MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two former Memphis police officers convicted of obstruction of justice in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols will be released from jail ahead of sentencing in January, but a third who was found guilty of more serious civil rights violations will remain in custody, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith will be on home detention with GPS monitoring until sentencing, while Demetrius Haley will stay in jail, Magistrate Judge Charmiane Claxton said during a hearing in federal court.
Click to Gallery
Friends and family of Tyre Nichols gather to pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Justin Smith, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Martin Zummach, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
RowVaughn Wells, second from right, mother of Tyre Nichols, speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse after three former Memphis police officers were convicted of witness tampering charges in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
U.S. District Judge Mark Norris ordered all three men to be taken into custody after they were found guilty last week in the beating of Nichols in January 2023. The three, along with Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., were part of a crime suppression team that pulled the 29-year-old Nichols over after a traffic stop — and then punched, kicked and hit him with a baton after he ran away from them.
Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, and his stepfather Rodney Wells, had opposed the release of any of the officers. When asked about Claxton's decision, Rodney Wells told The Associated Press, “We're fine.”
After a nearly monthlong trial, Haley was convicted of all four charges faced by the officers: Violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing bodily harm through excessive force and by showing “deliberate indifference” to his serious medical needs, conspiracy to witness tamper, and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
The jury watched police video of the five officers hitting Nichols, who died at a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. Mills and Martin pleaded guilty ahead of trial, and they testified for prosecutors. Their sentences are pending.
Bean and Smith were acquitted on the more serious charges related to the civil rights violations, and of conspiracy to tamper with witness testimony. They were convicted of obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
Bean, Haley and Smith face up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice convictions. Haley faces up to 10 years in prison on the civil rights violations.
Prosecutors argued the three officers failed to tell their supervisor and medical personnel about the amount of force they used against Nichols. The officers also lied on forms that required them to disclose the amount of force they used against Nichols.
The officers had been free on bond as they awaited trial, and they did not violate any conditions of their release, defense attorneys said.
Claxton ruled that Haley must remain in custody because he committed civil rights violations that carried at least a “substantial risk” of the use of physical violence. Defense attorney Michael Stengel unsuccessfully argued that the violations were not crimes of violence. Haley has the right to appeal the detention order.
Claxton said Bean and Smith did not present a risk of flight or danger to the community. Home detention comes with certain conditions, including that they be allowed to leave home for work, school, religious services and medical appointments, the judge said.
Smith's mother, Regina Smith Ingram, said Smith lives with his wife and 2-year-old son. She said Smith takes care of his son while his wife works from home, and they have a stable home environment.
Bean's lawyer, John Keith Perry, said Bean would not have been taken into custody were it not for extensive media coverage. Perry added that he has not given media outlets any interviews about the case.
“He was found guilty of one count, that's it,” Perry said of Bean. “We've done everything we could to respect this process.”
Nichols, who was Black, had run from a traffic stop despite being hit with pepper spray and a Taser. The five officers — who also are Black — were fired, then indicted, in the beating death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
After officers caught up to Nichols, police body cameras and a security camera captured officers pummeling Nichols in a struggle just steps from his home, as he cried out for his mother.
The video shows the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggles with his injuries. An autopsy report shows he died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and other areas.
The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date has not been set.
Friends and family of Tyre Nichols gather to pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Justin Smith, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Martin Zummach, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
RowVaughn Wells, second from right, mother of Tyre Nichols, speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse after three former Memphis police officers were convicted of witness tampering charges in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
No one is likely to be happy with the projected higher deficits laid out in a new analysis of Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s economic plans.
The analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests a Harris presidency could increase the national debt over 10 years by $3.5 trillion. The same analysis says former President Trump’s ideas could heap another $7.5 trillion onto the debt and possibly as much as $15.2 trillion.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest:
It might seem curious that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared on Polish TV, as he did Monday.
Trump gave Poland’s Republika TV a 10-minute interview, during which he praised the country’s President Andrzej Duda, a conservative whom Trump hosted for dinner in New York in April, a “very good man.”
But considering states with some of the highest percentages of Americans of Polish ancestry — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — it makes more sense. The three states are among the most competitive on the 2024 campaign map and account for a combined 44 Electoral College votes. The states rank in the top 5 nationally in Americans of Polish ancestry, along with Illinois and New York.
“There is no president that’s been better to the Polish people,” Trump said during the interview.
Trump touted his administration’s decision to sell military equipment to Poland and to oppose Russia’s gas pipeline to Germany that would have increased Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
Poland has concerns for its own security in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which borders Poland to the east. Poland supports Ukraine in the conflict.
Trump has promised to end the war, should he win the Nov. 5 election, before even taking office in November.
But Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has also upped her outreach to Polish Americans, notably by capitalizing on their animosity toward Russia and Trump’s hesitancy to back Ukraine publicly, such as during the debate with Harris last month.
There are an estimated 784,000 Americans of Polish descent in Michigan, 758,000 in Pennsylvania and 481,000 in Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team has reached an agreement with the Biden administration on rules for accessing government offices and records should she win the November presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump’s team has yet to reach a similar agreement, according to an administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss transition planning.
Congress called for the agreements to be reached by Oct. 1 of a presidential election year to enable all major party nominees to be prepared to assume the presidency on Inauguration Day.
It’s the latest transition planning milestone that Trump is behind on. The former president has also yet to reach an agreement to utilize General Services Administration support and official space, like the Harris team has, which Congress in the Presidential Transition Act, had wanted met by Sept. 1.
— By Zeke Miller
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance headlined a 1,500-strong rally Monday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“This terrible assault on the Jewish people must never be allowed to happen again,” Vance, an Ohio senator, told the crowds gathered near the Washington Monument. “Every single American of common sense and principle must reject it.”
The event took place under a massive security deployment due to both Vance’s presence and fear of attack.
Tall fencing draped with black fabric ringed a vast swath of lawn across the street from the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including Secret Service and Park Police, on horseback, locked down the area.
Attendees said they came to send a message of solidarity with Israel.
“I think that Jews in America often feel like they have to apologize or feel bashful about their identity,” said Miriam Regev, who came from New York City to attend.
Regev said she wasn’t a Republican but was impressed by Vance’s words. She holds “serious concerns” about former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, but added “there’s no doubt in my mind that a Trump-Vance administration would be much more strongly pro-Israel.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited an exhibition dedicated to some of the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.
Walz, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, attended the exhibition in Culver City, California, that was dedicated to the victims who were maimed, killed or kidnapped from the Nova music festival on that date.
Survivor Noa Beer and event producer Virginia Fout led Walz on a tour that featured original artifacts from the festival and displays that depicted the gruesomeness of the attack. Walz spent time at a Memorial Wall dedicated to those who were murdered.
Around 3,000 people were dancing in a field in Israel just miles from Gaza when heavily armed Palestinian militants rampaged through the festival, killing at least 364 people and taking more than 40 hostage. At least some are still held in Gaza.
North Carolina’s bipartisan state elections board unanimously approved an emergency resolution making several changes to how voters in 13 western North Carolina counties can cast their ballots by Election Day.
The resolution comes less than two weeks after deadly Helene destroyed large swaths of western North Carolina, displacing residents, damaging homes and washing away roads.
In a critical presidential election that may hinge on which way the battleground state swings, that widespread disruption also presents major problems for how residents can cast their votes.
“I’m generally very hesitant to make changes to the normal running our election,” said Stacy Eggers IV, a Republican board member from Boone in western North Carolina. “But these have been tailored to give flexibility to the county boards to meet those specific needs.”
One of the biggest changes allows affected voters to turn an absentee ballot in on Election Day by 7:30 p.m. to polling places operated by their county elections board.
Displaced voters may also turn in ballots to another county’s elections board by the same deadline.
The resolution also expands opportunities to pick up an absentee ballot in-person from a county elections office until the day before the election.
Trump claimed in a radio interview on Monday morning that he polls so well in Israel that he could run for office.
“I could run for prime minister, although Bibi’s doing a lot better right now,” he said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking on WABC radio, the former president said that in the U.S., “very conservative Jews, very, very conservative, they’re all for Trump, every, 100% because I’ve done things that are — they understand it.”
“I heard I’m doing very well with New York, Jewish people from New York, I hear I’m doing well,” Trump said.
Trump appeared on the same radio program in July with host Sid Rosenberg and claimed Vice President Kamala Harris, who is married to a Jewish man, “doesn’t like Jewish people.”
He repeated his claims that the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas never would have happened if he were still president.
Soon, the ballots will be cast, the polls will close and a campaign marked by assassination attempts, animosity and anxiety will come to an end. But for U.S. adversaries, the work to meddle with American democracy may be entering its most critical phase.
Despite all the attention on efforts to spread disinformation in the months before the Nov. 5 election, the hours and days immediately after voting ends could offer foreign adversaries like Russia, Iran and China or domestic extremist groups the best chance to mess with America’s decision.
That’s when Americans will go online to see the latest results or share their opinions as the votes are tabulated. And that’s when a fuzzy photo or AI-generated video of supposed vote tampering could do its most damage, potentially transforming online outrage into real-world action before authorities have time to investigate the facts.
It’s a threat taken seriously by intelligence analysts, elected officials and tech executives, who say that while there’s already been a steady buildup of disinformation and influence operations, the worst may be yet to come.
Turning Point’s representatives have made two things clear in meetings with state and local Republican leaders — Donald Trump has blessed their conservative organization to help lead his get-out-the-vote effort, and local party officials ought to use the group’s new voter mobilization app.
Both prospects terrify fellow Republicans.
Soaring to prominence after Trump’s unexpected 2016 win, Turning Point earned a reputation for hosting glitzy events, cultivating hard-right influencers and raising prodigious sums of money while enriching the group’s leaders. They’ve had far less success helping Republicans win, especially in their adopted home state of Arizona.
Now the organization has leveraged its ties to Trump to expand its influence in a way that could be potentially lucrative. Turning Point has sought to lead an effort to remake the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort based on the theory that there are thousands of Trump supporters who rarely vote but could be persuaded to in this year’s election. And they are pitching their new mobile app as vital to this effort’s success.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol in Atlanta, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
This combination photo shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Flint, Mich., Oct. 4, 2024, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Walker, Mich., Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures as he finishes speaking at The Believers' Summit 2024 at a Turning Point Action event in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Saturday, October 5, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C., after a briefing on the damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
