Jan. 6 rioter who attacked numerous officers sentenced to 20 years
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(WASHINGTON) — A California man convicted of carrying out some of the most extended and brutal assaults against police during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday.
The 20-year prison term for David Dempsey, handed down by senior D.C. District Judge Royce Lamberth, marks the second longest sentence yet for a defendant convicted in connection with the Capitol assault.
With several of Dempsey’s victims from the Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police in attendance in the courtroom during the trial, prosecutors played multiple videos showing Dempsey at one of the most violent exchanges of the riot near the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol — repeatedly striking, kicking, and throwing object after object at the police line trying to prevent the pro-Trump mob from swarming into the building.
In one video clip, Dempsey repeatedly swung a stolen metal crutch down onto an officer’s helmet, cracking the face shield.
One officer who Dempsey struck testified that he believed he was going to die and that his thoughts began drifting to his family.
Judge Lamberth described Dempsey’s offenses as “exceptionally egregious” before handing down the sentence, which he said was further warranted due to Dempsey’s lengthy criminal history and past instances where he had attacked political opponents during protests in 2019 and 2020.
The judge, a Reagan appointee, said that “fortunately” Dempsey’s efforts to break through the police line were not fruitful, as it would likely have resulted in a “bloodbath” for lawmakers sheltering inside the building.
“David Dempsey is political violence personified,” a prosecutor said in making the case for Dempsey’s harsh sentence.
Prior to receiving his sentence, Dempsey addressed the court and spoke of his “profound sense of regret” for his actions, issuing a personal apology to the police gathered in the room.
After receiving the sentence, however, Dempsey — as he was escorted out by the bailiff — made a hand sign in the air that is commonly associated with “white power” or the white supremacist Groyper movement.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,265 defendants and secured prison sentences for more than 460 people involved in the Capitol attack, according to figures released early this year by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.
(NEW YORK) — Over 30 million remain under heat alerts from Arizona up through Washington State, where widespread highs in the triple digits are expected. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories will still in effect through Sunday — and into next week for parts of the Pacific Northwest.
Hot, dry and windy conditions will also keep fire danger high, especially for crews working tirelessly to contain and control current wildfires across parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.
The potential for dry thunderstorms producing abundant lightning will increase over across portions of Oregon and Washington. This could spark new fires, increasing the risk even more. Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Sunday evening.
The combination of the heat and smoke from wildfires will also bring poor air quality across portions of the Pacific Northwest as well. As a result, Air Quality Alerts remain in effect for parts of the region.
Intensifying heat out West
The heat dome over the West Coast will intensify and expand northward over the weekend, bringing temperatures back into record-setting territory for much of the region Saturday and Sunday.
Temperatures could reach record highs this weekend with Las Vegas, Nevada, potentially reaching 113 degrees; Needles, California, potentially reaching 118 degrees; and Mount Shasta, California, potentially reaching 100 degrees on Saturday.
On Sunday, places that could break record highs include Boise, Idaho, which could reach 107 degrees; Spokane, Washington, which could reach 108 degrees; Yakima, Washington, which could reach 105 degrees; Baker, Oregon, which could reach 102 degrees; and Las Vegas, Nevada, which could reach 113 degrees.
High heat and humidity will also impact parts of Central and South Florida Saturday and Sunday. Near Orlando, Sanford, Florida could see temperatures peak near record levels Saturday, with highs forecast to climb into the mid-90s.
Heat Advisories remain in effect through Sunday evening across South Florida, where heat index values up to 108 degrees are possible.
Heavy rainfall and flash flooding in the South
Weather conditions in the South will stay soggy and unsettled over the next stretch of days. A few severe storms could generate damaging winds, but heavy rainfall and the threat for flash flooding remain a bigger concern.
The stalled front responsible for rain and storms in the South will continue to bring locally heavy downpours to parts of the region in the days ahead.
Another 2 to 3 inches of rain is forecast through next week, from Texas to Virginia and the Carolinas, with higher amounts possible locally.
Flooding remains a bigger threat across portions of southeastern Virginia, where flood alerts remain in effect. After receiving as much as 4 to 6 inches across parts of the state, additional rainfall in the days ahead will only increase the potential for flooding, if not exacerbate any flooding that is already ongoing.
Meanwhile, shower and storm activity affecting the Central U.S. continues to keep temperatures near or below normal over the next few days and into next week.
Strong storms producing damaging winds, hail and locally heavy downpours could fire up across parts of the High Plains on Saturday afternoon and evening, too.
Flood alerts also remain in effect across portions of the southern Rockies in New Mexico, where additional rainfall from storms could lead to flooding through Saturday night.
(WILMINGTON, Del.) — Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office are accusing Hunter Biden of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who was attempting to “influence U.S. government agencies,” while his father Joe Biden was vice president.
If true, the allegation would mark the closest prosecutors have come to tying President Joe Biden to his son’s overseas business endeavors — a matter congressional Republicans have spent years scrutinizing.
The special counsel’s claim, in a court filing Wednesday in the younger Biden’s federal tax case, stems from Hunter Biden’s work on behalf of Gabriel Popoviciu, a wealthy Romanian who prosecutors say hired the president’s son for legal work in late 2015.
Popoviciu was at the time facing corruption charges in his home country.
At Hunter Biden’s upcoming tax trial, “the government will introduce the evidence … that [Hunter Biden] and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation of [Popoviciu] in Romania,” prosecutors wrote in Wednesday’s filing.
According to prosecutors, Hunter Biden and his business associate “were concerned that lobbying work might cause political ramifications for the defendant’s father,” so the deal was structured in a way that “concealed the true nature of the work he was performing.”
The special counsel’s office made a passing reference to Hunter Biden’s work with Popoviciu in their December indictment. However, Wednesday’s filing was the first to suggest that Hunter Biden was compensated in a lobbying capacity.
Prosecutors said Hunter Biden and two business partners split more than $3 million in payments from Popoviciu between November 2015 and 2017.
A representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Hunter Biden faces three felony tax charges and additional misdemeanors for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2020. The back taxes and penalties were previously paid in full by a third party, identified by ABC News as Hunter Biden’s attorney and confidant, Kevin Morris.
The trial, in California, is scheduled to begin in early September.
(WINDER, Ga.) — Two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries, the GBI said.
The suspect — 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School — was encountered by officers within minutes, and he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody, the GBI said. He will be charged with murder and he will be tried as an adult, the GBI said.
It’s not clear if any of the victims were targeted, authorities said.
“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” Caldera told ABC News.
He said his teacher locked the door and the students ran to the back of the room. Caldera said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”
At some point, Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted “open up!” multiple times. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard more gunshots and screams.
He said his class later evacuated to the football field.
Kyson Stancion said he was in class when he heard gunshots and “heard police scream, telling somebody, ‘There’s a shooting going on, get down, get back in the classroom.'”
“I was scared because I’ve never been in a school shooting,” he told ABC News.
“Everybody was crying. My teacher tried to keep everybody safe,” he added.
Dad Jonathan Mills said he experienced an “emotional roller coaster” as he and his wife rushed to the school and waited to get ahold of their son, Jayden.
It was “exhilarating” and “overwhelming” to reach Jayden, a junior, and learn he was OK, Mills told ABC News.
Mills, a police officer, said, “Growing up in this area, you don’t expect things like that to happen.”
“I have three children. All three of them go to this cluster of schools, and you never think about that,” he said.
Winder is about 45 miles outside of Atlanta.
Barrow County Schools will be closed through the end of the week, the superintendent said.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the shooting “pure evil.”
Leaders react
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.
“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
The president highlighted his work to combat gun violence, including signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and launching the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But he stressed that more must be done.
“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation,” Biden said. “We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”
Harris said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families.”
“This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies,” she said. “We have to end this epidemic of gun violence.”
“This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,” Harris said.
“Let us finally pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks and red flag laws,” she said. “It is a false choice to say you are either in favor of the Second Amendment, or you want to take everyone’s guns away. I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I know we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is “heartbroken.”
“This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event,” he said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and in the days to come.”
In Atlanta, authorities will “bolster patrols” around schools on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement.
“My prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence,” Dickens said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Brandon Baur, Faith Abubey and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.
