Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump settled a civil lawsuit Wednesday that alleged his security guards violently assaulted protesters outside Trump Tower in 2015.

The case, brought by Efrain Galicia and four other protesters of Mexican origin against Trump and his head of security, Keith Schiller, was in the middle of jury selection in Bronx Supreme Court when the parties came to a confidential agreement.

Video from the September 2015 rally appeared to show Schiller smacking Galicia in the face after he reached for a sign that said “Trump: Make America Racist Again.”

“Defendants were staring down the barrel of a Bronx jury who were about to be presented with overwhelming evidence in support of plaintiffs’ claims,” Ben Dictor, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement to ABC News. “Nevertheless, plaintiffs are proud to have settled their claims and to have obtained written recognition by Donald Trump of their right to protest on the public sidewalk. Powerful men may put their names on buildings, but the sidewalk will always belong to the people.”

The settlement was announced in a stipulation that said the two sides agreed the matter should be “discontinued in its entirety.” The stipulation did not disclose terms.

“Although we were eager to proceed to trial to demonstrate the frivolousness of this case, the parties were ultimately able to come to an amicable resolution. We are very pleased with this outcome and are happy to finally put this matter to rest once and for all,” Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said.

A joint statement from Trump, signed by Habba on his behalf, and the plaintiffs, said, “The parties all agree that the plaintiffs in the action, and all people, have a right to engage in peaceful protest on public sidewalks.”

Trump said Schiller “did nothing wrong” and called the protesters “troublemakers” during a deposition in October 2021.

“I think they were troublemakers, yes I do. I think they were,” Trump said, according to a transcript.

The protesters said they were lawfully on the public sidewalk outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan when they were “attacked and their property destroyed.” Their lawsuit also alleged infringement on their free speech rights.

Two of the protesters wore Ku Klux Klan outfits to call attention to David Duke’s endorsement of Trump’s immigration policies during the campaign.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, with less than a week to go until the midterms, delivered a speech Wednesday night condemning political violence and urging voters to protect democracy.

“We must with an overwhelming voice stand against political violence and voter intimidation, period,” he said. “Stand up and speak against it. We don’t settle our differences in America with a riot, a mob, or a bullet or a hammer. We settle them peacefully at the ballot box.”

Speaking from Union Station in Washington, a short distance from the U.S. Capitol, Biden began by addressing the attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband last week, detailing how an intruder broke into their California home and assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

“The assailant entered the home asking, ‘Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?’ Those are the very same words used by the mob when they stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, when they broke windows, kicked in the doors,” Biden said.

Biden then went on to denounce the Jan. 6 attackers as a mob “whipped into a frenzy” by former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. Those falsehoods, Biden said, are still pervasive this election cycle with some Republican candidates espousing Trump’s lies about the 2020 race and are preemptively sowing doubt about the outcome in the races they’re running in this fall.

“American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president of the United States refuses to accept the results of the 2020 election,” Biden said. “He refuses to accept the will of the people, he refuses to accept the fact that he lost.”

Biden also addressed vote tallies, trying to temper Election Day expectations by reminding the public that it may take a few days before full results are announced.

More than 28 million people have voted early in the 2022 general election, according to data analyzed by the University of Florida’s U.S. Elections Project.

“It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner,” he said.

The speech came just six days out from the Nov. 8 elections, where Democrats are defending their slim majorities in Congress.

Forecasts from FiveThirtyEight point to a potential Republican takeover of the House, while the Senate is in flux.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama and other political heavyweights have been hitting the campaign trial these final days to shore up voter enthusiasm in contentious races across the country.

Biden’s hoped to cast the 2022 cycle not as a referendum on his presidency but as a choice between Democrats and “MAGA Republicans” who he describes as extremists that threaten rights to abortion, privacy and same-sex marriage.

“I appeal to all Americans, regardless of party, to meet this moment of national and generational importance,” Biden said. “We must vote, knowing what’s at stake and not just the policy of the moment.”

But polling has shown kitchen-table issues are top of mind for a majority of voters. The latest survey from ABC News and Ipsos found 26% of Americans identify the economy as their single most important issue determining their vote while 23% cite inflation.

“People are worried about disorder. And whenever there’s disorder — in this case in crime and economic news — they tend to vote for the opposition,” Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic strategist, told ABC News.

Sheinkopf said it’s “hard to imagine” Biden’s message on democracy will move the needle before next week’s elections.

“[Biden] has to show that he is a unifier at a time of great division, but is it really going to move voters?” Sheinkopf questioned.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The divisiveness in the United States is something adversaries seek to take advantage of, especially during the midterm elections, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News in an interview on Tuesday.

“The divisiveness that now grips this country is something that our adversaries, our adverse nation-states seek to exploit,” Mayorkas told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. “And they do that on online platforms.”

The three main adversaries, he said, are Russia, China and Iran, which purposely attempt to sow discord “in the American public.”

The secretary was asked whether or not former President Donald Trump makes his job harder because people believe his falsehoods about the 2020 election. The secretary, while not directly addressing Trump by name, said the words of leaders “matter” and that the misinformation leaders perpetuate makes their job harder.

He was also asked if DHS has a responsibility to neutralize claims of election fraud.

“It is the responsibility of government, not just the Department of Homeland Security, the responsibility of government. It is a responsibility of leaders. It is the responsibility of people in positions of trust to communicate accurate information to the American public and disabuse them of falsehoods,” he said.

Mayorkas, when asked, said he has not communicated with the former president about taking the temperature of the rhetoric down.

Last week, the department warned in a bulletin obtained by ABC News that violent extremists could pose a “heightened threat” to the midterm elections, which are on Tuesday.

“The integrity of an individual’s right to vote and to be able to vote with a complete feeling of safety and security is absolutely vital. That is the foundation of our democracy,” Mayorkas said. “Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in this country. That does not mean that one gets to scream fire in a movie theater or incite people to violent acts.”

Mayorkas, who oversees the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is primarily in charge of securing the nation’s cyber infrastructure during the midterms and beyond, said they are doing everything they can do to protect the vote, including by combatting misinformation, and that the election infrastructure is “safe and secure.”

“I think what’s important is that we will do everything that we can to protect the American public, to protect the integrity of the vote,” he said, adding that there is no credible direct threat to the election.

“It is our responsibility as a country to make sure that the American public understands what is true and what is not, in the sense that we have to build digital literacy. We have to make sure that an individual who reads things online or otherwise learns to assess the credibility of the source and make decisions for themselves as to fact or fiction,” he said.

Mayorkas also said there are a “number of forces that are fueling violent extremism, ideologies of hate, false narratives, anti-government sentiment, personal grievances.”

The attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, is just one example of the moment the country is in, he said.

On Friday, a suspect assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer after breaking into the couple’s San Francisco home in what the district attorney called “politically motivated violence.” The suspect is facing a slew of state and federal charges.

Since Mayorkas took the job in 2021, he has been sounding the alarm on domestic violent extremism in the United States. On Tuesday, he called what happened on Jan. 6 a wake-up call, along with the assault at the Pelosi home.

“Let’s think about that assault and the fact that there is not unanimity of condemnation and abhorrence in this country over that brutal act,” the secretary said. “It should be another wake-up call with respect to the moment that we’re in.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday will announce new steps the Biden administration is taking to help lower energy costs for Americans this winter.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is providing $4.5 billion in assistance to help cut heating costs for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), according to the White House.

“In addition to covering home heating costs this winter and unpaid utility bills, the program will help families make cost-effective home energy repairs to lower their heating and cooling bills,” the White House said in a statement.

Over the last year, LIHEAP has helped 5.3 million households across the United States with heating, cooling and weatherization, according to the White House.

The U.S. Department of Energy will also allocate $9 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to support up to 1.6 million households nationwide in upgrading their homes to decrease energy bills. This will be separated into two rebate programs: one for whole home energy efficiency retrofits and another for highly efficient and electric home appliances, according to the White House.

“In addition to lowering costs, energy-efficient and electric building and appliance upgrades can reduce indoor and local outdoor air pollution, improving health in our communities,” the White House said. “In addition, they will cut millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year to help tackle climate change.”

Harris will discuss the initiatives while visiting a union hall and training facility in Boston on Wednesday, according to the White House.

Nearly half of U.S. households rely on natural gas for heating and their bills could jump 28% this winter, compared with last winter, while bills for heating oil are projected to be 27% higher and electricity 10% higher, according to a recent analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents the state directors of LIHEAP, said in a recent report that energy costs are expected to be the highest this winter in more than a decade. This comes amid soaring inflation rates, with U.S. consumer prices increasing to a 40-year high 6.6% in September.

There are a number of contributing factors, including a rebound in global energy consumption from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered price spikes, and Russia’s war in Ukraine further increasing prices and reducing supplies.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Prosecutors accused former President Donald Trump ally Tom Barrack of “leveraging his access” while the defense accused the prosecution of “misdirection” as closing arguments concluded Tuesday in Barrack’s trial on charges of illegal foreign lobbying.

The government has accused Barrack, a billionaire California real estate investor who ran Trump’s 2016 inaugural committee, of illegally lobbying the Trump campaign and administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. The nearly two-month trial included mentions of Trump himself and some of his closest associates.

Prosecutors urged the jury to convict Barrack on charges that he acted as a foreign agent for the UAE from 2016 to 2018 without registering with the Department of Justice. He also faces charges of obstruction and multiple counts of lying to the FBI during a 2019 FBI interview.

“There are two Tom Barracks,” prosecutor Ryan Harris told the jury. “The man who talks about weaving a web of tolerance, and the man he really is when the cameras are off, when no one is watching, when the facade is stripped away — a man ultimately just leveraging his access and influence within the Trump administration to make money and acquire power.”

In exchange for acting under the “direction and control” of the UAE, prosecutors said, UAE officials in turn “unlocked its purse strings” and invested nearly $375 million in Barrack’s business from sovereign wealth funds.

“Mr. Barrack sold the UAE on his political connections,” Harris said.

Barrack has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. On Tuesday, his attorney said in his summation that there was a “total lack of evidence in this case.”

“Instead of proof of direction and control, I submit to you that throughout this entire case what they have given you is misdirection and control,” Barrack’s attorney, Randall Jackson, told the jury.

During the trial, Barrack testified in his own defense to deny the charges against him, and spent nearly three days on the stand answering questions about his contacts with UAE officials, which he said were part of his long-standing business ties to the Middle East.

Barrack, who at times denounced Trump on the stand, denied prosecutor’s allegations — including that he agreed to act on behalf of the UAE during a spring 2016 meeting with the head of the UAE’s security council.

“Did he ask you if you wanted to be a UAE foreign agent?” his defense attorney, Michael Schachter, asked him during his testimony.

“No,” replied Barrack.

Barrack, whose family is from Lebanon, testified that his interactions with UAE officials were well-known, and that he did not think there would have been any restrictions on his ability to discuss the Trump campaign’s positions with UAE officials.

“I thought that was actually a great thing,” Barrack said. “The idea of having somebody that had knowledge in both confused arenas that could create some web of understanding and tolerance is what I know we all needed.”

He laughed when asked by his attorney about the government’s allegation that he was working to “manipulate the public” and “spread UAE propaganda.”

“Not at all,” Barrack said.

Barrack also testified that he briefed then-candidate Trump on his interactions with United Arab Emirates officials as he tried to help Trump better understand Middle East issues.

“I talked to President Trump about it, and he said, ‘You do the right thing,'” Barrack testified about one of his meetings with a UAE official.

The high-profile case at times offered a glimpse into the workings of Trump’s inner circle during the 2016 campaign and the early days of his administration, including their contacts with foreign officials. Trump associates including Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, and Rick Gates were all mentioned over the course of the trial.

The majority of the government’s case rested on hundreds of Barrack’s emails and text messages, which prosecutors and witnesses read aloud to the jury over several days. The correspondences showed Barrack arranging meetings with senior UAE government officials to discuss policy initiatives over the course of several months.

Matthew Grimes, Barrack’s aide at his real estate firm, is also charged in the case and has also pleaded not guilty. Grimes’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, told the jury that prosecutors had “failed miserably” in their case.

The jury is expected to receive the case Wednesday for deliberations, the judge said in court.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN FRANCISCO) — The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last week has been arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court.

David DePape, 42, from Richmond, California, is facing a slew of state charges, including attempted murder, residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, as well as federal charges of assault and attempted kidnapping.

DePape walked into the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit and a shoulder sling on his right arm — having dislocated his shoulder during the alleged attack. Through his public defender, he pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations.

He has been ordered held without bail, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Friday. DePape is expected to be arraigned on the federal charges against him on Wednesday.

A protective order that states DePape can make no contact with either Nancy or Paul Pelosi and can not come within 150 yards of their home was also signed by a judge.

According to the federal complaint, DePape allegedly used a hammer to break into the Pelosi residence in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco early Friday, just before 2 a.m. local time. The intruder then went upstairs, where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was asleep, and demanded to talk to “Nancy.” Despite being told that the speaker was not home and would not be for several days, DePape said he would wait and started taking out zip ties from his backpack to tie up Paul Pelosi, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, Paul Pelosi told DePape that he needed to use the bathroom, allowing him to get his cellphone and call 911. Two police officers arrived minutes later and entered the home, encountering DePape and Paul Pelosi struggling over a hammer. The officers told the men to drop the hammer, at which time DePape allegedly gained control of the hammer and swung it, striking Paul Pelosi in the head. The officers immediately restrained and disarmed DePape, while Paul Pelosi appeared to be unconscous on the floor.

The officers later secured a second hammer, a roll of tape, white rope, zip ties as well as a pair of rubber and cloth gloves from the crime scene, according to the complaint.

Paul Pelosi was struck at least twice with the hammer, sources told ABC News. He was hospitalized following the attack and underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, according to a statement from Nancy’s Pelosi’s spokesperson, Drew Hammill. Although his injuries are significant, the speaker’s husband is expected to make a full recovery, Hammill said.

While being questioned by police, DePape stated that he was planning to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and talk to her and that he wanted to use her to lure another unnamed individual. If she were to tell the “truth,” DePape told police he would the speaker go. And if she “lied,” he said he was going to break “her kneecaps,” according to the complaint. DePape told police he viewed Nancy Pelosi as the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party and that he was certain she would not have told the “truth.” DePape explained that by breaking her kneecaps, the speaker would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other members of her party there were consequences to actions, according to the complaint.

During a press conference on Monday evening, when announcing the state charges against DePape, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins described the attack as “politically motivated” and implored the public to “watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric.”

“This house and the speaker herself were specifically targets,” Jenkins said.

Nancy Pelosi gave an update on her husband’s condition in a statement on Monday night, saying he “is making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process.” She added that her family is “most grateful” for “thousands of messages conveying concern, prayers and warm wishes” since the “horrific attack.”

ABC News’ Julia Jacobo and Mola Lenghi contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Liz Cheney said the House Jan. 6 committee is in talks with former President Donald Trump’s lawyers about his potential testimony.

“The committee is in discussions with President Trump’s attorneys and he has an obligation to comply,” Cheney, the vice chair of the committee, said Tuesday during a discussion with PBS journalist Judy Woodruff at Cleveland State University.

“We treat this and take this very seriously,” Cheney added. “This is not a situation where the committee is going to put itself at the mercy of Donald Trump in terms of his efforts to create a circus.”

The House committee took the historic step of formally issuing a subpoena to Trump on Oct. 21.

Trump faces his first deadline this Friday, Nov. 4, the date the subpoena requires him to turn over documents. The subpoena also requires him to appear for one or more days of deposition beginning around Nov. 14.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power,” Cheney and Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote in a letter to Trump.

Trump has not publicly said whether or not he will cooperate with the subpoena. According to sources familiar with his thinking, Trump told advisers he’d welcome a live appearance before the panel. It doesn’t appear the committee is willing to give Trump the benefit of an unfiltered megaphone to repeat falsehoods about the 2020 election.

David Warrington, an attorney for Trump, said the day the issue was subpoenaed they would “review and analyze it, and will respond as appropriate to this unprecedented action.”

Committee members have been split about whether they would want Trump to testify in a live setting, but the panel’s been clear that any testimony would need to happen under oath.

“We haven’t made determinations about the format itself but it will be done under oath, it will be done potentially over multiple days,” Cheney told Woodruff on Tuesday. “We have significant questions based on the evidence that we’ve developed and what we know already about the extent to which he was personally and directly involved in every aspect of the effort.”

Woodruff pressed Cheney on the odds that Trump will testify or not.

“I think he has a legal obligation to testify but that doesn’t always carry weight with Donald Trump,” Cheney said.

Asked if she believes the committee should make a criminal referral to the Justice Department should Trump refuse to comply, Cheney said she didn’t want to get ahead of the panel’s work.

“The committee has been working in a very collaborative way and I would anticipate we won’t have disagreements about that, but we’ll have to make those decisions as we come to it,” she said.

The Jan. 6 committee will conclude its work by the end of the year and produce a report on its findings and recommendations to Congress.

– ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DENVER) — The tax fraud trial against former President Donald Trump’s namesake company has paused just one day after it began when the first witness on the stand tested positive for COVID-19.

Jeff McConney, the Trump Organization’s controller, tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday after informing the court he wasn’t feeling well. McConney was on the witness stand for a second day at the criminal trial of the former president’s family business.

The judge adjourned the trial until Monday.

The contours of the criminal case against Trump’s company took shape Monday when McConney was shown entries from the Trump Organization’s general ledger.

McConney, who has been employed by the Trump Organization for 35 years, was shown entries for lease payments on former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg’s Mercedes Benz, which prosecutors have said were part of Weisselberg’s compensation that was never accounted for on taxes.

Weisselberg has already pleaded guilty to tax evasion in connection with the case. The organization has pleaded not guilty and the former president is not on trial himself.

On Monday, McConney described his close relationship with Weisselberg, to whom he reported “from the day I started” at the Trump Organization until the day Weisselberg stopped being chief financial officer following his arrest. The two had lunch daily and attended each other’s family events.

McConney faced a number of questions about the company’s accounting as prosecutors seek to show certain documents and records were altered to help Weisselberg and other executives evade taxes during a 15-year period beginning in 2005.

In opening statements, the defense said whatever actions were taken by Weisselberg were done for his benefit only and not for the benefit of the company.

“Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg,” defense attorney Michael van der Veen said during opening statements.

McConney testified he remains employed by the Trump Organization, making $450,000 per year in salary and benefits. The company is paying for his attorney and McConney conceded he met with the defense Sunday to discuss his testimony.

“He’s a textbook adverse witness,” prosecutor Josh Steinglass said.

Judge Juan Merchan declined to declare McConney a hostile witness, which would have allowed prosecutors to ask more leading questions.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The 2022 campaign is shaping up to be a historic, decisive moment in American politics.

From our reporters across the country, ABC News brings you all the latest on what the candidates are saying and doing — and what voters want to happen in November’s midterm elections.

For more from ABC News’ team of reporters embedded in battleground states, watch “Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them” on Hulu , with new episodes on Sunday.

Here is the latest from the campaign trail. All times Eastern.

Nov 01, 4:23 PM EDT
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney endorses Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan

Rep. Liz Cheney, who was ousted from office this year in Wyoming after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, has endorsed Rep. Tim Ryan in his senate bid in Ohio, the latest Democrat to garner Cheney’s endorsement, the first being Rep. Elissa Slotkin, whom the Wyoming representative is planning to stump for at a campaign event later this evening in Lansing, Michigan.

Cheney said during an appearance at Cleveland State University today that members of her party should reject Ryan’s opponent J.D. Vance and other candidates who support Trump’s unproven claims about voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.

When asked by PBS Newshour anchor Judy Woodruff whether Cheney would run for president on 2024, she didn’t deny she was considering it.

“I think the most important question is whether we as a nation are going to do what we have to do to preserve the republic,” said Cheney.

“That’s really what I’m focused on.”

–ABC News’ Paulina Tam

Nov 01, 4:18 PM EDT
Biden to travel San Diego on Thursday for endangered House Democrat Rep. Mike Levin

The White House said Tuesday afternoon that President Joe Biden will travel to San Diego on Thursday to support Rep. Mike Levin’s reelection efforts to represent California’s 49th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of San Diego and Orange County.

The two-term incumbent Democrat is locked in a tight rematch race against Republican Bryan Maryott.

Biden’s trip comes as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced its final round of “Red Alert” candidates — or Democratic incumbents and candidates who need “immediate resources.”

Levin topped the list.

Levin defeated Republican Diane Harkey by more than 13 points in 2018, and then by 7 points against Maryott in 2020. The district has now turned slightly more Republican through redistricting.

Nov 01, 12:44 PM EDT
Arizona Libertarian Senate candidate drops out of race, throws support to GOP nominee Blake Masters

Arizona’s Libertarian Senate candidate Marc Victor dropped out of the race on Tuesday, putting his support behind Blake Masters, the Republican nominee.

His move, made a week ahead of Election Day, gives Trump-backed Masters a further boost as Victor’s candidacy was forecasted to split off some of the Republican vote in the race to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly.

Victor told ABC News in a written statement Tuesday that Blake Masters approached him, agreeing to the Libertarian’s offer to both his opponents on “why it was in the interests of freedom, peace, and civility for me to step down and endorse either of them.” Their taped conversation “impressed” the Libertarian, Victor said, prompting him to drop out.

“I publicly offered to meet with either Mark Kelly or Blake Masters to have an unscripted discussion about why it was in the interests of freedom, peace, and civility for me to step down and endorse either of them,” Victor told ABC News.

“Blake Masters availed himself of that opportunity yesterday, and we had a public conversation where I asked him whatever I wanted. I was impressed with Blake Masters and his commitment to being a Live and Let Live Senator from Arizona,” Victor told ABC.

In the [,]() Victor said this decision to drop out one week before Election Day will make some people “very upset” and others “very happy.”

Masters responded to the new support in a campaign press release.

“Marc Victor joins a growing list of Arizonans from across the political spectrum who are fed up with open borders, big government corruption, and rising crime. We are building a broad coalition to defeat the worst Senator in America. This is another major boost of momentum as we consolidate our support against the extreme and radical policies of Mark Kelly and Joe Biden. Live and Let Live,” Masters said.

Victor will still be on the ballot, but any votes cast for him will not be tabulated, according to a spokesperson at the secretary of state’s office.

–ABC News’ Libby Cathey

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger on Tuesday said his department is looking at providing added security for members of Congress after last week’s assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.

“The USCP has engaged in a review of Friday’s incident,” Manger said in a statement. “We believe today’s political climate calls for more resources to provide additional layers of physical security for Members of Congress. This plan would include an emphasis on adding redundancies to the measures that are already in place for Congressional leadership. Hopefully you can understand that we cannot disclose the details about these improvements because our country cannot afford to make it easier for any potential bad actors.”

A man allegedly broke into the Pelosi home and assaulted Paul Pelosi, in what the San Francisco District Attorney called politically motivated violence.

Manger said, after the shootings of both Rep. Gabby Giffords and Rep. Steve Scalise, his agency has made security improvements, but today’s threat landscape means improvements are “increasingly urgent.”

Capitol Police are considering extending protection to families, according to sources, but no decision has been made.

“The USCP has worked diligently to investigate reported threats, improve intelligence collection and analysis, and strengthen our partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country to provide security for Members when they are traveling outside Washington, DC,” he said.

Threats against lawmakers have more than doubled since 2017, according to USCP statistics provided to ABC News. In 2017, there were nearly 4,000 and in 2021 there were nearly 10,000.

After the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Police went through a large-scale department overhaul, according to the agency, making changes from top to bottom.

“While progress has been made, there is still a lot of work to do,” Manger said. “The Department’s long-term plans to expand our protective operations are already underway — their importance only emphasized by Friday’s brutal attack. We will continue to work with our Congressional partners to add additional agents and security enhancements to support our protective operations mission.”

He said the department monitors “thousands” of cases across the country and their mission remain unchanged.

“During this time of heightened political tension, we continue to monitor thousands of cases across the country — in an effort to stop potential threats before they make headlines,” he said. Over the past five years, 12% of cases in which USCP has identified making threats have been prosecuted.

“We hope to see more of these cases prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.