A Virginia man was arrested after allegedly using a sledgehammer to knock the head off a Marine figure depicted in an Iwo Jima statue near Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the historic military monument, police said.
Officers with the Prince William County Police Department responded at about 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to reports of vandalism at the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico, Virginia.
Police identified the suspect as Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, of Stafford, Virginia, who was allegedly striking the monument with a sledgehammer when officers arrived.
Authorities said Maldonado Soriano was detained and arrested after officers discovered extensive damage to the limestone sculpture, which commemorates one of the most recognizable moments in American military history.
The damage included the complete removal of one Marine's head, along with damage to other figures depicted raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, according to authorities.
Images of the damaged monument show the figure farthest to the right missing its head, while another Marine has visible gouges across his helmet and face, police told Fox News Digital.
A third figure sustained damage to a bayonet attached to a gun slung over his back. Police estimated the damage would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.
In 2001, portions of the installation were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District, encompassing 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture and a water tower.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth put weapons manufacturers on notice Thursday as the Trump administration pushes to cut Pentagon red tape, expand competition and accelerate American weapons production as part of its "Arsenal of Freedom" initiative.
In a video shared on X, Hegseth highlighted Washington's drive to overhaul defense procurement, expand private-sector competition and speed up production of advanced weapons systems.
"The Arsenal of Freedom has been UNLEASHED," Hegseth posted.
The video features missile launches, naval weapons systems firing, ammunition production lines and workers signing munitions for U.S. forces.
Hegseth also stressed that performance, not a contractor's name, should determine which companies supply America's military.
"I don’t care what company is on the side of the rocket. Don't care. The only thing we ask ourselves is, is it the best?" Hegseth said in the video.
"The technology that you build for our missiles, interceptors and hypersonic weapons is what allows the War Department to achieve peace through strength," Hegseth continued. "And that mission comes with a non-negotiable mandate straight from the Resolute Desk and President Trump: build more and build faster."
Hegseth framed the manufacturing push as central to strengthening American military readiness and deterring foreign adversaries.
"When we unleash industry—when we at long last unleash the raw, competitive, and patriotic spirit—the United States of America always wins," he said.
"When we compete, we win. When we innovate, we win. When we go fast, we win. We're equipping our warriors for the future right here and right now, made in the United States of America, and we're doing it at light speed."
The "Arsenal of Freedom" campaign echoes America's World War II-era "Arsenal of Democracy," when U.S. factories dramatically expanded weapons production to supply American and Allied forces.
The administration's defense industrial strategy is to streamline Pentagon procurement, reduce bureaucratic barriers and bring more private companies and technology startups into the military supply chain.
The effort emphasizes commercial technology, faster production and greater competition among defense contractors and manufacturers.
Hegseth launched the nationwide tour earlier this year with a stop at a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, and has since visited defense manufacturing facilities across the country.
On Oct. 20, Hegseth toured Riverside Machine and Engineering in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, alongside Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler and local lawmakers.
There, he touted what he called a "golden age of American manufacturing," highlighting domestic supply chains and defense industry jobs.
The manufacturing push comes as the Pentagon seeks to strengthen U.S. weapons stockpiles and sustain military readiness amid threats from adversaries, including the almost eight-month war with Iran.
Following visits to U.S. Central Command operations in the Middle East, Hegseth emphasized the importance of expanding production of precision missiles, air defense interceptors and other critical weapons systems.
Federal authorities conducted predawn raids across Southern California on Thursday, busting suspected fraudsters, including a cardiothoracic surgeon, accused of stealing nearly $2 billion through sham substance abuse programs, unnecessary surgeries and phony hospice care.
In total, 15 people, including six medical professionals, were charged over $1. 8 billion in fraudulent claims submitted to government and private health insurance programs, the Justice Department said.
"These charges include the largest sober home fraud scheme the Department has ever prosecuted and a scheme involving unnecessary invasive procedures that was detected through data analytics," said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.
"Our message is simple: if you steal health care dollars from the American taxpayer or abuse your position to harm patients, we are coming for you — and the data will lead us to you."
Among the defendants are Dr. Harold Tabaie, 78, of Anaheim, a cardiothoracic surgeon, and his business partner, Hany Malek, 61, a Tarzana chiropractor.
Both are charged in an alleged $135 million scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary atherectomies, invasive arterial procedures using a bladed catheter to clear plaque.
Prosecutors allege Malek posed as a medical doctor to diagnose patients with arterial disease and recommend atherectomies, even though the patients did not have the condition.
Tabaie then performed the procedures, sometimes repeatedly on patients for whom previous operations had already failed, according to officials. Authorities noted that several patients suffered extreme pain and discomfort as a result.
Malek also faces charges for allegedly submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications in 2021. He allegedly fabricated a 25% revenue loss for his business to secure loan funds, which he then spent on personal expenses, family credit cards, other ventures and rare coins.
In a separate case, Nathan Young, 39, and his father, David Young, 71, were charged with operating a $1.6 billion substance abuse scam.
Authorities allege the father-son duo trafficked drug addicts from across the nation to dozens of Los Angeles rehab centers. Federal prosecutors said the vulnerable patients were recruited by "body brokers" Honey Phipps, 42, and Cody Phipps, 36, both of Greenville, Texas.
Body brokerage is the illegal practice of receiving kickbacks to refer insured individuals to specific rehab facilities. Once patients arrived, no actual treatment was provided.
Instead, the Youngs allegedly recycled patients through their facilities to continuously bill insurance companies, even ordering staff to drug patients with sedatives to "knock them out" if they attempted to leave.
The duo also allegedly offered drugs to patients, cut them off from communication with family members, prevented them from accessing their belongings and physically blocked them from leaving the facilities to continue billing their insurance policies.
When Nathen Young was informed that a patient wanted to leave detox so he could smoke marijuana, Young instructed that the patient should be given what he wanted, off-site from the detox, to keep him there, prosecutors said.
"It is especially egregious when doctors and other health care professionals, who pledged to do no harm, resort to petty greed and criminality," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Every dollar drained out of our private and public health insurance systems is one less dollar available to those who truly need it."
The sweep also targeted several other major healthcare fraud schemes across the region. In one instance, defendants were charged with stealing more than $140 million by falsely certifying non-terminally ill patients for hospice care.
In a separate prescription fraud scheme, Christina Mareik, 61, of Whittier, was charged for her role in allegedly submitting thousands of bogus prescriptions for high-reimbursement generic drugs to Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.
Additionally, Dr. Hassan Badday, 48, of Los Angeles, and Dr. Robby Ayoub, 52, of Huntington Beach, were charged with taking illegal kickbacks from a Houston laboratory marketer in exchange for ordering unnecessary Medicare genetic tests.
The man accused of ambushing two Philadelphia police officers, killing one and wounding another, now faces federal charges.
Eric Lewis, 35, is accused of fatally shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber and wounding his partner. He faces a range of state charges, among them murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and other related offenses.
In addition to the state-level charges, Lewis on Thursday was indicted on federal charges of interstate commerce by robbery, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, theft of a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce, and possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition.
At a news conference on Thursday, David Metcalf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said that Lewis wasn't allowed to carry a gun under U.S. law.
"Under federal law, Eric Lewis is not allowed to possess a firearm. He is a convicted felon under federal law. He is certainly not allowed to steal a firearm, and under federal law, he is certainly prohibited from using any firearm to rob, shoot, and kill a police officer, as a result of those actions," Metcalf said.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts released a video of alleged sham marriage mastermind Jennifer Gonzalez detailing her pay-for-play scheme which officials say netted her over $6 million.
The U.S. Attorney's Office accused Gonzalez of orchestrating fake marriages between U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants, charging the immigrants up to $40,000 per marriage.
Gonzalez can be seen on a video recorded by a witness cooperating with federal law enforcement explaining how her scheme worked.
"They will come, I will present them to the wife, they're like, 'yes, I want them, not a problem, I'll be back in, I don't know, three weeks.' And they would leave and make me hold these girls for months," she explained.
"The payment, it's agreed by both parties, OK? This is the first initial payment for the total amount of $38,000. Now, let me calculate that real quick. So $38,000 minus $3,000," she continued, while using a calculator. "That's going to give us $35,000. And then the day of the wedding, you have to bring me, what? $12,000.
"You and I are the ones in this contract, not nobody else. Because we don't want to get your wife and yourself into a...putting in paper about a fake marriage. You know what I mean? Does that make sense to you? Because if anything happened, we don't want them to have any proof that this was fake," she said.
Gonzalez also explained to the witness, who she believed to be an illegal immigrant, that Massachusetts was the best place to go for illegal immigrants because of its sanctuary state status.
"Massachusetts is best place for you to be. That is a fact," Gonzalez said.
"You get health insurance. You get a lot of help as an immigrant here," she explained, adding, "Trump doesn't like this state because...the state defends us very much."
She also revealed that she stopped arranging the marriages around 2025 because of increased federal immigration enforcement.
Gonzalez further told the witness that she owned multiple properties in the Dominican Republic, which she called "my country," and in Puerto Rico.
"Miss Gonzalez got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country," Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, told reporters during a Wednesday press conference announcing the scheme.
The lone holdout juror who was the only one in favor of convicting her of murder for the strangling deaths of her three young children will not have to have his phone examined or face an inquiry from her defense attorney, a Massachusetts judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge William Sullivan denied Clancy attorney Kevin Reddington's motion for an evidentiary hearing.
Sullivan wrote that the potential evidence to dismiss the juror, referred to as Juror Doe in court documents but understood to be Michael Desronvil, came to light only after the mistrial was declared â which makes it irrelevant under court precedent.
The defense did not raise the issue that Juror Doe lied on the jury questionnaire before the mistrial was declared, he wrote â it originated in media reports.
"Because post-trial information potentially affecting Juror Doe's impartiality cannot be used to attack the determination that a mistrial was manifestly necessary, Clancy is not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on that issue," Sullivan found, while also noting that Reddington didn't raise the possibility that Juror Doe used a cell phone improperly until after the mistrial was declared.
Any further inquiry into the holdout juror is inappropriate because of "the mandate that the court must not delve into a juror's subjective reasoning, thought process, view of the case, or relationship to the other jurors, and must not inquire into the jury's deliberative content, collective thought process, or any disagreement among the jury," Sullivan wrote.
Read the judge's order:
Desronvil told Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany last week that he stands by his decision not to compromise with 11 others who wanted her to be found not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis.
He also denied lying under oath on his juror questionnaire, said jurors only used their cellphones during breaks from deliberations and denied claims from other jurors that he'd ignored reasonable doubts about the case.
Reddington has asked the court to preserve juror records from all 12 panelists and six alternates, including their questionnaires, courthouse hallway surveillance video taken outside the deliberation room and sign-in sheets for the jurors' cellphones.
A teacher who was injured during last Thursday's school shooting in Bend, Oregon, said she tried to shut a classroom door before pretending to be dead in the hope that the gunman would not target her again.
Becky Drury made the remarks in a statement released to the media on Wednesday, as the Bend Police Department confirmed that the firearm used in the attack on Silver Rail Elementary, which left three children and one teacher dead, was "purchased legally."
"Here is what I remember: Once I realized something was happening outside, I ran to see what was going on. I then saw the shooter and immediately ran back into the classroom. I turned to shut the door behind me, but the shooter was already there. Before I could do anything more, he shot me at close range and I fell to the ground," Drury said.
"Lying on the floor, I saw that my left hand was almost completely severed from the gunshot, and my other arm was also severely injured. I could not get up, defend myself, or protect anyone else," she added. "So, I did the only thing I could do, which was to pretend to be dead in the hope he would not shoot me again."
Drury continued, "What happened in that classroom was unimaginable, and like so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy," and her "thoughts are with those who were hurt, those we lost, their families, our school, and the Bend community."
The Bend Police Department said on Wednesday that detectives are continuing a "complex investigation."
"They have served search warrants at the shooting suspect's home, as well as on his electronic devices and his social media accounts on a variety of platforms. That work continues, and it takes time," the department said in a statement.
"Heartfelt artwork and messages of love reminded our students and staff that they are surrounded by a community that cares deeply for them," the school district said.
A 22-year-old Texas mother accused of driving more than twice the speed limit with her two young children in the car faces manslaughter charges after a crash killed a couple who had recently graduated from college.
Aldrea Rogers, 22, was arrested and charged with two counts of manslaughter in connection with the deaths of Julian Harris and Madison Duren, Dallas County jail records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.
Rogers was allegedly driving 82 mph in a 35 mph zone when she crashed into the couple's vehicle, FOX 4 Dallas reported, citing a newly released arrest affidavit.
Their friends, Eli Barron and Emmet Overcarsh, described the couple to FOX 4 Dallas as curious, enthusiastic people who loved learning and connecting with others.
Overcarsh also expressed disbelief that Rogers, who was the same age as the victims, allegedly had her two young children in the car when the deadly crash occurred.
Friends said the deaths have been difficult to comprehend, particularly because Rogers was the same age as the victims and allegedly had her two young children in the car.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Dallas Police Department and Dallas County court officials to obtain a copy of the arrest affidavit and additional details about the crash investigation.
The entire full-time police force and city manager in a small town in Georgia recently resigned from their positions, officials revealed during a city council meeting on Monday.
Milner, Georgia, City Manager Tausha Grose told the city council Monday night that the town's entire full-time police force and most of its part-time volunteer officers have resigned. Grose also announced her own resignation during the meeting.
"It is with my extreme sorrow that our entire full-time police department has resigned, most of our part-time police. And also, I've also filed my resignation with the city clerk today," Grose said.
Milner Police Chief Lamar Bunn accused city hall of secretly placing a tracker on his truck, paid for with personal funds and without the knowledge of anyone else in city government. He also said he had been falsely accused of having an affair with the city manager.
"City Hall every day, it's got a tracker on my truck, it was bought with personal funds and placed on my vehicle without the city council or my supervisor, city administrator knowing it," Bunn said at the meeting. "Here's the thing, still I'm looking for a glimmer of hope to stay in the city. I don't know why. It's because I've devoted my life to Lamar County. 15, 16 years with the sheriff's office and now I'm back here in this county. My dad was here in '74 policing with his police department. I got roots here."
During the meeting, Mayor Craig Timmons acknowledged the concerns and said he hopes the situation can be resolved. Officials had disagreed over police overtime and a proposal to bar officers from using city vehicles for part-time work, but those disputes were not cited as the reason for the resignations.
In resignation letters obtained by Fox News Digital, Bunn said he was stepping down over what he described as conflicts with city leadership on legal and ethical issues.
"I have determined that it is in my best interest to step down at this time due to fundamental differences regarding leadership, governance, and ethical alignment. Regrettably, recent actions and governance decisions within city leadership â specifically regarding legal compliance, ethical standards, and core values â have compromised my ability to perform my duties with integrity," Bunn said.
Other full-time employees at the police department echoed Bunn's concerns, with Milner Police Captain Craig Walton demanding an investigation into Timmons in his resignation letter.
"I sincerely hope that the residents of Milner and the members of the City Council will take these concerns seriously and pursue an independent investigation into the mayor's conduct, including any potential violations of his oath of office or the rights of city employees," Walton said.
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 â despite an initial sentence of 124 years.
"I hope he's smart enough â and he's smart â 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.
Chapman, his son Leland and several others went to Mexico after receiving a tip about Luster's whereabouts â 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.
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.
"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.'"
They pulled him into an SUV and drove off â 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.
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
"Itâs 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 â it just doesnât 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 â with their names on it.
She said she dated Luster for five or six months without knowing she'd been drugged and raped the night they met â 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. "Thatâs 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 thatâs how I figured out when it happened to me, which was absolutely horrifying."
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."
"Theyâre 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 â 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 Lusterâs crimes be deemed nonviolent," Doe No. 3 told Fox News Digital. "Thatâs 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.
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, 'Iâm 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.
As part of the series, he plans to help bail out certain inmates with a history of good behavior and positive reports â but not for people facing serious felonies or sex abuse charges, he said.
"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."
A Florida attorney was arrested after she threatened to shoot ICE agents in the head while trying to buy a gun, federal authorities said.
Lisa White, who lives in Mississippi, was arrested in Long Beach after allegedly threatening to "kill federal agents" while attempting to purchase a firearm and pepper spray, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement release.
Authorities said White asked whether specific firearms could penetrate ballistic vests, then allegedly said she would target agentsâ heads if she could not breach their armor.
HSI Gulfport special agents responded, interviewed witnesses and located and arrested White, according to the release.
The investigation began Sept. 23 after an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alerted HSI to the encounter at High Caliber Guns, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Sun Herald.
White entered the store around 11:30 a.m. and told employees, "I need a gun," according to the complaint cited by the outlet.
She allegedly identified herself as an activist and protester and said she wanted a firearm for protection at a protest because she believed "ICE agents are becoming crazy and wild."
But White also told an employee she wanted to buy a gun to kill ICE agents, according to the complaint.
While discussing the weapons, White allegedly gestured toward her torso and asked whether the guns could penetrate an agentâs body armor. If they could not, she said she would need to "hit them in the head, shoulder, arm or leg," the complaint states, according to the Sun Herald.
A shop employee reportedly warned White that pointing a gun at law enforcement would likely get her killed.
"If I have to die, I have to die," White responded, according to the complaint.
The employee then suggested White buy pepper spray instead of a gun and directed her to a shooting range for training, the complaint states.
White looked at two pistols but left empty-handed after the shop declined to complete the sale and told her she could return in two to three days, the newspaper reported. Store employees then alerted authorities, prompting the investigation.
"The safety of our personnel is paramount, and HSI takes any threat against federal law enforcement officers with the utmost seriousness," HSI Gulfport Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Reidell said.
"We commend the vigilance of the citizens for recognizing these threats and notifying law enforcement immediately, which allowed us to intervene swiftly."
"Threats against federal law enforcement will NOT be tolerated," HSI wrote on X. "HSI will continue to investigate threats against the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our homeland."
In its release, the agency cited an increase of more than 1,600% in assaults, 3,300% in vehicle attacks and 8,000% in death threats against ICE officers. It did not provide the underlying totals or comparison period.
ICE said President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin have made clear that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated, warning that people who threaten or attack officers face arrest and prosecution.
An American woman living in Massachusetts has been accused by the Department of Justice of arranging sham marriages to help her clients seek green cards and U.S. citizenship.
Jennifer Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, collected up to $40,000 per marriage and arranged as many as 20 per year over the last decade, according to Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney for the Massachusetts District.
Gonzalez's female employees, who were also charged, married the men looking to get legal status in the U.S., authorities said.
"This conspiracy netted her $6 million during the course of the alleged scam," Foley said during a news conference Wednesday at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. "She bragged that she invested her ill-gotten proceeds in businesses and property in the Dominican Republic, which she repeatedly referred to as 'my country.'"
It appears Gonzalez spilled the details of the scheme to a witness cooperating with federal law enforcement. Foley said Gonzalez believed this individual was an illegal immigrant.
Gonzalez, 43, told a witness who was recording the interaction that Massachusetts was "so special" because it is a sanctuary state where "illegal aliens get a lot of help as an immigrant."
Gonzalez also allegedly said her goal was to give all her children pieces of land in the Dominican Republic they could later own.
"Miss Gonzalez got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country," Foley said.
Gonzalez told the witness she stopped holding phony marriages at the end of 2024 because President Donald Trump was returning to office, before shutting down the scheme entirely in 2025 because immigration enforcement had become "a little harsh," according to Foley.
Gonzalez was described by prosecutors as the "ringleader" of the operation, though there were other alleged co-conspirators.
Amara Pugh, Gonzalez's 31-year-old secretary, along with Jessica Tavares, 31; Erica Daniels, 29; and Jaylin Hill, 26, were allegedly paid to marry Gonzalez's clients. Gonzalez also allegedly entered into a sham marriage herself with an illegal immigrant.
Photographs of at least two marriage ceremonies were included in court records shared by the Justice Department.
In most cases, they would stay married to the illegal immigrants for years, get divorced, then get married to other illegal immigrants as early as a month after their divorces, officials added.
Foley told reporters that another component of the alleged fraud involved Gonzalez applying for and receiving SNAP benefits from 2019 through 2026. She received more than $124,000 from the SNAP program over that time, according to prosecutors.
"She did not list her income from her sham marriage business and did not list anyone else in her household, not the illegal alien she married and not the father of her children, who she referred to as her husband," Foley said.
Gonzalez, Pugh, Tavares and two other conspirators were arrested Wednesday morning, the Justice Department said. Hill is already in state prison for a gun offense.
A Connecticut man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 1992 felony murder conviction has been arrested again in connection with a road rage shooting that left a grandfather dead in Bridgeport, according to city police.
Jorge "George" Ortiz, 57, was arrested after a brief foot chase Monday to end a week-long manhunt and charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol and carrying a pistol without a permit, Bridgeport police said in a statement.
He is accused of gunning down 48-year-old Nelson Batista, a grandfather who recently laid his 25-year-old Air Force airman son to rest, in a 9 a.m. road rage incident on Oct. 12, according to a police affidavit.
Ortiz and Batista were strangers, according to Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter.
"This was a random act," he told reporters at a news briefing announcing the arrest — just hours before Batista's funeral.
Surveillance video shows a man identified as Ortiz following a woman down Park Avenue as the victim turned his SUV down a side street, according to the affidavit. Ortiz allegedly slapped his hands on the side of the car, prompting the driver to stop and get out.
Ortiz allegedly punched the victim first, and they fell to the ground in a scuffle before surveillance video showed them struggling for control of a handgun, according to the affidavit. The city's ShotSpotter program captured at least two gunshots, with the medical examiner later determining one struck Batista in the chest.
Police credited tips from the community for Ortiz's capture after a woman recorded some of the incident on cellphone video and other witnesses helped identify him.
Video taken from inside a vehicle captured some of the scuffle, including the attacker getting up, striking Batista in the head with the butt of a pistol and taking off as the victim lies motionless in the street.
A detective recognized Ortiz from prior encounters, including one in March, according to the affidavit. He had been arrested on misdemeanor drug charges in a case that is still pending. Police also received a tip from a man who also said he could identify Ortiz as the man in the photo.
Batista's son's funeral was held on Oct. 3 in Louisiana, according to an online obituary.
Batista was an avid fan of Major League Baseball and the NFL, according to his own obituary, and especially fond of the New York Yankees. He was a father of six and grandfather of three.
The autopsy released for Brooke Hanlon, a new mother found stabbed to death inside her home in an affluent zip code, lists the manner of death as homicide due to "sharp force injuries."
Hanlon, 35, was killed inside her Chester, New Jersey, home on Pottersville Road, investigators say. She leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter. Her husband, Conor, has gone on the record denying any involvement in her death.
The autopsy lists the cause of death as "sharp force injuries" with the manner of death a homicide, the autopsy report states. It confirms what the Morris County Prosecutor's Office previously released in June.
The autopsy was conducted by Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Di Wang on June 7, a day after Hanlon was found dead.
The heavily redacted report lists the Morris County Sheriff's Office, Prosecutor's Office and local police department in Chester were "present" at the time of the examination.
Jennifer Payne, Hanlon's graduate school friend and former roommate, previously said to Fox News Digital, "Honestly, it’s been confusing, heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating," at the lack of updates from investigators.
Hanlon's husband was the first person to find her unresponsive, according to a 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital. In the frantic call, he says to an operator, "There's a laceration" on his wife's body as the operator was instructing Hanlon on how to provide CPR to his wife.
Months after the killing, neighbors on Pottersville Road confirm to Fox News Digital that Hanlon has frequently returned to his home and has been spending nights there. Previously, he had been splitting time between Chester and the Boston area — where his family is from.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
The autopsy released for a new mother found brutally stabbed to death inside her home in an affluent zip code provides new detail into the mystery surrounding the tragedy.
Brooke Hanlon, 35, was killed inside her Chester, New Jersey, home on Pottersville Road, investigators say. She leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter. Her husband, Conor, has gone on the record denying any involvement in her death.
The autopsy was conducted by Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Di Wang on June 7, a day after Hanlon was found dead and confirmed "sharp force injuries" as her cause of death, according to a report from NorthJersey.com.
The heavily redacted report lists the Morris County Sheriff's Office, Prosecutor's Office and local police department in Chester were "present" at the time of the examination.
Jennifer Payne, Hanlon's graduate school friend and former roommate, previously said to Fox News Digital, "Honestly, it’s been confusing, heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating," at the lack of updates from investigators.
Hanlon's husband was the first person to find her unresponsive, according to a 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital. In the frantic call, he says to an operator, "There's a laceration" on his wife's body as the operator was instructing Hanlon on how to provide CPR to his wife.
Months after the killing, neighbors on Pottersville Road confirm to Fox News Digital that Hanlon has frequently returned to his home and has been spending nights there. Previously, he had been splitting time between Chester and the Boston area — where his family is from.
PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of police officers from around the U.S. traveled to the City of Brotherly Love Tuesday for the funeral of Shane Seiber, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Oct. 10, when prosecutors say an armed suspect shot him and his partner.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel announced during the service at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul that Seiber had been promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant.
Seiber had served 10 years in the department after spending the prior decade in the Air Force, where he deployed for two tours in Iraq.
Officers from around Pennsylvania and other states packed the memorial service to pay their respects.
Seiber and his partner were responding to a report of a man waving a gun in West Philadelphia when prosecutors say a man named Eric Lewis approached them from behind and asked what they were doing on his doorstep.
They got into an argument, a struggle ensued and then Lewis allegedly opened fire, striking Seiber three times and his partner 12. Lewis was arrested after a standoff with SWAT officers — allegedly carrying two handguns, one belonging to the officers, and a shotgun.
FOX 29 Philadelphia has identified Seiber's partner as Officer Hector Rodriguez III, a 33-year-old father of five. He survived his injuries.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced that the city would create an annual internship program for public service in Seiber's honor during a eulogy Tuesday, describing him as "a giant of a man" and "clearly a gentleman of the first class."
"Law enforcement certainly needed to do a better job as to describing why these charges haven't been filed," says Jamie Copenhaver.
Copenhaver, a former sheriff's detective in Florida who worked with an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, is curious as to why law enforcement has been tight-lipped about the lack of charges in the horrific Kansas soccer field crash.
A mother walked away with no charges after investigators say she drove onto the active field at Stryker Sports Complex where children and families were present — killing two and injuring several others.
It happened on Saturday; Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, who were both from McPherson, were killed. The woman behind the wheel was released after being interviewed by investigators that day.
Wichita Police said she was released "pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of the vehicle."
Police said in a statement Tuesday that they have interviewed nearly 50 witnesses, with more interviews ongoing.
"Investigators are also inspecting the truck, analyzing available vehicle data and continuing investigative work at Stryker Sports Complex," police said. "They are working closely with the Regional Forensic Science Center and awaiting official, peer-reviewed toxicology results."
The driver remained at the scene and has been cooperative, they said.
"Based on the information available Sunday morning, and after consultation with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, investigators did not have probable cause to arrest the driver. She was released, and the investigation remains ongoing. Her release does not represent a final determination about whether criminal charges are appropriate."
"We know that this case has captured the attention of people all over the country, and many of those people have strong opinions about the incident even though they do not have direct knowledge of what occurred," Chief Joe Sullivan said. "We recognize that the decision the law and constitution required us to make on Sunday morning may not be popular. We swear an oath to support the laws of the State of Kansas and the Constitution of the United States and no one in the Wichita Police Department takes that oath for granted."
The driver had a valid driver’s license and no outstanding arrest warrants, police said.
They dispelled rumors circulating online, noting that the driver is not in the country illegally, has no documented criminal history, and no association with the Wichita Police Department, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office or any other law enforcement agency.
Andrew Ford, a spokesperson for the Wichita Police Department, told TMZ that the driver was interviewed for several hours after the crash. He said she answered questions about what happened, according to the outlet.
Ford told TMZ that police are investigating all possibilities about why this happened, including whether speeding, mechanical failure, or drugs or alcohol played a factor.
Wichita police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Did the driver suffer a medical emergency?
No information on the driver's medical condition at the time of the crash has been released.
Copenhaver said it may be necessary for law enforcement to release information on the woman's physical health condition at the time of the incident to "prevent conspiracy theories."
"People need to know a little bit more transparency as to why this may have occurred," he said.
Did her vehicle malfunction?
Police said that the black pickup truck involved in the incident was going to undergo mechanical testing. Copenhaver said the black box will be able to give a better idea of whether something went mechanically wrong before the deadly crash.
He said the data will reveal possible "contributing factors" like speed, whether she hit the brakes, timing of the braking and how far the vehicle may have skidded.
"It doesn't take that long, in my opinion, to download that data, have one of their experts go over it," he said.
Copenhaver went on to say, "If there's an issue with that truck, that computer is going to alert the examiner or the expert that's looking at this data."
"If it's alcohol-related, they're going to know instantaneously," he said.
He added, "Once that blood draw is taken, once it's ran through the machines [investigators] will be able to tell you if an individual is under the influence of alcohol."
He said testing for other substances like hard drugs or medications can take significantly longer. Those require "specialty testing," he said.
There is also a possibility that the woman may have been taking prescription medication, which could have impacted her driving, he said.
Testing for that is "longer than that normal blood draw," he said.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, the Wichita Police Department shot down questions circulating on social media about whether there was a law enforcement connection.
"The Wichita Police Department is aware of false information circulating on social media regarding this investigation, including a rumor alleging that a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office deputy was involved," the department said in part. "The Sheriff's Office has publicly addressed that allegation and identified it as false."
The department went on to say, "We ask everyone to be responsible with what they share, consider the harm misinformation can cause and allow investigators to do their work based on facts and evidence, not speculation."
When asked by Fox News Digital about allegations of the driver's possible connection to law enforcement, the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office referred questions to the Wichita Police Department.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush built the Titan submersible to implode on its dive to the Titanic wreck so he could become part of "Titanic mythology," a longtime friend claimed, saying it was a "mousetrap for billionaires."
Karl Stanley, a commercial submersible expert and longtime friend of Rush, made the claim in author Matthew Gavin Frank’s new book, "Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines."
"[Rush’s] ego was so big," Stanley told Frank, "he was willing to die and kill to be the pivotal character of this story. He wanted to go [die] at the wreck [of Titanic]. The more high-profile, the better. He didn’t just murder four wealthy people and get paid a cool mill to do it — they are all part of the Titanic mythology."
The Titan lost contact with its support ship on June 18, 2023, while it was descending to see the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic, which sparked a multinational search. Debris was found four days later, and officials announced the Titan had imploded, killing all five people onboard: Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, and Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
Passengers paid up to $250,000 to be onboard the Titan.
Frank wrote that Rush's ambitions went well beyond his own death, saying that the name Titan, which was borrowed from the doomed ocean liner in Morgan Robertson’s 1898 novel "Futility," was done intentionally. That novel features a fictional British ocean liner named "Titan" that strikes an iceberg, drawing a parallel to the fate of the Titanic.
"According to Stanley, in order to extend, and to be a part of this larger story, Rush needed to compel more than just his own death, and he needed to knowingly fabricate a 'futile' vessel, costumed in a titanic name, as his murder weapon," Frank wrote.
"You believe that Rush knew the sub was going to implode — actually intended it to — and that he killed everyone onboard, himself included, to best become part of the ongoing Titanic mythology?" Frank asked Stanley.
Stanley also alleged that "most everyone" who worked for OceanGate knew what would happen to the Titan, and "all of them are s---ting their pants" after the implosion.
Brandi Young, a former federal and state prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that a first-degree murder charge would have been difficult to prove because Rush was risking his own life on the dive, saying a manslaughter charge would have been more likely.
"There’d be an argument to be made that perhaps second-degree murder, showing just reckless, extreme disregard, something that’s heightened over manslaughter, that potentially might be an avenue," said Young. "You have a lot of direct evidence of just the pure recklessness of someone going forward with complete disregard for the other human life."
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