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‘Looksmaxxing’ influencer ‘Clavicular’ brings barking dog to court as 'support mechanism': expert

22 October 2026 at 18:40

Braden Peters, 20, better known as the "looksmaxxing" influencer "Clavicular," walked up to court with a barking dog ahead of his arraignment in a Massachusetts courtroom on Thursday.

Peters appeared in Orleans District Court and entered a not guilty plea on charges relating to an alleged rape. A court clerk confirmed to Fox News Digital that he posted $10,000 bail relating to the charges.

The incident allegedly involved a 17-year-old victim that occurred in 2025 at his family's Cape Cod home.

‘LOOKSMAXXING’ INFLUENCER ‘CLAVICULAR’ CHARGED AFTER TEEN ALLEGES ATTACK AT FAMILY’S CAPE COD HOME

Former criminal defense attorney and Fox News Contributor Ted Williams said Peters arriving at court with a dog was not necessarily unusual.

"I don't think it's really out of the ordinary for a defendant to show up at court and the dog is left outside on a leash at a specific location or left with a person," Williams told Fox News Digital.

Williams said the dog could have served as a source of support for Peters ahead of the court appearance.

"There are people who are more attached to their dog than they are attached to a human being, believe it or not, and that may be just his support mechanism — the dog," Williams said.

What would be unusual, Williams said, is if the animal were allowed inside the courthouse under normal circumstances — as dogs or animals of any sort are not permitted in courts, he said.

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Peters has amassed more than 1 million followers on his Instagram account and is known for rating people's looks via livestream and providing "advice" like surgery and personal training.

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In this specific case, Fox News Digital previously reported the teenage victim told investigators she messaged Peters online looking to connect and make content – to which he allegedly sent for an Uber to pick her up and bring her to his house.

'LOOKSMAXXING' INFLUENCER CLAVICULAR REJECTS INCEL LABEL, FAULTS 'BOTH' MEN AND WOMEN

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He allegedly served her alcohol and she got drunk to the point where police said she was unable to consent to sex.

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On Wednesday, Peters’ attorneys filed a memorandum asking the court to release him on cash bail, arguing he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community and offering to surrender his passport and have no contact with the alleged victim.

He was not jailed awaiting Thursday’s arraignment; he appeared in response to a summons and then posted bail.

READ IT: Braden Peters’ defense memorandum for his release.

INSIDE EXPLOSIVE CORNELL RAPE ALLEGATIONS: 7 MEN ACCUSED, CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS AND A POLITICAL FIRESTORM

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Peters' attorney David Meier said in part:

"Braden Peters categorically denies these allegations."

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He went on to say, "The fact that these allegations first arose in June 2026 when the complainant and her Florida attorney appeared together at the Chatham Police Department just days before filing an amended civil lawsuit seeking thousands of dollars from Mr. Peters speaks for itself."

'LOOKSMAXXING' INFLUENCER CLAVICULAR CHARGED AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING DEAD ALLIGATOR ON LIVESTREAM

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This is not Peters' first run-in with the law. He was previously arrested in Florida on battery charges in Kissimmee after a reported fight between two women at an Airbnb property.

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The Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital on Thursday's court proceeding, citing the pending case.

European Parliament Awards Sakharov Prize to ICC Amid Escalating US Sanctions

22 October 2026 at 14:35

The European Parliament has awarded the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials, recognising the Hague-based tribunal’s work in investigating and prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Announcing the decision in Strasbourg on Thursday, 22 October, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the award reflected the European Union’s commitment to multilateralism and international institutions.

Metsola praised the Court for its work in upholding international law and justice. The announcement was met with a standing ovation in the parliamentary chamber.

The decision comes amid an escalating confrontation between the European Union and the administration of US President Donald Trump over the ICC’s jurisdiction and independence.

Washington’s sanctions against the Court

On 9 October, the United States imposed sanctions on the ICC as an institution, extending measures previously directed against individual judges and prosecutors.

The restrictions place the Court under the US Treasury’s sanctions regime, limiting financial transactions involving American individuals, businesses and institutions. Washington has issued several temporary and limited exemptions intended to allow specified operations to continue.

The measures followed earlier sanctions against senior ICC officials, including Court President Tomoko Akane, and form part of Washington’s campaign to prevent the tribunal from exercising jurisdiction over American personnel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that the ICC threatens American sovereignty by asserting authority over nationals of countries that have not accepted its founding treaty.

The Court rejected the latest restrictions, describing them as an attempt to obstruct the administration of international justice.

Established under the Rome Statute, the ICC operates independently of national governments and investigates serious international crimes where its jurisdictional requirements are satisfied.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the Rome Statute.

Arrest warrants involving Russia and Israel

The dispute with Washington has intensified since the ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity connected with military operations in Gaza.

Israel rejects the Court’s jurisdiction and disputes the allegations. Washington has similarly opposed the proceedings against Israeli officials.

The ICC has also pursued investigations into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, its judges issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.

Further warrants followed in 2024 against senior Russian military commanders and officials in connection with attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

The proceedings demonstrate the geographical scope of the Court’s investigations, although its ability to secure arrests depends heavily on cooperation from individual states.

The ICC has no independent police force and relies on national authorities to execute its warrants.

European Parliament backs international justice

The ICC’s nomination for the Sakharov Prize was submitted by the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament.

Its selection comes as European lawmakers examine how the EU should respond to American sanctions affecting the Court and organisations supporting its activities.

The October restrictions have raised practical questions about access to banking, technology services and other infrastructure required by the tribunal.

European governments must also consider how to support an institution established through an international treaty while maintaining relations with Washington.

The Sakharov Prize carries no legal authority to reverse American sanctions or compel governments to cooperate with ICC investigations. Nevertheless, the award represents an explicit institutional endorsement of the tribunal at a time when its operations face increasing external pressure.

Other nominees and award ceremony

The ICC was selected from three finalists announced earlier this month.

The other nominees were Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and Iranian sisters Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, whose cases have attracted international attention over political persecution and judicial proceedings.

The Sakharov Prize, established by the European Parliament in 1988, is named after Soviet physicist, dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov.

It recognises individuals and organisations defending human rights, freedom of expression and fundamental liberties. The award includes €50,000.

Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and imprisoned journalists.

In 2025, the prize was awarded jointly to Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut and Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.

The formal presentation of the 2026 prize is scheduled for 16 December at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The award places the ICC alongside previous Sakharov laureates while drawing further attention to the unresolved dispute between Washington and European governments over international criminal jurisdiction.

Russian Cluster Missile Hits Kyiv’s Historic Religious Quarter, Zelenskyy Says

22 October 2026 at 14:21

A Russian ballistic missile fitted with a cluster warhead struck the historic Pecherskyi district of Kyiv overnight on 21–22 October 2026, damaging buildings near two of the Ukrainian capital’s principal religious complexes, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

The missile landed between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Holy Presentation (Sviato-Vvedenskyi) Monastery. Monastery buildings, homes, shops, cafés and other civilian infrastructure sustained damage in the surrounding area.

Zelenskyy disclosed that Russian forces had used three cluster-equipped ballistic missiles during the assault. Ukrainian authorities described weapons designed to explode in the air as they approach their targets, distributing explosive submunitions over an area approximately 400 metres in diameter.

After receiving reports from officials overseeing emergency operations across Ukraine, the president accused Moscow of deliberately choosing a weapon capable of inflicting extensive civilian casualties in a densely populated district.

“This was a deliberate choice of weapon and area of deployment,” Zelenskyy said.

He maintained that there were no military installations in the vicinity and that the attack had been intended to inflict maximum damage on civilians and their property.

Religious Buildings and Civilian Properties Damaged

Pecherskyi is one of Kyiv’s oldest districts, containing religious institutions and architectural monuments associated with centuries of Ukrainian history.

Among them is the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, established in the 11th century and subsequently developed into an important centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

The complex includes historic churches, monasteries and an extensive system of underground caves. Together with Saint Sophia Cathedral and its related buildings, it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage property that has appeared on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2023.

Thursday’s explosion occurred in the area separating the Lavra from the Holy Presentation Monastery. Ukrainian authorities identified damage to buildings belonging to the latter, alongside neighbouring residential and commercial premises. Assessments of the destruction across the historic district were continuing.

This was not the first occasion in 2026 on which Russian weapons had damaged the area’s religious heritage.

On 15 June, a Russian drone struck the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex, causing severe damage to the Dormition Cathedral. Its roof and structural elements suffered extensive destruction, prompting UNESCO to undertake emergency stabilisation measures.

Ukraine’s Security Service subsequently published evidence identifying fragments of a Russian Geran-2 drone recovered from the site.

The October strike has again exposed the vulnerability of the capital’s historic religious buildings, as well as the civilian neighbourhoods surrounding them.

The Use of Cluster Weapons in Urban Areas

The reported choice of ammunition has particular implications for the investigation into the attack.

Whereas a conventional missile warhead delivers its explosive force around a principal impact point, cluster munitions release numerous smaller explosive devices capable of striking separate locations across a broad area.

In an urban environment, such weapons can cause casualties and destruction well beyond an intended target. Unexploded submunitions may remain dangerous after the initial attack, posing further risks to residents and emergency workers.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that deploying cluster munitions in populated areas creates a high likelihood of indiscriminate effects.

Under international humanitarian law, military operations must distinguish between civilian persons and objects and legitimate military targets. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.

The reported deployment of cluster warheads in central Kyiv therefore raises questions about whether those requirements were observed. Zelenskyy’s account of the three missiles had not, at the time of reporting, been independently established through publicly available forensic evidence.

Russian Barrage Follows Diplomatic Contact with Washington

The Pecherskyi explosion was one incident in a much larger attack on the Ukrainian capital.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia launched 21 ballistic missiles against Kyiv in three successive waves overnight. Ukrainian authorities reported at least two people killed and more than 30 wounded, with strikes damaging apartment buildings, commercial premises, transport infrastructure and energy facilities.

The bombardment took place shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin met US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday, 21 October.

During their discussions, Putin indicated that Russia was prepared in principle to resume negotiations with Ukraine and the United States, potentially in November. However, no confirmed timetable emerged.

Witkoff’s visit followed consultations in Norway between American, Ukrainian and European representatives over possible arrangements to end the war.

The renewed diplomatic activity has done little to resolve the underlying disagreements. As EU Today has previously examined, Moscow continues to advance territorial demands while the parties remain divided over Ukraine’s future security guarantees.

Meanwhile, Kyiv faces an immediate requirement for additional air-defence ammunition.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Patriot interceptor missiles capable of engaging ballistic targets. Difficulties surrounding American military assistance and intelligence cooperation have increased tensions between Washington and Kyiv at a time when Russia is intensifying attacks against Ukrainian cities.

The latest strike also presents Ukrainian investigators with the task of establishing whether the reported use of cluster munitions against a historic civilian district constituted an unlawful attack.

For Zelenskyy, the bombardment following Putin’s latest diplomatic discussions demonstrates that Moscow’s military conduct remains unchanged. He has argued that Russia’s actions provide no evidence of a genuine intention to bring the war to an end.

Russian missiles and drones kill one and injure 24 in Kyiv, splitting its metro line in two

22 October 2026 at 12:10

Aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv.

Russian missiles and drones killed one person and injured 24 in Kyiv overnight on 22 October, the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office said. Damage spread across six of the city’s districts, the city military administration reported.

The strike came hours after Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin had told Witkoff that Russia was “in principle” ready to resume three-way talks with the US and Ukraine in mid-November. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy read the overnight attack as a sign that Russia’s attitude has not changed. A day earlier, Russian drones killed two people in a 24-story Kyiv apartment block.

21 ballistic missiles in three waves

Russia fired 21 ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight, Zelenskyy said. The barrage came in three waves, around 22:00, at about 02:00, and around 03:30.

Aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv.
Aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

Across Ukraine, air defenses downed or suppressed 181 of 210 Russian drones, the Air Force said. Its report did not mention any ballistic missiles shot down.

One killed in the Dniprovskyi district

The only death in Kyiv came in the Dniprovskyi district, on the city’s left bank. There, Russian strikes destroyed 13 detached houses on several streets, prosecutors said. Police said the man killed was 48 and that six people were injured in the district, four of them children, the youngest aged five.

Of the injured, five are minors and two are young children, and prosecutors reported acute stress reactions among them. A 16-year-old boy is in hospital with a closed head injury, prosecutors said. Sixteen of the injured were hospitalized, the city military administration said. The final number of injured is still being established.

just grid 24-storey block university warehouses were russia’s target list overnight four people dead · post smoke rises apartment building kyiv’s sviatoshynskyi district after russian drone strike 21 2026 kyivjfif
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Not just the grid: Russia struck a 24-story block, a university, and warehouses overnight, and four people are dead

Ambulance station and monastery damaged

In the Holosiivskyi, Obolonskyi, Pecherskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts, the attack damaged eight apartment buildings, prosecutors said. It also damaged a building-supply hypermarket, a restaurant, a monastery building, a post office, and office premises.

In Pecherskyi, Russia damaged an ambulance station and six ambulances, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote. The State Emergency Service said eight people were injured in that district, three of them children, and reported damaged transport infrastructure in the Darnytskyi district.

Aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv.
Aftermath of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv. Photo: National Police of Ukraine

Bridge closed, metro line split

The strikes damaged metro infrastructure on the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge, Kyiv Metro said. As of the morning, green-line trains ran in two sections, Syrets–Vydubychi and Osokorky–Chervonyi Khutir. Inspections and repairs would continue after the all-clear, the metro said.

Oleksii Biloshytskyi, head of Ukraine’s Patrol Police Department, announced that traffic across the bridge toward the left bank was temporarily closed. The city is adding buses on routes 22 and 91, the city administration said. Russian drones had already hit the bridge repeatedly in early October.

Dog the Bounty Hunter hunted Max Factor heir Andrew Luster to Mexico in 2003, now serial rapist is free

22 October 2026 at 11:00

EXCLUSIVE: Twenty-three years after Duane "Dog" Chapman chased fugitive Max Factor heir Andrew Luster to Mexico and tackled him on a Puerto Vallarta street, the convicted serial rapist is a free man — despite an initial sentence of 124 years.

"I hope he's smart enough — and he's smart — to never do anything like that again," Chapman told Fox News Digital Wednesday, more than two decades after the capture that helped make him a household name.

MAX FACTOR HEIR'S FORMER LAWYER DETAILS JUDGE'S ERROR THAT WIPED OUT 124-YEAR RAPE SENTENCE

Chapman, his son Leland and several others went to Mexico after receiving a tip about Luster's whereabouts — months after he fled the U.S. in the middle of a California rape trial. They first identified him from the tipsters' photo, which showed a knee and a watch.

'AMERICA'S MOST WANTED' EX-COP FUGITIVE RETURNED AFTER 20 YEARS ON THE RUN TO FACE MURDER, CHILD SEX CHARGES

Chapman had been studying his face closely for weeks, but he also recognized the watch from a televised interview, he said. And he credits his son with first spotting Luster, who was speaking with a young woman in a bar on June 18, 2003.

PARENTS OF SLAIN PREGNANT MOM CHRISTA GILLEY DEMAND LEE GILLEY'S RETURN FROM ITALY FOR MURDER CASE

"When I saw him, you talk about an adrenaline rush went through my body," Chapman told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "Tim got down . ..he snuck up behind him, and then I pushed him. He fell over. We all jumped on him, and I screamed, 'You're under arrest by the United States of America.'"

EXCLUSIVE: FBI EXTRADITIONS SOAR AS PATEL RAMPS UP FOREIGN OUTREACH, VOWS 'NO SANCTUARY'

They pulled him into an SUV and drove off — only to be intercepted on the road outside town by Mexican authorities who arrested everyone amid the chaos.

Luster claimed he'd been kidnapped, Chapman said, so he handed the lead investigator what Chapman called a "bible" of information on the case.

NEWSOM-BACKED LAW LETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILD RAPIST SEEK EARLY RELEASE AGAIN AS DA URGES 'STOP THE MADNESS'

Luster, the great-grandson of makeup mogul Max Factor, vanished during a recess in his trial and was convicted in absentia on 86 counts involving the drugging and raping of three women between 1996 and 2000 at his home in Mussel Shoals, California.

One of the victims, who asked not to be named out of concerns for her safety, said she's still struggling to comprehend Luster's release even though she knew it was

 coming.

SENATOR TIM SHEEHY: SOFT-ON-CRIME JUDGES NEED CONSEQUENCES. THE JAIL ACT DELIVERS

"It’s very unsettling knowing that he is not behind bars, not in a closed facility," she told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "He is out in the public, in a community that just — it just doesn’t feel very good at all."

She said she has concerns for her own safety, her family, Luster's other victims and even investigators after a notebook containing a "payback list" was recovered from his Mexican hotel room — with their names on it.

CAPTURED 'AMERICA'S MOST WANTED' FUGITIVE RONALD FISCHER ABANDONS ALIAS AFTER 20 YEARS ON THE RUN

She said she dated Luster for five or six months without knowing she'd been drugged and raped the night they met — something detectives discovered years later, after they recovered videotapes from the home.

"It was me, comatose on his bed, wearing the clothes that I was wearing the first night I met him," she said. "That’s how I knew when it happened, because I had just bought that outfit, and I was wearing it the night that I met him. So that’s how I figured out when it happened to me, which was absolutely horrifying."

AMERICAN WHO FLED US AFTER ALLEGEDLY KILLING PREGNANT WIFE COULD RETURN WITHIN DAYS WITH MURDER CHARGE DROPPED

Police found more than 100 videos, she said. Not all of them involved criminal activity, but those that did were "mortifying," she said, as Luster spoke to the camera like he were playing with "a toy."

"They’re pretty brutal," she added. "The things that he did to us while we were completely unconscious were things that, I mean, had we been able to feel anything, it would have been awful. He narrated the video and talked to the camera throughout and thoroughly enjoyed the whole entire thing."

He initially received consecutive sentences totaling 124 years — later reduced to 50, and he was released earlier this month after over two decades behind bars.

Prosecutors had opposed early release in 2024 and again in 2025. However, he was able to earn substantial early release credits under California's controversial Proposition 57 criminal justice reforms, and his prison term came to an end on Oct. 11.

"I did not know that [Prop 57] meant that it was gonna make Andrew Luster’s crimes be deemed nonviolent," Doe No. 3 told Fox News Digital. "That’s just so baffling. I just feel like if anybody could watch these tapes of what he did to me and all of these other women, just to look at that and try to put the word nonviolent on it, that word could not come out of your mouth. It just would be impossible."

Doe was among those who successfully lobbied for changes to the law to close that nonviolent loophole.

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Chapman said he never received the bounty for Luster and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money for the operation and ensuing legal fallout.

Mexican law did not allow bounty hunters to apprehend fugitives. Chapman said he was arrested alongside his son Leland, longtime friend and associate Tim Chapman, who is not a blood relative, and members of a camera crew.

"He told me, 'I’m going to get him for you,' and he did," Doe said of Chapman. So to help him get out after he put Luster back behind bars, she kicked off a legal fundraiser that she said attracted donations from around the country.

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A judge in Mexico later dismissed the case.

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The incident happened shortly before Chapman rose to fame with A&E's reality series, "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

Chapman is returning to the screen with a new YouTube series launching Saturday — "Dog the Bounty Hunter ... Everyone Deserves a Second Chance."

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As part of the series, he plans to help bail out certain inmates with a history of good behavior and positive reports — but not for people facing serious felonies or sex abuse charges, he said.

LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST

"We'll call out the ones that deserve a second chance, right, and you can't be perfect OK, so if they run, yeehaw," he said. "I don't wish they would, but if they do, then I'm going to catch them."

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He said he's got at least another five to seven years of bounty hunting left in him.

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Fox News' Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Palestinian Voters Could Determine Israel’s Future

22 October 2026 at 06:00
Palestinian citizens may have the electoral weight to influence Israeli politics, even as they feel they have so little control over their lives.

© Ofir Berman for The New York Times

Vance Defends Ramaswamy Ad Featuring Acton’s Mother Despite Backlash

The vice president backed an advertisement featuring Democrat Amy Acton’s mother, who has been estranged from Dr. Acton since her stepfather was charged with child rape.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor of Ohio was engulfed in controversy over an ad featuring the mother of his Democratic opponent.

Homeland Security Lied About Child Porn To Search Activist's Phone

21 October 2026 at 16:47
A locked smartphone | Illustration: Africa Images/Envato (AI-modified)/Flowertiare/Dreamstime

One of the unfortunate quirks of the American system is that you can't lie to the government, but the government can lie to you. Samuel Tunick found himself on the receiving end of this setup last year at Atlanta International Airport. When agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked for his phone password, he allegedly gave them a self-destruct code that wiped his data. Tunick now faces five years in prison for destroying evidence.

It turns out that the feds were lying to Tunick the entire time. A new court filing, first reported by 404 Media, shows that the DHS had sent out an order to seize Tunick's phone over his involvement in environmentalist protests in Atlanta. When he landed at the airport, however, agents told Tunick that they were looking for "kiddie porn" and he would be allowed to leave with his phone if he cooperated. They also repeatedly denied him access to his lawyer when he asked.

"There can be no real debate that if law enforcement had acted similarly elsewhere in Atlanta, their actions would be unconstitutional. But the government says it was entitled to act this way because Mr. Tunick was returning from an international vacation" in the Dominican Republic, his lawyers wrote in the filing, which includes internal DHS communications and excerpts from his interrogation video.

U.S. law recognizes a "border exception" to Fourth Amendment privacy rights, allowing federal agents to search incoming travelers for contraband. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claims that this exemption also allows them to hold travelers for questioning and search their electronic data. Tunick's case reveals just how widely the agency stretches this loophole.

A few hours before Tunick landed, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent Travis Mcghie emailed the CBP station in Atlanta with his photo and information, stating that he is under investigation for "suspected terrorist activities." (Tunick is involved in Save the Atlanta Forest, also known as Stop Cop City, a protest movement against a local police training center.) The email asked CBP to "conduct a 100% baggage exam, retain all electronics and collect passcodes," stating that the HSI will be at the airport to conduct an interrogation.

Pulled into the secondary screening room, Tunick "almost immediately" told CBP officers that "I don't really want to speak without a lawyer any more," according to the filing, which cites the interrogation tape. He would ask for a lawyer multiple times.

The agents asked Tunick if he had "kiddie porn" on his phone and stated that "because you're refusing to talk, we have the authority to go through your phone to see what we're looking for." One of them, Latoya Castro, told Tunick that "either you can give us your password so that we can go through it no problem, or you can refuse to do that, unfortunately, we will have to seize your phone."

Both of those statements were a lie, of course. The HSI's email had asked CBP to take Tunick's phone, whether or not he cooperated.

The lie about child porn may not only have been meant to intimidate Tunick. While there are contradictory lower court rulings about the border search exemption, some courts have ruled that the CBP can only search electronics for "digital contraband," or files that are themselves illegal. A search for child sex abuse material would be on stronger legal ground than a search for mere evidence of other crimes.

Tunick was using GrapheneOS, a secure phone system that allows users to set both a real password and a "duress password" that wipes out all data when entered. The interrogation tape shows his phone appearing to reset after he gave the officers a passcode. HSI agent Nathan Burnham and FBI agent Andrea Coble then entered the room.

"You are not under arrest. Once these gentlemen are done with you, pursuant to your entry into the country, you're free to leave," Burnham said, referring to the CBP officers.

Tunick's lawyers argue that the judge should throw out the phone password Tunick provided and everything that resulted from entering it as an "involuntary" response made under "unlawful interrogation," because the CBP agents did not read Tunick his Fifth Amendment rights and ignored his multiple requests to consult with his lawyer before answering their questions.

The CBP claims that secondary screening at the border doesn't count as a criminal investigation, so detainees don't have the same rights as criminal suspects. "Since the international arrivals inspection is an administrative function, CBP policy and federal regs do not permit the presence of lawyers during secondary examinations," a spokesman told Reason earlier this year.

But Tunick's lawyers insist that his experience was "far outside" a normal border crossing: He was accused of a serious crime to his face, faced an investigation for a different serious crime he didn't know about, and clearly could not leave the situation until he gave information to government agents.

"I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people against protecting their data and their privacy, and the government hopes to set a precedent that no one has the right to privacy," Tunick told 404 Media. 

Defend the Atlanta Forest, the movement that Tunick is involved with, has been a major nuisance for authorities in Georgia. Protesters attacked and burned construction equipment throughout 2022, and police shot a protester in 2023 under unclear circumstances, claiming that they were fired at during a raid.

The Trump administration has brought down the federal government against the movement. In June 2026, the Department of Justice brought federal charges against two alleged arsonists, citing National Security Presidential Memo 7, which directs the feds to go after left-wing domestic terrorism.

But beyond the email line about "suspected terrorist activities," there is no indication of what specific crimes the feds suspected Tunick of, or why they suspected him. And the whole setup of the interrogation was designed to hide those answers. In fact, instead of charging Tunick under typical obstruction or evidence-destruction laws, federal prosecutors chose a rarely-used statute that doesn't require them to disclose what the underlying investigation was about.

"Many times the government wants to highlight what it was trying to investigate because that ups the stakes on what the defendant was doing," former prosecutor Daniel Richman told The New York Times. "This is a case where I think they're trying to avoid exactly that by focusing only on the destruction, and not what the investigation was about." 

The post Homeland Security Lied About Child Porn To Search Activist's Phone appeared first on Reason Magazine.

PF abre nove inquéritos para investigar incêndios no Amazonas

21 October 2026 at 16:06

A PF (Polícia Federal) informou, na manhã desta quarta-feira (21), que abriu nove inquéritos para investigar possíveis incêndios criminosos no Amazonas. Os trabalhos, que também incluem ações de monitoramento, tem foco na identificação das causas e dos responsáveis pelas recentes ocorrências.

Os inquéritos foram abertos ao longo do novo período de queimadas que atinge o estado.

Segundo a corporação, as apurações abrangem diferentes municípios do Amazonas e incluem a análise de dados de satélite e levantamento de informações junto a órgãos públicos.

Entre as medidas que a PF adotou estão o acompanhamento semanal de alertas de incêndio, com base em dados de satélite, e a requisição de informações a órgão federais, estaduais e municipais. 

Há investigações relacionadas à ocorrências nos municípios de Autazes, Careiro Castanho, Careiro da Várzea, Manaquiri, Manaus, Iranduba e Canutama. Também estão previstos sobrevoos em áreas de interesse investigativo para auxiliar na identificação de possíveis pontos de origem do fogo. 

Cenário de investigações

Somente entre 2023 e 2026, a unidade responsável pelas investigações relatou 516 inquéritos policiais relacionados a crimes ambientais. Entre eles, 11 são especificamente de incêndios.

No mesmo período, 228 pessoas foram identificadas como possíveis autoras dos fatos e 113 foram indiciadas. Atualmente, 186 inquéritos policiais ambientais permanecem em andamento.

Situção de emergência

Ao menos 41 municípios no estado do Amazonas estão em situação de emergência, 16 em alerta e outros cinco em atenção.

Até o momento, já são 102.445 famílias atingidas por conta da estiagem, de acordo com o boletim do Governo de Amazonas dibvulgado nesta terça-feira (20).

• Governo do Amazonas

O governo federal informou que vai intensificar as ações de combate aos incêndios florestais e aos efeitos da estiagem no Amazonas.

Entre as medidas anunciadas nesta quarta-feira (21) estão o repasse de mais R$ 3,5 milhões para quatro municípios afetados, o início das atividades de uma base regional da FN-SUS (Força Nacional do SUS) em Manaus e o reforço das operações de fiscalização e investigação de possíveis crimes ambientais.

Até o momento, foram aprovados R$ 21,1 milhões em nove planos de trabalho da Defesa Civil Nacional, incluindo R$ 14,3 milhões encaminhados anteriormente e o novo repasse.

Secret sex video rocks University of North Carolina at Charlotte fraternity, 1 arrested: Police

21 October 2026 at 15:46

Police said a 19-year-old was taken into custody after allegedly filming a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student during sex and sent the video to a fraternity group chat.

Officials accused Alexander Michael Evanoff of using his cellphone on Sept. 19 to secretly record a "sexually explicit video" of a woman while the two had sex, then sharing it without her consent. He was charged with one count of disclosing private images and two counts of felony secret peeping.

After Evanoff and the woman had sex, he allegedly sent a video of the sexually explicit recording to a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity group chat, which had 32 members.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER TEAM MAKES DISTURBING DISCOVERY IN LOCKER ROOM CEILING

During an interview with law enforcement, according to the affidavit, Evanoff allegedly admitted to intentionally recording the sexual act and sending it to the fraternity group chat.

He also acknowledged to detectives that he didn't request or obtain the victim's permission to create or distribute the video.

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When the woman confronted Evanoff about the alleged recording, she asked if sending it to the fraternity group chat made him "appear cool," to which he "responded affirmatively" and apologized.

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Evanoff was arrested Monday and released Tuesday on $10,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

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A University of North Carolina at Charlotte spokesperson told WSOC that Evanoff isn't a student.

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"The individual who has been charged is not currently enrolled at the University. The alleged conduct in this case, if true, is reprehensible. It is not what we expect or will tolerate from members of our campus community," the spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the university, Evanoff's attorney and Sigma Alpha Epsilon for comment.

NYC man already charged with manslaughter now indicted for hate crime at kosher bagel shop

21 October 2026 at 08:23
Prosecutors say Dawood Faisal targeted Jewish-owned Queens business displaying Israeli flags; husband of slain Cara Trager raises questions about possible antisemitic motive in fatal crash

Madison Brooks rape suspect's attorney held in contempt for using her name to try to ban pink in courtroom

20 October 2026 at 19:07

The defense attorney who asked a Louisiana judge to ban pink from the courtroom in the Madison Brooks rape case was held in contempt Monday.

Caitlin Fowlkes, who represents 21-year-old Desmond Carter, used Brooks’ full name in a court filing attached to her July motion seeking to ban trial spectators from wearing pink. Under Louisiana law, sex crime victims must be identified only by their initials in court filings, and attorneys are required to redact their full names.

Brooks, a 19-year-old Louisiana State University student at the time, was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men after a night out in 2023, then struck and killed by a car.

MADISON BROOKS’ MOM SLAMS ATTEMPT TO BAN PINK AT TRIAL FOR SLAIN LSU STUDENT: ‘WE WEAR IT TO HONOR HER’

Judge Gail Horne Ray had ruled in August that Brooks' supporters could wear pink in the courtroom, but on Monday she found Fowlkes in contempt for failing to redact Brooks' full name from the filing. Fowlkes received no punishment.

While Brooks' name has received significant public attention and has been discussed by the governor of Louisiana, Ray wrote "the law is clear that an attorney's failure to comply with the provisions of this law 'shall be punishable as contempt of court."

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According to a coroner's report, Brooks had a BAC of .319 at the time of her death and had injuries consistent with rape.

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Carter was 17 years old when he was taken into custody at the time of the incident. Brooks left Reggie's Bar in Tigerland alongside three men — Carter, Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington and Everett Lee, according to officials. Authorities say Carver drove the group to a parking lot where Carter and Washington allegedly raped Brooks.

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The men told police that Brooks asked to be taken home after the incident, providing multiple incorrect addresses before requesting to be let out near a subdivision, where they said she wandered into the street and was struck by a car.

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The driver of the car that hit her remained on the scene and was ultimately cleared of charges.

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"Maddie felt safe that night, she thought these were her friends and I think a lot of selfish choices were made that night, and ultimately it led in a horrific ending," Brooks' mother, Ashley Baustert, previously told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Fowlkes for comment.

Iran calls for emergency UNSC meeting over Trump’s ‘brazen’ bomb talk, Israeli threats

By: aletho
20 October 2026 at 17:03
Press TV – October 20, 2026

Iran’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN has urged the world body’s Security Council to hold an emergency meeting and condemn threats by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic’s territory and critical infrastructure.

Gholamhossein Darzi made the remarks in a letter dated Monday and addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the Security Council.

The letter cited recent US media reports that the White House and the US Department of War had prepared fresh military options, including the possible use of the GBU-43/B, known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) or so-called “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iran.

Darzi noted that US President Donald Trump had discussed the weapon in a televised interview and threatened further attacks.

The diplomat also cited remarks by Israeli minister for military affairs Israel Katz that the regime was prepared to attack the Islamic Republic and would target “all energy targets” in any renewed aggression.

The letter also pointed out how Katz had threatened to return Iran to the “Stone Age”, besides claiming that the United States and the regime had dropped a total of 35,000 bombs on Iran and that their military campaign was not over.

Darzi further denounced Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for openly declaring an intention to launch another unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic, adding that the silence and explicit support of certain Security Council members had emboldened him.

He called for immediate action against “brazen existential threats” issued by Trump and renewed Israeli threats of military aggression.

“These unabated threats, in the context of the U.S.-Israeli wars of aggression launched on 13 June 2025 and 28 February 2026 against Iran, and the deliberate attacks against Iranian civilians and critical infrastructure, pose a grave risk of further violation of international law with catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences, and serious threats to regional and international peace and security,” he wrote.

The diplomat argued that threats to destroy Iran’s civilian and energy infrastructure could cause severe and potentially long-term humanitarian and environmental damage.

He also condemned Washington and Tel Aviv for disregarding obligations under the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary international humanitarian law.

Darzi requested an emergency Security Council meeting, unequivocal condemnation of threats against Iran’s civilian infrastructure, and accountability and full reparation for damage resulting from Washington’s and Tel Aviv’s internationally wrongful acts.

“The Security Council cannot remain silent in the face of explicit threats of renewed aggression and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure,” he stated.

The letter, meanwhile, reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

He warned that the United States and the Israeli regime would bear responsibility for the consequences of further aggression, including “the risk of unpredictable and uncontrollable escalation.”

Cornell’s Jane Doe Sent Letter to Faculty Senate Ahead of Vote

20 October 2026 at 19:57
In a letter, the former student said she felt “unsupported” after hearing about an exchange between the school president and her sorority sister. Officials disputed her account of the conversation.

© Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

A former Cornell University student who said she was raped at a fraternity in 2024 penned a letter to faculty leaders last week, saying that she did not feel supported by the school’s president, Michael I. Kotlikoff.
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