Chase Winkle, a former officer with the Muncie Police Department, in Muncie, Indiana, pleaded guilty to eleven civil rights and obstruction charges. Specifically, Winkle pleaded guilty to five federal civil rights offenses for assaulting arrestees, and to six obstruction offenses for writing false reports to cover up the assaults. “Officer Winkle, the son of the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia, and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election […]
For the first time in almost 50 years, Iowa will not hold the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses for Democrats. The national party has ousted the state from the number one position but could face a challenge from an Iowa law. Iowa cemented its status as an influential state in the political process during the 1976 presidential campaign when […]
U.S. District Court Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. of the Middle District of Alabama sentenced defendant Lonnie Mitchell, 36, of Montgomery, Alabama, to 60 years in prison for coercing several victims, including a minor, to engage in prostitution over the course of several years. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay over $950,000 in […]
Charges were unsealed against eight individuals for conspiring to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor of tens of millions of dollars in federal funds intended for unemployment benefits. Seven defendants have been indicted and one defendant has already pleaded guilty for her role in the scheme. According to court documents, Tyshion Nautese Hicks, 30, of […]
A former agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection was charged in a superseding indictment, unsealed today, in the District of Arizona with three counts: a civil rights violation for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a minor victim, kidnapping a minor victim, and misleading state investigators. According to the superseding indictment, on April 25, 2022, Aaron […]
A Boston man has been arrested for a drug distribution offense involving fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue known as para-fluorofentanyl. Melvin Cordero, 40, was indicted on one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl. Cordero was arrested yesterday morning and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston […]
A man from Holyoke, Massachusetts, associated with the CJNG (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion) drug cartel has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges involving fentanyl. Josue Rivera Rodriguez, a/k/a “Bori,” 45, pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, two counts of distribution of 40 […]
Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the organization, were found guilty by a jury today of seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions disrupted a […]
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed […]
Ten people have been indicted in an Augusta-area drug trafficking conspiracy linked to another large-scale drug trafficking prosecution. As described in the newly unsealed indictment in USA v. Fields et. al, the investigation parallels the indictments in USA v. Wheatley et. al, together dubbed Operation Wheat Fields, and describes a conspiracy to transport and distribute large amounts […]
A bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk addresses a long-standing problem for domestic violence survivors, ending their ties to their abusers’ cellphone plans. A North Dakota coalition predicts the changes will be helpful. The Safe Connections Act recently cleared its final Congressional hurdle. It removes financial penalties for survivors who are trying to separate their phone […]
With the cost of a four-year college education approaching six figures at some institutions, many students are looking at apprenticeships to train for a career. A program in the Kalamazoo, Michigan Public Schools is aimed at putting students on an alternative track toward well-paying jobs which do not require traditional degrees. The program, Career Launch […]
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is alerting the public of a sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills. The DEA Laboratory has found that of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed in 2022, six out of ten now contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. This is an increase from […]
Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission as part of a scheme to benefit his 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress. According to court documents, Kelsey, 44, of Germantown, admitted that he conspired to, and did, secretly and unlawfully funnel money from multiple […]
Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers of the Southern District of Indiana announced that Jacob Wall, 29, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and carrying a firearm during a drug […]
The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against 10 defendants in multiple states in connection with multiple business email compromise (BEC), money laundering, and wire fraud schemes that targeted Medicare, state Medicaid programs, private health insurers, and numerous other victims and resulted in more than $11.1 million in total losses. The charges stem primarily from […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, following a new report that the agency continues to collude with Big Tech to suppress Americans’ speech online. Secretary Mayorkas will testify this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental […]
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Frank A. Tarentino III, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Glenn Scott, Commissioner of […]
Spending time with family and friends at Thanksgiving remains important for many Americans and this year the cost of the meal is also top of mind. Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10, which is $64.05 or less than $6.50 per person. […]
