DHS arrests another student involved in Columbia university protests
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(NEW YORK) — The Department of Homeland Security has arrested a second student who was involved with Columbia University protests, the agency announced.
Leqaa Korda was arrested by agents from Homeland Security Investigations for allegedly overstaying her expired visa — which terminated on Jan. 26, 2022. She was also allegedly arrested in 2024 for her involvement in the protests, according to DHS.
Korda is a Palestinian from the West Bank, according to DHS.
The arrest comes nearly a week after plain-clothed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who was also involved in the protests at Columbia University.
The agency said another student involved in the protests — Ranjani Srinivasan, an urban planning student at Columbia and Indian citizen — used the CBP Home app to self-deport.
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”
Federal agents with DHS also searched two Columbia University student residences Thursday night but did not arrest or detain anyone.
In a statement, Columbia President Katrina Armstrong said the DHS agents had two search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge authorizing them to enter non-public areas of the university and conduct searches of two student rooms.
“I am writing heartbroken to inform you that we had federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in two University residences tonight,” Armstrong said in the statement. “No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken.”
The searches were part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on individuals it has described as espousing the views of Hamas and threatening the safety of Jewish students, according to sources.
Khalil was one of the leaders of the university encampment protests last spring, and is being held in Louisiana.
Khalil, a green card holder who has not been charged with a crime, is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.
Trump administration officials have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas. Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”
Earlier Thursday, at least 98 people were arrested at a protest in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City calling for Khalil’s release.
Separately, Columbia University announced Thursday that students who occupied the campus’ Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian protests last spring have been expelled, suspended for several years or had their degrees temporarily revoked.
(RICHMOND, Va.) — A former nurse who was employed at the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was charged on Friday with malicious wounding and felony child abuse for allegedly intentionally injuring an infant at the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County was charged with one count of felony child neglect which carries up to 10 years in prison, as well as one count of felony malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor, whose office is prosecuting this case.
The charges are connected to an incident that allegedly occurred on Nov. 10, 2024.
According to WRIC, the ABC affiliate in Richmond, Strotman was arraigned on Friday.
Public defender Scott Cardani, who is representing Strotman, told ABC News on Tuesday that she has not yet entered a plea and he declined to comment on the charges. According to court records, Strotman’s next hearing is scheduled for March 24, 2025. She was denied bond, according to Taylor’s office, and was ordered by the court to not have any contact with children under the age of 18.
Taylor told ABC News on Tuesday that while Strotman was charged in connection to a single incident, the investigation is ongoing and law enforcement officials have so far identified seven potential victims, but added that the number could increase.
“Thus far, we have four babies identified from 2023 and three babies identified from 2024,” Taylor said. “However, both Henrico Police Division and myself have made public statements encouraging families to reach out if they believe that their babies were impacted. Thus, this number may increase.”
Taylor said that her office has been in touch with the families who have been identified so far, but officials did not name the alleged potential victims involved in this case.
According to the Henrico Police Department, law enforcement officials began to probe this case after the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital launched an internal investigation into “unexplained fractures” sustained by babies in the hospital’s NICU from 2023 to 2024.
“All of the previously closed cases related to these incidents have been reopened as part of the recent broader investigation,” Henrico Police said in a statement on Dec. 31 2024. “All of the families involved in this current broader investigation have been notified, to include those from 2023.”
Dominique Hackey, a father of twins, told WRIC in an interview published on Jan. 1 that his son Noah’s case is one of those that has been reopened.
“We want to make it clear that Noah didn’t have a bone disease. It wasn’t accidental. It wasn’t from his birth,” Hackey said. “Somebody did this to our son and we’re going to find out who did this.”
As this case gained national attention, the Henrico Police Department dispelled rumors that the alleged victims were targeted based on their racial identity, telling ABC News in a statement on Tuesday those allegations are “not factual” based on the “preliminary investigation.”
Henrico Chief of Police Eric D. English said that police recognize that this case has generated feelings and emotions, but asked the public for “patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases.”
As part of the investigation, police said that they are reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU as they pursue a wider investigation with the assistance of Henrico’s Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health and the Office of the Attorney General.
A spokesperson for the Henrico Police Department confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital announced on their website that the hospital’s NICU is “not admitting new patients” at this time.
“We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Any media questions or inquiries about that investigation should be directed to law enforcement,” the hospital said in a statement on Jan. 3. “We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation.”
ABC News reached out to a hospital spokesperson for further comment.
(NEW ORLEANS) — More cops than confetti are expected to be prevalent on parade routes when Mardi Gras goes into full swing in New Orleans this weekend.
City officials said security has been ramped up to historic levels in the wake of a New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others.
The annual Big Easy carnival has been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Special Event Assessment Rating 1, signifying the festivities require extensive federal interagency support, according to New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.
“This is one of the first moments in our history where Mardi Gras is a SEAR 1-rated event,” Cantrell said.
Mardi Gras is the third big test for New Orleans since the horrific Jan. 1 truck-ramming and shooting rampage on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter was allegedly carried out by a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran investigators say was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group.
A day after the attack, the city hosted the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game and on Feb. 11 it hosted the Super Bowl, both held at the Caesars Superdome under tight security that included hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officers.
“First of all, we know that we’re battle-tested and we’re just looking forward to a healthy and safe, and fun Mardi Gras season,” Cantrell said at a news conference on Thursday. “We’ve come off the heels of a successful Sugar Bowl, a successful Super Bowl and we’re now ready and prepared for the greatest freak show on Earth.”
Mardi Gras officially kicked off in the city on Jan. 6 and runs through Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras Day, on March 4. Between now and Fat Tuesday, about 40 parades are planned.
Banned from parade routes
Collin Arnold, New Orleans’ director of Homeland Security, said this year’s Mardi Gras will be noticeably different from previous years, as a number of items revelers usually bring to the multiple parades have been banned.
The New Orleans City Council recently approved a list of banned items, including confetti of any kind as well as confetti launchers; charcoal and gas barbecue grills; mylar balloons; portable generators; upholstered furniture; ladders over six feet high; and private drones.
The traditional throwing of beads will not be affected by the new security measures, officials said.
Revelers have also been warned not to leave coolers or ice chests unattended on the parade routes — a measure directly related to the terrorist attack. Investigators said the suspect allegedly packed improvised explosive devices in coolers he planted along Bourbon Street in advance of the rampage.
“Bring them if you have them. Keep them near you, but if you do see an unattended cooler and you’re getting that sense that there’s nobody there, please report that immediately to the NOPD’s non-emergency line,” Arnold said.
No coolers will be allowed in the French Quarter, officials said.
Mayor Cantrell said a makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack has been relocated for Mardi Gras from a Bourbon Street sidewalk to the Presbytere State Museum near the French Quarter’s Jackson Square.
“But I need you to know it is in coordination and with real reverence with the families and victims of Jan. 1,” Cantrell said.
‘100% all hands on deck’
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said another security measure being taken as a result of the attack is erecting hundreds of barricades on a nearly 3-mile stretch of St. Charles Avenue in the French Quarter, a major parade route.
The suspect in the New Year’s Day attack is alleged to have driven a rented pickup truck up on a sidewalk to get around a police car blocking Bourbon Street, according to investigators. The perpetrator proceeded to drive at high speed down the French Quarter thoroughfare, mowing down victims before he was killed in a gunfight with police officers, according to investigators.
Kirkpatrick said the barricades set up on the non-parade side of St. Charles Avenue will force vehicle traffic to take what she described as a “serpentine course” to get through the area.
“That will slow anybody down who thinks they’re going to use a vehicle as a weapon,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that 600 of the police department’s 900 officers working 12-hour shifts have been assigned to patrol the Mardi Gras parades. She said the remaining 300 officers will be on duty during Mardi Gras to service the rest of the city.
“We’re 100% all hands on deck,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that besides uniformed officers, 100 plainclothes officers will be embedded in the crowds.
She said K-9 units and bomb-sniffing dogs will also be deployed along parade routes. State National Guard troops are also being sent to New Orleans to help boost security.
“You’re going to see SWAT teams, you’re going to see Bearcats,” she said referring to armored vehicles.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said it is sending 200 deputies to help patrol Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Louisiana State Police said it will deploy another 150 troopers to New Orleans to enhance security in the Central Business District, on local highways and in the French Quarter.
Col. Robert Hodges, the state police superintendent, said the French Quarter has been designated as an “Enhanced Security Zone” requiring the most security. He said ice chests or coolers will not be allowed in the French Quarter and that any container larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches will be subject to searches.
‘Strong hotel occupancy’
The popularity of Mardi Gras does not seem to have been diminished by the terrorist attack, according to New Orleans hospitality officials.
“We’re expecting very strong hotel occupancy,” said Kelly Shultz, senior vice president of New Orleans & Company, formerly known as the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Shultz said Saturday night hotel occupancy for the second weekend of Mardi Gras was 95% compared to 83% during the same night last year.
Shultz said a Tulane University survey found that Mardi Gras alone generates about $900 million in economic revenue annually.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is appealing her dismissal, nearly a week after Mayor Karen Bass removed her from the top post in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.
Crowley sent a letter to the Los Angeles City Council on Thursday, informing them she is proceeding with an appeal of Bass’ removal of her as fire chief.
According to the Los Angeles City Charter, the appeal would require the approval of two-thirds of the 15 city council members to overturn the firing.
In response, a spokesperson for Bass’ office said in a statement, “Former Chief Crowley has the right to appeal her dismissal.”
Bass removed Crowley from her position on Friday, saying firefighters were sent home instead of being used when the deadly fires broke out last month.
“We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch,” Bass said in a statement. “Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.”
Ronnie Villanueva, a retired LA Fire chief deputy of emergency operations, was appointed interim chief.
Crowley exercised her civil service rights to stay with the department at a lower rank with duties to be assigned by the new interim chief, according to the mayor’s office.
The former chief said it was an “absolute honor to represent and lead the men and women of one of the greatest fire departments in the world.”
“I am extremely proud of the work, sacrifice and dedication of our LAFD members, both sworn and civilian,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
Crowley’s dismissal as chief was met with criticism by Freddy Escobar, the president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.
“Chief Crowley is a strong leader who has the respect of our firefighters and wasn’t afraid to tell the truth,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “She’s being made a scapegoat from a devastating fire without the benefit of a full investigation into what actually happened.”
Bass has faced tremendous pressure and questions surrounding her decision to attend an event in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7, despite days of warnings about the unprecedented weather event that drove the fires.
Crowley openly criticized Bass in a local TV interview on Jan. 10, saying Bass had failed the city, citing funding and staffing of the fire department.
Bass said she has not cut the fire department budget while in office.
At least 29 people died as multiple wildfires — fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds — raged across Southern California in January.
The largest of the fires in Los Angeles County — the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood — began on Jan. 7 and spread to 23,707 acres. The fire remained active for 44 days. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The second largest of the fires — the Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena — also began on Jan. 7 and spread to 14,021 acres. It remained active for 44 days and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne, Nadine El-Bawab and Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.
