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New top prosecutor for DC advocated for Jan. 6 rioters and echoed Trump's false 2020 election claims

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New top prosecutor for DC advocated for Jan. 6 rioters and echoed Trump's false 2020 election claims


WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, conservative activist Ed Martin has promoted Donald Trump’s false claims about a stolen 2020 election, railed against the prosecution of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol and represented some of them in court.

Now he’s leading the office that prosecuted the nearly 1,600 defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot before Trump — now back in the White House — ended the largest investigation in Justice Department history with the stroke of a pen.

Martin’s first week as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia ushered in a dizzying sea change for the office’s rank-and-file prosecutors. He oversaw the dismissals of hundreds of Jan. 6 cases and celebrated Trump’s pardons for police officers and anti-abortion activists who had been prosecuted by attorneys in the office. And on Monday, Martin ordered an internal review of prosecutors’ use of a felony charge brought against hundreds of Capitol rioters, directing employees to hand over files, emails and other documents, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

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The appointment of Martin, the former head of the Missouri Republican Party, underscores Trump’s commitment to installing loyalists in key positions at the Justice Department, which the Republican president contends was “weaponized” against him and his supporters by President Joe Biden’s administration. Mike Davis, a Trump ally, called Martin in a social media post a “bold and fearless” leader who will “clean house” at the office, which Davis described as “an epicenter of the lawfare and political persecution.”

Martin told employees in an email that he was alongside Trump in the Oval Office when the president granted clemency last week to two Washington police officers prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office for their roles in the deadly chase of a man on a moped and the subsequent cover-up. And in a social media post last week, Martin appeared to describe federal prosecutors as “the President’s lawyers.”

“Based on the public reporting, it appears that he is in this role purely to execute on the president’s political priorities more so than the work of protecting public safety in Washington,” said Alexis Loeb, who was deputy chief of the section that prosecuted the Jan. 6 cases before leaving the government last year.

It’s unclear whether Trump intends to nominate Martin to the permanent post, which would require Senate confirmation. A White House spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a text message about Martin on Monday.

Prosecutors were directed last week to refer to Martin in court papers simply as “U.S. Attorney Ed Martin” after some filed documents describing him as the “acting” top prosecutor, according to a former federal prosecutor who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of persistent threats of violence.

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Shortly after Trump’s sweeping clemency order, Martin’s name showed up last on a flurry of court filings seeking to dismiss the pending Jan. 6 prosecutions, including cases against people charged with assaulting police officers.

One week later, Martin announced a “special project” to review the use of an obstruction felony charge brought against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants. Prosecutors had to drop the obstruction of an official proceeding charge in many cases after a Supreme Court ruling last year limiting the offense, finding it must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents.

Calling the use of the charge “a great failure of our office,” Martin ordered attorneys to hand over to two supervisors all relevant “files, documents, notes, emails and other information,” according to a copy of the email reviewed by the AP. He ordered the supervisors to provide a preliminary report on the matter to him by Friday.

“We need to get to the bottom of it,” Martin wrote. He’s calling it the “1512 Project,” because the offense falls under that section of the law.

Trump’s clemency action led to the release of more than 200 people in federal custody, including people seen on camera engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police and violently attacking law enforcement with makeshift weapons.

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Vice President JD Vance, who previously said violent rioters should “obviously” not be pardoned, defended Trump’s action in a CBS interview that aired Sunday. Vance alleged, without providing evidence, that the Jan. 6 defendants were “denied constitutional protections.”

Ashley Akers, who prosecuted dozens of Jan. 6 cases before leaving the Justice Department on Friday, said Vance is “misleading the American public in an attempt to excuse the unjustifiable blanket pardon of rioters who overtook the United States Capitol.”

“It’s telling that he has not identified a single example of how these defendants’ constitutional rights have been violated,” Akers said. “The evidence in the public record speaks for itself.”

After Trump’s clemency order, Martin urged a judge to drop restrictions barring Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and several other Jan. 6 defendants from entering Washington and the Capitol building. Martin said that if a judge barred visits to Washington from people pardoned by Joe Biden — like the former president’s brother, Jim, or Gen. Mark Milley — “I believe most Americans would object.”

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta changed course Monday, ruling that Rhodes and other Oath Keepers with commuted prison sentences are not bound by the travel restrictions he ordered last week.

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Martin spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally on the eve of the riot and served on the board of a group called the Patriot Freedom Project, which has raised money to support Jan. 6 defendants and their families. Court filings listed him as an attorney for at least three Capitol riot defendants, including a Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to felony charges.

A day before the Capitol riot, Martin led an audience in a “Stop the Steal” chant during a rally in Washington, D.C.

“What they’re stealing is not just an election. It’s our future and it’s our republic,” he told the crowd.

The next day, Martin attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally near the White House and posted messages on social media about the crowd.

“I’m at the Capitol right now,” Martin tweeted after the riot erupted. “Rowdy crowd but nothing out of hand. Ignore the #FakeNews.”

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On a blog, he has parroted some of Trump’s rhetoric about the deep state, a politically weaponized Justice Department and the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Martin said he has watched thousands of hours of video from that day.

“And, if you watch it for a while you realize that 99.9% of it is normal people doing normal things: sauntering around and through the Capitol grounds and building,” he wrote.



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Washington, D.C

Washington DC crash: Data from plane’s black boxes gives conflicting information on altitudes – as pictures of third soldier with Joe Biden and Ralph Lauren emerge

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Washington DC crash: Data from plane’s black boxes gives conflicting information on altitudes – as pictures of third soldier with Joe Biden and Ralph Lauren emerge


Preliminary data from the Washington DC air collision that killed 67 people gives conflicting information about the altitudes of the plane and military helicopter at the time of the crash.

In a news conference, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that data from the jet’s flight recorder showed its altitude as 325ft, plus or minus 25ft, when the crash happened on Wednesday night.

But preliminary data in the air traffic control tower showed the Black Hawk helicopter at 200ft at the time. The discrepancy has yet to be explained.

NTSB member Todd Inman also revealed that the jet’s flight recorder showed a change in its pitch but did not say whether this meant the pilots were trying to avoid the crash.

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It comes as the third soldier who died onboard the Black Hawk has been named as Captain Rebecca M Lobach.

Final moments before the crash

Information from the jet’s black boxes has been recovered but the helicopter’s is taking more time to retrieve because it became waterlogged after the aircraft plunged into the Potomac River.

Brice Banning, the investigator in charge of the case, said the plane’s crew “had a verbal reaction” in the last moments before the crash.

Image:
Brice Banning, left, and Todd Inman at a news conference on Saturday. Pic: AP

He said the data recorder showed “the airplane beginning to increase its pitch… sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording”.

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The NTSB also said five people were working in the air traffic control tower at the time of the crash, after reports that staffing levels were “not normal”. The NTSB did not comment on whether there was an appropriate number of staff on duty.

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New videos emerge of DC crash

The collision near Reagan National Airport in Washington was the deadliest US aviation incident in almost 25 years.

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The 60 passengers and four crew on the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, as well as the three soldiers on the army helicopter were killed.

US Army has named the third soldier killed in the helicopter crash: Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina.
Image:
Captain Lobach was from Durham, North Carolina


Last soldier named

Some 38 of the bodies have been identified, with authorities saying they expect to recover all the victims – but the plane’s fuselage will probably have to be pulled from the water to retrieve the rest.

More information about those who died has also emerged. The US Army identified Captain Rebecca M Lobach, from Durham, North Carolina, as the third soldier who died in the crash.

The names of the other two soldiers were released on Friday, but Ms Lobach’s name was withheld at the request of her family.

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President Joe Biden, from right, presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor, to fashion designer Ralph Lauren in the East Room of the White House, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Captain Rebecca Lobach (left) with President Joe Biden and Ralph Lauren at an award ceremony. Pic: AP

They said she was “a bright star in all our lives”. Ms Lobach served as a White House military social aide and was pictured alongside President Joe Biden and Ralph Lauren during the awarding of the fashion designer’s Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year.

Army officials have said the helicopter crew was highly experienced and familiar with the congested skies around Washington DC.

‘They still want answers’

In an emotional news conference, Mr Inman said he has spent hours with the victims’ families since the crash.

“I don’t want to have to meet with those parents like that again.”

The families, he said, are struggling. “Some wanted to give us hugs. Some are just mad and angry,” Mr Inman said.

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“They are just all hurt. And they still want answers, and we want to give them answers.”

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DC crash victim’s uncle: ‘A tremendous void’

Read more: What do we know about the victims of the Washington air crash?

Mr Inman became frustrated at points during the news conference, noting that the NTSB has made “several hundred” recommendations to improve aviation that have not been acted upon.

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“From tragedy, we draw knowledge to improve the safety for us all. That’s what we’re doing right now, we’re dealing with tragedy, but we need to improve safety,” he said.

“You want to do something about it? Adopt the recommendations of the NTSB. You’ll save lives.”

The recovery operation is continuing in Washington DC, with the remains of 42 people retrieved from the river so far.

Captain Rebecca Lobach died when a US Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet in Washington. pic: Davis Winkie
Image:
Captain Rebecca Lobach was onboard the military helicopter. Pic: Davis Winkie

As many Americans remained shocked by the deadly crash, a second aviation accident took place on Friday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

An air ambulance slammed into a busy junction, killing all six people on board, including a child who had just undergone treatment at a hospital, and at least one person on the ground.

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Army helicopter involved in DC plane crash was on a ‘continuity of government’ drill

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Army helicopter involved in DC plane crash was on a ‘continuity of government’ drill


Top US officials have said the military helicopter that collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River on Wednesday was on a training mission for evacuating members of government in the event of a catastrophe or attack.

The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told Fox News that the helicopter was performing a “continuity of government” drill designed to help pilots “rehearse in ways that would reflect a real world scenario”. Hegseth declined to go further, saying he didn’t want to get “into anything that’s classified”.

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter’s unit, the 12th aviation battalion, is assigned a mission to evacuate top US officials from Washington DC to secure locations in the event of an emergency.

Those locations include Raven Rock Mountain, a facility in Pennsylvania constructed in the 1950s for use as a command center in the event of a nuclear war.

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Hegseth’s comments correlates with comments by Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for the army’s aviation directorate, who told reporters on Thursday that “some of their mission is to support the Department of Defense if something really bad happens in this area, and we need to move our senior leaders.

“They do need to be able to understand the environment, the air traffic, the routes, to ensure the safe travel of our senior leaders throughout our government,” Koziol added.

A preliminary FAA report into the midair collision has found that responsibility for handling air traffic control for helicopters and incoming planes at Reagan National airport had been combined earlier than usual on Wednesday night when the American Airlines flight crashed into the army’s Black Hawk helicopter.

All 67 aboard the aircraft involved were killed, marking the deadliest American aviation crash in 16 years.

Typically, responsibility for handling helicopters and planes are separated in the busy airspace from 10am to 9.30pm, the New York Times reported. After 9.30pm, when traffic slows down, the duties can be combined. The collision occurred soon before 9pm.

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The FAA preliminary safety report found that staffing at the airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic”, the Associated Press reported. Staffing targets set by the FAA and the controllers’ union call for 30 air traffic controllers at the airport but as of September 2023 it had 19.

President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on aviation safety on Thursday which he said will undo “damage” done to federal agencies by the Biden administration. Trump has said “incompetence” may have played a role in the crash.

Less than 30 seconds before the helicopter and plane collided, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the plane in sight: “PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT-25 pass behind the CRJ”, referring to the Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700.

But there is mounting speculation that the helicopter’s pilots may have been looking at a plane following behind the American Airlines flight in the landing queue. Questions are also being asked about the altitude of the helicopter. It was cleared to fly at 200ft but appears to have ascended to 400ft, and into the path of the airliner.

As of Friday afternoon, rescue crews had recovered 41 bodies and 28 had been positively identified, the DC fire chief, John Donnelly Sr, said at a news conference. He said 18 families have been told their loved ones died.

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Among the passengers on the plane were members of the Skating Club of Boston returning from a development camp that followed the 2025 US figure skating championship in Wichita, Kansas.

The victims also included a group of hunters returning from a guided trip in Kansas, nine students and parents from Fairfax county, Virginia, schools, four members of a steamfitters’ local in suburban Maryland and two Chinese nationals

The army has identified two of the three soldiers on the helicopter – Staff Sgt Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland. The third soldier’s name was not being released at the family’s request, the army said.



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Fundraise established for family of Wichita man killed in DC plane crash

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Fundraise established for family of Wichita man killed in DC plane crash


WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A fundraising effort was launched Friday in support of the family of a Wichita man who died in Wednesday night’s plane crash in Washington, D.C. PJ Diaz, a graduate of Valley Center High School, was 30 years old.

The GoFundMe, organized by a family friend, asks for assistance to help Diaz’s family with covering costs and travel expenses to and from DC.

“Raised funds will also help pay for the funeral and any other unexpected expenses during this heartbreaking time,” the GoFundMe said. A note of gratitude for those who donate also asks that people keep Diaz’s family in their prayers.

On social media Thursday, PJ’s mother offered the following statement:

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“I don’t post often but my heart is broken and reaching out for prayers for me and my family. My son PJ was on the flight to DC that crashed. Please pray God gives us strength to get through this devastating time. I love you PJ and always will.” -Linda Diaz



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