Historic verdicts. Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the right-wing extremist Oath Keepers, was convicted of seditious conspiracy on Tuesday by a federal jury chosen to judge his role in the Capitol riot and Jan. 6 insurrection. NBC News All five Oath Keepers on trial, including Rhodes, were convicted of obstructing an official proceeding in the most significant riot case yet brought by federal prosecutors. Three defendants were acquitted of seditious conspiracy charges. The Associated Press More: The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former Trump chief-of-staff Mark Meadows to testify in Fulton County, Georgia, about his role in the “Stop the Steal” interference scheme following the 2020 election. Politico
United States v. Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court heard argument on Tuesday in a dispute between the Biden administration and Republican-led states over immigration policy. The Washington Post Federal officials asked the justices to overturn a Texas judge’s ruling earlier this year that blocked new immigration enforcement practices. NBC News Analysis: A fight over standing, for starters. Scotusblog More: Hear Tuesday’s oral argument. U.S. Supreme Court/C-SPAN Related: A rise in Venezuelan migrants who have crossed the border without immigration papers has angered many Venezuelans who already live in the U.S. Politico
“You can see the country closing in on teens.” Following the demise of Roe v. Wade in June, 14 states now ban most abortions. Twenty-two other states require underage teenagers to get parental consent or a judicial order before they can have the procedure. These “judicial bypass” laws have become more onerous since they were introduced nearly 50 years ago. Anti-abortion judges populate southern benches, and teenagers who need a judge's approval are often forced to travel hundreds of miles to do so. That makes them less likely to get abortions, even if they medically need one. ProPublica/The New York Times
“He was my person.” Gun violence and murder rates surged during the pandemic to their highest levels in decades, and have only begun to recede slowly. It’s easy to get lost in the sheer enormity of the problem — tens of thousands of people killed every year — or to focus on mass shootings — more than 600 of those again this year. But the story of America’s tragic homicide spike can also be told through the stories of individual victims who have left behind family and friends torn by grief, anger, frustration and hopelessness. The Washington Post TMP Context: Trying to understand the rise in U.S. shootings. The Marshall Project
“Cover up, cover up. Something’s wrong.” After decades of racial discrimination and systemic abuse, the police department in Rochester, New York, was poised for reform in 2019. Millions were spent on police body cameras. A new law authorized an independent panel to investigate claims of officer abuse. Then came the death of Daniel Prude, a man enduring a mental health breakdown who was brutalized by the police. Prude’s death triggered a cover-up by local officials — including those who had once pushed for reform — and helped justify a $12 million settlement with his family. The Trace/Sunday Longread
Missouri executioners killed Kevin Johnson on Tuesday by lethal injection. He was convicted of murdering a police officer in 2005. CNN Related: Kenneth Smith, who survived a botched execution in Alabama earlier this month, describes the ordeal. AL.com Alabama officials agree not to try to execute Alan Miller again by lethal injection. Executioners failed to kill him in September when they could not find a vein. AL.com
Fear comes to Fargo, North Dakota. Racist flyers swamp the city following a conviction in a murder case. Liberian immigrants there say they worry that racist activists, spouting baseless “Great Replacement” theories, will harm them. The Washington Post
How hard it is to take a cop’s badge. A Colorado police officer faces five felony charges for allegedly pocketing fees from incomplete vehicle inspections. But state officials say that, by state law, they cannot suspend her license. 9News.com
Wrenching photographs chronicle the toll fentanyl has taken on residents of Los Angeles, California. Nearly 2,000 homeless people died in the city from April 2020 to March 2021; about 700 from drug overdoses. The Associated Press
The mother of a child murdered at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, filed a federal lawsuit this week against the maker of the gun used by the shooter, police, and school officials who failed to protect the victims. The Associated Press
Problems for federal prosecutors in the seditious conspiracy trial. “The government never produced evidence of any Oath Keeper plan to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6 or, for that matter, any concrete plan of any kind laying out precisely how they would block Biden from taking power.” Lawfare
These are good days for white supremacists in America. Former President Donald Trump’s infamous dinner with Nick Fuentes is another sign of the Republican Party’s embrace of neo-Nazis and other white-power activists. The Washington Post More: Jewish Texans see a rise in antisemitism as a precursor to fascist violence. Texas Tribune
#MeToo, five years on, offers a complicated narrative. “The specifics of such cases can be endlessly debated and nitpicked. But finally, the reality is that most of the time, sexual dynamics are tangled and complex, especially when seen through the prism of two individuals’ different subjective experiences.” The Bulwark
Truth, if not reconciliation, for the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot. Congressional investigators have compiled an invaluable historical record of the Jan. 6 insurrection, even if the ringleaders are never charged with crimes. The New Republic
States should change Medicaid rules to help people leaving prison. And Congress should pass the Medicaid Reentry Act to improve public health and help avoid needless deaths caused by poor medical treatment behind bars. Prison Policy Initiative
The New York Police Department has yet to answer for Chanel Lewis. There’s growing doubt about a murder conviction aided by dubious police tactics. Did the NYPD illegally use a private lab to test DNA and then hide that from jurors and defense attorneys? The Nation
Seven decades a lawyer, fighting for righteous causes. Fabled civil rights attorney Eleanor Jackson Piehl died in Texas over the weekend. She was 102. She practiced law until her 90s, often alone, fighting gender discrimination in her own career and racial discrimination in many of her cases. The New York Times
Yvonne Rosales resigns as district attorney in El Paso, Texas, ending a brief reign marked by controversy and allegations of incompetency. Rosales, a Democrat, will be replaced by a prosecutor chosen by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. El Paso Matters
“We all belong to each other.” At Casa Juan Diego, a Catholic Worker house in Houston, Texas, migrants from Central America and other places find compassion and some respite from anti-immigrant policies and politicians. Texas Observer
Tracking the story of the “most prolific” pet killer in the country’s history. Eighty-five years ago, Juliet Tuttle was a prominent animal advocate. Then the police discovered she was a serial animal killer. The Atlantic
|