(NEW YORK) — Marine veteran Daniel Penny is expected to appear in court Wednesday in connection with the chokehold death of Jordan Neely aboard a subway train.
He was indicted by a grand jury on June 14, but his exact charges remain sealed until Penny appears in court, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Penny was initially arrested on a second-degree manslaughter charge.
Video showed Penny, 24, putting Neely in a chokehold on May 1. Several witnesses observed Neely making threats, assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass told the judge during Penny’s initial appearance in court on May 12.
Some witnesses told police that Neely was yelling and harassing passengers on the train, authorities said.
Police sources told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened and that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.
Neely was homeless at the time of the incident.
“While we respect the decision of the grand jury to move this case forward to trial, it should be noted that the standard of proof in a grand jury is very low and there has been no finding of wrongdoing. We’re confident that when a trial jury is tasked with weighing the evidence, they will find Daniel Penny’s actions on that train were fully justified,” said Penny’s attorney Steven Raiser in a statement following the indictment.
Attorneys for Neely’s family applauded Penny’s indictment.
“The grand jury’s decision tells our city and our nation that ‘no one is above the law’ no matter how much money they raise, no matter what affiliations they claim, and no matter what distorted stories they tell in interviews,” the attorneys said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — As Russia continues its nearly 16-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine, political turmoil has erupted in Moscow while Kyiv tries to take back territory.
A feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, and Russia’s top military brass escalated as Prigozhin’s forces left the front line in Ukraine and marched across the border to seize a key Russian city. They then marched north toward Russia’s capital, seemingly unopposed, before turning around just hours later. The short-lived rebellion was described by international observers as the most significant challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his more than 20 years of rule.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are in the early stages of a counteroffensive to reclaim the almost one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory that is under Russian control.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 27, 10:56 PM EDT
Prigozhin thought he would have help from Russian military: Senior US official
A senior U.S. official tells ABC News that Yevgeny Prigozhin thought he would have help from the Russian military.
Both former Russian military officers and some others in Moscow had conversations with Prigozhin before he started his march, the official said.
The U.S. doesn’t believe Russian President Vladimir Putin realized this beforehand, and the officers sided with Putin in the end, the official said.
According to the official, Prigozhin was shocked he didn’t have support.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Jun 27, 9:43 PM EDT
Russian missiles strike Donetsk city
Two Russian missiles struck Kramatorsk, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killing at least four people, according to officials.
At least 47 people were injured in the attack, but the death and injury toll could rise.
One of the deceased victims was a 15-year-old and one of the wounded victims was a child under a year-old, officials said.
One missile struck an eatery downtown and the other one hit the outskirts of the city, Andriy Yermak the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
A restaurant and a hotel were badly damaged as a result of the strikes, according to officials.
Crews continued to dig through the rubble to search for victims throughout the evening.
“Each such manifestation of terror proves over and over again to us and to the whole world that Russia deserves only one thing as a result of everything it has done – defeat and a tribunal, fair and legal trials against all Russian murderers and terrorists,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 5:55 PM EDT
Russian missiles strike Donetsk city
Two Russian missiles struck Kramatorsk, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killing at least four people, according to officials.
At least 47 people were injured in the attack, but the death and injury toll could rise.
One of the deceased victims was a 15-year-old and one of the wounded victims was a child under a year-old, officials said.
One missile struck an eatery downtown and the other one hit the outskirts of the city, Andriy Yermak the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
A restaurant and a hotel were badly damaged as a result of the strikes, according to officials.
Crews continued to dig through the rubble to search for victims throughout the evening.
“Each such manifestation of terror proves over and over again to us and to the whole world that Russia deserves only one thing as a result of everything it has done – defeat and a tribunal, fair and legal trials against all Russian murderers and terrorists,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 2:33 PM EDT
US sanctions alleged illicit gold companies funding Wagner Group
The U.S. announced additional sanctions targeting the Wagner Group, specifically going after gold companies and a Russian man it says are illicitly funding the Wagner Group’s operations in Ukraine and Africa.
Central African Republic based companies Midas Resources SARLU and Diamville SAU, Dubai based company Industrial Resources General Trading and Russia based company Limited Liability Company, re connected to Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is already subject to U.S. sanctions along with numerous other entities linked to the Wagner Group, according to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, a Russian national, and an executive in the Wagner Group, allegedly worked closely with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali, OFAC said.
“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali,” Brian Nelson, the U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a written statement. “The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Jun 27, 2:19 PM EDT
Ukraine has recaptured 300 sq km so far: UK minister
Ukraine has recaptured approximately 300 square kilometers during the summer counteroffensive so far, United Kingdom Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Tuesday.
The gains represent more territory than Russia seized during its winter offensive in 2022, Wallace told Parliament.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 1:31 PM EDT
Belarus president talks about Wagner negotiations
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko provided more details about his alleged role in negotiations between Wager Group leader’s Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin following the PMC’s rebellion.
Lukashenko claimed Prigozhin abandoned his demands, including the resignation of Shoigu, after they talked.
“[Prigozhin] told me ‘Alexander Grigoryevich, I will not demand from the president that he give up Shoigu and Gerasimov, and I will not even ask for a meeting,’ I say, ‘Well, that’s good. This is a very good move,'” Lukashenko claimed.
Lukashenko said that Wagner forces could join the Belarusian army but said that he won’t built camps for Wagner’s troops in his country.
“We don’t need to open any Wagner recruitment points,” he said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Jun 27, 12:22 PM EDT
Belarus president says Prigozhin arrived in the country Tuesday
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on state media Tuesday that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in his country earlier in the day.
Lukashenko claimed on state media that “security guarantees” Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to Prigozhin were provided.
“Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today. As I promised, if you want to stay with us for a while and so on, we will help you,” Lukashenko said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 27, 11:10 AM EDT
Ukraine makes gain on occupied bank across from Kherson
Ukrainian troops have reportedly seized a small village on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of Dneipr after crossing the river from the liberated city of Kherson, according to Russian accounts on Tuesday.
A small Ukrainian force has managed to dig in to the village of Dachi after making a landing there a few days ago and are trying to expand the beachhead. Ukrainian troops in small boats crossed the river and landed at the base of the ruined Antonivskiy Bridge, which they destroyed last year.
Russian military bloggers reported very heavy fighting on Tuesday, saying Russian airborne units have been trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the Ukrainians for the past four days. Russian aviation and heavy artillery have been firing on the Ukrainian position.
So far, the Russian side claims some 70 Ukrainian soldiers are dug in, covered by intense artillery fire from across the river. The Russian accounts say Ukraine is trying to move reinforcements across. Video released by Ukraine also shows a Russian APC being destroyed in the village of Oleshkjy, further south, indicating the bank south of Kherson is now contested.
Ukrainian troops have also managed to advance and liberate Rivnopil, a village on the Zaporozhzhia front, breaking through after more than two weeks of fighting. It’s notable because the Russians had been fighting hard to hold it.
Taken together the advance there, the landing in Kherson and advances near Bakhmut are small signs the Ukrainian counteroffensive may be starting to pick up steam and the Russians are coming under growing pressure.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jun 27, 6:39 AM EDT
Military stopped ‘civil war,’ Putin says
The Russian military and security forces stopped what could have become a “civil war,” President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
“The Russian military in a difficult hour for the country stood in the way of turmoil, the result of which would be chaos,” Putin said at an event for military units, adding that “the military and law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation actually stopped the civil war.”
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s had sought to have replaced, was present at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Jun 27, 5:15 AM EDT
Belarus was ‘combat’ ready during rebellion, president says
The military in Belarus was ordered to “full combat readiness” during the Wagner Group’s rebellion in neighboring Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was said to have helped broker a deal to halt the choatic rebellion by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“I will not hide, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia,” Lukashenko said Tuesday during brief remarks before a military presentation. “Not only me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the fatherland is one.”
The fatherland comment appeared to allude to Lukashenko’s longstanding belief that Russia and Belarus share a special bond.
He added, “I gave all orders to bring the army to full combat readiness.”
Jun 27, 5:01 AM EDT
Russia closes case against Wagner Group leader
The Russian Federal Security Service on Tuesday dropped the criminal case investigating the rebellion by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his forces.
The FSB said it closed the case because it has been established that participants stopped actions directly aimed at committing a crime.
Jun 26, 6:28 PM EDT
US to announce 500M in military aid to Ukraine, official says
The U.S. will announce another military aid package for Ukraine Tuesday, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The $500 million aid package will include 30 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 25 Stryker armored vehicles, missiles for the HIMARS system and the Patriot air defense system, TOW missiles, Javelins and more ammunition for artillery, according to the official.
This will be the 41st aid package under the Presidential Drawdown Authority that allows the transfer of weapons from U.S. military stockpiles to Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 26, 3:42 PM EDT
Putin expresses defiance against attempted Wagner rebellion
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his first public remarks after the Wagner Group attempted to march to Moscow and overthrow the government.
In a pre-recorded video statement, Putin thanked the Russians for their endurance, solidarity and patriotism during the ordeal and claimed that any blackmail attempt was doomed to fail.
Putin said an armed rebellion would have been suppressed.
“The organizers of the rebellion, betraying their country, their people, betrayed those who were drawn into the crime. They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own,” Putin said.
The Russian president noted that the majority of Wagner fighters were “patriots.”
“I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner Group who made the only right decision,” Putin said. “They did not go to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line.”
Putin offered Wagner Group members who participated in the rebellion the option of joining the defense ministry or other law enforcement agencies or returning home.
Jun 26, 12:52 PM EDT
Biden says US, NATO not involved in Wagner rebellion
President Joe Biden spoke out addressed the Wagner Group’s actions over the weekend.
He said the U.S. and its allies convened on Friday when the rebellion began.
“They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse, let me emphasize, gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO,” Biden said at a news conference at the White House.
The president added that the incident was “part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler
Jun 26, 12:44 PM EDT
European leaders respond to Wagner attempted rebellion
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council met Monday and discussed the attempted rebellion by the Wagner paramilitary group over the weekend.
Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, told reporters at a news conference after the meeting that “the situation remains complex and unpredictable” and 27 EU states are remaining vigilant.
U.K. Foreign Minister James Cleverly released a statement Monday claiming the “Russian government’s lies have been exposed by one of President Putin’s own henchmen.”
“Prigozhin’s rebellion is an unprecedented challenge to President Putin’s authority, and it is clear that cracks are emerging in the Russian support for the war,” he said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jun 26, 12:18 PM EDT
‘We had no goal of overthrowing’ the government: Prigozhin
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin released an 11-minute recording Monday explaining why his troops reversed course on their campaign against Moscow over the weekend.
Prigozhin said the purpose of the “march” was to prevent losses of his troops “and to bring justice to all persons who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during” the war in Ukraine.
“We had no goal of overthrowing the regime,” he added, referring to Putin’s government.
Prigozhin said that the march escalated after their convoy was hit by a missile attack from Russian forces.
Prigozhin said that the marched stopped when his troops approached “Moscow deployed artillery.”
“We did not want to shed Russian blood. We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow the government in the country,” he said.
He claimed that several of his troops were wounded and two were killed.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Natalia Shumskaia and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 26, 5:47 AM EDT
Ukrainian forces appear to cross river into occupied Kherson
The Ukrainian military has landed troops on the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from the city of Kherson, according to Russian reports.
Media posted online by pro-Russian accounts suggested small boatloads of Ukrainian soldiers have managed to establish a small beachhead at the foot of the destroyed Antonivskiy Road Bridge that spanned the river before Ukraine brought it down last year.
The size of the Ukrainian force on the bank is unclear, but Russian accounts suggested it was relatively small.
Some Russian accounts posted dramatic video showing fighting on the eastern bank, including what appears to be a Russian armored vehicle firing intensively at Ukrainian soldiers as it recovers Russian wounded.
The video was undated but Russian reports suggested around several dozen Ukrainian troops landed on June 24 and Russian airborne units have been trying to dislodge them since.
Another video shows a small boat carrying perhaps a dozen Ukrainian soldiers landing by the ruined bridge, coming under shell fire.
The Russian military blogger account, Two Majors, reported a small group of Ukrainian soldiers had succeeded in digging in around the bridge. It noted Russian forces had been forced to pull back to a distance from the bank because their positions had been flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up earlier this month.
Russian military bloggers said Russian aircraft and artillery were firing on the Ukrainians Monday.
If Ukraine is able to keep hold of its foothold, it will put further pressure on Russia’s forces in the south, already battling to hold back Ukraine’s counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.
In the wake of Saturday’s short-lived attempted rebellion against the Kremlin by the Wagner private military company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled oligarch considered one of Putin’s best-known opponents, told ABC News he supports the mutiny and encourages Russians to back the leader of the mercenary group.
Once Russia’s richest man, Khodorkovsky, a Putin opposition activist, spent 10 years imprisoned after he challenged Putin, his case now considered a foundational moment for Putin’s regime.
When Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters marched on Moscow Saturday before making a sudden about-face, Khodorkovsky was notable among Russia’s pro-democracy opposition in calling on people to support Prigozhin, arguing that allowing him to remove Putin would create an opportunity for the democrats.
Khodorkovsky told ABC News he believed Prigozhin’s actions were a real coup attempt and that it had “seriously undermined” Putin’s power. He predicted that similar opportunities to collapse the regime will be launched soon.
“The blow to Putin’s reputation, to the authorities’ reputation, was absolutely fantastical,” Khodorkovsky said. “Putin’s government today is, without a doubt, strongly undermined by what happened — his authority, his ability to control the security services is seriously undermined.”
Khodorkovsky said Prigozhin’s march on Moscow had undermined Putin’s popularity, showing neither ordinary Russians nor the security services were prepared to act to protect him.
“Along the entire route of Wagner’s columns, no one in any way tried to hinder him (Prigozhin). Even the security forces did not try to stop him,” Khodorkovsky said. “It showed that, in fact, inside the country, Putin has an absolute void.”
Khodorkovsky said he did not support Prigozhin himself — considering him a “war criminal” — but that the democratic opposition should have sought to help him overthrow Putin, and then taken power from him after.
Khodorkovsky criticized other parts of the anti-Kremlin opposition who attacked him for calling on people to assist Prigozhin, saying he believed the opposition had “slept through” the opportunity and suggesting it should have sought to stage a rebellion in Moscow at the same time.
“There will definitely now be more such opportunities because of Putin’s weakening. But the next time we need to simply be more ready,” said Khodorkovsky, who is living in exile in England. “If an uprising had started in Moscow to meet Prigozhin then a situation could have developed quite differently.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jun 24, 6:53 PM EDT
US official says it’s a ‘mystery’ why Prigozhin stopped march to Moscow
A senior U.S. official says it is a mystery as to why Yevgeny Prigozhin stopped his march to Moscow given that he was seemingly in a dominant position.
The official said he was greeted as a hero in Rostov-on-Don. However, the senior official told ABC News that Prigozhin is in an “emotional state,” and perhaps did it because he thought this would destroy Russia, or because he glimpsed his own end. It is impossible to tell whether Prigozhin thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will actually honor their deal which included allowing Wagner group soldiers to be folded into the Russian military.
The official said that Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was very effective, telling Prigozhin and Putin that this was all a misunderstanding and that they are both patriots and aligned for the same goals.
Putin is said to be completely shocked by how fast Wagner Group moved through Russia. For now, he is just trying to secure his position. He does not want to be seen negotiating over his defense minister, but the official says the U.S. believes concessions were made over Sergei Shoigu’s future as well as others.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Jun 25, 3:56 AM EDT
Moscow highway restrictions remain, Russian media reports
Travel restrictions remained in place on Sunday on the major M-4 highway near Moscow, according to Russia’s state-run media.
“According to the previously issued regional decisions, traffic restrictions remain in force on the M-4 Don highway near the Moscow Region and the Tula Region,” the federal road agency said, according to TASS.
The security checkpoints had been put in place Saturday as a column of Wagner Group forces traveled toward Moscow. Roadblocks in southern Russia, including in Rostov-on-Don and the Krasnodar Region, were reportedly lifted.
“All previously imposed restrictions on highways have been lifted,” TASS reported, citing a branch of the Russian Interior Ministry.
-ABC News’ KJ Edelman
Jun 24, 10:20 PM EDT
‘Gang of 8’ briefed about Wagner Group movements
Senior congressional leaders were briefed about the ongoing situation in Russia, according to a congressional aide.
U.S. intelligence officials told the so-called “Gang of Eight” — the top Republicans and Democrats currently in congressional leadership– in recent days about potentially concerning movements of Wagner Group forces and equipment build-ups near Russia. However, it was unclear to U.S. intelligence what was going to happen and when.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Jun 24, 5:18 PM EDT
Blinken holds call with Turkish counterpart for ‘ongoing situation in Russia’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the ongoing situation in Russia.
“Secretary Blinken reiterated that U.S. support for Ukraine will not change. The United States will stay in close coordination with Allies and partners as the situation develops,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday to discuss the situation in Russia, Miller said. Blinken reiterated that support by the U.S. for Ukraine will not change.
The U.S. will stay in close coordination with Ukraine as the situation develops.
-ABC News Shannon K. Crawford
Jun 24, 4:45 PM EDT
Wagner chief will not be prosecuted, Kremlin says
Yevgeny Prigozhin will go to Belarus to ease tensions and the fighters of PMC Wagner Group who took part in the so-called “campaign” against Moscow will not be prosecuted, the Kremlin said Saturday evening.
The rest will be able to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“In the end, we managed to resolve this situation without further losses, without raising the level of tension,” Peskov said.
“An agreement was reached that PMC Wagner would return to their camps,” he added.
Jun 24, 2:55 PM EDT
Wagner Group chief orders mercenaries to halt march on Moscow
The Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he has ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and return to their field camps, saying he wants to avoid shedding Russian blood.
Prigozhin made the announcement in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel.
Russian state media has shown Wagner fighters packing up and reportedly leaving Rostov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and thanked him for his efforts de-escalating the situation.
Jun 24, 1:12 PM EDT
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cancels trip to Israel, Jordan due to situation in Russia
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has canceled his planned trip to Israel and Jordan due to the situation in Russia. The trip was to have begun Saturday.
Milley also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
“They discussed the unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments. The Chairman reaffirmed unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler.
The Pentagon said Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is monitoring the ongoing situation in Russia and will continue to be briefed on any significant developments.
Jun 24, 12:47 PM EDT
Moscow suspends schools, events until July 1
Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, has suspended mass events outdoors and at educational institutions until July 1.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin urged residents to refrain from traveling around the city. Monday was also declared a non-working day for the city. Sobyanin said that a counter-terrorism regime was declared in Moscow and that the situation was difficult.
Jun 24, 12:34 PM EDT
Biden speaks with leaders of France, Germany, UK about ‘situation in Russia’
President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the developments in Russia.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also briefed by their national security team on the developments in Russia and will continue to receive updates throughout the day, the White House said Saturday.
Jun 24, 10:11 AM EDT
Wagner troop column 300 miles south of Moscow, Russian media says
The governor of the Lipetsk region, which is about 300 miles south of Moscow, said a column of Wagner troops has been spotted in the region, Russian state media reports.
Jun 24, 9:15 AM EDT
What is the Wagner Group?
The Wagner Group is a private military organization run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with tens of thousands of fighters, according to U.S. officials.
Earlier this year, the U.S. labeled the group a “significant transnational criminal organization” and levied new sanctions, while human rights observers this week said they suspected Wagner fighters were linked to the mass killing of people in Mali last year.
Government reports, statements from U.S. officials and insights from experts, as well as other sources, shed light on the Wagner group’s history and goals, its alleged wrongdoings and its importance to Russia — in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world.
Jun 24, 7:24 AM EDT
NATO monitoring Russian situation, official says
A NATO representative said the alliance was watching what was happening in Russia on Saturday.
“We are monitoring the situation,” spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.
Jun 24, 6:31 AM EDT
‘Operational combat’ underway north of Rostov, official says
A governor of the Voronezh region, about 300 miles south of Moscow, says Russia’s armed forces are conducting “operational combat operations” there as part of “counter terrorism operation.”
Earlier the region’s government reported a column of Wagner Group fighters was moving through the region, an area between Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.
“In the bounds of the counterterrorist operation on the territory of the Voronezh region, the armed forces of the Russian Federation are conducting necessary operational combat operations,” the official said. “We will inform further about the development of the situation.”
Jun 24, 6:03 AM EDT
Russia in ‘so much chaos that no lie can hide it,’ Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia appeared to be suffering “full-scale weakness” after the Wagner Group mercenaries said they’d taken hold of a key Russian city.
“Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it,” he said on Twitter.
Jun 24, 5:47 AM EDT
Prigozhin responds to Putin, says Wagner not going to surrender
The Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calling him a “traitor,” by saying he will not surrender or turn back.
“Putin was deeply mistaken about the betrayal. We are patriots of our homeland, we fought and are fighting,” Prighozin said in an audio message. “No one is going to turn around at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else, because we do not want the country to live longer in corruption, deception and bureaucracy.”
Prigozhin accused Russia’s military of targeting a Wagner column with helicopters and jets.
Jun 24, 5:37 AM EDT
Chechen leader backs Putin, says forces moving into ‘zones of tension’
The powerful head of Chechnya, the semi-independent Russian region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Saturday he supported President Vladimir Putin.
Kadyrov saiud he fully backs Putin and called Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s actions “treacherous.”
Kadyrov has tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters. He said his forces are already moving to “zones of tension.”
It raises prospect of Chechen forces fighting with Wagner Group troops.
Kadyrov has previously been friendly with Prigozhin — his coming out in support of Putin is a boost for Putin, but also raises prospect of serious clashes in Russia.
Jun 24, 5:27 AM EDT
Next 48 hours ‘will define’ Russia, Zelenskyy advisor says
Russian leaders are “now choosing which side they are on,” an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.
“The next 48 hours will define the new status of Russia,” Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. “Either a full-fledged Civil War, or a negotiated Transit of Power, or a temporary respite before the next phase of the downfall of the Putin regime.”
He added, “A deafening ‘elite’ silence is in Russia so far…”
Jun 24, 3:52 AM EDT
Uprising ‘significant challenge’ to Russian state, UK says
Members of the mercenary Wagner Group have begun moving north “almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow,” in what amounts to the “most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Jun 24, 3:25 AM EDT
Putin: Wagner Group moves are ‘stab in the back’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said moves taken by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally, to bring his troops into a key Russian city amounted to a “stab in the back.”
Putin didn’t mention Prigozhin by name, but said that “necessary orders have been given” to defend Russia in a recorded address aired on Russian television on Saturday.
“Actions that divide our unity are in essence defeatism before one’s own people,” he said. “This is a stab in the back of our country and our people.”
Jun 24, 3:12 AM EDT
Kremlin briefs Putin on ‘attempted armed rebellion’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed by the country’s security agencies about what was referred to as an “attempted armed rebellion,” according to Russia’s state-run media.
The late-night statement from Putin’s spokesman suggested that the Kremlin considered Wagner Group’s move into Rostov-on-Don, a key Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, to be a “rebellion.”
Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message on Friday claimed his forces would now punish Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff, telling other units to stand down and not offer resistance.
“Special services, law enforcement agencies, namely the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rosgvardiya, in round-the-clock mode, constantly report to the president on the measures taken in the context of the implementation of the instructions previously given to him,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
Jun 24, 2:42 AM EDT
Wagner Group claims control over Rostov military facilities, airport
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, said on Saturday that the headquarters of the Southern Military District and all military facilities in Rostov-on-Don were under his control.
Prigozhin in a video demanded that Kremlin bring him Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu.
He also threatened in the video that he would go to Moscow.
“We will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of video and audio recordings posted on social media.
He added, “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is continuing to insist there was no wrongdoing in his handling of sensitive government documents after he left the White House — and supporters continue to stand by him — in the wake of an audio recording, obtained by ABC News and other outlets, where Trump acknowledges he held onto a “secret” military document post-presidency and knew it wasn’t declassified.
“I don’t care about any recordings,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday during a campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire.
He claimed that the rustling papers heard in the recording were “newspaper articles, copies of magazines, copies of different plans, copies of stories.”
“We had a lot of papers, a lot of papers stacked up. In fact, you could hear the rustle of the paper and nobody said I did anything wrong,” Trump added.
Before the audio was published, Trump previously maintained that “there was no document” at all.
Federal prosecutors allege otherwise, with the 37-count indictment against him claiming that he showed a record he knew was “highly confidential” to people who weren’t authorized to see it.
“Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing?” Trump says at one point in the recording. “This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can’t.”
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to his charges earlier this month, made no mention of the audio on Tuesday during a speech at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s 76th Lilac Luncheon, appearing to brush off the development as some supporters in the state did the same.
“It’s not a video. I’m not sure if anything was there,” Larry Miller of Merrimack told ABC News. “He mentioned this document or something, but was there a document actually there? I don’t know where that tape came from. But it proves, or it doesn’t prove, very little. It’s just rhetoric and talk. Show me something else.”
“I haven’t heard the tape. But it doesn’t affect me at all because presidents are allowed to take confidential files out of the box,” argued Doreen Deshler, a state committeewoman for the Massachusetts Republican GOP Party.
Prosecutors say the audio tape, parts of which are quoted in his federal indictment, undercuts his argument that he declassified all of the documents in his possession before leaving the White House since he is heard on the recording acknowledging he could no longer declassify them.
Other 2024 Republican presidential candidates have so far avoided commenting on the newly-obtained audio recording.
Over in Hollis, New Hampshire, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a town hall event but ignored questions from ABC News about the audio. Eva Bushee, 76, an attendee, said she hasn’t listened to it but was planning to later on.
“I voted for him [Trump]. I hope I don’t have to vote for him again,” she told ABC News.
Ahead of hosting another evening town hall in the Granite State, former U.N. ambassador under Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was asked to react to the audio of Trump after a speech she gave on China at the American Enterprise Institute.
“In terms of the recording, we will let the courts play that out. I have long said anybody who wants to run for president can run for president. I think that’s for the people to decide,” Haley said.
Meanwhile former Rep. Will Hurd, a Trump critic in the GOP and a newly launched presidential candidate, was among the first in the field to go after Trump on Monday evening in a series of tweets after hearing the tape.
“We deserve a President who doesn’t lie and who takes his job as Commander-in-Chief seriously. It’s common sense,” Hurd wrote. Referring to a part of the audio in which Trump asks for a drink, he wrote, “Having a Coke and a smile while you willingly show classified information to those who shouldn’t see it, which could put American lives in jeopardy, is the definition of ‘Me First, America Last.'”
Although Trump didn’t address the tape directly during his New Hampshire speech, he did tout his two indictments — in federal court and, separately, in New York state court; he’s pleaded not guilty to both and claimed he is being politically persecuted.
He called the charges a “great, great, beautiful badge of honor and courage,” while teasing, without further details, that another indictment could be imminent. Those comments come as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sat with investigators Tuesday in special counsel Jack Smith’s office regarding the Justice Department’s probe of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“I got two of them,” Trump said in his Tuesday speech.
“There could be others coming like [that] for a perfect phone call,” Trump said, seemingly referencing his Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Raffensperger during which the then-president asked Raffensperger to “find” the exact number of votes he needed to win the state of Georgia.
“Numbers will keep going up,” Trump told the crowd Tuesday.
He has sought to project himself as the only candidate strong enough to fight off indictments while running for president — a sentiment shared by his supporters at his campaign office in Concord.
Deshler, a supporter since 2016, echoed the same talking points Trump made in his speech when asked what she makes of the charges against him.
“What these investigations are doing is they’re making it even stronger for Trump, because his poll numbers are going up, not down, up, because people are getting sick and tired of this two-tier justice system that we’re going through right now in this country,” she said.
Krisia Santiago, who moved to New Hampshire in 2015 from Puerto Rico, said outside Trump’s campaign office that she’ll always stand with him but can see new voters being deterred by the legal challenges.
“If you believe in him, you’re gonna be a supporter no matter what,” she said. “It’s just the new voters, people that are exploring options, I can see that affecting it because they won’t know what is the real truth.”
Andrew Dow, a former military officer who was at Trump’s campaign office, questioned whether the audio of Trump was “legitimate” and suggested prosecutors had gone “way overboard” in charging him compared to other former office-holders who may have retained government records.
“I think every president, in a certain way, violates that,” Dow maintained.
ABC News’ Abby Cruz and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(SAN ANTONIO) — One year after 53 people, including six kids, were killed in an abandoned sweltering tractor-trailer near San Antonio during an alleged smuggling attempt, the Justice Department announced it has indicted and arrested four men for the incident.
Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, Felipe Orduna-Torres, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal and Armando Gonzales-Ortega were all arrested and charged on several counts including conspiracy and alien smuggling resulting in death, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
The four men allegedly participated with three other suspects, Homero Zamorano and Christian Martinez who were previously indicted and arrested, and a seventh unidentified suspect in a human smuggling organization that attempted to bring 66 people into the United States on June 27, 2022, the indictment said.
The migrants and their families, a majority from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be brought into the country, the indictment said.
The indictment detailed how the men allegedly worked together to use trucking routes, local guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers to transport the group. To make sure they properly kept track of the group, each migrant was given the code word “clave” to recite at different points in their journey, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said the men knew the tractor-trailer they were using on that day did not have a working air conditioning unit. As the temperature rose, the people in the back became desperate, screaming and banging on the walls for help, according to the indictment.
It was the deadliest incident of human smuggling in U.S. history, according to investigators.
Eleven people found inside the tractor were hospitalized but survived, investigators said.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite spoke at length during a news conference about the efforts with Joint Task Force Alpha, whose mission is to investigate human rights violations and push for prosecution. Since June of 2021, they’ve had 80 convictions.
“Our message is simple,” Polite said. “When you put people’s lives at risk, when you ignore the screams of humanity for profit, we will aggressively go after you.”
The trial for Zamorano and Martinez is set for Sept. 11. All six charged so far face life in prison if convicted. Attorney information for the suspects wasn’t immediately available.
(HOUSTON) — Emergency room visits in Texas have increased from the same time last year, as the state battles extreme heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For the week of June 18 to June 24, the region averaged 837 heat-related visits per 100,000 emergency department visits compared to 639 visits per 100,000 emergency department visits during the same period in 2022, CDC data shows.
There were 827 heat-related emergency room visits per 100,000 visits on Sunday and 832 visits per 100,000 visits on Monday, according to the data.
The Houston Fire Department generally averages three heat-related incidents a day, but those numbers have also increased, according to ABC’s Houston affiliate KTRK.
There have been 93 incidents so far this month, according to KTRK, which is monitoring the emergency calls.
On average, 702 heat-related deaths occur each year in the U.S., with roughly 9,235 people hospitalized due to heat, and 67,512 emergency department visits caused by heat, according to the CDC.
The emergency calls have also extended to the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
The organization said in a press release it’s received twice the number of calls since the beginning of June about pets experiencing heat distress compared to last year.
Between June 1 and June 20, the Houston SPCA received 243 heat-related reports, compared to the same time frame in 2022, the organization revealed.
“We are keeping a close watch on the weather since temperatures are back into the 100s again. That means every second counts when rescuing and treating heatstroke especially the most vulnerable animals including seniors, young animals, as well as brachycephalic breeds such as bulldogs, shih tzu and pugs,” Dr. Roberta Westbrook, chief veterinarian and animal medical officer at Houston SPCA, said in the press release.
Harris County Constable Precinct 1 and the Houston SPCA rescued a dog that was directly in the sunlight in a wire kennel outside on June 19, where a surface thermometer registered the temperature at 117 degrees, the Houston SPCA said.
The Houston SPCA and the Harris County Constable Precinct 1 also answered calls on June 20 of a senior chihuahua with serious skin issues wearing a sweater outside in Southwest Houston, where a surface thermometer registered the temperature at 106 degrees, according to the Houston SPCA.
Many parts of Texas have been experiencing triple-digit temperatures in recent weeks.
Dallas reached 105 degrees on Tuesday, according to AccuWeather, and is forecast to reach 106 degrees on Wednesday.
The temperature in Houston reached 101 degrees on Tuesday, and is projected to hit 102 degrees on Wednesday, according to meteorologists.
Extreme heat causes more fatalities in the U.S. than hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding, according to statistics from NOAA and the National Weather Service.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge seemed disinclined on Tuesday to allow former President Donald Trump to move his criminal prosecution in New York into federal court.
“The act for which the president has been indicted does not relate to anything under the color of his office,” Judge Alvin Hellerstein said toward the end of a nearly three-hour hearing. The judge said he would issue a written ruling.
“I intend to write and issue a decision within two weeks,” the judge said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Trump in 2017 wrote monthly reimbursement checks to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, from his personal funds having nothing to do with his official duties as president, a prosecutor said during the hearing in arguing to keep Trump’s criminal prosecution in State Supreme Court in Manhattan instead of federal court, where Trump’s defense attorneys say it belongs.
“Writing personal checks, even if he did it in the Oval Office, is not an official act,” the prosecutor, Matthew Colangelo, said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has argued that Trump’s alleged falsification of business records was done to conceal the true nature of a $130,000 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and was not “related to the color of his office,” the standard required to remove the case from State Supreme Court in Manhattan to federal court.
“The president’s duties are not all-encompassing,” Colangelo, said. “We know the president can, even when he’s president, have personal papers.”
Trump has argued his case belongs in federal court because his allegedly criminal conduct occurred from February to December 2017, while he was in office.
“There’s not a clear line between his personal and professional affairs,” defense attorney Todd Blanche said.
Once Trump was elected, he hired Cohen to help separate his private and professional dealings, so the defense argued reimbursement payments to Cohen were properly recorded as payment for legal services.
“Was there a retainer agreement?” Judge Hellerstein asked repeatedly.
“The checks,” Blanche answered, referring to the $35,000 monthly reimbursement checks, before conceding he was unaware of a signed retainer.
Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, testified that Cohen left the company to assume the role of personal attorney to President Trump and was paid $35,000 monthly.
“My understanding was to reimburse him for the payments he had made for the Clifford settlement and to compensate him for the role that he was playing as counsel,” Garten said.
On cross-examination, Garten conceded he had seen no retainer agreement for Cohen, only the invoices that prosecutors allege were falsified.
(HOUSTON) — The idea of recycling urine to make clean drinking water might make those with even the strongest stomachs a little queasy, but NASA has managed to do just that.
The federal agency announced astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been able to recover 98% of the water that crews take into space with them by recycling everything from urine to sweat.
As NASA prepares for longer missions — including to the moon and potentially beyond — engineers have been working on how to make sure astronauts have basic needs met without resupply missions, including how to recycle food, air and water.
This also helps ensure each crew member has an average of one gallon of water they need per day to drink, use in food preparation and for hygienic purposes, including brushing teeth.
“This is a very important step forward in the evolution of life support systems,” said Christopher Brown, a member of the team at Johnson Space Center that manages the space station’s life support system. “Let’s say you collect 100 pounds of water on the station. You lose two pounds of that and the other 98% just keeps going around and around. Keeping that running is a pretty awesome achievement.”
The recycling is done through the Environmental Control and Life Support System, otherwise known as ECLSS, which is a system of hardware that provides clean air and water to the ISS.
Part of the ECLSS is the Water Recovery System that produces drinking water. One component uses advanced dehumidifiers that captures moisture created by the breath and sweat of the crew, which is turned into drinking water.
The other component pre-treats urine and then uses technology to distill it into water that can be recycled. However, this distillation still leaves behind some urine brine, a byproduct that NASA says still has some water that can be reused.
This is where the Brine Processor Assembly comes into to play to extract any remaining water from the brine. Before this added component, only about 93% or 94% of water could be recycled instead of the current 98%, according to ECLSS water subsystems manager Jill Williamson.
The collected water is put through a filter to break down any remaining contaminations. Sensors pick up any impurities and water deemed unacceptable for drinking is reprocessed, according to NASA.
Iodine is also added to the water that the sensors deemed acceptable to prevent microbial growth. It is then stored until it comes time for the crew to use it.
“The crew is not drinking urine; they are drinking water that has been reclaimed, filtered and cleaned such that it is cleaner than what we drink here on Earth,” Williamson said. “We have a lot of processes in place and a lot of ground testing to provide confidence that we are producing clean, potable water.”
She added that recycling as many resources as possible will help as NASA prepares for lengthier and farther missions.
“The less water and oxygen we have to ship up, the more science that can be added to the launch vehicle,” she said. “Reliable, robust regenerative systems mean the crew doesn’t have to worry about it and can focus on the true intent of their mission,” Williamson said.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley apparently backpedaled on her once tough rhetoric toward Saudi Arabia’s crown prince — suggesting Haley, who was once a Cabinet-level diplomat, may have malleable views on key foreign policy issues.
While Haley previously said she held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “responsible” for the 2018 murder of journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, she seemingly changed her tune on the Saudi leader, known as “MBS,” in remarks on Tuesday, stressing that the United States needs Arab countries to “be with us.”
“We need more friends. I mean, look at what happened: Biden goes and basically calls Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah.’ Now, MBS is going to outlive every leader. He’s young. You called him a ‘pariah’ and what did you do? You sent him to China,” Haley said at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. “We need the Arab countries to be with us, not China, and my guess is they would rather be with us than China.”
In October 2022, Haley expressed some degree of understanding of the decision of OPEC+, which is led by Saudi Arabia, to slash oil production after President Joe Biden called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in 2019 — but notably made no mention of MBS, whom she previously strongly criticized.
“I don’t know why he’s mad when you go and you call for the rest of the world to make Saudi Arabia an international pariah, when you go in [and] you fall all over yourself to get into the Iran deal, which upsets all of the Arab countries,” Haley told Fox News in 2022.
In 2018, Haley said that “the Saudi government doesn’t get a pass” when speaking about whether the Saudi government needs to be held accountable for the murder of Khashoggi.
“The whole situation with Khashoggi is, we can’t give them a pass. We can’t,” Haley said in a 2018 interview with The Atlantic magazine. “The reason is, you have Saudi government officials that did this in a Saudi consulate. The Saudi government doesn’t get a pass. We can’t condone it, we can’t ever say it’s okay, we can’t ever support thuggish behavior, and we have to say that.”
Asked specifically whether there should be consequences for MBS, Haley said at the time, “It’s his government. His government did this, and so he technically is responsible.”
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations touched on several other international topics during her Tuesday remarks, calling out both former President Donald Trump and Biden for their handling of China.
“President Trump is almost singularly focused on our trade relationship with China. He was right about our trade abuses. It was instilled as a critical issue. But Trump did too little about the rest of the Chinese threat,” said the former ambassador. “China was militarily stronger when President Trump left office than when he entered. That’s bad. But Joe Biden’s record is much worse.”
Haley said Trump came up “short” with China and showed moral weakness.
“Even the trade deal he signed came up short when China predictably failed to live up to its commitment,” she said. “He also showed moral weakness.”
Haley has waffled in her loyalty to Trump since leaving his administration. Before launching her campaign in February, Haley said in 2021 that she would not mount a 2024 bid if Trump entered the race. But in early 2021, Haley suggested Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 riot should be disqualifying for seeking the presidency again, telling Politico magazine, “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
When asked Tuesday about the newly-released audio recording of Trump appearing to acknowledge he held onto a sensitive military document after leaving office although he could no longer declassify it because he was no longer president, Haley demurred, saying she will let the courts make a decision.
“In terms of the recording that’s happened, we’re going to let the courts play that out,” she said.
The contents of the recording, made during a July 21, 2021, meeting at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, have been previously reported and are quoted in the Justice Department’s 37-count indictment related to Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office. ABC News was able to confirm the authenticity of the recording from another source who has heard it.
Trump pled not guilty this month to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities. He has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
Trump has a comfortable lead in the race for the Republican nomination.
ABC News’ Carly Roman and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
(ELLICOTT CITY, Md.) — A former Maryland police chief accused of being a serial arsonist who targeted his rivals has been sentenced to life in prison.
David Crawford, 71, was found guilty of eight counts of attempted murder in March following a trial in Howard County. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to life in prison for all counts, court records show. The judge ruled that six of the life sentences can be served at the same time, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Crawford was also found guilty of three counts of arson and one count of malicious burning in the trial. He was sentenced to 75 years for those counts, court records show.
Crawford had pleaded not guilty to all counts. His attorney maintained Crawford’s innocence during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing and said he plans to appeal, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The eight attempted murder charges stem from two house fires in 2017 in which five people and three people were inside the homes, respectively. One of the fires targeted the home of a chiropractor who had treated Crawford, according to charging documents.
Crawford, who resigned as police chief in Laurel in 2010, was arrested in March 2021 on a laundry list of charges in connection with fires that took place in multiple Maryland counties, including Howard, from 2011 to 2020.
Law enforcement said at the time of his arrest that investigators discovered a link between the victims, leading them to Crawford following a November 2020 fire in Montgomery County.
Crawford still faces attempted murder and arson charges in Prince George’s County and arson and reckless endangerment charges in Montgomery County. Those cases remain ongoing, court records show.
One of the fires in Prince George’s County in 2019 targeted Richard Mclaughlin, Crawford’s deputy chief and successor at the Laurel Police Department, according to the charging documents. Crawford’s stepson was targeted in three different fires in Montgomery County, including the final arson in the decadelong string of attacks, according to charging documents.
Crawford was also charged with arson in Frederick County. He entered an Alford plea — in which he pleaded guilty without admitting guilt — and was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison with all but 18 months suspended, court records show.
Crawford has been held without bond at the Howard County Department of Corrections since March 2021.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A New York appellate court on Tuesday dismissed a portion of the New York attorney general’s civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and other members of the Trump Organization.
New York Attorney General Letitia James last year sued Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., alleging they, their father and certain Trump Organization executives schemed to adjust the value of the family real estate portfolio when pursuing loans or seeking tax breaks. The lawsuit seeks $250 million.
The New York Appellate Division’s First Department on Tuesday dismissed the claims against Ivanka Trump, ruling that the statute of limitations in her case had expired because she was no longer part of the Trump Organization by 2016.
“The allegations against defendant Ivanka Trump do not support any claims that accrued after February 6, 2016. Thus, all claims against her should have been dismissed as untimely,” the decision said.
The lawsuit will proceed against the other defendants.
“There is a mountain of evidence that shows Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for significant economic gain,” said a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office following Tuesday’s ruling. “Those facts haven’t changed.”
For at least a decade, from 2011 to 2021, the lawsuit alleged that Trump’s financial statements were riddled with false and misleading valuations across nearly two dozen properties, including his Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago.
The Trumps have denied wrongdoing and former President Trump has cast the state attorney general as motivated by politics.
