Washington, D.C
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Washington, D.C
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:
“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
Copyright 2025 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
Washington, D.C
Victims of plane crash in DC: Ryan O'Hara, Kiah Duggins, Ian Epstein, among victims of American airlines crash – BBC News Pidgin
Recovery operations still dey go on for Washington DC. Dis na afta one American Airlines plane from Kansas wey get 64 pipo onboard collide wit one military helicopter on Wednesday night.
Di victims include top figure skaters from US and Russia, one young pilot, flight attendants, and one lawyer wey dey travel go house on her birthday.
Here na some of di pipo believed to dey on board di helicopter and di plane.
Passengers
26-year-old Indiana woman, Asra Hussain Raza, just move go Washington DC area afta she receive her master’s degree in hospital management.
“She bin dey return from one work trip wia she dey help improve one hospital wey really need help,” her husband Hamaad Raza, wey show di last text message e receive from im wife to news crews outside di airport, tok.
“And, you know, she bin dey do wetin she love. She bin even dey work on di flight.”
E add say: “She give a lot, but she get so much more to give. If anybody dey wey take advantage of dia 26 years of life, na her.”
Di president of Howard University don confam say Professor Kiah Duggins die for di collision.
Di civil rights lawyer dey set to begin lecture for di university School of Law for autumn.
“She dedicate her career to fighting against unconstitutional policing and unjust money bail practices for Tennessee, Texas and Washington DC,” di university tok for one statement wey US media report.
Two DC lawyers also dey on board di flight, dia loved ones confam.
Sarah Lee Best, 33, dey kind and hardworking, her husband Daniel Solomon tell di Washington Post.
Mrs Best and Mr Solomon bin plan to travel go Hawaii, wia dem born her for dia 10th wedding anniversary for May.
33-year-old Lawyer Elizabeth Keys, “always, always manage to have fun… no mata wetin she dey do,” her partner David Seidman tell di paper.
She die on her birthday, Oga Seidman tok.
Di firm wia two of dem dey work, Wilkinson Stekloff, pay tribute to di “cherished members” of dia team.
Dem be “wonderful attorneys, colleagues, and friends,” firm founder Beth Wilkinson tok for statement.
Dem don pay to “dedicated papa” Casey Crafton of Salem, Connecticut.
“Salem just lost a dedicated father, husband, and community member,” Govnor Ned Lamont bin write on social media.
Salem Little League, wia Oga Crafton be coach, tok say di town dey “heartbroken” by di loss of di “beloved” club member.
“Di Crafton family, dey deeply involved in all things Salem, di community don suffer an unimaginable loss,” di statement read.
Michael Stovall mama tok say her son na “di happiest pesin” wey dey see good in evri body.
Oga Stovall, wey pipo sabi well-well as Mikey, bin dey travel go house from one annual hunting trip wit friends, Christina Stovall tell Wink News.
“Mikey no get one enemy. If you see fotos of am… e be di life of di party. E love evri body.”
Oga Stovall cousin tell di New York Times say e bin dey fly wit at least six of im friends from di trip, some of dem don sabi each oda since childhood.
Jesse Pitcher bin dey travel wit Oga Stovall, im papa confam.
Di 30-year-old from Maryland just marry last year and e recently just start im own business, Jameson Pitcher tell di New York Times.
“E just dey start life,” e tok.
“E say im go see me wen e come back.”
Philippine National Police confam say di director of dia Supply Management Division, Colonel Pergentino N. Malabed, bin dey on board di flight.
One police tok-tok pesin say dem recover one body wey carry Col Malabed passport from di Potomac.
E travel go US wit two oda officers to test personnel vests wey di police dey plan to buy, and e bin dey on im way to di Philippine embassy for Washington.
Passenger plane crew
Di plane captain Jonathan J. Campos dream since wen e be 3-year-old na to be pilot, im aunt tell di New York Times.
“I think e wan dey free, and dey able to fly and soar like a bird,” Beverly Lane tok.
34-year-old Oga Campos, 34, bin grow up for Brooklyn, New York, and e work for PSA Airlines (part of di American Airlines group) for eight years, she add.
Di papa of 28-year-old pilot Sam Lilley tok say e don dey engaged to be married and e “just dey for di prime of im life”.
Tim Lilley tell NewsNation say im son get im piloting license in only a few years becos e “pursue am wit vigour”.
“Sam dey right wit Jesus, and I know where e dey go,” e tok.
Im sister Tiffany Gibson dey call am “an amazing person”.
“E love pipo. E love adventure. E love to travel,” she tell ABC News.
“E dey so young, and e dey excited about life and im future and getting a dog and a house and kids. And it’s just, dis just dey tragic.”
Virginia resident Ian Epstein na flight attendant on di plane, im family tok.
E dey known for im ability to make pipo smile and e dey “full of life”.
“He love being a flight attendant becos e truly enjoy to dey travel and meet new pipo. But im true love na im family,” di statement continue.
Epstein, 53, na father, stepfather, husband, and brother, di family tok, and as say dem go “truly miss am”.
Danasia Elder also dey work as a flight attendant, her family tell US media for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Her brother-in-law Brandon Payne wey pay tribute to her, tok say she dey “full of life”.
“She be great wife, great parent, great friend,” Payne tok. “She dey very bright, very smart… Dis flight attendant thing na kind of like one of her dreams, something wey she wan do.”
E say im dey proud of im sister-in-law for pursuing her dreams, and she “go want make all of una do di same thing she do”.
“Chase your dreams, no mata what. No let anytin fear you, push you away. Just believe in yourself, believe in God, and follow di path.”
Helicopter crew
29-year-old Ryan O’Hara, na di crew chief of di Black Hawk helicopter wey jam di passenger plane, according to CBS News.
E leave behind a wife and one-year-old son, im local Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program tok for one social media post wey confam im death.
O’Hara dey “fondly remembered as dat guy wey go fix things around di ROTC gym, e also be ogbonge member of di rifle team,” di post tok.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves confam say Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves also die for di collision.
Paying tribute to her husband, Carrie Eaves confam say e be one of di pilots of di Blackhawk helicopter.
“We ask say make you pray for our family and friends and for all di oda families wey dey suffer today. We ask for peace while we grieve,” she write on social media.
Ice skaters
Spencer Lane and Christine Lane
16-year-old Ice skater Spencer Lane, die alongside her mother Christine Lane, 49. Dem dey among di at least 14 athletes and coaches wey die as dem dey return from one skate camp for Wichita.
Im father tell local media say im son na “a force of nature” wey show “drive and tenacity” to di sport.
“E train for di Skating Club of Boston five days a week and attend high school online and just commit himself to it,” Douglas Lane tokj.
E add say im wife na “creative powerhouse” wey go do anything for her children.
Jinna Han, 13, bin also travel go di skate camp wit her mother, Jin.
For one 2022 interview, Jinna bin tell one news network for her Massachusetts hometown say she dey excited to watch di Olympics.
“E dey just so exciting,” Jinna Han tok. “E dey like, who go win, wetin go happun, becos anything fit happun for di Olympics.”
Doug Zeghibe of di Skating Club of Boston call Jin “wonderful, pleasant, polite” pesin.
“Never a discouraging word,” e tok. “Always appreciative, always supportive of not just Jinna, her daughter, but every athlete. Just role model parents in your sport, and you no dey always get dat.”
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov
Di Kremlin confam di deaths of beloved ice skating coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, wey be Russian.
Famous skating coach and friend Rafael Arutyunyan tell CNN say e bin make im athletes train in silence afta di crash as mark of respect.
“I know all these coaches,” e tok. “All of our community dey respectful to dem and like dem, so I feel dem go stay wit us forever.”
Twelve-year-old Olivia Ter from Maryland dey among di US figure skaters aboard di flight, local officials confam.
“Olivia no only excelled in figure skating programs but inspire odas through her talent, determination and sportsmanship,” Prince George County Parks and Recreation tok for one statement wey CBS News report.
“Di impact of Olivia life go continue to resonate for our youth sports community, and we go miss her well-well,” Bill Tyler, di director of di Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, tok.
Cory Haynos, Roger Haynos and Stephanie Branton Haynos
Cory Haynos bin dey travel go house from di US Ice Skating Championships wit im parents, Roger Haynos and Stephanie Branton Haynos, one family member write on social media.
“Roger don always inspire me by im absolute love for im family and dedication to providing only di best for im wife and kids,” Matthew Alan LaRavier, Roger cousin, write.
“Cory na amazing skater wit a very bright future,” e tok.
“All of us bin dey expect Cory to represent our kontri for US Olympics for di future.”
Former coach Sasha Kirsanov bin dey on board di plane, di University of Delaware tok.
Im wife tell ABC News say she don “lost everything” for di crash.
Washington, D.C
Washington DC plane crash live: flight data and cockpit voice recorders recovered, officials say
Key events
What caused this tragic aviation disaster is not yet known, but the National Transportation Safety Board investigators has said it will have a preliminary report within 30 days.
Despite the lack of clarity, newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump has accused his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden of lowering hiring standards and suggested the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity push could have weakened its capabilities.
The comments come as president Trump has pushed back against what he has described as the “woke policies” of his predecessor.
Asked if the crash was caused by diversity hiring, he said: “It just could have been.”
The Trump administration has not provided any proof to back these assertions, and there is no evidence that efforts to make the federal workforce more diverse have compromised air safety.
Following the crash, Trump signed an executive order on aviation safety that rolls back diversity initiatives and repeated claims without evidence that those initiatives contributed to Wednesday’s fatal collision.
Satellite images of earlier recovery efforts
A closer view below:
It’s almost 10pm in Washington DC, and almost 24 hrs since a fatal mid-air collision between a regional passenger jet and a US Black Hawk military helicopter – a tragedy that has been described as one of the worst aviation disasters in the US in decades.
There were 67 people on board both aircraft, and there are no survivors.
Washington’s fire and emergency department said its divers had searched all accessible areas and would conduct additional searches to locate aircraft components on Friday.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Wednesday’s night’s collision between a regional passenger jet and a military helicopter near Washington DC’s Reagan airport.
The flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been recovered from the American Airlines flight, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced, and they are now at the NTSB’s labs for evaluation.
The NTSB said earlier on Thursday that it was too soon to determine the causes of the disaster and pledged to release a preliminary report within 30 days.
Early scrutiny focused on an initial Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report on the incident which called the staffing levels at a DC air control tower “not normal,” since one controller was reportedly handling both helicopters and planes.
But the Associated Press and CNN have both reported that sources told them this level of staffing was, in fact, “normal” or “not uncommon.” The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers and identified fatigue as a factor that might lead to mistakes, the Associated Press noted.
Here’s a summary of other developments:
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With the 67 people aboard both the American Airlines flight and the army Black Hawk helicopter all presumed dead, the collision is being called “the deadliest aviation disaster” in the US since 2001. At least 28 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, with recovery operations ongoing.
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A day before Wednesday night’s midair collision near Reagan airport, a different jet there had to abort its landing and make a second approach after a helicopter appeared near its flight path, the Washington Post reported.
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The US army saw an increase in very serious aviation incidents during the last fiscal year, with 15 flight and two ground incidents that resulted in deaths of service members, destruction of aircraft, or more than $2.5m in damage to the airframe, the Associated Press reported,
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Donald Trump and members of his administration claimed, without evidence, that diversity efforts at the FAA under the Biden and Obama administration could be to blame for the crash, with Trump specifically claiming that the FAA had been accused of being “too white,” and suggesting efforts to hire Americans with disabilities were irresponsible.
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Trump signed an executive order that rolls back diversity initiatives to stop “woke policies” in federal aviation.
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The Trump administration’s choice to draw an unfounded connection between a deadly tragedy and diversity initiatives at a press conference sparked broad condemnation from Democratic politicians. They called the comments “disgusting,” “despicable,” and “racist,” with Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries saying that Trump was “blaming women and people of color for the deadly plane crash.”
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As many as 14 skaters and coaches, including two 16-year-olds and a married pair of world champions, were onboard the American Airlines plane. The Skating Club of Boston said Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, both aged 16, and the Russian-born ice skating coaches and former world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were husband and wife, were on the flight.
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