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Ex-FBI informant accused of stabbing Derek Chauvin in BLM-inspired prison attack pleads not guilty

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Ex-FBI informant accused of stabbing Derek Chauvin in BLM-inspired prison attack pleads not guilty

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A former gang leader and one-time FBI informant accused of stabbing former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in federal prison pleaded not guilty to related charges Friday. 

John Turscak, who is serving a 30-year sentence for crimes committed while a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, is accused of attacking Chauvin with an improvised knife in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, around 12:30 p.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

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He was charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury two days after the Nov. 24 attack on Chauvin, who is serving out a more than two-decade sentence in connection to George Floyd’s death.

Turscak, accused of stabbing Chauvin 22 times in the attack allegedly inspired by the BLM movement, pleaded not guilty during a Friday court appearance.

DEREK CHAUVIN ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’ EVEN BEFORE THANKSGIVING STABBING: FORMER PRISON MINISTER

Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyd’s 2020 death.  (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

His jury trial is currently scheduled to begin Feb. 13.  

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The alleged incident happened just four days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Chauvin’s appeal of his murder conviction. Separately, Chauvin is making a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence shows he didn’t cause Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020. 

In a statement released on Dec. 3, Chauvin’s attorney Gregory Erickson said, “Derek’s family confirmed that his medical condition has improved to the extent that he has been removed from the trauma care facility at a local Tucson hospital and returned to prison custody for his follow-up care.”

Erickson added that the Chauvin’s family “is very concerned about the facility’s capacity to protect Derek from further harm,” and that “they remain unassured that any changes have been made to the faulty procedures that allowed Derek’s attack to occur in the first place.”

Derek Chauvin speaks during trial, invokes the Fifth Amendment.  (Court TV)

Turscak told FBI agents interviewing him after the assault that he attacked Chauvin on Black Friday as a symbolic connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, which garnered widespread support in the wake of Floyd’s caught on camera death in 2020, and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia, prosecutors have said. After the stabbing, Turscak was moved to an adjacent federal penitentiary in Tucson, the Associated Press reported last month, citing inmate records. 

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DEREK CHAUVIN STABBED BY INMATE IN FEDERAL PRISON, SERIOUSLY INJURED: REPORT

Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder. Chauvin’s lawyer at the time, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he would be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mainly kept in solitary confinement “largely for his own protection,” Nelson wrote in 2022 court papers. 

Turscak led a faction of the Mexican Mafia in the Los Angeles area in the late 1990s and went by the nickname “Stranger,” according to court records. He became an FBI informant in 1997, providing information about the gang and recordings of conversations he had with its members and associates.

Protesters react after the guilty verdict was read in the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin on April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The investigation Turscak was aiding led to more than 40 indictments. but about midway through, the FBI dropped Turscak as an informant because he was allegedly still dealing drugs, extorting money and authorizing assaults. According to court papers, Turscak plotted attacks on rival gang members and was accused of attempting to kill a leader of a rival Mexican Mafia faction while also being targeted himself.

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Turscak pleaded guilty in 2001 to racketeering and conspiring to kill a gang rival. He said he thought his cooperation with the FBI would have earned a lighter sentence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Detroit, MI

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

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Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park


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The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week. 

A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway. 

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As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.

Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.

The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.

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Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.

This is a developing story.



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Milwaukee, WI

Chief marketing and communication officer named to Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40  | Marquette Today

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Chief marketing and communication officer named to Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40  | Marquette Today


Lynn Griffith, chief marketing and communication officer, was named to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list. 

Griffith leads Marquette’s Office of Marketing and Communication, a team of 30 talented professionals who work to elevate and differentiate the Marquette brand via strategy and planning; brand management; media relations; internal communication; presidential communication; social media; issues and crisis management; advertising, digital and creative services; video; and editorial content, including the university’s flagship alumni publication, Marquette Magazine.  

Under Griffith’s leadership, Marquette’s marketing and communication team has been recognized for excellence, winning multiple National Collegiate Advertising awards, Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and PRSA Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter Paragon Awards. In 2024, the university’s digital storytelling strategy was named a Ragan’s PR Daily award finalist. Marquette is ranked a top 55 most trusted higher education brand in the U.S. by Morning Consult and its social media is No. 5 in the country for higher education social media engagement by RivalIQ.  

During her nine years at Marquette, Griffith has been tapped for multiple university initiatives, including co-chairing the university’s Crisis Management Team, co-leading the university’s Convention Steering Committee ahead of Milwaukee hosting the Republican National Convention in 2024, and serving on Mission Priority Examen and presidential inauguration planning committees. 

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An engaged member of the Milwaukee community, Griffith serves on the board of directors of Menomonee Valley Partners and on the marketing committee of VISIT Milwaukee. She is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee and the Arthur W. Page Society, as well as the Marquette Mentors leadership council, on which she also serves as a mentor. She recently completed the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities’ 18-month Ignatian Colleagues Program for lay leaders.  

Griffith is a two-time graduate of Marquette, earning a Bachelor of Arts in public relations and writing intensive English and a Master of Business Administration. 

40 Under 40 honorees were selected based on the impact they have had in their jobs, in the community and on Southeast Wisconsin overall. The Milwaukee Business Journal reviewed hundreds of nominations to curate its 34th 40 Under 40 cohort. 

In addition to Griffith, seven alumni were named to the list: 

  • David Griggs, co-founder of One 5 Olive LLC 
  • Jordan Komp, senior principal and Milwaukee office director at Thornton Tomasetti Inc. 
  • Avery Mayne, attorney at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. 
  • Brian McClaren, principal of H. Knox Development Company 
  • Emily Tau, director of public affairs for Milwaukee County 
  • Jessica Shepherd, director of financial planning and analysis at Baird 
  • Mike Wanezek, partner at Colliers | Wisconsin 

The 40 Under 40 honorees will be celebrated in a forthcoming special edition of the Milwaukee Business Journal and at an awards presentation on Wednesday, March 11, at the Baird Center. 



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Minneapolis, MN

Prosecutors in DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will not investigate Minneapolis ICE shooting, sources say

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Prosecutors in DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will not investigate Minneapolis ICE shooting, sources say


Prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division were told they will not play a role in the ongoing investigation into a fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal immigration officer, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Leadership in the Civil Rights Division, overseen by Harmeet Dhillon, informed staff in the division’s criminal section that there would not be an investigation, two sources said. Normally, after a high-profile incident involving a fatal shooting by an officer, attorneys from the criminal section fly out to the scene. Multiple career prosecutors offered to do so in this case, but they were told not to do so, one of the sources added. 

While investigations into the excessive use of force can be pursued solely by a U.S. Attorney’s office without direct involvement from the Civil Rights Division, it is customary for the division’s federal prosecutors to take the lead on high-profile investigations like the one in Minnesota.

The decision also raises questions about how far the FBI’s investigation into the shooting will go. 

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A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. 

On Thursday, the Justice Department announced that the FBI was leading the investigation into the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Video footage shows the officer, identified in court records from a prior incident as Jonathan Ross, fired three rounds at the car as Good started to drive away.

The video also appeared to depict the officers did not take immediate steps to ensure that Good received emergency medical care after the shooting took place. A separate video from the scene showed officers stopping a man who claimed to be a doctor from moving toward Good. 

The killing has sparked protests nationwide, including in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Detroit.

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has argued that Ross was acting in self-defense, and claimed that Good was trying to use her car as a weapon in an act of “domestic terrorism.”

That description sparked immediate backlash from state and city officials, with the mayor of Minneapolis labeling the self-defense claims as “bulls***.”

On Friday, Trump administration officials shared another cellphone video of the incident that sources say was recorded by the ICE officer. The White House argues this video shows Ross was hit by Good’s car.

The Justice Department has stopped short of claiming Ross was acting in self-defense. 

But in a statement to CBS News this week, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the use of deadly force by law enforcement officials can sometimes be justified.

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“Federal agents risk their lives each day to safeguard our communities. They must make decisions, under dynamic and chaotic circumstances, in less time than it took to read this sentence,” Blanche said.

“The law does not require police to gamble with their lives in the face of a serious threat of harm. Rather, they may use deadly force when they face an immediate threat of significant physical harm,” he added.

The criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division specializes in investigating and prosecuting constitutional violations by law enforcement officers. 

Some of the most common investigations involve excessive use of force, but can also include other things such as sexual misconduct, false arrests or deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

One of the most famous civil rights prosecutions by the section in recent years took place in Minneapolis, after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in May 2020.

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Chauvin pleaded guilty to willfully depriving, while acting under color of law, Floyd’s constitutional rights, as well as the rights of a 14-year-old boy.

Since President Trump took office last year, the Civil Rights Division has scaled back its work on excessive force prosecutions, according to legal experts. 

Last year, it sought to downplay the conviction of a former Louisville police officer who was convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights and asked a federal judge to sentence him to serve just one day in prison.

The judge ultimately sentenced him to serve 33 months.

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