Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A California man was found guilty in the District of Columbia of felony charges for his actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Sean Michael McHugh, 35, of Auburn, California, was found guilty yesterday, following a stipulated bench trial, of obstruction and assaulting, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers. U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 7, 2023.

            According to evidence presented in court, McHugh was on the Lower West Terrace on the afternoon of January 6 where he was captured on video footage and audio assaulting multiple U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers. McHugh is captured on video carrying a cannister of bear spray in a holster on his hip and discharging the bear spray into a line of USCP officers. Metropolitan Police Department body worn camera video and audio captures McHugh yelling at officers, among other things, “You’re protecting communists!”; “There is a Second Amendment behind us, what are you going to do then?”; and “You ain’t holding the line!” At approximately 1:40 p.m., McHugh, along with other rioters, pushed a large metal sign into a line of uniformed police officers while McHugh yelled into his megaphone, “Put it up there! Put it up there!”

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, with significant assistance provided by the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office.

            In the 27 months since January 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONCORD – Kyle Hendrickson, 25, will appear before Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone for an initial appearance in federal court today, April 18, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. in connection with his alleged threat to the Portsmouth High School on April 12, 2023, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Hendrickson was charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another on April 14, 2023. He was arrested on April 13, 2023 on state charges, and transferred into federal custody this morning.

According to the charging documents, Hendrickson posted a video to his SnapChat account on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in which he brandished a handgun while in a vehicle outside of the Portsmouth High School.  The video includes a text overlay that reads “imma shoot up the school.”  School surveillance footage placed Hendrickson’s vehicle outside the high school at the time of the video. Law enforcement recovered an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, camouflage body armor, a handgun holster, a red-dot sight, and numerous rounds of ammunition from Hendrickson’s vehicle. A handgun that resembles the one used in the SnapChat video was also recovered near a motel where Hendrickson had stayed on April 12, 2023.  

The charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and the Portsmouth Police Department led the investigation.  The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Somersworth Police Department, the Portland (Maine) Police Department, and the Berwick (Maine) Police Department provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Two international business organizations pleaded guilty and were sentenced today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for their participation in a criminal conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws and sanctions by sending U.S.-origin goods to Iran.

            Taiwan business organization DES International Co., Ltd. (“DES”), and Brunei business organization Soltech Industry Co., Ltd. (“Soltech”), each pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.  The two companies were each sentenced to pay a fine of $83,769, which is three times the value of the goods unlawfully exported to Iran, and to serve a five-year term of corporate probation. The sentences were handed down by United States District Judge Jia M. Cobb.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves; Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division Matthew G. Olsen; Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich, Jr., of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) San Antonio Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, of the San Antonio, Texas, Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations at the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos, of the Southwest Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Department of Defense (DCIS); and Special Agent in Charge Trey McClish, of the Dallas Field Office of the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement (DOC).

            “We will pursue individuals and organizations, wherever located, who would threaten our national security by attempting to illegally resell U.S. origin goods to Iran,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The U.S. government has many avenues to hold those who break our sanctions and export control laws accountable and will ensure that the penalties for these crimes will be substantially greater than the anticipated profit from these schemes. We thank all of our law enforcement partners for their unwavering commitment to this effort.”

            “The defendant companies, which shared common directors and employees, have pled guilty to obtaining US export-controlled goods for the benefit of the government of Iran and concealing the US origin of those good to facilitate their illicit transfer,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today we are holding them accountable for violating our laws at the expense of US national security.”

            “The defendants in this case took actions that placed profit and economic gain above U.S. national security and global stability,” said FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates the unwavering commitment of the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Department of Commerce to hold accountable anyone who would threaten U.S. national security and the safety of the American people.”

            “HSI will continue to work with our federal and international law enforcement partners to ensure offenders who are violating U.S. export laws and sanctions are brought to justice,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee, HSI San Antonio. “We will remain steadfast in our commitment to protect our homeland from all adversaries.

            “Keeping our nation’s sensitive technologies out of the hands of our adversaries is one of our highest priorities,” said Special Agent in Charge Mentavlos, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southwest Field Office. “DCIS, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, and our federal partners are committed to identifying and holding accountable those that seek to evade U.S. export enforcement laws, putting our warfighters at risk.”

            “BIS’s aggressive enforcement of the Export Administration Regulations plays a critical role in protecting U.S. national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Trey McClish. Dallas Field Office of the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement “In this instance, our partnership with HSI, DCIS, FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office sends the message that violating U.S. export control rules on Iran will not be tolerated.”

            According to the plea agreement documents, DES and Soltech, which were affiliated with one another by virtue of common directors, employees, and customers, both procured goods from the United States for the benefit of Iranian government entities and business organizations.  In particular, a sales agent for both DES and Soltech helped an Iranian research center obtain U.S. goods without a license from the Department of the Treasury. These goods included a power amplifier designed for use in electromechanical devices as well as cybersecurity software.  The companies’ sales agent took steps to conceal the U.S. origin of the goods, including by removing serial number stickers with the phrase “Made in USA” from packages, and by causing the cybersecurity software to be downloaded onto a computer outside of Iran.  In addition, the sales agent shared developments regarding this illegal conduct with other employees and directors of DES and Soltech.  An arrest warrant issued for the sales agent has not yet been executed.

            The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s San Antonio, Texas, Field Office, HSI, DCIS, and DOC.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman and National Security Division Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali are representing the United States.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Thank you so much for the kind introduction. I am truly honored to be with you to remember a tragedy that must never be forgotten, that commands our vigilance against hatred and bigotry and that denies us any moral refuge for silence and inaction. Acts of remembrance like today’s program not only honor the victims. They also protect the rule of law.

Nearly 20 years ago, in the rural town of Whitwell, Tennessee, middle school students conceived a unique and moving form of Holocaust remembrance. By any measure, Whitwell was not diverse. It had no Catholics, no Muslims and no Jews. To teach about diversity, Linda Hooper, the middle school principal, decided to address the Holocaust. She found, though, that the students were simply unable to comprehend the enormity of the loss of six million Jews. To try to visualize the unfathomable number, they decided to collect six million paper clips. They solicited people from all over the world – Presidents and Prime Ministers, Nobel laureates and diplomats, movie idols and sports stars – to send paper clips. The response was overwhelming. As word spread, Holocaust survivors came to speak with them, and the students even procured an authentic German rail car to house the millions of paper clips they collected.

The project transformed the community – both students and parents. Every family in the town of 1,600 got involved in what became the Children’s Holocaust Memorial. The eye-opening moral education and the deep emotional engagement of these ordinary people affirms the value of remembrance and nourishes hope that we can prevent similar tragedies.

But that hope is under siege. The past few years have seen unspeakable atrocities in Ukraine, Ethiopia, the Congo and elsewhere around the world.

And right here at home, in our enlightened democracy, hate crimes are at an all-time high. The ADL reports that antisemitic incidents – including assaults, vandalism, threats and murder – rose 36% in 2022 over 2021, and 2021 was 34% higher than 2020. Our experience here at the Justice Department is consistent with the trend. Just this month, we obtained a guilty plea from a Texas man for setting fire to Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Austin. In February, we charged a California man with hate crimes for targeting and shooting two Jewish men as they departed religious services outside Los Angeles-area synagogues. The victims suffered injuries, but, thank goodness, they survived.

The victims of the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life and New Light Jewish congregations in Pittsburgh were not so fortunate. 11 people died, and the trial in that case starts this month. 

Attacks against Black people – the most targeted group – and against other marginalized communities continue to increase. We have obtained convictions for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by three white men simply because he was Black; for the mass shooting of 23 Latinos at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, who were targeted simply because they were deemed as replacing white people in this country; for a knife attack on an Asian family because China was ostensibly responsible for COVID; and for many, many acts of violence because of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the victims.  

But we all know that criminal prosecutions, standing alone, will not end hate crimes. And that’s why we’re addressing non-criminal acts of bias that rear their ugly head in our schools, workplaces and neighborhoods, as we did recently in a Utah school district where racial harassment of Black and Asian students was rampant. And that’s why we’re seeking to prevent hate crimes through education and awareness, including a community outreach program, United Against Hate. Last fall, Attorney General Garland announced that all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the country will host this program.

Remembrance of the Holocaust is critical in this effort – as a motivator, as a North Star in the fight against hate and as a stark warning of the hell that lies beyond the boundaries of the rule of law. We honor those who perished in the Holocaust. We sanctify their memory, by rededicating ourselves to the struggle against antisemitism, racism and every form of bigotry and hate, to fortify the hope that humanity never again confronts evil so extreme, hatred so violent and murder so routinized, that we need a freight car of paperclips to help people comprehend it.

Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Note: View the Spanish version of the release here.

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with General Motors (GM) to resolve the department’s determination that GM discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The department also announced the release of a new fact sheet to help employers avoid citizenship status discrimination when complying with export control laws, which govern U.S. companies’ ability to export certain goods and software, technology and technical data. The department’s investigation of GM revealed that the company’s violations stemmed in part from its failure to properly consider the INA’s nondiscrimination requirements when also complying with export control laws.

“Export control laws do not justify or authorize an employer to discriminate against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When employers commit unlawful discrimination, the Civil Rights Division will continue holding them accountable. The Civil Rights Division is issuing a new fact sheet to help educate employers and promote greater compliance with anti-discrimination law going forward.”

Under export control laws and regulations, such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations, all “U.S. persons” working at U.S. companies can access export-controlled items without authorization from the U.S. government. U.S. persons under these laws include U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees. An employer might need authorization from the State Department or the Commerce Department to share or release export-controlled items to workers who are not U.S. persons. To confirm if an employer needs to request authorization for an employee to access export-controlled information, the employer might need to obtain a worker’s citizenship or immigration status information to determine whether they are a “U.S. person.” This process is referred to as an “export compliance assessment.”

The department’s investigation determined that until at least September 2021, GM’s export compliance assessments unnecessarily required lawful permanent residents to provide an unexpired foreign passport as a condition of employment, imposing a discriminatory barrier on them in the hiring process. From at least July 2019 until May 2021, GM improperly combined its process for verifying workers’ permission to work in the United States with its export compliance assessment, which resulted in GM unnecessarily requiring that newly hired non-U.S. citizens provide specific and unnecessary documents to prove their permission to work.

Under the terms of the agreement, GM will pay $365,000 in civil penalties to the United States. The agreement also requires GM to train its personnel on the INA’s requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. Specifically, GM must separate its process to verify permission to work in the United States from its export compliance assessment process, and stop requiring lawful permanent residents to present foreign passports as a condition of employment.

The INA’s anti-discrimination provision generally prohibits employers from discriminating based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin during the hiring process, including by imposing unnecessary documentary demands as a condition of employment. This law also prohibits employers from asking for more documents than necessary or specific documents when checking an employee’s permission to work because of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Federal law allows workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to demonstrate their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. As explained in the fact sheet issued today, these employer obligations do not change when complying with export-control laws and regulations.  

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute generally prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation. 

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when complying with export control requirements on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.