Outer fence surrounding the US Capitol complex is down
WASHINGTON — The outer perimeter fence that was installed to protect the Capitol complex after the Jan. 6 attack on Congress has been removed, the Capitol Police announced Wednesday.
“All of the fencing that surrounded the outer perimeter of the U.S. Capitol Complex has been removed,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. “Affected roads have reopened. The USCP is ready to quickly ramp up security at a moment’s notice, if needed.”
The notice comes after a March 19 email from acting House Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett in which he said the outer fence would be removed that coming weekend. The Capitol Police told Blodgett “there does not exist a known, credible threat against Congress or the Capitol Complex that warrants the temporary security fencing.”
Razor wire had already been removed from both fences and bike racks constituting a barrier have been positioned around the office buildings and the Supreme Court.
An inner fence surrounding the Capitol building remains as the Architect of the Capitol makes security repairs to the structure and the Capitol Police force works to strengthen its security posture.
The notion of a permanent fence has troubled a bipartisan contingent of members and people from the surrounding community who said it would restrict access to the public to engage with their elected representatives.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré and his task force recommended a mobile fencing option that can be easily put up and taken down. For the long term, they suggest “an integrated, retractable fencing system in the long term to secure both the Capitol Building and Congressional office buildings.”
— CQ-Roll Call
Minnesota Supreme Court: rape victims not 'mentally incapacitated' unless forcibly intoxicated
MINNEAPOLIS — In Minnesota, a person who is sexually assaulted while intoxicated isn't considered "mentally incapacitated" — a designation that warrants a higher charge for the attacker — if her or she consumed alcohol or drugs voluntarily, according to a new state Supreme Court decision that could have far-reaching consequences for rape victims.
The state's highest court released the opinion Wednesday, also granting Francios Momulu Khalil, a man convicted of criminal sexual misconduct, a new trial. In 2017, Khalil picked up a woman who had been refused entry from a Dinkytown bar for being too intoxicated. Khalil offered to take her to a party, but instead brought her back to his north Minneapolis home and raped her.
A jury found Khalil guilty of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct because the victim was mentally incapacitated.
The unanimous Supreme Court decision, written by Justice Paul Thissen, says the lower court's definition of mentally incapacitated in this case "unreasonably strains and stretches the plain text of the statute" because the victim was drunk before she met her attacker. The statute "means that a person under the influence of alcohol is not mentally incapacitated unless the alcohol was administered to the person under its influence without that person's agreement," wrote Thissen.
— Star Tribune
Man arrested after taking 5 guns, body armor into Publix store in Atlanta, police say
ATLANTA — A man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after walking into a Publix grocery store in the Atlanta neighborhood of Atlantic Station with five guns and body armor, authorities said.
Police were called to the grocery store just after 1:30 p.m. local time and met with a manager who told them a man came in with a rifle and headed straight toward a bathroom, Atlanta police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant said.
“A witness observed the male and alerted store management, who then notified police,” Grant told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Officers at the scene spotted the man leaving the bathroom and quickly took him into custody. According to police, his weapons included two long guns and three pistols, all of which were concealed on his person. Police identified the man as 22-year-old Rico Marley and said he has been charged with reckless conduct.
Officers and paramedics are still interviewing Marley and conducting a mental health evaluation, authorities said. Police are still working to determine why he had so many guns inside the store.
Wednesday’s incident comes just two days after a gunman opened fire inside a Colorado supermarket, killing 10 people, including a police officer.
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Florida mom shows up to middle school in boxing glove to fight daughter’s classmate, says it was glued on
A 34-year-old Florida mom came prepared for a fight, boxing glove and all, for a brawl with a teenager.
Edith Riddle was arrested last week after she allegedly fought a student at Dupont Middle School in Jacksonville, where her daughter attends, according to a police report obtained by the New York Daily News.
Riddle and her daughter were meeting with the Dupont vice principal about the younger girl’s “violent outbursts,” then went to the school cafeteria, where the daughter, who has not been publicly identified, went to “engage the victim in a fight,” according to First Coast News.
Riddle’s daughter pushed the victim to the ground and began punching her, and was quickly joined by Riddle herself, witnesses told police.
Riddle had a boxing glove on her left hand, which she claimed was glued on and couldn’t be removed, according to the police report.
The victim suffered abrasions to her knees and forearms and was hospitalized for evaluation.
Riddle was arrested and charged with one count of child abuse with personal/special weapon.
— New York Daily News
