Nation & World Glance
2 more Oath Keepers sentenced to prison terms for Jan. 6 Capitol attack
WASHINGTON – Two Army veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced Friday to prison terms, a day after the far-right extremist group’s founder received a record-setting 18-years behind bars in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months behind bars and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years in prison.
A federal jury acquitted Watkins and Harrelson of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of in November. But jurors convicted Watkins and Harrelson of other Jan. 6 charges, including obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Rhodes’ 18-year term is the longest prison sentence that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases. The charges against leaders of the Oath Keepers and another extremist group, the Proud Boys, are among the most serious brought in the Justice Department’s massive investigation of the riot.
Mehta agreed with the Justice Department that Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers’ actions could be punished as “terrorism,” increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidelines.
Judge: School district can bar student from wearing Mexican and American flag sash at graduation
DENVER – A federal judge ruled Friday that a rural Colorado school district can bar a high school student from wearing a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation this weekend after the student sued the school district.
Judge Nina Y. Wang wrote that wearing a sash during a graduation ceremony falls under school-sponsored speech, not the student’s private speech. Therefore, “the School District is permitted to restrict that speech as it sees fit in the interest of the kind of graduation it would like to hold,” Wang wrote.
The ruling was over the student’s request for a temporary restraining order, which would have allowed her to wear the sash on Saturday for graduation because the case wouldn’t have resolved in time. Wang found that the student and her attorneys failed to sufficiently show they were likely to succeed, but a final ruling is still to come.
It’s the latest dispute in the U.S. about what kind of cultural graduation attire is allowed at commencement ceremonies, with many focusing on tribal regalia.
Attorneys for Naomi Peña Villasano argued in a hearing Friday in Denver that the school district decision violates her free speech rights. They also said that it’s inconsistent for the district to allow Native American attire but not Peña Villasano’s sash representing her heritage. The sash has the Mexican flag on one side and the United States flag on the other.
Ind. funeral director pleads guilty to 40 theft counts after decomposing bodies found
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — The director of a southern Indiana funeral home where 31 decomposing bodies and the cremains of 17 others were found pleaded guilty Friday to more than 40 counts of felony theft.
Randy Lankford, owner of Lankford Funeral Home and Family Center in Jeffersonville, faces a proposed sentence of 12 years: four years in prison and eight years of home incarceration, Clark County Circuit Court Judge N. Lisa Glickfield said.
Lankford was charged with theft for failing to complete the funeral services he was paid for, and must also pay restitution to 53 families totaling $46,000.
Lankford was released to home incarceration following the hearing. A formal sentencing hearing is planned for June 23.
Jeffersonville Police began investigating the funeral home early last July after the county coroner’s office reported a strong odor emanating from the building. The unrefrigerated bodies were found in various states of decomposition, and some had been at the funeral home since March.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said the many charges against Lankford and existing court backups from the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the process. He said he felt the state’s move to eliminate about half of the counts will grant the most immediate form of relief.
“We wanted to get justice for these families,” he said.
Russia says its border regions attacked; Moscow’s forces hit clinic in central Ukrainian city
KYIV, Ukraine — Authorities say Russia’s southern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire, hours after two drones struck a Russian city in a region next to the Crimea Peninsula.
The Kremlin’s forces meanwhile struck a clinic in Dnipro on Friday, killing two and wounding another 23, including two children. Ukrainian officials also said a Russian missile hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine. That placed nearby settlements under threat of severe flooding.
Russia’s Belgorod region was earlier this week the target of one of the most serious cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began 15 months ago.
Passenger opens plane door during flight
SEOUL, South Korea — Asiana Airlines and government officials say a passenger opened an emergency exit door during a flight in South Korea. Air blew through the cabin, slightly injuring 12 people.
Some people on board tried to stop the person, who was able to partially open the door.
The plane with 194 people was heading to Daegu from the southern island of Jeju and the incident occurred as it was nearing its destination at an altitude of 700 feet.
It landed safely and the unidentified person was detained by airport police. The Transport Ministry says 12 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
Pope Francis skips meeting because he is running a fever, the Vatican says
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican No. 2 says a fever that a fatigued Pope Francis developed was owed to the fact that the pope greeted a huge crowd of people.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke after the Vatican confirmed Francis was running a fever and had skipped his meetings Friday.
Parolin was quoted by the Lapresse news agency as saying the pope told him he had wanted to greet everyone at the Scholas Occurentes event Thursday.
The last time Francis spiked a serious fever, in March, the 86-year-old pontiff was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. He received intravenous antibiotics and was released three days later.
Unexploded WWII bomb forces evacuation of 2,500 residents in Poland
WARSAW, Poland — A large unexploded bomb from World War II has been discovered in the Polish city of Wroclaw, forcing the evacuation of 2,500 residents while it is removed.
The bomb weighing 250 kilograms (550 pounds) was found near a railway overpass in the city in southwestern Poland during construction work.
The city organized buses to take the evacuated residents to a safe area during the removal work on Friday.
Train traffic has also halted. During World War II, Wroclaw was the German city of Breslau. It saw heavy fighting and widespread destruction, coming under heavy Soviet bombardment.
The city became part of Poland when borders were redrawn after the war, with the defeated Germany forced to give up territory.