The trial has begun for James Fields, the self-described neo-Nazi charged with killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 others at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Twenty-one-year-old Fields is standing trial for first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and failure to stop at the scene of a fatal accident in connection with a car attack on Aug. 12, 2017. He has entered a not guilty plea and faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of first degree murder.
Fields is accused of ramming his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Video of the incident shows Field’s Dodge Challenger stopping a short distance from those marching in the area reversing, but then accelerating forward into them. Witnesses say Fields slowly backed up his car in a downtown street then rapidly accelerated, ran through a stop sign and across a raised pedestrian mall, and drove directly into the crowd, hitting numerous individuals including Heather Heyer before ramming into a sedan. The impact sent people flying through the air. A few seconds after the initial impact, Fields drove in reverse at a high rate of speed for several blocks- hitting more people. Pedestrians who had avoided the attack chased Fields along Fourth Street until he turned left and sped off down Market Street.
A Virginia State Police Bell 407 helicopter followed the car and relayed its route to ground units. A deputy stopped and arrested Fields about a mile from the attack. Charlottesville Police Det. Steven Young, who arrived at the scene of Field’s arrest, testified that Fields appeared shocked and repeatedly apologized while sobbing when he was told a woman had been killed. Young said that the Dodge had holes in the rear window—made by counter-protesters after the initial impact and heavy front-end damage. Young said that the car was “splattered” with blood and flesh with a pair of blue sunglasses stuck in the spoiler on the car’s trunk. Young also testified that footage from the Unite the Right rally earlier in the day shows Fields chanting homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs as he marched with others. A short time later, the helicopter footage shows his car driving into the crowd.
Testimony in the trial has largely featured first-hand accounts from people who were injured by the car attack on Fourth Street, by the intersection with Water Street. Survivors of the deadly crash testified that the mood among counter-protesters was upbeat and celebratory before Fields slammed his Dodge Challenger into another car, triggering a chain reaction that hurled people in different directions. Witnesses recounted the chaotic scene and testified to a litany of injuries they suffered in the crash, some of which they are still recovering from.
Ryan Kelly, a photojournalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for a photo he took that captured the moment Field’s car made impact with the crowd, also testified in the trial. He testified that he saw the Challenger slowly backing up the hill. “I thought it was trying to get out of the way,” Kelly testified. Then, he said he heard tires screech and saw the car speed past him on 4th Street. “I saw the car accelerate the whole way into the protestors,” he said. “It was going fast into the crowd.” Survivor and witness Star Peterson is also expected to testify in the trial. Her right leg was crushed by Fields’ car resulting in her having five surgeries. She still uses a wheelchair and cane.
Separately, a Virginia grand jury has charged Fields with 30 federal hate crime charges, some of which could result in the death penalty. He has pled not guilty in those charges as well and no trial date has been set.
Read more
In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, December 2nd, 2018 was:
KIMBERLY GUNN
Watervliet, MI
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans who have “liked” either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift Card.
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook fan and “Like and Follow” either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
The trivia drawing entries 11/26/18 thru 12/02/18 are:
11/26/18
Melissa Mae
Kathleen Marks
Vickie Gipson
Marcy Coull
Tabitha Sinks
Beth Mason
Harley Magoon
Sara Heller
Marilyn Wall
Amy Chavis
Stacy Nelson
Samantha Brwn
Cheryl Reagin Burns
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Cherilyn White
Christy Martinez
Audessa Vaught
Sheila Carvell
Pamela White Brearley
Be Schwerin
11/27/18
Karen Brunet Moore
Jodi Stevens
Marilyn Wall
Eric Sanders
Jill Nauyokas
Kathleen Hickman
Be Schwerin
Fanny Wat
Melissa Mae
Alicia Smith
Nitasha Shank
Brianna Ketchum
Alexis Maureen
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Luis Y Katie Santos
Geri Rus
Megan Rhyne
Sheila Carvell
Lisa David Carr
Angel Shearl
Becky Holland
Amie-Lee George
Anna Nichols
Tonya Velazquez
Cheryl Reagin Burns
Carol Moore
Carole Jacobs
Becky Holland
11/28/18
Misty Shallcross
Vickie Gipson
Nikki Hunsker
Kayla Clemons
Jocelyn Carol
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Jennifer Vega
Jill Nauyokas
Derek Jennings
Jade Good
Tracey Smith
Debbie Bloxom
Beth Kumjian
Jeremy Mclaughlin
Megan Rhyne
Amber Chandler
Dave Miller
Dawn Raasch
Jenifer Garza
Debbie Gremlin
Kathleen Hickman
Eleazar Riuz
11/29/18
Kathi Taylor
Marilyn Wall
Gina Taylor
Christy Hawkes
Jennifer Ramlet
Naomi Whitlatch
Jodi Stevens
Ambreen Rouf
Karyn Koehler
Nicole Blaha
Donna Porter
Josephine Casey
Alyssa DiFazio
Mike Adamski
Shannon Rush
Jessica Steiner
Priscilla Shimp
Becky Hartman
Shelley Ann Peoples
Heather Lynn Rood
Lori Sexton Leal
Karen Brunet Moore
11/30/18
Eleazar Ruiz
Christy Martinez
Kathleen Hickman
Alyssa DiFazio
Debbie Gremlin
Angel Shearl
Tina Auth
Karen Brunet Moore
Carla Williams
Brittany Light
April Ashcraft
Sandy Nevels
Amanda Nichole Young
Sheila Carvell
Becky Nichols-Volner
Gina Taylor
Rosanne Clark
Ashley Agner
Debbie Smith
Be Schwerin
Jodi Stevens
Jenn Smith Jackson
12/1/18
April Ashcraft
Jennifer Mason
Jessica Steiner
Maria Bouchard
Mikey Mellor
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Becky Hartman
Wendy Messer-Brinnon
Ambreen Rouf
Becky Holland
Rosanne Clark
Be Schwerin
Christine M Miller-Borowczyk
Nicole Blaha
Beth Cleveland
Stevie Rosson
Debbie Bloxom
Sherry Lilly
Tom Cavalli
Nacole Patrick
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Anniemae Maria Aikens
Jennifer Lang
12/02/18
Cassandra Berholtz
Jenifer Garza
Jill Nauyokas
Black Wendi
Deborah Farris
Vickie Gipson
Kimberly Kay
Christy Martinez
Nitasha Shank
Brooke Scott
Brittany Light
Eleazar Ruiz
Martha Balderson
Lisa Bloomberg Wahl
Jennifer Ramlet
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Samantha Brwn
Bea Patrick
Poonam Gosain
Lisa Bourlier
Kayla Clemons
Kimberly Gunn
Carl Buddy Mizell
Cheryl Reagin Burns
Michelle Webb
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better.
Also note that a number of the posted answers each day are from contestants who have forgotten to “Like” one of our pages, so their names WILL NOT be entered at the end week drawing for the gift card, giving our fans a better chance!
You may also find that if you “Like” BOTH of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on…. 
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
Read more
Famed comic book writer Stan Lee, creator or co-creator of some of Marvel’s most well-known and beloved characters, died at the age of 95 on November 12th in Los Angeles. Lee died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after being rushed there in a medical emergency earlier in the day. Earlier this year, Lee revealed to the public that he had been battling pneumonia and in February was rushed to the hospital for worsening conditions at around the same time. Lee was predeceased by his wife 0f 69 years Joan, who passed away in July 2017 at the age of 95. He leaves behind two daughters, Joan Ceclia and Jan Lee.
Lee has been credited with helping to propel Marvel Comics to the world’s top publisher of comics. Lee became an assistant in 1939 at the new Timely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman’s company. By the 1960’s, Timely Comics evolved into Marvel Comics and Lee rose through the ranks of a family-run business to become Marvel Comics’ primary creative leader for two decades. He is credited with leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics industry.
Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics, making appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions. He served as editor-in-chief and later publisher for Marvel and created or co-created the widely popular characters Black Panther, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man. Following his retirement from Marvel in the 1990s, he remained a public figurehead for the company, and frequently made cameo appearances in movies based on Marvel characters, on which he received an honorary “executive producer” credit.
In April 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published a report claiming Lee was a victim of elder abuse. The report alleged that Keya Morgan, business manager of Lee and a memorabilia collector, had been isolating Lee from his trusted friends and associates following his wife’s death. The report alleges she was attempting to get access to Lee’s wealth, an estimated $50 million. In August 2018, Morgan was issued a restraining order to stay away from Lee, his daughter, or his associates for three years.
He continued independent creative ventures until his death. Roy Thomas, who succeeded Lee as editor-in-chief at Marvel, had visited Lee two days prior to his death to discuss the upcoming book The Stan Lee Story. Thomas said “I think he was ready to go. But he was still talking about doing more cameos. As long as he had the energy for it and didn’t have to travel, Stan was always up to do some more cameos. He got a kick out of those more than anything else.”
Read more
A 24-year-old woman is facing 3 counts of reckless homicide and one misdemeanor count of disregarding a stop sign and causing injury after the pickup truck she was driving struck and killed three siblings who were crossing the road to get to their school bus in rural Rochester, Indiana. Six-year-old twin brothers Xzavier Ingle and Mason Ingle, and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl, died at the scene Tuesday morning. The children’s classmate and neighbor, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, was also hit. He was airlifted to the hospital and remains hospitalized in critical condition. The children were crossing State Route 25 to get to their school bus when they were hit at about 7:15 a.m. in front of the Meiser mobile home park where they lived.
The Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. bus had stopped on the two lane road, lowered its stop-arm and had the emergency lighting activated just before the northbound Toyota Tacoma pickup truck slammed into the children as they crossed the southbound lane. Alyssa L. Shepherd, of Rochester, was arrested at her workplace, was charged and released on a $15,000 bond. Shepard told an Indiana State Police detective that she saw flashing emergency lights on the rural highway but didn’t realize it was a school bus picking up the children until it was too late. By the time she realized a bus was stopped, the children were already in front of her vehicle. Their father rushed out of their home and identified them after police arrived to investigate, officials said. State Police Detective Michelle Jumper testified at a probable cause hearing into charges against Alyssa Shepherd, the bus driver told investigators he saw the oncoming truck’s headlights. The bus driver stated that because the truck was far back and had plenty of time to slow, the driver waved to the children, telling them to cross. The bus driver honked the horn when it was clear the truck wasn’t stopping. Jumper testified that Shepherd told her she typically did not drive on the route where the crash occurred and that she had three children in the back seat of her truck when she allegedly struck and killed the three siblings.
A witness driving behind Shepherd said she and Shepherd were traveling 45 mph. The witness said the truck’s headlights illuminated the children as they were crossing the road and she said she started to freak out as she realized ‘I’m slowing down, but that truck in front of me is not slowing.” Shepherd remained at the scene after the crash, cooperating with investigators. She was given a blood test as is standard in all fatal crashes, but police said they do not think alcohol or drugs were a factor. Shepard who works as children’s director at Faith Outreach, a Foursquare Gospel Church in Rochester then went to work to pray.
Parents who live in the mobile home park had previously asked the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation to change the bus route so the children didn’t have to cross State Route 25 to catch the bus. Parents complained that it was dangerous for children to cross a highway where vehicles routinely travel at 50 to 60 mph. Elgin Ingle, the uncle of the children who died said “There’s plenty of room for the school bus to pull into the mobile home park and pick up these kids. This school has been warned that this is an issue. My brother is torn apart, he didn’t lose one kid, he lost all his kids,” Ingle said. “How do you tell your little brother it’ll get better? You can’t. My brother, the most loving man in the world and the best father I’ve ever known, now is a father to no one.” Blaine Conley, superintendent of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, released a statement that stating that the bus stop will be relocated from State Road 25 into the mobile home park where the children lived.
Read more
Federal authorities have made an arrest in the pipe bomb mailings four days after the investigation began. Cesar Sayoc, a 56 year old DJ and former stripper, is accused of sending 13 pipe bombs through the mail to a range of Democrats and critics of the president. Authorities say Sayoc left a trail of forensic and digital evidence behind that authorities used to track him down and arrest him. Prosecutors charged Sayoc with five federal crimes and he faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Sayoc, who has a long criminal history, was arrested in Florida after investigators linking DNA found on two bomb packages to a sample that was previously collected by the state of Florida. They also matched his fingerprints to one from a separate pipe bomb mailing he sent. Authorities say he had previously filed for bankruptcy and appeared to be living in his van, showering on the beach or at a local fitness center.
Authorities launched an investigation after packages containing homemade pipe bombs were sent to prominent Democrats. The packages were sent to Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Soros, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Congress member Maxine Waters and former CIA Director John Brennan. Investigators say the devices may have originated in southern Florida and were sent through the U.S. Postal Service. The 10 packages being examined had a return address for Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and on some of the packages, her last name was misspelled.
CNN had to evacuate its New York office in Manhattan after it received what police described as a “live explosive device.” The package was delivered by courier to CNN’s offices at the Time Warner Center in New York and was addressed to the former CIA director John Brennan. The package also contained an envelope containing white powder. Police are also investigating a suspicious package found early this morning that was mailed to actor Robert De Niro’s restaurant in New York. De Niro has frequently publicly criticized the president. Two additional packages were intercepted Thursday, headed for former Vice President Joe Biden in Delaware. Authorities discovered the two packages at post offices in Delaware addressed to the former vice president. At least one of them had been misaddressed and returned to sender. No one was hurt in any of the cases.
Authorities say the devices sent to Soros, Brennan and the Democratic officials appeared to be pipe bombs that were rudimentary but functional. All the explosive devices had similar construction, had timer devices and at least one contained projectiles, including shards of glass. Sources say the bombs were unstable and could have been set off by handling. The FBI said all the packages were in manila envelopes with bubble-wrap interior and had six American flag Forever stamps on the envelopes.
Investigators are analyzing the crude devices to reveal whether they were intended to detonate or simply cause fear before the Midterm Election. Law enforcement officials said that the devices, containing timers and batteries, were not rigged to explode upon opening. They are uncertain whether the devices were just poorly designed or never intended to cause physical harm.
Read more
After weeks of denials and shifting narratives on the whereabouts of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the government of Saudi Arabia has finally admitted that Khashoggi is dead. Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2 and was never seen again. Saudi officials now say Khashoggi was killed in a “fistfight” inside the consulate and that 18 Saudis had been arrested in connection with the death.
Turkish officials still maintain that Khashoggi was tortured, murdered and dismembered by a squad of 15 Saudi hit men shortly after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. They claim that audio and video recordings show Saudi officials used a bone saw to dismember Khashoggi’s body. They maintain that it was a premeditated hit carried out by a squad of hit men and that one of the men was a forensic specialist specifically brought in to conceal the crime.
CNN aired CCTV footage obtained from the Turkish authorities, showing the Saudi agent Mustafa Mohammed Madani, a member of the 15-man team, leaving the consulate by the back door. Madani was dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes, aside for mismatched shoes. He had also put on a fake beard that resembled Khashoggi’s facial hair, his glasses and his Apple Watch. Madani, who was of similar age, height, and build to Khashoggi, left the consulate from its back door and was later seen at Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, where he went to a public bathroom and changed back to his own clothes and discarded Khashoggi’s clothes.
The body double footage bolstered Turkish claims that the Saudis always intended either to kill Khashoggi or move him back to Saudi Arabia. Anonymous Turkish officials believe that Madani was brought to Istanbul to act as a body double and that “You don’t need a body double for a rendition or an interrogation. Our assessment has not changed since October 6. This was a premeditated murder, and the body was moved out of the consulate.”
An anonymous Saudi official claims Khashoggi had been threatened with kidnapping by Maher Mutreb and when he resisted, he was restrained with a chokehold, which killed him. Madani then left the consulate through the back door dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes. Khashoggi’s body was rolled up in a carpet and given to a “local cooperator” for disposal. The official claims it was Mutreb who overstepped by threatening a kidnapping and accidental killing. The team then filed a false report indicating they let Khashoggi leave after he warned of Turkish police interference. The official provided Saudi documents indicating the operation was part of a wider initiative to bring expatriate dissidents home and the original plan was to keep Khashoggi in an Istanbul safe house for a period where he would be persuaded to return home or eventually released. Many have been skeptical of their claims and still believe the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the hit.
Saudi officials again changed their story after Saudi Arabia’s attorney general said that evidence shared by Turkish officials suggests that the killing was premeditated. They now admit that the killing was premeditated and carried out by a rogue team, still maintaining that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no prior knowledge of the killing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has directly accused Saudi Arabia of the premeditated murder, calling it a political killing orchestrated by Saudi officials. Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia to disclose who ordered the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the identity of a “local cooperator” involved in the murder plot. He also called for the Saudi suspects to be tried in Turkey. Erdogan said Turkey has more information about the case than it has shared so far, suggesting he could release more details if the Saudis refuse to reveal vital information.
Read more
Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, 40, was convicted of second degree murder in the 2014 shooting death of 17 year old Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke is the first Chicago officer to be charged with murder for an on-duty shooting in about 50 years. Second-degree murder usually carries a sentence of less than 20 years, especially for someone with no criminal history but probation is also an option. Van Dyke was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each bullet.
The second-degree verdict reflected the jury’s finding that Van Dyke believed his life was in danger but that the belief was unreasonable. The jury also had the option of first degree-murder, which required finding that the shooting was unnecessary and unreasonable. Legal experts say Van Dyke will likely be sentenced to no more than 6 years but that because he is an officer, it will likely be in isolation.
The verdict was the latest chapter in a story that shook Chicago residents soon after a judge ordered the release of the video in November 2015. Protests erupted and continued, demanding accountability for the shooting. The city’s police superintendent and the county’s top prosecutor both lost their jobs — one fired by the mayor and the other ousted by voters. It also led to a Justice Department investigation that found a “pervasive cover-up culture” and prompted plans for far-reaching police reforms.
The city had been preparing for possible demonstrations in a case that already sparked protests with many downtown businesses and City Hall closing early in anticipation of protests. Groups of demonstrators took to the streets for several hours after the verdict, chanting, “The people united will never be defeated,” and “Sixteen shots and a cover up.”
Prosecutors in Van Dyke’s trial called on multiple officers who were there that night in an effort to penetrate the “blue wall of silence” long associated with the city’s police force and other law enforcement agencies across the country. Three officers, including Van Dyke’s partner, have been charged with conspiring to cover up and lie about what happened to protect Van Dyke. They have all pleaded not guilty.
According to testimony, on the night of the shooting, officers were waiting for someone with a stun gun to use on the teenager when Van Dyke arrived. Former Police Officer Joseph Walsh, Van Dyke’s partner the night of the shooting, testified that Van Dyke said to him “Oh my God, we’re going to have to shoot that guy,” before arriving at the scene. Van Dyke was on scene for less than 30 seconds before opening fire and the first shot he fired was 6 seconds after he exited his patrol car.
The first responding officer said that he did not see the need to use force and none of the at least eight other officers on the scene fired their weapons. Video of the shooting shows that Officer Van Dyke was advancing on McDonald, while McDonald was walking away from him when the first shot was fired. McDonald was shot 16 times in 14–15 seconds and 9 of those shots hit his back as he lay on the ground. Toxicology reports later revealed that McDonald had PCP in his blood and urine.
Assistant special prosecutor Jody Gleason told the jury that Van Dyke contemplated shooting McDonald before he even encountered the young man, referring to testimony about what Van Dyke told his partner before arriving at the scene. “It wasn’t the knife in Laquan’s hand that made the defendant kill him that night. It was his indifference to the value of Laquan’s life.” Van Dyke was taken into custody moments after the verdict was read. He is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on October 31.
Read more
Federal prosecutors in Virginia have charged four white supremacists from California with conspiracy and inciting rioting at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August of 2017. Last year’s protest left activist Heather Heyer dead after white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. plowed his car into a crowd of peaceful counter-protesters.
Benjamin Daley, Thomas Gillen, Michael Miselis and Cole White are all members of a militant white supremacist group from California known as the Rise Above Movement, which espouses anti-Semitic views and meets regularly in public parks to train in boxing and other fighting techniques, according to an affidavit written by an FBI agent. According to The Anti-Defamation League, the Rise Above Movement members believe they are fighting against a “modern world” corrupted by the “destructive cultural influences” of liberals, Jews, Muslims and non-white immigrants. Members refer to themselves as the mixed martial arts club of the “alt-right” fringe movement, a loose mix of neo-Nazis, white nationalists and other far-right extremists.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said each defendant faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on the two counts they each face: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. The affidavit alleges the four men were “among the most violent individuals present in Charlottesville” in August of last year during a torch-lit march on the University of Virginia campus and a larger rally in downtown the following day. It says photos and video footage shows they attacked counter-protesters, “which in some cases resulted in serious injuries.” The men have also taken part in “acts of violence” at political rallies in Huntington Beach and Berkeley, California, and other places, the affidavit alleges.
Cullen said that the men also engaged in acts of violence in their home state of California at a series of political rallies, dubbing them “serial rioters.” At a news briefing, Cullen said “This is a group that essentially subscribes to an anti-Semitic, racist ideology, and then organizes, trains, and deploys to various political rallies, not only to espouse this particular ideology but also to engage in acts of violence against folks who are taking a contrary point of view.”
A Los Angeles judge denied bail for Michael Miselis, finding that he posed a risk to the community. Miselis’ attorney argued for his release, detailing how his client got his master’s at UCLA and worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman for five years before being dismissed after his connection to Charlottesville became public. Prosecutor David Ryan argued against bail for Miselis, saying agents found smoke bombs, flares, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, mostly for assault weapons, in his home, where he had a wall hanging that said “88,” a common abbreviation for “Heil Hitler.” Ryan also said said Miselis, Daley and other members of their group also traveled to Germany and the Ukraine earlier this year and met with members of well-known violent white supremacy groups.
Cullen said investigators sifted through “an incredible volume” of video and still photographs to review the movements of the four men and determine whether they could claim they were only defending themselves after being attacked by others at the rally. He said prosecutors believe there was “no provocation” for them to engage in violence that day. The four men, he said, made their way to the rally with their hands taped, “ready to do street battle.” Then they engaged in punching, kicking, head-butting and pushing, assaulting an African-American man, two women and a minister who was wearing a clerical collar, Cullen said. Cullen also said a significant aspect of the case was that the four men had “extensive and robust” social media profiles and used social media to further their purposes.
We’d love to know what you think of this story. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
Read more
Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger, who fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean in his Cedars apartment, was fired just days after Police Chief U. Renee Hall said doing so would compromise the criminal investigation. A news release stated that Hall fired Guyger after an internal investigation found the officer had engaged in “adverse conduct” when she was charged with manslaughter three days after the shooting.
Guyger shot Jean, her upstairs neighbor, the night of Sept. 6. Jean, an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, lived on the fourth floor in apartment 1478 of the South Side Flats. Guyger, an officer for four years, was his immediate downstairs neighbor. After entering his apartment that she mistook for her own. She entered the dark apartment after a long shift and believed Jean, who was unarmed, was a burglar.
After she shot him, Guyger called 911 in tears, “I thought it was my apartment,” she said repeatedly and apologized to Jean, “I’m so sorry.” Police arrived within four minutes of her call, and paramedics rushed Jean to Baylor University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Guyger was charged with manslaughter three days after the shooting and has been on administrative leave since the shooting. She’s currently free on a $300,000 bond while she awaits trial.
There was widespread calls for action and protests demanding that Guyger be terminated. Chief Hall said that she couldn’t fire Guyger before an internal investigation was completed because of federal, state and local laws but she didn’t specify to which laws she was referring. Hall released a statement saying she didn’t want to risk interfering with a criminal investigation by making a decision about Guyger’s employment.
The Dallas Police Department turned over the investigation to the Texas Rangers shortly after the shooting. The Dallas County District Attorney’s office is also conducting its own investigation. Those investigations aren’t complete, but Hall said police were notified that a “critical portion” of the criminal investigation — the part that could have been compromised by an internal investigation — had been concluded over the weekend.
Guyger’s firing was supported by Mayor Mike Rawlings, who called it “the right decision in the interest of justice”. A statement from the mayor read “I have heard the calls for this action from many, including the Jean family, and I agree that this is the right decision in the interest of justice for Botham Jean and the citizens of Dallas. The swift termination of any officer who engages in misconduct that leads to the loss of innocent life is essential if the Dallas Police Department is to gain and maintain the public trust.”
Guyger’s attorney Robert Rogers said in a written statement that Hall “bowed to pressure from anti-police groups and took action before all of the facts had been gathered and due process was afforded.” Rogers said his client is “completely devastated by what happened.” The shooting, he said, was “a tragic mistake and words can never express our sorrow for the pain being suffered by those who knew and loved Botham Jean.”
Read more
Comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in a state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago. Cosby, 81, will be eligible for parole in three years and could be released from prison and allowed to serve out the rest of his 10-year sentence under supervision in the community.
Judge Steven O’Neill said the evidence that Cosby planned the drugging and sexual assault of his victim was “overwhelming,” based on Cosby’s own words in a civil deposition. In the deposition, provided the year after the alleged assault, as Constand pursued a civil suit against him, Cosby admitted that he procured Quaaludes for women he wanted to have sex. Cosby also admitted that he asked a modeling agent to connect him with young women who were new in town and “financially not doing well. Judge Steven O’Neill ruled that the 2005 testimony could be presented to the jury in his criminal trial.
Months after his depositions, Cosby settled the case with Constand and the accusations quickly faded. In October 2014, a Philadelphia magazine reporter at a Hannibal Buress show uploaded a clip of the comedian calling Bill Cosby a rapist and commenting on his Teflon image. The clip went viral and soon after many accusers stepped forward. More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault or harassment, stretching back to the 1960’s but Constand’s case was the only one that led to criminal charges against the comedian. During interviews, all of the women gave similar accounts of blacking out after having a drink supplied by Cosby and later waking up during or after a sexual assault. Most said they stayed quiet because they never thought anyone would believe them since Cosby was wealthy and at the height of his career.
On April 26, he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison but Judge Steven O’Neill said that the charges had been merged into one because they all stem from the same event. Constand, a 31-year-old Temple women’s basketball official he was mentoring at the time of the assault. She testified in detail at the trial about losing control of her limbs after taking pills given to her by Cosby, who served on Temple’s board of trustees and was the public face of the university. The pills, Constand said, left her unable to stop him from violating her at his suburban Philadelphia estate.
At the sentencing hearing, O’Neill aid, “No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently or disproportionally.” “This was a serious crime,” O’Neill added. “Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come.” Cosby was also ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 plus the costs of prosecution — a total of $43,611 — as part of the sentence. Cosby’s attorneys have repeatedly said they plan to file an appeal in the criminal case.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
Read more
