A view of the University of Washington campus on February 14, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
(SEATTLE) — A student at the University of Washington in Seattle was found stabbed to death in a campus housing building, Seattle police said, and now authorities are searching for the killer.
The victim — a 19-year-old transgender woman — was found in a laundry room at about 10:10 p.m. Sunday, according to Seattle police.
“The circumstances leading up to the murder are under investigation,” police said in a statement on Monday.
Police said “officers are actively searching for the suspect” and they described him as a “black male with a beard, 5’6-8″ tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans.” The university added the suspect is believed to be between the ages of 25 and 30 with a slim build and black hair.
The University of Washington issued an alert about the homicide at the Nordheim Court Apartments at 10:40 p.m. Sunday, saying, “If you are at Nordheim Court, stay indoors and lock doors and windows.” Around 1 a.m., the university said that the residents no longer needed to stay inside.
The university called the crime “deeply distressing” and said counseling is available. The university said the King County Medical Examiner will identify the victim in the coming days.
The police department said it urges anyone with information to call its Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog contributed to this report.
Florida State University shooting victim Tiru Chabba. (Chabba family via Storm Law Firm)
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Attorneys representing the family of Florida State University shooting victim Tiru Chabba have filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and its artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT, alleging that the company could have done more to prevent the shooting.
The complaint, which was filed on Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, also names the shooting suspect, Phoenix Ikner, as a defendant.
According to ChatGPT logs released by law enforcement in Florida, Ikner allegedly consulted ChatGPT as he planned the attack and asked pointed questions about gun operations and media coverage. He even consulted the platform about the busiest time on the FSU campus, according to the logs.
Chabba’s family attorney, Bakari Sellers, said these messages date back about 18 months ago and include 16,000 different “disturbing chats.”
“This is the same person who asked, you know, how can he become infamous? He asked about the Columbine shooting. He asked about what time should he go to campus? What time are most people going to be there?” Sellers said, describing the alleged messages that Ikner sent to ChatGPT.
“He literally utilized open AI and Chat GPT as his co-conspirator, utilized it as a resource to carry out mass murder,” Sellers added. “There was nothing in place to prevent that from happening and so lives were lost. That’s the inherent danger, there has to be something in place to prevent that from happening.”
Drew Pusateri, an OpenAI spokesperson, told ABC News in a statement: “Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime. After learning of the incident, we identified an account believed to be associated with the suspect and proactively shared this information with law enforcement. We continue to cooperate with authorities. In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity. ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool used by hundreds of millions of people every day for legitimate purposes. We work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise.”
The lawsuit comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced last month that the Office of Statewide Prosecution launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs.
“Florida is leading the way in cracking down on AI’s use in criminal behavior, and if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said in a statement on April 21. “This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year.”
OpenAI did not respond to ABC News’ request when asked about the probe by the attorney general.
The shooting, which took place on the FSU campus on April 17, 2025, injured six people and killed two people – Chabba and Robert Morales, both of whom worked for the university’s dining services.
Ikner, whose trial is set for October 2026, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
ABC News’ Luke Barr and Jeana Fermi contributed to this report.
Image released of accused White House correspondents’ dinner shooter Cole Allen taking a selfie of himself in his hotel room before allegedly trying to breach security at the event while armed with multiple weapons. (Department of Justice)
(WASHINGTON) — Cole Allen, the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to all counts.
Allen — who is accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the April dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel — faces four felony counts, including attempted assassination of the President of the United States, assault on a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The armed 31-year-old was tackled by law enforcement after rushing through a security checkpoint at the hotel, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual event, according to prosecutors. Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials were his targets, according to a criminal complaint.
Allen, who did not speak at all during Monday’s hearing, wore an orange prison jumpsuit and was shackled around his hands and feet. He looked down at the ground when the charges against him were read.
Allen’s defense attorneys said they might seek to have the entire U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia recused from the case, arguing they could potentially be a victim overseeing the prosecution.
Defense attorney Eugene Ohm argued that U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s “very public” and “close” relationship with Trump — who was the alleged intended target of the attack — might also play a factor in potentially recusing herself.
Judge Trevor McFadden seemed to want to get clarity about what both Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s roles are in the prosecution.
The government has until May 22 to respond to the defense’s motion.
A Frontier Airlines Airbus A320neo plane, owned by the Bank of Utah Trustee, taxis to a gate at Denver International Airport (DEN) on March 23, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — A Frontier Airlines flight taking off for Los Angeles from Denver International Airport on Friday night struck an individual walking on a runway, according to the airline and airport officials.
The incident occurred shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time on Runway 17L, the airline said in a statement early Saturday. There were 224 passengers and 7 crew members on board, Frontier said.
The person struck was at least partially consumed by one of the engines, an official confirmed to ABC News, causing a brief engine fire.
According to air traffic control audio obtained by ABC News, pilots reported an engine fire and smoke inside the aircraft following the incident.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday the victim had breached airport security, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence and ran onto the runway.
The person was struck by the plane during takeoff at high speed, Duffy said.
Preliminary reports are that 12 were injured and five were taken the hospital, according to the secretary.
“Emergency response and investigation are ongoing,” the Denver International Airport said earlier. “The NTSB has been notified. Runway 17L will remain closed while the investigation is conducted.”
A source briefed on the incident told ABC News that airport security was inspecting the east perimeter fence on Saturday morning for gaps and the person struck did not appear to be connected to the work occurring on a parallel runway.
“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” Frontier Airlines said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”
Local law enforcement handles airport security and is investigating the breach with support from the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration, Duffy said.
US President Donald Trump during a military Mother’s Day event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal court on Thursday concluded that President Donald Trump’s global 10% tariffs are unlawful, a decision that the Department of Justice quickly appealed.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of judges on the Court of International Trade concluded that the Trump administration misread the law used to justify the sweeping tariffs.
The ruling marks the second time the president’s tariff regime has been found to be illegal, with the Supreme Court earlier this year affirming a decision from the Court of International Trade blocking Trump’s first round of tariffs.
Lawyers for the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal at the Court of International Trade on Friday, signaling plans to challenge yesterday’s ruling.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., handles appeals from the Court of International Trade. The tariffs in question are set to expire in late July and it is unclear if the court will hear the case in time to meaningfully rule on the issue.
The immediate impact of Thursday’s ruling is also unclear. The court granted an injunction for two small businesses and the state of Washington; however, the judges dismissed the claims brought by the larger group of states because they lacked standing.
The dispute boiled down to the definition of the phrase “balance-of-payments deficits.” The Court of International Trade rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the term “balance-of-payments deficits” in Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is the same as a “trade deficit.”
“It is clear that Congress was aware of the differences in the words it chose,” the majority wrote.
The judges acknowledged that the term “causes some confusion,” but concluded that the Trump administration’s interpretation was incorrect.
“The Government argues that in today’s world, the current account is the proper component for identifying a balance-of-payments deficit,” the majority wrote. “Problematically for the Government, and as discussed herein, Congress in 1974 identified the settlement, liquidity, and basic balance deficits as ‘balance-of-payments deficits.'”
The global 10% tariff took effect in February and by statute is set to expire in late July.
James Comey speaks onstage at 92NY on May 30, 2023 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former FBI Director James Comey is tentatively set to stand trial on July 15 on charges that he allegedly threatened to kill President Donald Trump by posting a photo of seashells spelling out “86 47” on a beach.
In a written order issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan scheduled the trial to begin on July 15.
After his court appearance in North Carolina that was originally set for Monday was canceled, Comey will be arraigned on June 30.
Comey’s lawyers have previewed that they plan to move to dismiss the case. His pretrial conference is scheduled to take place on or before May 29.
Renewing efforts to prosecute one of Trump’s longtime adversaries, Department of Justice prosecutors brought the case after a judge last year threw out an indictment against Comey on unrelated charges.
The new indictment centers on a controversy that erupted nearly a year ago when Comey, in a since-deleted Instagram post, shared a picture showing the numbers “86 47” written in seashells with the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Citing the slang meaning of “86” as to “nix” or “get rid” of something, allies of the president allege that the post was a veiled threat against Trump, who is the 47th president.
Following backlash over the post, Comey removed the photo from Instagram and said he was unaware that the post could be associated with violence.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” Comey posted.
TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen for illustration photo. Krakow, Poland. On April, 20th, 2026. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Trump administration is nearing an agreement with TikTok to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over alleged child privacy violations in exchange for the social media company paying $400 million that the administration plans to use to fund President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., “beautification” projects, sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
The proposed settlement would end a 2024 lawsuit brought during the Biden administration that alleged that the then-Chinese-owned social media company engaged in “massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy” by collecting extensive data from children without notifying or obtaining consent from parents.
While sources say the administration and TikTok are finalizing the terms of the settlement, it must still be approved by a vote of the TikTok board, which is expected to take place as soon as Friday.
As part of the proposed settlement terms, which are not expected to include an admission of wrongdoing, TikTok would agree to pay the U.S. government $400 million, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News — money the administration intends to use for some of the ongoing “beautification” projects in the nation’s capital, the sources said.
While the proposed settlement is not expected to detail specific projects the money would support, the funds are expected to be directed to either the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, or both, sources familiar with the discussions said. Officials in the White House have had weekslong discussions about whether they could legally use the money to pay for Trump’s proposed massive 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, the sources said.
On Thursday evening, President Trump personally traveled down to the National Mall to tout his administration’s “beautification” projects around the nation’s capital, telling reporters his administration is “working on some other jobs” and saying he was most excited about the triumphal arch, which he said would break ground “very soon.”
While the Department of Justice regularly reaches settlements with private companies accused of wrongdoing, the proposed TikTok settlement marks a departure from the practice of using the settlement funds to resolve the alleged wrongdoing or compensate victims.
The Department of Justice alleged that millions of children under the age of 13 were subjected to extensive data collection and excessive content meant for adults, but the proposed settlement funds are set to directly support Trump’s efforts to improve the appearance of the nation’s capital.
The White House referred questions on the matter to the Justice Department, which declined to comment. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The $400 million agreement would come as the Trump administration attempts to cut funding from the National Park Service while surging more than $10 billion in their proposed 2027 budget to form a “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program.” According to the Trump administration’s proposed budget, the president hopes to “coordinate, plan, and execute targeted, priority construction and beautification projects” throughout the capital to make “Washington, D.C. — a once-great city –safe, clean, and beautiful again.”
Further complicating the matter is President Trump’s direct role in helping to create the business venture that will pay out hundreds of millions for his D.C. projects, raising possible ethical concerns about his personal interest in the use of the settlement funds.
‘I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!’
Since taking office last year, Trump has fashioned an unprecedented relationship with TikTok after the company was banned from operating unless it was sold to a U.S. owner. When the social media app briefly went dark in January 2025, Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order that allowed the company to continue operating in the United States, essentially vowing not to enforce the ban while negotiations over a potential sale continued.
Following months of negotiations, TikTok earlier this year finalized a $14 billion deal creating an American venture — partially owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison’s database software company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, Emirati investment firm MGX, and others — to address national security concerns stemming from TikTok’s ties to Beijing. TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, still retains a minority stake in the American version of TikTok, which licenses its algorithm from ByteDance.
“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice,” Trump said in a social media post in January before thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.”
‘Massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy’
The 2024 lawsuit that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice brought against TikTok and ByteDance, which followed a referral from the Federal Trade Commission, alleged that the social media company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by allowing children under the age of 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ consent, and collected “extensive data from those children.”
“By adhering to these deficient policies, Defendants actively avoid deleting the accounts of users they know to be children,” the complaint alleged. “Instead, Defendants continue collecting these children’s personal information, showing them videos not intended for children, serving them ads and generating revenue from such ads, and allowing adults to directly communicate with them through TikTok.”
TikTok pushed back against the claims, arguing they were “going above and beyond” federal law requirements, while pointing the finger at children for figuring out how to “sign up for TikTok in contravention of the company’s policies.” The complaint appears to have been stalled in pre-trial litigation — with TikTok yet to file a motion to dismiss the case — and the judge overseeing the matter recently set a trial for May 2027.
In the past, the Trump administration has been critical of settlements that do not directly compensate victims of wrongdoing. During Trump’s first term, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions banned settlements that resulted in payments to non-governmental, third parties that were not directly harmed by the conduct. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi reinstated a similar policy in 2025 banning improper third party settlements.
“Settlements, including civil settlement agreements, deferred prosecution agreements, non-prosecution agreements, and plea agreements, are a useful tool for Department attorneys, and should be used, first and foremost, to compensate victims, redress harm, or punish and deter unlawful conduct,” Bondi wrote in a Justice Department memo.
Making Washington ‘safe, clean, and beautiful again’
Over the last year, the Trump administration has prioritized carrying out “beautification” projects such as the extensive renovation of the White House East Wing, the planned arch near Arlington, the resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, and other projects to upgrade local infrastructure and parks.
Beyond the $400 million from the TikTok settlement, the Trump administration’s proposed 2027 budget includes $10 billion for a “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program” to create a fund within the National Park Service to improve buildings and parks in and around D.C.
“As the capital of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, Washington, D.C. should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces. However, many historic park features and public-facing infrastructure throughout the city show signs of decay, years of heavy public use, and inadequate maintenance,” the administration said in its proposed 2027 budget.
While details about the massive $10 billion fund are sparse, the Department of the Interior’s 2027 budget says the money would be used to “rehabilitate historic buildings and landscapes, and enhance architectural grandeur so that Americans can once again be proud of their capital.”
The size of Trump’s D.C. fund would dwarf the operating budget of the National Park Service, which the Trump administration seeks to cut by more than a billion dollars to a total to $2.2 billion. The Trump administration’s 2027 budget also would reduce staffing in the National Park Service — which manages more than 400 sites including 63 national parks — by approximately 3,000 employees.
When pressed about the $10 billion beautification fund, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told lawmakers in April that the money would be used for “deferred maintenance” on existing facilities.
“D.C. is like a state. I mean it’s not like [the fund is only for] the National Mall — it’s for the greater capital region,” Burgum said. “I believe that if we got together, we could come back and go. ‘That number is not high enough.'”
Glacier National Park, Montana. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont.) — A man who went missing while hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana has been found dead from a suspected bear attack, according to the National Park Service.
Search and rescue crews located the body of the missing hiker around noon Wednesday, approximately 50 feet off the Mt. Brown Trail in a densely wooded area, according to park officials.
“His injuries are consistent with those sustained by a bear encounter,” the National Park Service said in a press release Thursday.
The victim’s name and age have not been released. Park officials said they are withholding his identity until 72 hours after next-of-kin notification.
A 33-year-old hiker from Florida had been reported missing in Glacier National Park earlier this week, with rangers focusing the search effort in the Mt. Brown and Snyder areas, according to park officials. The man was last heard from Sunday night and was reported missing the following day, park officials said.
The investigation into the suspected bear attack remains ongoing. Sections of the trail where the incident occurred have been temporarily closed.
“Wildlife and law enforcement personnel are currently assessing the area for bear activity and any ongoing public safety concerns,” the National Park Service said.
The last bear attack in Glacier National Park was in August 2025, when a 34-year-old woman was injured by a brown-colored bear at Lake Janet.
The last fatal incident was nearly 30 years ago, when a man was killed by a grizzly bear in the Two Medicine Valley in 1998.
Earlier this week, two hikers were injured in a bear attack at Yellowstone National Park, near the Old Faithful area in Wyoming.
Park officials believe a female grizzly bear with two or three young cubs were involved in Monday’s encounter, the National Park Service said in an update Thursday. The injured male hikers, ages 15 and 28, were airlifted out of the park.
Temporary trail, backcountry campsite, and fishing closures remain in effect following the incident.
he Department of Justice (DOJ) seal on the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) building in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is seeking to denaturalize a former diplomat who was caught spying for the Cuban government.
For nearly 40 years, Manuel Rocha acted as a spy for the Cuban government under the guise of being a U.S. diplomat, according to the Justice Department.
Rocha is a native of Colombia, but became a “great friend” of the Cuban government. The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in the Southern District of Florida alleges that he lied on his naturalization paperwork when he filed it in the late 1970’s.
“Under no circumstances should an agent of a foreign adversary be permitted to hold the title of American citizen,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a statement. “Our mission is clear: to root out these fraudsters and preserve the sanctity of the naturalization process for those who adhere to our laws. Any individual who lied during the naturalization process to gain a foothold in this country will be met with the full weight of the Department of Justice.”
He had worked at the State Department and held various leadership posts since the early 1980’s, according to the Justice Department. All of that unraveled when he was caught on video outlining all of his crimes to an undercover agent in 2022.
“Rocha celebrated his activities on behalf of the DGI and against the United States’ interests, and explained why and how he continued to preserve the secrecy of those activities,” according to court records unsealed in 2023.
He was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones said that Rocha was not a “low level operative” but rather “a senior government official who admitted he secretly served the Cuban regime for decades.”
Poul Thorsen was extradited Thursday from Germany with U.S. Air Marshals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. (Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General)
(NEW YORK) — A former influential scientist who did work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is back in the grasp of U.S. law enforcement, facing financial fraud charges — after more than a decade out of federal authorities’ reach, according to officials.
Poul Thorsen was extradited Thursday from Germany with U.S. Air Marshals, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. It comes 15 years after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia.
His work, and the fraud allegations against him, have long lingered in the lexicon of conspiracy theorists seeking to question the safety of vaccines.
Thorsen helped lead research for the CDC studying infant disabilities, according to prosecutors. Thorsen’s work included co-authoring papers that found no link between autism and childhood vaccination — science which, according to medical experts, still stands today.
Separate from Thorsen’s pursuit of peer-reviewed medicine, prosecutors say he schemed to divert research grant money to his own coffers.
Thorsen was indicted in 2011 after he allegedly “absconded” with over $1 million in CDC grant money for autism research and was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and 9 counts of money laundering. He was arrested in Germany in June 2025.
Thursday, Thorsen was flown in handcuffs from Germany to Atlanta, also the home of CDC headquarters.
In a statement to ABC News, an HHS-OIG spokesperson lauded the work that brought Thorsen’s extradition to bear.
“Mr. Thorsen is alleged to have stolen more than a million dollars in federal research funds – money intended to advance critical scientific work and improve public health outcomes. His betrayal harms taxpayers, researchers, and the communities who depend on this research,” said HHS-OIG spokesperson Yvonne Gamble.
“HHS-OIG remains committed to protecting the integrity of federal health care programs and ensuring that individuals who misuse public funds are held accountable. We are grateful for our federal and international law enforcement counterparts, whose coordinated efforts made this extradition possible,” Gamble said.
In the 1990s and early aughts, Thorsen worked as a visiting scientist from Denmark at the CDC’s Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities — just as new public health initiatives in the area were flourishing and flush with fresh funding. Thorsen, at the time, vigorously advocated for grants for Danish research on infant disabilities. His push was successful: from 2000 through 2009, the CDC awarded over $11 million to two Danish government agencies for the research, according to prosecutors.
Thorsen quickly assumed responsibility for the research money he had pushed for. In 2002, he moved back to Denmark and “became principal investigator responsible for administering the research money awarded by the CDC,” the indictment said.
Thorsen began funneling the funds elsewhere, prosecutors said. He forged signatures and documents with official CDC letterhead and submitted fake invoices he claimed were for research, according to the indictment. Meanwhile, Thorsen was actually moving the funds into personal accounts within CDC’s credit union, the indictment said. He would then withdraw the money for his own personal use, including the purchase of a Harley Davidson motorcycle, cars and a home in Atlanta.
From February 2004 through June 2008, Thorsen submitted for reimbursement more than a dozen fraudulent invoices purportedly signed by a CDC lab boss. He claimed it was for expenses incurred in connection with the CDC grant. They were not, prosecutors said.
“In truth, the CDC Federal Credit Union accounts were personal accounts held by defendant Thorsen. He used the accounts to steal money under the CDC grant,” the indictment said.
Thorsen’s alleged crimes have, since his indictment, also become attractive fodder for conspiracy theorists, attempting to conflate his financial fraud with his medical research. Among his published works are findings of “strong evidence against the hypothesis” that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causes autism. Some anti-vaccine groups have used Thorsen to paint a picture of corruption at the highest echelons of medical exploration.
Among those groups: the Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a group that pursues anti-vaccine causes. CHD was also once led by now-Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long shared vaccine-skeptic views.
There is a page dedicated to Thorsen’s “criminal conduct” on CHD’s site, linking to a lengthy 2017 paper in which a group chaired by RFK Jr. levied accusations of “questionable ethics and scientific fraud” that “have resulted in untrustworthy vaccine safety science.” The paper called Thorsen a “key figure” in “shaky research” on vaccines and autism.
Decades of research has found no link between autism and vaccines or any vaccine preservative. Thorsen was indicted on wire fraud and money laundering, not for falsifying medical research.
Thorsen is expected to be arraigned Friday in federal court in Atlanta, according to an HHS-OIG official.
