Federal judge agrees to postpone riot trial involving Proud Boys
A federal judge agreed Wednesday to postpone a trial for the former leader of the Proud Boys and other members of the extremist group charged with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
U..S. District Judge Timothy Kelly postponed the start of the trial from Aug. 8 to Dec. 12 after attorneys for several of the men argued their clients couldn’t get a fair trial by an impartial jury amid televised hearings by the House committee investigating the attack.
They’re also waiting for the committee to share documents that could become trial evidence.
Former Proud Boys national chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other men are charged with seditious conspiracy for what authorities say was a plot to forcibly oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power.
Tarrio, 38, of Miami, and his co-defendants — Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl — have been in federal custody for months. Their trial in Washington is expected to last four to six weeks.
Biggs, Pezzola and Rehl asked for the trial to be postponed. Biggs’ lawyer, J. Daniel Hull, noted that the House committee isn’t expected to release hundreds of deposition and interview transcripts until after an August trial would have started.
“The transcripts are musthaves for trial preparation,” Hull wrote.
DOJ prosecutors consented to the delay. They said the House committee’s failure to share the deposition and transcripts is also hampering their ability to investigate and prosecute Jan. 6 defendants.
Biggs, 38, of Ormond Beach, Florida, was a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Nordean, 31, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter president. Pezzola, 44, was a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York. Rehl, 36, was president of the Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia.
About 40 Proud Boys leaders, members or associates have been charged in the siege.
Baby formula shortage:
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing logistical support to import the equivalent of about 16 million 8-ounce baby formula bottles from Mexico starting this weekend, as part of its efforts to ease nationwide supply shortages caused by the closure of the largest U.S. manufacturing plant.
The Department of Health and Human Services is expediting trucks that will drive about 1 million pounds of Gerber Good Start Gentle infant formula from a Nestle plant to U.S. retailers, the White House said, nearly doubling the amount imported to the U.S. to date.
The White House has been working to make supply more available as it has faced pressure from parents over supply issues after regulators in February shuttered a Michigan plant run by Abbott.
The plant reopened June 4 after the company committed to additional sanitizing and safety protocols, but closed again more than a week ago after damage from severe weather.
Ga. hot car death: Georgia’s highest court Wednesday
overturned the murder and child cruelty convictions against a man whose toddler son died after he left him in a hot car for hours, saying the jury saw evidence that was “extremely and unfairly prejudicial.”
Justin Ross Harris, 41, was convicted in November 2016 on eight counts, including malice murder, in the death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. A judge sentenced him to life without parole as well as 32 more years in prison for other crimes.
All of the Georgia Supreme Court justices agreed there was sufficient evidence to support Harris’ convictions, but the 134-page majority opinion written by Chief Justice David Nahmias said much of the evidence having to do with Harris’ sexual activities shouldn’t have been admitted and may have improperly influenced the jury.
The ruling means that Harris is entitled to a new trial on the murder and child cruelty charges.
The high court upheld
Harris’ convictions on three sex crimes committed against a 16-year-old girl that Harris had not appealed. He received 12 years in prison for those crimes.
Airman in custody: An Air Force airman has been taken into custody in connection with an April explosion that injured several U.S. troops at a base in eastern Syria.
Rose Riley, an Air Force spokeswoman, said the airman was placed in pretrial confinement by his commander after a review of the investigation.
Riley said no charges have yet been filed, and the airman’s identity will not be released unless he is charged. The military has provided no details on the investigation.
The U.S. military initially reported that the injuries were caused by artillery or another form of indirect fire. But it later said the April 7 attack was carried out by the “deliberate placement of explosive charges” by one or more individuals at an ammunition holding area and
shower facility on the base.
The blasts hit two support buildings and four service members were evaluated for minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries.
Sri Lanka crisis: Sri Lanka’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, the prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday as it seeks help from international lenders.
Ranil Wickremesinghe warned the parliament of the South Asian nation of “a possible fall to rock bottom.”
“Our economy has completely collapsed,” he said.
The island’s economy is foundering under the weight of heavy debts, lost tourism revenue and other effects from the pandemic, as well as higher costs.
Sri Lanka has already announced it is suspending repayment of $7 billion in foreign debt due this year, pending the outcome of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on
a rescue package. It must pay an average of $5 billion annually until 2026.
Britain rail strikes: Britain faces the second of three national railway strikes Thursday after negotiations between union and employers ended in a deadlock.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union accused the government of “wrecking” Wednesday’s talks and said the 24-hour walkout by 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff would go on. The union’s action this week is Britain’s biggest and most disruptive railway strike in 30 years. The union held a strike Tuesday that brought the U.K. rail network to a crawl, with only a fifth of passenger services running. Another walkout is planned for Saturday.
The dispute centers on pay, working conditions and job security as Britain’s train companies aim to cut costs and staffing after two years of emergency government funding.