Capitol Police briefs leaders on Sept. 18 rally prep
WASHINGTON — A fence surrounding the Capitol building will go up Friday, ahead of the Justice for J6 rally to support imprisoned pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker said after a briefing Monday with congressional leaders and Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.
“I’m reasonably concerned,” Walker said about Saturday’s rally.
The briefing, which included Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was “outstanding” and all participants were attentive, Walker said.
Schumer said he came out of the briefing feeling that the Capitol Police department is prepared for Sept. 18. “They seemed very, very well prepared. Much better prepared than before Jan. 6, and I think they’re ready for whatever might happen,” Schumer told reporters.
Capitol Police intelligence shows violent rhetoric is ramping up online ahead of the Sept. 18 rally. Matt Braynard, a former Trump campaign employee and executive director of Look Ahead America, is orchestrating the event.
The briefing came just hours after the Capitol Police arrested a California man early Monday morning who had multiple knives,including a bayonet and machete, in his truck outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
—CQ Roll Call
Simone Biles, others to testify on FBI failures to investigate gymnastics abuse
WASHINGTON — Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney are set to be among witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on how the FBI investigated allegations that former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused athletes.
Olympian Aly Raisman and collegiate gymnast Maggie Nichols also are scheduled to testify, and FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to appear separately along with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Nassar was team doctor for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team for almost two decades. More than 100 women accused Nassar of sexual abuse. He was convicted on a variety of state and federal charges and is serving sentences that amount to life without parole.
The four gymnasts testifying on Wednesday all have publicly said they were abused by Nassar. A report by Horowitz in July found that senior officials in the Indianapolis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to urgently respond to allegations of sexual abuse of athletes by Nassar, taking more than a year to gear-up its investigation.
The report said the Indianapolis office made “fundamental errors” when it did respond to the allegations, did not properly document its findings, failed to notify the appropriate FBI field office. or state or local authorities of the allegations — and failed to take other steps to mitigate the ongoing threat posed by Nassar.
—Bloomberg News
More than 80 Haitian migrants intercepted off Florida by US Coast Guard
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More than 80 Haitian migrants were intercepted about 18 miles east of Biscayne Bay on Sunday.
Their vessel was reported to authorities by a good Samaritan, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard, along with a number of other agencies, responded with boats and helicopters.
The migrants’ future was not clear. The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to request for comment.
It’s just the latest migrant voyage from Haiti since the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country and killed over 220 people on Aug. 14.
On Aug. 24, 42 Haitian migrants were arrested after coming ashore near Key Biscayne, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Girl abducted from Florida at 6 finds her way back to mother 14 years later, police say
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 19-year-old girl abducted from Clermont in 2007 reunited with her mother last week in Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border after reaching out to her on social media, the Police Department said Monday.
Angelica Vences-Salgado told Clermont police that she received a message on Sept. 2 from someone claiming to be her missing daughter Jacqueline Hernandez, according to agency spokesperson Sgt. Erin Razo.
The teenager told Vences-Salgado that she was in Mexico and requested they meet at the point of entry in Laredo, Texas, on Friday, Razo said.
Vences-Salgado contacted Clermont police, who worked with local and federal agencies to verify Hernandez’s identity, Razo said.
But the statement from Clermont police omitted key details, including whether authorities are still pursuing Hernandez’s captors. It also didn’t explain how she made it back to the border or what had happened to her in the years since her abduction.
—Orlando Sentinel
Hollywood lawyer to represent Prince Andrew in US sex assault case
LONDON — Britain's Prince Andrew has hired a top lawyer with a long history of working with the rich and famous to represent him in his civil sexual assault case.
The duke of York recruited Andrew B. Brettler to fight allegations made by Virginia Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her while she was still a teenager.
Giuffre claims she was trafficked by Andrew's former friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with the duke when she was 17 and a minor under U.S. law.
Andrew has vehemently denied all the allegations.
Documents submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York revealed that Brettler was to attend a pretrial hearing involving Giuffre's representatives.
The news comes following speculation in the media that the duke's legal representatives would refuse to cooperate with the proceedings.
It is thought the main issue to be resolved at the initial hearing will be whether the court is satisfied Andrew has been served with notice of the proceedings.
Brettler, a part of the law firm Lavely and Singer, was listed as one of Hollywood's top 100 attorneys by the Hollywood Reporter in 2019, the firm's website said.
He has represented the likes of "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson, producer and director Bryan Singer, and musician Ryan Adams, the Hollywood Reporter said.
—PA Media/dpa
