Capitol Police and Secret Service lead one of the nation’s largest police training
ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service hosted what officials say was one of the nation’s largest civil disturbance unit trainings, with more than 600 officers taking part.
The exercise, held Friday at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, drew officers from more than a dozen state, county and city agencies, with other federal partners including National Guard and Homeland Security observing the drills — an effort formed by the security concerns of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Capitol Police Officer Aaron Davis, who responded on Jan. 6, helped lead the exercises.
“We want it to be as real as possible, we wanted this to be the environment where we make our mistakes,” he said. “We want to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is what we did wrong, this is what we need to correct.’”
Capitol Police Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher said the agency is preparing for unprecedented dangers.
“We’ve taken lessons of the past, incorporated them into these scenarios, the goal with this is to be proactive, not reactive, to be ready for anything that should occur on Capitol grounds,” Gallagher said.
The training marked the third joint exercise between Capitol Police and the Secret Service, according to law enforcement leaders.
Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the event has helped strengthen interagency ties.
“Training like this is incredibly important; this is the opportunity to build relationships,” Sullivan said.
Officers rotated through seven scenario-based drills, including a simulated riot where protesters hurled wooden blocks meant to simulate bricks, bottles and trash while chanting. Trainers also staged simultaneous situations, such as protecting a lawmaker while confronting a suspicious man nearby who turned out to have a gun.
The training featured drones, bike and foot patrols, and armored officers with shields and batons. A Secret Service mobile command vehicle with satellite internet coordinated responses across multiple radio frequencies and even had the capability to deploy its own drone.
Both agencies emphasized that they continue to meet with advocacy groups before, during and after demonstrations. Capitol Police also highlighted its new “dialogue unit,” which works with protest organizers ahead of events to ensure demonstrations remain peaceful while maintaining better communication with advocacy groups for safer outcomes.
(WASHINGTON) — Former CIA Director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that he’s dubious that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
“There’s not that much right now that would lead us to believe that,” Petraeus told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “I don’t think, in fact, out of the last two weeks, really, Jonathan, I think what should be clear to all, and I think it is even clear to President Trump, is that despite all of his efforts, again, which we applaud to end the war, to stop the killing, Vladimir Putin clearly has no intention of doing that unless he’s given additional territory, which is heavily fortified, and Russian forces would have to fight for years at the pace that they’re going.”
Petraeus’ comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Trump last week in Washington alongside a contingent of other European leaders in pursuit of gathering more support to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 72 drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile into the country in its latest overnight barrage, of which 48 drones were intercepted or suppressed, as the country marked the anniversary of its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. Ukraine continued its own long-range attacks on Russia overnight, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which said it shot down 95 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions during the latest exchange.
Petraeus said that currently the “obstacle to peace” is Putin. He says that the U.S. should reconsider restrictions on some weapons that it won’t send to Ukraine and send more aid to ultimately bring an end to the 3 1/2-year war.
“And what we need to do is change those dynamics by helping Ukraine far more than we have so far. Lifting restrictions on them, seizing the $300 billion of frozen reserves and European countries of Russian money, giving it to Ukraine. More sanctions on Russia, even including the Gazprom bank, and curtailing the export of oil further than we have already,” Petraeus said.
Petraeus referred to a Wall Street Journal report that the Pentagon is limiting Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made long-range missiles against targets in Russia.
“This is another case where it appears that the Pentagon is carrying out policies that conflict with President Trump’s inclination. Now, I can understand why they would limit the use of certain long-range systems against Russia when they think that Russia might still be willing to make a deal. But that should be very clear not to be the case, at this moment, and I hope that there will be a review of that policy,” Petraeus said.
Nonetheless, Petraeus said he knows the war cannot last forever, saying that the war so far has killed and wounded 1.06 million Russians, including more than 500,000 that haven’t been able to return to the front lines due to the severity of their injuries, and is also having a “very substantial impact” on its civilian workforce.
“This has to have, over time, a very, very substantial impact on the ability of Russia just to find a civilian workforce as well. In fact, it’s reported that they were actually looking in Africa for women who can actually replace some of the men in Russia, in various industries,” Petraeus said.
Petraeus also responded Sunday to the Trump administration either firing or reassigning 16 top military officers, seven of whom are women, thus far into his second term. The latest removals happened Friday, including the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, just weeks after he oversaw a preliminary report that contradicted Trump’s assertion that Iran’s nuclear sites were obliterated by U.S. strikes in June.
“I think it has to be a concern. Obviously, it’s unprecedented. There’s never been anything like this,” Petraeus said. “There have been cases in the past where individuals who’ve gotten crosswise with the president or with the secretary of defense certainly, usually on a policy issue in which they should not have spoken out and indeed were replaced. But the numbers here obviously are much more significant than that.”
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History is seen from the Washington Monument on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III asserted the Smithsonian Institution’s control over its programming and content this week in a letter addressed to the White House after the Trump administration demanded a review of the institution’s exhibits, a Smithsonian official confirmed to ABC News.
The White House announced last month that it plans to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian’s museum exhibitions, materials and operations to ensure they align with President Donald Trump’s view of American history.
In the Sept. 3 letter, Bunch responded to Trump’s demand that his administration review the Smithsonian’s exhibitions, materials and operations. It also said that the Smithsonian, which is the world’s largest museum complex, will remain control over programming and content and that it will do its own review of exhibits, material and operations, the official told ABC News.
Following its internal review, Bunch said he will brief the White House on its findings, but the Smithsonian will not be sending a formal report to the White House, the Smithsonian official added. The museum’s review of exhibits is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Asked about the Smithsonian’s internal review and whether the White House will insist on being involved, a White House official told ABC News that the Smithsonian “cannot credibly audit itself.”
“The Smithsonian is not an autonomous institution, as 70% of its funding comes from taxpayers. While we acknowledge the Smithsonian’s recognition of its own programmatic failures and is moving toward critical introspection, it cannot credibly audit itself,” White House official Lindsey Halligan said. “By definition, an ‘audit’ must be neutral and objective. The American taxpayers deserve nothing less, which is why the White House will ensure the audit is conducted impartially. This is non-negotiable.”
ABC News reached out to the Smithsonian but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Bunch, who met with Trump at the White House on Aug. 28 over lunch, referenced the Smithsonian’s response to the White House and his conversations with Trump during the lunch in a Sept. 3 letter to the institution’s employees, which was obtained by ABC News.
In the letter, Bunch told Smithsonian employees that he communicated to the president during their Aug. 28 meeting that the Smithsonian’s “independence is paramount.” He also told employees that the Institution remains committed to telling the “American story” and “will always be, a place that welcomes all Americans and the world.”
And in response to the White House’s request for information, Bunch informed employees that he has assembled a small team to advise him regarding what information can be provided to the White House and on what timeline.
The White House’s demand for a review comes after the president signed an executive order on March 27, placing Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of supervising efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”
The order — called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” — directed Vance and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks, monuments, memorials and statues “that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”
The Smithsonian also affirmed its autonomy from outside influences in a June 9 statement after Trump announced that he fired National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet for allegedly being a “highly partisan person.” Sajet resigned on June 13, a Smithsonian spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
But in an Aug. 12 letter sent to Bunch, the White House said that administration officials will be leading a “comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions” in order “to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
The American Historical Association (AHA), which represents more than 10,000 historians in the country, including some who work at the Smithsonian, released a statement on Aug. 15 reaffirming its support for the Smithsonian and its historians, including curators who put together the exhibits.
“The AHA urges the administration and the American public to respect and value the expertise of the historians, curators, and other museum professionals who conduct the review and revision of historical content according to the professional standards of our discipline,” the AHA said in the statement. “Historians practice our craft with integrity. Political interference into professional curatorial practices and museum and educational content places at risk the integrity and accuracy of historical interpretation and stands to erode public trust in our shared institutions.”
ABC News’ John Santucci, Hannah Demissie and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from deporting 76 unaccompanied Guatemalan children from the United States to Guatemala.
A judge had temporarily blocked the administration from removing the minors and set an emergency hearing for 3 p.m. Sunday, but U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan moved the hearing to 12:30 p.m. after the court was notified the Guatemalan children were “in the process of being removed from the U.S.”
“The Court ORDERS that the Defendants cease any ongoing efforts to transfer, repatriate, remove, or otherwise facilitate the transport of any Plaintiff or member of the putative class from the United States,” Sookananan wrote. “The putative class includes all Guatemalan unaccompanied minors in Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement custody as of 1:02 AM on August 31, 2025, the time of the filing of the Complaint, who are not subject to an executable final order of removal,” the order said.
All of the children had been deplaned and were in the process of returning to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Sunday evening, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign said.
The government will notify the court when the transfer of all of the children is confirmed, he said.
Attorney Efrén Olivares had asked the judge to keep the hearing going until all of the children were deplaned, saying there have been several instances where “allegations of confusion and misunderstanding have resulted in irreparable harm.”
The hearing on Sunday is reminiscent of an incident in March when several Venezuelan migrants were deported to the CECOT prison in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, despite a judge issuing a temporary restraining order barring the removals.
This time, however, Ensign said that the flight he believed might have departed had returned and that he expects the children to deplane because of the judge’s order.
Sooknanan expressed skepticism during the hearing over the legality of the administration’s attempt to repatriate the children. She said she received notice of the complaint at 2 a.m. Sunday and that she personally tried to reach the U.S. attorney’s office, leaving a voice message at 3:43 a.m. saying that she wanted to hear from the government before she issued her temporary restraining order
“We are here on a holiday weekend where I have the government attempting to remove unaccompanied minors from the country in the wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend, which is surprising, but here we are,” she said.
Ensign argued that the Trump administration was removing the children in accordance with the law and at the request of the Guatemalan government and the legal guardians of the children.
“The government of Guatemala has requested the return of these children and all of these children have their parents or guardians in Guatemala who are requesting their return, and United States government is trying to facilitate the return of these children to their parents or guardians from whom they have been separated,” Ensign said.
Olivares strongly disagreed with that argument.
“Some of the children do not have either parent, some of the children have fear of returning to Guatemala so have not requested to return, do not want to return,” he said.
The National Immigration Law Center believes more than 600 Guatemalan children could be at risk of being returned to their home country.
Sooknanan appeared to question the validity of the government’s argument.
“I have conflicting narratives from both sides here on whether what is happening here is an attempt to reunite these children with their parents or just return these children to Guatemala where they face harm,” she said.
Sooknanan read declarations from some of the children submitted in court filings, including one from one child who said their parents had received a “strange phone call” notifying them that the U.S. government was trying to deport them to Guatemala along with other minors.
“Every one of these 10 declarants who are named plaintiffs speak about being afraid of going back to Guatemala,” she said, adding that some of the children had faced abuse and neglect from some of their family members.
In earlier court filings, attorneys accuse the Trump administration of attempting to repatriate more than 600 unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in coordination with the Guatemalan government in violation of laws that prevent such moves without giving them the opportunity to challenge the removals.
Unaccompanied minors are migrants under the age of 18 who have come to the country without a legal guardian and do not have legal status. The children in question in the lawsuit are all reportedly in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
In a statement, the National Immigration Law Center, which filed the lawsuit, said the Trump administration is denying the Guatemalan children from being able to present their case before an immigration judge.
“It is a dark and dangerous moment for this country when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds and denies them their most basic legal right to present their case before an immigration judge,” said Olivares, vice president of litigation at the NILC. “The Constitution and federal laws provide robust protections to unaccompanied minors specifically because of the unique risks they face. We are determined to use every legal tool at our disposal to force the administration to respect the law and not send any child to danger.”
In another court filing, NILC said that after it attempted to inform the government that it had filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, it learned shelters in South Texas had been “notified to prepare Guatemalan children in their custody for discharge.”
“Upon information and belief, ICE agents and their contractors have started attempting to pick up Guatemalan unaccompanied children from shelters in South Texas to transport them to the airport for potential removal from the United States as soon as the early morning of Sunday, August 31, 2025,” NILC said in the filing.
The lawsuit was filed on Sunday after legal service providers received notices from the Office of Refugee Resettlement that children in their program have been identified for reunification. In the notice, the agency said that court proceedings for children identified by the agency “may be dismissed.”
“ORR Care Providers must take proactive measures to ensure UAC are prepared for discharge within 2 hours of receiving this notification,” the notice said.
In one of the notices submitted in court filings, ORR has informed certain attorneys for unaccompanied minors that the “Government of Guatemala has requested the return of certain unaccompanied alien children in general custody” to be reunited “with suitable family members.”
In the statement, NILC said that because most Guatemalan children in U.S. custody are indigenous and many speak languages other than English or Spanish, they are more vulnerable to “being misled by officials looking to deport them.”
One of the children represented in the case is a 10-year-old indigenous girl who speaks a rare language.
“Her mother is deceased and she suffered abuse and neglect from other caregivers,” the complaint says.
