Mark Meadows seeks to have his Arizona ‘fake elector’ case moved to federal court
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(PHOENIX) — Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has requested the Arizona “fake elector” case against him be moved from Maricopa County into federal court, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
The request comes weeks after Meadows asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his similar effort to move the Fulton County, Georgia, election case against him into federal court.
In Wednesday’s filing, Meadows’ attorneys said their client’s request is “based on recent new Supreme Court authority clarifying the scope of immunity,” citing the court’s recent presidential immunity ruling.
Meadows’ attorneys argued that the case should also be moved from state court because the indictment “squarely relates to Mr. Meadows’s conduct as Chief of Staff to the President.”
The argument is similar to the one Meadows has made for months in his Fulton County case, citing a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official.
“It is unmistakably clear that the indictment charges Mr. Meadows with alleged state crimes based on acts he took as Chief of Staff to the President of the United States and in the course of his duties in the position,” Meadows’ attorneys said in the filing.
In response to the request, a judge has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Sept. 5.
Meadows was charged in Arizona, along with 17 others, for fraud, forgery and conspiracy over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. He has pleaded not guilty.
Last week, charges were dropped against former President Donald Trump’s former campaign attorney Jenna Ellis in exchange for her cooperation in the case.
(FORT WORTH, Texas.) — An athlete drowned during a swimming event at a CrossFit competition in Texas on Thursday, the organization said.
The death occurred on the first day of the CrossFit Games, being held in Fort Worth through Sunday. The events have been canceled for the rest of the day, CrossFit said.
CrossFit CEO Don Faul said during a press briefing he is “gutted” by the death of the athlete, whose name has not been released.
“We’ll continue to be focused on our community and the family through this tragic set of circumstances,” Faul said.
The incident occurred Thursday morning in Marine Creek Lake. The Fort Worth Fire Department responded around 8 a.m. local time to a call regarding a CrossFit Games participant who went missing in the water, authorities said.
First responders used dive teams and a drone to find the person, who was recovered from the water about an hour after the dive team response, authorities said.
The body of the athlete has been transferred to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner and the name will be released pending family notification, police said.
Faul said CrossFit is cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Newly released police body camera footage shows Sonya Massey interacting with police officers 16 hours before she was fatally shot in her Illinois home on July 6, when deputies responded to her 911 call of a suspected prowler.
In the course of the video, which was obtained by ABC affiliate WICS and is about 45 minutes long, an upset Massey is seen outside of a home on July 5, the day before Sean Grayson, the now-former Sangamon County deputy, shot her.
“I don’t know where they at,” Massey said in the video, referring to her children.
“They’re at their dad’s house,” an officer said to Massey. “They’re worried about you too. Everybody just wants you to be OK. That’s all it is.”
That encounter happened after Massey’s mother Donna called 911 to report that her daughter was having a mental health episode. In the video, Sonya Massey appeared to be troubled about the utilities being turned off at her home.
“When I got home, I ain’t got no hot water, ain’t got no lights,” Sonya Massey said in the footage. “I had to throw away all of the food.”
At one point in the video, Sonya Massey told officers she had been taking her medicine.
“When’s the last time you took your medicine?” one of the respondents asked.
“Last night,” Sonya Massey responded.
When Donna Massey called 911 on July 5, she pleaded with the law enforcement not to hurt her daughter.
“She’s been mentally, having a mental breakdown,” Donna Massey said on the 911 call obtained by ABC News. “She thinks everybody’s after her.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump was retained by Sonya Massey’s family soon after her death.
“Sonya Massey’s family is devastated by this new footage, which shows clearly that she was in the midst of a mental health crisis,” Crump told ABC News in a statement on Thursday. “Deputy Sean Grayson’s decision to use deadly force against a woman in distress remains inexcusable, unacceptable, and criminal. Grayson must continue to be held responsible for his actions that killed Sonya, who was in desperate need of help.”
Hours later, at 12:49 a.m. on July 6, Sonya Massey called 911 herself to report a disturbance.
“It sounds like somebody was banging on the side of my house. I don’t know,” Sonya Massey said when calling 911. “Could y’all come and see?”
Grayson, 30, and a second, unnamed Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to her 911 at her Springfield home.
Body camera footage showed Massey, who was unarmed, saying “Please, don’t hurt me,” to the two responding deputies once she answered their knocks on her door.
“I don’t want to hurt you, you called us,” Grayson said.
Seen later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searched for her ID, Grayson pointed to a pot of boiling water on her stove.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re in here,” he said.
Massey then poured the water into the sink.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she said.
Grayson then shouted at Massey and threatened to shoot her, the video shows, and Massey apologized and ducked down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rose, at which time Grayson shot her three times in the face, the footage shows. The former deputy failed to render aid.
Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office last month.
“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. [redacted] and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.
Grayson is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held without bond and has pleaded not guilty.
According to police records, Grayson worked at six police departments in four years, was charged with two DUIs and was discharged from the army for serious misconduct. Grayson’s next court appearance is Oct. 21.
“The biggest question is: How did this man ever get hired in law enforcement?” James Wilburn, Sonya Massey’s father told ABC News in an interview in July. “But here’s a man who, in four years, he’s been in six different departments.”
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin and Kimberly Randolph contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — An archery hunter who was knocked down and bitten by a bear while hunting elk with his friend has survived the surprise attack, officials said.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the hunter and his friend were hunting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho, approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, and were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear.
During the surprise encounter in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road, one of the hunters was “knocked down and bitten by the bear,” according to a statement from Idaho Fish and Game regarding the incident.
“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Idaho Fish and Game say they responded to the scene where the attack happened after coordinating with Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams and that conservation officers conducted a “thorough investigation and determined that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”
“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” said Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it is illegal to kill bears unless it is in a situation that requires self-defense.
“Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species. It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others,” U.S. officials said. “Grizzly bear conservation is complex and only made possible through a variety of partnerships with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, state wildlife agencies, Native American Tribes, federal agencies, universities and other organizations.”
Idaho Fish and Game took the opportunity to remind people about safety procedures when hunting, suggesting that people venturing out in to the wilderness in north Idaho and the Greater Yellowstone area should always carry bear spray and keep it readily accessible, always hunt with partners and make each other aware of plans, keep an eye out for grizzly bear signs like fresh tracks, retrieve meat as quickly as possible and hang it — along with food and garbage — at least 200 yards from camp and 10 feet off the ground, and finally, by making noise when not hunting, especially around creeks and thick vegetation because “most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range.”
