar with the situation told ABC News in February.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who announced he would step down at the end of the year, said after the January incident, “Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened. An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory.”
(NEW YORK) — A juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found shot to death with bullets lodged in its brain, spinal cord and heart and now authorities are offering a handsome reward for information on who committed the gruesome act.
Authorities from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received a report on March 13 that a juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found washed ashore on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and that it had injuries consistent with being shot by a firearm.
“A member of the public reported the stranding to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline,” read a statement from the NOAA released on Tuesday. “NOAA’s stranding network partner, Audubon Aquarium Rescue, recovered the animal and transported it to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans for a necropsy.”
The necropsy, or animal autopsy, revealed “multiple bullets lodged in the carcass, including in the brain, spinal cord, and heart of the dolphin,” according to the NOAA, and the animal appeared to have died from the trauma which occurred at, or near, the time of death.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is now actively investigating the death and are asking the public for any information about who may have been involved in the death of the young dolphin with a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.
“Harassing, harming, killing, or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” said the NOAA. “Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation.”
Anyone with information about this incident should call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. People can leave tips anonymously but to be eligible for the reward you must include your name and contact information.
