Temple University student arrested for impersonating ICE officer: Police
Philadelphia Police Department
(PHILADELPHIA) — A Temple University student has been arrested and charged with impersonating an ICE officer after showing up at a residence hall and attempting to enter.
Two “suspicious” males identified themselves as police and ICE agents to dorm security on Saturday, according to Philadelphia police. The individuals were denied access to the residence hall, according to Temple.
A third suspect — identified by police as 22-year-old Aidan Steigelmann, 22 — arrived at the building and spoke with the two suspects, before the three of them left together in a Jaguar SUV.
Two of the three were impersonating ICE officers while the third was recording the interactions, according to Temple University. Minutes later, university police responded to a report of three suspicious males identifying themselves as police officers and ICE at an Insomnia Cookies store, according to police.
While two of the suspects left the area in a light-colored SUV, Steigelmann was identified, arrested and his vehicle was towed, police said.
“The involved student is on interim suspension. Any student found responsible for this conduct will be subject to disciplinary action under the Student Conduct Code, up to and including expulsion,” Temple University said in a statement.
The investigation is is still active and ongoing, and the two other suspects remain at large. The suspects were wearing shirts with “Police” on the front and “ICE” on the back, police said.
The Philadelphia Police Department asks anyone with information about the case to report it to 215-686-TIPS (8477).
(WASHINGTON) — In an interview Sunday morning on ABC’s “This Week,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned of a “very difficult threat landscape” in the wake of the New Orleans truck attack.
“We have not only the persistent threat of foreign terrorism — that, of course, created the Department of Homeland Security — but we have adverse nation-states, and for the past 10 years, we’ve seen a significant increase in what we term ‘homegrown violent extremism,'” Mayorkas told anchor George Stephanopoulos. “It is a very difficult threat landscape, and it is why that we as a community — not just the federal government, but state and local officials and residents — need to be alert to it and take the precautions necessary to avoid violence from occurring.”
Mayorkas emphasized that, despite immigration being the department’s “highest responsibility,” the New Orleans attack was unrelated to issues at the border.
“The assailant who perpetrated the terrorist attack in New Orleans was born in the United States, raised in the United States, and served in our armed forces,” he said. “It is not an issue of the border.”
Mayorkas said he has been in touch with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
“I have spoken with Governor Noem a number of times, including on New Year’s Day and immediately thereafter, with respect to the horrific terrorist attack, and we have spoken substantively about the measures that we take, and I am incredibly devoted to a smooth and successful transition to the success of Governor Noem should she be confirmed as the Secretary of Homeland Security,” he said.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who appeared on “This Week” after Mayorkas, warned of a resurgence of ISIS activity that he said “concerns me greatly.”
McCaul advised the Trump administration to be wary of attacks by those who become radicalized online, urging officials to “pay attention to the social media and connect the dots before these events happen.”
“You really have two types of threats. One is operational, the other one is inspired attacks radicalized over the internet,” McCaul said. “They’re both equally lethal, and they need to be focused on to stop it.”
(TULSA, Okla.) — The Justice Department provided new insight and chilling details about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, describing the two-day raid that killed 300 Black residents and destroyed their businesses as a “coordinated, military-style attack” conducted by a white mob of over 10,000 people.
The DOJ released a 126-page report Friday following a four-month investigation into the attacks, which took place between May 31 and June 1 in 1921. In addition to the murders and property destruction, victims’ money and personal property were stolen, and they were not provided with any aid.
The report concluded that the 1921 one-week investigation done by an agent of the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation, the precursor to the FBI, was unfounded as it did not include key details about the violence, the victims and the perpetrators and implied Black men were responsible for the massacre.
“Contrary to the agent’s 1921 report, the situation did not ‘spontaneously’ grow out of control,” the new report said. “Rather, what had initially been sporadic and opportunistic violence became systematic, yielding a much more devastating result, due to coordinated efforts among white residents and law enforcement entities. Moreover, although the 1921 report asserts that the massacre (then called a riot) was not the result of ‘racial feeling,’ perpetrators of the massacre overtly expressed and acted upon racial bias.”
Investigation provides detailed timeline of violence
At the time of the massacre, Tulsa was dubbed “Black Wall Street” due to the thriving businesses and community established by Black residents. However, white residents who lived in the city and nearby towns harbored a deep resentment, which built up in the years leading to the attack, the report said.
Investigators from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division “spoke with survivors and with descendants of survivors, examined firsthand accounts of the massacre given by individuals who are now deceased, studied primary source materials, spoke to scholars of the massacre and reviewed legal pleadings, books, and scholarly articles relating to the massacre,” according to the DOJ.
The investigation determined the attack was triggered by an unfounded condemnation alleging 19-year-old Dick Rowland assaulted a white woman who operated an elevator he used. The department said this tactic was commonly used to justify violence against Black residents.
After a local newspaper sensationalized the story, a mob of white Tulsans gathered outside the courthouse, demanding a lynching, according to the report.
When a local sheriff called a group of Black World War I veterans to come to the courthouse to prevent the lynching, the white mob grew, and a shot rang out, the investigation found.
The Tulsa police exacerbated the conflict by deputizing hundreds of white residents, many of whom were “advocating for a lynching and had been drinking,” the report said.
“Law enforcement officers helped organize these special deputies — as well as other white Tulsans — into the martial forces that ravaged Greenwood. Over the next several hours, they looted, burned, and destroyed 35 city blocks while Greenwood’s residents tried desperately to defend their homes,” the report said.
“Some Black residents were shot (or otherwise assaulted), and many were arrested or detained,” it continued. “Law enforcement actively participated in the destruction, disarming Black residents, confiscating their weapons, and detaining many in makeshift camps under armed guard.”
By the morning of June 1, the violence and arsons had become “systematic.”
Left with nothing
Although city officials offered to rebuild and help the victims, they not only failed to do so but put up barriers, the report said.
“White local leaders rejected outside aid, claiming they could handle the recovery, but then provided little to no financial support. Instead, claiming the area was best suited for industrial use, they imposed harsh new fire codes that priced residents out of the area, although a court later enjoined those provisions,” the report said.
“Compounding the injustice, insurance companies denied Black residents of Greenwood compensation due to the ‘riot clause’ in their policies,” it added. “Legal attempts to hold the city accountable also failed. Black residents of Tulsa were left with no avenue for redress.”
No legal avenues left for justice
Due to the statute of limitations and the fact that the perpetrators and almost all of the survivors and witnesses of the attack are long dead, the Justice Department cannot take any legal action for the crimes committed, the report concluded.
“The report recognizes that some may find the department’s inability to prosecute a painful or dissatisfying outcome,” the DOJ said in a statement. “However, the review recognizes and documents the horrible events that occurred as well as the trauma and loss suffered by the residents of Greenwood.”
Family members of survivors said they were not given notice of report
The DOJ said it would be meeting with Greenwood District officials, survivors and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Tulsa civil rights community and other stakeholders to discuss the probe.
DOJ members held a meeting at the Historic Vernon AME Church in Tulsa on Saturday to discuss the report.
Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the family of two of the survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, however, expressed disappointment with the DOJ, claiming they were not given notice about the report.
Solomon-Simmons said in a statement that he was only made aware of the report after his office saw news reports. Furthermore, he said his team was not told of Saturday’s meeting at the church.
“Neither my legal team nor the massacre survivors will be able to attend due to time constraints amid our ongoing review and discussion with the DOJ,” he said in a statement.
Solomon-Simmons said he and his team will have further comment after they review the report and speak with the DOJ.
The DOJ did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment about Solomon-Simmons’ claims.
United States Geological Survey/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(HAWAII ISLAND, Hawaii) — The National Park Service is cautioning people to heed warnings and safety precautions while watching volcanic activity since the latest eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the most active in the world.
Kilauea began erupting on Monday, marking its third eruption of 2024 and its eighth since 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Since then, there was another distinctive eruptive episode on Wednesday, and the eruption resumed Thursday evening, the agency said.
The volcanic activity has drawn visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island to watch the lava glow, with one “shocking scene” prompting the National Park Service to issue a safety advisory.
A toddler wandered off from his family Wednesday night into a closed area at Kilauea Overlook and “in a split second, ran straight toward the 400-foot cliff edge,” the National Park Service said in a news release on Thursday.
“His mother, screaming, managed to grab him in the nick of time just a foot or so away from a fatal fall,” the agency said. “Disaster was averted, and the shaken family departed.”
Park officials are now reminding visitors to remain on trails, stay out of closed areas and keep their children close, especially those watching Kilauea along the Crater Rim Trail.
“The hazards that coincide with an eruption are dangerous, and we have safety measures in place including closed areas, barriers, closure signs, and traffic management,” Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said in a statement. “Your safety is our utmost concern, but we rely on everyone to recreate responsibility. National parks showcase nature’s splendor but they are not playgrounds.”
Kilauea’s eruptive activity could continue to pause and resume in the coming days or weeks, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
“The eruption could restart at any time, and toxic gas emissions are still high,” the National Park Service said.
Visitors to the park are advised to check the air quality before and during their trip.
