Judge orders Justice Department to return helmet, spear to ‘QAnon Shaman’
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Monday ordered the Justice Department to return the spear and horned-helmet sported by Jacob Chansley, the self-described “QAnon Shaman,” as he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Chansley, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the events of Jan. 6, requested in May that the government return the property it confiscated from him at the time of his arrest, including the “horned coyote-tail headdress” and “a six-foot pole with an American flag ziptied to the shaft and a metal spearhead fixed to the top,” as the government has described them.
The Justice Department pushed back on Chansley’s request, arguing in court papers that the items, which were “used to project strength during the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” should remain in federal custody.
But on Monday, Judge Royce Lambert sided with Chansley and ordered the government to return his “unmistakable outfit,” as it has been described in court papers.
“Mr. Chansley has completed his prison sentence and much of his term of supervised release. Now, he has moved for the return of his property seized and still held by the government, including his spear and helmet,” Judge Lamberth wrote.
“Since the government has not established that it still needs these items as evidence and has not sought their forfeiture, the Court will GRANT Mr. Chansley’s motion,” the judge said.
More than 1,265 individuals have been charged in the Capitol attack, with prosecutors securing more than 718 guilty pleas, resulting in incarceration for more than 460 defendants, according to the Justice Department.
(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs is expected to learn Wednesday afternoon whether he will continue to be held without bail on charges including sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.
The music mogul’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, appealed Judge Robyn Tarnofsky’s Tuesday decision to detain the 54-year-old pending trial. The appeal hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Combs is alleged to have run an “enterprise that he engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and other crimes,” according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors said Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” from 2008 to the present. The allegations mirror 11 civil complaints filed against him since 2023.
Explaining the decision to deny Combs bail, Tarnofsky said: “My concern is that this is a crime that happens behind closed doors.”
Federal prosecutors argued that Combs poses an ongoing threat to the community.
“The defendant also poses a significant risk of obstructing justice,” prosecutors said. “During the course of the charged conduct, the defendant has attempted to bribe security staff and threatened and interfered with witnesses to his criminal conduct.”
“He has already tried to obstruct the Government’s investigation of this case, repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and feeding them false narratives of events,” prosecutors added.
“There are simply no conditions that would ensure that the defendant’s efforts to obstruct and tamper with witnesses will stop,” prosecutors said.
Agnifilo asked the judge to release Combs on a $50 million bail package, disputing the prosecutors’ characterization of his client as a flight risk. The lawyer said Combs arrived in New York on Sept. 5 and “came here to face it.”
Agnifilo said Combs is trying to sell his private plane. Agnifilo said he took possession of his client’s passport and those of five of his relatives.
He also argued that when Combs took two trips — to a graduation party for one of his children and a whitewater rafting trip — “we told the government where he was going.”
“Trust has to be earned and we have earned it,” he told the judge.
(PLYMOUTH, N.H.) — When the girls’ soccer team at Plymouth Regional High School in New Hampshire began practice on Monday to prepare for the start of the official season on Aug. 30, transgender athlete Parker Tirrell was able to join her teammates.
That’s what a federal judge ruled on Monday after the families of two transgender teens — 15-year-old Tirrell and 14-year-old Iris Turmelle — filed a lawsuit Friday, days before a new law went into effect that would have prohibited them from playing with teams that align with their gender identity.
They argued that the legislation is in violation of the teens’ Title IX rights, the civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funding.
“Sports has been a source of joy for her and has been the primary way she makes friends and experiences a sense of belonging and connection to others. Soccer is her real passion,” the suit said of Tirrell. “She played on the girls’ soccer team last year in ninth grade and is excited to rejoin her team when the season officially starts again.”
The suit came after Tirrell’s school reached out to the teen’s mother last Thursday, informing her that she would not be allowed to participate in soccer practice. Initial phases of the law, signed last month by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, were set to go into effect on Monday – the same day soccer practice was scheduled to start.
The new law requires schools to designate teams as boys, girls or coed. Eligibility for athletes under the law is determined based on the sex assigned on birth certificates, or “other evidence.” Gov. Sununu said in a statement following the signing. He said the bill “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.”
Sununu’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Chief Judge Landya B. McCafferty ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on Monday as it related to Tirrell’s case. In her ruling, she said the state and school district “must permit plaintiff Parker Tirrell to try out for, practice with, compete with, and play on the school sports teams designated for girls on the same terms and conditions as other girls.”
“Parker’s on her way to soccer practice now,” Chris Erchull, Senior Staff Attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and attorney representing Tirrell and Turmelle, told ABC News following the ruling. “And she is authorized to play.”
Legal representatives for the New Hampshire Department of Education Commissioner, the New Hampshire State Board of Education, the Pemi-Baker Regional School District and the Pemi-Baker Regional School Board Members did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Monday’s ruling only applies to Tirrell’s case — the lawyers filed an emergency order ahead of the first day of soccer practice, which coincided with the day the law was set to be enacted.
Turmelle, who is entering the ninth grade, played intramural tennis in middle school and plans to try out for the girls’ tennis and track teams (which are winter and spring sports) upon entering high school, according to the complaint. It notes that she hopes participation in sports will help her make more friends, establish a peer group and cope with the stresses she experiences in life.
Judge McCafferty’s order will remain in effect until the next hearing on Aug. 27, unless an extension is issued by the judge. Both Tirrell and Turmelle’s cases will be heard then, marking the first time Turmelle’s case comes before the judge.
“It’s what we expected the outcome to be because we knew we were right on the law, and we knew we were right about the rights of our plaintiffs,” Erchull said.
(LOS ANGELES) — A 4.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the Los Angeles region early Monday afternoon.
The epicenter was located near the city’s Highland Park neighborhood, a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it’s examining transportation infrastructures, apartment buildings, power lines and large places where people gather, like universities and Dodger Stadium.
The Los Angeles Police Department is warning residents to “be prepared for aftershocks” following the “significant” quake.
Cal Tech officials said the quake is believed to be along the lower Elysian Park Fault, but a number of faults are in the area.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.