A convicted Jan. 6 rioter has now been found guilty of planning to kill federal agents who were investigating his role in the Capitol attack.
Edward Kelley, 35, was convicted Wednesday by a jury of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat following a three-day trial per The Hill.
Federal prosecutors said Kelley developed a “kill list” of FBI agents and others who participated in the investigation into his conduct on Jan. 6, hatching a plan to murder them while awaiting trial in his Capitol attack case.
A defendant who pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors testified that he and Kelley plotted attacks on the FBI field office in Knoxville, Tenn., using car bombs and explosives attached to drones, according to the Justice Department. They also discussed assassinating FBI employees in their homes or public places, like movie theatres.
Prosecutors showed a recording at trial of Kelley stating “every hit has to hurt.”
In his Capitol riot case, Kelley was convicted of 11 counts following a two-day bench trial, including obstructing law enforcement officers during a civil disorder; assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or ground.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison at sentencing in May.
One suspect is in custody Monday morning after vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home.
U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to Vance’s protective detail detained a man on the property shortly after midnight after finding several broken windows at the home. The suspect was later turned over to the Cincinnati Police Department.
Authorities said Vance and his family were not home at the time of the incident and were not in Ohio.
Multiple news outlets have confirmed the vandalism, but officials have not released the suspect’s identity or a possible motive. No injuries were reported.
In a post on X, Vance thanked law enforcement and supporters for their responses and messages of concern.
“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home,” Vance wrote. “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I’m grateful to the Secret Service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly.”
I appreciate everyone's well wishes about the attack at our home. As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows. I'm grateful to the secret service and the Cincinnati police for responding quickly.
Vance also urged the media to exercise restraint in covering the incident, citing concerns for his children.
“We try to protect our kids as much as possible from the realities of this life of public service,” he wrote. “In that light, I am skeptical of the news value of plastering images of our home with holes in the windows.”
The Secret Service has not indicated whether the damage was targeted or random, and the investigation remains ongoing.
While agents responded quickly, the incident is likely to raise fresh questions about the security vulnerabilities of high-level government officials, including the president and the vice president.
A protest at a Tesla location in Florida was disrupted Saturday when a man drove into the crowd.
A suspect was arrested at the scene and there were no injuries, according to police.
Law enforcement tells the AP that the suspect, Andrew Dutil, allegedly drove his Nissan Pathfinder at a slow speed onto the sidewalk and directly into the group of demonstrators before coming to a stop and exiting the vehicle.
Reports indicate Dutil claimed to be an employee of the Tesla showroom where the protests were taking place.
“He drove into a crowd of senior citizens,” said Mark Offerman of the Democratic Progressive Caucus Palm Beach County about the driver. “Everybody was able to move out, but two older women were really almost clipped. We immediately called the cops.”
The AP adds that “Dutil was arrested and faces an assault charge, according to court records.”
At many of the @Tesla Takedown events this weekend, organizers were passing out signs that had QR codes on them so they could recruit more people.
At least one individual associated with the group “Tesla Takedown” posted on social media about the incident.
In response to CEO Elon Musk supporting President Donald Trump during the election and slashing budgets and personnel through DOGE over the last several weeks, protests and acts of vandalism and violence have broken out both at Tesla locations and against individual vehicle owners across the country.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has labeled the incidents domestic terrorism.
President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)
The House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the panel will continue its investigation into Hunter Biden’s criminal activity in a Thursday interview with Politico.
“We think we need to look at David Weiss, the special counsel,” Jordan told the outlet.
“There will be some additional work we need to do, I think, there because when we deposed him, he wasn’t willing to — he didn’t answer any questions, really, because it was [an] ongoing investigation,” he added.
He criticized President Biden for pardoning his son ahead of his exit from the White House on all crimes committed in a 10-year period.
“I didn’t agree with it. I think a lot of Americans didn’t,” Jordan said.
But he added that “the president can pardon anyone he wants to pardon.”
Jordan’s committee launched a broad probe into Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden for alleged unethical business dealings which prompted their testimony before members of Congress last year.
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
President Trump’s Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 11:30 a.m. today, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expected to face fresh questions over allegations that he helped direct — or enabled — a follow-up U.S. strike that killed survivors of an earlier attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean.
The controversy reignited after The Washington Post reported Friday that Hegseth verbally ordered that a Sept. 2 attack “kill everyone” on board a vessel the administration has described as a narcotics-smuggling threat. The report also said a second strike was carried out to eliminate people who survived the first hit — a claim that has fueled bipartisan demands for oversight and raised the specter of potential war-crimes exposure if investigators conclude the targets no longer posed an imminent threat.
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Pete Hegseth, CC BY-SA 2.0
White House: strike was lawful — and “in self-defense”
The Pentagon has pushed back on key elements of the reporting. But at the White House briefing Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny that a follow-up strike occurred. Instead, she framed the Sept. 2 operation as lawful and defensive, saying it was conducted “in self-defense” in international waters and “in accordance with the law of armed conflict.”
Leavitt said: “On September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” adding: “Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”
Pressed on whether the admiral ordered a second strike because survivors remained after the first, Leavitt declined to discuss operational specifics — while emphasizing the admiral’s discretion. She also disputed the most incendiary allegation about Hegseth’s initial guidance, saying: “I would reject that the secretary of War ever said that,” before adding: “However, the president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists, again, are trafficking illegal drugs toward the United States, he has the authority to kill them.”
Why lawmakers are calling it a possible war-crimes issue
The allegations matter not just politically, but legally. Under the law of armed conflict, the permissibility of using lethal force often turns on whether a person remains a legitimate military target — for example, whether they pose an active threat or are otherwise directly participating in hostilities. If survivors were incapacitated and no longer threatening U.S. forces, critics argue a follow-up strike could violate established protections. That legal question is now central to the pressure campaign Congress is building around Hegseth and the Pentagon’s evidence.
The dispute has also exposed an ongoing split on Capitol Hill. Democrats — and some Republicans — have questioned both the proof that targeted boats were actually carrying drugs and the legal theory supporting repeated strikes without explicit congressional authorization.
Venezuela tensions raise the stakes for the meeting
The Cabinet session comes as U.S.-Venezuela tensions intensify, with the administration accusing President Nicolás Maduro of enabling drug trafficking. Reports indicate the White House is weighing broader options, and the strikes have become part of a larger argument about whether the U.S. is drifting toward a more direct confrontation.
Against that backdrop, today’s meeting is expected to put Hegseth “in the hot seat” internally as well as publicly: Cabinet gatherings are often where presidents and senior advisers test whether a controversy is containable — or whether it’s beginning to endanger other priorities.
The “Signal” scandal: why Hegseth is back under a familiar microscope
This is the most sustained scrutiny Hegseth has faced in months — and it echoes the Signal scandal that shook the Pentagon earlier this year.
In late March and early April 2025, reporting revealed that senior national security officials were discussing impending military operations in a Signal group chat, an encrypted but commercial messaging app not intended for classified coordination. Coverage described officials sharing sensitive operational details tied to strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, and the episode triggered alarms about both national security risk and records retention.
The controversy escalated when additional reporting described a second Signal chat that allegedly included Hegseth’s wife, brother, and others in his circle — prompting the Pentagon’s watchdog to open a review into his Signal use and related compliance concerns.
Now, with allegations of a second strike and potential violations of the laws of war, critics argue the pattern is the same: discretion and aggressiveness first, oversight and guardrails later.
A former Democrat candidate for the Virginia legislature, whose X-rated movies with her husband were exposed before the election, was charged with domestic violence this week.
Susanna Gibson Payne, 42, was arrested on September 22 for “assault and battery” against a family member. Payne claimed that her husband, 44-year-old John David Gibson, has been harassing her amid their divorce since last year.
“After my estranged husband, arrested three times since I filed for divorce, assaulted me during a June 2025 custody exchange while I protected our son, he filed a retaliatory criminal complaint against me,” she said.
After my estranged husband, arrested three times since I filed for divorce, assaulted me during a June 2025 custody exchange while I protected our son, he filed a retaliatory criminal complaint against me.
Payne said she turned herself in after a misdemeanor warrant was issued.
The Democrat’s husband denied ever assaulting his wife. Mediaite reported that Gibson was arrested in December for violating a protection order and using threatening language with his wife. He said the incident stemmed from a tense argument with his wife’s new boyfriend.
Payne and Gibson grabbed headlines in 2023 when Payne was running for office, and videos the couple had posted on the porn site Chaturbate were discovered and exposed.
The couple was accused of making the videos for “tips,” though they denied that the videos were for profit. At the time, Payne said she was determined to stay in the race.
“My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up,” she said.
I’m a private citizen and domestic violence survivor navigating a system that too often punishes those who seek safety.
Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman is now facing murder, assault and other charges following what the FBI called a “targeted terror attack” in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend.
The violence Sunday against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages left eight people, ages 52 to 88, with injuries, including one in critical condition, according to the FBI. Police responded to the area after receiving reports of a man with a weapon setting people on fire.
Soliman was charged with murder in the first degree – deliberation with intent; murder in the first degree – extreme indifference; crimes against at-risk adults/elderly; 1st degree assault – non-family; 1st degree assault – heat of passion; criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies; and use of explosives or incendiary devices during felony.
The suspect in the firebombing attack targeting a pro-Israel demonstration in Colorado is believed to be an illegal alien from Egpyt who overstayed his visa after it expired.
Several people were injured Sunday afternoon at a Boulder, Colorado, rally in support of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas terrorists after a man set people on fire while yelling “free Palestine” and “end zionist.” Police arrived at the scene and found that victims had “injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.”
The FBI said that six people were taken to the hospital with injuries, and that a witness said the suspect in the attack “used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd.”
As of Monday morning, there have been no fatalities confirmed by either the FBI or Boulder Police Department. Soliman was booked into the Boulder County Jail on Sunday evening and remains held on a $10 million bond.
Authorities are now investigating the firebombing attack against the pro-Israel demonstration as an act of ideologically motivated terrorism.
“We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence. All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement online. “If you have any investigative tips please contact the FBI. And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide.”
Our leadership team on the ground in Boulder will be updating you shortly on the attack in Boulder. This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on…
“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts,” Bongino added in a subsequent post.
Our leadership team on the ground in Boulder will be updating you shortly on the attack in Boulder. This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on…
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard added that her agency is investigating the case.
The @ODNIgov’s National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground investigating the targeted terror attack against a weekly meeting of Jewish community members who had just gathered in Boulder, CO to raise awareness of the hostages… https://t.co/plMRta7ujs
“National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground investigating the targeted terror attack against a weekly meeting of Jewish community members who had just gathered in Boulder, CO to raise awareness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller slammed the Biden administration in a post calling for “suicidal migration” to be reversed after Soliman’s visa status was revealed.
A terror attack was committed in Boulder, Colorado by an illegal alien. He was granted a tourist visa by the Biden Administration and then he illegally overstayed that visa. In response, the Biden Administration gave him a work permit.
Federal authorities have indicted a U.S. Army soldier of illegally obtaining confidential phone records belonging to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Cameron John Wagenius is facing charges for the alleged unlawful transfer of confidential phone records. He is accused of obtaining, sharing, and profiting from private telecommunication data, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.
The indictment states that Wagenius “did, in interstate and foreign commerce, knowingly and intentionally sell and transfer, and attempt to sell and transfer, confidential phone records information of a covered entity, without prior authorization from the customer to whom such confidential phone records information related, and knowing and having reason to know such information was obtained fraudulently.”
Wagenius is charged with multiple counts related to the unauthorized transfer of sensitive phone records. The indictment describes a pattern of conduct involving the misuse of telecommunications data for personal gain.
The AT&T call logs for Trump and Harris were allegedly posted online in November.
The Justice Department in September charged three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for hacking Trump campaign staffers and then leaking documents to President Joe Biden’s campaign, as well as the media.
President-elect Donald Trump’s FBI director pick, Kash Patel, was also the target of an Iranian hacking plot.
Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
New York taxpayers could soon find themselves footing the legal bill for Attorney General Letitia James as she prepares to defend herself against a federal investigation into alleged mortgage and real estate fraud. Buried in New York’s newly approved operations budget is language that opens a $10 million fund to reimburse state officials — including James — for “reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses” tied to investigations launched by the federal government after January 1, 2025.
Though the budget provision does not mention James by name, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The New York Post that the fund was included with her case in mind. The fund could also apply to other state officials targeted by a Trump administration-led Department of Justice as it reopens investigations into political and institutional corruption.
The controversy stems from a criminal referral issued last month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), whose director, William Pulte, accused James of falsifying mortgage documents and misrepresenting her residency status. According to the referral sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, James claimed a Virginia home — allegedly purchased on behalf of her niece — as her primary residence, a move that could constitute mortgage fraud.
James, who gained national prominence for her high-profile civil fraud case against Donald Trump, has come under scrutiny for what critics now call a double standard. Once the face of the “no one is above the law” mantra, she now finds herself leaning on state funds and a private legal defense to fight the allegations. A spokesperson for her office called the probe “political retribution” and vowed to fight what they characterized as a “revenge tour” orchestrated by Trump.
But Republicans are not buying the victim narrative.
“This is what corruption looks like in plain sight: political insiders rigging the system to protect their own, while hardworking families get shortchanged,” said New York GOP Chair Ed Cox. “Tish James used her office to wage partisan lawfare against her political opponents, and now New Yorkers are footing the bill for the consequences.”
Critics also slammed what they describe as a legal “bailout” hidden in plain sight. The language in the budget states that any state employee facing a federal investigation related to their duties may seek reimbursement — a clause that could be used broadly and, according to opponents, easily abused.
The legal support fund is likely to inflame already tense debates over partisanship, misuse of public resources, and institutional trust. With New York’s top law enforcement officer now potentially under federal investigation, questions will continue to mount over the ethical boundaries between public office and political warfare — and who ends up paying the price.
By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released a new batch of emails connected to Jeffrey Epstein that reference President Donald Trump.
The correspondence, which includes messages between Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and author Michael Wolff, was reportedly obtained from Epstein’s estate as part of an ongoing congressional review of more than 23,000 documents.
By Ralph Alswang, White House photographer – https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-epstein-maxwell/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143417695
In a 2011 email to Maxwell, Epstein wrote that Mr. Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s alleged victims, whose name was redacted. “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. [Victim 1] spent hours at my house with him, he has never once been mentioned,” Epstein wrote. Maxwell responded, “I have been thinking about that…”
Another message, dated January 31, 2019, appears to show Epstein corresponding with Wolff about Mr. Trump and Mar-a-Lago. “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop,” Epstein wrote.
A third exchange between Epstein and Wolff, dated December 15, 2015, discusses how then-candidate Trump might respond to media questions about his connection to Epstein. Wolff wrote, “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you—either on air or in scrum afterwards.” Epstein replied, “if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” Wolff responded, “I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency… Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”
Mr. Trump announced his first presidential campaign in June 2015. Wolff later wrote Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, published in 2018.
Epstein and Mr. Trump were social acquaintances in New York and Florida from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. The President has said he cut ties with Epstein in 2004, long before Epstein’s 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. Mr. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. Maxwell was later convicted of conspiring in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation and is serving a 20-year sentence.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement that the Justice Department should release its full Epstein files “immediately.”
He added, “The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.”
The email release coincides with a broader congressional push for transparency in the Epstein case. Lawmakers are reviewing materials from Epstein’s estate and have sought information from former officials, including past attorneys general and FBI directors. The committee has also questioned Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who oversaw Epstein’s controversial plea deal in Florida and later served as Labor Secretary under Mr. Trump. Acosta resigned in 2019 amid scrutiny over his handling of the Epstein case.
The House returned to session Wednesday for the first time since mid-September, with Democrats expected to advance a discharge petition to compel the Justice Department to make public its Epstein investigation files. A vote on the measure is not expected until next month.
