News

(LANSING, Mich.) — One of 16 Republicans who allegedly acted as “fake electors” for former President Donald Trump in Michigan after the 2020 presidential election testified in state court Wednesday that he never intended to falsely make or alter a public record.

James Renner and his alleged co-conspirators were charged by the Michigan Attorney General in July with charges including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery for allegedly attempting to replace Michigan’s electoral votes for Joe Biden with electoral votes for Trump at the certification of the vote on Jan. 6, 2021.

Renner, who had his case dismissed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for cooperating with the case in October, said in a hearing at Ingham County District Court in Lansing Wednesday that if he had thought that a crime was being committed, he would’ve never agreed to go to a meeting with the other suspects on Dec.14, 2020.

The 16 suspects allegedly met “covertly” in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the duly elected electors, according to prosecutors. The forged documents were then submitted to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives.

“I would have challenged it because my background is enforcing the law,” Renner said when asked by an attorney if he would have spoken up at the meeting with the rest of the so-called “fake electors.”

Renner was asked to testify by the prosecution as part of a preliminary hearings held this week for some of the people facing charges for allegedly serving as false electors.

“The purpose was to present the slate of candidates because we were told that the representatives and senators had the ability to accept our slate of candidates versus the Democrats slate of candidates,” Renner testified.

At one point during a hearing, Kahla Crino, a Michigan assistant attorney general, said that a 1960 Hawaii case became the “inspiration” for the so-called fake electors in multiple states.

Crino’s comments followed one defense attorney’s mention of the election in which then-Vice President Richard Nixon, in his capacity as president of the Senate, certified Hawaii’s electoral votes that went to his opponent in the presidential race, John F. Kennedy, after a recount in the state.

“This became the inspiration for a multi-state criminal conspiracy that was absolutely linked to the Trump campaign,” Crino said.

Trump has not commented on the Michigan case.

The state is still pursuing charges against the other 15 defendants. All the defendants pleaded not guilty including Renner.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KANSAS CITY) — One person is dead and 10 to 15 people are injured from a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, following the parade and rally for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, officials said.

The exact number of gunshot victims was not immediately clear, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said, calling the shooting a “tragedy.”

Two suspects have been taken into custody, she said.

Three victims are in critical condition and five are in serious condition, according to the Kansas City Fire Department.

The shooting took place west of Union Station, near the garage, as Chiefs fans were leaving, according to Kansas City police.

About 1 million paradegoers were expected at Wednesday’s celebration.

Paradegoer Arnold Sauther said when the rally ended the Chiefs went into Union Station, and fans followed the players to get autographs.

“Then, all of a sudden they all started running out, and you see all these policemen come running in there — and you knew something happened in the station,” Sauther told Kansas City ABC affiliate KMBC.

“We see people running and we hear gunshots and we take off running. And we look over and there’s a guy next to us on the ground,” witness Jennifer Wilbers told KMBC.

Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson told KMBC that the Chiefs players and their families are safe.

Players, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, linebacker Drue Tranquill and guard Trey Smith, are speaking out on social media.

Praying for Kansas City… 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) February 14, 2024

“People started crashing forward, everybody started running, there was screaming,” another woman told KMBC. “We didn’t know what was happening, but in this day and age when people run, you run.”

“We went where an elevator was, we shut the doors and sat back against the doors and we prayed,” she said.

“There was yelling and we didn’t know if it was safe to leave, so we tried to block the doors. We heard the elevator start to move so we opened the doors and ran out — there were officers there,” she said. “I’ve never been so glad to see an officer in my life.”

The police chief said 800 law enforcement officers were at the parade and rally.

“I am angry,” Graves said. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment.”

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso and Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DETROIT) — The Great Lakes is seeing record-low levels of ice during a time of year when ice cover is typically closing in on peak levels, according to the latest measurements.

It continues to be the winter that wasn’t in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, where average ice cover has continued to melt away since last week’s Great Lakes ice analysis showed just 5.9% of ice cover.

As of Sunday, just 2.7% of the Great Lakes was covered in ice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory announced on Tuesday.

This is the second year in a row where Great Lakes ice cover was well below average for this time of year, which typically sees the peak of ice cover at around 40%, records show. It is also remarkably lower than the previous record low set in mid-February 2023, at 5.77%.

On Sunday, Lake Superior was at 1.7% ice cover; Lake Michigan at 2.6%; Lake Huron at 5.9%; Lake Erie at .05%; and Lake Ontario at 1.7%, according to NOAA. On Monday, the Great Lakes combined average ice cover saw a slight uptick to 2.94% and was at 2.92% as of Tuesday, according to NOAA.

Lakes Erie and Ontario are essentially ice-free, tying their historic-low ice cover records for the day, records show.

Although there are chunks of ice visible from the sandy beaches just north of Muskegon, Michigan, there is “little-to-no” ice cover on Lake Michigan, the NOAA researchers said.

“We have never seen ice levels this low in Mid-February on the lakes since our records began in 1973,” Bryan Mrockza, a physical scientist, for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said in a statement.

The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater ecosystem on Earth, and according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, they are among the fastest-warming lakes in the world.

This season has been one of the warmest winters on record for the Great Lakes. The current winter season began with very warm air temperatures, resulting in slow ice formation, according to NOAA.

While January saw some periods of intense cold, they were not sustained enough to allow ice coverage to significantly increase.

Maximum ice cover typically peaks in late February and early March, according to NOAA. On average, the Great Lakes experience a basin-wide maximum in annual ice coverage of about 53%.

But ice cover is unlikely to make a significant recovery this season. In the coming last weeks of winter, the overall temperature trend continues to point to above average temperatures and unseasonably mild conditions in the region.

Warmer winters and the associated impacts on ice coverage have links to human-induced climate change when looking at long-term trends. However, for this year specifically, a strong El Niño event is the primary driver with climate change potentially helping amplify the extreme. A typical El Niño winter favors above average temperatures in the region.

Low ice coverage impacts a variety of tourism and recreation industries, such as ice fishing and outdoor sports, that depend on the ice, according to NOAA.

Last month, the John Beargrease Sled Dog marathon, one of the most beloved dog sled competitions in the Midwest, was canceled due to lack of snow.

“Many local businesses in the area rely on ice fishing and outdoor sports which can only happen if the ice is thick and solid,” according to NOAA. “Some fish species also use the ice for protection from predators during spawning season, and there’s increasing evidence that the ice plays a role in regulating many biological processes in the water. Shipping schedules are heavily impacted by the formation of ice, as well.”

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Max Golembo contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(AUSTIN, Texas) — One person is dead and five people were injured after a vehicle crashed into a hospital in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, authorities said.

A vehicle crashed into the emergency room at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time, Capt. Christa Stedman, a spokesperson for the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, said at a news conference Tuesday evening.

The driver of the vehicle was extricated from the car and received CPR, but was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Austin Fire Department Chief Thayer Smith.

Police identified the driver on Wednesday as 57-year-old Michell Holloway.

This is no indication at this time that this was an “intentional act” or that Holloway suffered a medical episode while driving, officer Ariel Crumes, a spokesperson for the Austin Police Department, said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

It is unclear what the speed of the vehicle was at the time of impact, Crumes said.

Two children and one adult were transported to Dell Children’s Medical Center, according to Chief of Austin-Travis County EMS Robert Luckritz. One child was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, while the adult and second child had injuries that were non-life-threatening, Luckritz said.

A second adult with potentially life-threatening injuries was transported to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, according to Luckritz.

Eight other people who were in the ER but not injured in the crash were transported to different area hospitals so the emergency room could “regroup,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter DeYoung said during Tuesday’s presser.

According to DeYoung, the building appears to be in good condition and none of the hospital’s operations were interrupted.

The vehicle crashed into a large aquarium in the hospital, which likely saved lives by absorbing the impact of the crash, DeYoung said Wednesday.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CRESTVIEW, Fla.) — A Florida deputy is seen firing his weapon repeatedly at his patrol vehicle after mistaking the sound of an acorn hitting the roof of the car for a muffled gunshot, according to video released alongside a sheriff’s office investigation.

Newly released body camera footage of the November 2023 incident shows the dramatic moments the Okaloosa County deputy shot at his patrol vehicle while a handcuffed suspect was inside.

“I’m hit! I’m hit!” the deputy, Jesse Hernandez, can be heard yelling, though no one was shooting at him.

As he stumbled to the ground, Hernandez yelled “Shots fired!” four times, according to the video and an internal investigation conducted by by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards. He then opens fire on his vehicle.

A sergeant with the sheriff’s office also fired her weapon multiple times at the patrol vehicle, believing Hernandez was in danger, according to the report.

After the sergeant asked if he was OK, Hernandez responded, “I’m good, I feel weird but I’m good,” the footage shows.

The two had responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at a residence near Fort Walton Beach on Nov. 12, 2023, according to the report. A woman reported that her boyfriend was refusing to return her vehicle and had been calling and texting her threats, including “what appeared to be a firearm suppressor pointing at the dash of the victim’s vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The boyfriend was detained, searched, handcuffed and placed in the rear of Hernandez’s patrol vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

While approaching the vehicle to conduct another search, Hernandez told investigators that he heard what he believed to be a “suppressed weapon off to the side,” according to the report.

“At the same time, I felt an impact on my right side, like upper torso area,” he said in an interview on Nov. 15, 2023, according to the report.

Hernandez and the sergeant both fired their weapons at the patrol car until their firearms were emptied, according to the report.

The boyfriend was uninjured and no weapon was located, the sheriff’s office said.

“The audible sound Deputy Hernandez reported can be heard on body cam video and witnesses also attested they heard the sound they thought could have been a muffled gunshot,” the sheriff’s office said.

During the interview, investigators informed Hernandez that what he heard was an acorn, according to the report. Asked if what he thought he heard was actually the noise of the acorn striking the roof of his patrol vehicle, Hernandez responded, “I’m not gonna say no,” according to the report.

“What I heard sounded what I think would be louder than an acorn hitting the roof of the car, but there’s obviously an acorn hitting the roof of the car,” he said, according to the report.

The investigation determined that Hernandez’s use of force was “not objectively reasonable,” the sheriff’s office said. He resigned during the course of the investigation on Dec. 4, 2023, nearly a year after joining the force, according to the sheriff’s office.

ABC News has reached out to Hernandez for comment.

The sergeant’s use of force was found to be “objectively reasonable” and she was exonerated, the sheriff’s office said.

Both were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, according to Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden.

Aden said they “understand this situation was traumatic” for the man detained in the patrol vehicle and are “thankful” he wasn’t injured. The office has incorporated this incident into their training “to try to ensure nothing similar happens again,” the sheriff said.

“Though [Hernandez’s] actions were ultimately not warranted, we do believe he felt his life was in immediate peril and his response was based off the totality of circumstances surrounding this fear,” Aden said in a statement. “Just as we have an obligation to protect our officers so they can go home safely to their families, law enforcement has the same obligation to any citizen being investigated for a crime.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The jury in the murder trial of a former Ohio deputy charged in the shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr. began deliberating Wednesday, following more than two weeks of witness testimony, including from a last minute witness who said he came forward after watching news of the trial.

“Six shots in the back,” special prosecutor Tim Merkle told the jury as he began delivering his closing arguments, echoing special prosecutor Gary Shroyer’s words during opening statement. “No matter how [defense attorneys] twist and turn, it is still six shots in the back.”

Jason Meade, a former deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), is charged with two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide in the 23-year-old Black man’s shooting death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“We’ve proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jason Meade acted reasonably,” attorney Mark Collins said during the defense’s closing arguments.

The incident occurred in Columbus on Dec. 4, 2020, when Meade was working with the U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) to search for a wanted fugitive. Meade, who is white, alleged that Goodson pointed a gun at him as the two drove past each other. The then-deputy said he decided to follow Goodson home. Goodson legally owned a gun and had a concealed carry permit, according to police.

Meade testified that once outside Goodson’s residence, he saw Goodson holding a gun and gave him verbal commands to drop his weapon but Goodson did not comply. As Goodson approached the back door to his grandmother’s home, where he lived, Meade claimed Goodson made a turning motion and pointed his gun towards the deputy. Meade, who was in possession of a rifle, then opened fire.

An autopsy conducted by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office found that Goodson had been shot six times from behind, including five times in his back.

The prosecution argued that Goodson did not hear Meade because he was wearing headphones and listening to music and that Goodson was carrying a bag with sandwiches — and not a gun — in one hand as he used his other hand to open the door to the house. Goodson’s gun, which his family said he carried with him, was found in his possession with the safety on, according to police.

At the time of the shooting, FCSO deputies were not issued body cameras so no known video of the incident exists.

Meade’s defense team argued that the former deputy’s actions were in line with his training and a response to Goodson’s behavior. Last Tuesday, the former deputy took the stand to give the jury his account of the events that led to the shooting.

“Everything that I did was dictated by his actions,” Meade told the jury about why he shot Goodson. “He pointed his gun at me. I thought I was gonna die.”

Mark Collins, one of the lawyers representing Meade, asked him during direct examination what he had thought about after shooting Goodson. “I remember thinking it was my boy’s birthday. I just ruined his birthday,” Meade said.

Meade’s legal team declined ABC News’ request for comment.

During cross examination, special prosecutor Gary Shroyer asked Meade if he remembered which hand Goodson had used to open the storm door into his house. “I didn’t see his hands,” Meade said.

“I might have taken my eyes off of him for a moment but I didn’t see which hand he opened the door with,” Meade said.

The prosecution began presenting their case to the jury by calling members of Goodson’s family who had been in the home when the shooting happened to the stand, playing a recording of the 911 call Sharon Payne, Goodson’s grandmother, made following the shooting. The call was played again during Wednesday’s closing arguments.

“He went to the dentist and somewhere and came home and all of a sudden I heard a bunch of gunfire,” Payne told the 911 operator. “He’s not a bad kid. He don’t have a police record. He works. I don’t know what happened.”

The prosecution called 16 witnesses to the stand, including police officers and first responders who were called to the scene after the shooting, the medical examiner who performed Goodson’s autopsy, Columbus PD Crime Scene Search Unit officers, FBI and Columbus PD firearms experts and digital forensics.

The defense called to the stand Sheila Staniford, Goodson’s neighbor, who claimed to have heard Meade yelling commands to Goodson to drop his gun at least two times before hearing gunshots.

As the defense was preparing to rest their case, the trial faced an unexpected two-day delay when a surprise witness came forward after following the trial online — Christopher Corne, a HVAC worker who said he’d seen Goodson at the same intersection where Meade alleges to have seen him pointing a gun.

Corne testified that he noticed Goodson because he was driving recklessly and that when they came past each other, the two made eye contact. Corne said he saw movements and that Goodson “had one hand up in the air like he was singing or something like that,” but said no gun was visible.

During cross examination, the defense questioned Corne’s motivations for coming forward as the trial is underway and what they believe to be some inconsistencies in what Corne told the FBI. For example, Corne told the FBI he had driven away from the scene by taking one street but video evidence showed it was a different street.

If convicted on the charges, Meade could face life in prison.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.