(NEW YORK) — Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon will stand trial in May 2024 for allegedly defrauding donors to the “We Build the Wall” online fundraising campaign, a Manhattan judge said Thursday.
Judge Juan Merchan set a trial date of May 27 of next year — two months after former President Donald Trump is set to stand trial before the same judge for allegedly falsifying business records related to Stormy Daniels’ hush money payment.
As president, Trump pardoned Bannon on his last night in office after Bannon was indicted on federal charges of defrauding donors to the “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The state charges Bannon now faces were brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and allege that Bannon and “We Build the Wall” defrauded 430 Manhattan-based donors out of $33,600. Across New York state, there were more than 11,000 donors defrauded out of more than $730,000, according to the indictment.
Bannon pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.
Prosecutors say “We Build the Wall” raised $15 million from donors across the country based on “false pretenses,” citing a pledge organizers made that the group’s president would take no salary. Instead, the campaign’s president, Brian Kolfage, received a salary of $250,000 that was secretly funneled to him by Bannon, prosecutors say.
The indictment quotes Bannon telling donors at a June 24, 2019, fundraising event, “Remember, all the money you give goes to building the wall.”
If convicted, Bannon faces two counts of money laundering, which carry a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison, as well as additional felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud along with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to defraud.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — Three former Jackson Police Department officers were indicted by a grand jury last week on homicide charges in the death of Keith Murriel, a Mississippi man who died in police custody on Dec. 31, 2022.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens, II, announced the charges against former officers Kenya McCarty, Avery Willis and James Land in a press conference on Wednesday.
“All three officers have been indicted for homicide,” Owens said. “The District Attorney’s office would like to acknowledge the brave actions of the entire Jackson Police Department. And we do not think the actions of a few represent the bravery of so many.”
Owens said that McCarty and Willis were each charged with second-degree murder, while Land was charged with manslaughter.
ABC News has reached out to attorneys for McCarty and Land but requests for comment were not immediately responded to. Efforts to reach Willis directly for comment were unsuccessful. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
Daryl Washington, an attorney representing the family of Murriel, told ABC News in a statement on Thursday that the indictment brings “a level of comfort” to the family.
Family of Brianna Grier, Georgia woman who fell out of moving police vehicle, files wrongful death lawsuit
“It’s been an extremely difficult time for the family, knowing that Keith’s death was totally preventable,” Washington said.
“Although the family would much rather have Keith here with them, there is a level of comfort knowing that the officers have been indicted for the egregious crime they committed last December,” he added. “We know that this is only the first step in a long process, but we are encouraged by the thorough investigation that was conducted and believe the officers will be held fully accountable for their wrongful actions.”
The city of Jackson released body camera footage of the incident on Wednesday that was reviewed by ABC News and shows officers tasing Murriel several times as they try to handcuff him. Murriel can be heard repeatedly urging the officers to stop.
“The hardest thing for the family is hearing Keith telling the officers to stop,” Washington told ABC News on Thursday.
Following Murriel’s death, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into the incident.
ABC News has reached out to the MBI for a copy of the final report, as well as a copy of Murriel’s autopsy.
Jackson City Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who urged the MBI to release the video earlier this year, told reporters that the video is “voluminous” and is made up of footage from various officers’ cameras, as well as camera footage from the surrounding area that captured Murriel’s encounter with police.
“We believe that we have seen actions which are excessive, disheartening and tragic,” Lumumba said.
Members of Murriel’s family, who, according to Washington, have been calling for months on the MBI to release the body camera video, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in April against officers involved in this case.
“We chose not to release the video at that time because we did not want to compromise the ongoing investigation,” Lumumba said.
“We wanted to make it clear while we were releasing this video that we are on the side of justice and want to see justice take place,” he added.
Newly appointed Jackson Police Department Chief Joseph Wade offered his condolences to Murriel’s family during the press conference on Wednesday and pledged to be transparent.
“We strive at the Jackson Police Department to create community trust. When we fail, we create community distrust,” Wade said, urging the community to continue to support the officers who “put their lives on the line every day.”
“We at JPD will continue to be transparent and we will continue to have accountability measures in place – not only from the bottom up, but from the top down as we move forward,” he added.
Former Jackson Police Chief James Davis announced his retirement on Friday and Wade was named interim police chief.
Lumumba publicly disagreed with Davis in February after police released a statement saying that Murriel experienced a “health emergency” that led to his death.
According to a Jackson Police Department news release given to the ABC affiliate, WAPT, in January officers responded at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday Dec. 31 2022, to a call for service in the 500 block of E. Beasley Road.
“While at the location, officers successfully took an individual into custody who experienced a medical emergency,” JPD said in the release, according to the affiliate. “American Medical Response was summoned to the location to render aid; unfortunately, the individual was pronounced deceased on the scene.”
Asked during the press conference on Wednesday if Davis’ departure had anything to do with the backlash over the incident that led to Murriel’s death, Lumumda said, “no.”
“I shared that, you know I had a different take on it, but that had nothing to do with his decision to retire and my decision to accept his retirement,” he added.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge sentenced Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison Thursday for his role leading a seditious conspiracy to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory that culminated in the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rhodes sentence is now the longest to date handed down to a defendant charged in connection with the Capitol assault.
For the first time in a Jan. 6 case, D.C. District Judge Amit Mehta accepted the government’s recommendation to apply an enhancement for terrorism in Rhodes’ sentencing. Judge Mehta agreed with prosecutors that Rhodes “inspired the use of violence” in his followers to disrupt the certification and that his conduct met the legal definition of terrorism intended to influence the actions of government.
Judge Mehta cited the stockpile of weapons the Oath Keepers had amassed just outside of Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, as well as Rhodes’ orders for members to delete incriminating messages after the Capitol assault.
“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and peril to this country,” Judge Mehta told Rhodes just before handing down his sentence.
Before his sentence was handed down, Rhodes opted to address Judge Mehta in defiant remarks maintaining his innocence and describing himself as a “political prisoner.”
“Like President Trump, my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” Rhodes said.
In his own remarks just before handing down his sentence, Mehta pushed back directly on Rhodes’ claims of being a political prisoner, saying instead he poses an “ongoing threat to this country.”
“For decades it is clear that you wanted the democracy in this country to devolve into violence,” Mehta said. “You’re not a political prisoner. You’re here because 12 jurors in D.C. who acquitted you of multiple counts found you guilty of sedition.”
“It could have been a far uglier day … and people should not forget that,” he said of Jan. 6.
The harshest sentence thus far for a defendant charged in connection with Jan. 6 was 170 months, or just over 14 years.
The Justice Department was seeking 25 years for Rhodes, with a prosecutor saying in court Thursday that a harsh sentence was critical “to ensure the respect for the rule of law that is essential to the survival of our democracy.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said Rhodes “doggedly drilled in the minds of those on his chats, and those followers of the Oath Keepers the lie of the election fraud, and the false need to act like the Founding Fathers in order to save in his view, our Constitution and our country.” She said it was “neither the first time nor the last time that he will seek to organize political violence in our country,” and pointed to statements he made from jail just four days ago to a protest gathered outside where he said it would “take regime change” to fix the wrongs being done by the Biden Administration.
“It’s not going to stop until its stopped,” Rakoczy said, quoting Rhodes’ remarks.
Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States last November. A jury found he and other members of the group played a principal role in disrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
The decision marked the first successful seditious conspiracy conviction by a jury since 1995.
Justice Department prosecutors sought 25 years for Rhodes, their highest recommendation yet for a defendant charged in connection with Jan. 6.
In their sentencing recommendation to Judge Mehta, they argued repeatedly that harsh sentences for all the Oath Keepers charged in the conspiracy were necessary in order to deter future potential attacks against democracy.
Juries in two separate trials returned convictions against Rhodes and eight of his associates on a variety of serious felony charges, though three from the group were acquitted of the most serious charge of seditious conspiracy.
Relying on a trove of messages between the group’s members discussing “civil war” in the event of Biden taking office, prosecutors argued that Rhodes and his co-conspirators were willing to take any action necessary, including using force, to stop the certification.
Prosecutors also presented extensive evidence of the group’s planning in advance of Jan. 6, showing how members stashed a massive cache of weapons at a hotel just outside city limits that the government argued would be transported into Washington in the event Trump invoked the Insurrection Act.
Stemming from unfounded claims of election fraud, the defendants railed against the government in private chats and social media posts.
Rhodes remained defiant in remarks before his sentence was ultimately handed down on Thursday.
On Wednesday, police officers who defended the Capitol and a Senate aide who carried the official 2020 election documents spoke in court to explain the continuing trauma they face more than two years after the riots.
“We were assaulted time and time again,” D.C. police officer Christopher Owens told he court. He talked about the violent mob repeatedly grabbing at his police gear, even trying to take his weapon.
His voice heavy with emotion, Owens described coming home to his family and his wife sobbing after seeing his bruised and battered his body.
“We experienced physical trauma, emotional trauma and mental trauma,” he said.
Judge Mehta thanked each of the witnesses for their remarks and government service.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a near-normal hurricane season for the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
There is a 40% chance of a near-normal season, a 30% chance of an above-normal season and a 30% chance of a below-normal season, NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad told reporters during a media briefing on Thursday.
The National Hurricane Center is predicting between 12 to 17 named storms that have top winds of at least 39 miles per hour, Spinrad said. Of those storms, five to nine are forecast to become hurricanes, including four major hurricanes at a Category 3 or above, Spinrad said.
This year is warmer than last year, creating conditions that could allow tropical systems to intensify, Matt Rosencrans, lead hurricane season outlook forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, told reporters. The wet African monsoon season is currently very active, which could help produce long-lived tropical cyclones.
In addition, even though there is a developing El Nino, which usually suppresses the activity, the Atlantic still could see near-normal tropical activity.
“The stronger than an El Nino event, usually the less amount of storms you have,” Rosencrans said.
The U.S. saw 14 named storms in 2022. Three of those hurricanes caused a collective $117 billion in damages, U.S Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves told reporters.
“Hurricanes and the destruction they cause can have devastating impacts to affected communities, and to local economies,” Graves said.
Spinrad emphasized the necessity to prepare for devastating storms.
“Remember, it only takes one storm to devastate a community,” he said. “Regardless of the statistics I shared if one of those named storms is hitting your home, your community. It’s very serious.”
Major strides have been made in recent years in the accuracy in which NOAA is able to forecast hurricanes, Graves said. For example, the accuracy of the forecast track has improved by 40% since 2017, and the lead time hurricane forecast by two days, NOAA said. In addition, the seven-day track forecast now has the same accuracy as the five-day track forecast, Graves said.
NOAA will be implementing more powerful supercomputers, developing upgraded forecast models and employing better satellite observations to better track hurricanes in the future, Graves said.
A retrospective analysis of storms in the North Atlantic basin from 2020 to 2022 showed the new hurricane model provided up to a 15% improvement in track and intensity forecasts over existing models, Spinrad said.
“These additional days of preparedness can make all the difference in places like Florida, Puerto Rico and other parts of the country in mitigating the destruction and saving countless lives,” he said.
Overall, the number of storms has not increased due to climate change, but the hazards that result have increased, such as more storm surge and heavier rainfall. In a warmer climate, the atmosphere can hold more water, therefore producing heavier rainfall. With sea level rise and more people living along the coast, storm surge becomes a greater problem.
The U.S. is seeing “more and more” impacts from hurricanes, Federal Emergency Management Agency Deanne Criswell told reporters.
“They are going to be stronger, they will last longer,” she said. “FEMA will be ready to support you.”
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30.
(MIAMI) — The parent whose complaint led to the transfer of Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” to the middle school section of a Miami-Dade school made social media posts praising the far-right Proud Boys and shared elements of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, an ABC News review of a profile appearing to belong to the parent showed.
Records provided to ABC News by the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a group tracking restrictions on books in the state’s public education system, show the complaint was made by the parent on March 29. In April, staff from the Bob Graham Education Center and a representative from a nearby school met to review the complaint by the parent with two students at the K-8 school.
The Florida Freedom to Read Project obtained the documents through a public records request.
The parent requested that five books, including Gorman’s The Hill We Climb, be removed, citing concerns over “indoctrination” and “critical race theory.” According to the records, the committee decided to move four of the five books, previously accessible to all students at the school, to a section for middle schoolers.
The complaints included the name, address and telephone number for the parent. Those details led ABC News to a social media profile appearing to belong to the parent.
That profile included a post from Aug. 21, 2021, praising the far-right Proud Boys and featuring a reference to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Another post from March 31, which appears to have been deleted, included a summary of the antisemitic conspiracy theory “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
After the alleged profile’s existence was first publicized by online activist groups, a post appeared on the profile on May 24 apologizing for sharing the antisemitic conspiracy theory.
“I would like to apologize to the Jewish community for a post that I reposted earlier from someone else. I only read the word communism and went ahead to repost it thinking it was related to that,” the post read in part.
The owner of the profile, who ABC News is not naming at this time, did not respond to requests for comment.
Reached by telephone, the Bob Graham Education Center declined to comment.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools did not return a request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — A person of interest in a New York murder, accused of a crime spree as he fled from police, was arrested in South Carolina, thanks partly to local tips and attention from a national crime television show, law enforcement officials said.
Michael Charles Burham, 34, was found after an exhaustive weeks-long search that ended after a resident spotted him in their backyard, police said.
“He obviously looked like he had been in the woods for some time,” Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis told reporters about his Wednesday capture. “We gave him some water … he blurted out that you know he had been on the run and he wanted something to drink.”
Burham had three separate warrants for his arrest at the time of his arrest, according to the FBI.
He had been considered armed and dangerous, wanted for allegedly raping a victim in New York, holding an elderly couple hostage in Pennsylvania and being a person of interest in a New York murder before he was captured on Wednesday, officials said.
The search for Burham began in Jamestown, New York, where he was charged with rape and unlawful imprisonment of a woman for an incident on March 13, 2023, police said.
Burham is also believed to be related to the murder of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin on May 11, according to the Jamestown Police Department.
Burham allegedly drove a rental car from Pennsylvania to the area of the New York homicide, then returned his rental car the next day to Warren, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement described Burham as a “suspect” and a “person of interest” in the case.
During the manhunt, Burham allegedly kidnapped an elderly couple at gunpoint on May 20, eventually driving the couple from Sheffield, Pennsylvania, to North Charleston, South Carolina, according to the FBI.
The search for Burham gained momentum with the help of tips from locals and a national television show.
On Patrol: Live, a program that airs on Reelz, included a segment about the manhunt for Burham, which the New York law enforcement credited for helping the investigation.
“Due to the national attention that this case is now receiving, we are receiving multiple tips from across the country regarding Burham’s whereabouts,” Jamestown Police Department wrote Saturday.
A tip from a South Carolina resident on Tuesday afternoon breathed life into the search, though officers could not respond to the report quickly enough to spot Burham themselves.
“We did not get that information, however, until about seven o’clock that night after the newscast and after you all publicized that,” Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano told reporters.
Graziano urged the public to keep a watchful but concerned eye for Burham, citing his possible desperation after being on the run for weeks, and asked residents to check everything from their deer stands to their doorbell camera for a sign of Burham.
“This guy is dangerous,” she noted. “This is a fugitive; he is desperate, he’s tired, he’s hungry.”
The call eventually came from a resident around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, after Burham was spotted behind a shed, according to Lewis.
Burham was taken into custody at 5:17 p.m., with officials thanking the public for their involvement in the successful manhunt.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s office posted a photo of the handcuffed Burham, dressed in a muddy pair of basketball shorts and a tee shirt, flanked by FBI agents in tactical gear.
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — A Tennessee judge has granted the parents of students killed and traumatized in a Nashville school mass shooting in March permission to intervene in a consolidated lawsuit seeking the public release of evidence seized in the on-going police investigation.
In a decision filed Wednesday night, Davidson County Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ruled the parents have a legal standing in the case to “permissively intervene to preserve any rights they may have on behalf of the minor children who were victims of this incident but not at the age of majority to assert their own claims.”
In a separate ruling released earlier Wednesday, Myles granted the Covenant Presbyterian Church and its school permission to intervene in the case because both have “a sufficient personal stake in the outcome of this litigation.”
Attorney Eric Osborne — who said he represents 100 families affected by the school shooting, including the parents of three 9-year-old children killed — told Myles during a hearing Monday that many of the parents want to address the court on why they don’t want any of the evidence ever released. Osborne said the parents fear releasing the shooter’s writings, including journals seized as evidence, will prompt copycat attacks and add additional pain to the children who survived the attack.
Osborne argued it would violate the parent’s rights under the Tennessee Constitution if they were barred from intervening in the litigation.
“Once this document is released …. you can’t un-ring the bell,” Osborne said in court.
During Monday’s hearing, Myles noted that such a horrific school attack is “not something we in Tennessee, and specifically Nashville, have had to deal with.”
“So, in a way, we are in unchartered territory,” Myles said. “That moment is not lost on me.”
In her ruling Wednesday night, Myles wrote of the unprecedented complexities posed by the parents’ motion.
“They wish to present their legal arguments and positions regarding an open area of the law that has not been clearly developed regarding the juxtaposition of the constitutional rights of the crime victim and the access to public records, particularly of a purported open criminal investigation,” Myles wrote.
The killing rampage unfolded on March 27, when the alleged perpetrator Audrey Hale, 28, who once attended Covenant School, shot her way into the school with an AR-15-style rifle and killed the three children and three adults, including the head of the school, Katherine Koonce. Hale was fatally shot by police officers.
Police have not commented on a motive for the attack.
During a hearing on Monday, lawyers for the church and school argued they don’t want the evidence seized in the investigation released because the material contains the school’s safety plan and other documents pertaining to health and social security records of school and church employees.
In her ruling, Myles wrote that “the court was stirred” by the argument that the public release of the sensitive private documents could have “harmful and irreversible consequences.”
The Nashville Metropolitan Government requested Monday’s hearing after being sued for the release of the documents by news organizations, the Tennessee Firearms Association Inc. and Clata Renee Brewer, a private investigator for the National Police Association.
Robb Harvey, an attorney who represents The Tennessean newspaper, countered that the parents should not be permitted to intervene, arguing they have no standing in the case because no criminal charges have been filed due to the suspect being shot to death by police.
“As horrible a thing that happened to the parents and the families of the people who were killed, they’re not victims of a crime,” Harvey told Myles. “So, the constitutional provision doesn’t apply to them.”
Harvey added, “I know that their emotions have been just jangled and rattled and disrupted, their family lives have been disrupted, but that doesn’t make them a criminal victim.”
Brewer’s attorney, Doug Pierce, suggested in court that the families of those killed and traumatized in the shooting and Covenant School officials don’t want the writings and other evidence released because they are attempting to hide what’s in the documents from the public.
“You do get the distinct impression from what has been filed, I can’t say, but it’s very strong, they all know what is in that document,” Pierce alleged.
Osborne assured Myles that none of the families are privy to what is in the police investigative file.
Laura Fox, an attorney for the Nashville Metropolitan Government, said in court that some of the material seized in the investigation through search warrants and subpoenas, including Hale’s writings, have been turned over to Myles to review in private. Fox invited Myles to come to police headquarters to review the remainder of the evidence.
Fox said the police investigation is still active and more evidence is being collected.
Myles has scheduled a “show cause” hearing for June 8 before she rules on whether to release the documents in the case.
(LOS ANGELES) — Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly stabbed a Los Angeles Metro Bus operator multiple times Wednesday evening, leaving him in critical condition.
A male suspect boarded the bus in Woodland Hills and began arguing with the driver before stabbing him, Metro Los Angeles said on Twitter.
“The bus driver and the suspect exited the bus and continued the argument, at which time the suspect produced a knife (or sharp object) and stabbed the bus driver multiple times,” police said in a press release.
The suspect then fled on foot near Erwin Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, officials said.
L.A. Police Department officers began a grid search of the area, Chief Michel Moore said, adding that the department “has mustered a number of night watch detectives and uniform personnel to investigate this senseless attack.”
Police officials released a statement with images of the suspect.
“This heinous act of violence is horrific and the harm done to one of our Metro drivers is tragic. I join the entire City family in praying for him tonight, and my heart also goes out to his family,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
Police described the suspect as a 21-year-old white man with blonde curly hair and a thin build. He is about 6 feet tall. He wore a red shirt, black pants and a black backpack.
Detectives from the LAPD’s Topanga Division are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect who stabbed a Metro bus driver. Anyone with information is urged to contact Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Division Detectives at (818) 756-4820. pic.twitter.com/Mf7hOFbajK
(WASHINGTON) — Richard “Bigo” Barnett was sentenced on Wednesday to four years and six months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Barnett became one of the most recognizable figures in the 2021 attack after images circulated showing him with his feet propped up on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
Barnett profited from online fundraisers and even tried selling signed copies of the photos on social media.
He was convicted in January on all charges, including felonies for obstruction of an official proceeding and civil disorder as well as several misdemeanors.
In explaining his sentencing decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper noted Barnett’s lack of remorse, saying he didn’t believe that Barnett was simply swept up in the rioting mob, as Barnett had testified.
“You were an active participant,” Cooper said.
Leaning back in his chair — and wearing a long white beard, gray suit jacket, silver tie and dark red shirt — Barnett, 63, gazed back at the judge. When he was called forward for his final remarks before sentencing, he struck a mostly defiant tone but apologized for being “angry that day.”
He also said he’d “behaved perfectly” while he was free on supervised release.
Despite touting his admiration and support for law enforcement, Barnett claimed “peaceful” protesters were attacked by police at the Capitol two years ago.
“I was angry that day,” he said. “I admit I was angry, and I apologize for that.”
Barnett insisted the government “misconstrues every word I say” and that “they want me to be remorseful for things I did not do.”
He was ordered to self-surrender to authorities after getting his affairs in order Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, Pelosi’s staff were “psychologically traumatized” by the events of Jan. 6. Many aides left the office afterwards and some left government altogether.
David Tipling/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(MIAMI) — Zoo Miami has apologized following an uproar over its treatment of a kiwi bird under its care.
Footage emerged online showing Paōra, a male Kiwi bird, being petted by guests at the zoo’s “encounter experience.” Videos also showed the nocturnal bird being placed in a brightly lit enclosure.
The footage sparked outcry among New Zealanders at home and abroad, who say the Kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird, is being mistreated.
Paōra was the first kiwi to hatch in Florida in 2019.
A petition to “Help Save” Paōra garnered over 12,300 signatures in three days as people called for investigations into the kiwi’s living conditions.
“Kiwis are our precious Taonga, not America’s toys,” read the petition, which was started by New Zealander Jeseka Christieson.
Zoo Miami apologized for its treatment of Paōra on Wednesday, announcing that it has scrapped “encounter” experiences with the bird to take effect immediately.
“First and foremost, on behalf of everyone at Zoo Miami, please accept our most profound and sincere apology for the stress initiated by a video on social media depicting the handling and housing of ‘Paora,’ the kiwi bird that is presently under our care. The concerns expressed have been taken very seriously and as a result, effective immediately, the Kiwi Encounter will no longer be offered,” the zoo said in a statement.
The zoo also announced that plans are underway to build a “special habitat” for Paōra with “relative darkness,” where guests can learn about the unique bird without direct contact.
The move comes as New Zealand’s Department of Conservation announced it will be “discussing the situation” with the American Associations of Zoos and Aquarius, thanking viewers for raising concerns about the welfare and handling of Paōra.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins thanked Zoo Miami for taking the nation’s concerns seriously.
“The zoo [has] immediately taken steps to address the concerns that were raised,” Hipkins said. “They have acknowledged that what they were doing wasn’t appropriate or wasn’t right or wasn’t fair to the kiwi. I thank them for taking it seriously.”
The bird is dear to many New Zealanders, who refer to themselves as “Kiwis,” a nickname that first started around World War I.
The small and unique bird appears on New Zealand’s postage stamps and is native to the country. The bird has cultural, historic and spiritual significance to the Māori people. Kiwi feathers are used to make the iconic “kahu kiwi,” a traditional feather cloak worn by tribal chiefs that is symbolic of protective spirits.
There are an estimated 70,000 kiwis left in New Zealand, according to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.
Paōra was the first kiwi to hatch in the state of Florida. The bird was part of Smithsonian’s National Zoo breeding program that aimed to ensure the survival of the threatened species. Zoo Miami said it was “happy to have watched him grow and thrive” under its care.
“Though Paora has thrived at Zoo Miami while receiving the best care available, the development of the Kiwi Encounter was, in hindsight, not well conceived with regard to the national symbolism of this iconic animal and what it represents to the people of New Zealand, especially the Maori,” the zoo said in the statement.
“Having had the honor of hosting the Honorable New Zealand Ambassador to the United States and several representatives of the Maori people during a special naming ceremony here at Zoo Miami, it is especially painful to all of us to think that anything that has occurred with Paora here at Zoo Miami would be offensive to any of the wonderful people of New Zealand. Again, we are deeply sorry,” the statement added.
