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☆ Exclusive: DOJ civil rights leader says she was a victim of abuse in extraordinary statement
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The leader of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, Kristen Clarke, said in an extraordinary personal statement shared with CNN that she was a victim of years-long domestic abuse and chose not to disclose an expunged arrest record from that period during the Senate confirmation process. “Nearly 2 decades ago, I was subjected to years-long abuse and domestic violence at the hands of my ex-husband,” Clarke wrote in the statement on Wednesday. “This was a terrorizing and traumatizing period that I have sought to put behind me to promote my personal health, healing and well-being. “When given the option to speak about such traumatic incidents in my life, I have chosen not to,” Clarke wrote. Clarke said she has brought her “personal experience and perspective of being a survivor of domestic violence” to her work.

Persons: Kristen Clarke, “, ” Clarke, Republican Sen, Tom Cotton, Clarke, ” Sen, Mike Lee, ”, CNN’s Devan Cole Organizations: CNN, Justice, Republican, The Daily, Utah Republican Locations: Utah

The case heads to court separately from another federal lawsuit filed in October by LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates over the aggravated prostitution law. The Republican-carried legislation would only remove the requirement that those convicted of aggravated prostitution must register as a violent sex offender. Court documents in the other federal lawsuit say that more than 80 people are registered for aggravated prostitution in Tennessee. Because she had to register as a sex offender, the woman has experienced periods of homelessness while struggling to find safe housing compliant with sex-registry requirements. Tennessee law also bars her from changing her legal name to match her gender identity, the lawsuit states.

Persons: ”, Kristen Clarke, general's Organizations: U.S . Justice, Justice Department, Republican, Justice Department’s Civil Rights, for Disease Control, The Justice Department Locations: Tenn, Tennessee, United States, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Shelby County, Memphis

As Dwight progressed through the Air Force, he was handpicked by President John F. Kennedy’s White House to join Chuck Yeager’s test pilot program at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert. That fabled astronaut breeding ground, site of “The Right Stuff,” might have turned Dwight into one of the most famous Americans and the first Black man in space. Dwight astronaut future took a more drastic turn when Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. “Everybody was wondering, ‘What’s going to happen with Dwight?’" says Dwight. To the Black astronauts who followed in his footsteps, Dwight braved their path.

Persons: Ed Dwight, he’d, ’ ” Dwight, Dwight, ”, “, ‘, John F, Chuck Yeager’s, Edwards, Kennedy, —, ” Dwight, Zoom, Guion, Bernard Harris, ” Harris, Ed, who’s, Lisa Cortés, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, that’s, Eddie Dwight, Satchel Paige’s, Edward R, Murrow, James Webb, “ Yeager, Jimmy Stewart, Yaeger, ’ ” Yeager, Yeager, Tom Wolfe’s “, Bobby, Wolfe, ‘ What’s, ’, ” Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Patterson, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Barack Obama, it’s, Hurtado de Mendoza, isn’t, He’s, Chuck, Jake Coyle Organizations: Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base, NASA, Geographic, Disney, Century America, Negro Leagues, Kansas City Monarchs, Soviet Union, Sputnik, Mercury, U.S . Information Agency, Negro, Aerospace Research, House, Arizona State University, “ NASA, White, Congress, Civil Rights, Justice Department, Wright, IBM, Fine Arts, Sculpture, University of Denver, Orion Locations: Kansas, Korea, Hulu, Denver, Soviet, U.S, Edwards, Washington, Germany, Canada, Ohio

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's decades-old aggravated prostitution statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday after an investigation, warning that the state could face a lawsuit if officials don't immediately cease enforcement. LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates have long criticized the measure as discriminatory, making it almost impossible to find housing and employment due to the restrictions for violent sex offenders. The DOJ letter details several of the struggles of those with aggravated prostitution convictions. A lifetime sex offender registration can stop people from visiting with their grandchildren, revoke job offers, and severely limit housing options. Plaintiffs who had filed a lawsuit seeking to block the aggravated prostitution law in October said the DOJ's letter only further supports their efforts.

Persons: —, ”, Bill Lee, “, Kristen Clarke, Jonathan Skrmetti, David Rausch, Steven Mulroy, it's, Mulroy, ” Brandon James Smith, Skrmetti, “ OUTMemphis, Molly Quinn, OUTMemphis, Adrian Sainz Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, Transgender Law Center, Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, of, DOJ, Associated Press Locations: Tenn, Tennessee, United States, Shelby County, Memphis, Memphis , Tennessee

☆ Israel-Hamas War Hamas and Israel Open to Extension of Truce
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Isabel Kershner | Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Medics attended to the victims as police officers secured the scene of the shooting in Burlington. The families of the men identified them in a statement as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. Mr. Awartani studies at Brown University, Mr. Abdalhamid at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Mr. Ahmed at Trinity College in Connecticut. Mr. Ahmed was shot in the chest, and Mr. Abdalhamid had minor injuries, according to a statement from the families of the victims. “Why would anyone shoot kids who were wearing Palestinian kaffiyeh?” Marwan Awartani said in an interview.

Persons: Jason J, Eaton, Eaton’s, Jon Murad, Miro Weinberger, Murad, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan, Tahseen Ahmed, Abdalhamid, Ahmed, Awartani’s, Marwan Awartani, Hisham, Christina H, Paxson, ” Marwan Awartani, Nikolas P, Kerest, Husam Zomlot, Biden, Bernie Sanders, Vermont, ” Livia Albeck, Ripka Organizations: Police, University of Vermont, Burlington, ”, Burlington police, Ramallah Friends School, West Bank, Brown University, Mr, Haverford College, Trinity College in, Palestinian Authority, District of, Justice Department’s Civil, Division, Islamic Relations, Defamation League, Twitter Locations: Burlington, Burlington , Vt, Ramallah, Pennsylvania, Trinity College in Connecticut, U.S, District of Vermont, Israel, Palestinian, United Kingdom, Illinois, Burlington , VT

Absentee ballots are mailed in and are the only auditable paper trail under Louisiana’s current voting system. “(Election officials) test the machines beforehand and they test the machines afterwards, so it’s not blind faith going into this. ... You’re basically getting a report on the tabulation again.”Louisiana uses paperless touch screen voting machines bought in 2005. “Can you imagine what would have happened in Georgia if they had still had digital voting machines in 2020?” Becker asked. Secretary of State-elect Nancy Landry, a Republican who takes office in January, said implementing a new voting system is a top priority.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, ” John Nickelson, Henry Whitehorn, Mike Spence, Spence, it’s, ” David Becker, “, You’re, Kyle Ardoin, Wisconsin —, Donald Trump, ” Becker, Nancy Landry Organizations: —, Republican, Caddo Parish, Democrat, Justice Department’s Civil, Division, Center, Election Innovation, Research, State Locations: BATON ROUGE, La, Louisiana, Caddo, Arizona , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Donald Trump . Georgia

And for that, Suzette Baker was fired as a library director in a rural county in central Texas. She and two other librarians who were similarly fired have filed workplace discrimination claims with the U.S. Reached through the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the settlement requires her former employer to give librarians more say in decisions involving library programs. After her firing in 2022, Baker filed an EEOC claim against her employer, the Llano County Library System in Kingsland, Texas. Like Baker, Lesley had trouble finding work after being fired from the library system she directed in Gillette, Wyoming.

Persons: —, Suzette Baker, ”, Baker, Brooky Parks, Iris Halper, “, Terri Lesley, Halpern, Rathod Mohamedbhai, David Lopez, ” Baker, ” EEOC, Victor Chen, Lesley, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Robie Harris, Robert Pitman, Lesley's, ” Lesley Organizations: U.S, Commission, American Library Association, Erie Community Library, Colorado Civil Rights Division, High Plains Library District, University of Denver, Public, System, Rutgers University, “, American Terrorist, Sexual, ”, ” Texas U.S, District, Supreme Locations: Texas, Kingsland , Texas, Erie, Denver, Llano County, Campbell, Gillette , Wyoming, Tennessee, Kingsland, ” Texas, U.S, Llano

(AP) — The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation Wednesday into alleged civil rights violations by police in a majority Black Mississippi city, stepping in following accusations that officers used excessive force and arrested people without justification. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads the Justice Department's civil rights division, announced the investigation at a news conference. The area also has a storied place in civil rights history. It also follows the June arrest of Jill Collen Jefferson, the president of JULIAN, the civil rights organization that filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of residents. If the Justice Department concludes that police officers committed the alleged civil rights violations, it could bring a lawsuit seeking court-ordered changes to the department.

Persons: JACKSON, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, ” Clarke, Robert Clark, Todd Gee, Jill Collen Jefferson, JULIAN, Sam Dobbins, Dobbins, Jefferson, ___ Michael Goldberg Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, “, Mississippi Legislature, Southern, Southern District of, Lexington Police Department, Lexington Police, Lexington, Department, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Miss, Black Mississippi, Lexington, Jackson, Holmes County, Mississippi, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Mississippi, Rankin County , Mississippi, @mikergoldberg

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former nurse convicted of sexually abusing women in custody at an Oregon prison has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. A federal jury in July convicted Klein on 17 counts related to sexual assault and four counts of lying under oath involving nine women. Klein resigned as Oregon State Police was investigating the assault allegations. Prosecutors said Klein abused his position and abused women, violating the public's trust, while doing everything he could to avoid getting caught. Numerous women since 2019 have sued the state Department of Corrections and Klein alleging sexual abuse.

Persons: —, Tony Klein's, Klein, wouldn't, Amanda Alvarez Thibeault, Matthew McHenry, Patrick O’Halloran, Prosecutors, Tony Klein, ” Natalie Wight Organizations: Attorney's, of, Prosecutors, Oregon State Police, FBI, Civil Rights, Attorney, District of, of Corrections Locations: PORTLAND, Oregon, —, of Oregon, Portland, Wilsonville, U.S, District of Oregon

The United States Justice Department began an investigation on Tuesday into the city of Trenton, N.J., and its police department after getting “serious and credible” reports of officers using improper levels of force and illegally stopping and searching pedestrians and drivers. The inquiry into New Jersey’s capital city and its police force is expected to take a year and could lead to federal oversight of the department through a consent decree. The review will include on-the-job observation of police officers, interviews with residents and an analysis of police records, including footage from body-worn cameras and internal affairs investigations, officials said. Since 2021, the Justice Department has opened similar inquiries into 10 other police agencies across the country, said Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general with the department’s civil rights division.

Persons: Kristen Clarke Organizations: United States Justice Department, Justice Department Locations: Trenton , N.J, New

☆ Tens of thousands expected for March on Washington’s 60th anniversary demonstration
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Martin Luther King III, along with his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their 15-year-old daughter, Yolanda, have developed a set of traditions for this time of the year. The original march, which featured their father as a centerpiece, helped till the ground for passage of federal civil rights and voting rights legislation in the 1960s. "What we know is when people stand up, the difference can be made," Martin Luther King III told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of Saturday. Twenty three years ago, she introduced Sharpton and Martin Luther King III at a 37th anniversary march and urged them to carry on the legacy. And the voting rights marches from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama, in which marchers were brutally beaten while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in what became known as "Bloody Sunday," forced Congress to adopt the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Persons: Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters, Yolanda, Martin Luther King Jr, Arndrea, Kings ', Bernice King, We've, Bernice, Jr, Andrew Young, King, U.N, General Merrick Garland, Kristen Clarke, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Biden, Al Sharpton, Coretta Scott King, Sharpton, Martin, we've, Edmund Pettus, there's, didn't Organizations: Washington, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, Jobs, Kings, Major Institute, National Action, Supreme, Associated Press, NAACP, National Urban League, White, National Action Network, Nonviolent, Vigilance, Baptist, Civil Locations: Washington, Atlanta, Birmingham , Alabama, Neshoba County , Mississippi, Montgomery, Selma , Alabama

☆ DOJ sues SpaceX alleging hiring discrimination against refugees and asylum recipients
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Department of Justice sued SpaceX on Thursday, alleging Elon Musk's space company discriminated in its hiring practices against refugees and people granted asylum in the U.S. The lawsuit says between 2018 and 2022, SpaceX "wrongly claimed" that export control laws limited its hiring to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Clarke added that the DOJ's investigation found "SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company." That lone hire came about four months after the DOJ notified SpaceX of its investigation. Read the DOJ's lawsuit below:

Persons: SpaceX, Elon, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, asylees, IER, Fabian Hutter, Hutter Organizations: Space Exploration Technologies Corp, SpaceX, The U.S . Department of Justice, U.S, DOJ, Civil Rights Division, Immigration, CNBC Locations: Hawthorne , California, The, U.S, Austria, Canada

☆ DOJ sues SpaceX, alleging hiring discrimination against refugees and asylum seekers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A Falcon 9 rocket is displayed outside the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) headquarters on January 28, 2021 in Hawthorne, California. The U.S. Department of Justice sued SpaceX on Thursday, alleging Elon Musk's space company discriminated against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices. The lawsuit says between 2018 and 2022, SpaceX "wrongly claimed" that export control laws limited its hiring to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. The DOJ has been investigating SpaceX since June 2020, when the department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section received a complaint of employment discrimination from a non-U.S. citizen. Fabian Hutter, whose complaint about SpaceX led the DOJ to open its discrimination probe, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Persons: SpaceX, Elon, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, asylees, IER, Fabian Hutter, Hutter Organizations: Space Exploration Technologies Corp, SpaceX, The U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, Civil Rights Division, CNBC Locations: Hawthorne , California, The, U.S, Austria, Canada

"SpaceX's discriminatory hiring practices were routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Export control laws and regulations do not prohibit or restrict employers from hiring asylees and refugees; those laws treat asylees and refugees just like U.S. citizens," the lawsuit says. The Justice Department's civil rights division, which brought the lawsuit, informed SpaceX in 2020 that it had initiated its investigation. SpaceX initially refused to hand over employment records and fought a Justice Department subpoena in court. "SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company," Clarke said.

Persons: Elon Musk, asylees, Musk, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, SpaceX didn't, Tesla Organizations: SpaceX, Elon Musk's, Service, Justice, Defense, State, Justice Department, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ US sues SpaceX, alleges hiring discrimination against asylum recipients, refugees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kanishka Singh | Thomson Reuters | Kanishka Singh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Reuters In Washington Dc | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department sued Elon Musk-owned rocket and satellite company SpaceX on Thursday for allegedly discriminating against asylum recipients and refugees in hiring. The Justice Department also pointed to online posts from the company's billionaire owner Musk as example of "discriminatory public statements." Musk described the Justice Department lawsuit against SpaceX as "weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes." Clarke also said SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials "actively discouraged" asylum recipients and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company. The United States seeks fair consideration and back pay for asylum recipients and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX due to the alleged discrimination, the Justice Department said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon, Musk, Kristen Clarke, Clarke, Kanishka Singh, David Shepardson, Chandni Shah, Paul Grant, Susan Heavey, Frances Kerry, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: SpaceX, Elon, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Justice Department, Elon Musk, Justice Department, The Justice, Justice, DOJ, United, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington

☆ Tasers, taunts, torment: What we know about the hours of horror 2 Black men suffered at the hands of a self-described 'Goon Squad'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Dedmon, Opdyke and Elward broke open the carport door and Hartfield kicked open the back door. Entering the home without a warrant, the officers encountered two Black men: Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins. The abuse continued in a bedroom, where Opdyke, Middleton, Dedmon and McAlpin assaulted Parker with pieces of wood and a metal sword. Dedmon, Middleton, Hartfield and Elward then began to tase the two men repeatedly to see “which (Taser) was the most powerful,” the document said. Attorneys for Middleton, Elward and Hartfield declined to comment on the case.

Persons: Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Jeffrey Middleton, Daniel Opdyke, Brett McAlpin, White, Dedmon, ” Dedmon, Joshua Hartfield, McAlpin, Jerome DeLoach, Elward, Hartfield, Eddie Parker, Michael Jenkins, Parker, Jenkins, —, Mary Helen Wall, Kristen Clarke, tased, Brett McAlpin Forrest, Jenkins –, Opdyke, defecated, Jeffrey Middleton Jerome DeLoach, Elward’s Taser, Middleton, Daniel Opdyke Jerome DeLoach, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, CNN Parker, Sheriff Bailey, Joshua Hartfield orrest, “, ”, Jeffery Reynolds, Bailey, CNN’s Ryan Young, ” Parker, “ You’re, ” Jenkins, he’s, I’m Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Adult Detention, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Department of Public, Rankin, Detention, Mississippi Attorney General’s, Dedmon Locations: Rankin County , Mississippi, Braxton, Jackson, Mississippi, Rankin County, Black, Opdyke, Middleton, Dedmon, Hartfield, McAlpin, Elward

☆ It’s No Surprise That Donald Trump Is Being Charged Under a Reconstruction-Era Law - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Ian Bassin | Kristy Parker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Other Reconstruction-era laws are also in the center of debates today. That guarantee was ratified in 1868 to reverse the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision holding that African Americans were not citizens. And recently, our organization filed a voting rights lawsuit under the 1870 law that readmitted Virginia to the Union. Ian Bassin is a co-founder and the executive director of the group Protect Democracy and a former associate White House counsel. Kristy Parker is counsel at Protect Democracy and the former deputy chief of the criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Persons: Trump, Dred Scott, intransigence, Ian Bassin, Kristy Parker Organizations: Boys, Charlottesville Unite, Mr, Black, Capitol, Union . The, Union . The Virginia Readmission, Protect Democracy, White, Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Locations: Charlottesville, United States, New Mexico, Virginia, Union . The Virginia

☆ U.S. Justice Department investigating Memphis police for civil rights violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into whether the Memphis Police Department has an unconstitutional "pattern or practice" of using excessive force and racial discrimination, department officials announced on Thursday. Earlier this year, the Justice Department agreed to join city officials and other agencies in a review of the Memphis Police Department after its officers fatally beat Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, in the Tennessee city in January. The federal investigation announced on Thursday is not tied to any specific incident, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at a press conference, though she noted Nichols' "tragic death" in her remarks. "City and police department leaders recognize the need to scrutinize the police department's practices to prevent such incidents from ever happening again," Clarke said. Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tyre Nichols, Kristen Clarke, Nichols, Clarke, Jonathan Allen, Aurora Ellis Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice's Civil, Memphis Police Department, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Tennessee, New York

☆ Justice Dept. Opens Civil Rights Investigation of Memphis Police
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Rick Rojas | More About Rick Rojas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department said on Thursday that it had begun a sweeping civil rights investigation into policing in Memphis, examining allegations of pervasive problems with excessive force and unlawful stops of Black residents that were amplified by the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in January. In announcing the investigation, officials specifically cited the death of Mr. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, whose beating by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, was captured by body camera and surveillance footage. The case stoked outrage across the country and directed intense scrutiny onto how the Memphis Police Department operates. The investigation, officials said, intends to explore those broader concerns and whether there has been a pattern or practice of violating civil rights. Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said on Thursday that though Mr. Nichols’s death was a factor in the investigation, the inquiry was “not based on a single incident or event.”

Persons: Tyre Nichols, Nichols, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Kristen Clarke, Nichols’s, ” Organizations: Memphis, Memphis Police Department, Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Locations: Memphis, Minneapolis, Louisville, Ky

☆ Minneapolis police agree to court-enforced reforms 3 years after George Floyd protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Rachel Nostrant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A pedestrian walks past a mural near the closed Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct on the third anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., May 25, 2023. The agreement approved July 13 by Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch provides for an independent community commission to oversee the Minneapolis Police Department and mandates policing reforms. "No, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.”Under the July 13 agreement, Minneapolis city and police officials have 60 days to put together implementation teams. Her department had conducted its own investigation into Minneapolis police after last year announcing it had found probable cause to believe that the Minnesota Human Rights Act had been violated. It worked with the city and its police department on the agreement approved by Judge Janisch.

Persons: George Floyd, Leah Millis, Karen Janisch, Derek Chauvin, Floyd, Toussaint Morrison, Rebecca Lucero, Judge Janisch, Rachel Nostrant, Donna Bryson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Hennepin, Minneapolis Police Department, Minneapolis police, Department's Civil Rights, Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Minnesota Department of Human, Minnesota Human, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, Minneapolis , Minnesota, U.S, Minnesota, Hennepin County

☆ US Justice Department launches civil rights probe into 'deeply concerning' Atlanta-area jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Us Justice Department FollowWASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into conditions at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia that will examine whether the facility is discriminating against incarcerated people with mental illnesses, a top department official said on Thursday. "The Fulton County Sheriff has acknowledged that the main jail is dilapidated and rapidly eroding," Clarke said. "The level of violence in the jails is deeply concerning, and at one point in 2022, the jails averaged more than one stabbing per day." A medical examiner hired by his family earlier this year determined that Thompson died of complications from severe neglect to both his mental and physical health. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristen Clarke, Clarke, Lashawn Thompson, Thompson’s, Thompson, Sarah N, Lynch, Chizu Nomiyama, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Department Follow WASHINGTON, U.S . Justice, Civil Rights, Fulton County Sheriff, Thomson Locations: Fulton, Atlanta , Georgia, Fulton County

☆ Justice Dept. to Investigate Georgia Jail Where Inmate Died Covered in Lice
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Linda Qiu | More About Linda Qiu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department said on Thursday that it was investigating the conditions at a jail in Fulton County, Ga., citing reports of violence, deteriorating surroundings and the death last year of an inmate who was covered in lice and feces. The civil investigation, part of a broader effort by the department to scrutinize conditions at jails and prisons across the country, will also examine whether officers used excessive force, the availability of medical care and the treatment of mentally ill prisoners. “Detention or incarceration in jail should not include exposure to unconstitutional living conditions that place lives in jeopardy or risk of serious harm from assaults,” Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general who leads the agency’s civil rights division, said in announcing the investigation. “Jail facilities must provide constitutional and humane conditions, in which all people can live safely while they go through the criminal process.”The Fulton County government and sheriff’s office said in a joint statement that they planned to cooperate fully.

Persons: ” Kristen Clarke Organizations: “ Locations: Fulton County ,, Fulton

☆ Minneapolis police face federal oversight for excessive force, discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

June 16 (Reuters) - Police in Minneapolis routinely use excessive force and discriminate against Black and Native American people, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday after a two-year investigation prompted by the police killing of George Floyd. The city has agreed to what will likely be years of federal oversight as it works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the findings. "We found that the Minneapolis Police Department routinely uses excessive force, often when no force is necessary, including unjust deadly force and unreasonable use of Tasers," Garland said at a press conference at the city's federal courthouse. Frey and other Minneapolis officials will negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department known as a consent decree in which a federal judge will oversee the city's progress in reforming the police department. The department has negotiated similar federal oversight agreements in other cities, including Ferguson in Missouri, Baltimore and Cleveland.

Persons: George Floyd, General Merrick Garland, Derek Chauvin, Garland, Jacob Frey, Frey, Chauvin, Floyd, Eric Miller, Marcia Howard, Howard, Mayor Frey, Department's, Joe Biden, Ferguson, Jonathan Allen, Deepa Babington, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Police, U.S . Justice, Minneapolis Police Department, U.S, Justice Department, Civil Rights Division, REUTERS, Minneapolis Police, Democrat, Justice Department's Civil, Thomson Locations: Minneapolis, Minneapolis , Minnesota, U.S, Black, Missouri, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York

The report is expected to be released at a news conference with Attorney General Merrick Garland, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and city officials. The expected announcement was previously reported by Bloomberg Law and KSTP-TV in Minnesota. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has negotiated consent decrees in the past to enforce policing overhauls in Baltimore, Cleveland and Ferguson, Mo., among other cities, after similar investigations. The murder of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, by Officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 touched off protests and civil unrest across the country and led to calls to fundamentally rethink or defund policing. Mr. Floyd’s death, video of which circulated widely online, brought condemnations from across the political spectrum and criminal convictions for the police officers who were involved, a relatively rare occurrence.

Persons: George Floyd, General Merrick Garland, Vanita Gupta, Ferguson, Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Floyd’s Organizations: Minneapolis Police Department, Bloomberg Law, Civil, Division Locations: Minnesota, Baltimore , Cleveland, Mo

☆ Justice Dept. Reaches Cleanup Deal With Houston After Civil Rights Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with the City of Houston to improve trash removal and environmental monitoring after an investigation into the widespread dumping of garbage, including human bodies, in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. The pact, announced on Tuesday, was the result of a yearlong inquiry by the department’s civil rights division into dozens of complaints from residents. It includes a commitment by Mayor Sylvester Turner to fund cleanup projects, under the supervision of federal officials for three years. The agreement, which followed weeks of negotiation between department officials and municipal leaders in Houston, is part of the Biden administration’s larger environmental justice agenda, which seeks to redress the disproportional impact of waste, air and water pollution on communities of color around the country. “No one should have to live next to discarded tires, bags of trash, rotting carcasses, infected soils and contaminated groundwater, all caused by illegal dumping,” Alamdar S. Hamdani, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said on Tuesday during a news conference in Houston.

Persons: Sylvester Turner Organizations: Department, City, Biden, Southern, Southern District of Locations: Houston, Black, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Texas

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