Sentencing set for 2 ex-officers who violated Floyd's civil rights
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge will sentence the remaining two former Minneapolis police officers convicted of violating George Floyd's civil rights during his 2020 killing through back-to-back hearings next week in St. Paul.
J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao will be sentenced Wednesday for a pair of convictions handed down by a federal jury earlier this year. Kueng and Thao are still awaiting an Oct. 24 trial in Hennepin County on state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter, but their federal sentencings will bring to a close the Justice Department's criminal civil rights prosecutions stemming from Floyd's murder.
U.S. Senior Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Derek Chauvin to more than 20 years in prison earlier this month and imposed a 2½-year sentence on Thomas Lane on Thursday, in both cases opting for a lesser term than what prosecutors asked for and Floyd's relatives urged.
After a half-hour hearing Friday to dispute sentencing guideline calculations, Kueng and Thao now also stand to receive lesser sentences than they might otherwise have been given. Magnuson sided, in part, with arguments raised by attorneys for the two ex-officers by finding that involuntary manslaughter and not second-degree murder should be used to calculate the offense levels in their cases.
Magnuson found that those facts precluded the element of "malice aforethought" necessary to prove second-degree murder.
—Star Tribune
Oxford school district gets $700,000 in response to shooting
DETROIT — The U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $700,000 in emergency funds Friday to the Oxford Area Community School District in response to the mass shooting in November at Oxford High School.
The $707,600 was disbursed as part of the federal department's School Emergency Response to Violence project. Funding for the project is authorized through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, with more than $3.7 million being awarded this year.
The money will go toward improving school safety in the district as well as ensuring the well-being of students, staff and families at the high school.
Oxford school Superintendent Ken Weaver did not respond immediately Friday to a phone message seeking comment.
The shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, killed four students and injured six others, plus a teacher. Ethan Crumbley, 16, who was a student at the school, is charged with 24 felonies in connection with the shooting and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
OACSD's $700,000 makes it the third-largest amount received by one school district this year, and the fifth-largest given out by SERV in the last three years.
The money awarded by SERV must be used "for activities that help restore a sense of safety and security for a district's students, teachers, staff, and families, and that address specific needs of those individuals directly affected by tragic events," according to a DOE press release.
—The Detroit News
Zeldin back on campaign trail in NY after attack suspect released
ALBANY, N.Y. — U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin hit the campaign trail Friday, hours after an upstate man accused of attacking the Republican gubernatorial candidate was released without bail.
The congressman is continuing his “Unite to Fire Hochul” bus tour, making over a dozen stops over the course of four days, and he plans to address the frightening incident following a stump speech in Onondaga County, his campaign said Friday morning.
The candidate decided not to alter his busy schedule despite Thursday’s harrowing incident.
The Long Island lawmaker was on stage speaking to supporters outside of a VFW post in Fairport, near Rochester, around 8 p.m. when a man with a weapon in his hand approached him, swung the object towards Zeldin’s neck, and told him, “You’re done,” according to police.
David Jakubonis, 43, was charged with attempted assault in the second degree, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. He was arraigned in town court and released on his own recognizance.
Zeldin, who was not injured, predicted his alleged attacker would be freed in a tweet following the incident.
Jakubonis is an Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a medical laboratory technician. Some reports indicated that he was intoxicated when he attacked Zeldin.
—New York Daily News
Justice Department to investigate Houston over dumping response
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday announced it has opened an environmental justice investigation into the city of Houston over allegations that its response to illegal dumping in primarily Black and Hispanic neighborhoods violated the Civil Rights Act.
The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas will investigate whether the nation’s fourth-largest city violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin.
The investigation will focus on the city’s response to reports of illegal dumping and was launched after a complaint filed by Lone Star Legal Aid. The complaint alleges that the city denied services and failed to enforce municipal codes and permitting restrictions when responding to illegal dump sites in its northeast portion.
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said illegal dumping of furniture, tires, medical waste, trash and even dead bodies in this area has attracted rodents, mosquitoes and other vermin that pose a health risk, contaminated surface water and impacted drainage, making the area more vulnerable to flooding. The dumping has also lowered property values for Black and Hispanic residents, in violation of Title VI.
—CQ-Roll Call
