More than five years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, some pardoned participants are seeking compensation from a newly created $1.776 billion federal fund established through a settlement tied to the 47th president’s lawsuit over the release of his tax returns. Critics, including former prosecutors, police officers and some former rioters, argue the fund could reward people convicted of crimes related to the attack, while legal challenges and bipartisan opposition have temporarily halted its implementation.
Author Archives: Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Smith, Bowser respond to congressional panel accusing D.C. leaders of manipulating crime data
Allegations of crime data manipulation in Washington D.C. police department surface as Republican-led committee investigates.
Posted inNational News
Federal judge issues order to prohibit immigration officials from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia
By Michael KunzelmanThe Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge blocked U.S. immigration authorities on Dec. 12 from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying she feared they might take him into custody again just hours after she had ordered his release from a detention center. The order came as Abrego Garcia appeared at a scheduled […]
Posted inENTERTAINMENT
Fugees rapper Pras Michel sentenced to 14 years in prison over illegal donations to Obama campaign
Fugees rapper Pras Michel was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for illegally directing millions in foreign funds to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and related crimes, including acting as an unregistered foreign agent and witness tampering, charges he plans to appeal.
Posted inNational News
Judge weighs government’s request to unseal records of FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.
A federal judge is considering the 47th presidential administration’s request to unseal FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr.—currently sealed until 2027—amid opposition from King’s family and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who cite privacy concerns and government overreach.
Posted inNational News
US going after donations raked in by Jan. 6 insurrectionists
By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press Less than two months after he pleaded guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol, Texas resident Daniel Goodwyn appeared on Tucker Carlson’s then-Fox News show and promoted a website where supporters could donate money to Goodwyn and other rioters whom the site called “political prisoners.” The Justice Department now wants […]
Posted in!Front Page
Richard Collins III’s killer sentenced to life in prison
Sean Urbanski, 25, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Army Lt. Richard Collins III (pictured) in May 2017. (Courtesy Photo) By Michael Kunzelman Associated Press A White man who stabbed a Black college student to death at a bus stop on the University of Maryland’s flagship College Park campus was sentenced […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, NEWS, Prince George's County News, Washington D.C. News
Woman Seeks $1.5M in Damages from Neo-Nazi Website Founder
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — The first black woman to serve as American University’s student government president is seeking more than $1.5 million in court-ordered damages against a neo-Nazi website operator who orchestrated an online harassment campaign against her. In a court filing Monday, Taylor Dumpson’s attorneys asked a federal […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Federal Judge: Louisiana Jury Must Decide If Handcuffed Man Killed Himself
Black Lives Do Matter! BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A jury must decide whether the shooting death of a handcuffed man in the rear of a patrol car was a suicide, accident or “at the hand of a sheriff’s deputy,” a federal judge said in a ruling filed Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna refused […]
Posted inNational News
Federal Judge Intends to Dismiss 2nd Suit Against Black Lives Matter
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A federal judge says he intends to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Black Lives Matter and several movement leaders of inciting violence that led to a gunman’s deadly ambush of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge last year. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson issued that warning in an order Wednesday, […]
Posted inNational News
Judge: Black Lives Matter is a Movement that Can’t be Sued
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Black Lives Matter is a social movement, like the tea party or the civil rights movement, and therefore can’t be sued, a federal judge ruled Thursday. A police officer anonymously sued Black Lives Matter and DeRay Mckesson, a prominent activist in the movement, after being injured by a rock thrown […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
White Man Accused of Killing 2 Black Men, Firing on Black Family
(Updated 8/19/2017) BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A 23-year-old White man was arrested Tuesday and accused of killing two Black men and firing on a Black family, and a law enforcement official said they had found a copy of an Adolf Hitler speech in the suspect’s home. Kenneth James Gleason is escorted by police to […]
