Southwest
Former NFL player LeShon Johnson charged in FBI's largest dog fighting bust, 190 animals seized: indictment

Former NFL running back LeShon Eugene Johnson has been indicted on 21 charges in a massive federal dog fighting bust that led to the recovery of 190 pit bulls, according to the Justice Department.
Federal authorities said they believe it’s their largest seizure of fighting dogs from a single individual in U.S. history.
Johnson, a 54-year-old from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is accused of operating a large-scale breeding and trafficking operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels” as well as raising fighting dogs himself.
He pleaded guilty to similar charges at the state level in 2004.
PUERTO RICAN MAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DECADES OF DOG FIGHTING
Running back LeShon Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals moves the ball during a game against the New York Jets at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Stephen Dunn /Allsport )
“This strategic prosecution of an alleged repeat offender led to the seizure of 190 dogs destined for a cruel end,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson. “It disrupts a major source of dogs used in other dog fighting ventures.”
Johnson allegedly raised “champion” and “grand champion” fighting pit bulls and then sold breeding rights around the country.
Some of the dogs’ names were War Pony, Boot Stomper and Hogg, the latter of which was purported to have won eight fights.
KASH PATEL SHARPENS WARNING MESSAGE FOR TESLA ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’ PERPETRATORS

Portrait of Northern Illinois running back LeShon Johnson during a photo shoot at a ranch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 16, 1993. (Ken Geiger /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Prosecutors said that is an unusually high number of victories, because dogs often suffer mortal injuries during brutal fights.
To become a “grand champion,” a dog needs to win five. A “champion” wins three.
“Animal abuse is cruel, depraved, and deserves severe punishment,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and will remain committed to protecting innocent animals from those who would do them harm.”

New York Giants running back LeShon Johnson flips over after a gain as he’s covered by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Mike Peterson (L) and safety Jason Belser during a game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (REUTERS)
According to court filings, a trove of evidence was recovered from Johnson’s phone, including text messages, a Facebook page, CashApp history, emails discussing sales and even pedigrees for the dogs. Authorities also seized dogs at two separate properties owned by Johnson.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau views animal cruelty cases as a stepping stone to organized crime, including trafficking and murder.
“The FBI will not tolerate criminals that harm innocent animals for their twisted form of entertainment,” he said in a statement.
Johnson was indicted in January, court records show, but the court unsealed the filing this week after his arrest on Thursday in Muskogee. The dogs were seized from his property in October 2024 under the Animal Welfare Act, according to federal prosecutors, who said they believe the 190 animals mark the largest seizure from a single person in such a case.
Johnson, who played for the Packers, Cardinals and Giants during a six-year NFL career in the 1990s, was part of a 2014 class action lawsuit accusing the NFL of failing to protect players from concussions.
He faces up to five years in prison on each count if convicted and a $250,000 fine. Fox News Digital reached out to his attorney.
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Southwest
Suspected Austin Metcalf killer allowed to graduate from high school despite murder charge: report

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The teenager suspected of killing high school track star Austin Metcalf will be allowed to graduate from his Frisco, Texas, high school despite being charged with first-degree murder, according to a report.
Karmelo Anthony will graduate from Centennial High School, part of the Frisco Independent School District, according to WFAA. Students from that high school are set to graduate on May 22.
Anthony will not be part of the graduation ceremony, according to the report.
“We are proud to share that Karmelo Anthony will graduate and receive his high school diploma, and that his academic achievements will not be disrupted,” Next Generation Action Network (NGAN) President Dominique Alexander, a spokesman for Anthony’s family, reportedly said.
Karmelo Anthony, left, is charged with murdering Austin Metcalf, right. (FOX 4/Jeff Metcalf)
“NGAN has worked diligently alongside the Anthony family’s legal team to bring about this fair and student-focused resolution,” he said. “This is a moment of dignity for Karmelo and a reminder of the power of advocacy done right.”
SUSPECT IN AUSTIN METCALF KILLING MOVED TO ‘UNDISCLOSED LOCATION’ FOR PROTECTION: FAMILY SPOKESMAN
Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip addressed what he said were false rumors that Anthony would be able to attend the graduation ceremony.
“Frisco ISD has learned that misinformation is being shared regarding Centennial High School’s graduation via several media outlets and perpetuated through social media,” he told WFAA. “It is disheartening that the incredible accomplishments and achievements of our Centennial seniors may be dampened by needless fearmongering, attention-seeking and media vitriol. Our students, staff and community deserve better.
“I want to be clear. No student who commits a serious criminal offense (Title V felony) is permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony. Additionally, anyone who trespasses on Frisco ISD property or at a District event will be subject to immediate removal and possible arrest by law enforcement,” he said, adding that the school district does not condone violence.

File photo of Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School in Frisco, who was stabbed in the chest, allegedly by 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student-athlete from Frisco Centennial High School. (Courtesy Jeff Metcalf)
“We work to ensure every student is safe to learn and feels part of our culture of respect, honor and integrity,” he said.
“Let’s come together as a community to honor and support our students and staff. This moment is about their success, and they deserve our full attention and encouragement. Congratulations to the Centennial Class of 2025!”
Anthony, now 18, is accused of stabbing and killing Metcalf over a dispute regarding Anthony’s presence in the Memorial High School tent at the April 2 track meet.
ACCUSED AUSTIN METCALF KILLER WON’T FACE DEATH PENALTY OR LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE: DA
He and his supporters claim that he acted in self-defense, and that Metcalf pushed him out of the tent.
That claim is tenuous, according to Julie Rendelman, a former homicide prosecutor from New York who now runs a private criminal defense firm.

File photo of Jeff Metcalf with his son, Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School in Frisco, who was stabbed in the chest allegedly by 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student-athlete from Frisco Centennial High School. (Courtesy Jeff Metcalf)
“If the evidence is what it is right now, I think he’s going to have an uphill battle claiming self-defense,” she previously told Fox News Digital. “If the scenario is… that the victim told [Anthony] to leave, and then in some way physically touched him without more, then I’m not comfortable – I don’t believe that a self-defense claim will work.”
Meanwhile, Alexander has compared Anthony to figures like Kyle Rittenhouse and Daniel Penny, who have won self-defense cases in criminal court.
“Nobody in the public media has one video, but we got the video of Kyle Rittenhouse with an AK-47 shooting three people in the back,” he said in a chaotic April 17 news conference before which Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, was escorted off the property. “We got that, and he raised more than $2 million publicly, and nobody said anything about that.”
TEXAS TRACK MEET STABBING SUSPECT TOLD RESPONDING OFFICER HE ‘DID IT’: DOCS
He also called Anthony’s detractors bigots, in what has become a racially charged public discussion.

Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network hosted a news conference on behalf of Karmelo Anthony’s family on April 17. (Next Generation Action Network via Facebook)
“Because these racist bigots try to prevent us from standing up for our baby, our boy, he should be afforded the same rights that Kyle Rittenhouse had, Daniel Penny and all the people who have claimed whatever their defense was. He should be afforded the same right,” Alexander said.
“What [Jeff Metcalf] has felled [sic] into is the political operatives that want to make this thing a political thing of hate and yet bigotry and yet racism,” he said of Austin’s father. “We have conservative operatives that have been posting nonstop about this case.”
NGAN and Frisco ISD declined to comment.
Anthony’s attorney, Mike Howard, did not return a comment request.
Jeff Metcalf did not return a comment request.
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Southwest
Judge orders release of Georgetown researcher arrested by ICE after allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda

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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of Badar Khan Suri, the Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher detained by immigration officials in March for allegedly spreading propaganda in support of Hamas.
Federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles issued her order from the bench during a court hearing in Virginia, saying that the government presented no evidence to refute Suri’s claims that he was being punished for his views on the war in Gaza.
Suri, who is married to an American citizen, was being held in federal detention in Texas following his arrest.
Suri, an Indian national in the U.S. on a student visa, was accused of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said in a statement in March.
MILWAUKEE JUDGE INDICTED FOR HELPING IMMIGRANT EVADE ICE FACES UP TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University, was arrested by ICE on Monday over allegations claiming that he spread Hamas propaganda on social media. (Georgetown University)
“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” the DHS statement continued. DHS did not name the suspected terrorist or Hamas advisor.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined on March 15 that Suri’s activities and presence in the U.S. “rendered him deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the senior official said. The act is a rarely used legal statute that gives Rubio sweeping power to deport those who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio rendered Badar Khan Suri “deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a senior DHS official said in March. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool, File)
Suri was duly granted a visa to enter the U.S. to perform doctoral research on peace building in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Georgetown University spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News following his March arrest.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Hiker, 33, dies after hiking Arizona mountains in extreme heat, 4 others rescued

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A 33-year-old hiker died and four others were rescued from a mountain range in Arizona during extreme heat on Sunday, authorities said.
The hikers were trekking along the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix when they suffered heat-related issues at around 1 p.m. local time on Sunday, Superstition Fire and Medical said in a social media post.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that 33-year-old Noah Farabaugh died during the rescue. The sheriff’s office said no further updates surrounding the death were expected, pending results from the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The other four hikers were helped down the mountain and refused to be taken to a hospital, Superstition Fire and Medical said.
FATAL FALL IN WASHINGTON’S NORTH CASCADES KILLS 3, LEAVES 1 SURVIVOR
First responders said one hiker died during the rescue. Four others were helped down the mountain and refused medical attention. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
The five hikers had been on the trail near the Wave Cave trailhead for about six hours when they experienced heat issues, the Arizona Republic reported, citing the Superstition fire officials.

The Superstition Mountains are located about 40 miles from Phoenix. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
Temperatures in the area exceeded 100 degrees on Sunday, heat that is around 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year, the National Weather Service in Phoenix said.
HIKERS UNCOVER MYSTERIOUS GOLD-FILLED TREASURE TROVE IN OVERGROWN FIELD: ‘UNUSUALLY LARGE’
Authorities warned hikers to avoid hiking in extreme heat or excessive heat warnings.

Temperatures in the area exceeded 100 degrees on Sunday, the National Weather Service said. (Superstition Fire and Medical )
“As temperatures climb, so does the risk. Heat illness can set in fast, even for experienced hikers,” Superstition Fire and Medical said in the social media post. “Please stay safe and plan wisely. No hike is worth your life.”
The Superstition Mountains are located about 40 miles from Phoenix.
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