Appeals court blocks removal of transgender troops, but allows restrictions on recruits
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House, home of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal appeals court on Monday concluded that the Trump administration’s transgender military ban is likely unconstitutional and “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”
In a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision blocking the Department of Defense from removing current servicemembers because of their gender dysphoria.
“At this preliminary stage, I conclude that the Hegseth Policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees’ constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” wrote Judge Robert Wilkins, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The decision only applies to the service members who sued the administration and does not bar the Pentagon from blocking transgender people from joining the military.
According to the court, prospective military members can seek relief after the case has completely moved through the courts, while active service members face a more serious hardship by being expelled from the military.
“For those servicemembers facing expulsion, it is not clear how easily they can be reinstated and made whole. But even if they can be reinstated after being separated, it appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a military career than to delay the start of one,” Judge Wilkins wrote.
Judge Justin Walker — the sole judge on the panel appointed to the bench by a Republican president — dissented and said members of the military could be deprived of certain rights guaranteed to the civilians.
“Like today’s majority, I cherish those rights, and so I understand the impulse behind the majority’s unprecedented intervention into military affairs. But because the plaintiffs are service members not civilians, and because we are judges not generals, I respectfully dissent,” he wrote.
“We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks. The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief,” he added.
Glenwood “Bubba” Pysher, 22, pictured in this undated photo, was fatally shot by a police officer in Upper Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, Aug. 23, 2026. (Courtesy the Pysher family)
(NEW YORK) — A Pennsylvania police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter stemming from the fatal shooting this month of a college student whose parents said he was mistaken for a burglar after knocking on the door of a residence he wrongly thought was a friend’s house, authorities said.
Cpl. Sean Farrell, a veteran member of the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Department, was charged in the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood “Bubba” Pysher, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced at a news conference Tuesday.
Steele said he is “obligated under the law” to charge Farrell, who allegedly shot Pysher twice after responding to a 911 call from a homeowner reporting a break-in in progress.
“At the time these two fatal shots were fired, Mr. Pysher had his hands up,” Steele said, citing footage from Farrell’s body-worn camera. “He had no weapon. He did not charge the officer or act aggressively in any way. He was not a threat to the homeowners who were inside their residence.”
Steele further said that the body-worn camera video, which he did not play but from which he released a still image, showed Farrell claim to a colleague after the shooting that Pysher “charged” him while “screaming and yelling.”
“The body-worn camera video does not depict Pysher charging and does not depict yelling or screaming prior to the shooting,” Steele said.
Pysher’s parents told ABC News last week that before the shooting, their son had been out bar-hopping with a group celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday.
Pysher’s mother, Erin Pysher, said that when the group decided to move the celebration to a friend’s house, her son walked to what he wrongly thought was the correct address.
“He was walking down the road to what he thought was his friend’s house. And after some drinks, he ended up walking in the dark at night. I guess he got mixed up, and he made a wrong turn and went to the wrong house,” Erin Pysher said in a phone interview with ABC News.
Pysher said her son was a student at Saint Elizabeth University in Morris Township, New Jersey, and was expected to begin the new school year last week.
Steele said on Tuesday that while Pysher was apparently inebriated, he was complying with Farrell’s orders to put his hands up when he was shot.
“He was not trying to escape and he did not commit a forcible felony. This is not a legal use of lethal force under Pennsylvania law,” Steele said.
Farrell is being arraigned on the voluntary manslaughter charge Tuesday, according to Steele.
USA, New York, Finger Lakes Region, Ithaca, Cornell University, elevated view of McFaddin Hall, summer (Walter Bibikow/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors in central New York say they are reopening the investigation of alleged “gang rape” at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024 after a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month sparked outrage about the incident.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement that his office is considering whether to bring criminal charges related to the incident, though he said the allegations in the civil complaint are “dramatically different” than the woman’s statement to police two years ago.
“It’s our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe’s cooperation,” Van Houten told ABC News. “We want to reexamine whether there’s additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change our assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.”
The reopening of the case comes less than two weeks after a former Cornell student filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she was drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven former and current members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell.
Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus after the alleged incident, though none of the individuals allegedly involved faced criminal charges, according to the DA. Van Houten said his office did not bring charges in 2024 because the woman’s statement to authorities did not allege she was drugged or that she did not consent to engage in sexual activities.
“She never says that she was drugged without her knowledge. She admits to taking drugs and alcohol voluntarily and with knowledge. She does not allege that she was forced to engage in any acts. She does not say that she was physically helpless or unconscious or incapacitated at any point during the time at the fraternity house,” Van Houten said.
Thomas P. Giuffra, attorney for Jane Doe, disputed Van Houten’s description of the woman’s initial statement to the Cornell University Police Department and faulted authorities for never following up with his client.
“In my experience, speaking with an abuse survivor requires delicacy, understanding and specialized training. An average University Police officer would not have these skills. It would be the role of a specially trained detective or district attorney. However, Ms. Doe was never contacted by anybody with those skills,” he said.
In an interview with ABC News, Van Houten acknowledged that he relied on the investigation conducted by Cornell Police and said his office didn’t “independently investigate” the allegations – a policy he said was in line with many upstate New York counties.
Van Houten also said that a screen shot of part of a Snapchat group chat included in the complaint — in which Jane Doe claims members of the fraternity discuss the alleged incident — was never provided to his office. Giuffra said the messages are a “critical piece of evidence” that were provided to authorities in 2024.
“My client went to the Cornell University Police because a crime was committed. It was the obligation of the police to investigate the complaints. They were given the group chat inviting the members of the fraternity to rape my client. This was a critical piece of evidence supporting that a crime had occurred. Despite this there was no follow-up with Ms. Doe either by the Cornell Police or the Tompkins County District Attorney,” he said.
ABC News has reached out to the named defendants in the lawsuit, including the seven fraternity members, Cornell and others.
Cornell said in a Sept. 21 statement that it takes allegations of sexual violence “extremely seriously” and that its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards “investigated and adjudicated the allegations consistent with university policies.”
The university said federal privacy law prevents it from publicly disclosing specific information about individual students or disciplinary responses. Cornell said violations of university policies could result in sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion.
Cornell also said the Xi chapter of Chi Phi “remains barred from our campus.”
The university said in a new statement on Monday that it “supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story, in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity Sexual Assault case, to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”
“Cornell also conducted a thorough Title IX investigation, which is separate from a criminal proceeding, over the course of several months,” Monday’s statement said. “During that investigation temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures were used. After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days. The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence. At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement.”
Jane Doe’s lawyers allege that the fraternity members “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”
The fraternity was closed in 2024, the school said.
“Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Cornell said on Monday. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
An attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar denied the allegations and said the incident detailed in the complaint “did not happen.”
“At bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period,” said attorney Jeremy Saland. “We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.”
Defendant Scott Norris denied engaging in sexual activity or drug use, though he acknowledged that he sent a message that was included in the complaint.
“I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use. I was not found responsible by Cornell for any of the accusations involving sexual activity and drug use for which others received serious consequences. I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened,” he said through an attorney.
Isabelle Johnson, 38, has been charged with killing 43-year-old Jason Christopher Coulthart, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Florida)
(FREEPORT, Fla.) — Isabelle Johnson, a suspected murderer who authorities say had been using multiple disguises and identities, has been arrested and taken into custody, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
“We got her,” officials said in a post on social media late Thursday. “Isabelle Johnson is in custody.”
Johnson, 38, has been charged with the murder of 43-year-old Jason Christopher Coulthart who was found dead in a shallow grave in June in Florida after he had gone missing in May, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say Johnson used multiple identities to evade authorities, calling her a “master manipulator.”
Coulthart was reported missing on May 24 after he was last seen leaving the College Condominiums complex in Florida, according to the sheriff’s office.
Unidentified remains were found on a Freeport, Florida, property on June 25 — after investigators were able to identify where Coulthart’s body had been buried, according to the sheriff’s office.
A DNA match confirmed the remains were Coulthart’s in July, the sheriff’s office said.
Five others have been arrested and charged in connection with the murder, including two people accused of aiding Johnson evade investigators, the sheriff’s office said.
