Month: June 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Kendrid Khalil Hamlin, 26, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to assault on a member of Congress and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer stemming from an incident on February 9, 2023, in the District of Columbia.  U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 15, 2023.

            According to Hamlin’s admissions in court, he willfully assaulted a member of the House of Representatives, causing personal injury. Hamlin also admitted that he assaulted a detective and a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department that same day.

            The charge of assault on a member of Congress carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The charge of assault on a law enforcement officer carries a statutory maximum sentence of six months in prison. The court will determine the appropriate sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other factors. Because the defendant pleaded to all the counts charged in the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement, both the defendant and the government retain the right to make legal arguments at the time of sentencing.

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Gold and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Schneider.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment today against an Oregon man on charges related to his actions before and during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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 2020 presidential election.

            Jared Wise, 49, of Bend, Oregon, was indicted for civil disorder; and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, both felonies; along with four misdemeanors which were contained in the original criminal complaint: knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; uttering loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct, in any of the Capitol Buildings; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in any of the Capitol Buildings..

            According to court documents, footage from U.S. Capitol CCTV and Metropolitan Police Department  body-worn camera depicts Wise inside and on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. At approximately 2:23 p.m., Wise entered the U.S. Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door. After entering, Wise clapped his hands and raised his arms in triumph. Wise walked through the Crypt and past the Memorial Door, ultimately returning and exiting through a window adjacent to the Senate Wing Door at approximately 2:32 p.m. While inside the U.S. Capitol building, Wise is seen wearing a blue jacket and a dark facemask and carrying a dark backpack.

            A review of MPD body-worn camera footage reveals Wise engaging with police officers. At approximately 4:21 p.m., on the Upper West Terrace, Wise tells MPD officers, “You guys are disgusting. I’m former—I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo. You can’t see it. . . . Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” When violence against law enforcement began in front of Wise, including officers being knocked to the ground directly in front of him, Wise turned in the direction of the violence and shouted, “Yeah, fuck them! Yeah, kill ‘em!” A few seconds later, as assaults continued, he shouted in the direction of the rioters attacking the police line, “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!”

            Wise was employed as  a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2004 through 2017.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office with valuable assistance from the Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 28 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, 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.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A hotel manager in Georgia pleaded guilty today to trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude or forced labor.

According to court documents, Shreesh Tiwari, 70, an Indian national and legal U.S. permanent resident, began managing the Budgetel Motel in Cartersville, Georgia, in 2020. Tiwari hired the victim to work as a house cleaner at the motel. Tiwari knew that, prior to arriving at the Budgetel, the victim had experienced homelessness, struggled with a heroin addiction and lost custody of her young child. Tiwari promised the victim that he would help her regain custody of her child by providing her with pay, an apartment, and an attorney.

Instead of following through with his promises, Tiwari monitored the victim’s interactions with motel guests and employees and forbade her from speaking to them. Tiwari also made numerous sexual overtures to the victim. When Tiwari became angry at the victim, he threatened to evict her from the room he offered her at the Budgetel, knowing that she would become homeless as a result. Tiwari also threatened to report the victim’s drug use to law enforcement or child welfare agencies whenever he was angry at her. Eventually, Tiwari began to regularly “evict” the victim from her motel room, and even locked her out of her room at night without warning. Tiwari later required the victim to perform oral sex on him to stay at the motel. If she did not, Tiwari removed her from the property, causing her to be homeless.

“Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime in which traffickers specifically identify and target the most vulnerable members of our society, often using fraudulent promises to offer hope to someone in need,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This conviction demonstrates that the Justice Department is committed to prosecuting motel operators and other landlords who misuse and abuse their position of power over tenants to compel them to engage in commercial sex acts.”

“Victims of sex trafficking crimes are some of the most vulnerable individuals in our communities and they are targeted by traffickers as a result,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “We refuse to tolerate human trafficking of any kind and this conviction reinforces our commitment to protecting all victims of crime in our community – regardless of their status.”

“Prosecuting human traffickers and rescuing human trafficking victims is a top priority of this office and the Department of Homeland Security,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta Field Office. “This guilty plea highlights that commitment and serves as a warning to other predators that law enforcement is determined to find, arrest and punish those involved in this heinous crime.”

Sentencing is set for Sept. 6. Tiwari faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Tiwari agreed to pay slightly over $40,000 in mandatory restitution to the victims of offense. A federal judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Buchanan and Acting Special Agent in Charge Pickard made the announcement.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Dalton Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leanne Marek and Annalise Peters for the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.