Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division joined the Honorable Chief Justice of the Kenya Supreme Court Martha Koome and Kenya Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji in delivering remarks today to kick off the first Africa Regional Colloquium on “Enhancing the Delivery of Justice by Addressing Pretrial Detention Challenges.” The three-day colloquium in Nairobi, Kenya, brings together representatives of 20 African governments to explore initiatives designed to strike the appropriate balance between public safety and national security and fairness and the efficient, orderly administration of justice, including by reducing pretrial detention.  

Government representatives are engaging with each other on topics including the causes and consequences of excessive pretrial detention, international norms, alternatives to pretrial detention, developing plea agreement regimes to reduce pretrial detention, and the unique challenges presented by terrorism and violent extremism. They will also discuss examples of initiatives from Kenya and Senegal.

“Events like today’s provide us opportunities to learn from each other, consider new approaches, and reaffirm our shared commitment to advancing the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Polite. “These opportunities reinvigorate us, equip us with more tools, and build closer partnerships to help overcome shared challenges and meet our responsibilities to our citizens and the international community.”

Chief Justice Koome delivered the keynote address.

“In the pursuit of justice, the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is sacrosanct. This principle is often put to the test in the face of pretrial detention,” said Justice Koome. “As custodians of the law, we must strive to ensure that our justice systems are both efficient and effective. We must work towards reducing case backlogs, streamline court processes, and leverage on technology to expedite court proceedings. We must embrace the view that justice is not merely punitive but is also preventive and restorative. It is a mechanism for social change or social transformation.”

Kenya Director of Public Prosecutions Haji highlighted the initiatives that Kenya has taken through the implementation of alternatives to prosecution, such as Diversion and Plea bargaining as well as the All-for-Justice Program, while reiterating the shared values of the Kenyan-U.S. prosecutorial relationship.

“This colloquium will enhance International and Regional cooperation amongst criminal justice actors to further develop frameworks and mechanisms which will incorporate human rights, socio- political, cultural and economic realities, to reduce on pretrial detention,” said Director Haji. “It is our responsibility to ensure that pretrial detention is used in a manner that upholds the rule of law, respects human rights, and fosters public trust in the criminal justice system. By doing so, we can ensure that justice is served in a manner that is fair, just, and humane.”

Kenya’s Judiciary and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions hosted the Colloquium, which is being sponsored by several partners, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT), the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, the European Union-funded Anti-Money Laundering–Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) Platform in East, South, Center of Africa and Yemen (ESCAY), the British High Commission in Kenya and the International Institute for Justice Malta. OPDAT has been working with African partners to improve their policies and practices that can lead to excessive pretrial detention of suspects, by both rediscovering their existing legal mechanisms and developing new tools to reduce excessive detention. Reductions in unnecessary detention will have cascading benefits throughout criminal justice systems by reducing overcrowding in the prisons, limiting exposure of vulnerable detainees to violent extremist rhetoric in those prisons, and reducing caseloads to permit police, prosecutors, and judges to focus on priority cases. 

Government officials from the following countries participated in the Colloquium: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

Please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-opdat for more information about OPDAT’s capacity building efforts around the world.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Florida man and self-identified Proud Boy was found guilty in the District of Columbia of all charged felony and misdemeanor counts 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. 

            Christopher Worrell, 51, of Naples, Florida, was found guilty on May 12, 2023, of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, and obstructing, impeding, or interfering with officers during the commission of a civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, engaging in physical violence with a deadly or dangerous weapon all felonies, and an act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings, a misdemeanor.  The verdict followed a five-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who commented in reading the verdict that the defendant’s defense that he had been pepper spraying other violent rioters, instead of U.S. Capitol Police officers, was “preposterous” and that the defendant’s testimony presented an “unbelievable” and “false narrative” that was “undermined by the contradictions and post-January 6 false statements identified by the government during Mr. Worrell’s cross-examination and the government’s rebuttal case.”  Judge Lamberth scheduled sentencing for August 18, 2023.

            The evidence at trial showed that, on January 6, 2021, Worrell was a member of the “Hurricane Coast Zone 5” Proud Boys chapter.  In the weeks leading up to January 6, Worrell and other members of the Proud Boys shared their animosity toward the police in an encrypted chat application.  On the morning of January 6, Worrell, dressed in a tactical vest and carrying two canisters of pepper gel, marched with other Proud Boys from the Washington Monument to the United States Capitol.  He passed U.S. Capitol Police officers and warned them not to resist, saying “honor your oaths, on your knees,” and “don’t make us go against you.”  Worrell and other “Zone 5” members breached the restricted perimeter and reached the West Plaza of the Capitol by approximately 1:00 p.m.  He then filmed himself calling the U.S. Capitol Police officers “scum,” “piece[s] of “sh**,” and “commies,” among other expletives and insults.

            At approximately 1:31 p.m., he stepped forward and sprayed pepper gel at a line of police officers trying to defend the Capitol from the mob on the West Plaza.  Worrell later bragged that he had “deployed a whole can” and was “f****** handing it to them.”  A photojournalist present at the Capitol witnessed Worrell spraying toward the officers, and took a photograph that captured the moment.  

            Approximately twenty minutes later, Worrell’s fellow Zone 5 Proud Boy member and co-defendant Daniel Scott shoved two USCP officers who were defending a staircase leading to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol.  Mr. Scott’s assaults collapsed the police line, allowing a large group of rioters to make their way up the stairs to the Capitol building, where they became the first group of rioters to break into the building itself. Worrell and other members of Zone 5 celebrated Scott’s assault, with Worrell turning the camera on himself to say: “Yeah! Taking the Capitol!”

            Worrell was arrested on March 12, 2021, in Naples, Florida.

            Worrell faces up to 20 years in prison for each felony count, plus potential financial penalties. The Court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Tampa Field Office-Fort Myers Resident Agency and the Sarasota Resident Agency and the Washington Field Office. 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

A Canadian man was sentenced today to 32 years in prison for producing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children and for interstate extortion based on an online “sextortion” scheme.

According to court documents, from approximately 2014 to 2016, Muhammad Luqman Rana, 33, of Vaughan, Ontario, used the online messaging chat sites Omegle and Tinychat to target both adult and minor victims living in the United States and Canada to produce sexually explicit images. Rana tricked five minor U.S. victims, who ranged from ages 12 to 17, into producing sexually explicit images by posing as a minor male. Rana surreptitiously captured two of the minor victims changing in their bedrooms after they had accidentally left their webcam on after chatting with him. Once Rana had embarrassing and sensitive videos of his victims, he forced them to produce and send additional sexually explicit images and videos via both live transmission and to his email account out of fear that he would publicly post the videos he had previously obtained if they did not comply with his demands.

In January 2021, Rana was arrested in Canada on a provisional arrest warrant. He was extradited to the United States on Jan. 25, 2022.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Myron Demkiw of the Toronto Police Services made the announcement.

The FBI and the Toronto Police Services investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs conducted the requests for mutual legal assistance and extradition.

Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer Toritto Leonardo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Michael Morgan Jr. for the District of Maryland prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant pleaded guilty today to violating the civil rights of an arrestee by using excessive force.

According to court documents, on Sept. 24, 2021, Eric Huxley, 44, was on patrol in downtown Indianapolis when another officer requested his assistance in confronting a disorderly person on Monument Circle. After officers placed the victim, identified as J.V., under arrest for disorderly conduct, Huxley assisted other officers with conducting an inventory of J.V.’s property. When officers began to remove J.V.’s belt, he became confrontational with the officers. The primary arresting officer used a department-approved takedown maneuver to bring J.V., who had already been handcuffed, to the ground. The arresting officer held J.V. down with one hand while a second officer restrained his legs. This reasonable and appropriate use of force effectively overcame J.V.’s resistance and rendered him physically unable to move.

Despite knowing that J.V. had been effectively restrained and posed no further danger to officers or the public, Huxley then intentionally raised his right foot and drove it down onto J.V.’s head and face.

“This police officer violently and callously assaulted a homeless man who posed no threat,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute law enforcement officers for violating federal civil rights laws.”

“In addition to the trauma inflicted on victims, police officers who break the law and use excessive force damage the community’s trust in the law enforcement profession,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “Officers put themselves at risk every day doing a difficult and sometimes dangerous job to uphold the law and protect their communities. Those who instead commit crimes must be identified and prosecuted. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the FBI, Department of Justice, and our U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to seeking accountability for those who violate people’s civil rights under the color of law.”

“Every day law enforcement officers in this country face dangerous situations which require the application of reasonable force to protect themselves and others. Unfortunately, some officers fail to adhere to the applicable standards of law and policy, inflicting harm instead of preventing it,” said Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton of the FBI Indianapolis Field Office. “This guilty plea reflects the FBI’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all citizens, and I commend the work of the Special Agents and prosecutors who helped ensure the defendant was held accountable for his illegal conduct.”

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Huxley faces a maximum of 10 years in prison followed by supervised release. A federal judge will determine the sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Myers and Special Agent in Charge Stapleton made the announcement.

The FBI Indianapolis Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Preston for the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A 16-count indictment was unsealed today charging a Georgia husband and wife with conspiring to commit labor trafficking, in addition to forced labor and alien smuggling, in connection with their operation of two Mexican restaurants, Sabor A Mexico at 805 Floy Farr Parkway, Fayetteville, Georgia, and Sabor A Mexico at 7860B Ella Lane, Fairburn, Georgia. 

According to the indictment, between March 2021 and October 2022, Efrain Gonzalez, 40, and Estella Gonzalez, 34, both of Peachtree City, conspired to commit labor trafficking. The indictment alleges that the couple used force, threats of force, coercion and abuse of law and legal process to compel victims to engage in forced labor. The indictment further alleges that the couple engaged in alien smuggling for commercial gain, alleging five counts of alien smuggling against Efrain Gonzalez and one count against Estella Gonzalez. 

The charge of forced labor carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, and Special Agent in Charge Katrina Berger of HSI Atlanta made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Annalise Peters and Trial Attorney Kate Hill of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case. 

Anyone who believes that they may have been a victim of this case or may have relevant information to share is asked to  call the HSI tip line at 866-DHS-2423. 

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

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