Category: Veterans – Patriotism

In Wisconsin, a big win for liberals and a warning for the GOP

Yahoo News 360

In Wisconsin, a big win for liberals and a warning for the GOP

Mike Bebernes – Senior Editor – April 9, 2023

How Wisconsin’s new liberal supreme court could rule on abortion rights, redistricting

What’s happening

On Tuesday night, while most of the political world was still focusing on the indictment of former President Donald Trump, a liberal candidate secured a major win that arguably suggests more about how future national elections may go than anything that happened in that New York City courtroom earlier in the day.

In Wisconsin, a liberal judge, Janet Protasiewicz, decisively defeated her conservative opponent, Daniel Kelly, and secured a seat on the state’s Supreme Court in a race widely considered to be the most important election of 2023. Protasiewicz’s victory will give liberals a majority on the Wisconsin court for the first time in 15 years. This potentially offers them the opportunity to strike down a 19th-century law banning nearly all abortions and to redraw congressional maps that have allowed Republicans to dominate the Wisconsin Legislature, despite the near 50-50 split of voters in the state.

Although the contest was nonpartisan on paper, it had all of the markings of a traditional campaign. Democrats and Republicans rallied intensely behind their preferred candidates, spending a combined $42 million on the race — nearly three times the previous record for any state Supreme Court election. Protasiewicz campaigned heavily on abortion and democracy reform, while Kelly attempted to portray her as “soft on crime.”

In another high-profile race Tuesday night in Chicago, the progressive candidate, Brandon Johnson, beat the conservative Democrat Paul Vallas in the race to become mayor of the nation’s third-largest city. These two victories come five months after Democrats overcame predictions of a “red wave” in last year’s midterm elections by winning key Senate, House and governors’ races across the country.

Why there’s debate

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will probably have a significant impact on politics in the state, but many political observers say it also serves as a strong bellwether of the political dynamics in the country ahead of next year’s critical presidential election cycle.

Commentators on both sides of the political spectrum say the result should be a flashing red warning light for Republicans about the dangers they face in 2024. They argue that Protasiewicz’s win shows that the dynamics that fueled the GOP’s lackluster showing in the midterms — most notably opposition to Trump and backlash to the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning abortion protections established in Roe v. Wade — are still swaying swing voters. Many also make the case that Republicans have little hope of pivoting away from such unpopular positions because of the intensely pro-Trump and anti-abortion views of the party’s core voters.

There are also practical implications of the new liberal majority on Wisconsin’s top court that could benefit Democrats. If the court throws out the state’s gerrymandered district map, which is strongly biased in the Republicans’ favor, that could help Democrats gain a handful of seats in the House of Representatives and tip the balance in the state Legislature in their favor. Some legal experts add that having Protasiewicz on the bench, rather than an ally of Trump, like Kelly, dramatically reduces the chances that a GOP-backed legal effort to challenge the state’s results in the next presidential election would be successful.

Other observers are wary of making too many predictions based on a single, off-year election, with more than 18 months to go before the presidential election. They argue that the types of voters who turn out for a state Supreme Court race don’t necessarily reflect the voters who will turn out next November, especially if Trump himself is on the ballot. It’s also possible, some add, that abortion may not be as potent an issue for Democrats in the future, because the question may largely have been settled in most states by the time voters head to the polls.

What’s next

Protasiewicz is scheduled to be sworn in in August, and the court is expected to quickly take up challenges to both the state’s centuries-old abortion ban and its gerrymandered district map. There has been some speculation that Republicans in the Wisconsin State Senate may attempt to impeach Protasiewicz to prevent her from tipping power in the court, but the party’s leaders have insisted that is not going to happen.

Perspectives

Republicans’ refusal to abandon unpopular positions means the losses will keep coming

“Republicans were, after all, warned. Again and again. On Trump and abortion, but also on guns, moral Grundyism, and their addiction to the crazy. Yet despite all the red blinking lights — and they are flashing everywhere — the GOP simply smacks its lips and says, ‘This is fine.’ More, please.” — Charlie Sykes, Bulwark

The GOP has time to stem its losses on abortion if it’s willing to moderate on the issue

“The Wisconsin results show abortion is still politically potent. … Republicans had better get their abortion position straight, and more in line with where voters are or they will face another disappointment in 2024. A total ban is a loser in swing states. Republicans who insist on that position could soon find that electoral defeats will lead to even more liberal state abortion laws than under Roe.” — Editorial, Wall Street Journal

An obscure, off-year court race can’t tell us much about how national elections will go

“The supreme-court election is a big win for the Left, but it would be foolish to suggest it means Wisconsin won’t be a competitive state in 2024. Turnout in 2023 was significantly higher than in a typical supreme-court election but significantly lower than in the November 2022 midterm elections or the 2020 presidential election.” — John McCormack, National Review

Democratic strength in Midwest swing states narrows the GOP’s path to the White House

“These gains in turn will further energize progressives and elect more Democrats in a virtuous circle. It is hard to imagine any Republican presidential candidate carrying Wisconsin in 2024, and that pattern is likely to hold in other key Midwestern states.” — Robert Kuttner, American Prospect

Unique circumstances made abortion more central in Wisconsin than it will be in most other contests

“The answer seems to be that abortion is a winning issue for Democrats, but only in some circumstances. When a campaign revolves around the subject — as the Wisconsin Supreme Court race did this week and voter referendums in Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan did last year — abortion can win big even in purple or red states. … But there is not yet evidence that abortion can determine the outcome of most political campaigns.” — David Leonhardt, New York Times

The GOP’s MAGA base is driving the party straight toward disaster in 2024

“The GOP nominee will have most likely endorsed a national abortion ban (or at least draconian abortion restrictions in their own state) to make the party’s primary voters happy. … If messaging about defending abortion rights and democracy commanded a sizable majority in this highly polarized, blue collar-heavy swing state, it may well continue constituting Kryptonite to MAGA — all the way through 2024.” — Greg Sargent, Washington Post

The messages that have helped the GOP win in the past may not work today

“Away from the Trump circus, it certainly feels like a shift is happening. The go-to Republican scare tactics – Socialism is coming! Crime is rampant! The family is under attack! – aren’t working. And when the face of your party becomes the first former president ever indicted, the old ‘party of law and order’ line falls a bit flat.” — Rex Huppke, USA Today

The result should inspire Democrats to proudly stand up for progressive policies

“For Democrats, there is a lesson here. When they run on protecting abortion rights, they tend to win. When they shy away from messages that are central to their party’s identity — for instance, by tacking to the center with tough-on-crime policies — their record is much more mixed. … In much of the country, voters don’t want Republican-lite candidates. They want Democrats who act like Democrats.” — Alex Shephard, New Republic

Abortion fights may be largely settled by the time the presidential election comes around

“Abortion might be legal in Wisconsin by the 2024 election. I think that’s actually quite likely. So, you know, abortion as a motivating issue might not be there for some voters.” — Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, FiveThirtyEight

A liberal majority on Wisconsin’s court will counter the GOP’s efforts to subvert democracy

“A redrawn map could put two or three GOP-held seats in Congress in play for Democrats. … The actual winner of the 2024 Wisconsin presidential election will all but certainly receive the state’s electoral votes.” — Christina Cauterucci, Slate

Is there a topic you’d like to see covered in “The 360”? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.

Photo Credit REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Mobile home park residents form co-ops to save their homes

Associated Press

Mobile home park residents form co-ops to save their homes

Claire Rush – April 8, 2023

Resident and board member of the mobile home park Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, Gadiel Galvez, 22, poses for a portrait in his neighborhood on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Lakewood, Wash. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Resident and board member of the mobile home park Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, Gadiel Galvez, 22, poses for a portrait in his neighborhood on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Lakewood, Wash. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Resident and board member of the mobile home park Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, Gadiel Galvez, 22, takes a walk in his neighborhood on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Lakewood, Wash. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Resident and board member of the mobile home park Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, Gadiel Galvez, 22, takes a walk in his neighborhood on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Lakewood, Wash. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Gadiel Galvez, 22, adjusts a sign stating that his resident cooperative owns their mobile home park, Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, in Lakewood, Wash., on Saturday, March 25, 2023. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Gadiel Galvez, 22, adjusts a sign stating that his resident cooperative owns their mobile home park, Bob’s and Jamestown Homeowners Cooperative, in Lakewood, Wash., on Saturday, March 25, 2023. When residents learned the park’s owner was looking to sell, they formed a cooperative and bought it themselves amid worries it would be redeveloped. Since becoming owners in September 2022, residents have worked together to manage and maintain the park. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When Gadiel Galvez learned that the owner of his mobile home park south of Seattle was looking to sell, he and other residents worried their largely Latino community would be bulldozed to make way for another Amazon warehouse.

So, they decided to form a cooperative and buy their park in Lakewood, Washington. With help from a nonprofit that advises communities like theirs and helps them secure loans, they bought it for $5.25 million. Since becoming owners in September, everyone’s worked to make improvements.

“Everybody thought, ‘You know what? … I’m going to make this place the best that I can,’” said Galvez, 22, who is a co-op board member. “Some people painted their homes, some people remodeled their interiors and exteriors, and some are working on their roofs.”

With rents rising at mobile home parks nationwide, advocates tout the cooperative model as a way to preserve one of the last affordable housing options for people with low- or fixed-incomes and to give them a greater voice in managing their parks.

So far these resident-owned communities are proving to be a reliable option. None of the more than 300 in the network of nonprofit ROC USA have defaulted or closed. One decided to sell back to the county housing authority it originally purchased from.

“They have a 100% track record of success, which tells you that it’s working for the residents,” said George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, think tank. “Resident ownership is an absolute bulwark against the intrusion of institutional capital in the market.”

The push to promote resident ownership comes as parks have become a favorite target of investment banks, hedge funds and other deep-pocketed investors.

Nearly a third of mobile home parks in the U.S. have been bought by such investors since 2015, lured by reliable cash flow and high returns from raising rents at nearly double the general rental market rate, McCarthy said.

“They’re trading on the desperation of people living in the parks,” he said. “There’s no place that they can take their homes if they can’t afford to keep paying the increasing rents.”

Park residents often own their home but rarely the land beneath it. So if a landlord raises rent, residents can be evicted or forced to sell their home. If a park is sold to be redeveloped, mobile homes that can’t be moved are demolished.

“Homelessness is really what residents are facing” if investors aggressively raise rents, said Victoria O’Banion, ROC Northwest’s marketing and acquisitions specialist.

At Rimrock Court in the central Oregon town of Madras, rent increased from $350 to $495 over five years. When the owner notified residents he planned to sell, they feared further increases — or worse, that it would be torn down to make way for apartments. So they decided to buy it.

“We were really worried about being forced out of our homes,” said Shawn King, who lives there with her husband on a fixed income and had experienced homelessness before.

To pay off the purchase loan, residents now pay $520 a month — a stretch, but one that comes with reassurance, King said.

“Just to have that peace of mind, to know that our rent is going to be locked in for awhile and not keep going up, and also knowing that our rent monies … are going back into the property, that is the cool part,” she said.

The required rent increase to go co-op was even steeper in Evergreen Village Cooperative in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, — from $460 a month to $750 to pay off the $12 million loan.

Still, more than two-thirds of residents voted in favor, figuring their rent would stabilize in the long run.

“We are not for profit. All the money that we get has to go back into the village and pay the mortgages off,” said Stephen Laclair, board president.

Evergreen Village has earmarked funds for improvement projects for the next decade, and this year plans to enhance the sewer plant and fix electrical issues, he said.

Co-ops can also provide social support to residents. At Liberty Landing Cooperative in Missouri, residents started a food pantry to help neighbors in need.

“If there’s a hardship, we’re willing to work with somebody. … It’s emotional when you find out that somebody’s lost their job, their child support … and they don’t know what to do,” said Kristi Peterman, the board vice president. “Our president likes to say: ‘If it doesn’t work for the poorest of us then it’s not going to work for anybody.'”

Despite the talk of better management and stronger community, most parks aren’t co-ops.

The country’s roughly 43,000 mobile home communities are home to 22 million people, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute, a national trade organization. But only about 1,000 are resident-owned, according to Carolyn Carter, deputy director at the National Consumer Law Center.

Some resistance comes from residents, many of whom are seniors and people with disabilities who may not want the responsibility of managing their park. Others argue rent control or stricter zoning regulations protecting mobile home parks from redevelopment are more effective.

“Zoning is critical. … That is what we ought to be fighting for everywhere,” said Jan Leonard, who lives in a park in Walla Walla, Washington, and worked with other residents to successfully push the city council to amend zoning codes to add mobile home parks as a land-use type.

Other residents considering buying their parks are running up against the same forces that make them popular with investors — a red-hot market and competition from private equity firms and other prospective buyers.

Sarah Marchant, vice president of Community Loan Fund, ROC USA’s New Hampshire affiliate, recalled Tara Estates, a 380-home park in Rochester. The steep $45 million asking price discouraged residents from organizing.

Another challenge is that few states provide funding for residents looking to buy their parks. The lack of grants can make it difficult for residents to finance large loans.

New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Colorado and Oregon are among states with laws that have been effective in helping residents buy their parks, the National Consumer Law Center said.

A new bill in Oregon would allocate $35 million in grants to help residents purchase their parks. Washington passed a bill last month requiring that landlords offer tenants a chance to compete to purchase their park. It also requires two years’ notice if a park will be closed, although that can be reduced if landlords financially compensate residents.

Mobile homes are “an important and affordable housing option for a lot of folks, especially older people aging in place, and we need to make sure it’s preserved,” said state Sen. Noel Frame, the Washington bill’s prime sponsor.

Some real estate groups and park owners argue the bill places an undue burden on landlords.

“If you want tenants to organize and make offers to purchase their communities … they should not wait until there’s a clock ticking,” said Robert Cochran, property manager of Contempo Mobile Home Park in Spokane.

Housing advocates say they hope that $225 million in recently approved federal funding may provide some relief for mobile home park residents. Starting this year, the money will be funneled through grants to states, resident-owned parks, nonprofits, and local and tribal governments to preserve mobile home communities and improve infrastructure.

King cherishes the mobile home that going cooperative at Oregon’s Rimrock Court saved from rent increases and a potential buyout by investors.

“It’s so hard to find affordable housing when you’re low income. To be able to own your own home is so empowering,” she said.

“It’s 600-square-feet. It’s not much, but it’s a castle to me.”

AP writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed.

“Dead Skunk in the middle of the road, stinking to high heaven”: Clarence Thomas accepted luxury gifts from GOP megadonor for decades

USA Today

Clarence Thomas accepted luxury gifts from GOP megadonor for decades without disclosing them: report

Sarah Elbeshbishi and Josh Meyer – April 6, 2023

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted luxury gifts from a prominent Republican donor for more than 20 years without disclosing them, possibly violating a law that requires justices, judges and members of Congress to disclose most gifts, according to a new report.

ProPublica reported Thursday on a series of lavish trips Thomas has taken over more than two decades, which have been funded by billionaire and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

This investigation comes as the nation’s high court fends off requests for a code of ethics, which would likely address similar instances.

The disclosures are the latest ethics controversy to dog Thomas, who also has faced tough questions about his incomplete financial disclosure forms and appearances at other political gatherings of wealthy conservative donors and influencers.

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, his wife, also has come under scrutiny for her back-channel efforts to help former President Donald Trump stay in power despite losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

Thomas accepted luxury gifts without disclosing them, according to report

Thomas has accepted lavish gifts from the billionaire Dallas businessman nearly every year, which had included vacations on Crow’s superyacht and trips on the billionaire’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet as well as a week each summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks, ProPublica reported, citing flight records, internal documents and interviews with Crow’s employees.

The report also found that flight records from the Federal Aviation Administration and FlightAware suggests that Thomas makes “regular use” of Crow’s jet, noting that Thomas used the private plane for a three-hour trip in 2016.

Thomas’ frequent trips to Crow’s private lakeside report, Camp Topridge, in the Adirondacks in upstate New York has also subjected Thomas to Crow’s extensive guestlist of corporate executives and political activists.

More: Supreme Court justices don’t have a code of ethics. Hundreds of judges say that’s a problem

Thomas vacationed with executives at Verizon and PricewaterhouseCoopers, major GOP donors, a leader of the American Enterprise Institute during a July 2017 trip, according to ProPublica.

What did Thomas, Crow say?

Thomas didn’t respond to ProPublica’s request for comment, but Crow in a statement said he and his wife’s “hospitality” to Thomas and his wife “over the years is no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.”

Crow, in his statement, also emphasized that he has never asked Thomas about any pending or lower court case, nor has Thomas discussed one, adding that “we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue” nor is aware of “any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence” Thomas.

Renewed calls for code of ethics

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a longtime advocate for more transparency and accountability on the Supreme Court, issued a series of tweets following the ProPublica story saying it underscores why an overhaul of court ethics laws and requirements is urgently needed.

“A picture worth a thousand words,” Whitehouse said, including a painting in his tweet from the ProPublica report that allegedly hangs at Crow’s Adirondacks resort, Camp Topridge. It shows Thomas smoking cigars with Crow and other prominent conservatives.

Image

Whitehouse outlined some of the connections between those in what he calls “the ‘cigar boys’ painting,” saying one of them, Leonard Leo, runs a “constellation of front groups” whose goal is to secretly influence the High Court.

As one example, Whitehouse said that an organization called the Judicial Crisis Network “raised anonymous money in checks as big as $17 million to fund political ads for (Supreme Court justices) Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett.”

“The donor(s) who funded ads to help Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network front group pack the Court, and the donor’s(s’) business or interests before the Court, have never been disclosed,” Whitehouse said.

“This secrecy is toxic and wrong,” he added. “The Court should not protect it any longer, and the Judicial Conference should look diligently and with urgency into this mess of front group briefs.”

Whitehouse, a lawyer and former top federal prosecutor, is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees Supreme Court nominations.

The least accountable part of the U.S. government?

Gabe Roth, executive director of the non-partisan group Fix the Court, said the ProPublica story “leads to a conclusion we’ve all come to expect: the Supreme Court is the least accountable part of our government, and nothing is going to change without a wholesale, lawmaker-led reimagining of its responsibilities when it comes to basic measures of oversight.”

Roth said the disclosures in the report underscore that ‘personal hospitality rules’ adopted by the judiciary last month do not go far enough, and that Supreme Court and lower courts need to adopt “the same, if not stricter, gift and travel rules than what members of Congress have.”

“That means a judicial ethics office to pre-approve sponsored trips, no matter who — even a ‘friend’ — is footing the bill, and judges and justices should be required to file a report within 30 days of their return listing the names of other guests and the dollar amounts for every mode of transportation taken, plus lodging and meals.”

Roth also called on Thomas to update his disclosure reports “for every year he took a private plane, as it appears that such luxurious travel has never been included under the ‘personal hospitality exemption.’”

Donald Trump’s indicted. But in Kansas, we’ve got a bigger Trump problem.

The Wichita Eagle – Opinion

Donald Trump’s indicted. But in Kansas, we’ve got a bigger Trump problem. | Opinion

Dion Lefler – April 4, 2023

Monte Wolverton/Cagle Cartoons

Donald Trump’s been indicted.

Big deal.

He probably did all kinds of fun things with adult-entertainment performer Stormy Daniels. And he probably did pay her hush money. And he probably didn’t list “paying off porn star to keep her quiet” in his business records.

Again, big deal.

I guess we’re supposed to be impressed by the historicness of it all — the first time a former U.S. president’s been indicted on criminal charges. As I’m flipping through the cable-news networks, MSNBC just called it “a critical moment in this country’s democracy.”

I’m not feeling it.

A “critical moment in this country’s democracy” was when Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and pressured him to “find” 11,780 votes to win Trump a state he obviously, if narrowly, lost. Fortunately, Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, courageously told Trump to pound sand, knowing he’d be targeted by Trump and his “Stop the Steal” army.

Another “critical moment in this country’s democracy” was Trump and his organization whipping up the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, attempting to intimidate Vice President Mike Pence into overthrowing the election, and with it, our constitutional republic. I wish I could say that Kansas’ congressional delegation followed Raffensperger’s example and stood tall. But two-thirds of our members — Sen. Roger Marshall and Reps. Ron Estes, Jake LaTurner and Tracey Mann — were too scared of pro-Trump voters back home and sided with him and his QAnon clown show.

If you want to indict Trump for something, indict him for those egregious violations of our nation’s most sacred political rights. Stormy’s a side show.

Speaking of critical moments for democracy, the Stop the Steal circus is currently playing an extended run right here in Kansas.

MAGA Republicans at the Statehouse are doing their best to steal your voting rights by making it harder to vote, closing down drop boxes and ending the three-day grace period for the Post Office to deliver ballots that are postmarked by election day.

My strong advice to Kansas voters would be to focus on that instead of Donald and Stormy’s soap opera. It affects you a lot more.

Democrats will no doubt get a few chuckles out of Trump having to get mug-shotted, fingerprinted and weighed at the jail. But the Republicans will probably get the last laugh.

There are two possible outcomes, either Trump is found guilty or he isn’t.

If he’s found guilty, he’ll probably get fined — the usual outcome for white-collar crime, first offense. But he’ll gain more power and influence as a martyr of the right than he has now.

If he’s acquitted or there’s a hung jury, Republicans will raise truckloads of money by claiming he, and they, are all innocent victims of political persecution by a system run amok.

In fact, the Kansas Republican Party’s already hard at it.

In their Friday File newsletter/fund-raising appeal, they called the indictment “another partisan attack where the Democrats are weaponizing the justice system against their enemies.”

They go on at some length, with the usual whataboutism references to Hunter Biden’s laptop, Hillary Clinton’s e-mail, Jeffrey Epstein’s black book, COVID vaccines and Benghazi, which they spell “Behgazi.”

They claim prosecuting Trump “puts America on the slippery slope where banana republics languish.”

That part’s actually kind of funny because offhand, it’s hard to imagine anything more “banana republic” than asking an election official to “find” votes, trying to decertify an honest election, or suppressing political opponents’ votes — which by every word and deed the state GOP’s indicated they don’t have a problem with as long as it’s their side doing it.

They wrap up with this somewhat ominous statement: “As Republicans we have a duty to protect the USA because Democrats simply refuse. Elections are the only civil and nonviolent remedy to change our government. But are our elections truly secure?”

Seems like we’ve heard that before — right around Jan. 6, 2021.

Law & Dis-Order – Crime and Punishment

Law and Disorder – Crime and Punishment

John Hanno – The Tarbaby’s blog – April 2, 2023

Trump indicted live updates: Ex-president expected to appear before judge Tuesday

The opening disclaimer for NBC’s Law & Order reads, “The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.” Never the less, regular viewers recognize recent story lines “ripped from the headlines” on a regular basis. We can reliably predict, the “Trump indicted by New York Grand Jury; becomes the first U.S. President in history to be prosecuted” headline, will soon spark future crime-time episodes.

MAGA World quickly pounced on Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg as being, nasty, on a vendetta, a pawn of George Soros, a racist, an animal and above all, a political tool. Some on the left believe he should have waited his turn on the Trump indictment train, but they fail to appreciate the element of statute of limitations.

How often have we faithfully followed story lines from our favorite crime shows, depicting serial (killers- rapists- drug kings -abusers etc. etc.) continued week after week, with the investigative authorities assembling an elaborate white board of circumstantial evidence, but unable to quite convince the D.A. / prosecutor to bring charges on the most serious violations, before the legal clock runs out. They’re convinced the career criminal is as guilty as sin but can’t quite close the deal. That’s when they must, by hook or crook, charge the bastards with any even minor infraction, in order to take them off the streets, before they can continue their carnage and mayhem. And then just when we think all is lost, they uncover the smoking gun, the final nail in the coffin that will put them away for life.

During his half century plus of life in New York and then in the White House, Trump seems to have left no criminal enterprise untapped. Insurrection and attempts to overthrow American Democracy, conspiring with a foreign enemy during his campaigns, theft of confidential government documents, business and bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, obstruction of justice in multiple cases, witness intimidation, bribery, campaign violations, perjury, sexual assault, violations with his school and charities, real estate discrimination, slander etc. etc. are just some of allegations leveled against Trump and his various business enterprises. There’s no doubt a list of crimes they haven’t discovered yet.

In the Trump Organization trial, two entities were found guilty by a jury in December of a combined 17 counts related to criminal tax fraud. They were fined the maximum allowed. And his CFO Allen Weisselberg, who is currently incarcerated in New York City’s Rikers Island jail, entered a guilty plea last year and admitted to receiving more than $1.7 million in untaxed compensation. Who can forget all the fines for Trump family financial malfeasance. And who can forget all the Trump miscreants, cronies and conspirators who were hired, fired, indicted, convicted, jailed and utterly defamed.

D.A. Bragg campaigned and won his election on a platform of fairness and equity in the system of justice he’s now responsible for. He pledged to turn the page on a two tier system of justice. Both the right and the left forget that New York, New York is at the top of the list of world class banking, business and financial centers of the world. Trump and his enterprises have been a constant assault against and black eye for that reputation. Enough is enough they said.

After a two year long investigation of Trump and all of his Inc’s, they believe they have the goods and will attempt to take them off the streets of New York forever. Rumors are the good citizen street sweepers of New York have found at least 30 criminal count violations this serial criminal is guilty of. MAGA members of congress cry political persecution, and threaten to tar and feather D.A Bragg, without even seeing the sealed indictment.

Who is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg?

The cast of Presidential contenders, previously Trump enablers, often critics, and then turned demonizers, and now turned staunch defenders can’t figure out whether to pee their pants , pray for Trump, or go dumb. Lindsey Graham, Mike Pence, DeSantis and others, must bow to the MAGA monster Trump unleased and which they and others glorified and anointed. The MAGA faithful will not be denied their perceived grievances’.

The Benghazi wing of the Republi-con House of Representatives spends their waking hours trying to out Trumpit their outraged colleagues. They have no one to blame for tomorrows karmatic political awakening but their own cowardice. They turned a blind eye to their twice impeached President’s unending assault on our American Democratic Institutions.

Trump’s entourage leaves South Florida today on a journey most American believe is long overdue. Who knows what happens when he lands in Manhattan. Too many in the MAGA cult hierarchy pray for violence and chaos. Lindsey Graham was particularly apoplectic: “They are trying to drain him dry. He’s spent more money on lawyers than most people spent on campaigns. They’re trying to bleed him dry. Donald J. Trump dot com. Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bullshit! This is going to destroy America!”

Wow, that’s richy rich! No doubt Trump has spent more on lawyers (billed but probably not paid) than any single entity by far, but that’s because not only is he allegedly the head of the most complex criminal enterprise in American History, legal warfare is also his primary modus operandi. Sooner or later, some news organization will attempt to add up the cost to all Federal and State Governments and to various businesses and individuals, for them to rein in and take to task, Trump Inc. and his many conspirators and enablers in congress. I’m guessing the bill is closing in on a billion dollars. This is not your Grandfathers conservative, penny pinching GOP.

Trump will try to blame everyone in sight for his legal predicaments, including D.A. Alvin Bragg and his team of prosecutors, Judge Juan Merchan , who will oversee his case, the New Yorkers who indicted him, and probably the jury of his peers who will convict him. But Trump has no one to blame but his own egomaniacal self. His rein of amateurish governing Apprenticeship is being recorded in history, as we speak, as the very biggest prime time “Loser” to ever occupy the White House.

But the biggest blame must be laid at the feet of the MAGA base of nationalistic, racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, homophobic, anti government, anti Democratic bomb throwers. They seriously need to ask themselves what kind of a country they want to live in. Some seriously think Vladimir Putin is a better leader than Joe Biden. And that Russia and the autocratic Kremlin leaders promise a more agreeable way of life. Most of the civilized world would disagree. And since Putin unleashed a campaign of war crimes and genocide by invading their peaceful Democratic neighbor Ukraine, more than a million Russian citizens have fled the country; and still many more are trying. And as the MAGA crowd likes to point out on a daily basis, millions of folks flock to our Southern border and now to our Northern border trying to become part of this American Democratic Experience.

American’s need to allow our Justice System protect it’s citizens from serial evildoers. Serial bizzaro man, Lindsey Graham pleads with the MAGA faithful to quickly send in their rent and utility money, so billionaire Trump can mount a legal defense, and also suggests “How can President Trump avoid prosecution in New York?,” asked Graham. “On the way to the DA’s office on Tuesday, Trump should smash some windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop.” MAGA World responded with donations of $5 million within 48 hours.

I don’t believe there’s a single, reputable Fortune 50, 100, 500, 50,000 or any mom and pop business anywhere, who would employ Trump, or pay him any amount, to do any job. Isn’t there an ethical, and reasonable, true conservative Republican anywhere in America that this toxic MAGA crowd would nominate to represent the party?

This sad state of our political climate clearly represents how low, the once “Law and Order” Republican party, has sunk. Heaven help us.

What Trump risks if he keeps talking about the judge in his N.Y. criminal case

NBC News

What Trump risks if he keeps talking about the judge in his N.Y. criminal case

The former president has suggested Judge Juan Merchan is biased, and referred to District Attorney Alvin Bragg as an “animal.” Could the court limit his ability to speak about the case?

By Laura Jarrett – April 3, 2023

Former President Donald Trump onboard his airplane as he is flown to Iowa on March 13, 2023.
Former President Donald Trump onboard his airplane as he is flown to Iowa on March 13. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file

For days, former President Donald Trump has been on a tear on social media, railing against District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money investigation, his former lawyer Michael Cohen, prosecutors and, more recently, the judge presiding over the historic case.

Without evidence, he’s referred to Judge Juan Merchan as “Trump Hating” and suggested that Merchan was “handpicked” by Bragg. In an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, was asked about the attacks and whether he believes the judge harbors any slant.

“No, I don’t believe the judge is biased. I mean, the president is entitled to his own opinion,” Tacopina said.

Trump has referred to Bragg as an “animal” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. In an earlier Truth Social post, he appears to have shared an article that included an image of him wielding a baseball bat juxtaposed next to an image of Bragg’s head. That post was deleted.

All defendants have a right to vigorously defend their innocence, but Trump can’t threaten the prosecutor without risking other legal charges under New York law. The judge could also issue a gag order to prevent Trump or his attorneys from speaking publicly about the case.

NBC News spoke with former prosecutors about how and when a judge might limit speech about a case.

What’s a “gag order?”

A gag order is a judicially imposed order restricting parties, attorneys and/or witnesses in a pending case from making any public statements about it. The standard courts look to is whether such statements have a “reasonable likelihood” of possibly preventing a fair trial.

Merchan could issue one himself, or do so at the request of either side, but former prosecutors say they are not used frequently in New York. It’s up to the judge to craft the order as narrowly as possible to protect free speech rights, while at the same time preserving the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Often a defendant’s attorney will request that a judge issue one — whereas in this case, it’s Trump own statements that have fueled speculation about whether Merchan will issue one. 

The fact that Trump is running for public office raises the stakes and puts any restriction on his First Amendment rights in sharper view, but Robert C. Gottlieb, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, said that shouldn’t matter.

“He’s no different than anyone else,” said Gottlieb of Trump, noting that while one cannot ignore the political implications of the case, “that does not give him [Trump] more rights to influence jurors or to threaten or incite violence. In that courtroom, he is only a defendant.”

Gottlieb also pointed to ethical rules prohibiting Trump’s attorneys from making public statements intended to prejudice the jury pool or influence the outcome of the trial.

What’s the likelihood of the judge imposing one here?

Other former prosecutors are more skeptical that a gag issue will be issued at Tuesday’s arraignment based on Trump’s social media posts thus far.

“I think it would be challenging to do it out of the box,” said Daniel Horwitz, another former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, now in private practice. “There usually has to be a predicate for it.”

Horwitz suggested it’s more likely that Merchan will issue a warning to everyone in court Tuesday and set some “ground rules,” essentially putting Trump on notice that if he talks, “he does it at his peril.”

Gottlieb has appeared before Merchan and agreed that, at minimum, the judge will make a record of what Trump has said about the case thus far, and admonish him against making any statements that could influence the jurors.

“I cannot believe that it won’t be addressed,” said Gottlieb. “You can’t ignore what has happened.”

Even if the judge opts not to impose a gag order, former District Attorney Cy Vance, who immediately preceded Bragg, noted that Trump risks violating other laws if he continues to make statements about the case.

“There is a crime. That’s called obstructing governmental administration under New York law,” Vance said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday, explaining that it would involve efforts to intimidate a public official. “[I]f I were Mr. Trump’s lawyer I would tell him to knock it off because it’s not going to help him with the judge and if it is charged, that’s not going to help him with a jury.”

Meet the judge presiding over Trump’s criminal arraignment

CNN – Politics

Meet the judge presiding over Trump’s criminal arraignment

By Sydney Kashiwaga – April 2, 2023

Judge Juan Merchan

When Donald Trump enters a New York courtroom on Tuesday, he’ll face a seasoned judge who is no stranger to the former president’s orbit.

Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has sentenced Trump’s close confident Allen Weisselberg to prison, presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial and overseen former adviser Steve Bannon’s criminal fraud case.

But Trump’s historic arraignment on Tuesday will perhaps be Merchan’s most high-profile case to date, even after a long career atop the state-level trial court.

Merchan has been described by observers as a “tough” judge, yet one who is fair, no matter who is before him.

Here’s what you need to know.

“A man of his word’

Trump’s arraignment is likely to be a spectacle with a show of law enforcement and with the former president already fanning the flames on social media with his views on Merchan and his indictment.

But in the courthouse, Merchan does not stand for disruptions or delays, attorneys who have appeared before him told CNN, and he’s known to maintain control of his courtroom even when his cases draw considerable attention.

“Judge Merchan was efficient, practical, and listened carefully to what I had to say,” Nicholas Gravante, the attorney who represented Weisselberg in his plea, said via email.

“He was clear in signaling his judicial inclinations, which helped me tremendously in giving Mr. Weisselberg informed legal advice. Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and – most importantly in the Weisselberg matter – a man of his word. He treated me and my colleagues with the utmost respect, both in open court and behind closed doors.”

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a private practice attorney who previously worked as the chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, supervising cases Merchan presided over, echoed that sentiment.

“[Merchan] doesn’t let the prosecutors or the defendants create any issues in his courtroom. He doesn’t let a media circus or any other kind of circus happen. I don’t think Donald Trump attacking him and threatening him is going to bode very well for him in the courtroom,” Agnifilo said.

“The judge is the kind of judge where he will ignore it and not hold it against Donald Trump. He’s not vindictive in any way like that.”

‘Tough’ but ‘compassionate’

Merchan showed some of his tough side when Weisselberg was sentenced, telling the former Trump associate that if he had not already promised him a five-month sentence, he would have handed him a “much greater” sentence after having listened to evidence at trial.

When he presided over Bannon’s criminal fraud case, Merchan chastised the former Trump aide’s new team of attorneys for delaying the case when they asked for more time to review new evidence.

In addition to the Trump cases, Merchan has also presided over other high-profile cases, including the “soccer mom madam” trial, in which he set a $2 million bond for suburban mom Anna Gristina, who was charged with running a $2,000-an-hour escort service for the wealthy, Bloomberg News reported.

Merchan also handed a 25-years-to-life sentence to a Senegalese man who raped and murdered his girlfriend.

Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore said during an interview Friday on CNN that Merchan was “not easy” on him when he tried a case before him, but echoed that the judge likely will be fair.

“I’ve tried a case in front of him before. He could be tough. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be something that’s going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case,” Parlatore said.

Merchan, however, is also credited by his peers for having helped create the Manhattan Mental Health Court, which he often presides over and where he has earned a reputation for “compassionate” rulings that give defendants second chances.

“I watched a colleague of mine try a shooting case where someone got shot, so he’s able to try those very serious violent crimes and then switch,” said Brendan Tracy, a criminal defense attorney who previously served as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“Maybe someone who was a serial shoplifter and then charged with grand larceny and is in mental health treatment court because they had mental health issues, he was able to handle the wide range of cases and do them all fairly,” Tracy added.

Still, Earl Ward, a trial attorney and chair of public defender nonprofit The Bronx Defenders, said that having watched Merchan preside over cases in the Mental Health Court, the judge often sided with prosecutors.

“He’s fair and his rulings are consistent with the law, but if it’s a close call, his reputation is that he lands on the prosecution’s side,” Ward said.

Early career

Merchan launched his legal career in 1994 when he started off as an assistant district attorney in the trial division in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Several years later, he moved on to the state attorney general’s office, where he worked on cases in Long Island.

In 2006, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then a Republican, appointed Merchan to Family Court in the Bronx, and Democratic Gov. David Paterson appointed him to the New York State Court of Claims in 2009, the same year he began serving as an acting New York Supreme Court Judge.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Merchan emigrated to the United States at the age of 6 and grew up in the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, according to a New York Times profile of the judge. He was the first in his family to go to college.

Merchan initially studied business at Baruch College in New York before he dropped out of school to go work only to return several years later to finish school so that he could get his law degree, the Times reported.

He eventually received his law degree from Hofstra University.

CNN’s Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.

Related:

NPR – Law

What to know about Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Trump’s criminal case

Joe Hernandez – April 2, 2023

Manhattan Criminal Court is seen in New York on Friday.Yuki Iwamura/AP

Now that former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in connection to a hush-money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, attention will no doubt turn to his arraignment and potential trial.

The judge handling the unusual and historic case is Juan Manuel Merchan, a veteran of the New York court system who has spent more than 15 years on the bench and is no stranger to high-profile prosecutions — particularly those involving Trump and his associates.

This is perhaps Merchan’s most noteworthy case yet, as it’s the first time that a former U.S. president has ever been charged with a crime.

Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday for his arraignment.

The former president has already aired his opinion about the judge presiding over his case, saying in a post on Truth Social last week that Merchan “hates me” and that the judge “railroaded” Trump’s former chief financial officer into pleading guilty in a tax fraud case.

Merchan has overseen other cases related to Trump

Last year, Merchan oversaw the closely watched criminal tax fraud case against Trump’s company, which was ultimately found guilty by a Manhattan jury. Trump himself was not a defendant in that case.

Two business entities controlled by Trump were found guilty of 17 counts of tax fraud and falsifying business records and were ordered to pay the maximum penalty of $1.61 million.

During the proceedings, Merchan shut down the suggestion from the Trump Organization’s legal team that the case was a politically motivated prosecution against the former president and told attorneys to focus on the specific charges, CBS News reported.

“I will not allow you in any way to bring up a selective prosecution claim, or claim this is some sort of novel prosecution,” Merchan said.

Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty in the case and served as a star witness for the prosecution. Merchan sentenced him to five months in prison, and the judge said he would have handed down a harsher sentence if he hadn’t already agreed to the plea deal, Politico reported.

Merchan is also overseeing a criminal case against former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who’s facing fraud and money laundering charges related to a former charity that promised to help build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.

Merchan is a veteran of the New York legal system

According to the New York Law Journal, Merchan has been an acting justice of the New York Supreme Court since 2009.Sponsor Message

“He’s a serious jurist, smart and even tempered,” Manhattan defense attorney Ron Kuby told NBC News. “He’s not one of those judges who yells at lawyers, and is characterized as a no-nonsense judge. But he’s always in control of the courtroom.”

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a lawyer who previously worked in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office supervising cases Merchan oversaw, told CNN that Trump likely wouldn’t help his case by publicly criticizing the judge.

Merchan “doesn’t let the prosecutors or the defendants create any issues in his courtroom. He doesn’t let a media circus or any other kind of circus happen. I don’t think Donald Trump attacking him and threatening him is going to bode very well for him in the courtroom,” Agnifilo said.

“The judge is the kind of judge where he will ignore it and not hold it against Donald Trump. He’s not vindictive in any way like that.”

Merchan was previously a family court judge, a New York assistant attorney general and an assistant district attorney for New York County.

He graduated from Baruch College in 1990 and earned his law degree from Hofstra University in 1994.

Report details ‘staggering’ church sex abuse in Maryland

Associated Press

Report details ‘staggering’ church sex abuse in Maryland

Les Skene, Brian Witte and Sarah Brumfield – April 5, 2023

Jean Hargadon Wehner speaks about the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General's Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. Standing next to her is Teresa Lancaster. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Jean Hargadon Wehner speaks about the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. Standing next to her is Teresa Lancaster. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Kurt Rupprecht speaks about the abuse he suffered after the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General's Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Kurt Rupprecht speaks about the abuse he suffered after the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Teresa Lancaster speaks about the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General's Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Teresa Lancaster speaks about the release of the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown comments about releasing the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown comments about releasing the redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore on Wednesday, April 6, 2023, in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

BALTIMORE (AP) — More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children and often escaped accountability, according to a long-awaited state report released Wednesday that revealed the scope of abuse spanning 80 years and accused church leaders of decades of coverups.

The report paints a damning picture of the archdiocese, which is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the country and spans much of Maryland. Some parishes, schools and congregations had more than one abuser at the same time — including St. Mark Parish in Catonsville, which had 11 abusers living and working there between 1964 and 2004. One deacon admitted to molesting over 100 children. Another priest was allowed to feign hepatitis treatment and make other excuses to avoid facing abuse allegations.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released the findings of their yearslong investigation during Holy Week — considered the most sacred time of year in Christianity ahead of Easter Sunday — and said the number of victims is likely far higher. The report was redacted to protect confidential grand jury materials, meaning the identities of some accused clergy were removed.

“The staggering pervasiveness of the abuse itself underscores the culpability of the Church hierarchy,” the report said. “The sheer number of abusers and victims, the depravity of the abusers’ conduct, and the frequency with which known abusers were given the opportunity to continue preying upon children are astonishing.”

Disclosure of the redacted findings marks a significant development in an ongoing legal battle over their release and adds to growing evidence from parishes across the country as numerous similar revelations have rocked the Catholic Church in recent years.

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, in a statement posted online, apologized to the victims and said the report “details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten.”

“It is difficult for most to imagine that such evil acts could have actually occurred,” Lori said. “For victim-survivors everywhere, they know the hard truth: These evil acts did occur.”

Also on Wednesday, the state legislature passed a bill to end a statute of limitations on abuse-related civil lawsuits, sending it to Gov. Wes Moore, who has said he supports it. The Baltimore archdiocese says it has paid more than $13.2 million for care and compensation for 301 abuse victims since the 1980s, including $6.8 million toward 105 voluntary settlements.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who took office in January, said the investigation shows “pervasive, pernicious and persistent abuse.” State investigators began their work in 2019; they reviewed over 100,000 pages of documents dating back to the 1940s and interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses.

ABUSE RECALLED AS A ‘LIFE SENTENCE’

Victims said the report was a long-overdue public reckoning with shameful accusations the church has been facing for decades.

Jean Hargadon Wehner said she was abused in Baltimore as a teen by A. Joseph Maskell, a priest who served as her Catholic high school’s counselor and chaplain. She said she reported her abuse to church officials in the early ’90s, when her memories of the trauma finally surfaced about two decades after she was repeatedly raped.

“I expected them to do the right thing in 1992,” she told reporters Wednesday. “I’m still angry.”

Maskell abused at least 39 victims, according to the report. He denied the allegations before his death in 2001 and was never criminally charged. The Associated Press typically doesn’t name victims of abuse, but Wehner has spoken publicly to draw attention to the issue.

Kurt Rupprecht, who also experienced abuse as a child, said he was in his late 40s when he pieced together his traumatic memories. He said the realization brought him some relief because it explained decades of self-destructive behavior and mental health challenges, but also left him overwhelmed with anger and disbelief.

Rupprecht said his abuser was assigned to the Diocese of Wilmington, which covers some counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

“We’re here to speak the truth and never stop,” he said after the news conference. “We deal with this every day. It is our life sentence.”

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, noted the report lists more names of abusers than have been released publicly by archdiocese officials. The organization called on the archbishop to explain the discrepancies.

Other investigations involving the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, which both include parts of Maryland, are ongoing.

ARCHDIOCESE TOOK STEPS TO PROTECT THE ACCUSED

The Baltimore report says church leaders were focused on keeping abuse hidden, not on protecting victims or stopping abuse. In some situations, victims ended up reporting abuse to priests who were abusive themselves. And when law enforcement did become aware of abuse allegations, police and prosecutors were often deferential and “uninterested in probing what church leaders knew and when,” according to the report.

The nearly 500-page document includes numerous instances of leaders taking steps to protect accused clergy, including allowing them to retire with financial support rather than be ousted, letting them remain in the ministry and failing to report alleged abuse to law enforcement.

In 1964, for instance, Father Laurence Brett admitted to sexually abusing a teenager at a Catholic university in Connecticut.

He was sent to New Mexico under the guise of hepatitis treatment and then to Sacramento, where another teenage boy reported being abused by Brett, the report said. He was later assigned to Baltimore, where he served as chaplain at a Catholic high school for boys and abused over 20 victims.

After several students accused him of abuse in 1973, Brett was allowed to resign, saying he had to care for a sick aunt. School officials didn’t report the abuse to authorities and dozens more victims later came forward. He never faced criminal charges and died in 2010.

The report largely focuses on the years before 2002, when an investigation by the Boston Globe into abuse and coverup in the Archdiocese of Boston led to an explosion of revelations nationwide. The nation’s Catholic bishops, for the first time, then agreed on reforms including a lifetime ban from ministry for any priest who commits even a single incident of abuse. While new national policies significantly improved the internal handling of reported abuse in the Baltimore archdiocese after 2002, significant flaws remained, according to the report.

Only one person has been indicted through the investigation: Neil Adleberg, 74, who was arrested last year and charged with rape and other counts. The case remains ongoing. Officials said he coached wrestling at a Catholic high school in the ’70s, then returned to the role for the 2014-2015 school year. The alleged abuse occurred in 2013 and 2014 but the victim was not a student of the school, officials said.

COURT TO CONSIDER RELEASING MORE NAMES IN THE FUTURE

Lawyers for the state asked a court for permission to release the report and a Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled last month that a redacted version should be made public. The court ordered the removal the names and titles of 37 people accused of wrongdoing — whose names came out during confidential grand jury proceedings — but will consider releasing a more complete version in the future.

Lawmakers’ passage of a bill to end the state’s statute of limitations Wednesday came after similar proposals failed in recent years. Currently, victims of child sex abuse in Maryland can’t sue after they turn 38. The bill would eliminate the age limit and allow for retroactive lawsuits.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has long faced scrutiny over its handling of abuse allegations.

In 2002, Cardinal William Keeler, who served as Baltimore archbishop for nearly two decades, released a list of 57 priests accused of sexual abuse, earning himself a reputation for transparency at a time when the nationwide scope of wrongdoing remained largely unexposed. That changed, however, when a Pennsylvania grand jury accused Keeler of covering up sexual abuse allegations while serving as bishop of Harrisburg in the 1980s.

Associated Press reporter Stefanie Dazio contributed to this report from Los Angeles. Peter Smith contributed from Pittsburgh. Witte reported from Annapolis and Brumfield reported from Silver Spring.

Cops Reveal Chilling New Details About Nashville Shooter Audrey Hale

Daily Beast

Cops Reveal Chilling New Details About Nashville Shooter Audrey Hale

Josh Fiallo – April 3, 2023

Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Authorities revealed Monday that Nashville mass killer Audrey Hale fired off 152 rounds during the assault at the Covenant School that left six dead and sent a church community into mourning.

The shocking detail emerged in the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s latest update on their investigation, which also revealed that Hale plotted the massacre for months in writings found inside his car and home.

“[Hale] documented, in journals, [their] planning over a period of months to commit mass murder at The Covenant School,” police said in a news release Monday.

Nashville Shooter Amassed an Arsenal Despite Being Under Doctor’s Care–

Cops say Hale’s writings have been turned over to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia, which is working with local detectives to determine what drove Hale to slaughter three kids and three staffers at his former primary school.

While a precise motive hasn’t been discovered, police said they’ve determined that Hale “considered the actions of other mass murderers.”

Hale’s motive has been a mystery from the start. Nashville Police Chief John Drake initially speculated that 28-year-old Hale, who attended the private religious school as a kid, held “resentment” toward former teachers there. It’s since been revealed that Hale was devastated by the recent death of a close friend, was under the care of a doctor for an emotional disorder, and had sent a series of dark messages to a friend just before the assault began.

On the day of the shooting, March 27, Drake said Hale left behind a “manifesto” that was being studied by detectives, but its contents haven’t been made public.

The barrage of bullets fired by Hale came from two assault rifles and a handgun, cops said Monday. The three weapons were part of a seven-gun arsenal Hale had legally amassed behind his parents back—stashing the weapons throughout the Nashville home they shared, Drake said last week.

Hale was gunned down by two Nashville officers just 14 minutes after he broke into the school by shooting through locked glass doors. Police said Monday those officers each fired four shots, killing Hale at the scene.

Related:

Associated Press

Nashville police: School shooter planned attack for months

Travis Loller, Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Krues – April 3, 2023

Students march from Hume Fogg High School to the State Capitol for the March For Our Lives protest against gun violence in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Students march from Hume Fogg High School to the State Capitol for the March For Our Lives protest against gun violence in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Students gather outside the State Capitol for the March for Our Lives anti gun protest in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Nashville School Shooting
Students gather outside the State Capitol for the March for Our Lives anti gun protest in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Maggie Williams wipes away tears as she is comforted by Ruby Barton at the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Maggie Williams wipes away tears as she is comforted by Ruby Barton at the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Josia Arteaga, front right, takes part in the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Josia Arteaga, front right, takes part in the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Students participate in the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Students participate in the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Cheyenne Harris yells with other demonstrators at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Cheyenne Harris yells with other demonstrators at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Robin Casler draws a chalk outline around Noah Williams at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Robin Casler draws a chalk outline around Noah Williams at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A balloon with names of the victims is seen at a memorial at the entrance to The Covenant School on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
A balloon with names of the victims is seen at a memorial at the entrance to The Covenant School on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As students across Nashville walked out of class on Monday to protest gun violence at the Tennessee Capitol following a school shooting last week, police said the person who killed six people, including three 9-year-old children, had been planning the massacre for months.

Police have not established a motive for the shootings at The Covenant School, a small Christian elementary school where the 28-year-old shooter was once a student, according to a Monday news release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Both Nashville police and FBI agents continue to review writings left behind by Audrey Hale, both in Hale’s vehicle and home, police said.

“It is known that Hale considered the actions of other mass murderers,” police said.

The three children who were killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The three adults were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school, custodian Mike Hill, 61, and 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.

Hale fired 152 rounds during the attack before being killed by police. That included 126 rifle rounds and 26 nine-millimeter rounds, according to police.

Outside the state Capitol on Monday, thousands rallied in a call for gun reform, many of them students from Nashville-area schools who walked out of their classes en masse. Some other students sat outside the House speaker’s office in the legislative building.

The crowd outside the Capitol echoed chants such as “thoughts and prayers are not enough” and sang along to songs like “All You Need is Love” – adding to it, “and action!” At one point, they sat for a moment of silence, raising posters above their heads that read, “Thoughts and prayers are useless to dead children,” “Book bags not body bags,” and “2nd graders over 2nd amendment.” Some students wore orange shooting-target stickers on their shirts.

Vivian Carlson, a senior at Hume-Fogg High School nearby in downtown Nashville, helped organize her school’s walkout. She told the crowd that her biggest fear last week, when the shooting unfolded, should have been “missing the bus or my stepmom scolding me for not cleaning the cat litter box.” Instead, she said she was missing English class Monday because politicians are “protecting old laws for a new society.”

Carlson, like many others who addressed the crowd, called for changes to Tennessee’s gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background checks and a “red flag” law. Red flag laws generally allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate weapons from people whose statements or behavior are deemed to make them a danger to themselves or others.

“To my fellow students, we cannot let this pressure and fire escape us,” Carlson said. “Feel the fear as you walk into school and let it inspire you to fight for change. And please, if there is one thing you can do, I beg you to vote.”

Tennessee’s Republican governor and supermajority Republican legislature have moved to loosen gun laws in recent years. The same day as the Covenant shooting a federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age for Tennesseans to carry handguns publicly without a permit to 18 — just two years after a new law set the age at 21.

As thousands swarmed the Capitol, Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers held a press conference nearby to unveil legislative proposals that would add more funding for school resource officers and mental health resources.

The proposals included $140 million to place an armed security guard at every public school, as well as $27 million to enhance public and private school security. Lee is also proposing adding $30 million to expand the state’s homeland security network that will work with both public and private schools.

The governor’s proposals must now clear the Legislature as lawmakers are in their final weeks of the session.

Notably absent from Lee’s announcement were any calls to tighten the state’s access to guns. As he stood surrounded by top Republican leaders, Lee said he believed that people who are a threat to themselves should not have access to weapons, but also stated that any law designed to address those concerns shouldn’t impede 2nd Amendment rights.

He called on the Legislature to find the appropriate solution. Yet that call to action may be short-lived after Sen. Todd Gardenhire, who chairs the influential Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that he has no plans to consider any new gun-related bills this session.

“We all agree that we should all find something that we agree upon,” Lee said. “I think we can do that and I think we should do that.”

Lee added that he had not talked to Gardenhire about his stance on halting new gun legislation.

An AP investigation last year found that most U.S. state barely use the red flag laws touted as the most powerful tool to stop gun violence before it happens. It’s a trend experts blame on a lack of awareness of the laws and resistance by some authorities to enforce them even as shootings and gun deaths soar.

Even after the main rally ended Monday, hundreds of protesters remained at the Capitol as lawmakers went into the House and Senate chambers for their evening sessions. Many protesters made their way inside the building, where they sang “This Little Light of Mine” before erupting into chants, “Save our kids!”

The scene recalled a rowdy gun control protest last week. On Thursday, protesters were forced to leave the Senate chamber gallery after yelling, “Children are dead!” — and two Democratic lawmakers caused the House to temporarily shut down by chanting, “Power to the people!” through a megaphone.

Police have said Hale was under a doctor’s care for an undisclosed “emotional disorder.” However, authorities haven’t disclosed a link between that care and the shooting. Police also said Hale was not on their radar before the attack.

Social media accounts and other sources indicate that the shooter identified as a man and might have recently begun using the first name Aiden. Police have said Hale “was assigned female at birth” but used masculine pronouns on a social media profile. However, police have continued to use female pronouns and the name Audrey to describe Hale.

Here’s how the polarizing M16 or AR-15 rifle went from a symbol of America’s lost war in Vietnam to being owned by about 16 million Americans in 70 years

Business Insider

Here’s how the polarizing M16 or AR-15 rifle went from a symbol of America’s lost war in Vietnam to being owned by about 16 million Americans in 70 years

James Pasley – April 1, 2023

Reporter Betsy Halstead stands on the bed of a truck holding an M16 automatic rifle
Reporter Betsy Halstead learns how to fire an M16 automatic rifle during the Vietnam War in 1965.Bettmann/Getty Images
  • The M16 or AR-15 rifle is one of the US’s most divisive symbols
  • To gun enthusiasts, it is an effective, lightweight weapon. To anti-gun advocates, it’s a symbol of mass shootings.
  • Experts estimate approximately 16 million adults in the US now own at least one of these rifles.

On Monday, a mass shooter killed three students and three adults at a school in Nashville. The shooter used two AR-15 rifles in the attack.

Semiautomatic rifles, including AR-15s, are becoming more common weapons used in recent mass shootings in the US, according to the National Criminal Justice Association. Since 2012, 10 out of 17 of the deadliest shootings in the country featured an AR-15 rifle, the Independent reported.- ADVERTISEMENT -https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-10-1/html/r-sf-flx.html

AR-15 rifles are light, accurate, and quick. When they were used by the military, they were called M16 rifles.

As of 2023, about 16 million adults in the US own at least one, according to polling conducted by The Washington Post and Ipsos. It is the country’s best-selling rifle, but it has also become a divisive political symbol.

According to CJ Chivers, when a discussion turns to AR-15s, it stops being rational.

“The conversation is burdened by history, cluttered with conflicting anecdotes, and argued over by passionate camps,” Chivers wrote in an article for The New York Times.

In the 1950s, Eugene Stoner, an engineer with firearms company ArmaLite, was tinkering with gun designs in his garage.

Soldiers looking at an M-15 rifle in 1965.
Soldiers looking at an M-15 rifle in 1965.Stuart William MacGladrie/Fairfax Media/Getty Images

He wanted to create a new gun that could shoot steadily with a single pull of the trigger after studies showed soldiers dealing with the pressure of combat during World War II and the Korean War were not pulling the trigger on their weapons.

Sources: New Yorker, New York Times

Stoner ended up inventing the AR-15 (as in the “ArmaLite Rifle) to rival the Soviet-created AK-47. He understood the importance of a light gun and how deadly a small bullet could be.

A pile of empty brass casings from M16 rifles on the group at the Fort Dix firing range, New Jersey, in 1967.
A pile of empty brass casings from M16 rifles on the group at the Fort Dix firing range, New Jersey, in 1967.Leif Skoogfors/Getty Images

He spoke to Congress about his gun and explained its effectiveness, saying all bullets were designed to fly through the air, but they became unstable when they hit a target.

What wasn’t so obvious was that a smaller bullet grew unstable quicker and caused far more damage to the target — meaning more brutal injuries for their opponents.

Sources: Washington Post, Washington Post, New Yorker, Poynter

In a recent investigation, The Washington Post examined the damage a modern AR-15 can inflict, finding an AR-15 bullet can destroy entire organs or rip apart a human skull.

A US soldier holding an M16 rifle beside abandoned vehicles with their doors open in Saudi Arabia in 1991.
A US soldier holding an M16 rifle beside abandoned vehicles with their doors open in Saudi Arabia in 1991.David Turnley/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a gunshot survivor, told The Washington Post that when he operated on people who had been shot by an AR-15, their body tissue “literally just crumbled into your hands.”

The Washington Post compared the bullet’s damage to the wake of a boat — where a blast ripples out, damaging body parts otherwise untouched by the bullet.

Source: Washington Post

The US army wanted this kind of lethal weapon for the Vietnam War. It needed a decent alternative to the North Vietnamese’s AK-47s.

President John F. Kennedy examines an early Colt AR-15 in the White House in 1963.
President John F. Kennedy examines an early Colt AR-15 in the White House in 1963.Cecil Stoughton courtesy JFK Library/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, New York Times

Unlike the cumbersome M-14 that soldiers had been using, the AR-15 was accurate, quick, and light to carry. Soldiers could go into battle with it, as well as plenty of ammunition.

A soldier uses his M16 during a battle in the Vietnam War in 1971.
A soldier uses his M16 during a battle in the Vietnam War in 1971.Neal Ulevich/AP

It used a gas operating system, making reloading quicker, and it included a new design that redirected gas from the fired cartridge, which made it easier to aim.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, New York Times

After initial testing in 1958, the US government bought 8,500 in 1962 and renamed it the M16. An internal report from the Pentagon called the gun “an outstanding weapon with phenomenal lethality.”

The M16 rifle in 1967.
The M16 rifle in 1967.Bettmann/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, CNN

But the design of the M16 wasn’t ready for combat. The government probably should have refined the design. Instead, it hurried out production of the rifle.

US Marines in Vietnam use their M16 rifles in 1968.
US Marines in Vietnam use their M16 rifles in 1968.AP

By 1966, issues with the M16 were widespread. Soldiers’ rifles were jamming during battles. A report from 1967 said four out of every five troops from a group of 1,585 had dealt with jamming.

Paratroopers carry a wounded soldier while another holds an M16 in Vietnam in 1965.
Paratroopers carry a wounded soldier while another holds an M16 in Vietnam in 1965.Horst Faas/AP

It got so bad that soldiers had to use a metal rod to dislodge a cartridge case. The gun was compared to a single-shot musket rifle.

Source: New York Times

Even so, the US army kept to its story — this was the weapon that would win them the Vietnam War.

A soldier keeps his M16 out of the water while crossing a Mekong Delta waterway in Vietnam in May 1969.
A soldier keeps his M16 out of the water while crossing a Mekong Delta waterway in Vietnam in May 1969.Robert Shaw/AP

Source: New York Times

At the same time, American firearms manufacturer Colt Industries was working on modifying the M16. By 1967, it was made of plastic, aluminum alloy, and steel and was capable of shooting 30 rounds over nine football fields at a speed far faster than the speed of sound.

A cavalry soldier looks through a "starlight scope" that is attached to an M16 rifle in Vietnam in 1967.
A cavalry soldier looks through a “starlight scope” that is attached to an M16 rifle in Vietnam in 1967.Claude Bohner/AP

Source: Washington Post

During this period, Colt also turned to the domestic market. The company released a civilian M16 which was, once again, called an AR-15. It had the same gas operating system and was advertised to campers and hunters.

A weapons expert shows an officer how to use an AR-15 at a firing range in 2002.
A weapons expert shows an officer how to use an AR-15 at a firing range in 2002.Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images

Though the M16 was fully automatic, the AR-15 was a semi-automatic weapon, meaning one-trigger pull shot one bullet, and the gun automatically reloaded the chamber.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Poynter

The National Rifle Association called it “America’s rifle.” It later was advertised using questions like, “Should you shoot a rapist before he cuts your throat?”

A child is beside a table of bumper stickers at an NRA convention in 1995.
A table of bumper stickers at an NRA convention in 1995.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, New Yorker

After 1977, when the patent for Stoner’s original gas system expired, a dozen manufacturers started selling their own AR-15 rifle, and “AR-15” became an umbrella name for a type of rifle.

A person holds gun while others look at guns at an NRA convention in 1995.
People looking at guns at an NRA convention in 1995.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Poynter

But the AR-15 didn’t become a domestic hit overnight. A large portion of the gun industry wasn’t sure about it. Many people called it the “black rifle” and considered it too expensive and ugly for hunting.

An army instructor inspects US-made M16 rifles during a training exercise in El Salvador in 1982.
An army instructor inspects US-made M16 rifles during a training exercise in El Salvador in 1982.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Instead, throughout the 1980s, AR-15s were mainly bought by law enforcement and “survivalists.”

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN

Things began to change in 1989 after a mass shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. A lone gunman shot 34 people, killing 5 children, before killing himself. In response, Colt stopped selling AR-15s for a whole year.

Daniel Correa shows one of the guns that was used in the mass shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California.
Daniel Correa shows one of the guns that was used in the mass shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California.AP

But Chris Bartocci, former Colt employee and author, told CNN the shooting actually increased the AR-15’s profile. Before the shooting, many people didn’t know this type of gun was available on the domestic market. But they knew about it afterward.

Source: CNN

Weapon bans were discussed during the Bush administration, but nothing was formalized until 1994 when the Clinton administration passed a bipartisan law that banned the manufacturing and selling of about 118 types of military-grade guns.

President Bill Clinton shakes hands with Stephen Sposato after he signed a sweeping crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons.
President Bill Clinton shakes hands with Stephen Sposato, whose wife was killed by a gun violence, after he signed a sweeping crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons.J. Scott Applewhite/AP

They were defined for the first time as “assault weapons.” The ban was imposed on guns that had magazines that could hold more than 10 bullets.

“Today, at last, the waiting ends,” then-President Bill Clinton said at the signing. “Today, the bickering stops, the era of excuses is over.”

Sources: New York Times, New York Times, Poynter

But the new law didn’t include guns that were made before 1994, and due to loopholes, buyers could still buy slightly modified AR-15s. The Washington Post called the law “largely toothless.”

A civilian tries out an M16 at a gun shop in 1993.
A civilian tries out an M16 at a gun shop in 1993.Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Some experts also believed that banning assault weapons made them more attractive to some Americans.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Poynter

In the early 2000s, the gun industry, which had been in a slump, harnessed the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to stoke patriotism and increase demand for AR-15s.

“There has never been a better accidental advertising campaign in history,” Doug Painter, former president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told The Washington Post.

Source: Washington Post

This continued into 2004 when the Clinton administration ban ended. At this point, the US was in the midst of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and patriotic images of soldiers using M16s prompted an increase in civilians buying AR-15s.

A woman is instructed how to handle an M16 rifle by Marine Sergeant Richard Diaz in California in 2002.
A woman is instructed how to handle an M16 rifle by Marine Sergeant Richard Diaz in California in 2002.David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, New York Times, CNN, Washington Post

First-person shooter video games like Call Of Duty increased the popularity of AR-15s by showing people what it was like to use one in a virtual setting.

A man holds a video game controller while playing Call of Duty 3 as seen on a screen in 2006.
A man plays Call of Duty 3 in 2006.Joerg Sarbach/AP

Sources: Washington Post, Poynter

AR-15s could also be reconfigured based on their owners’ needs — cosmetically or for different uses, like hunting, target practice, or law enforcement — which helped their growing popularity.

A gun salesman holds an AR-15 with a bayonet mount at a Pittsburgh gun shop in 2004.
A gun salesman holds an AR-15 with a bayonet mount at a Pittsburgh gun shop in 2004.Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Source: CNN

In 2005, the gun lobby was bolstered by the Bush administration. It passed a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act, which protected gun companies from being sued when their guns were used unlawfully, like in a mass shooting.

Former President George W. Bush is applauded for signing the Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act in 2005.
Former President George W. Bush is applauded for signing the Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act in 2005.Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: Poynter, CNBC

In 2007 and 2008, during Barack Obama’s run for president, the gun lobby didn’t miss a beat. They claimed the US had never “faced a presidential candidate — and hundreds of candidates running for other offices — with such a deep-rooted hatred of firearm freedoms.”

A sign explaining a version of Obama's gun control policies sits taped at a gun store in 2008.
A sign explaining a version of Obama’s gun control policies sits taped at a gun store in 2008.Kasha Broussalian/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera/Getty Images

The fear of another gun ban caused sales to go up again. According to CNN, gun production increased by more than 50% once Obama took office.

Sources: CT Post, New Yorker, CNN

According to Ryan Busse, a senior policy advisor who worked for a gun control policy group called Giffords, it was during this era that the AR-15’s image began to change.

A woman holds an AR-15 at a gun rights rally at the Utah State Capitol in 2013.
A woman holds an AR-15 at a gun rights rally at the Utah State Capitol in 2013.George Frey/Getty Images

“By the time Obama was leading in the polls in 2007, the AR-15 was starting to become the poster child, both of industry growth, but also what we now see, which is right-wing politics wrapped in and around the firearms industry and firearms ownership,” Busse told Poynter.

Source: Poynter

The AR-15’s popularity began to show in another way, too — it became more prevalent in mass shootings. From 1996 to 2009, AR-15s were used in one out of every three mass shootings. But from 2009 to 2019, it was used in more than half of mass shootings.

People embrace by a memorial for a mass shooting in Oregon in 2019
People at a memorial for a mass shooting in Oregon in 2019, where the shooter used an AR-15 rifle.Scott Olsen/Getty Images

At the same time, a Pew gun survey conducted in 1999 and 2017 showed gun owners had done a complete reversal in why they bought guns. In 1999, 26% of participants owned a gun for protection. By 2017, it was up to 67%.

Sources: Washington Post, Poynter, CNN

Despite the increase in use during mass shootings, the industry continues to grow. As of 2023, about 16 million adults in the US own at least one AR-15 rifle. It has become the country’s best-selling rifle.

A man and his 7-year-old son look at an AR-15 rifle at an NRA convention in 2022.
A man and his 7-year-old son look at an AR-15 rifle at an NRA convention in 2022.Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The gun industry believes there are about 20 million AR-15s across the country.

Source: Washington Post, Insider

In 2021, President Joe Biden said if he could do one thing to the gun industry, it would be to let victims of gun violence sue gun makers. But so far, he hasn’t achieved that.

President Joe Biden speaks about efforts to reduce gun violence at The Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley in Monterey Park, California.
President Joe Biden speaks about efforts to reduce gun violence at The Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley in Monterey Park, California.Evan Vucci/AP

Last year, his administration did pass a new gun law, but it doesn’t specifically restrict AR-15s and is actually less restrictive than the 1994 law.

Sources: Poynter, CNBC

Going forward, it remains difficult to impose any limits on selling and purchasing AR-15s because of the rifle’s popularity and powerful lobbying by gun companies and the NRA.

A man holds an AR-15 while the gun shop owner looks on at a Maryland gun shop
A man holds an AR-15 while the gun shop owner looks on at a Maryland gun shop in 2023.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Source: Washington Post

As Senator Chris Murphy told The Washington Post, protecting the AR-15 has become the gun lobby’s “number one priority.”

US Sen. Chris Murphy speaks during a gun protest in 2022.
US Sen. Chris Murphy speaks during a gun protest in 2022.Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images