(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) — At least one person is dead and five others have been injured after a shooting inside a bar in Indianapolis.
The shooting took place shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday morning at an establishment in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 800 block of Broad Ripple Avenue when officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) were working in the are and heard shots being fired inside a nearby business, according to a statement released from IMPD early Saturday morning detailing the incident.
“When officers arrived, they located a total of five adult male victims with injuries consistent with gunshot wound(s),” IMPD said. “Those officers provided first aid to those victims on the scene. Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services (IEMS) arrived shortly after and transported those victims to area hospitals.”
One male victim was pronounced deceased by medical personnel after arrival, while another male victim was able to transport himself to a local area hospital for treatment after being shot in the same altercation, authorities said.
“IMPD homicide and aggravated assault detectives responded to the scene to begin the investigation,” police said. “The Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency responded to identify and collect potential forensic evidence.”
The Marion County Coroner’s Office will is now assisting in this case and they will determine the exact manner and cause of death of the one male victim. The conditions of the other five victim are currently unknown.
The identity of the man who was killed in the shooting has not yet been made public but the coroner’s office said they would release the name of the victim once his next of kin has been notified.
No suspects are currently in custody and the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information about this incident should contact the IMPD Homicide Office at 317.327.3475. Alternatively, they can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 to report an anonymous which could lead to a cash reward of up to $1,000 if the information leads to a felony arrest.
(OWASSO, Okla.) — The death of LGBTQ teen Nex Benedict following a fight in a high school restroom has been ruled a suicide, shining a renewed spotlight on the intensifying environment in Oklahoma schools and anti-LGBTQ bullying.
ABC News spoke with former students and local parents, who say that the impact of anti-LGBTQ policy and rhetoric is a growing concern in Oklahoma schools like Owasso High School, where Benedict was a student.
“I was constantly fearing for my safety,” said 2022 Owasso alum and trans student Riley, who requested to go by their first name for safety reasons. “Looking back, I think that if I were out [as trans] during high school, I probably wouldn’t have survived.”
Benedict, 16, died on Feb. 8, one day after a physical altercation between the student and others at Owasso High School. According to Benedict’s family, Benedict was nonbinary and went by they/them pronouns.
Benedict’s family claimed that the teen had experienced several months of bullying from other students, which began after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law in May 2022 that barred transgender and gender expansive youth from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, citing safety concerns.
Oklahoma alone has had 54 anti-LGBTQ bills pass through the legislature in the ongoing legislative session.
Research highlighted by the American Psychological Association shows that such policies and laws targeting access to health care, sports participation, and school policies have resulted in “heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide risk among the transgender community.”
LGBTQ youth are at greater risk for poor mental health, bullying and violence than their non-LGBTQ peers, and are also more at risk of seriously considering suicide or attempting it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers say that supportive policies and practices in schools protecting LGBTQ students can ease this burden and promote better health outcomes.
Owasso alumni, parents share concerns
Riley told ABC News that she was a student at Owasso High School when the recent wave of anti-transgender bills began to move through the state legislature.
“It really reaffirmed the fact that I had to just keep my head down and make it through high school,” said Riley. “Because even if teachers are supportive, then like they may not even have the ability legally to be supportive of it … There’s always the fear that even safe teachers would be forced to out me or put me in an unsafe position just because of the legal circumstances.”
Benedict’s death forced Riley to emotionally confront aspects of her high school experience as a trans person that she hadn’t processed before.
“I wasn’t out in high school. A couple of people knew that I was bi, but no one knew that I was trans,” said Riley. “It almost kind of makes it worse, because people will say the most vile and ridiculous stuff around me. And sometimes they’d assume that I would agree with them. And sometimes they would just say [things] not realizing that it would be hard for me.”
She said that despite repeatedly sending emails to administrators when witnessing or hearing offensive language, “they’ve never done anything about it,” she said.
Marley Hutchins, another 2022 Owasso alum who goes by they/them pronouns, said they also experienced and witnessed anti-LGBTQ bullying in the halls of Owasso High.
“The administration doesn’t follow through, they don’t seem to care that much about it,” said Hutchins. “Which I think is also why their response to this has been so disappointing. Because they just, they won’t stop repeating the same talking points. They just keep saying that they take all reports of bullying very seriously. But we’re telling them that that’s not true.”
Hutchins said they are happy they graduated when they did, because they believe recent anti-transgender policies and rhetoric from officials has worsened the experiences of LGBTQ youth.
“I think things have gotten a lot worse, as more elected officials have been a lot more vocal, as certain elected officials have come into power, like [Oklahoma State Superintendent] Ryan Walters,” Hutchins said.
In an interview with ABC News, Walters stood firm on his support of current anti-transgender policies following Benedict’s death: “To make sure that all individuals are safe in a school, we want every student to be protected, we want every student to be successful. That also means we’re not going to lie to students. And we’re not going to push a gender ideology.”
Anna Richardson, a local parent whose 17-year-old son is a senior at Owasso, told ABC News that students have told her they have little faith in the school’s safety policies.
“When I printed those out and showed them to a group of teenagers, they were laughed at — the students laughed at them,” Richardson said. “And they were like, ‘none of that happens.’ They’re like, you know, ‘it doesn’t make any difference. If you go tell an adult or whatever, they’re not listening to us. So why even, why even bother?'”
Richardson helped organize a vigil to honor Benedict’s memory. Though she said she is still learning more each day about the LGBTQ community, she held the vigil to show students that there are people in the community standing up with them against hate.
“My biggest message has always been that the adults in the room need to step up as the adults in the room,” said Richardson. “We need to start leading our conversations with love and kindness.”
She continued, “This behavior and patterns of quote unquote, bullying, harassment, assault, hate speech, whatever you want to label out that as — it starts at home, it starts in our homes.”
Cassidy Brown, a member of the LGBTQ community and 2009 Owasso alum, is a parent to a 2-year-old and is worried about their future in Oklahoma with the current anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
“It’s scary for me to think that I could send my son to a public school where he might even get ridiculed because he has two moms,” Brown told ABC News in an interview.
How state and local officials have responded
Owasso Public Schools and Oklahoma state officials are at the center of the scrutiny surrounding Benedict’s death by suicide.
Owasso told ABC News that the safety and security of students is their top priority, as well as “fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone,” said a spokesperson for the district.
“Bullying in any form is unacceptable,” the statement read. “We take reports of bullying very seriously and have policies and procedures in place to address such behavior.”
The district spokesperson said administrators are in the midst of a detailed review of policies, curriculum, and programs “in collaboration with our students, families, staff, and community.”
The statement continued, “The results of the pending investigations by the Owasso Police Department and the Office of Civil Rights will also help to inform this process.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Education has opened an investigation into Owasso Public Schools following a complaint from the Human Rights Campaign related to concerns about bullying and discrimination.
The district responded to the investigation in a statement to ABC News, stating that “the district is committed to cooperating with federal officials and believes the complaint submitted by HRC is not supported by the facts and is without merit.”
However, state officials have stood by anti-trans policies and rhetoric in light of the criticism, including Walters.
Walters has said that he wants the “focus to be on the basics and education.”
When asked about concerns that some students can’t focus on school because of rhetoric that invalidates their identity, Walters said that he wants students to be successful and protected, but that he would not “lie” to them.
“What we see here is an effort from the left to lie about the death of this child to push an agenda and to try to push us off of our positions and our stances,” Walters told ABC News. “We’re not going to back down to that. We’re going to continue to move the state forward in education.”
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(BAKER COUNTY, Fla.) — Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, the teen migrant from Guatemala who was arrested following the death of a Florida police officer, has been freed from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s custody his lawyers told ABC News.
Attorney Phillip Arroyo shared a video on TikTok showing the moment Aguilar Mendez was released for the first time since May 2023. The video shows the teen smiling and nodding while speaking with Arroyo.
Aguilar Mendez, a 19-year-old farmworker was arrested in May after Sgt. Michael Kunovich, an officer with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in St. Augustine Florida approached him. Kunovich made contact with him due to “suspicious behavior,” according to an arrest report reviewed by ABC News.
Aguilar Mendez, who does not speak English, attempted to walk away from the officer, but a struggle ensued, according to body camera video and audio of the incident obtained by ABC News.
Body camera shows Aguilar Mendez being thrown to the ground, put in a chokehold, and tased on multiple occasions. Arroyo told ABC News that minutes after the incident, Kunovich suffered a heart attack and died.
ABC News obtained a copy of the autopsy report, which concluded Kunovich died of natural causes after suffering cardiac dysrhythmia, which may have been a result of the severe heart disease he was noted to have, a prior heart attack, or heart and lung deterioration due to smoking. Prosecutors dropped charges against Aguilar Mendez earlier this month.
Criminal defense attorney Jose Baez, who represented Aguilar Mendez’s criminal case claimed during an exclusive interview in February that the sheriff’s office conducted an “unlawful arrest” and that racial profiling was the reason he was initially approached by police.
Baez also fought back against a police report that claimed Aguilar Mendez “armed himself with a folding pocket knife” that was in his pocket after he was placed in handcuffs. Officers claimed he ignored commands to drop the knife and that the knife “had to be forcefully removed from the defendant’s hands.” Body camera video, reviewed by ABC News, did not clearly show the moment he allegedly grabbed the knife. In the video, Aguilar Mendez can be heard saying he uses the knife to cut watermelon. Baez confirmed he cuts watermelon and harvests peppers for work.
After charges were dropped, St. Johns County Sheriff defended Sgt. Kunovich’s actions.
“There have been attempts by some to portray Aguilar Mendez as a victim and vilify Sergeant Kunovich. I continue to stand behind Sergeant Kunovich’s actions on the night of May 19, 2023,” St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said in a statement earlier this month. “The danger associated with law enforcement is a risk we assume when we enter this profession. Sergeant Kunovich died a hero protecting the citizens of St. Johns County and there is nothing more noble than that. Please continue to hold our agency and Sergeant Kunovich’s family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Mariana Blanco, assistant Executive Director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, an organization that has been advocating for the teen, praised his release.
“Our work has just begun in terms of the healing work that will need to be done with Aguilar Mendez so we’re just excited to have him back and bring him into a community where he’s going to feel welcomed, and aprreciated and safe,” Blanco told ABC News. “This case just proves that local authorities in Florida are not prepared to work with our workforce.”
Aguilar Mendez, is from a small Indigenous community in Guatemala and primarily speaks Mam, according to Arroyo.
(WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ind.) — The mother of a 5-year-old boy found dead in a suitcase in Indiana has been taken into custody in California in connection with his death, authorities announced.
On April 16, 2022, the little boy’s body was found in a brightly colored suitcase with a Las Vegas design in a rural area of Washington County, Indiana, authorities said.
Six months later, the boy was identified as Cairo Jordan of Atlanta. Police said he was 5 years old when he died.
Police announced in October 2022 that an arrest warrant was issued for Cairo’s mother, Dejaune Anderson, for murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.
Earlier this week, a detective “received information from a concerned citizen … which started the path to physically locate Dejaune Anderson,” Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said at a news conference Friday.
Anderson was apprehended Thursday night in Arcadia, California, near Los Angeles, Huls said. She is being held at an LAPD detention center, he said.
Huls called Anderson’s arrest a “huge milestone” in the case.
A second suspect, Dawn Coleman, was arrested in October 2022 for neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice, authorities said.
There are no outstanding suspects, Huls said Friday.
Huls praised the residents of Washington County, who he said came together to honor Cairo.
“Provided him with a funeral, with a headstone,” he said. “There’s still flowers to this day that are placed on his gravesite — people praying for him and his family and that justice would be done.
(NEW YORK) — Three people are dead in Lakeview, Ohio, after storms and suspected tornadoes ripped through the Midwest and the South Thursday night, according to Logan County officials.
Responders are still doing grid searches in Lakeview for potential victims, officials said Friday morning. Lakeview is about 70 miles northwest of Columbus.
At least 11 tornadoes were reported Thursday evening across six states: Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas.
In Winchester, Indiana, reported tornadoes left 38 people injured, including 12 people who were taken to hospitals, Mayor Bob McCoy said at a news conference Friday.
McCoy said they were “very lucky” no fatalities were reported.
“There are houses that are leveled,” he said. “It could’ve been really bad.”
Twenty-two homes were “possibly totally destroyed” and 110 houses are “badly damaged,” McCoy said.
Winchester is about 85 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
In Selma, Indiana, nearly half of the town’s structures have been damaged, according to the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency.
While the Indiana State Police said earlier there had been at least three fatalities in the state, at a press conference early Friday morning, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said the information was not correct and no fatalities had been confirmed.
In this screen grab from a video, police officers are shown at the scene of a subway shooting in Brooklyn, New York, on March 14, 2024. — WABC
(NEW YORK) — A woman stabbed a 36-year-old man at the start of a New York City subway train dispute that culminated with the man getting shot and critically hurt, cellphone video from a fellow rider revealed, according to authorities.
The 36-year-old shooting victim is in critical but stable condition following the incident that unfolded on a northbound A train in Brooklyn around 4:45 p.m. Thursday, NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said at a Friday news conference.
The “extended video” showed a woman on the train, “apparently with the 32-year-old” who later fired the gun, Kemper said. “It looks like on that video, it captures her involved in the incident also. It looks like she had a sharp object and cut the 36-year-old male with that sharp object.”
The woman was with the 32-year-old suspect when he got into a verbal and then physical dispute with the shooting victim, possibly over a subway seat, police said.
The woman appeared to pull a sharp object out of her purse and stabbed the victim in the lower back, police said.
After he was stabbed, the 36-year-old man asked, “Did you stab me?” before pulling a gun from his jacket and asking again, “You stabbed me, right?” according to police.
The physical altercation continued, with the 32-year-old man then grabbing at the gun, police said. Multiple shots were fired as the train was pulling into the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, Kemper said, with the victim being struck in the head.
Terrified commuters who were on the train and the station platform ducked for cover during the incident, according to video from the scene.
“There were multiple police officers in this station just feet away from when the train pulled in, who heard the shots and moved in right way,” Kemper said.
No one else was injured, police said.
The 32-year-old shooting suspect remains at the 84th Precinct, where police are conferring with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office about possible charges, police said Friday.
The woman’s status was not clear.
“This is a very active case,” Kemper said. “If anyone has any information, whether you were on the train, in the station or heard something, please call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.”
Mayor Eric Adams told NY1 on Friday that, when watching the video, “You will see there was a passenger that was merely just minding his business and using the transportation like millions of people do. And a person with severe mental health illness, what appears to be severe mental health illness, got engaged in a very violent way.”
“What one should do is attempt not to engage with the person,” Adams continued. “Just attempt to remain calm and don’t engage with them in a back-and-forth dispute in any way. Because you are dealing with someone that does not appear to be in the proper frame of mind, based on what I saw on that tape.”
The shooting comes one week after Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that New York National Guard troops and New York State Police troopers would be assisting city officers in protecting the subways.
A NYPD police transit bureau operates inside the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber decried the violence and reiterated his call for more gun control.
“The real victims are the people I saw in those videos,” he told reporters. “They are just trying to go about with their lives. Just get rid of the guns.”
ABC News’ Joyce Philippe and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants has declined to outright disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, but ruled that either she or prosecutor Nathan Wade must step aside from the case.
In a 23-page ruling, Judge Scott McAfee wrote that while “dismissal of the indictment is not the appropriate remedy,” he concluded that “the established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.”
McAfee ordered that the conflict described by the defendants presents “an appearance that must be removed through the State’s selection of one of two options.”
“The District Attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office, and refer the prosecution to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment,” McAfee wrote.
“Alternatively, SADA Wade can withdraw, allowing the District Attorney, the Defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.”
The highly anticipated ruling follows a contentious, monthslong disqualification effort spearheaded by Trump and his co-defendants over allegations of misconduct against Willis, which she has fiercely denied.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and several other defendants first sought Willis’ disqualification from the election case over allegations that she benefited financially from her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she hired for the case, through vacations they took that were often booked on his credit card.
Willis and Wade admitted to the relationship, but said it “does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest” and that the relationship “has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis.” The DA testified that she often paid Wade back in cash for trips they took.
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee held several days of hearings to probe the allegations, during which both Willis and Wade took the stand to deliver emotional testimony.
“You’re confused. You think I’m on trial,” Willis said to Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney questioning her. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020.”
“I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial,” Willis said.
Outside of allegations of financial misconduct, a debate later emerged over the exact timeline of their romantic relationship. Trump’s attorney said both Willis and Wade were “not truthful” when they testified that the relationship began in 2022, after Wade was hired in 2021, urging the judge to disqualify them based on that testimony alone.
“Now, do you have to find that Wade and Willis lied? No,” said Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, during his closing argument in the evidentiary hearing. “What you need to be able to find is that that is a concern, a legitimate concern, based on the evidence in this case about their truthfulness.”
“A legitimate concern about the truthfulness, which equates to an appearance of impropriety,” Sadow said.
Multiple defendants have alleged the relationship began before Wade was hired, including a former employee in the DA’s office, Robin Yeartie.
Trump also accused Willis of committing forensic misconduct by “testifying falsely,” and through statements she made at a church responding to the allegations. During those live-streamed remarks, Willis suggested the allegations were motivated by race.
Willis’ office dismissed the defendants’ overall disqualification efforts as “absurd” and said there was “absolutely no evidence that [Willis] received any financial gain or benefit.” They insisted that in order to disqualify her, the law requires the judge to find evidence of a conflict of interest or forensic misconduct.
“No prosecutor in this state has ever been disqualified on the appearance of a conflict,” a filing from her office after the hearings stated.
The defendants had argued differently, saying Willis could be dismissed based solely on the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“While the State claims that no prosecutor has ever been disqualified in Georgia for forensic misconduct, no prosecutor in Georgia, elected or otherwise, has engaged in misconduct like Willis and Wade have here,” Sadow said in a filing.
“I want to make clear to the court that the law in Georgia suggests and is very clear that we can demonstrate an appearance of a conflict of interest and that is sufficient,” said defense attorney John Merchant, who represents Roman.
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 dismissed the district attorney’s investigation as being politically motivated.
(NEW YORK) — At least three people are dead after suspected tornadoes ripped through Lakeview, Ohio, overnight, according to the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.
Widespread damage has also been reported in Lakeview and the surrounding communities, officials say.
Elsewhere, a suspected tornado also touched down in Randolph County, Indiana, Thursday night, according to Indiana State Police.
There have been eight tornadoes reported across seven different states from Texas to Ohio throughout Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
The latest tornado watch was issued for parts of Kentucky, southern Indiana and Ohio. The watch is to remain in effect until early Friday morning.
After an initial assessment, nearly half of the structures in Selma, Indiana, have been damaged, according to a press release from Delaware County Emergency Management Agency.
However, with 50% of structures being damaged, only minor injuries had been reported at the time of the assessment, according to the release.
While the Indiana State Police said earlier there had been at least three fatalities, at a press conference in the early hours of Friday morning, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said the information was not correct and no fatalities had been confirmed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(ATLANTA) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants is expected to issue a decision Friday on whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will be disqualified from the case.
The highly anticipated ruling follows a contentious, monthslong disqualification effort spearheaded by Trump and his co-defendants over allegations of misconduct against Willis, which she has fiercely denied.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and several other defendants first sought Willis’ disqualification from the election case over allegations that she benefited financially from her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she hired for the case, through vacations they took that were often booked on his credit card.
Willis and Wade admitted to the relationship, but said it “does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest” and that the relationship “has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis.” The DA testified that she often paid Wade back in cash for trips they took.
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee held several days of hearings to probe the allegations, during which both Willis and Wade took the stand to deliver emotional testimony.
“You’re confused. You think I’m on trial,” Willis said to Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney questioning her. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020.”
“I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial,” Willis said.
Outside of allegations of financial misconduct, a debate later emerged over the exact timeline of their romantic relationship. Trump’s attorney said both Willis and Wade were “not truthful” when they testified that the relationship began in 2022, after Wade was hired in 2021, urging the judge to disqualify them based on that testimony alone.
“Now, do you have to find that Wade and Willis lied? No,” said Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, during his closing argument in the evidentiary hearing. “What you need to be able to find is that that is a concern, a legitimate concern, based on the evidence in this case about their truthfulness.”
“A legitimate concern about the truthfulness, which equates to an appearance of impropriety,” Sadow said.
Multiple defendants have alleged the relationship began before Wade was hired, including a former employee in the DA’s office, Robin Yeartie.
Trump also accused Willis of committing forensic misconduct by “testifying falsely,” and through statements she made at a church responding to the allegations. During those live-streamed remarks, Willis suggested the allegations were motivated by race.
Willis’ office dismissed the defendants’ overall disqualification efforts as “absurd” and said there was “absolutely no evidence that [Willis] received any financial gain or benefit.” They insisted that in order to disqualify her, the law requires the judge to find evidence of a conflict of interest or forensic misconduct.
“No prosecutor in this state has ever been disqualified on the appearance of a conflict,” a filing from her office after the hearings stated.
The defendants had argued differently, saying Willis could be dismissed based solely on the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“While the State claims that no prosecutor has ever been disqualified in Georgia for forensic misconduct, no prosecutor in Georgia, elected or otherwise, has engaged in misconduct like Willis and Wade have here,” Sadow said in a filing.
“I want to make clear to the court that the law in Georgia suggests and is very clear that we can demonstrate an appearance of a conflict of interest and that is sufficient,” said defense attorney John Merchant, who represents Roman.
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 dismissed the district attorney’s investigation as being politically motivated.
