(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the gruesome University of Idaho murders, according to a new court filing.
The filing said, “The State gives this notice based on the fact that it has not identified or been provided with any mitigating circumstances sufficient to prohibit the triers of fact from considering all penalties authorized by the Idaho legislature including the possibility of a capital sentence. Consequently, considering all evidence currently known to the State, the State is compelled to file this notice of intent to seek the death penalty.”
Kohberger is accused of stabbing to death four college students in an off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.
The victims were: Kaylee Goncalves; her lifelong best friend and roommate Madison Mogen; a third roommate, Xana Kernodle; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Two other roommates survived the shocking crime that garnered national intrigue.
After a six-week search for a suspect, 28-year-old Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022. Kohberger was a Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the murders.
Kohberger chose to “stand silent” at his arraignment last month. By not responding, the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
After the May arraignment, prosecutors had 60 days to file notice if they were going to pursue the death penalty.
(KANSAS CITY) — Ralph Yarl, the Kansas City, Missouri, teenager who was shot after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, opened up about the harrowing experience for the first time in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.
“I’m just a kid and not larger than life because this happened to me,” Yarl told Roberts in the interview set to air Tuesday. “I’m just gonna keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy. And just living my life the best I can, and not let this bother me.”
Yarl’s aunt, Faith Spoonmore, told ABC News last month that after the shooting in April her nephew didn’t want to go back home because he was shot in the neighborhood where he also lived.
“Ralph is currently living with me,” she told ABC News in May. “He’s been with me since the event. He is not comfortable going back to that area,” she said. “He is not comfortable going back to his house, his home … which is so unfortunate because he had a lot of great memories in that home.”
Ralph Yarl raises money for traumatic brain injuries following wrong house shooting
But since then, Yarl and his family have relocated. He said that he is seeing a therapist and hoping to continue his recovery by focusing on his passions for chemical engineering and for music.
Yarl was shot on the evening of April 13 by Andrew Lester – a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, according to police, after the teenager accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his twin brothers. Yarl was 16 at the time; he celebrated his 17th birthday last month.
Lester, 84, was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said during a press conference on April 17.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News, Lester told police that he “believed someone was attempting to break into the house” and grabbed a gun before going to the door because he was scared.
Lester, who is white, claimed that he saw a “Black male approximately 6 feet tall” pulling on the door handle and “shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door.” He said that the Black male ran away and he immediately called 911.
Police spoke with Yarl on April 14 while he was recovering at Children’s Mercy Hospital. According to the probable cause statement, he told police that he rang the doorbell and said that he didn’t pull on the door knob.
Lester pleaded not guilty and was released on April 18 on a $200,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31 after a judge agreed to partially seal the evidence in the case in response to a protective order filed by Lester’s attorney, Steven Salmon.
“In this case, the court entered an order prohibiting the dissemination of information from the discovery by both the prosecution and defense,” Steven Salmon, Lester’s attorney, told ABC News in a statement on Monday. “As a party to the criminal case, any statement from Mr. Lester would certainly violate that order. I can say Mr. Lester is looking forward to the upcoming preliminary hearing.”
Judge rules Andrew Lester case to be partially sealed in the shooting of teenager Ralph Yarl
Yarl’s family previously told ABC News that he has been experiencing migraines after suffering a traumatic brain injury that has restricted his ability to participate in activities he loves, like playing music.
Yarl attended a walk/run event in Kansas City, Missouri, on Memorial Day along with his family to help raise money for traumatic brain injuries.
He did not make any public comments during the event, but his mother, Cleo Nagbe, shared an update on her son’s recovery.
“When you get a traumatic brain injury, everybody expects you to look one way, feel one way or act one way, but it’s not that way,” she said. “And everybody’s asking me: ‘Have you gone back to work yet, has Ralph gone back to school yet?’ That’s not the case. A brain injury is a process, it’s not an event. It takes time.”
Watch Robin Roberts’ exclusive interview with Ralph Yarl on “Good Morning America,” Tuesday, June 27, starting at 7 a.m. on ABC.
(DENVER) — Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver Field Office, confirmed that the agency has opened a federal investigation into the Club Q shooting in November 2022.
In a press conference following the sentencing of Anderson Lee Aldrich, the shooter in the Colorado Springs mass shooting that left five dead, Michalek said on Monday the FBI is working in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in an ongoing investigation into Aldrich and the tragedy.
Aldrich took a plea deal, pleading guilty to five counts of murder in the first degree and 46 counts of attempted murder in the first degree on Monday. They pleaded no contest to two bias-motivated crimes.
Aldrich will receive five consecutive life sentences without the possibility for parole on the murder charges. Aldrich will also receive 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murder counts followed by mandatory periods of parole.
As the country awaits the outcome of a federal investigation, District Attorney Michael Allen suggests that the potential for the death sentence at the federal level may have influenced Aldrich’s decision to take the plea deal.
“The death penalty in the federal system, I think, is a big reason why this defendant decided to take a guilty plea with the sentence that we achieved in this case.” Allen said. “Part of that is that in the federal system, if you show substantial mitigation — so if you take full responsibility at the state level — that can sometimes avoid a federal death sentence pursuit. Whether that happens or not, again, is up to the federal US Attorney’s Office.”
Officials said Aldrich opened fire as soon as they walked into Club Q just minutes before midnight on Nov. 19, 2022. Patrons at the venue tackled Aldrich, subduing them until police arrived, according to witnesses.
Daniel Davis Aston, Kelly Loving, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Green Vance died in the attack. At least 19 people were also injured in the shooting.
(LOS ANGELES) — Three people died after a spate of tragic accidents at United States National Parks in June.
A stepfather and his stepson died on Friday following a tragic series of events, beginning with his younger stepson, 14, losing consciousness while hiking the Big Bend National Park’s Marufo Vega Trail in Texas.
The stepfather and his two stepsons were attempting the challenging hike while the area experienced temperatures upwards of 119 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a press release from the National Park Service.
“You can’t really carry enough water for these conditions,” Park Information Officer Tom VandenBerg said. “The sun doesn’t set until around 9:00 p.m., and the hottest time is between 5-7 p.m., right around when this incident happened.”
After his younger stepson, 14, lost consciousness, his stepfather departed the scene to retrieve his vehicle and search for help while his elder stepson, 21, attempted to carry his younger brother back to the trailhead, according to the release.
After realizing his brother no longer had a heartbeat, the older brother left his younger brother on the trail to search for help, according to VandenBerg. The 21-year-old hitchhiked and found help nearby, at a park employee’s home.
Meanwhile, their stepfather was able to reach his car but fatally crashed over a nearby embankment, according to the press release.
By 7:30 p.m., park rangers and U.S. border control agents reached the scene to find the teenager’s body. Approximately 30 minutes later, officials located the family’s car and the stepfather, who was pronounced dead at the car crash scene.
The incident came amid excessive heat warnings for the local area, including the Marufo trail, which lacks abundant sources of shade or water.
The older stepson has since been reunited with his remaining family in Florida, according to VandenBerg.
Over 2,000 miles northwest of Big Bend, officials in Washington’s Olympic National Park recovered the body on Wednesday of a New York man who was visiting in early June.
On June 9, 37-year-old Travis Valenti from Massapequa, New York, was kayaking with his fiancée when his kayak began to take on water, according to a National Park Service press release.
“As Mr. Valenti’s fiancée attempted rescue, her kayak overturned, resulting in her also entering the water,” the release noted. “She was able to swim to shore but unfortunately Mr. Valenti struggled and could not.”
On June 21, Christian Aid Ministries, which has run a volunteer search and rescue team since 2016, utilized a remote-operated vehicle to locate Valenti’s body 394 feet under the surface of Lake Crescent. The volunteers used a “grabber tool” to bring the body to the lake’s surface.
A press release from the National Park Service said that the lake is not only deep but maintains a cold body temperature of 50 degrees, which can eventually incapacitate swimmers’ ability to breathe.
The three deaths come as the National Park Service approaches a summer visitor surge. In 2022, the National Park Service received 312 million visitors, only 6 percent lower than the Park Service’s all-time record for visitors.
(WASHINGTON) — Agents from the United States Secret Service have testified before the grand jury investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to ABC News.
Agents provided testimony as part of the grand jury’s probe into whether there were any crimes committed during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the source said.
It is not known how many agents testified or whether they mentioned former President Donald Trump.
The grand jury is impaneled in Washington, D.C., by special counsel Jack Smith, who is also investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents following his departure from the White House.
ABC News has previously reported that Secret Service agents testified in front of the grand jury in the documents probe. That investigation resulted in a 37-count indictment against Trump for allegedly refusing to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities.
Then former president, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, has dismissed the probes as a politically motivated witch hunt.
(ATLANTA) — Georgia lawmakers denounced antisemitic protests seen in at least two Jewish places of worship, as well as antisemitic fliers in the state over the weekend.
“There is absolutely no place for this hate and antisemitism in our state,” said Gov. Brian Kemp in an online statement. “I share in the outrage over this shameful act and stand with Georgians everywhere in condemning it. We remain vigilant in the face of these disgusting acts of bigotry.”
The news comes just a few months after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that antisemitic incidents surged to historic levels in 2022. The U.S. saw a total of 3,697 incidents reported across the nation in 2022, the highest level of antisemitic activity since the ADL started keeping records in 1979, according to the organization.
Cobb County Police say 11 protesters targeted Chabad of Cobb, a synagogue and Jewish community center. In footage of the protest, captured by ABC affiliate WSB-TV, protesters could be seen waving Nazi flags in front of the community center and shouting hate speech.
Leaders of Chabad of Cobb say they are working closely with county officials and law enforcement to ensure the safety of their patrons. Cobb County Police officials say the protesters are believed to be part of a small affiliation from various states across the U.S.
“Ultimately, we must remember that the most potent response to darkness is to increase in light,” said Chabad of Cobb in a statement. “Let’s use this unfortunate incident to increase in acts of goodness and kindness, Jewish pride and greater Jewish engagement.”
Temple Beth Israel, a synagogue in Macon, Georgia, was also the target of an antisemitic protest, with demonstrators allegedly shouting obscenities and hate speech.
Temple Beth Israel’s Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar said the community will continue to “stand united against hatred and bigotry in all of its forms. We reject the poisonous ideologies which seeks to divide, and instead celebrate and embrace the timeless teachings of our faith.”
Bahar continued, “Antisemitism is not a new phenomenon. It pains me greatly that today in Middle Georgia we have been forced to confront it twice,” referencing the distribution of suspicious antisemitic packages and hate messages in the town of Warner Robins, Georgia.
Warner Robins Police confirmed the presence of such packages, which they say have similarly been seen in other cities across the U.S.
Local leaders, including Sen. Raphael Warnock and state Rep. Esther Panitch, spoke out against antisemitism in response to the protests.
Panitch, Georgia’s only Jewish legislator, who sponsored a bill to define antisemitism in state law, applauded community members who counterprotested against demonstrators.
“Once again, white supremacists have shown themselves to be the bottom feeding haters they have always been, not contributing to society but only seeking to destroy,” she said in a tweet. “Protesting on the Sabbath at a synagogue and summer camp for Jewish children couldn’t be more vile.”
“Yesterday we saw antisemitism on display in Macon, and now in metro Atlanta. This has got to stop,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock in a tweet.
“Praying for our Jewish community in Georgia and beyond. We must all raise our voices loudly against this vile hate.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a case involving Louisiana’s House map to move forward with review by a lower court ahead of the 2024 elections. That raises the possibility that lawmakers will have to draw a second majority-Black district in a state where Black people make up a third of the population.
The order by the high court comes only a few weeks after it decided, in a separate 5-4 ruling, that Alabama’s current House map packs too many Black voters into just one congressional district, thereby diluting their power relative to their share of the population and violating the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
More than a quarter of Alabama residents are Black.
Monday’s decision directs the Louisiana legal battle to proceed before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before next year’s congressional races.
A district judge originally ruled that Louisiana’s House map — which the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed over Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto — violated the VRA and lawmakers were ordered to create a second majority-Black district, out of six total districts.
The state’s top election official, Republican Kyle Ardoin, appealed the district judge’s ruling. Louisiana Republicans have disputed that they are diluting the power of Black voters.
Louisiana Assistant Attorney General Angelique Freel said Monday that the state will continue to advocate for its original maps: “Our job is to defend what the Legislature passed, and we trust the 5th Circuit will review the merits in accordance with the law.”
Ardoin’s office declined to comment to ABC News because the case is pending.
While the 5th Circuit is seen as conservative and may not rule as favorably as the district court did, Democrats hailed the order from the Supreme Court, touting it as a victory for “fair representation” in Congress.
“Today’s Supreme Court order means the people of Louisiana are one step closer to achieving fair representation in Congress that better reflects the state’s diversity and reaffirms that the voices of Black voters matter,” Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
The governor echoed that.
“Louisiana can and should have a congressional map that represents our voting population, which is one-third Black. As I have consistently stated, this is about simple math, basic fairness, and the rule of law,” Edwards said in a statement. “I am confident we will have a fair map in the near future.”
The Supreme Court decisions on state congressional maps come as Democrats gear up for a concerted effort to retake the House in 2024 after Republicans won a five-seat majority in the chamber during the 2022 midterms.
Beyond Alabama and Louisiana, where Democrats now see opportunities to win races in new Black districts, Democrats are also bullish on victories in cases regarding congressional maps in Georgia and one in South Carolina, which is focused on the 14th and 15th Amendments, rather than the VRA, but won’t be heard until the Supreme Court’s next term.
New York Democrats, who dominate the state government there, are also hopeful that they will be able to redraw their own maps before the 2024 cycle.
“It feels great on a democracy level that people are not going to be silenced,” one House Democratic strategist told ABC News after the Alabama ruling earlier this month. “On the other on hand, electorally, you can’t help but be happy about it. It’s always a good thing when you’re going to know you’re going to pick up more seats at the end of the day.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has left this term’s blockbuster decisions for last, with rulings expected this week on student loans, affirmative action and more.
The justices will hand down their next round of opinions on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. There are 10 total cases remaining from the term that began back in October.
Their rulings will decide the fate of millions of Americans with federal student loans, a 40-year precedent of race-conscious college admissions processes, how federal elections are run in the U.S. and LGBTQ+ rights.
Already this term, the Supreme Court has weighed in on cases involving the Voting Rights Act, the Biden administration’s deportation policy, the Indian Child Welfare Act and social media liability.
Here’s a closer look at four major issues left to be resolved by the month’s end.
Affirmative action
A conservative advocacy group is asking the justices to reverse decades of precedent and ban the use of race-conscious admissions policies, arguing they discriminate against Asian-American applicants, in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
The universities, in their respective cases, insisted race is one factor among many used in a holistic assessment of student applicants and that their processes adhere to precedent.
The court’s conservative majority appeared poised to roll back affirmative action after hearing more arguments in both cases last fall.
Election law and the ‘independent state legislature’ theory
In Moore v. Harper, a redistricting case out of North Carolina, the justices are being asked to consider a controversial legal theory about who oversees elections — a decision that could have major implications for the 2024 cycle.
The “independent state legislature” theory contends state lawmakers have ultimate power to regulate federal elections free from traditional constraints such as state constitutions or courts. The theory is being backed by conservative advocates, though democracy and election experts contend the theory could upend election laws around the country if embraced in its most extreme application.
The court appeared dubious of the theory during oral arguments late last year and later issued an order for both sides to submit explanations on why they should continue to weigh the case in light of developments at the state level.
LGBTQ+ rights and free speech
In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a Colorado wedding website designer is asking the Supreme Court to strike down Colorado’s public accommodation law, arguing it infringes on her First Amendment right to free speech.
The designer, who opposes gay marriage, said the law — which requires her to serve LGBTQ+ customers or face a fine — compels her to go against her religious beliefs.
Lower courts ruled in Colorado’s favor but the Supreme Court seemed sympathetic to the designer’s case during arguments late last year.
Student loans
The court will determine whether President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to forgive student loan debt will move forward. The plan, announced by the administration last September, would wipe out up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for more than 40 million Americans.
The move was challenged by six Republican-led states, which argued the administration exceeded its authority while also unfairly excluding Americans who don’t qualify and costing loan servicers revenue. Two student-loan borrowers denied relief under the program also sued.
The two cases are Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown.
The court’s conservative bloc seemed skeptical during February oral arguments of the Department of Education’s power to waive billions in debt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there were also questions about whether the states had legal standing to sue and how they would be harmed by the policy.
(MOSCOW) — Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed Saturday on an “attempted armed rebellion,” the Kremlin said, after the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group claimed control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, a key Russian city near the Ukrainian border.
Forces loyal to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader, were traveling north toward Moscow in the “most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
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.”
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said he believes “without a doubt” that the brief armed rebellion in Russia over the weekend marks “the beginning of the end” of the war in Ukraine.
“It is the beginning of the end, but the problem is this ‘end’ can last for quite some time and we have to understand that,” Podolyak told ABC News during an interview in Kyiv on Saturday.
“Russia has accumulated a lot of internal problems, but they are not ready to accept defeat because it would put an end to two decades of its domination in global processes,” he added. “It would mean the end of Russia’s ambitions, because I always said that the end of war must not mean just a victory for Ukraine. It should bring about reformatting Russia itself.”
A feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, and Russia’s top military brass escalated on Friday night as Prigozhin’s forces left the front line in Ukraine and marched across the border to seize the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
Prigozhin, once a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused the Russian military of deliberately shelling his fighters in Ukraine earlier that day. Before the revolt, the mercenary leader had clashed for months with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, over the conduct of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
On Saturday morning, a column of Wagner forces marched seemingly unchallenged toward Russia’s capital, with Prigozhin threatening to “destroy anyone who stands in our way.” But within hours, Prigozhin ordered his soldiers to halt their march on Moscow and return to their field camps in Ukraine, saying he wanted to avoid shedding Russian blood. The Kremlin announced it had made a deal that Prigozhin will move to the neighbouring country of Belarus — a staunch Putin ally — and receive amnesty, along with his mercenaries.
The reason why the chaotic uprising came to a sudden end was a mystery, given that Prigozhin appeared to have been in a dominant position, a senior U.S. official told ABC News on Saturday. Nevertheless, the 24-hour mutiny was the most significant challenge to Putin’s authority in his more than 20 years of rule.
Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told ABC News that he believes the political turmoil is “the first stage of a huge civil war” in Russia.
“Whether someone wants it or not, Russia will have to go through it,” he said during the interview on Saturday.
Ukrainian intelligence had previously indicated that such events may happen and could bring “closer” the end of Russia’s 16-month-old invasion of Ukraine, according to Podolyak.
“We definitely understand that the events we are seeing today in Russia can significantly speed up the process of bringing an end to the war and significantly speed up the beginning of the transformation of the political system in Russia itself,” he added.
When asked whether his country had any role in the Russian mutiny, Podolyak told ABC News: “Ukraine is undoubtedly involved in what’s going on in Russia today.”
“We’re defeating Russia on the battlefield, thus dismantling the myths on which Russia was based and around which Putin’s power structure has been built,” he said. “So it gives the opportunity to other players — both political, military and others — to claim their stakes, to declare their ambitions. So we are involved in all those events and the more defeats we inflict on Russia, the faster the end will come to Russia as it is now. And this is important not just for territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, but for future global security.”
Podolyak noted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive, launched earlier this month, is only in its early stages and “the intensity of our operations will gradually grow.”
“The intensity of strikes on Russian logistics will grow,” he added, “and we will increase pressure on the first and second lines of Russian defense.”
