Southeast
Drum major’s hazing left heartbroken mother wondering what really happened: 'He was beaten to death'
Robert Champion’s mother, Pam Champion, stared at her phone after hearing the heartbreaking news that left her breathless. Her son had collapsed and died.
“My son had a physical, and he was healthy,” Pam recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was trying to figure out what could have made my child just die so suddenly. I spent the whole day trying to figure that out, only to find out that it was all a lie. He didn’t just collapse and die. What happened was the unthinkable.”
Champion, a Florida A&M drum major, was killed in November 2011. He was 26. His case is featured in Investigation Discovery’s (ID) true-crime series, “Murder Under the Friday Night Lights.” It examines homicides involving high school and college football teams.
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In this Oct. 8, 2011, file photo, Florida A&M Marching 100 Drum Major Robert Champion performs at halftime of a game against Howard University at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Don Juan Moore)
Pam said it wasn’t until the next day that she heard her son’s name on the local news. The broadcast showed a photo of him she didn’t recognize. She soon learned her son had bruises on his chest, arms, shoulders and back when he died. Witnesses told emergency dispatchers Champion was vomiting before he was found unresponsive.
“My son didn’t just collapse and die. He was beaten to death,” said Pam. “He was murdered. And I needed to know what happened.”
Champion, who was part of the famed Florida A&M University (FAMU) Marching 100, was described as an inquisitive child who always had a passion for music. He fell in love with the marching bands of Georgia, where he was born, and dreamed of becoming a drum major.
A young Robert Champion with his family. (ID)
“He identified drum majors as gentlemen with their capes, long tail jackets and high hats,” said Pam. “He wanted to be one of them. Robert had a tender heart for people. He never met an enemy. He trained to play the clarinet, played the drums at our local church and taught himself to play the keyboard. Music was his love. And he wanted to share that love with others. He found joy in performing in front of a large audience and dancing.
“He was large in stature but very gentle. He even volunteered to be an organ donor because he wanted to help save a life. And that’s how he felt about people.”
As Champion thrived at FAMU, Pam vividly recalled one conversation she had with her son.
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Robert Champion leading his band (ID)
“Rob was talking about how people were trying to get him to do something,” Pam explained. “He never identified what that was, but he didn’t want to do it. My comment to him at the time was, ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You’re in control.’ But in terms of him using the term ‘hazing,’ that never occurred.”
Champion appeared “tired” the last time his mother saw him.
“He didn’t seem the same,” Pam recalled. “He was backing out of the driveway. I said, ‘Rob, the only thing I want for you is to be happy.’ And he said, ‘Oh mom, you know me.’ It wasn’t unusual for him to stay in his room playing his instruments, but it was just something about his demeanor. But he never disclosed anything that went on within the marching band.”
Robert Champion died in 2011. He was 26. (ID )
According to the Orange County Medical Examiner, Champion died of “hemorrhagic shock due to soft tissue hemorrhage, due to blunt force trauma.” The episode revealed that, just hours before his death, Champion had marched with his band during a football game between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman University.
Pam claimed she had to call the school numerous times to get any details about what happened to her son that night.
“It took six months for the Orange County prosecutor at the time to contact us at all,” said Pam. “We heard nothing from them. Everything we got came from the media.”
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Pam and Robert Champion Sr. were determined to find out what really happened to their son. (Getty Images)
According to Pam, a reporter stopped by her house with “stacks of complaints that rose high,” revealing a horrifying culture of hazing within the band.
“This was no secret to the school, the violence that went on,” Pam alleged. “And the hard thing for me was, you had staff within the band that was supposed to be educating the students about hazing. There’s corruption and negligence. … And for the school to take a stance and say publicly that they were not responsible for my son’s death – how low can you go? Was my son Robert responsible for his own death?”
Interviews with defendants and other band members revealed Champion endured a brutal ritual known as “crossing over.” The university maintained that Champion, who witnessed others being hazed, consented to the ritual to gain respect among fellow band members.
Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar announces charges in the hazing death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion May 2, 2012, in front of the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
With chances for initiation ending with the football season, fellow band members said Champion agreed to run through a gauntlet of people kicking and beating him with drumsticks, mallets and fists. The hazing took place aboard “Bus C,” which was described as the band’s notorious venue for hazing after its performances during FAMU football games.
What awaited Champion was a punishing ordeal in which about 15 people pushed, struck, kicked and grabbed at participants as they tried to wade down the aisle from the bus’s driver’s seat to touch the back wall, according to interviews. One witness said bigger band members waited at the back to make the final few steps the most difficult. Several others who went through it said the ordeal leaves participants dizzy and breathless at a minimum.
After finishing the gauntlet, Champion vomited and complained of trouble breathing. He quickly fell unconscious and couldn’t be revived. An autopsy concluded Champion died from shock caused by severe bleeding.
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Robert Champion, left, and his wife Pam leave after a news conference about new developments of the hazing death of their son Robert D. Champion, a FAMU drum major. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Champion’s death illustrated how ingrained hazing was in the band, although previous hazing incidents were well documented at the school in lawsuits and arrests. Two band members previously received serious kidney injuries during hazing beatings, and another member suffered a broken thighbone just weeks before Champion’s death.
Still, going aboard “Bus C” was voluntary, defendant Caleb Jackson told detectives. Pam said she and her family had a hard time believing Champion, who was outspoken about hazing, would agree to such brutality. They noted that “no one signs up for murder.”
Even though band members are required to sign a pledge promising not to participate in hazing, initiations were planned that night for Champion and two other band members. Along with “crossing over,” the bus was also known for “the hot seat,” which involved getting kicked and beaten with drumsticks and bass drum mallets while covered with a blanket.
A jury found Dante Martin of Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 band guilty of manslaughter in the fatal hazing of drum major Robert Champion. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Fifteen former band members were charged in Champion’s death. Purported ringleader Dante Martin was sentenced to 6½ years in prison in 2015. Jessie Baskin served just shy of a year in county jail after entering a no-contest plea to manslaughter. Most of the others were sentenced to community service and probation.
Jackson, 26, pleaded no contest to manslaughter and hazing in 2013. He was sentenced in 2015 to four years in prison. Jackson’s sentencing ended all prosecution in the case.
Longtime band director Julian White resigned in 2012 and contributed to the resignation of university President James Ammons.
Shawn Turner, Florida A&M University marching band drum major, enters an Orange County courtroom June 14, 2012. Turner was appointed a public defender in the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. (Pool photo by Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
That same year, a report from the Florida Board of Governors inspector general’s office concluded the university lacked internal controls to prevent or detect hazing. It cited a lack of communication among top university officials, the police department and the office responsible for disciplining students.
A spokesperson for FAMU didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about Pam speaking out in the series.
Former FAMU percussionist Caleb Jackson April 16, 2013, before he entered a plea of no contest in Orange County court. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Today, Pam is co-founder of Be A Champion, a foundation that aims to raise awareness of the violence of hazing and other forms of bullying.
“We have to make it public that this isn’t acceptable,” said Pam. “We have to follow through with tough laws. … Every year, a young student loses their lives to this nice fluffy word called hazing. That has to stop. … And students have the power to end this. They just don’t know they have that power. They have the power to refuse. We need to combat this infectious disease we call hazing, one that is well covered, treatable and preventable.
Pam Champion, mother, 2nd right, and Robert Champion, father, right, listen as the verdict is read Oct. 31, 2014, after a jury found Dante Martin, a former member of Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 band, guilty of manslaughter in the fatal hazing of drum major Robert Champion Jr. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Robert was known to speak out against violence,” Pam reflected. “He wanted to help others. I’m here to do that for him.”
ID’s “Murder Under the Friday Night Lights” is available for streaming on Max. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Duffy exposes 54% of North Carolina truck licenses issued illegally to ‘dangerous drivers’
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday revealed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals reviewed by federal officials were issued illegally.
The discovery came amid the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems.
If North Carolina does not revoke all illegally issued licenses, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding.
“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” Duffy wrote in a statement. “President [Donald] Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that widespread fraud is allowing illegal immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses, which he said poses safety risks. (Department of Homeland Security)
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In a letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, the FMCSA said the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who were ineligible, those whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired and those whose lawful status in the U.S. was not verified by North Carolina.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the level of noncompliance in North Carolina is “egregious.”
To retain its federal funding, North Carolina will be required to immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
ICE arrested more than 100 foreign national truck drivers in California’s Operation Highway Sentinel after deadly crashes linked to state-issued CDLs. (Department of Homeland Security)
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The state must also conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet federal rules.
Duffy set his focus on CDL issues in early 2025 after an Indian national who held a California-issued CDL allegedly killed a car full of people on Florida’s turnpike.
ICE said Akhror Bozorov, 31, a criminal illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan, was issued a CDL from Pennsylvania. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
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California has since revoked 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses as DOT conducts a nationwide audit initiated by President Donald Trump’s executive order on truck driver roadway safety.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Naked woman allegedly assaults deputy while intoxicated, claims she was ‘trying to be a mermaid’
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A Louisiana woman’s attempt to go for a skinny-dip did not end swimmingly, authorities said, after she allegedly attacked a sheriff’s deputy responding to a trespassing complaint before finally surrendering to deputies Tuesday.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor standing in their driveway screaming and refusing to leave the property despite having been warned previously.
When a patrol deputy arrived, authorities said the suspect was found nude and swimming in a pond located on the caller’s property.
The woman was later identified as Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, of Marion. Sutton initially refused to exit the pond or speak with the deputy, telling him she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.
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Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, is accused of threatening a sheriff’s deputy in Louisiana after being caught skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond. She claimed she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to police. (Union Parish Sheriff’s Office / Getty Images)
After repeated commands, Sutton eventually exited the pond. Due to cold temperatures, emergency medical services were contacted to evaluate her, authorities said.
A blanket was provided, and as the deputy attempted to escort Sutton inside a residence to warm up, she allegedly charged at him.
Authorities said Sutton ignored multiple commands to comply and resisted detention. A taser was deployed but had no effect, according to the sheriff’s office. Sutton was taken to the ground, where she allegedly continued to resist, kicking and punching the deputy before being restrained.
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The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office in Farmerville, La., announced on Facebook that 41-year-old Erin Elizabeth Sutton had allegedly attacked and threatened one of their deputies after skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond, citing she was “trying to be a mermaid.” (Google Maps)
Sutton was transported to a hospital for further treatment. During the transport, she allegedly threatened to kill deputies and paramedics, authorities said.
Because Sutton required medical care at the time, deputies later sought arrest warrants, which were signed by a judge in Louisiana’s Third Judicial District Court, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sutton surrendered to deputies on Jan. 6, 2025, and was arrested on multiple charges, including three counts of resisting an officer with force or violence, two counts of public intimidation, two counts of battery of a police officer, disturbing the peace/drunkenness and criminal trespassing.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor was trespassing. (iStock)
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Her bond was set at $62,000, authorities said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response. It was not immediately clear whether Sutton has retained legal representation.
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FIRST ON FOX: Soon-to-be Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has tapped the former “chief brand strategist” for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to serve in the state’s top diversity, equity and inclusion role.
In a Tuesday statement, Spanberger, who takes office on Jan. 17, announced she is appointing Dr. Sesha Joi Moon to serve as Virginia’s chief diversity officer and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Spanberger said that Moon’s “experience across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors gives her firsthand insight into the ways in which we can build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Virginia for every family.”
“I’m excited to announce that Dr. Moon is joining our administration,” said Spanberger, adding, “Virginia deserves leaders who will make sure our work to grow our Commonwealth’s economy keeps the needs of all Virginians in mind.”
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Virginia Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 04, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“When every Virginian has the opportunity to reach their full potential, it benefits all of us,” she said.
Moon, whose doctorates are in public administration and policy and self-identifies as a “Black queer woman,” responded to her appointment by saying she is looking “forward to joining the cabinet of Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger as her historic administration works to advance a future in which all Virginians have access to opportunity — to include residents from some of the hardest-to-reach communities throughout the Commonwealth.”
Moon most recently served as the chief impact officer for the Girl Scouts of the USA. Before that, through her private consultant practice Moon & Associates, she worked as the “chief brand strategist” for Crockett, a radical far-left Democrat who is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Texas.
Earlier this year, Moon appeared on a 40-minute podcast episode, where she defended the importance of DEI and delivered a direct message to critics, saying, “This work has not stopped. You can defund and dismantle all you want, but the work continues.”
“I’m excited. I feel like DEI is just getting started,” Moon continued. “I know that sounds so insane to some people because some people think our discipline is crumbling, and I don’t see it like that. I feel like we’re onto something here.”
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Moon also served as executive-in-residence with two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ American Pride Rises Network, a DEI advocacy network.
Before that, she was the chief diversity officer of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 117th & 118th Congresses under Speakers Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Mike Johnson, R-La.
Spanberger won a decisive electoral victory this November, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a margin of over 10 percentage points.
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Then Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at a CPAC Latino Rally for Virginia on October 25, 2025 in Sterling, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Considered a purple state, Spanberger’s victory returns the Virginia governor’s mansion to the Democrats after being held by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger, Moon, Crockett, Abrams and the Girl Scouts of the USA for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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