Southeast
Virginia drops last remaining charge against DC-area elections official
Prosecutors have dropped the last remaining charge against a northern Virginia elections official who had been accused of misconduct related to the 2020 elections.
A judge on Monday formally dismissed a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty against Michele White, the former registrar in Prince William County, a suburb outside the nation’s capital, after prosecutors requested the dismissal.
The most serious charges against White had already been dismissed. The Virginia Attorney General’s Office said it was forced to drop felony charges of corrupt conduct and making a false statement because a key witness had revised their testimony.
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White was indicted back in 2022, and the office of Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares never spelled out publicly or in court papers exactly what it alleged White did wrong. Court records indicated only generally that the allegations had to do with 2020 election results, and county officials said back when White was indicted only that the alleged discrepancies in vote totals would not have affected the outcome of any race.
Assistant Attorney General James Herring declined comment on the case after Monday’s hearing.
White’s attorney, Zachary Stafford, said after the dismissal that the government’s case amounted to a hodgepodge of complaints “and the underlying theme was that Ms. White was bad at her job.”
He said the allegations ranged from trivial — that she moved her office to a different building — to a serious allegation that she reported incorrect results in the presidential race from the county’s central absentee precinct. Stafford said that allegation “was subsequently disproven by a Commonwealth witness.”
Prosecutors have dropped their last remaining charge against former Prince William County, Virginia, elections official Michele White.
“(T)he evidence is clear that Ms. White did not commit any crimes during her tenure as Registrar in Prince William County, and the Attorney General’s office wisely dropped the charges,” Stafford said in a written statement. “This process has been traumatic for Ms. White, and today’s dismissal is just the first step towards recovering from that trauma. Ms. White was a dedicated public servant, and the evidence shows that she conducted an accurate election in 2020.”
The case against White is the only criminal prosecution brought thus far by a special Election Integrity Unit Miyares formed in 2022, with as many as 20 lawyers assigned to the unit.
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“I pledged during the 2021 campaign to work to increase transparency and strengthen confidence in our state elections. It should be easy to vote, and hard to cheat. The Election Integrity Unit will work to help to restore confidence in our democratic process in the Commonwealth,” Miyares said when the unit was formed.
In White’s case, prosecutors insinuated that the case fell apart because a witness in the county’s elections office “conveniently” changed their testimony to the detriment of the government’s case.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Carroll Weimer asked if the government was implying that there were “shenanigans” that caused the government’s case to collapse.
Herring maintained that he considered some of the witnesses’ revisions to their testimony “convenient” but said that he had no reason to believe that White was responsible for those revisions.
White’s attorney disputes that the witness’ testimony was inconsistent.
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Southeast
Parents’ relentless hunt for missing daughter heats up as new technology breathes life into case
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Two decades after Jennifer Kesse mysteriously disappeared, her parents say they continue to search for their daughter every day as emerging technology gives them a sense of optimism.
Jennifer Kesse was 24 years old when she vanished Jan. 24, 2006, after failing to show up for work in Orlando, Florida.
In an interview with Fox News affiliate WTVT, marking 20 years since her disappearance, her parents, Drew and Joyce Kesse, described how the passage of time has not brought closure.
“We look for Jennifer pretty much every day,” they said. “It seems like an eternity. It seems that we’re still living in a surreal state.”
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Florida investigators have reignited the search for Jennifer Kesse after her Orlando disappearance Jan. 24, 2006. (Fox News/Courtesy of the Kesse Family)
Jennifer’s car was later found about a mile from her home. Surveillance video showed a person of interest parking her car and walking away, but the individual’s face was not visible.
Drew previously shared with Fox News Digital that after Jennifer’s employer called to report that she failed to show, he immediately tried to reach his daughter, relying on a family rule that they would always answer each other’s calls. But her phone went straight to voicemail.
“I knew something was wrong immediately,” Kesse said.
Jennifer Kesse, 24, was reported missing after she failed to show up for work Jan. 24, 2006. (WTTV)
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Drew and Joyce made the two-hour drive from their home in Tampa to Orlando, where they found their daughter’s apartment empty with several outfit choices laid out on her bed.
The parents immediately called the Orlando Police Department (OPD) to report Jennifer missing.
“They looked around her apartment, shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘She had a fight with her boyfriend probably. She’ll be back,’” Kesse said. “They walked out. And that was Jennifer’s last chance.”
The Kesses later sued OPD to gain access to Jennifer’s case file, which spans more than 16,000 pages.
“It exhausts you. It drains you physically, mentally and emotionally, and it will in time take a toll on your actual physical health,” they told FOX 13.
With the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) now overseeing the case, the Kesses said they are pursuing new investigative approaches, including working with an artificial intelligence firm to analyze the case file and surveillance video.
One focus has been on identifying the person of interest through physical characteristics visible in the video.
“An ear is just like an eye or a fingerprint. It’s very unique to a person,” Drew said. “When we find the ear, then we’ve found the person.”
Jennifer Kesse and her father, Drew, open presents in an undated family photo. (Courtesy of the Kesse Family )
The Kesses also said new DNA samples were tested last year and that investigators are closer than ever to identifying several people they would like to speak with.
As they continue to wait for answers, Jennifer’s parents said they still believe she was taken shortly after disappearing.
“I personally still think that Jennifer was taken and taken out of the area — state and maybe country — very quickly,” her father said, adding he believes she may have been targeted because she was alone.
Drew and Joyce shared with Fox News affiliate WTTV that they will never stop searching for their daughter, Jennifer, who disappeared Jan. 24, 2006. (KTTV)
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Now nearing 70, Jennifer’s parents said their determination has not faded since the search began two decades ago.
“Till we die,” Joyce said. “Whatever it takes. There’s no quit in us.”
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Jennifer Kesse smiles alongside her mother, Joyce. (Courtesy of the Kesse Family )
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Anyone with information about Jennifer’s disappearance is encouraged to contact FDLE’s Orlando office at 407-245-0888 or OROCColdCaseTips@fdle.state.fl.us.
The OPD and the FDLE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Middle school basketball fight results in adult getting tased as announcer nonchalantly calls the action
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A chaotic scene unfolded in Kentucky during a middle school basketball game on Thursday night, as a fight led to someone getting tased.
Emmalena and Carr Creek elementary schools were competing in the A-Team Championships at Knott County Central High School, and things got ugly when two players tackled each other onto the court.
That prompted coaches and players to try to break up the fight, but chaos grew when parents came down from the stands to try to end the fracas.
Emmalena and Carr Creek elementary schools were competing in the A-Team Championships at Knott County Central High School. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
That only made matters worse, resulting in one adult on the floor getting tased.
The announcers on the call gave A-plus commentary.
“Look here, this ball game’s gotta get over,” one announcer said.
Then, when the moment happened, the announcer called it as if it were a normal occurrence.
“They just tased Ryan,” the announcer said.
Perhaps middle school basketball just means more in Kentucky.
A brawl ensued at a middle school game in Kentucky, but it was the announcer’s call that stole the show.
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The announcer’s call got some love. A Barstool Sports personality likened it to Al Michaels call of the “Miracle on Ice.”
“He said ‘they just tased Ryan’ like Ryan has been tased before,” another X user wrote.
Somehow, no arrests were reported. The game was called due to the brawl, with Carr Creek leading 48-30, but no winner was declared.
The game was called due to the brawl. (Fox News)
That wasn’t the only basketball brawl in Kentucky this week, as a high school game had fisticuffs and benches clearing.
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Southeast
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially charged incident
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A member of Congress was allegedly assaulted Friday evening while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., wrote on X on Saturday: “Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face.”
Frost added that the suspect “was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”
Frost said the man had been arrested and that he wasn’t hurt in the incident.
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Rep. Maxwell Frost, D, Fla., said he was assaulted Friday evening while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. ( Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action)
“Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident,” he added.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded to the news on X: writing, “I am horrified by the attack on Congressman Maxwell Frost. Grateful that he is okay, but appalled that this terrifying assault took place. The perpetrator must be aggressively prosecuted.”
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Jeffries continued: “Hate and political violence has no place in our country, and the entire House Democratic Caucus family stands with Maxwell.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost attending a Sundance Film Festival event on Friday. (Robin Marchant/Getty Images for The Creative Coalition)
The alleged assault took place at a party hosted by the CAA talent party at the High West Saloon, which the suspect crashed, according to Variety.
The suspect was allegedly bragging in the bathroom about being “White” before punching Frost in the face, the outlet reported.
He has yet to be identified.
The Sundance Film Festival is held in Park City, Utah, every January. (David Becker/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Park City Police Department for comment.
The 29-year-old congressman was first elected to serve in Florida’s 10th district in 2022.
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