(NEW YORK) — A decomposing female body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the singer D4vd, two days after it had been towed from a Los Angeles street, police sources said.
Police responded to an impound lot in Hollywood midday Monday “for a foul odor coming from a vehicle,” Los Angeles police said.
Authorities located a body in the front trunk of the Tesla that was in a state of decomposition, LAPD sources said.
A death investigation is underway, police said.
The Tesla is registered to 20-year-old David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, according to a senior LAPD source. It is one of several vehicles owned by the musician, with many different people using any of the vehicles at any given time, the source added.
ABC News has reached out to his representative for comment but has not yet received a response.
Investigators will be relying heavily on the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner to identify the victim and to figure out the cause of death, police sources said.
The medical examiner confirmed it was a female’s body but was unable to determine her age, race or ethnicity due to the body being “severely decomposed.”
The victim was about 5-foot-1 with wavy black hair and was wearing a tube top, black leggings, a yellow metal bracelet and metal stud earrings. She also had a tattoo on her right index finger that said “Shhh…”, according to the medical examiner.
The victim appears to have been dead for some time, adding to the complexity of the investigation, which is in its very early stages, the sources said.
Investigators are treating this as a homicide for now, as it will take several days for the coroner to make a determination on the manner of death, according to the senior LAPD source.
The Tesla had been at the impound lot for two days after being found abandoned on a Hollywood street, investigators said.
Investigators intend to talk to the registered owner of the vehicle, as well as anyone else who may be connected to the case, sources said.
D4vd, who first went viral on TikTok, released his debut album in April. The singer, known for his indie, R&B and alt-pop sound, is currently on tour. He is set to perform next on Tuesday in Minneapolis, with a stop in Los Angeles on Sept. 20.
(NEW YORK) — A California woman is facing six years in prison for allegedly registering her dog to vote and casting mail-in ballots in two elections, one of which was counted, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, was charged with five felonies, including perjury, procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, casting a ballot when not entitled to vote and registering a non-existent person to vote.
The dog’s vote was successfully counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election but was rejected in the 2022 primary, according to officials.
In 2024, Yourex told the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ Office that she had registered her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote, and the registrar of voters then contacted the District Attorney’s Office.
On her social media, according to the district attorney, Yourex posted a picture of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker and posing with her ballot in January 2022.
Another post from October 2024 showed a photograph of Maya’s dog tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption, “maya is still getting her ballot” even though the dog had previously passed away, the district attorney’s office said.
Her arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 9 but postponed until Dec. 10, according to ABC Los Angeles station, KABC.
(NEW YORK) — The United States death rate decreased by 3.8% in 2024 as COVID fell out of the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time in four years, new provisional federal data shows.
The overall rate declined from 750.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 722 per 100,000, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
This marks the lowest death rate recorded since 2020, during the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and follows declines that began in 2022.
The report also found that overall deaths fell from 3.09 million in 2023 to 3.07 million in 2024.
Additionally, the report showed the three leading causes of death stayed the same from 2023 to 2024, with heart disease as the leading cause, followed by cancer and unintentional injury, respectively.
Suicide replaced COVID-19 as the 10th leading underlying cause of death, knocking the disease off the top 10 list for the first time since 2020.
“‘It’s pretty noteworthy that COVID-19 fell off the top 10 and suicide, which had been had fallen off in recent years, is … ranked again,” Farida Ahmad, corresponding author of the report and health scientist at NCHS, told ABC News. “I think that’s a pretty interesting finding given where we spent the last five years.”
Ahmad said fewer deaths from COVID in 2024 compared to 2023 may be a reason behind the 3.8% decline.
“Ever since it came onto the scene in 2020, COVID was one of the top 10 leading causes of death,” Ahmad said. “It started off as a third-leading cause and, in 2024, we see that it’s not ranked at all, actually. So, it’s still among the 15 leading causes, but not in the top 10.”
Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, agreed that fewer cases of COVID-19 are likely driving the reduction in mortality.
“I think there’s a little less COVID, right? I mean, that’s part of it,” she told ABC News. “I think that the pandemic was such a time of both COVID-related deaths, but also just rising risk factors, particularly around cardiovascular disease, people’s lifestyles were less healthy. And maybe we are coming back to more of where we are before.”
Ahmad said another driver for the drop in deaths could be the decline in drug overdose deaths.
A CDC report published in May found that U.S. drug overdose deaths fell by nearly 27% in 2024 to the lowest levels seen in five years.
Dr. Katie Schmitz, a visiting professor of medicine in the department of medicine and cancer epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, told ABC News that leading causes of death continue to be cardiac disease and cancer-related deaths due to an aging population, as well as underlying factors such as obesity.
Schmitz noted that we have an increase in proportion of the population with these co-morbidities and it’s important to highlight that access to health care can be limited, particularly for rural populations.
Other leading causes of death in the report included stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
The report also found that death rates decreased from 2023 to 2024 among all racial/ethnic groups. Rates in 2024 were lowest for multiracial people at 332.3 per 100,000 and highest for the Black population at 884 per 100,000.
Death rates decreased from 2023 to 2024 for all age groups except infants younger than one year old, according to the report. Death rates in 2024 were lowest for children between ages 5 and 14 at 14.4 per 100,000 and highest for people age 85 and older at 13,835.5 per 100,000.
Schmitz said investments should be made that focus on prevention — such as addressing rising obesity rates — and early screenings, which can vary with socioeconomic status and geography.
Hayes said making lifestyle changes is hard, but it is one of the best ways to lower the risk of some of the leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer.
“Whether it’s eating more vegetables, [decreasing] saturated fat, maintaining a healthy weight is going to help stroke, cancer, and heart disease risk as well as liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes,” she said. “Aside from unintentional injury and suicide, virtually every other thing of that list would be impacted by lifestyle.”
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — A decomposing body was found in the trunk of a Tesla two days after it had been towed from a Los Angeles street, police sources said.
Police responded to an impound lot in Hollywood midday Monday “for a foul odor coming from a vehicle,” Los Angeles police said.
Authorities located a body in the front trunk of the Tesla that was in a state of decomposition, LAPD sources said.
A death investigation is underway, police said.
Investigators will be relying heavily on the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner to identify the victim and to figure out the cause of death, sources said.
The victim appears to have been dead for some time, adding to the complexity of the investigation, which is in its very early stages, sources said.
Investigators are treating this as a homicide for now, as it will take several days for the coroner to make a determination on the manner of death, according to a senior LAPD source.
Investigators intend to talk to the registered owner of the vehicle, as well as anyone else who may be connected to the case, sources said.
Police have not released the name of the Tesla’s owner.
The Tesla had been at the impound lot for two days after being found abandoned on a Hollywood street, investigators said.
(NEW YORK) — New York City police are searching for a man on parole who allegedly broke into a Queens home, killed a couple and set their house on fire, authorities said.
Frank Olton, 76, was found on Monday tied to a pole in his basement suffering from multiple stab wounds, and his wife Maureen Olton, 77, was found on the house’s first floor, severely burned, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The Oltons’ son, a New York City Fire Department paramedic, was alerted to the fire by an alarm system and he responded to the house, police said.
There’s no known connection between the victims and the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Jamel McGriff, Tisch said.
Detectives believe the suspect spent five hours in the victims’ house, according to sources, likely searching for property to steal before setting it ablaze. Surveillance video showed the suspect leaving the home around 3 p.m., police said.
Witnesses reported a man knocking on a neighbor’s door on Monday morning, asking to charge his phone, Tisch said, and that neighbor turned the suspect away. Surveillance video showed the suspect going to the victims’ house and Frank Olton letting him in, according to the commissioner.
Tisch called the crime a “horrific double homicide, robbery and arson.”
She said police are asking for the public’s help to find McGriff, warning that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
McGriff, who is out on parole for first-degree robbery, “has a lengthy violent criminal history stretching back 30 years,” Tisch said. He failed to register as a sex offender in November 2024 “which should have violated his parole,” she said, and he is also wanted for two robberies in Manhattan this summer.
“This suspect’s MO is to go door-to-door asking for some kind of assistance until he can gain entry — so do not allow anyone you don’t know or who you are not expecting into your home,” she stressed.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service hosted what officials say was one of the nation’s largest civil disturbance unit trainings, with more than 600 officers taking part.
The exercise, held Friday at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, drew officers from more than a dozen state, county and city agencies, with other federal partners including National Guard and Homeland Security observing the drills — an effort formed by the security concerns of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Capitol Police Officer Aaron Davis, who responded on Jan. 6, helped lead the exercises.
“We want it to be as real as possible, we wanted this to be the environment where we make our mistakes,” he said. “We want to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is what we did wrong, this is what we need to correct.’”
Capitol Police Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher said the agency is preparing for unprecedented dangers.
“We’ve taken lessons of the past, incorporated them into these scenarios, the goal with this is to be proactive, not reactive, to be ready for anything that should occur on Capitol grounds,” Gallagher said.
The training marked the third joint exercise between Capitol Police and the Secret Service, according to law enforcement leaders.
Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the event has helped strengthen interagency ties.
“Training like this is incredibly important; this is the opportunity to build relationships,” Sullivan said.
Officers rotated through seven scenario-based drills, including a simulated riot where protesters hurled wooden blocks meant to simulate bricks, bottles and trash while chanting. Trainers also staged simultaneous situations, such as protecting a lawmaker while confronting a suspicious man nearby who turned out to have a gun.
The training featured drones, bike and foot patrols, and armored officers with shields and batons. A Secret Service mobile command vehicle with satellite internet coordinated responses across multiple radio frequencies and even had the capability to deploy its own drone.
Both agencies emphasized that they continue to meet with advocacy groups before, during and after demonstrations. Capitol Police also highlighted its new “dialogue unit,” which works with protest organizers ahead of events to ensure demonstrations remain peaceful while maintaining better communication with advocacy groups for safer outcomes.
(DOHA, Qatar) — Five members of Hamas and a member of Qatar’s Internal Security Force were killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on Doha, Qatar, targeting senior Hamas leadership in the country for ceasefire talks, according to statements from officials on each side.
Among the Hamas members killed were the son of a senior Hamas leader Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya — the head of the Hamas movement in Gaza and the head of the negotiating team for Hamas in the ongoing negotiations with Israel — and an aide to the leader. Al-Hayya himself, an apparent target of the strike, survived, according to Hamas.
“This crime represents an attack on the sovereignty of the sister State of Qatar, which, alongside sister Egypt, plays an important and responsible role in sponsoring mediation and efforts aimed at halting the aggression and reaching a ceasefire and prisoner-exchange agreement,” Hamas said in a statement Tuesday.
“It once again exposes the criminal nature of the occupation and its intent to undermine any chances of reaching an agreement. We affirm that the enemy has failed to assassinate the brothers in the negotiating delegation,” Hamas said.
There were “a number of injuries” among Qatari security personnel from the strike, Qatar’s Ministry of the Interior said.
“The competent authorities continue to survey and secure the targeted area using the explosives unit of the Internal Security Force,” the Ministry of the Interior said.
In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said airstrikes targeting Hamas leadership in Doha were “completely justified in light of the fact that this Hamas leadership was the one who initiated and organized the October 7 massacre, and has not stopped launching murderous actions against the State of Israel and its citizens since then, including taking responsibility for the murder of our citizens in yesterday’s attack in Jerusalem.”
President Donald Trump said in a statement read by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that the U.S. “feels badly” about the location of the attack and adds that “unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
When asked when the administration learned about the attack, Leavitt said, “This morning, just before the attack.” Qatar said they heard from an American official about the attack as the explosions were taking place.
But, Trump said he “believes that this can serve as an opportunity for peace, and he’s still actively and aggressively pursuing it.”
Israel told the U.S. military it planned to strike Hamas in advance, but didn’t provide a location or other specifics in advance, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The vague notification left the military to discern on its own that explosions in Qatar were the result of Israeli action, the official said. The official declined to say when exactly the U.S. received the warning from Israel, noting only “it wasn’t sufficient enough to adequately warn regional partners.”
Netanyahu’s office said the action against top Hamas leadership was a “wholly independent Israeli operation.”
“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu said he “convened the heads of Israel’s security organizations” at noon Tuesday and “authorized a surgical precision strike” on Hamas leadership.
“For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7th massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Trump also spoke to Netanyahu after the attack, the White House said.
“The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace and quickly. President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace. The president also spoke to the emir and prime minister of Qatar and thanked them for their support and friendship to our country. He assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil,” Leavitt said.
When asked whether Trump is upset with Netanyahu for these strikes on U.S. soil, Leavitt said Trump made his opinions clear to Netanyahu.
“The State of Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly Israeli attack targeting the residential headquarters of several members of the Hamas Political Bureau in the Qatari capital, Doha. This criminal attack constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents of Qatar,” a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X.
However, Qatar said it will continue to mediate the ceasefire talks.
Qatar said its agencies immediately responded to the incident.
“While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this attack, it affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior, its continued tampering with regional security, or any action targeting its security and sovereignty. Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available,” the spokesperson said.
The U.S. Embassy in Doha has issued a shelter-in-place order for their facilities due to the missile strikes.
“U.S. citizens are advised to shelter-in-place and monitor USEmbassyDoha social media for updates,” the embassy said in a statement on X.
A U.S. defense official said, “We’re aware of these reports but do not have any additional information to provide.”
“U.S. forces did not participate in the strikes,” according to a U.S. official.
Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the region. Al Udeid Air Base was attacked by Iran in June in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with Qatari forces helping the U.S. to intercept the missiles.
Hamas leadership and its primary negotiators have been based in Doha for years while trying to get a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
“Prior to the strike, measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
World leaders condemned Israel’s attack on Doha, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“We are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it,” Guterres said.
“The evidence is clear. Excessive military spending does not guarantee peace. It often undermines it, fueling arms race, deepening mistrust, and diverting resources from the very foundations of stability. A more secure world begins by investing at least as much in fighting poverty as we do in fighting wars,” he added.
The United Kingdom and France condemned Israel’s strikes in Doha in separate statements.
“Today’s Israeli air strikes in Qatar are unacceptable under any circumstances, whatever the justification,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.
Egyptian officials called on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities regarding this flagrant Israeli violation, to take immediate action to halt the Israeli aggression, and to hold those responsible accountable, so that it does not add to Israel’s usual impunity.”
“The attack targeted a meeting of Palestinian leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire agreement. This attack is a flagrant violation of international law and the principles of respect for the sovereignty of states and the sanctity of their territories,” Egyptian officials said in a statement.
“Egypt affirms that this attack sets a dangerous precedent and an unacceptable development and constitutes a direct assault on the sovereignty of the sisterly State of Qatar, which plays a pivotal role in mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Egypt also believes that this escalation undermines international efforts aimed at calming the situation and threatens security and stability in the entire region,” the country added.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman condemned Israel’s attack targeting Hamas leadership in Doha, calling it a “criminal act” and a “flagrant violation of international laws,” in a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency.
The United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister foreign affairs, “called on the international community, particularly the Security Council, to take up its legal and moral responsibilities to deter Israel and halt these barbaric Israeli attacks.”
“Continuing such reckless attacks, in the absence of a deterrent and decisive international stance, will have extremely dangerous repercussions for regional and international security and peace, and will cement a reality that cannot be tolerated or accepted,” the UAE said in a statement.
Iran also condemned the attack, calling it a “continuation of the crimes” Israel “has committed by violating all norms and international rules,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement in Farsi.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart, Anne Flaherty, Morgan Winsor, Shannon K. Kingston, Jordana Miller, Kirit Radia and Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service hosted what officials say was one of the nation’s largest civil disturbance unit trainings, with more than 600 officers taking part.
The exercise, held Friday at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, drew officers from more than a dozen state, county and city agencies, with other federal partners including National Guard and Homeland Security observing the drills — an effort formed by the security concerns of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Capitol Police Officer Aaron Davis, who responded on Jan. 6, helped lead the exercises.
“We want it to be as real as possible, we wanted this to be the environment where we make our mistakes,” he said. “We want to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is what we did wrong, this is what we need to correct.’”
Capitol Police Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher said the agency is preparing for unprecedented dangers.
“We’ve taken lessons of the past, incorporated them into these scenarios, the goal with this is to be proactive, not reactive, to be ready for anything that should occur on Capitol grounds,” Gallagher said.
The training marked the third joint exercise between Capitol Police and the Secret Service, according to law enforcement leaders.
Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the event has helped strengthen interagency ties.
“Training like this is incredibly important; this is the opportunity to build relationships,” Sullivan said.
Officers rotated through seven scenario-based drills, including a simulated riot where protesters hurled wooden blocks meant to simulate bricks, bottles and trash while chanting. Trainers also staged simultaneous situations, such as protecting a lawmaker while confronting a suspicious man nearby who turned out to have a gun.
The training featured drones, bike and foot patrols, and armored officers with shields and batons. A Secret Service mobile command vehicle with satellite internet coordinated responses across multiple radio frequencies and even had the capability to deploy its own drone.
Both agencies emphasized that they continue to meet with advocacy groups before, during and after demonstrations. Capitol Police also highlighted its new “dialogue unit,” which works with protest organizers ahead of events to ensure demonstrations remain peaceful while maintaining better communication with advocacy groups for safer outcomes.
(NEW YORK) — High school students, especially 12th graders, are reading and learning math and science at historic lows, according to a new report from the National Assessment of Education Progress.
The new report, known as the Nation’s Report Card, was released Monday by the National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, and the Department of Education. It is the first nation’s report card to be released since the coronavirus pandemic.
The report shows almost half of high school seniors are now testing below basic levels in math and reading, and approximately 35% are at or above a proficient reading level, while 32% of them had a below “basic” reading proficiency.
By comparison, 37% of high school seniors were reading at or above proficiency in the 2019 report card, and 40% were at or above reading proficiency in 1992.
In math, the report shows only about 22% of 12th graders performing at or above proficiency standards.
The report card also looked at eighth graders and their science ability and found 31% of them were performing at proficient or above proficient standards.
Another key issue the report highlighted was absenteeism, with the number of absent students in schools rising among all age groups since the pandemic.
According to the report card, in 2024, approximately 31% of 12th graders specifically reported missing at least three or more days of school in the previous month, an increase from 2019, when the rate was 26%.
Educators and policymakers say it is critical for parents to stay engaged and regularly check in with students and their teachers about assignments and any absences.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the report’s findings “devastating” in a statement Tuesday.
“Today’s NAEP results confirm a devastating trend: American students are testing at historic lows across all of K-12,” McMahon said, adding, “Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before.”
The Department of Education has notably been cutting staff and services under McMahon’s leadership, including the researchers who produced the new nation’s report card. President Donald Trump has also tasked McMahon with dismantling her department altogether and handing control over education agendas to the states.
“Success isn’t about how much money we spend, but who controls the money and where that money is invested,” she said Tuesday.
Marty West, a professor of education at Harvard University, told ABC News the results are concerning because only a portion of American students are getting the education they deserve.
“What troubles me most about the patterns that we’re seeing is that the declines are largest for our lowest-performing students — those in the bottom quarter of the distribution. Meanwhile, high-scoring students – those at the 90th percentile are doing just about as well as ever,” West said. “So, this really highlights the extent with which American schools right now are really only preparing some students for success at the post-secondary level.”
Prosecutors say Skyler Philippi is seen conducting a test site of a drone in this photo, which was included in a federal complaint. (U.S. Department of Justice)
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Tuesday to plotting to using a weapon of mass destruction in a neo-Nazi-inspired plot to destroy an energy facility near Nashville, the Justice Department announced.
Skyler Philippi, 24, was arrested last November over his plans to attack Nashville’s power grid with a drone armed with explosives. According to the DOJ, charging documents showed Philippi conducted extensive research into how such an attack could serve to “shock the system,” as he relayed to one FBI confidential source who became aware of his plotting.
The FBI first began investigating Philippi last June after a confidential source who was in touch with him reported to the FBI his desire to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA near Columbia, Tennessee, according to prosecutors. Philippi also repeatedly espoused his adherence to white supremacist and accelerationist ideologies which promote the idea that a destabilizing terrorist attack on something like the nation’s energy sectors could serve to incite unrest that leads to civil war, prosecutors said.
“I definitely want to hit Nashville, like one hundred percent, I want to get Nashville,” Philippi said in one meeting recorded by undercover agents, according to charging documents. “I also know Louisville pretty g—— well, since I lived there. I spent about five months scouting out every single place [power station] and even coming up with a game plan to hit it as fast as I could. I had whole maps made, printed out on paper, to actually do that.”
In September of last year, Philippi and undercover FBI employees drove to an electrical substation he had allegedly researched previously. While in transit, Philippi ordered what he believed would be the equivalent of C-4 explosives from the informants, according to charging documents.
During their recon mission to the substation, agents recorded Philippi stating, “Holy s—. This will go up like a f—— Fourth of July firework,” charging documents said.
In a meeting days before his arrest, Philippi participated in a Nordic ritual and told the undercover agents “this is where the New Age begins,” and that it was “time to do something big” that would be remembered “in the annals of history,” according to the charging documents.
Philippi then drove with the FBI employees to the site of his operation and, as the undercover agents moved to their assigned positions as lookouts, he powered up the drone with what he believed was the explosive device attached to it, charging documents said. Philippi was then taken into custody.
The charging documents included one image that shows Philippi conducting a test of the drone, as well as another photo of him with the FBI undercover agents showing off what he believed were explosive devices.
Philippi faces a maximum penalty of life in prison in connection with his guilty plea. Sentencing is currently set for Jan. 8, 2026.
