Fort Pierce, Fla. — Jury selection begins Monday in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, who prosecutors say plotted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024. The process is expected to conclude by Wednesday.
Prospective jurors are being questioned under oath in Fort Pierce to determine whether they can serve impartially. Routh, who is representing himself, will directly question jurors alongside federal prosecutors — an unusual dynamic in the courtroom.
The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who denied a motion from Routh’s defense team seeking her recusal. A Trump appointee, Cannon was randomly assigned to the case.
Federal prosecutors allege Routh camped near Trump’s golf course for 12 hours with a rifle and aimed at a Secret Service agent before being forced to drop the weapon. Investigators later discovered a letter in which Routh expressed regret that he failed to kill Trump, as well as evidence he sought anti-aircraft weapons and surveillance of Trump’s flights weeks before his arrest.
Routh faces charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple gun violations — crimes carrying potential life sentences. He has pleaded not guilty to both federal and related state charges.
A 12-member jury, plus alternates, will ultimately decide the case. Federal law requires a unanimous verdict for conviction.
Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D) said that she will resign after being convicted last week on two felony charges.
Nicole Mitchell was convicted of felony first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools for breaking into her stepmother Carol Mitchell’s Minnesota home in April 2024.
Nicole Mitchell pleaded not guilty, and during the trial, her defense argued that she was at the home to check on her stepmother, who lives with Alzheimer’s.
Nicole Mitchell’s stepmother Carol Mitchell reportedly took the stand, saying that she felt “extremely violated” after finding Nicole Mitchell in her home.
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said Nicole Mitchell “has gotten the due process she is entitled to and was convicted by a jury of her peers.”
“With the clarity brought by the resolution of this case, the Senate DFL Caucus will continue to focus on issues that improve the lives of Minnesota families and communities,” Murphy said.
GOPSenate Minority Leader Mark Johnson criticized her decision to not resign immediately and blamed Democrats for “refusing to hold her accountable during session.”His caucus tried and failed to expel Mitchell from the chamber in the wake of the charges.
“Senator Mitchell was convicted of two felonies; she doesn’t get to give the Senate two weeks’ notice. Democrats shielded Mitchell for 15 months to protect their political power, but a jury needed just three hours to confirm what was already clear: she shouldn’t be a senator,” he said in a statement.
Gov. Tim Walz’s office is expected to announce details about a special election after Nicole Mitchell’s resignation. There is another special election set for September to fill a vacancy left by former House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s politically-motivated assassination.
A California man allegedly filmed federal agents as they mapped out security for President Donald Trump’s visit to his Los Angeles-area golf club — then returned two days later with hollow-point ammunition in his pocket and a loaded pistol in his pickup truck, authorities said.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, was arrested Sunday at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, setting off a search that authorities say uncovered an illegally modified rifle, body armor, high-capacity magazines, radio devices and notebooks filled with “concerning statements” at his home.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, who was arrested at Trump National Golf Course Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in… pic.twitter.com/oY3ISp8n6x
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) August 5, 2026
Now he is staring down cases in two court systems.
According to an affidavit filed with the federal complaint, agents were conducting a security assessment at the golf club on Friday, July 31, ahead of Trump’s Aug. 4 visit when they spotted Taele walking across the grounds.
He was wearing an earpiece, taking photographs and recording video of the agents’ security-planning work, prosecutors alleged. He eventually left in a vehicle.
But Taele allegedly returned Sunday while federal agents were still working at the club. Staff recognized him and alerted the agents, authorities said.
Taele then approached the agents and claimed he was employed by the State Department and assigned to a security detail at the property, according to the federal affidavit. He also acknowledged that a loaded firearm was inside his pickup in the club parking lot.
Agents called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. When deputies arrived, they learned Taele was already wanted in connection with a robbery investigation in El Segundo, prosecutors said.
During a search, deputies allegedly found a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition in Taele’s pants pocket.
Inside his truck, authorities said they found a loaded 9mm pistol, another magazine packed with hollow-point rounds, binoculars and a badge bearing the words “security protection agent.”
The Search That Deepened the Mystery
The arrest quickly widened into a federal security investigation.
Detectives assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force obtained a warrant and searched Taele’s Downey home Monday because of what the Sheriff’s Department called the incident’s potential security implications.
Authorities said the search turned up an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, a 1911 .45-caliber pistol, an AR upper receiver, body armor, high-capacity magazines, bulk rifle and pistol ammunition, an earpiece and two radio signal devices.
Investigators also seized multiple notebooks containing what they described only as “concerning statements.” Officials have not disclosed what was written in them.
“We are thankful he was apprehended before the President’s visit,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in announcing the federal charge. He said investigators were still working to determine Taele’s motive.
FBI Los Angeles chief Patrick Grandy said the alleged conduct raised serious red flags and left “no room for error” given the previous attempts on Trump’s life.
State Charges — And a Separate Robbery Case
Taele also faces three California weapons counts: receiving a large-capacity magazine, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle and possessing a short-barreled rifle or shotgun, TIME reported, citing the state complaint.
Prosecutors separately charged him with second-degree robbery over an alleged Nov. 4, 2025, incident that El Segundo police were investigating before his arrest at the golf club.
Taele pleaded not guilty Tuesday. A judge set his bail at $250,000, ordered him not to possess weapons, barred him from Trump National Golf Club and prohibited him from leaving California while the case is pending. His next state court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 26.
He was also expected to make his first appearance in federal court Wednesday on the rifle charge.
Authorities have not publicly accused Taele of plotting to attack Trump, and no motive has been announced. The Sheriff’s Department said it had identified no credible threat to the surrounding community, while the Secret Service, FBI, ATF and local investigators continued to examine the case.
The Secret Service said it investigates any conduct that could signal a threat or a directed interest in a protected person. The Trump Organization thanked local and federal authorities for their swift response.
Trump’s Tuesday evening Republican National Committee event at the golf club went forward. The president briefly addressed the arrest during an appearance on “Fox News @ Night.”
“The only thing I get a little solace from is, they say only consequential presidents,” Trump said. “And I am definitely consequential.”
The scare came two years after a gunman wounded Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and after Ryan Routh’s 2024 attempt to kill Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.
A Republican Congressman says he does not trust President Trump’s Justice Department…
CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju joined anchor Boris Sanchez on Tuesday to discuss the state of play surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case on Capitol Hill when they interviewed GOP Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.)
“Yeah, this is through a procedural vote, Democrats moving to force this vote to put Republicans on the record. If this were to succeed, it would have required that all documents related to Epstein be on a publicly accessible database within 30 days. That did not happen,” Raju explained, adding:
This came after the Senate and bipartisan Senate vote did succeed last week calling for the release of those Epstein files. But that separate bill has been stalled in the Senate committee. So it’s unclear exactly whether Congress will assert itself and force this issue. But the Republicans are divided about this. Republican leaders want absolutely nothing to do with this matter.
The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, told me yesterday that he is going to defer to the White House on this. John Thune, the Senate majority leader, has not taken really any position on this at all. But members on the right flank of the House GOP and Senate GOP are the ones in particular who are raising the most concerns, including Congressman Tim Burchett, who just told me moments ago, he does not believe what the Justice Department is saying.
An amendment demanding that President Donald Trump’s administration release all files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was shot down by Republicans on the House Rules Committee on Monday.
The amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), was rejected by every Republican present during the vote except Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), who voted with Democrats in favor of demanding that the Trump administration release the Epstein files.
Khanna’s amendment would have required U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to “retain, preserve, and compile any records or evidence related to any investigation, prosecution, or incarceration of Jeffrey Epstein,” and to “release and publish any records or evidence” on a “publicly accessible website” within 30 days.
Raju then played a clip of his exchange with Burchett, beginning with him asking, “Should there be investigation or special counsel investigation?”
“I don’t know. I’m not an attorney. Find them guilty and hang them publicly. I mean, that’s not over the top either. I’m ready. I’m over it. It disgusts me. I’m big on clarity and transparency, and that’s a good reason people don’t trust government, either party,” Burchett replied.
“But you don’t believe what the Justice Department is saying?” pressed Raju.
“I don’t know. No, I don’t. I think I don’t. I don’t trust them,” Burchett concluded.
“And that reference to the Justice Department memo that said that Jeffrey Epstein was indeed murdered and that there was no client list here, or that he was not murdered and that there was no client list, as some of those on the folks on the far right have suggested here. But there’s also no indication, Boris, that there will be an investigation into this on Capitol Hill. The Senate, the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, told reporters earlier today that he has confidence in President Trump and his handling of this matter,” concluded Raju.
Watch:
🚨 JUST IN: Rep. Tim Burchett says those who are found GUILTY of crimes against children should be HANGED
“If they're found guilty, hang them PUBLICLY. I'm over it.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Burchett just formally called on Oversight Chair James Comer to allow Ghislaine Maxwell to testify in front of Congress on the Epstein situation.
Federal prosecutors in Miami say top Smartmatic executives funneled money from a $300 million Los Angeles County voting contract into an illegal slush fund.
According to the Justice Department, Smartmatic co-founder Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez and two others used shell companies and fake invoices to siphon off cash from the taxpayer-funded deal. That money allegedly ended up in bribes paid to government officials in Venezuela and the Philippines.
Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion — alleging the network defamed them by promoting President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election in the days and weeks after the 2020 vote.
The new filing is part of a corruption case in Florida against the three Smartmatic executives for allegedly operating a bribery and money-laundering scheme in which they are accused of paying off an election official in the Philippines to help secure $182 million in contracts. The DOJ also claims the executives carried a similar plot with a Venezuelan official — whom the executives gave a home with a pool in 2019, according to prosecutors.
The DOJ hasn’t charged Smartmatic as a company, nor has it accused any L.A. County officials of wrongdoing. Still, the department is clearly using the L.A. contract to establish a pattern of corrupt practices tied to the voting tech firm.
The DOJ’s latest move builds on earlier charges against the same executives. Federal prosecutors had previously accused Piñate of laundering money through a similar slush fund to bribe election officials in the Philippines during the 2016 elections.
To be clear, no one is alleging votes were tampered with or election results altered. The charges focus strictly on financial corruption — kickbacks, shell firms, and international bribery.
Charlie Kirk’s family is expected to attend a pivotal court hearing next week as the criminal case against the man accused of assassinating the Turning Point USA founder moves forward.
According to Fox News, Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, plan to be present for the preliminary hearing of Tyler Robinson, who is charged with fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
The hearing, scheduled for the week of July 6, will mark the first major court proceeding that Kirk’s family is expected to attend since Robinson was arrested in the days following the killing. A source familiar with the case told Fox News that the family does not plan to make any public statements.
“The preliminary hearing is expected to be a raw, difficult moment for the family,” the source told Fox News.
During the hearing, prosecutors will seek to establish probable cause to move the case toward trial. If the judge determines that sufficient evidence exists, Robinson will be ordered to stand trial.
The hearing could still be delayed, however. The Utah Supreme Court is currently considering a defense appeal after Judge Tony Graf denied Robinson’s request to prohibit cameras from the courtroom. Erika Kirk, acting as a designated victims’ advocate, opposed the defense motion. According to Fox News, the state’s highest court could rule before the end of the week.
Because the preliminary hearing will include evidence outlining the prosecution’s case, family members are expected to be confronted with graphic material. Fox News reported that prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed to notify the family before particularly sensitive evidence is shown, allowing them the opportunity to leave the courtroom if they choose.
Robinson, 22, has not yet entered a plea. He faces one count of aggravated murder, along with six additional charges, including weapons offenses, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Prosecutors have indicated they may seek the death penalty if he is convicted of the top charge.
Unlike a trial, Utah law allows hearsay evidence during preliminary hearings. Judge Graf has also approved prosecutors’ request to present a recorded statement from Robinson’s former roommate, Twiggs, rather than requiring him to testify in person.
According to court filings cited by Fox News, prosecutors allege Robinson confessed both in a handwritten note and in text messages exchanged with Twiggs after the shooting.
“I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it,” the alleged note states, according to court documents.
Court filings also allege that after Twiggs texted, “You weren’t the one who did it right????,” Robinson responded, “I am, I’m sorry.”
Investigators say they later recovered the suspected murder weapon—a Mauser rifle wrapped in a blanket—in a wooded area near the university. Prosecutors also allege text messages show Robinson and Twiggs discussed retrieving the rifle after the shooting. Twiggs has cooperated with investigators and has not been charged.
Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA and was a father of two. He was participating in a campus question-and-answer event when he was fatally shot.
The upcoming hearing follows another recent ruling in the case. Last week, Judge Graf determined that prosecutors had violated a previously issued gag order but rejected the defense’s request to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment, instead ordering expanded jury selection procedures should the case proceed to trial.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
On Monday afternoon in Berkeley, a bloody confrontation broke out near the campus of the University of California, Berkeley as the conservative student-activist group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) held its final stop of the “This Is The Turning Point” tour. The event featured noted conservative voices Dr. Frank Turek and actor-activist Rob Schneider, and came just two months after the murder of TPUSA’s founder, Charlie Kirk, at a campus event in Utah on Sept. 10.
According to video from Fox News Digital, the skirmish began around 4:30 p.m. PST. Two men were seen grappling in the altercation, with one suffering a serious facial injury and blood clearly visible. A mob of agitators—many wearing keffiyehs and carrying left-wing protest signs—surrounded the fight. The local police, including officers donning shields and batons, appeared challenged to regain control of the crowd.
UC Berkeley is currently a war zone and ANTIFA has tried to rush the barriers into tonight’s TPUSA event multiple times.
The Berkeley Police Department reported at least two arrests by 6 p.m.—one individual was arrested for battery. A university spokesperson clarified the brawl occurred off campus grounds and declined further comment.
TPUSA met with violence from the left at the first stop of this tour, and now we see more of it again tonight
Turek, in a recent interview ahead of the event, said he urged Kirk to make the Berkeley stop of the tour: “If I could go to any one event with him, it would be that one… I wanted to go to UC Berkeley because it is so progressive and liberal in their views, and I wanted to provide evidence that Christianity was indeed true.”
As departure began, protesters reportedly surrounded all exits to the venue, heckled attendees, and shouted obscenities as they filtered out. It remains unclear how many individuals were injured in the fight.
Kirk, Trump & the Conservative Youth Movement Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, with the mission of mobilizing conservative students on college campuses. His organization became a central pillar of conservative youth activism.
Kirk’s relationship with Donald Trump evolved into a potent alignment:
Kirk was considered a key figure in helping Trump make inroads with younger voters, a segment Democrats long dominated.
He developed a direct line to the Trump orbit; multiple sources note that his influence extended beyond student activism into campaign strategy.
Kirk’s impact on the GOP’s youthful base, combined with his focus on campus organizing, made him a strategic asset to the Trump-aligned Republican coalition. As one analysis put it: “Kirk’s efforts significantly contributed to Trump’s appeal among younger voters.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the protests at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, in the wake of several arrests at a Turning Point USA event.
“We saw all of this at Berkeley back in 2017. @UCBerkeley was sued, and settled the case,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon wrote on the social platform X Tuesday, responding to another post claiming that “Antifa has turned Turning Point’s event at UC Berkeley in California into an absolute WARZONE.”
We saw all of this at Berkeley back in 2017. @UCBerkeley was sued, and settled the case.
The @CivilRights will investigate what happened here, and I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA. https://t.co/aN7JzouXwl
“The @CivilRights will investigate what happened here, and I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA,” she added.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
New York, NY – For the first time, a prominent New York attorney has publicly accused Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, of physically assaulting her during their relationship. The allegations, shared exclusively with the Daily Mail, come just 11 days before the upcoming election, creating potential complications for the Harris campaign.
According to the ex-girlfriend, Emhoff slapped her across the face at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in the French Riviera, causing her to spin around from the impact. The incident allegedly took place while the couple was in a valet line, with Emhoff becoming jealous as she spoke with another man. Her account is corroborated by three sources close to her, who initially spoke to the Daily Mail earlier this month:
Emhoff’s accuser, who DailyMail.com is naming only as ‘Jane’, initially declined to comment on the record. But Emhoff’s denial, and his alleged hypocrisy by claiming to be a feminist in media interviews, finally became too much for her.
‘What’s frightening for a woman that’s been on the other end of it, is watching this completely fabricated persona being portrayed,’ Jane said.
‘He’s being held out to be the antithesis of who he actually is. And that is utterly shocking.’
In a statement to Semafor published October 3, a spokesperson said ‘this report is untrue,’ and that ‘any suggestion that he would or has ever hit a woman is false.’
“Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff slapped me in the face so hard I spun around… I’m disgusted by his fake ‘perfect spouse’ persona,” the woman told the Daily Mail. Her comments suggest a stark contrast between Emhoff’s public image as a supportive and devoted partner and the behavior she claims to have experienced during their relationship.
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Emhoff, who has been referred to as the “wife guy” by political allies, married Harris in 2014. He has two children from a prior marriage to Kerstin Emhoff, which reportedly ended after an affair with the family’s nanny. Claims that the nanny suffered a miscarriage related to Emhoff’s actions remain unverified.
The timing of these allegations could have significant implications for the vice president’s campaign as Election Day draws near, adding a layer of controversy that could sway undecided voters.
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. It is republished with permission.
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.
By kevinmcgill from Den Bosch, Netherlands - KAM_8466, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31689361
On Sunday, President Trump said that he wants to reopen the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the historic prison offshore from San Francisco that closed more than 60 years ago.
“For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate… pic.twitter.com/u1jOCMXeW5
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders,” he added.
The island, which sits less than 2 miles offshore, was first developed in the mid-19th century, with the original structures including a lighthouse.
“Both the institution and the men confined within its walls reflect our society during this era,” the National Park Service adds on a web page about the prison, which was also known as The Rock and gave that name to a popular Michael Bay action film set on the island.
In his Sunday post, Trump said Alcatraz’s “reopening” is going to “serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
The Bureau of Prisons notes on its website that “USP [United States Penitentiary] Alcatraz closed after 29 years of operation” due to soaring costs.
“An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs — Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison,” the bureau says.
The move comes as the Trump administration has also sought to revitalize Guantanamo Bay and use it to house illegal migrants.
The plan has faced roadblocks, however, with a federal court issuing a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp.
Lawyers for the trio said in a legal filing that the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”
