Columbia student’s naturalization interview before ICE arrest was last step to citizenship, his lawyer says
People take part in a protest to demand the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi; Photo credit: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by immigration authorities Monday, was taking the last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen, his attorney told ABC News.
Mahdawi, a permanent United States resident, was arrested during his naturalization interview and detained in Vermont, Luna Droubi, one of his attorneys, told ABC News.
“It was the last stage, the last hurdle for him,” Droubi said. “What he wanted was to become a US citizen, and attended this naturalization with that hope.”
U.S. District Judge William Sessions subsequently granted Mahdawi’s attorneys a temporary restraining order barring the government from moving Mahdawi out of District of Vermont “pending further order” from the court.
Mahdawi, who founded a university organization called Palestinian Student Union with Mahmoud Khalil, was an activist in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March 2024, according to a habeas petition obtained by ABC News.
“He advocated on behalf of his people,” Droubi said. “He had moments where he spoke out and that is the extent of his participation.”
Droubi said Mahdawi was detained “solely on his first amendment rights.”
“He’s being detained based solely on his first amendment rights — his speech,” Droubi told ABC News. “That’s a violation of the law, that’s a violation of the Constitution, and he should be released immediately as a result of the detention.”
Droubi said “there was a smear campaign against Mahdawi” on social media.
“They were all non-governmental actors,” Droubi said. “So the reality is the government has not provided any evidence to justify his detention by government agents.”
Droubi said she has requested that Mahdawi be released on bail.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred ABC News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a court filing in Khalil’s immigration case, DHS submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserting that the law gives him the power to determine a person is deportable even if their actions are “otherwise lawful.”
Rubio wrote that Khalil should be deported because of his alleged role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
(BUFFALO, N.Y) — Payton Gendron, the teenager who killed 10 Black people at the Topps supermarket in East Buffalo in 2022, claims he cannot get a fair trial in Western New York, so his federal death-penalty eligible case should move to New York City, his attorneys said in a new court filing.
Gendron pleaded guilty in November 2022 to state charges, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate, and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of federal crimes.
His federal trial is scheduled to begin in September.
Gendron’s attorneys argued that “due to the overwhelming amount of pretrial publicity, combined with the impact of this case on Buffalo’s segregated communities of color, it is impossible for Payton Gendron to select a fair and impartial jury in the Western District of New York.”
The lawyers asked for change of venue to the Southern District of New York, encompassing Manhattan, the Bronx and the northern suburbs, because it is “far enough from the local media market to be less impacted by it” and because “the S.D.N.Y. also has sufficient minority representation that has not been directly impacted by the shooting and its aftermath that a diverse and representative jury should be able to be selected.”
There was no immediate comment from federal prosecutors, who would be expected to file their opposition or consent in court papers.
Barbara Massey Mapps — whose 72-year-old sister, Katherine “Kat” Massey, was among those killed in the May 14, 2022, massacre — told ABC News on Tuesday that she and her family would oppose a change of venue.
“We don’t want that. No, no no,” said Massey. “Me and my family would be against that.”
Massey said she expects federal prosecutors to oppose the change-of-venue motion at Gendron’s next court date later this month.
Wayne Jones — whose mother, 65-year-old Celestine Chaney, was also killed in the attack — said he also wants Gendron’s federal trial to remain in Buffalo.
“What could you really call a ‘fair trial’ and you’re on video doing it?” Jones told ABC News, referring to the livestream video of the killing rampage that Gendron recorded. “We all know you did it. You already pleaded guilty once.”
Jones said he expects prosecutors to play for the federal jury selected for the trial the video Gendron recorded with a helmet camera, as well as surveillance video from the Topps market.
“The only way you could watch that video and not give him the death penalty is if you’re really against it,” said Jones, who has viewed the video Gendron live-streamed.
Jones also said a change of venue would deprive him and the families of the other victims of the opportunity of watching the trial in person.
“I want him to stay here so I can see the trial,” Jones told ABC News. “In New York City, we wouldn’t be able to go to the trial.”
Gendron has separately asked the judge to strike the death penalty as a possible punishment, arguing the decision to seek it had a “discriminatory intent and discriminatory effect.”
The judge has yet to rule.
During his February 2023 sentencing hearing, Gendron, who was 18 when he committed the mass shooting, apologized to the victims’ families, saying he was sorry “for stealing the lives of your loved ones.”
“I did a terrible thing that day. I shot people because they were Black,” Gendron said.
Gendron planned the massacre for months — including previously traveling twice to the Tops store he targeted, a more than three-hour drive from his home in Conklin, New York — to scout the layout and count the number of Black people present, according to state prosecutors. Wearing tactical gear, body armor, and wielding an AR-15 style rifle he legally purchased and illegally modified, Gendron committed the rampage on a Saturday afternoon when prosecutors said he knew the store would be full of Black shoppers.
(LOS ANGELES) — Erik and Lyle Menendez’s long-awaited resentencing hearing was filled with fireworks and flared tempers on Thursday as the brothers’ attorney looks to get them released and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman tries to keep the brothers behind bars.
In a filing late Wednesday, prosecutors urged the court to obtain a copy of a recently completed risk assessment conducted on the brothers by the California Board of Parole Hearings at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The filing by the district attorney’s office urged the judge to delay the sentencing if the court couldn’t get a copy of the report in time for the hearing.
The Menendez brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, spoke to reporters before court Thursday, calling Hochman’s last-minute attempt to delay the resentencing hearing a “Hail Mary.”
During Thursday’s hearing, the prosecution persistently argued the completed risk assessment is relevant.
Geragos called the prosecution’s attempt a “dog and pony show.” The prosecution shot back to the judge, saying Geragos’ comments were degrading, after which Geragos said, “You should be degraded!”
Judge Michael Jesic appeared annoyed by the bickering and said he needed more information about the governor’s office’s risk assessment report and how it can be used by the court.
Jesic said he needed “clarification from the governor’s office, because this is stupid.”
Court is in recess until 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday.
The brothers — who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez — are fighting to be released after 35 years behind bars.
If the resentencing hearing proceeds, it could take several days. Ten family members are ready to take the stand, ABC News has learned. A prison expert and former inmate may also testify.
This comes one week after Lyle and Erik Menendez had a major win in court when the judge ruled in their favor at a hearing regarding Hochman’s motion to withdraw the resentencing petition submitted by the previous DA, George Gascón, who supported resentencing and the brothers’ release.
In the DA’s three-hour argument last Friday, he argued the brothers — who were listening to the hearing via video — haven’t taken responsibility for their actions and he called their claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” Hochman also dismissed the brothers’ claim that they were sexually abused by their father.
Menendez attorney Mark Geragos fired back, calling Hochman a “’90s Neanderthal” for refusing to believe the brothers.
The judge on Friday denied Hochman’s motion to withdraw and said the brothers’ resentencing hearing will proceed as planned this Thursday and Friday.
Geragos called the decision “probably the biggest day since they’ve been in custody.”
“They’ve waited a long time to get some justice,” he said.
Hochman said in a statement after the ruling, “We concluded that the case was not ripe for resentencing based on the Menendez brothers’ continuing failure to exhibit full insight and accept complete responsibility for the entire gamut of their criminal actions and cover-up, including the fabrications of their self-defense defense and their lies concerning their father being a violent rapist, their mother being a poisoner, and their trying to obtain a handgun for self-defense the day before the murder.”
“Until the Menendez brothers finally come clean with all their lies of self-defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, they are not rehabilitated and pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety,” he said.
This potential path to freedom gained momentum in October, when Hochman’s predecessor, Gascón, announced he was in support of resentencing.
Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.
Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón — who lost his reelection bid to Hochman in November — praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.
Over 20 Menendez relatives are in support of the brothers’ release. Several of those relatives spoke with ABC News last week, including cousin Diane VanderMolen, who said Erik Menendez asked her to relay a message.
“They are truly, deeply sorry for what they did. And they are profoundly remorseful,” VanderMolen said. “They are filled with remorse over what they did. And through that, they have become pretty remarkable people.”
Besides resentencing, the brothers have two other possible paths to freedom.
Newsom announced in February that he was ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether Lyle and Erik Menendez pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.
After the risk assessment, which Hochman said in the late Wednesday filing is now complete, Newsom said the brothers will appear at independent parole board hearings in June.
The other path is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which they filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father, and allegations from a former boy band member who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.
(POLK COUNTY, N.C.) — Evacuation orders were issued Sunday for parts of Polk County, North Carolina, where three large wildfires have burned more than 3,000 acres combined and two of the blazes remain out of control, according to authorities.
The three separate fires — the Black Cove Fire, Deep Woods Fire and the Fish Hook Fire — were all burning about 30 miles southeast of Ashville, according to the North Carolina Forest Service.
The fire ignited last week but grew rapidly over the weekend, fueled by low humidity and dry vegetation, officials said. The fires are burning in an area where Hurricane Helene swept through in September, leaving behind numerous downed trees, which are also helping to fuel the fires, officials said.
The Black Cove Fire had burned 2,076 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday night, according to Kelly Cannon, spokesperson for Polk County government. The Deep Woods Fire was also 0% contained on Sunday after burning 2,545 acres, Cannon said.
Evacuation orders issued Saturday evening by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety remained in effect Sunday for residents in the area of the Black Cove Fire, officials said.
The Fish Hook Fire in Polk County was 50% contained on Sunday, after burning 199 acres, Cannon said. Evacuation orders were lifted Sunday, allowing residents to return to their homes.
The causes of the fires remain under investigation.
Due to multiple wildfires in the area, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality issued a “Code Red” alert signaling unhealthy air for Polk County, and a “Code Orange” in Rutherford County, signaling unhealthy air for people sensitive to smoke. South Carolina wildfires
Wildfires extended into neighboring South Carolina, prompting Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency on Saturday.
A wildfire in the Table Rock State Park on the South Carolina-North Carolina border in Pickens County, South Carolina, started on Friday night and quickly spread to 35 acres, according to McMaster.
On Sunday, the Table Rock Fire had grown to 110 acres, according to Pickens County Emergency Management. Information on how much of the fire has been contained as of Sunday afternoon was not immediately available.
McMaster said his executive order declaring a state of emergency for the Table Rock Fire area will help bolster resources for firefighters working to contain the blaze. The governor said his order includes a statewide ban on residents setting outdoor fires until further notice.
“Given the elevated risk of wildfires throughout the state, the statewide burning ban will remain in effect until further notice. Anyone who violates this ban can and will go to jail,” McMaster said.
It’s the second time this month that McMaster declared a state of emergency in his state due to wildfires. A series of wildfires broke out during the weekend of March 2 and 3 in the Carolina Forest near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in Horry County, quickly spreading to more than 1,600 acres and threatening the communities of Walkers Woods and Avalon before firefighters brought the blaze under control, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission.
