Henry L. Chambers Jr., University of Richmond As the 2022 midterm campaigns approach Election Day on Nov. 8, 2022, a federal probe into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents is testing an unwritten policy of the U.S. Justice Department. Some legal analysts have suggested that the so-called 60-day …
Read More »Texan Who Prosecutors Say “lit the match” Of Jan. 6 Riot Sentenced To More Than 7 Years In Prison
Eric Neugeboren, The Texas Tribune Guy Reffitt, a Texan who prosecutors said “lit the match” of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 7 1/4 years in prison on Monday, the longest sentence of any rioter to date but less than what the Justice Department had …
Read More »‘Just say the election was corrupt’: Trump Pressure On Justice Department Detailed
by Jacob Fischler, Nebraska Examiner President Donald Trump sought to use the U.S. Justice Department to create the illusion of a legitimate investigation into the validity of the 2020 election results, the Jan. 6 committee and former Justice Department leaders said Thursday in the panel’s fifth hearing this month. In …
Read More »Buffalo Shooting Suspect Charged With Federal Hate Crimes
The gunman accused of killing ten people in a Buffalo, New York supermarket has been charged with hate crimes by the U.S. Department of Justice. Authorities believe that suspect Payton Gendron, 18, was motivated by racial hatred. Almost all the victims in the shooting were black. He now faces 26 …
Read More »Justice Department Will Review Uvalde Response As Furor Mounts Over Law Enforcement Actions
By Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune The U.S. Department of Justice will review the law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde school massacre as local police face intense scrutiny for not acting quickly enough to confront the shooter. “The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law …
Read More »Justice Department Directs Agents To Intervene If They See Police Violence
Attorney General Merrick Garland has revised rules governing the use of force by law enforcement agencies overseen by the Justice Department, requiring federal agents to intervene when they see officials using excessive force or mistreating people in custody. The memo states that the department’s policy is to “value and preserve …
Read More »Three Men Plead Guilty To Plotting White Supremacist Attack On Power Grid
by Jake Zuckerman, Missouri Independent February 24, 2022 Three men pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges after admitting plans to attack the power grid “in furtherance of white supremacist ideology,” according to documents unsealed Wednesday. Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of West Lafayette, Indiana, …
Read More »Congressional Black Caucus Urges DOJ To Act To Protect Voting Rights
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, and Congressman Mondaire Jones led over 40 Congressional Black Caucus members in calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to aggressively protect voting rights and fight against disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, voter purges, and other forms of voter suppression, vote dilution, and election subversion. “These …
Read More »AG Garland Announces DOJ Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking
On Monday, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland released the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. Rooted in the foundational pillars and priorities of the interagency National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, which President Biden released in December, the Justice Department’s National Strategy is …
Read More »Department of Justice Forms Domestic Terrorism Unit
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday announced it is forming a unit to combat domestic terrorism as national security officials warn of a “persistent and evolving” threat of violent extremism within the U.S. Matthew Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security, made the announcement as he noted that the …
Read More »DOJ Launches Investigation of Mount Vernon Police Department
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a pattern or practice investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department (MVPD). The investigation will …
Read More »Families Of Parkland Shooting Victims Reach Settlement With DOJ
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement valued at about $130 million with the families of students and faculty who were killed and injured during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, The New York Times reported on Monday. The settlement, …
Read More »Florida Man Convicted For Making Threatening Calls To Members Of Congress
A Florida man is facing prison time after making threatening phone calls to several members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. According to evidence presented at trial, Frank Anthony Pezzuto (73, Venice) made three threatening phone calls from his home in Venice, Florida to certain congressional offices in …
Read More »Justice Department Gives 10-Month Update On January 6 Investigations
Saturday, Nov. 6, marked 10 months since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results. The government continues investigations into losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol, including damage to the …
Read More »Justice Department Sues Uber for Overcharging People with Disabilities
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber) for charging “wait time” fees to passengers who, because of disability, need more time to enter a car. The DOJ says Uber’s policies and practices of charging wait time fees based on disability …
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