Judges dismiss national security charges against immigrants who enter new militarized zone at border
Since late-April, federal prosecutors in New Mexico and western Texas have filed misdemeanor criminal charges of violating national security regulations and entering restricted military property against at least 400 immigrants. They're accused of illegally entering the U.S. as well as a 60-foot strip of land recently designated as a national defense area.
The military trespassing charges have been dismissed in at least 120 cases by magistrate judges at a federal court in Las Cruces, including rulings on Friday. Companion misdemeanor charges of illegal entry into the U.S. were not dismissed.
The U.S. attorney for New Mexico says at least 199 signs have been staked in the ground near the New Mexico border that warn against entry into the newly militarized area. But Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth says, 'The mere fact that some 'signs' were posted in the New Mexico National Defense Area provides no basis on which to conclude that the defendant could have seen, let alone did see, the signs."
The government was using a 'cut-and-paste approach' in its allegations that allowed the court to use the same legal analysis in ruling in all the cases, Wormuth said in a court order.
The newly designated national defense areas are overseen by U.S. Army commands out of Fort Bliss in the El Paso area in Texas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
The novel national security charges against immigrants who enter through those militarized zones carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. The full implications are unclear for migrants who pursue legal status through separate proceedings in federal immigration court.
President Donald Trump's administration says it has authorized U.S. troops to temporarily detain immigrants in the country illegally along the border — though there's no record of troops exercising that authority as U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts arrests.
Public defenders say the trespassing charges cannot stand without proof that immigrants knew of the military restrictions and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose.'
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Daily Mail
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EXCLUSIVE Kanye West breaks his silence amid ex assistant's 'absurd and outlandish' sexual assault accusations
Kanye West is denying shocking allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking made by his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta. On Sunday, a Yeezy spokesperson issued a statement to criticizing the 48-year-old rapper's former employee's amended complaint against him, which they point out is the 'the fourth version she has advanced.' 'Each new revision contradicts the others; each is more absurd and outlandish than all previous claims combined,' the Yeezy rep insisted. 'Does Ms. Pisciotta actually believe her confabulations? We cannot know. But this breathless new installment of fantasy fiction discredits all past, present and future testimony.' The spokesperson continued: 'We stand ready to annihilate Ms. Pisciotta's tall tales before a jury—an exoneration so inevitable that even she, lost in her fog of fantasy, must surely see it coming.' Yeezy representative Milo Yiannopoulos also addressed the matter, highlighting 'the absurdity of Pisciotta's quadruply revised claims, which now include kidnapping, battery, rape, false imprisonment and even sex trafficking.' 'She picked the one rapper who loathes violence, has never been arrested, and doesn't even own a gun,' Yiannopoulos claimed. In response to the statements above, Pisciotta's attorney, Lisa Bloom, told 'While Kanye West's publicist has come up with a slickly worded (and outrageously false and defamatory) attack on Ms. Pisciotta, Kanye himself has publicly admitted much of what she's claiming.' 'Kanye's publicist is deafeningly silent on Kanye's own admissions, which will destroy him in court. We look forward to seeing him there, where he cannot hide behind a high priced spin team,' Bloom concluded. The response on West's behalf come just days after Pisciotta accused the father-of-four of sexually harassing and assaulting her on multiple occasions. In her amended complaint, filed earlier this week, Pisciotta accused her former boss of forcing 'his penis into her mouth' during a business trip in San Francisco. The oral rape allegedly occurred not long after she began working for Ye in July 2021. She alleged that he attempted to kiss her on the lips, more than once, despite her repeatedly rejecting his advances, which she insists she told him were 'not professional.' After participating in a writing session for his album, Donda, the complaint alleges that West invited Pisciotta to his hotel suite to discuss the record. When she arrived, Pisciotta alleges in the complaint 'Ye abruptly laid down in his bed and insisted that Ms. Pisciotta lay beside him.' She proceeded to 'reluctantly' sit next to him in bed as her then-boss praised her work and shared how he could 'propel' her success in the music industry, according to the complaint. The conversation quickly turned south, she claims, as he began speaking in graphic detail about an unnamed model's genitals and described his sexual encounters with other women. Pisciotta claims in the complaint that West attempted to kiss her again, but that she 'continued to deflect his advances.' She then claimed he began to ask her questions about her vagina, such as 'What's it like?', 'Can I touch it?', and 'I just wanna see what it's like.' According to the complaint, despite her reminding him his behavior was not professional, Pisciotta alleges West 'stroked his penis over his pants with one hand and forcibly touched her vagina with the other hand.' 'Ms. Pisciotta immediately told Ye to stop. Ye soon fell asleep mid-sentence,' the complaint reads. 'Ms. Pisciotta left the room once Ye fell asleep.' During that same stay in San Francisco, Pisciotta claims West went to her hotel room and demanded to use her shower. After cracking the door open, Pisciotta says in the complaint that her former boss 'pushed the door open and proceeded directly into the bathroom.' When he reemerged, she claims in the complaint he was only wearing a 'towel covering the lower half of his body' and approached her while she was sitting in a chair. She claims 'Ye dropped the towel from his waist to expose his penis,' removed her from the chair she was sitting in, and pushed her onto the bed, so that she was pinned against its pillows and headboard. Pisciotta says he used his 'body to pin and restrain' her and restricted her from leaving the bed, before thrusting his penis repeatedly into her mouth, according to the complaint. 'As Ms. Pisciotta frantically pled for Ye to stop, Ye forced his penis into her mouth. Ms. Pisciotta froze in shock and fear but continued to plead with Ye and beg him,' according to the legal documents. After the alleged rape, she alleges he apologized and left. When she confronted him about the sexual assault, she said in the complaint he gave her what she thought was 'a sincere apology' and agreed to continue working for him. Still, she insists in the court record he never stopped his sexually inappropriate behavior and harassment. She claims he detailed sexual fantasies about her, demanded she send him explicit material including topless and nude photographs, constantly remarked on her body and even allegedly called her while engaging in sexual acts with another woman. Other shocking claims in the second amended complaint included that he offered someone the opportunity to have sex with her and that he 'constantly told her that 'he wanted to have sex with her and how he thought about her while he had sex with other women.' She also says he offered 'one million dollars in exchange for her deleting her OnlyFans account, from which Ms. Pisciotta earned approximately one million dollars over the course of eight months.' After deleting her account, Pisciotta claims in the court paper that West refused to pay the 'agreed-upon amount' and quickly lost her substantial OnlyFans following. During her employment, she alleged he interrogated her about her love life, the last time she had sex, how large her partners' penises were and if she would be 'open to engaging in threesomes with her partners, his partners, and other women Ye found on various social media platforms.' After terminating her in fall of 2023, she claims he 'grabbed' her neck and 'squeezed his hand around her throat, restricting her airflow' after running into each other at a concert, according to the complaint. 'With his hand still around her neck, Ye pulled Ms. Pisciotta's face towards his, inserted his tongue in her ear, and licked her ear repeatedly, causing it to become wet with his saliva. Ms. Pisciotta recoiled in horror and quickly walked away,' her complaint says. Pisciotta claims West went on to move into Ms. Pisciotta's same apartment complex, which caused her 'significant anxiety and distress.' She said in the complaint while he lived there he would walk past her place in a 'conspicuous manner' and even 'stationed his security team at various points of the complex.' Pisciotta alleged this pushed her to relocate to 'Florida as a means of escaping Ye.' Following her move, she claims he hired an individual who offered 'swatting' services for purchase, to 'swat' her. Pisciotta, who began working for Ye in 2021 as a music talent scout (A&R) for his Donda album, originally sued West in 2024. While working as his personal assistant and Chief of Staff, she handled his music, fashion ventures (like YEEZY), property management, and schedule. During this time, she claimed in the complaint that he controlled her life and made her ask for permission to shower or take breaks. 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In response to Pisciotta's original lawsuit, West's lawyer called the claims 'baseless' and announced plans to countersue. In her new, second amended complaint, Pisciotta lays out a sweeping list of allegations, including sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, assault, battery, sexual battery, sex trafficking, stalking, false imprisonment, gender discrimination, promissory estoppel, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Pisciotta's lawyer confirmed to Daily Mail that the second amended complaint was mailed to West. In a statement to Pisciotta's attorney, Lisa Bloom, wrote: 'We are pleased that the judge granted our request to file an amended complaint against Mr. West in the sexual harassment, assault and battery case we are litigating against him in California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles.' 'In a series of recent tweets, Mr. West calls himself 'a walking me too' (we agree) and corroborated many of our client's claims by proclaiming, 'If a CEO don't hug you inappropriately he's a f@gg*t' and 'Life is about using your position to f*k the baddest b!**hes possible' and other disgusting and offensive posts,' she continued. Bloom concluded: 'Every woman deserves a respectful workplace free of groping and sexual harassment. We look forward to aggressively litigating this case on behalf of our brave client, Lauren Piscotta.'
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an hour ago
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Questions the Secret Service still need to answer a year after the Trump assassination attempt in Butler
It's been a year since the first attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Yet, many questions still remain unanswered about the Secret Service's conduct both on that day, and since. Kentucky Republican Rand Paul who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released on Sunday his final report on the Butler investigation. Paul's report is full of a 'disturbing pattern of denials, mismanagement, and missed warning signs' from the Senate investigation into assassination attempt. 'What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was not just a tragedy—it was a scandal. The United States Secret Service failed to act on credible intelligence, failed to coordinate with local law enforcement, and failed to prevent an attack that nearly took the life of a then-former president,' said Chairman Paul. 'Despite those failures, no one has been fired,' Paul noted. 'This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level—fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats. We must hold individuals accountable and ensure reforms are fully implemented so this never happens again,' Paul added. The July 13, 2024 attempt on Trump's life came during a rally at the Farm Show Grounds in Butler, where 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks perched atop a building just beyond the perimeter gates. Crooks was able to fire off a series of bullets aimed at Trump's head - one of which grazed his ear - before officers took him down. Since the incident, it has become apparent that four counter-sniper teams were in place on the day, two of them being from the Secret Service, and two from local law enforcement. At the time of the incident, Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which Crooks attempted to assassinate then-former President Donald Trump, insisting it was outside the perimeter the federal agency was tasked with protecting. Carson Swick - a former Pennsylvania campaign reporter for the New York Post who now works at the Baltimore Sun - told the Daily Mail that he thought it was odd that the rooftop on which Crooks was perched that day was not occupied by a Secret Service sniper during the rally. 'I know on the day of the shooting they had some people on different roofs, but not obviously, on that one,' Swick noted. Swick also added that by the time of Trump's return rally in Butler just days before the 2024 election which he also covered, there were no rooftops vacant the second time around. However, during the July rally, securing and patrolling the factory grounds of AGR International Inc. — located about 150 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking on July 13 — was the responsibility of local Pennsylvania police, Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi said last year, according to the New York Times. The Secret Service was only tasked with covering the grounds where Trump's rally took place, with local police being recruited to assist with those efforts and secure the area outside the rally. The oversight during the first Trump rally in Butler was one that should not have happened, and ultimately 'the buck stops with the Secret Service,' former FBI Supervisory Special Agent John Nantz, also now a Townhall columnist, told the Daily Mail. 'It's not accurate to blame local law enforcement, because they're always going to give deference to the Secret Service or a federal agency that requests it,' Nantz also added. Swick noted to the Daily Mail that at the time, the Secret Service did not seem to have properly covered Trump during his exit from the rally venue, another apparent failure. The iconic 'fight fight fight' ushered by Trump as he exited the stage mere minutes after the bullet from Crooks grazed his ear was another moment that appeared to leave him exposed, Swick recalled. This week, it became known that six secret service agents were briefly suspended for security failures tied to last year's attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Deputy Director of the Secret Service Matt Quinn told CBS News this week that the suspended employees were given penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of leave. When the suspended employees returned to work, he said, they were given restricted roles with less operational responsibility. 'We are laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem,' Mr. Quinn said Wednesday, adding that disciplinary act was carried out according to a federally mandated process. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told the Daily Mail in a statement that he was 'glad' to hear that more Secret Service employees are being held accountable. But he says the agency's 'failure' to protect Trump at the Butler campaign rally revealed the 'need for changes at the agency, starting with leadership at the top.' He noted that former Director Kimberly Cheatle was 'forced to resign' and that there should be more accountability to come. Then - Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024 Now-former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned last July shortly after the assassination attempt. Two days after the incident, Cheatle noted in a media release issued by the Secret Service that 'personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of [then] former president Donald Trump.' Per Senator Rand Paul's report released Sunday, it has become apparent that Cheatle's testimony regarding no Secret Service asset requests being denied for the Butler rally was false. A U.S. Secret Service report released just days before the 2024 election confirmed that 'multiple operational and communications gaps preceded the July 13 attempted assassination.' The Secret Service also described some of the gaps as 'deficiency of established command and control, lapses in communication, and a lack of diligence by agency personnel,' while also noting that 'the accountability process [was] underway.' Dan Bongino - who now serves as Deputy Director of the FBI and formerly spent 11 years as a Secret Service agent - said last year that Butler was a 'apocalyptic security failure' and called for a full house-cleaning of the upper leadership ranks in the Secret Services D.C. headquarters. Yet, the attempt on the now President's life last July was not the only near miss that came his way in 2024. Would-be assassin Ryan Routh managed to get close to Trump last September as he partook in a round of golf at his Trump International Golf Club property in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was arrested after he was seen holding a rifle through a fence by a Secret Service agent. Yet, Nantz tells the Daily Mail Routh shouldn't have even gotten that close. 'I have heard that ... it wasn't a scheduled movement, okay. Well, I get that, but I'm not really sure I'm satisfied with that explanation,' Nantz noted. 'I think probably at that time, you're still talking about resource allocation problems,' Nantz added. Limited resources were also given as a cause for the lapse in Trump's July 13 Butler rally security as Trump was not the time yet the official GOP Presidential nominee. The July Butler Rally took place days before the Republican National Convention where Trump was formerly nominated for his re-election bid.
