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A law enforcement source told NBC News that several branches of the FBI have been deployed, including criminal, cyber and counterintelligence agencies. But the FBI told NBC News that a VPN from another country does not necessarily mean the text messages originated there. Dozens of people across the country have received the racist text messages, including high school and middle school students. She’s among several recipients who were disappointed by the outcome of the presidential election and saw the text messages as salt on an open wound. The association urged anyone receiving spam text messages to forward them to the number 7726 or “SPAM” to report them to their wireless provider.
Persons: , Letitia James, Keith Ellison, McCall, Jessica Rosenworcel, Devereaux Adams, Donald Trump, ” Adams, , Lance Beaudry, TextSpot, ” TextSpot, Beaudry, “ I’m, Liz Murill, Kumi Wolf Kumi Wolf, ” Wolf, Brian Hughes, Trump, Nick Ludlum Organizations: FBI, New York, Minnesota, NBC, NBC News, Federal Communications, Trump, Ohio State University, Clemson University, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, Messaging Locations: Atlanta, Georgia, South Carolina, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Poland, Michigan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice on Friday charged an Iranian man in a murder-for-hire plot to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump and two others in a plot to kill an American journalist critical of Tehran. The three who were charged are Farhad Shakeri of Iran; Carlisle Rivera of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathan Loadholt, of Staten Island, New York. Around Oct. 7, the Iranian official tasked Shakeri with providing a plan within seven days to kill Trump, he told law enforcement in recorded interviews, the complaint says. Shakeri told FBI officials that he didn’t intend to propose a plan to assassinate Trump in the timeframe set by the IRGC, it says. Trump was also briefed by U.S. intelligence officials after the attempt in September about threats from Iran to kill him.
Persons: WASHINGTON, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Damian Williams, Qasem Soleimani, Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, Shakeri, surveil, Steven Cheung, , Rivera, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, Loadholt, realDonaldTrump, Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, , Biden Organizations: The Department, Justice, Southern, of, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, U.S, Trump, FBI, White, Prosecutors, NBC News, Fairfield University, Service, Emergency Economic Locations: American, Tehran, U.S, of New York, Iran, Brooklyn , New York, Staten Island , New York, New York City, Sri Lanka, United States, Afghan, New York State, Brooklyn, Loadholt, Staten Island, Republic, America, Florida, New York
The Department of Justice on Friday charged an Iranian man and two New York residents in murder-for-hire plots targeting then-candidate Donald Trump and others. The department said the plot was part of Iran's efforts to exact revenge for the death of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani during the Trump administration. Around Oct. 7, the Iranian official tasked Shakeri with providing a plan within seven days to kill Trump, he told law enforcement in recorded interviews, the complaint says. Shakeri told FBI officials that he didn't intend to propose a plan to assassinate Trump in the timeframe set by the IRGC, it says. Trump communications director Steven Cheung said Friday that the president-elect is aware of the attempted assassination plot.
Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Damian Williams, Qasem Soleimani, Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, Shakeri, surveil, Steven Cheung, Rivera, Masih Alinejad Organizations: U.S, The, Justice, Southern, of, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Trump, FBI, White, Prosecutors, NBC News Locations: Iranian, Tehran, Iran, New York, U.S, of New York, Brooklyn , New York, Staten Island , New York, New York City, Sri Lanka, United States, Afghan, New York State, Brooklyn, Loadholt, Staten Island, American
Hoax bomb threats targeting polling places and election offices briefly disrupted voting in five battleground states, with the FBI saying the threats in four of those states came from Russian email domains. “The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the FBI said in a statement Tuesday night. German officials accused Russia of orchestrating bomb threats against several polling places in Moldova’s presidential elections last week. Threats to polling sites and election offices were reported across about a dozen Pennsylvania counties, where targeted polling sites were ordered to stay open late, officials said. “But I think the number of these bomb threats is, if not surprising, very concerning,” he added.
Persons: , Bret Schafer, “ It’s, Schafer, Wade Yates, Brad Raffensperger, , Adrian Fontes, Fontes, Lawrence Norden Organizations: FBI, Russian Embassy, Novosti, Alliance, Democracy, German Marshall Fund, Fulton County, Fulton County Police, Court, Etris, Center, Union City, NBC News, Arizona, ” Police, Philadelphia, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University Law School Locations: Russian, Georgia , Pennsylvania, Arizona , Wisconsin, Michigan, U.S, Russia, Moldova’s, Moscow, Moldova, Georgia, Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Union, Country, Madison , Wisconsin
“There’s no white knight coming,” a federal law enforcement official told NBC News, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe the posture of federal authorities in the coming weeks, after Election Day. Law enforcement officials across the country said they believe the 2024 election will have a more sustained drumbeat of partisan rhetoric and disinformation than the 2020 election. The FBI has also set up a National Election Command Post at headquarters specifically to focus on election threats, as is standard practice in an election year. Two law enforcement officials expressed some concern that a federal response to any serious election issues could be chaotic and involve a “hodgepodge” of different state, local and federal law enforcement agencies and local election entities. Four other current and former law enforcement sources said they worried that disinformation and conspiracy theories could affect some segments of the law enforcement community, especially in parts of the country where Trump has significant support.
Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “ We’ve, Rebecca Weiner, , Attorney General Merrick Garland, , General Merrick Garland, Chip Somodevilla, Jan, — “, Garland, Department’s, Organizations: WASHINGTON —, U.S . Capitol, NBC News, New York Police, Democrat, FBI, Justice Department, Trump, Infrastructure Security Agency, The Justice Department, Department, Attorney, Getty, Law, Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, Force Locations: , U.S, ” Federal, China, Iran, Russia, stoke
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Alabama’s voter removal program that flagged thousands of registered voters and accused them of illegally registering in the state. The Justice Department sued the state of Alabama challenging the program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls, arguing it was too close to the Nov. 5 election. Allen announced a process for purging 3,251 registered Alabama voters in August, 84 days before Election Day. The case is among several instances of voter purges in Republican-led states ahead of this fall’s presidential election. The Justice Department lawsuit said it has already been determined that legal voters were mistakenly purged from the voter rolls.
Persons: Wes Allen, Allen, Anna Manasco, Donald Trump, ” Manasco, , Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin Organizations: The Justice Department, Republican, Alabama, Justice Department, Gov, Department of Motor Vehicles, Justice Locations: Alabama, , States, Virginia
The Justice Department announced Friday that it is suing Virginia over its efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, calling the state's actions a violation of federal voting laws. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring the state's Department of Elections to conduct daily updates to its voting list, including comparing the list of identified "noncitizens" to the state's existing list of registered voters. According to the Justice Department, some of the people identified as noncitizens are in fact U.S. citizens, leading to some voter registrations being cancelled unnecessarily. In a statement, Youngkin called the lawsuit "politically motivated" and a "desperate attempt" to attack the election's legitimacy. Virginia’s Department of Elections and elections commissioner — both named in the lawsuit — did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening.
Persons: Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin, Organizations: Justice Department, Republican Gov, state's Department, Local, DOJ, Virginians, Democracy, Virginia’s Department, State of Locations: Virginia, Commonwealth, State of Alabama
Federal prosecutors have charged the man who was spotted with a gun outside of Donald Trump's golf course with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. It also added two other charges: possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer. Routh had previously been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Ryan Wesley Routh following his arrest in Martin County, Fla., on Sept. 15. “The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July.
Persons: Donald Trump's, Ryan Wesley Routh, United States Donald J, Trump, Routh, Aileen Cannon, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, ” Trump, He's Organizations: United, Trump, AFP, Getty, Department, Joe Biden Department of Justice, FBI Locations: United States, West Palm Beach , Florida, Martin County, Fla, U.S, Florida
The son of the man accused of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his golf course has been arrested in connection with a child sex abuse images case. Oran Alexander Routh was charged in federal court Monday with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The criminal complaint filed against Oran Routh states that his North Carolina home was searched in connection to an unrelated case. The complaint also said investigators found a messaging app on the phone that is "commonly used by individuals who distribute and receive child pornography." Court records show that Oran Routh is in federal custody.
Persons: Donald Trump, Oran Alexander Routh, Oran Routh, Ryan Wesley Routh, Trump, Ryan Routh, Routh, Oran Routh's Organizations: U.S, Middle, Middle District of, NBC News, Oran, AFP, FBI, Samsung Locations: Middle District, Middle District of North Carolina, West Palm Beach , Florida, North Carolina, Martin County, Fla, Oran Routh's
An Idaho man has been charged with threatening to kill Donald Trump in phone calls made to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to court documents. Warren Jones Crazybull, 64, of Sandpoint, made at least nine threatening phone calls to Trump’s home on July 31, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit that was first reported Monday by Forbes. Mar-a-Lago security told the Secret Service that eight additional phone calls making threats were received from the same number, the court documents said. "There have been two heinous assassination attempts on President Trump, and their violent rhetoric are directly to blame." The Secret Service determined his location using T-Mobile phone data, which located him in Montana, according to the filing.
Persons: Donald Trump, Warren Jones Crazybull, Warren Jones, Crazybull, Jeffrey Epstein, John John Kennedy Jr, Trump, Steven Cheung, Kamala Harris, “ Kamala Harris, Cheung, Harris, ” Cheung, , , Ryan Wesley Routh — Organizations: Forbes . Mar, , Trump, Golf Club, Service, Facebook, Democrats, Secret Service Locations: Idaho, Lago, Florida, Sandpoint, Bedminster, Bedminster , New Jersey, West Palm, , Montana, Butler , Pennsylvania, West Palm Beach , Florida
Iranian hackers have continued to make attempts since late June to transmit nonpublic stolen material tied to Trump’s campaign to media organizations, according to Wednesday’s statement, which noted that the FBI is tracking the activity. In a statement Wednesday, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Iranians wanted to help Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, "because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror." To be known as the Iran, Iran, Iran case!" Harris campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said the campaign has cooperated with law enforcement since it learned about the hacking effort. Law enforcement agencies contacted those people and the Biden campaign to make them aware of the emails, the sources said.
Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden's, Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Morgan Finkelstein, We’re, Finkelstein Organizations: Democratic, FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, NBC, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump, Biden, NBC News, Justice Department, United Nations Locations: Iran, Russia, China, Iranian
The FBI is warning election offices to be on the lookout after threatening letters containing suspicious substances were sent to the offices of multiple secretaries of state throughout the country. A senior law enforcement official confirms elections officials in at least six states received packages on Monday, but so far none of the packages have been found to contain any actual hazardous material. Secretaries of state, attorney general offices and state election offices in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma were targeted. The FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and state and local law enforcement partners are investigating multiple letters containing suspicious substances which have been mailed to Secretary of State's offices. The incident is also the second time in the past year that threats have hit multiple state election offices simultaneously.
Persons: , Robert Evnen, Chuck Gray, State Paul Pate, State Tre Hargett, Doug Kufner, Donald Trump, Trump, State Jena Griswold Organizations: FBI, , NBC News, U.S . Postal, Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, Memorial Hall, Nebraska State Patrol, Lincoln, Lancaster County Health Department, Nebraska, State, Hargett Locations: Nebraska , Iowa , Kansas , Tennessee , Wyoming, Oklahoma, ” In Kansas, Iowa, Topeka , Kansas, Lincoln , Nebraska, Nebraska, Lancaster, Wyoming, Tennessee, California , Georgia, Nevada , Oregon, Washington, Colorado
The counting and certification of electoral votes at the Capitol in January — the first since the Jan. 6 riot in 2021 — will come with significantly increased security, the Secret Service said Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security has designated the Jan. 6 count as a national special security event, affording it a level of security similar to events like the State of the Union address and the Super Bowl. “National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said in a statement Wednesday. The Secret Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, also cited reports from the former House Jan. 6 committee and the Government Accountability Office, which had asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to consider the enhanced security measures. The designation will unlock federal, state and local resources to be used in its security plan, the Secret Service said.
Persons: Donald Trump's, Joe Biden's, ” Eric Ranaghan, , Muriel Bowser, Alejandro Mayorkas Organizations: Capitol, Service, Department of Homeland Security, Super, Secret, Republican, Democratic, United Nations General Assembly, Office, Homeland, Justice Department
A Pakistani man allegedly tied to Iran has been charged with an elaborate plot to assassinate current and former government officials, potentially including former President Donald Trump. The complaint does not name an alleged target or targets, but a senior law enforcement official said Trump was one of the potential targets of this plot. Merchant allegedly told the confidential source that the “people who will be targeted are the ones who are hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world. On June 10, Merchant allegedly met in New York with undercover law enforcement officers posing as assassins for hire. Asif Merchant paid the undercover law enforcement officers $5,000 so they knew they were going forward.
Persons: Donald Trump, Asif Merchant, Merchant, Trump, Lester Holt, Christopher Wray, DOJ Merchant, Qassem Soleimani, Butler, General Merrick Garland, , Organizations: NBC, DOJ, NBC News, ., Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Service, Trump, FBI Locations: Iran, Pennsylvania, Pa, Texas, New York, Pakistan
But she warned that things could get more chaotic for Democrats if Biden were to make the extraordinary move to end his campaign just weeks before the Democratic convention. In a twist for the left-leaning Ocasio-Cortez, her comments make her among the more forceful pro-Biden voices in the party right now. Many progressives, including Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are primarily driven by policy goals and know they have Biden's ear. The strategist said part of the reason progressives like Ocasio-Cortez are backing Biden is the "bird in hand phenomenon" — there's a "comfort level" with Biden in the White House. Ocasio-Cortez also cautioned followers that Biden has unique electoral strengths that other Democrats cannot expect to replicate.
Persons: Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio, Donald Trump, Biden, Clarence Thomas, Cortez, wasn't, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Mark Pocan, Pocan, Harris, Kamala —, Harris —, It's, Lisa Lint, Vander, it's Organizations: Rep, Biden, Democrats, Democratic, Trump, Congressional Progressive Caucus, CPC, Grand Rapids, Twitter Locations: Alexandria, Cortez, Grand
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Julian Assange gestures as he speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England. Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison, according to court documents. Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents say. Court documents revealing Assange's plea deal were filed Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. A superseding indictment was returned against Assange more than five years ago, in May 2019, and a second superseding indictment was returned in June 2020.
Persons: Julian Assange, Jack Taylor, Assange, Barack Obama's, Chelsea Manning, , Robert Mueller, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump, Putin, Manning, Obama Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Department, WikiLeaks, Northern, Ecuadorian Embassy, Court, Democratic National Committee Locations: ENGLAND, Ecuador, London, England, U.S, Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Mariana Islands, Australia, London —, United States, Russian
President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday morning that officials appeared to be nearing a breakthrough in their investigation into who leaked the documents online. The Washington Post was the first news outlet on Wednesday night to report about the gaming group, and only identified him as "OG." The Post said it reviewed approximately 300 photos of classified documents that the suspect allegedly leaked, most of which the report said have not been made public. NBC News has not yet verified the details about the gaming group and that it was the source of where the classified documents were first shared. He also said that it appears that some of the classified documents had been altered from their original form.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday defended the Justice Department's handling of separate special counsel investigations into classified documents linked to former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, saying it does not have different rules for Republicans and Democrats. In his first public remarks on the topic after even more classified documents were found at Biden's home in Delaware, Garland was asked whether he believed the Justice Department was handling the two probes fairly. Garland announced this month that Robert Hur, who was a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, would serve as a special counsel in the Biden probe. Congressional Republicans have launched their own investigations into the Biden documents. Biden and Trump have had contrasting responses to the discovery of classified documents, which are supposed to be handed over to National Archives when presidents or vice presidents leave office.
Federal prosecutors in New York have opened an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos, a law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ABC News first reported the federal investigation into Santos. Last week, the New York attorney general’s office said it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding him. The office, however, did not confirm whether it had opened an official investigation.
Kelley and Carter made their initial appearance in federal court in Knoxville on Friday. A cooperating witness earlier this week presented authorities with a printed document including about 37 names, positions and in some cases phone numbers of law enforcement personnel involved in the criminal investigation, the filing states. The list also identified which officers were present when Kelley was arrested in May, according to the filing. Marina Medvin, who has been representing Kelley in the Jan. 6 charges, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More than 850 defendants have been arrested on Jan. 6 charges ranging from misdemeanor parading to felony seditious conspiracy.
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for more than 40 former Washington Commanders employees are demanding that House Republicans remove "sexualized and salacious photographs" of the NFL team's cheerleaders featured in a GOP-written memo about the football team. (The GOP report put black boxes over the women's faces and some body parts.) In a statement, a Republican Oversight Committee aide criticized the Democrats' report and defended the GOP memo. "Prior to circulating the internal memo, Committee staff took steps to ensure all sensitive images involving cheerleaders were redacted and their identities kept confidential. As we have said from the beginning, the Oversight Committee is not the proper venue for this investigation.
The FBI found documents containing classified intelligence regarding Iran and China at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, say two people familiar with the matter. The Washington Post was first to report that the intelligence on Iran and China was found at Trump’s Florida residence and club during the FBI’s recent search of the property. The Post reported, but NBC News has not confirmed, that “at least one of the documents seized by the FBI describes Iran’s missile program.”A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment to NBC News. During its August search of Mar-a-Lago, FBI agents took about 13,000 documents, more than 100 of them classified. Trump has denied wrongdoing in having the documents at Mar-a-Lago, and has said he declassified any documents he has, and can declassify documents by thinking about them.
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