Latest news with #FieldOffice
Newsweek
07-06-2025
- Newsweek
FBI Offers Reward for Info Leading to Indigenous Teen Missing for 8 Months
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A combined $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the discovery of 13-year-old Sa'Wade Birdinground who vanished from her grandparents' Montana home last October. The FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office offered a $5,000 award that was matched by the executive branch of the Crow Tribe of which Birdinground is a part of. Following a Friday press conference, members of the community held a walk and presentation of red balloons at Little Big Horn College, symbolizing collective hope and continued efforts to bring Birdinground home, Yellowstone Public Radio Reported. Why It Matters The teenager's disappearance has drawn attention to the broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the United States, particularly in Montana and other states with significant tribal communities. Indigenous women make up a disproportionate majority of missing and murdered women in the U.S., with the murder rate 10 times higher for women living on reservations, according to the organization Native Hope. Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women, the organization added. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) "Operation Not Forgotten" reflects a national push to boost investigative resources and address longstanding disparities in response to cases involving Indigenous individuals. What To Know Birdinground was last seen at her grandparents' residence on the Crow Indian Reservation in Garryowen, Montana, on the night of October 6, 2024. Since then, she has not been heard from. The reservation sits about 65 miles southeast of Billings and is near the former site of Sitting Bull's camp, on Garryowen bend of the Little Bighorn River, according to the city's website. The area was a traditional summer hunting campsite for many Plains Indian tribe and was the site of one of the largest Indian gatherings ever recorded in North America. When last seen, the 13-year-old was approximately 5'4" to 5'5" tall, weighing 130–140 pounds, with brown eyes, curly brown hair. She is also known to wear an elk tooth necklace. On the night she disappeared, she wore a black hoodie with mushrooms, an anime T-shirt, basketball shorts, purple slip-on Skechers and may have also carried a black and purple Adidas backpack, the FBI's release said. Early searches by the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, local law enforcement, the community, and the Montana National Guard have led to no confirmed sightings or significant leads, according to a report from local news station KTVQ. Federal and tribal authorities described Birdinground's case as exceptional due to her age and the circumstances and highlighted the ongoing struggle of Indigenous communities where dozens of members are reported missing each year. So far this year, the FBI doubled the number of special agents assigned to investigate cases on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal nations. Data from the Crow Tribe showed that while about 78 missing persons are reported annually, most cases are soon resolved. Sa'Wade Birdinground, 13, has been missing from the Crow Indian Reservation since October of 2024. Sa'Wade Birdinground, 13, has been missing from the Crow Indian Reservation since October of 2024. FBI What People Are Saying Mehtab Syed, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office that covers Montana, Utah, and Idaho, said during Friday's press conference: "Eight months is an incomprehensible amount of time for any family to be without their child. For eight months, Sa'wade's family has had to know life without her." He added: "Sa'Wade is not forgotten. She matters, and we are doing anything in our power to bring her home." Wade Birdinground, Sa'Wade's father, said during the press conference: "It's been a whole different life. To be honest, it's been horrible. I just want to thank the FBI and the Crow Tribe and everybody else. Thanks for helping me out and continue to search for Sa'Wade." Frank Whiteclay, Crow Tribal Chairman, said during the press conference: "We wanted to match the FBI's award so we can show not only the family, but the community, that my administration is here for the community to assist whenever a crisis comes ahead." What Happens Next? Federal, tribal, and local agencies are continuing the active investigation, seeking public tips and following all available leads. The FBI urged the public to come forward with any information and have established a dedicated tip line for Sa'Wade Birdinground at the Salt Lake City Field Office (801-579-6195). Tips can also be submitted online at Community leaders also urged the public to remain vigilant and share information widely on social media.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Texas man sentenced to federal prison for hate crimes against Sikhs
On Tuesday, a Dallas man was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison in a hate crime case in which he was accused of threatening members of a Sikh nonprofit organization because of their religion. Bhushan Athale, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with federally protected activities and one count of transmitting an interstate threat, in an agreement with prosecutors late last year, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. On two occasions, from his home in Texas he called members of a Sikh nonprofit organization in New Jersey that advocates for Sikh civil rights, the criminal complaint stated. On Sept. 17, 2022, Athale called one member of the nonprofit multiple times, leaving seven voicemails threatening Sikhs with violence. He threatened to shave off her and other Sikhs' 'top and bottom' hair with a razor and called members of the religious group by profane names and other insults, according to the criminal complaint authorities wrote when the charges were filed. On March 22, 2024, the nonprofit again reported that Athale called from the same phone number and left two voicemails, expressing his hatred for Sikhs and Muslims with violent, sexual phrases, the press release stated. Athale had previously sent emails to a Muslim coworker in November 2021, explicitly stating that he hated Pakistan and Muslims, according to the criminal complaint. He had tried to message the coworker 345 times as of January 2022. In a telephone interview with law enforcement in February 2022, the criminal complaint stated, Athale told investigators that he hated Muslims because they ruined India. In many of his voicemails to the Sikh nonprofit, he also referenced Khalistan, a theoretical country that a subsect of separatist Sikhs are in favor of creating, according to the complaint. Athale questioned members of the nonprofit numerous times about where they would be creating the country. The case was investigated by agents with the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office. Along with the sentence of over two years in prison, U.S. District Judge Edward Kiel in Camden, New Jersey, sentenced Athale to three years of supervised release and told him to not contact the victims of his crimes.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Who is Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the Colorado pro-Israel rally attacker?
Six people were injured during a pro-Israel gathering in Colorado's Boulder on Sunday after a man, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, threw firebombs at them using a makeshift flamethrower. The FBI is investigating the incident as a "targeted act of terrorism". The gathering was part of a weekly 'Run For Their Lives' event to raise awareness about Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Witnesses said Soliman shouted 'free Palestine", 'end Zionists", and 'they are killers' while attacking the crowd. FBI Denver Field Office Special Agent Mark Michalek confirmed Soliman's arrest and stated, 'It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism.' The six victims, aged between 67 and 88, suffered varying degrees of burns. Soliman was also injured and taken to a hospital under police custody. Authorities have not yet announced formal charges but said they intend to hold him 'fully accountable". Boulder police have not released additional details about Soliman or confirmed a specific motive. Immigration status Soliman is reportedly an Egyptian national who entered the United States on August 27, 2022, through Los Angeles International Airport on a non-immigrant visa. He has since overstayed his visa, according to federal officials. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on X, saying the man was a foreign national who 'illegally overstayed (his) visa". What witnesses saw Brooke Coffman, an eyewitness, told Reuters, 'Everybody is yelling, 'get water, get water.' I saw four women with burns—one wrapped in a flag.' A video from the scene shows a shirtless man, believed to be Soliman, holding spray bottles with visible flames on the ground. JUST IN: The man who is accused of the Boulder terror attack was in the U.S. illegally and entered into the country under the Biden admin on 8/27/22 through LAX, according to @BillMelugin_. Six people are in the hospital after Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly lit them on fire.… — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 2, 2025 Officials respond Colorado Governor Jared Polis condemned the violence, saying that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable". Attorney General Phil Weiser said the incident appears to be a hate crime. The FBI and local police evacuated parts of downtown Boulder around 13th and Pearl Streets after the attack. K-9 units were deployed, and the public was advised to avoid the area. This incident follows a recent fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, DC, amid ongoing tensions surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Morning news wrap: Man attacks crowd with firebombs at Israel memorial in US; Ukraine strikes 41 Russian jets in drone assault & more
Today's news roundup covers national, international, environmental, and sports updates. Ukraine carried out a massive drone offensive under Operation "Spider's Web", targeting five Russian airbases and damaging 41 fighter jets. Meanwhile, in the US, a man hurled firebombs into a crowd at an Israeli memorial in Boulder, Colorado, injuring six elderly people. Back home, over 3.64 lakh people remain affected by floods across 19 Assam districts, while Pakistan faces a kharif crop crisis amid low dam levels and reduced Chenab inflows from India. In cricket, Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final with a composed match-winning knock in Qualifier 2. Ukraine hits 41 Russian fighter jets in major drone strike under Operation 'Spider's Web' Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Russian airbases under Operation "Spider's Web," damaging 41 fighter jets and striking nearly 34% of the strategic cruise missiles. The operation involved months of meticulous planning and the covert transport of drones into Russian territory. The Russian defence ministry also confirmed the strikes and said that 5 airbases were targeted across the country, however, it said that the attacks were "successfully repelled". Read full story Several injured after man attacks crowd with firebombs at Israeli hostage memorial in Colorado A 45-year-old man, Mohamed Soliman, was arrested after allegedly hurling firebombs into a crowd gathered for a memorial event for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado. The attack, reportedly carried out while shouting "free Palestine," left six people aged between 67 and 88 injured and hospitalised, according to the FBI Denver Field Office. "As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism," Michalek said. Read full story 3.64 lakh hit by floods across 19 districts in Assam, northeast reels under deluge Floods have impacted around 3.64 lakh people across 19 districts in Assam, prompting large-scale rescue operations. Authorities, with the help of the Indian Air Force, deployed a helicopter on Sunday to assist those stranded, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Elsewhere across the northeast, landslides and flood-hit people struggled to piece together their lives as authorities said the situation in Manipur and Tripura still remained grim despite rains staying away during the day and clouds clearing up. Read full story Pakistan crop-sowing in crisis as dams run low, India tightens Chenab flow Pakistan is staring at a bleak kharif (summer crops) sowing season with a major dip in live storage at its two key dams - Mangla on river Jhelum and Tarbela on Indus - and the "sudden decrease" in Chenab river inflows due to regulation of water flow by India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. The situation may further aggravate this month during early kharif sowing and this is possibly what prompted Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif to raise concerns at a conference on glacier preservation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, last week to draw global attention to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. Read full story Shreyas Iyer leads Punjab Kings to IPL 2025 final Shreyas Iyer lived up to the "captain fantastic" tag in a rain-hit Qualifier 2 on Sunday, guiding Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final with a calm and calculated innings. He remained composed throughout the chase, quietly notching up a half-century without celebration. Chasing 204, Iyer, who is called 'sarpanch' (head of the village) by Punjab Kings fans, took charge. In the 13th over bowled by Reece Topley, Shreyas hammered a hat-trick of sixes, each better than the last one. Read full story
Chicago Tribune
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago's new FBI boss touts new squad focused on fentanyl and says immigration enforcement is a ‘sustained effort'
As a newly minted special agent for the FBI in the early 2000s, Douglas DePodesta cut his teeth on a squad that went after Colombian and Mexican drug cartels that used the city as a hub for trafficking thousands of tons of narcotics every year. Two decades later, DePodesta has taken over the reins of the FBI's Chicago Field Office amid a push from the Trump administration to go after a new generation of cartel bosses and the dangerous drugs they import, particularly the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl. 'It's killing an American every seven minutes,' DePodesta said, adding fentanyl has been cited routinely as a source for an epidemic of overdoses and deaths across the nation. 'That is scary, one poor individual takes a pill and it kills them.' DePodesta's comments came in an exclusive interview with the Tribune on Thursday, several months after he started his role as special agent in charge in August. To help combat the growing fentanyl problem, he told the Tribune he recently created a 12-member squad with agents from various jurisdictions to focus on trafficking by the cartels in an attempt to disrupt a complex network that spans from Central and South America to Asia. 'We are looking to cut off the supply of fentanyl and also the precursors to fentanyl, the chemicals,' DePodesta said. 'It's really interesting. It's a little different problem than just the cartels, but it's also the same, right? Because it's a chemical we're trying to cut off. So we're working with our international partners (because) a lot of it comes from China. … I'm very excited about it.' Taking over the nation's fourth-largest FBI field office has been a sort of homecoming for DePodesta, 54. Though he's a Detroit-area native, he spent 14 years as a special agent in Chicago, where he rose to head the office's Technical Program that mines digital and multimedia evidence to support investigations. Though initially tasked to investigate cartels, DePodesta eventually had a hand in some of the era's biggest investigations, including the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and its connections to financiers in Chicago, and the corruption probe that same year that felled then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he said. DePodesta said that while he only assisted in the Blagojevich probe, it stood out in his mind 'just how rampant the corruption was in that investigation.' 'It was crazy, right?' he said. 'Anything to get a dollar.' DePodesta was selected for the plum Chicago position by then-Director Christopher Wray, and landed here a week and a half before the Democratic National Convention. Though it was a bit of a trial by fire, DePodesta said he was fortunate to inherit a 'great team' that had spent years planning how to mitigate security threats while still leaving room for protests and other events. 'It really showcased how great this city is and the law enforcement partnerships we have here,' DePodesta said, sitting in his corner office at FBI headquarters on West Roosevelt Road with views of the downtown skyline. 'And the great people, right? At the end of the day it was about the people, everyone from the hotel workers, the bus drivers. It really showed what Chicago is and what it can be.' In January came the change in administrations and with it a new boss in Washington, FBI Director Kash Patel. DePodesta acknowledged there have been shifting priorities for the bureau since, but said that's typical whenever there's a change in leadership. 'This is my fourth director. And each time a new director comes in there are new priorities and new shifts, so we are seeing a little bit of a shift in priorities now,' he said. 'But I can tell you our core mission is the same: Uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.' In addition to cartels and fentanyl trafficking, DePodesta said his agents have had a hand in one of the Trump administration's other hot-button issues: immigration enforcement. DePodesta said the Chicago FBI, which has more than 1,000 total employees, has partnered locally with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, embedding some of the FBI's 450 agents on the street 'helping them effect arrests.' The targets, DePodesta said, 'are people that have removal orders that have a criminal history — murderers, rapists,' adding that the effort was 'ongoing' and had no timetable for a conclusion. 'It is not a surge; it is a sustained effort,' DePodesta said. He said no new agents have been added to fulfill the FBI's role in immigration enforcement — instead, agents from other squads have rotated and worked overtime. DePodesta said that despite the new priorities, the FBI will continue to focus on its bread-and-butter areas of operation, including terrorism, gang and gun violence, crimes against children, drug trafficking and public corruption. 'The great thing about Chicago is we have about 1,100 employees here, so we have the ability to concentrate on a lot of things,' he said. 'Although we're getting pulled in different directions … we are big enough we can do a lot of stuff really well.' As always, the bureau has had to adapt with the times. As gangs have fragmented, he said, the FBI has learned to deploy resources more strategically, with agents assisting Chicago police and other local authorities in targeting violent offenders on the street. One of the FBI's biggest assets, he said, is time, with the agency having the ability to step back and look at the bigger picture of who is driving violence. 'We have to look to see where we can make the most impact, get the most bang for our buck,' he said. 'So we determine which cases we should go after, if it's the most violent offenders, if it's the leaders of gangs, that's where we go.' One of Chicago's most notorious leaders, Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, this past week had his federal life sentence commuted by Trump. Though Hoover is still serving a 200-year sentence for his state court conviction for murder, making him likely to stay behind bars for the time being, DePodesta said in his interview with the Tribune that Hoover 'deserves to be in prison.' 'The president of the United States has the authority to pardon whoever he wishes,' he said. 'I think Larry Hoover caused a lot of damage in this city and he deserves to be in prison and he will continue to be imprisoned in the state system.' DePodesta also noted that homicide rates were way below their high-water mark during the pandemic, and that non-fatal shootings were also down last year — drops he attributed in part to federal efforts, including the Crime Gun Intelligence Center recently established by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 'I think that's really shedding light on who's doing a lot of these shootings, and we've been able to bring those people to justice,' he said. While multinational terrorist threats such as Al Qaeda and ISIS have quieted somewhat in recent years, the bureau's counterterrorism efforts are 'not going away,' DePodesta said, pointing to the the assassination of two members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., last week, a crime allegedly carried out by Chicagoan Elias Rodriguez. DePodesta said that although Rodriguez was charged in Washington, the Chicago FBI, which conducted a raid on Rodriguez's Albany Park apartment on the morning after his arrest, is continuing to have a role in that investigation. 'As you can imagine we follow every thread, every lead to understand exactly everything that subject was going through, anyone he was talking to, figure out the whole thought process he was going through,' DePodesta said. 'And that's for two reasons. Obviously for prosecution, but also, we want to understand what someone like this is thinking to try to stop the next one.' As for public corruption, DePodesta noted the parade of political titans that have been felled in recent years in part due to the FBI's work, from former governors such as Blagojevich and George Ryan to ex-Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, who is currently in prison, and former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who will be sentenced in two weeks. 'Obviously our public corruption program is unfortunately still very busy,' DePodesta said. Asked if the most recent conviction of Madigan in February put an end to politicians with their hands out, DePodesta gave a slight smile. 'I don't think that's true,' DePodesta said. 'Unfortunately there is a culture of corruption in this city and it's my job to ensure that the taxpayers get honest service for their tax dollars.' DePodesta grew up in the Detroit area, where his father worked in the steel industry, and he still considers it home. He graduated from Ferris State University in Michigan with a degree in criminal justice. He began his career in law enforcement as a patrol officer in Cincinnati, where he eventually worked his way up to investigations and joined a multi-agency task force focused on cargo shipping. 'Back in the day it was baby formula. … A truck full of that, even back then, was like $250,000,' he said. 'So that kind of gave me the thirst to do something different.' He joined the bureau in 2002 and was assigned to Chicago, which he acknowledged was 'not my first choice.' But after settling in Wrigleyville, he said, he quickly grew to love the city — though his baseball loyalties still remain with the Detroit Tigers. 'It's different neighborhoods quilted together to make a community,' DePodesta said of Chicago. 'And I would say the law enforcement community is some of the strongest partnerships I've seen.' In 2016, DePodesta was promoted to chief of the Sensitive Operations Support Unit at FBI Headquarters in Washington. He later moved back to Detroit, where in 2019 he became assistant special agent in charge of the FBI field office there, responsible for managing all violent crime, gang, and drug investigations across Michigan. From there, DePodesta went back to headquarters to head up what he called 'the business side of the house,' the Finance and Facilities Division, where he was in charge of a $1 billion budget that included more than 650 field locations and 18 million square feet of office space. He was named interim special agent in charge of the Memphis Field Office in 2023 and spent about a year and a half there before finally landing back in Chicago. He now lives in Evanston with his wife and their 3-year-old golden retriever, Charlie. With three years to go before the FBI's mandatory retirement age of 57, DePodesta said he'd love it if he could call it a career here. But there still a lot to do. 'I think I have a lot left in my tank,' he said.
