Connect with us

California

Judge orders Trump administration to stop racial profiling in California immigration raids

Published

on

Judge orders Trump administration to stop racial profiling in California immigration raids


play

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop immigration agents in southern California from “indiscriminately” arresting people based on racial profiling, saying that it had likely broken the law by dispatching “roving patrols” of agents to carry out sweeping arrests.

Advertisement

The decision was a win for a group of immigration advocates and five people arrested by immigration agents that sued the Department of Homeland Security over what it called a “common, systematic pattern” of people with brown skin forcibly detained and questioned in the Los Angeles area.

In a complaint filed July 2, the group said the area had come “under siege” by masked immigration agents “flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners, and other places.” They alleged agents picked out targets to forcefully detain and question solely because they had brown skin, spoke Spanish or English with an accent, and worked as day laborers, farm workers, or other jobs.

Those arrested were denied access to lawyers and held in “dungeon-like” facilities where some were “pressured” into accepting deportation, the lawsuit alleged.

Judge Maame Frimpong of the Central District of California wrote in her order that the group would likely succeed in proving that “the federal government is indeed conducting roving patrols without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers.” Stopping the indiscriminate arrests was a “fairly moderate request,” she wrote.

Advertisement

Her order granted an emergency request, and the lawsuit is going.

Mohammad Tajsar, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing the group that brought the lawsuit, said, “It does not take a federal judge to recognize that marauding bands of masked, rifle-toting goons have been violating ordinary people’s rights throughout Southern California.”

“We are hopeful that today’s ruling will be a step toward accountability for the federal government’s flagrant lawlessness.”

Frimpong “is undermining the will of the American people,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to USA TODAY. “America’s brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists.”

Advertisement

Allegations that agents are making arrests based on skin color are “disgusting and categorically FALSE,” McLaughlin said. “DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence.”

The Trump administration ramped up immigration raids across California starting in June, widening its focus from those with criminal records to a broader sweep for anyone in the country illegally.

The crackdown sparked ongoing protests, which Trump dispatched National Guard troops and Marines to quell.

Advertisement



Source link

California

FBI agent posing as 12-year-old girl ensnares alleged pedophile in California

Published

on

FBI agent posing as 12-year-old girl ensnares alleged pedophile in California


A 41-year-old Ventura man is facing the possibility of life in prison after he sent a federal agent posing as both a dad and a daughter sexually explicit photos, authorities announced earlier this week.  

Trevor Lyons began speaking to the undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in August 2024 on the Kik messaging app. At the time, the agent was posing as the father of a 12-year-old girl who used the name “UC Dad,” the L.A. Times reported.  

According to the indictment, Lyons responded, “Oooof. A tad young but do you have pics?” when the undercover officer gave him the age of his fictitious daughter. 

Federal officials also said Lyons told UC Dad that he wanted to talk to the young girl, saying, “I’d love to see how much of a freak she is.”  

Advertisement

The 41-year-old then offered photos of his own 17-year-old daughter from when she was 15 years old and continued to have sexually explicit conversations with UC Dad that month on Telegram.

In September 2024, Lyons added what he thought was UC Dad’s 12-year-old girl as a friend on Discord, telling her that he was 40 and asking if she had ever seen a penis before, the indictment details. As the conversations continued to escalate, investigators say he asked UC Dad’s daughter if she had ever performed oral sex and offered to teach her how before sending an explicit photo and video with a request that she perform it on him.  

Law enforcement seized various electronics from Lyons in December 2024, including an iPhone 16, an iPad and a Samsung Galaxy flip phone.  

In the indictment, filed in August this year, investigators allege Lyons had a yearslong history of distributing child pornography along with accusations that in May 2020, he coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit acts for photographs that would be distributed as child sexual abuse materials.  

The 41-year-old, according to federal investigators, went by several usernames online, including Defi Samurai, Carly and Herbdoc.  

Advertisement

He was arrested Oct. 20 after a federal grand jury charged him in a nine-count felony indictment with sexual exploitation, attempted sexual exploitation of a child for the purpose of producing sexually explicit visual depiction, attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and distribution of child pornography, according to the FBI.  

“If convicted on all charges, Lyons faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison,” federal officials said.  





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

California

Pedestrian killed by big rig in hit-and-run on I-5 in Yolo County, CHP says

Published

on

Pedestrian killed by big rig in hit-and-run on I-5 in Yolo County, CHP says


A man died Tuesday night after being struck by a big rig while running along southbound Interstate 5 northwest of Woodland in California’s Yolo County, officials said.

The California Highway Patrol’s Woodland division said it happened around 8 p.m. near the Interstate 505 interchange, between Dunnigan and Zamora. Crews were already responding to a nearby medical call and were able to arrive quickly, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told officers that an all-white big rig initially slowed down after the crash but then continued driving south on I-5 toward Sacramento. The CHP says the truck likely has damage to its front left corner.

The CHP Woodland is asking anyone who may have seen the crash or has information about the truck or its driver to contact their office.

Advertisement

Traffic in the area was not affected.



Source link

Continue Reading

California

Motorcycle rider sent over guardrail in fatal Southern California crash

Published

on

Motorcycle rider sent over guardrail in fatal Southern California crash


California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators are trying to determine what led up to a fatal motorcycle crash in Corona over the weekend.

The collision occurred as the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions near a sharp turn on Cajalco Road just east of Eagle Canyon Road around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.

Arriving officers found the motorcycle down in the roadway near a car with front-end damage and a smashed windshield.

A motorcycle and a car are seen following a fatal collision in Corona on Oct. 19, 2025. (Oncene.TV)

The unidentified motorcycle rider was sent over the railing as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, news video service OnScene.TV reported.

Advertisement

The occupants of the car involved in the crash were treated at the scene by paramedics but were not transported to a hospital, the news service stated.

It was unclear if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending