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DOJ launches civil rights probe of Mississippi sheriff’s office whose deputies tortured 2 Black men in ‘Goon Squad’ case | CNN

Published

2 years ago

September 19, 2024

DOJ launches civil rights probe of Mississippi sheriff’s office whose deputies tortured 2 Black men in ‘Goon Squad’ case | CNN

CNN
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The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the sheriff’s department in Mississippi’s Rankin County after several of its deputies – including some who were in a self-styled “Goon Squad” – abused and tortured two Black men in a racially charged home raid last year.

The federal investigation will examine whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department engages in unconstitutional patterns or practices of using excessive force, racially discriminatory policing of Black residents and conducting unlawful stops, searches and arrests, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release Thursday.

The civil rights investigation is the 12th pattern or practice probe of law enforcement misconduct launched during the Biden administration. Rankin County is located just east of Jackson, the state’s capital.

Five former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies and a former Richland police officer were handed lengthy prison sentences this year after pleading guilty to federal and state charges related to the January 2023 torture of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker. At least several of the defendants were part of a group of deputies who called themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and not report it, federal prosecutors have said.

The group of White officers raided the home in Braxton without a warrant, subjected the two Black men to racist vitriol, used Tasers on them after they had already been handcuffed and beat them with various objects – and one of them shot Jenkins in the mouth, prosecutors said. The officers went to the home after a neighbor reported several Black men were staying at a White woman’s home and reported seeing suspicious behavior.

Parker was “a long-time friend” of the homeowner, according to federal prosecutors. He was living at the home and helping take care of her. Jenkins was living at the home temporarily.

Those officers – sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Christian Dedmon, Daniel Opdyke and Jeffrey Middleton, and police officer Joshua Hartfield – received federal sentences ranging from 10 to 40 years in prison in March. The following month, they were each sentenced in state court to 15 to 45 years in prison, which will run concurrently with their federal sentences.

After their federal sentencing in March, Garland said in a statement the “depravity of the crimes committed by these defendants cannot be overstated.”

In a statement to CNN, attorneys for Parker and Jenkins said the investigation is “a first, critical step in cleaning up the sheriff’s department and holding Rankin County legally accountable for the years of constitutional violations against its citizenry.”

“On behalf of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, and innumerable victims of Rankin County’s long and extremely violent legacy of departmental abuse under Sheriff Bryan Bailey, we applaud the DOJ Civil Rights Division today,” reads the statement from attorneys Malik Shabazz and Trent Walker.

CNN has contacted the state’s attorney general, its department of public safety and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Since the horrifying brutality of the “Goon Squad” case came to light, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has received other reports of the department’s deputies overusing tasers, entering homes unlawfully, using racial slurs and deploying “dangerous, cruel tactics to assault people in their custody,” Assistant US Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in Thursday’s release.

“Based on an extensive review of publicly available information as well as complaints provided to us, we have grounds to open a pattern or practice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department now,” Clarke said.

The five Rankin County officers were under the purview of Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who was re-elected in December as details from the brutal torture of Parker and Jenkins made national headlines and rocked the ~~local~~ community. The sheriff has faced growing calls to step down in recent months, amid allegations he failed to properly supervise, monitor and discipline his deputies.

Bailey has insisted he was not aware of the “Goon Squad” of deputies until federal charges were filed in August 2023, saying he was “ashamed,” and the badge of law enforcement was “tarnished by the criminal acts of these few individuals.”

The sheriff’s office has since rolled out a series of changes to the agency’s patrol policies and procedures, but community leaders have insisted the calls don’t go far enough.

In a statement to CNN on Thursday, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department said it has increased transparency by “placing our policies and procedures, in addition to our compliments and complaints portal,” on its website.

“We will continue this transparency and will fully cooperate with all aspects of this investigation, while also welcoming DOJ’s input into our updated policies and practices,” the statement continued.

Rankin County NAACP President Angela English, who is leading a petition to remove Bailey from office, said in a statement to CNN she is “ecstatic” that “justice is being served.”

English said the branch is “hoping to get a lot of participation from people in the public who may not have come forward yet” and said a listening session will be held at Pilgrim Red Baptist Church in Brandon on Thursday evening for the public to share their experiences with the sheriff’s department.

The civil rights investigation is separate from the federal criminal case of the six officers, according to Garland, and will involve a “comprehensive review” of the department’s policies, training and supervision, along with its systems of accountability. Community groups and members of the public will be contacted by federal investigators to learn about their experiences with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, which has been notified about the investigation and has vowed to cooperate, Garland said.

After the incident last January, Parker and Jenkins tried, for months, to tell their story – but often, no one believed them. After the state sentencing hearing in April, Parker told CNN his purpose now is to fight for others who can’t or are too scared to.

“I know people who are out there and still afraid to say something,” Parker said. “I’m putting it out there that anybody who is scared or needs someone to talk to – I’ll meet you where I need to meet you and make sure no one else has to go through this, where they are afraid or intimidated about anything.”

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Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel

For decades, immigrants who have followed the rules and have not broken the law have had hopes of earning a green card, a document that allows them to live legally in the United States and gain a path to citizenship.

But under new guidance issued by the Trump administration, immigrants can now be denied a green card for expressing political opinions, such as participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests, posting criticism of Israel on social media and desecrating the American flag, according to internal Department of Homeland Security training materials reviewed by The New York Times.

The documents, which have not been previously reported, show how expansively the Trump administration is carrying out a directive from last August to vet green card applicants for “anti-American” and “antisemitic” views.

The administration includes criticism of Israel as a potentially disqualifying factor, with the training materials citing as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine” and shows the Israeli flag crossed out.

The materials were distributed last month to immigration officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security and handles applications for green cards and other forms of legal status.

They reflect how U.S.C.I.S. — long considered the gateway agency for legal migration — has rapidly transformed under President Trump into another cog in his administration’s deportation machine. The agency has worked to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship and has hired armed federal agents to investigate immigration crimes.

The administration is also granting permanent legal residency to far fewer applicants. Green card approvals have fallen by more than half in recent months, according to a Times analysis of agency data.

“There is no room in America for aliens who espouse anti-American ideologies or support terrorist organizations,” Joseph Edlow, the agency’s director, told Congress in February.

Critics of Mr. Trump’s approach say the administration is seeking to restrict legitimate political speech, and has conflated opposition to Israeli government policies with antisemitism.

Basing green card decisions on “ideological screenings is fundamentally un-American and should have no place in a country built on the promise of free expression,” said Amanda Baran, a senior agency official under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Administration officials said they were defending American values.

“If you hate America, you have no business demanding to live in America,” said Zach Kahler, a spokesman for U.S.C.I.S.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration’s policies had “nothing to do with free speech” and were meant to protect “American institutions, the safety of citizens, national security and the freedoms of the United States.”

The administration has moved aggressively against immigrants for expressing political views that officials have deemed anti-American, making ideology a central part of its immigration vetting process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of pro-Palestinian student activists, including one who wrote a column criticizing her university’s response to pro-Palestinian demands.

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed reviewing the social media histories of tourists seeking to visit the United States.

Immigration officers have significant discretion in deciding whether to grant foreigners long-term permanent residence. They have long considered a variety of factors, including criminal records, national security threats, family ties to the United States and employment histories.

Ideology has also traditionally been one of those factors. In some cases, U.S. law forbids officers from granting green cards to people who have belonged to a Communist or other “totalitarian” political party, have promoted anarchy or have called for the overthrow of the U.S. government by “force or violence or other unconstitutional means.”

But in the past, immigration officers have focused on statements that could incite or encourage violence, given concerns about infringing on constitutionally protected speech, former U.S.C.I.S. officials said.

The new training materials reviewed by The Times guide immigration officers through the factors they should consider when ruling on green card applications. They discourage officers from granting green cards to people with a history of “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.”

Immigration officers have been told to weigh those factors as “overwhelmingly negative.”

The documents list support for “subversive” ideologies as among other factors that could lead to an application being rejected. As an example, the materials point to someone “holding a sign advocating overthrow of the U.S. government.”

In addition, the guidance describes the desecration of the American flag as a negative factor, citing Mr. Trump’s executive order last year directing the Justice Department to prosecute protesters who burn the flag. The Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is a form of political expression protected by the First Amendment.

Immigration officers have also been told to scrutinize applicants who encourage antisemitism “through rhetorical or physical actions.” They were instructed to “focus particularly on aliens who engaged in on-campus anti-American and antisemitic activities” after the Hamas attacks against Israel in 2023, the documents show.

Further examples in the documents of conduct characterized as antisemitic include a social media post showing a map of Israel with the nation’s name crossed out and replaced with the word “Palestine.” Another illustrative post suggests that Israelis should “taste what people in Gaza are tasting.”

Immigration officers must elevate all cases involving “potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology” to their managers and to the agency’s general counsel’s office for review, according to the documents.

In recent months, the agency has also changed the way it refers to the employees who adjudicate green card applications, long known as “immigration services officers.” In job postings, it now calls them “homeland defenders.”

“Protect your homeland and defend your culture,” one posting says.

Steven Rich contributed reporting.

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America’s bid for energy supremacy is being forged in war

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

America’s bid for energy supremacy is being forged in war

Additional work by Jana Tauschinski

Oil and gas tanker location and destination data are from Kpler. The map shows the latest position for vessels with an active AIS signal on April 19–20, filtered by minimum capacity thresholds: crude tankers of at least 50,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT); oil product tankers of at least 55,000 DWT; oil/chemical tankers of at least 40,000 DWT; LNG carriers of at least 150,000 cubic metres; and LPG carriers of at least 50,000 cubic metres. Net fossil fuel import data by country are based on Ember analysis of the IEA World Energy Balances 2023.

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Roommate faces murder charges in deaths of 2 University of South Florida doctoral students

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

Roommate faces murder charges in deaths of 2 University of South Florida doctoral students

A 26-year-old man is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two University of South Florida doctoral students who went missing last week, local authorities said Saturday.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said that evidence presented to the state attorney’s office resulted in the charges against Hisham Abugharbieh, the roommate of Zamil Limon, one of the doctoral students.

Abugharbieh is accused of premediated murder with a weapon. He was arrested on Friday, the same day Limon was found dead.

The family of Nahida Bristy, the other doctoral student, told CBS News that police said she is also likely dead. That is based on the volume of blood discovered at Abugharbieh’s residence, which he shared with Limon.

“Police told us she is no longer with us,” Bristy’s brother, Zahid Prato, said early Saturday.

The family was told her body may never be found and police believe she may have been dismembered, according to Prato.

CBS News has reached out to police for more information.

Authorities said in a statement Saturday they were still searching for Bristy.

Limon’s remains were found on the Howard Franklin Bridge in Tampa Friday morning, Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. His cause of death was pending autopsy results.

Deputies with the sheriff’s office took Abugharbieh into custody on Friday after responding to a domestic violence call at a home in the Lake Forest Community, a neighborhood near USF’s Tampa campus, officials said. He also faces charges of domestic violence and evidence tampering, as well as a charge of failing to report a death to law enforcement.

Limon and Bristy, both 27, had last been seen in the Tampa area on April 16.

Limon was studying the use of AI in environmental science and was set to present his doctoral thesis this week, his family said. Bristy is studying chemical engineering.

Meg Oliver

contributed to this report.