Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Mark Lamont Clark, 57, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, was found guilty today of two counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law.  The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M Graves and Chief Robert J. Contee, III, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            According to evidence presented in court, on July 13, 2018, while acting under color of law and fully dressed in his MPD uniform, Clark applied a prohibited chokehold to victim D.T., causing bodily injury and depriving D.T. of civil rights, outside a McDonald’s restaurant, following a confrontation Clark had with a friend of D.T.  Just five days later, on July 18, 2018, while acting under color of law and fully dressed in his MPD uniform, Clark similarly escalated a verbal confrontation with a McDonald’s patron, victim K.C., and then applied a prohibited chokehold and a prohibited carotid artery hold to K.C., causing bodily injury and depriving K.C. of civil rights.  Both offenses were captured on Clark’s MPD body-worn camera (BWC).

            U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols presided over Clark’s trial and scheduled Clark’s sentencing for August 30, 2023.

            This case was investigated by the Internal Affairs Division of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Truscott and George Eliopoulos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department’s today announced the release of the National Protocol for Intimate Partner Violence Medical Forensic Examinations. The protocol will guide the clinical practice of conducting comprehensive assessments for patients experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) that prioritize the patient’s health and well-being. Acting Director Allison Randall of  the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women made the announcement at the 2023 Conference on Crimes Against Women in Dallas.

IPV is a significant issue that poses considerable health, social, and legal challenges within the United States. It impacts individuals of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and socioeconomic statuses.

Conducting medical forensic exams within a trauma-informed framework is crucial to our nation’s response to IPV. They play a vital role not just in providing immediate medical attention, but also in supporting the long-term recovery, safety and well-being of victims. These examinations offer prompt and necessary medical care to victims, identifying even non-apparent injuries. They also collect critical evidence that can be used in legal proceedings. During the exam, victims are also given access to essential resources such as counseling and safety planning services. This provides a crucial lifeline of support, aiding their journey toward recovery and safety.

“The protocol helps ensure that victims will be cared for with compassion and respect after an assault,” said Acting Director Randall. “Clinicians have the chance to offer patients experiencing IPV an assortment of choices, empowering them to make the most suitable decisions for their own welfare and that of their loved ones. The evidence collected in the exam can also strengthen criminal cases to hold offenders accountable.”

The protocol, developed in a collaborative effort with the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) and an array of project partners across disciplines – health care, justice, victim advocacy, law enforcement, victim services and leading national entities – provides comprehensive guidance for patient care. It emphasizes delivering trauma-informed, patient-centered care across various health care settings and supports a gender-affirming approach to care. The protocol underscores the crucial role of accessible language and effective communication, and advocates for the use of interpretation and translation services to guarantee equitable access. It outlines protocols for screening IPV patients in all settings and emphasizes the provision of care in different age groups, from adolescents to older adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 41% of women and 26% of men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner and reported an intimate partner violence-related impact during their lifetime. The protocol serves as an integral tool in bolstering the Justice Department’s endeavor to safeguard survivors of IPV as well as keeping communities nationwide safe.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Texas man today pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for a felony charge for his actions 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.

            Joshua Lollar, 41, of Spring, Texas, pleaded guilty, in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, to obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, and was immediately sentenced to 13 months in prison. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered 12 months of supervised release, and restitution of $2,000.

            According to court documents and Lollar’s admissions, on January 4, 2021, Lollar left his home in Spring, Texas, and traveled alone by car to a hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Lollar, an Army veteran, brought with him, among other items, a backpack, gloves, a gas mask, a tan body armor vest, and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, along with his concealed carry permit. As he was enroute, Lollar texted one of his friends/family members, “I’m about to head to D.C. We are going to try and save the country.” He later texted another, “God has called me here for something. I think this is a start to something much bigger.” On January 6, he attended a rally for then-President Trump at the Ellipse. After the rally concluded, Lollar told authorities that he followed the crowd to the U.S. Capitol grounds. Once he reached the Capitol, Lollar later donneda gas mask, body armor, and gloves.  At approximately 2:55 p.m., Lollar and a mob of others, undeterred by the presence of broken glass, alarms, smoke, and police clad in riot gear, entered the Capitol and headed directly to the Rotunda with the purpose of disrupting then-Vice President Pence’s certification of the 2020 election. Lollar proudly bragged of his escapades inside the U.S. Capitol.

            Lollar reached the Rotunda where he joined others and repeatedly engaged in physical confrontations with a line of law enforcement officers in full riot gear who were attempting to keep the crowd of rioters from further penetrating the U.S. Capitol building. At approximately 3:05 p.m., Lollar was pepper-sprayed by officers, but he continued to physically engage with officers. Lollar even took time to proudly post to his social media followers, “Yeah, I’m good. Just got gassed and fought the cops that I never thought would happen.” Later, as officers tried to clear rioters, Lollar physically engaged with multiple federal law enforcement officers, using his arms and his torso to repel efforts to eject him from the Rotunda. Lollar reacted to an officer’s attempt to remove his gas mask by shoving the officer’s arm away and used his torso and arms to physically engage with Officer C.D. and push back against his riot shield.

            At about 3:04 p.m., officers gathered on the west side of the Rotunda, preparing to move rioters out of the Rotunda. Lollar positioned himself at the front of the rioters, face-to-face with the officers. Lollar refused to move as the officers stepped forward and instead leaned into the police, using his weight to resist. At about 3:08 p.m., as the line of officers began to advance against the rioters, video footage of Lollar shows him moving to close a gap in the line of rioters where he again proceeded to use his body to prevent police from advancing against the crowd. Lollar, while filming the melee on his phone, managed to surge forward into the face of the advancing officers at least three times.

            At approximately 3:10 p.m., as police were successfully repelling the rioters and ordering them to leave the Rotunda, Lollar lunged himself towards the line of police riot shields as officers could be heard shouting “get back, get back.” Body camera footage from Officer C.D. shows Lollar pushing against C.D.’s riot shield with his left arm. A few seconds later, Lollar again stepped toward the officer’s shield where he was pushed back by police. He advanced and threw his bulk at the riot shield, his stomach (clad in his body armor vest) making physical contact with the officer’s shield. Lollar used his gloved hand to shove the officer’s shield away. Seconds later, Lollar pushed the officer. Lollar continued to resist efforts to remove him from the Rotunda. Instead, he advanced toward an officer’s shield, lowering the hand in which he held the phone he used to livestream the melee, and threw his body-armor-clad stomach against the shield.

            Lollar eventually left the Rotunda at approximately 3:12 p.m., raising his gas mask above his head in victory to celebrate his efforts. Lollar ultimately exited the U.S. Capitol Building at approximately 3:20 p.m. Lollar used his cell phone on several occasions, both outside and inside the U.S. Capitol Building, to take photographs and make video and audio recordings of his activities on January 6.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Houston Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man on May 19 for numerous crimes, including the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound where Roggio suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period. The victim was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols.

In connection with the weapons factory project, which included Roggio providing training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle, Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce.

“Roggio brutally tortured another human being to prevent interference with his illegal activities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the courage of the victim and other witnesses, the hard work of U.S. law enforcement, and the assistance of Estonian authorities, he will now be held accountable for his cruelty.”

“Today’s guilty verdict demonstrates that Roggio’s brutal acts of directing and participating in the torture of an employee over the course of 39 days by Kurdish soldiers could not avoid justice,” said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “We thank all the prosecutors and law enforcement agents who worked tirelessly to address these acts that occurred in Iraq.”

“Today’s milestone conviction is the result of the extraordinary courage of the victim, who came forward after the defendant inflicted unspeakable pain on him for more than a month,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Torture is among the most heinous crimes the FBI investigates, and together with our partners at the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, we will relentlessly pursue justice.”

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is firmly dedicated to pursuing those who commit human rights violations, like Roggio, to ensure perpetrators face justice for their atrocities,” said Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson of ICE. “Our investigators will continue to work tirelessly with government partners so these horrendous acts do not go without consequence.”

“The illegal export of firearms parts and tools from the United States often goes hand in hand with other criminal activities, such as the charge of torture on which the jury voted to convict the defendant,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. “I commend our law enforcement colleagues for their dedication to bringing justice in this case.”

Roggio was convicted of torture, conspiracy to commit torture, conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, exporting weapons parts and services to Iraq without the approval of the Department of State, exporting weapons tools to Iraq without the approval of the Department of Commerce, smuggling goods, wire fraud, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Roggio is the second defendant to be convicted of torture since the federal torture statute went into effect in 1994.

The FBI and HSI investigated the torture and were joined in investigating the export control violations related to the firearms manufacturing equipment by the Department of Commerce’s BIS Office of Export Enforcement.

Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley for the Middle District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. The Estonian Internal Security Service, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Pennsylvania State Police also provided valuable assistance.

Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or complete the FBI online tip form or the ICE online tip form.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning, everyone. I am honored to be here with such a huge crowd of passionate first responders and advocates and experts and survivors.

If you don’t know the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), we are a less huge but equally passionate crowd of first responders and advocates and experts and survivors.

We administer the Violence Against Women Act, which this year means we have $700 million to invest in the work you all are doing on the front lines making change in your communities.

We want our grants and our policy work to be truly effective. And to be effective, we must be guided by the people who are on the ground, the real experts, who are building community-based responses – basically, guided by the people who are represented here in this room today and united by the same mission.

You are among the first people a survivor encounters in the aftermath of violence, and the way you respond can make the difference between a survivor getting access to justice and a survivor getting revictimized by the system.

All survivors deserve meaningful access to justice. And for many survivors, that does not involve the criminal justice system.

They are seeking other options. They need something between 911 and nothing, a pathway to safety and accountability.

But many survivors do want the criminal justice system to provide that safety and accountability. They want to be heard and believed in court.

And to do that they often need a supportive health care provider, a patient-centered response to trauma and sensitive evidence-collection.

Evidence collection has changed so much over the years. When I was starting out working in shelters in the 90’s, our evidence collection for domestic violence was polaroid pictures – anyone remember that?

I also remember a lot of survivors who I failed.

One woman had been strangled and had crashed through a glass window to escape. Neither the police nor I realized that was a medical emergency or what physical evidence they could have gathered. They just dropped her off at the shelter with bits of glass still in her hair.

And I don’t know how she fared, because she walked out of the shelter and into the Florida night and never came back. She didn’t even have shoes with her.

What if, instead, she had been offered trauma-informed support that met her medical needs and, if she wanted, collected evidence that could help her stay safe and get justice?

That is why I today I am profoundly honored and excited to announce the release of the first-ever National Protocol for Intimate Partner Violence Medical Forensic Examinations.

The protocol guides the clinical practice for conducting medical forensic exams for patients experiencing intimate partner violence, or IPV.

While many IPV victims seek medical assistance for injuries, in the past, most IPV health care protocols focused on screening rather than forensic exams or collecting evidence – evidence that not only supports investigation and prosecution, but can also validate what a survivor has experienced. That’s important when you’ve been gaslit and you haven’t been believed and you’re not sure what to do next.

By bringing together trauma-informed, patient-centered care, with screening and evidence collection, this protocol connects survivors’ needs with an evidence-based medical forensic examination that, if implemented correctly, will enhance communities’ responses to IPV.

I got to visit the New Orleans Family Justice Center earlier this year. Their HOPE Clinic provides onsite forensic exams for IPV, but that’s not all – they provide primary care and behavioral health services, too.

The Family Justice Center also offers a wellness program with a range of alternative healing modalities for survivors. Their process for forensic exams ensures that survivors are fully informed and in control of the process.

But not everyone is there yet, and that’s why we need a protocol.

For example, the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), OVW’s collaborative partner in developing the protocol, got a technical assistance request about an IPV survivor who sought medical care a couple of years ago. This survivor was not ready to report the abuse to law enforcement.

But, despite the absence of mandatory reporting requirements in their jurisdiction, the healthcare institution reported the assault to law enforcement.

They also called child protective services, even though the children were not present during the assault.

This was a violation of the state law and the patient’s privacy rights.

And it put her safety in jeopardy – she had not left the abusive relationship and she just needed to get medical care and document the injuries so she would have options in the future.

No one should have their life endangered or risk losing custody of their children because they sought a forensic exam. Will that survivor ever go back for help after that experience? Probably not, which is not going to keep her, or her kids, or her community safe.

The new protocol will help clinicians avoid that outcome.

It helps ensure that victims will be cared for with compassion and respect after an assault. Clinicians can offer survivors an assortment of choices, empowering them to make the decisions that they know are best for their welfare and that of their loved ones.

Last year, we came to the Conference on Crimes Against Women (CCAW) to announce our updated guidance on Improving Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence by Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias. Many of you exemplify the principles of that guidance and you are putting the “coordinate” into coordinated community response.

Our technical assistance providers like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Executives Research Forum and the Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Consortium can help if you need a little more support.

The new National Protocol for IPV Medical Forensic Examinations fits really well into a coordinated community response and ties in with the policing principles, so consider bringing those two pieces of guidance together when you get home and are connecting with your partner agencies.

We are profoundly grateful to the talented staff at IAFN, who also brought together 16 project partners from various disciplines to work on it. A much longer list of organizations participated in the extensive review process. Thanks to all of you who played a part.

IAFN also has technical assistance available on both IPV and sexual assault forensic exams at SAFEta.org.

I hope this guidance will prove a useful tool in helping you support survivors and address violence in your communities.

At OVW, we are relentlessly focused on changing the world by supporting all of you. Please help us do that by applying for OVW grants – we want to help you succeed.

Thank you to Jan Langbein and everyone at CCAW for bringing us together for this astounding conference. And thank you to the direct service providers, clinicians and first responders here today.

Creating options and choices – and supporting what survivors tell us they need, not what we think we should give them – is how we increase access to justice. It’s how we advance equity. It’s how we end gender-based violence.

Thank you.