Steve Bannon pushes for more ‘aggressive’ defense in court
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Steve Bannon wants more aggressive lawyers to represent him when he stands trial on charges he defrauded donors to an online campaign to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, he argued in a court hearing Wednesday.
“I’ve been smeared by a political prosecution, persecution, for years and going to trial I need people who are more aggressive and will use every tool in the toolbox to fight this,” Bannon said.
Bannon, who was a White House strategist during President Donald Trump’s first term in office, pleaded not guilty in 2022 to charges he defrauded donors to the “We Build the Wall” online fundraising effort.
Prosecutors saw Bannon’s request on Wednesday as a gambit to delay trial.
“If there’s going to be request for delay because of the new attorneys coming in then we would oppose their entry,” prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson said.
Judge April Newbauer did not immediately relieve Bannon’s previous attorneys, but agreed to delay the trial by one week — to March 4 — to give Bannon’s new attorney, Arthur Aidala, time to get up to speed.
“This does not seem to upset anyone’s apple cart,” Newbauer said. “It does give new counsel a bit more time to prepare.”
Aidala pledged to be ready for trial by the date set.
“We will roll up our sleeves and get it done,” Aidala said.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks.
Bannon is accused of defrauding New York-based donors to the online fundraising campaign to build a wall along the U.S. southern border.
Bannon was initially charged with federal crimes, but received a pardon at the end of Trump’s first term.
Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WEST POINT, N.Y.) — The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has disbanded a dozen clubs on campus related to gender and race, ABC News has confirmed.
The National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers Club, the Latin Cultural Club and the Native American Heritage Forum were among the clubs ordered to cease operations.
The changes were made “in accordance with recent Presidential Executive Orders, Department of Defense guidance, and the Department of the Army guidance,” according to a memo obtained by ABC News.
The memo, dated Tuesday, comes amid President Donald Trump’s sweeping eradication of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government.
The directive “cancels all sections, meetings, events, and other activities associated with these clubs,” according to the memo.
Websites for the various clubs are no longer available online.
The memo also suggests a full review of other clubs on campus is underway.
West Point did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
(NASHVILLE) — A teenager who opened fire with a 9 mm pistol in his Nashville high school cafeteria fired a total of 10 shots within 17 seconds of entering the room, according to police.
Solomon Henderson, 17, had gone into a bathroom and posted photos to social media just before he went to the cafeteria and opened fire, police said.
Henderson shot and killed 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante and shot and wounded a 17-year-old boy at Antioch High School around 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to police.
Henderson died in the cafeteria from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.
The injured boy suffered a graze wound and was treated and released, police said.
Authorities are still investigating how Henderson obtained the pistol, Nashville police said Thursday.
The gun was purchased in Arizona in 2022 and was not reported stolen, police said.
No firearms or firearm parts were found during Wednesday’s search of Henderson’s home, according to authorities.
Authorities are now scouring Henderson’s writings and social media presence as they investigate his ideological influences.
A Pinterest account linked to Henderson features photos of past school shooters, including the shooters from Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, a source told ABC News.
Henderson’s social media presence also shows he may have been in contact with 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who carried out a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, last month, according to law enforcement sources.
Rupnow, who went by Samantha, also died after the shooting, in which two were killed and several wounded. Rupnow’s account may have been following Henderson’s account at the time of the Wisconsin shooting in December, according to law enforcement sources.
It appears Henderson had two documents on “non-traditional websites, one 51 pages in length, the other 288 pages,” police said.
The 51-page document expressed violent white supremacist beliefs, sources told ABC News. He expressed self-hatred as a Black person, and he wrote of wishing violence on other Black people.
He also expressed violent hatred toward Jews and used antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories to express his views, according to the sources. Henderson appeared to support neo-Nazi accelerationist and violent incel beliefs and expressed a desire to see genocide committed against racial and religious minorities, according to sources.
He belonged to online communities that promote violence and extremism, sources said, and some people in those groups publicly identified Henderson as the school shooter long before his identity was confirmed by authorities.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
In this screen grab from a video, a drone is shown near Bedminster, New Jersey, on Dec. 3, 2024./Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Since mid-November, what are believed by many to be large aerial drones have been spotted at night throughout central and northern New Jersey, causing concern for residents who have been posting videos of the aircraft on their social media accounts and prompting increasing demands from local and state officials for answers.
Lawmakers from New York and New Jersey this week sent a letter to the heads of the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), requesting that the agencies brief them on the issue.
“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter from New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim stated. They asked to be briefed “as soon as possible on how your agencies are working with federal and local law enforcement to identify and address the source of these incursions.”
While lawmakers and citizens alike await answers, here’s what to know about the purported drone sightings.
Who’s operating the drones, and why?
According to a DHS handout, “it is unclear who is operating the drones,” but “the State of New Jersey and its agencies are not involved in the operation of these reported drones.” The statement noted that determining the operators is “an aspect of the ongoing federal investigation.”
Similarly, the DHS said there is as yet no “specific details about the drones,” such as their manufacturer or model, and that while “drones are generally required to have tracking capabilities … not all drones comply, and investigations are ongoing to identify the operators.”
Are the drones dangerous?
“At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings,” the DHS handout states.
During a press briefing Thursday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby echoed the DHS statement, and said there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat.” He added that “upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”
Could the drones actually be something else?
It is possible that some people may be mistaking general aviation, commercial or military aircraft for drones. “Drone activity can sometimes be mistaken for general aviation aircraft, such as planes or smaller helicopters, due to several overlapping characteristics,” according to the DHS, including “advanced capabilities that allow them to mimic the flight patterns of helicopters or small planes, such as hovering or making rapid directional changes.”
During his briefing Thursday, Kirby also said that federal authorities and state and local law enforcement “have not been able to … corroborate any of the reported visual sightings. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”
Mine Hill, New Jersey Mayor Sam Morris called Kirby’s claim “ridiculous,” telling ABC News it was “really insulting to all the people here who are living through this.”
“Come on out, Mr. Kirby. And let’s go out one night about 9:30, 10:00,” Morris said. “I’ll go out behind my town hall. And you can count them with me all night.”
Can someone shoot down, capture or disable the drones?
Drones generally can’t be shot down or captured, for both legal and safety reasons, according to the DHS: “Shooting down a drone can pose safety risks to people and property on the ground. Debris from a downed drone can cause injury or damage, especially in populated areas.
Additionally, the small size and maneuverability of drones make them difficult targets, even if there should be a reason to shoot them down. And while “non-kinetic methods such as jamming or hacking can be used” to disable drones, “they require sophisticated technology and expertise,” the DHS says.
It’s also not a good idea to shoot them down yourself. Doing so in New Jersey, for example, is illegal and violates federal law, since drones are regulated by the FAA. According to the DHS, any person who shoots down a drone could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
State and local authorities also have little to no say legally regarding drone activity, since drones are FAA regulated.
What should you do if you see a drone?
The DHS recommends that anyone who sees what they consider to be suspicious drone activity should report it to their local police. If you live in New Jersey, you can also report it to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Counter-Threat Watch Unit at 866-4-SAFE-NJ (1-866-472-3365) or tips@njohsp.gov.
