Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
Source: United States Department of Justice
Good afternoon. Thank you, Liz, for the introduction and for your leadership. It is a true privilege to be here today, joining the Attorney General and my colleagues here on this stage for their immense work but my colleagues also across the Justice Department to commemorate National Missing Children’s Day and pay tribute to the recipients of this year’s awards.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendants Are Brothers Who Assaulted Officers
WASHINGTON — Two Illinois men, who are brothers, each pleaded guilty to a felony charge for their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their 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.
Daniel Leyden, 55, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers. Joseph Leyden, 56, of La Grange, Illinois, pleaded guilty on May 23, 2023, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers.
A sentencing hearing for Daniel Leyden was scheduled for September 6, 2023; Joseph Leyden is scheduled for sentencing on August 29, 2023.
According to court documents, Daniel and Joseph Leyden were among the rioters who were illegally on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. Shortly after 12:50 p.m., Daniel Leyden was in a crowd that confronted law enforcement officers at metal barricades near the Peace Circle. Daniel Leyden and other rioters repeatedly lifted and pushed a metal barricade. These actions caused a U.S. Capitol Police officer to fall backwards, pinning the officer under the barricade. At the same time, several other officers were also assaulted by the rioters with the barricade, including one who was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion. Daniel Leyden’s actions contributed to injuries that these officers sustained and prevented officers from defending themselves and providing aid to one another. Daniel Leyden and other rioters then swarmed past the police.
Joseph Leyden was among rioters at the West Plaza at the Capitol, where at approximately 1:14 p.m., rioters began to pull other metal barriers into the crowd, compromising the ability to law enforcement officers to re-establish a perimeter. Joseph Leyden advanced and rushed towards an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department. He then lunged at and pushed the officer.
This 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 Northern District of Illinois.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Chicago Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Daniel Leyden as #438 and Joseph Leyden as #386 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
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.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
Given the critical role that women play in the security sector, combating organized crime, terrorism, and violent extremism, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of State joined forces the week of May 22 to 26, 2023, to host an Asia-Pacific Regional Symposium on Women in Law Enforcement in Denpasar, Indonesia. Increasing women’s participation in law enforcement bolsters operational effectiveness and expands police institutions’ ability to engage in local communities.
The event, which is being attended by approximately 70 law enforcement professionals from eight nations around the globe, amplifies regional and strategic objectives in empowering women as meaningful, essential contributors to security, law enforcement, and counterterrorism. The symposium also provides a forum for participants to undertake career-development training, engage in networking opportunities, and bolster the advancement of women in law enforcement. The symposium includes participants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
“We are educating ourselves and our partners on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in law enforcement; it’s time to focus on intentional strategies to change norms and power structures hampering progress toward greater equality,” said Director Gregory Ducot of the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). “We hope the connections made this week will advance women in this field and provide them with the resources needed to assist with their career development, ultimately moving the counterterrorism mission forward.”
“The Engaging Multinational Policewomen on Equality and Rights (EMPoWER) program is so incredibly valuable in identifying those who can be agents of change in their institutions and societies,” said Ambassador Tina Kaidanow, the Department of State’s Special Representative for Guantanamo Affairs. “Their ability to be not only professionally curious but also introspective means that they can use the training and best practices provided, apply those lessons to their own environment, and use those tools to help them advance further in their respective organizations. There is no question that in promoting the integration of women into the senior ranks of law enforcement and counterterrorism, we are expanding inclusivity of all groups and promoting a diverse force that can react credibly to communal needs – thereby helping to prevent the growth of radicalism wherever it may take root.”
In addition, the symposium provides opportunities for senior men and women in U.S. and international security careers to have meaningful interactions with women in the security professions in multiple Asia-Pacific countries.
Symposium presenters include:
Discussion highlights include:
The Asia-Pacific Regional Symposium on Women in Law Enforcement was organized by: The U.S. Department of Justice’s ICITAP and its EMPoWER program, the Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT), and the Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The EMPoWER program, a partnership between the Departments of Justice and State, builds the capacity of women to combat terrorism by supporting them through the provision of leadership and technical training and mentorship. Previous EMPoWER-led regional symposiums were held in March 2022 in Opatija, Croatia, and in June 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.
To learn more about ICITAP’s capacity building programs around the world, visit www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
A corrections officer at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, New Jersey, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and required to pay a $10,000 fine for agreeing with others to physically assault inmates for actual, perceived and fabricated violations of the prison’s rules and customs in a manner that resulted in injury to the inmates.
John Makos, 42, of Millville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to conspiring with others to deprive inmates of their right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
“This jail official was complicit in a series of violent assaults on inmates, turning a blind eye as the assaults were carried out as punishment for alleged violations of prison rules,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentencing demonstrates that correctional officers who abuse their authority and violate the civil rights of inmates under their custody and control will be held accountable for their actions. The Justice Department is committed to protecting the civil rights of all people, including those held inside our jails and prisons.”
“Corrections officers are responsible for protecting the civil rights of the people in their custody,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “Incarcerated persons may have broken the law, but equal treatment is one of our country’s founding principles, and civil rights do not cease to exist at a prison’s gates. This defendant allowed incarcerated persons under his care to be brutalized and abused his authority as a law enforcement officer. Today’s sentence is another reminder that civil rights violations by law enforcement officials will not be tolerated.”
“The defendant sentenced today misused his position of power and permitted the brutal assault of inmates in his custody,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI remains dedicated to uncovering any violation of civil rights and pursuing justice for victims in these cases.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least April 2019 through December 2019, while working as a corrections officer, Makos and others at Bayside State Prison agreed to physically assault certain victim-inmates for actual, perceived, and fabricated violations of the prison’s rules and customs. The assaults caused physical injury and pain to the victim-inmates. These assaults took place while the victim-inmates were under Makos’ supervision and in areas of the prison’s kitchen that were out of sight of institutional surveillance cameras. For example, on Dec. 7, 2019, Makos watched and did not attempt to intervene when multiple inmates pinned a victim-inmate to the floor and, while the inmates restrained the victim-inmate, punched the victim-inmate approximately 25 times. Makos did not report this assault to his supervisors or medical personnel, despite knowing he was required to do so.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Sellinger and FBI Assistant Director Quesada made the announcement.
The FBI Newark Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari B. Fontecchio and Sara Merin of the Special Prosecutions Division for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Shan Patel formerly of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendant Illegally Entered the Office of the Speaker of the House
WASHINGTON – An Arkansas man was sentenced today in the District of Columbia on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the Jan. 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.
Richard Barnett, 62, of Gravette, Arkansas, was sentenced to 54 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and a $2,000 fine, following a sentencing hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 3, 2023. Barnett was found guilty, on January 23, 2023, of all charges including: obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with a police officer during a civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous or deadly weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, all of which are felonies. He was also found guilty of entering and remaining in certain rooms in a capitol building, disorderly conduct in a capitol building, theft of government property, parading or demonstrating in a capitol building.
According to the government’s evidence, U.S. Capitol Police learned that an individual had entered the restricted office area of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and was photographed with his feet propped up on furniture. Those photos were circulated on numerous news media platforms which identified the individual as Barnett. A search of law enforcement databases confirmed that the individual in the news photographs did in fact appear to be Barnett.
Evidence established that Barnett carried a Zap Hike ‘N Strike Walking Staff with spike electrodes with him as he traveled through the Capitol, and that he exposed those spike electrodes as various points that day, including during a face-to-face encounter with a Metropolitan Police Officer. During that encounter, Barnett threatened to call in the mob and push through the line of officers if the officer did not go and retrieve Barnett’s flag, that he had left in the officers of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with valuable assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI’s Little Rock, Arkansas and Washington Field Offices, with the assistance of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
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.