3 men charged in plot to kill journalist
Federal officials said Friday that three men have been charged with plotting to kill an Iranian American journalist and activist in New York who was critical of the Iranian government.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray described a plot in which the three men, connected to an Eastern European gang with ties to Iran, surveilled the journalist and tried to lure her out of her Brooklyn home to kill her.
The target of the alleged murder-for-hire plot was not named in the indictment. But journalist Masih Alinejad, who has long been a critic of Iran and was the victim of a previous failed kidnapping plot, confirmed that she was the target.
One of the suspects, Khalid Mehdiyev -- a New York resident and an Azerbaijan citizen who allegedly was tasked with the killing -- was arrested in July after police discovered him with a loaded assault rifle outside her home.
"The victim in this case was targeted for exercising the rights to which every American citizen is entitled," Garland said.
The 25-page indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York identified the other suspects as Polad Omarav, who lives in Eastern Europe, and Rafat Amirov, a citizen of Russia and Azerbaijan who lives in Iran. They face murder-for-hire and money laundering charges.
Officials provided few details about how they coordinated the arrests abroad.
Last year, The Washington Post reported that the Iranian government had stepped up its efforts to kidnap and kill government officials, activists and journalists around the world, according to government documents and interviews with 15 officials in Washington, Europe and the Middle East.
Man pleads guilty in 2021 D.C. standoff
WASHINGTON -- A man who caused evacuations and an hourslong standoff with police on Capitol Hill when he claimed he had a bomb in his pickup outside the Library of Congress pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of threatening to use an explosive.
Floyd Ray Roseberry of Grover, N.C., pleaded guilty to the felony charge in Washington federal court. He faces up to 10 years behind bars when he is sentenced in June.
Roseberry, 52, drove his truck onto the sidewalk at the library in August 2021 and began shouting that he had a bomb. He later made the same threat to police officers and recited a litany of anti-government grievances, livestreaming the episode on Facebook.
Police said they did not find a bomb but did collect possible bomb-making materials. Roseberry surrendered after about five hours.
Roseberry said he had not taken his "mind medicine," and the judge ordered a competency hearing.
A psychiatrist found that his medication wasn't effectively treating his bipolar disorder, but a magistrate judge later ruled that new treatment had been effective and Roseberry was competent to stand trial.
Trump ally faces disciplinary charges
LOS ANGELES -- Attorney John Eastman, a lead architect of some of former President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, has been slapped with disciplinary charges in California that could lead to disbarment.
The State Bar of California's chief trial counsel, George Cardona, said Thursday that the 11 charges stem from allegations that Eastman assisted Trump with a strategy to overturn the election results by obstructing the count of electoral votes.
Eastman, former dean of Chapman University law school in California, was one of Trump's lawyers during the election. He wrote a memo arguing that former Vice President Mike Pence could keep Trump in power by overturning the results during the congressional session to count the electoral votes. Critics have likened that to instructions for staging a coup.
The State Bar said Eastman faces charges that he violated the business and professions code by making false and misleading statements that constitute acts of "moral turpitude, dishonesty and corruption."
Eastman disputes "every aspect" of the charges, attorney Randall Miller said.
Body identified as that of missing girl
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The body of a child found in Oklahoma this month was identified as 4-year-old Athena Brownfield, who investigators said was beaten to death by a caregiver on Christmas.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday that the state's chief medical examiner had made the identification.
The girl was reported missing Jan. 10 when a postal carrier found her 5-year-old sister alone outside the home where she lived with Ivon Adams III and his wife, Alysia Adams. The couple had been caring for the sisters in Cyril, a small town about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested on murder and child neglect charges. An arrest affidavit alleges that he beat the girl to death the night of Dec. 25 and buried her on property he and his wife once owned near the town of Rush Springs.
Alysia Adams, 31, is charged with two counts of child neglect.
FILE -This photo provided by Caddo County, Oklahoma, Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 shows Ivon Adams. Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested in Arizona on murder and child neglect charges and returned to Oklahoma. An affidavit for Ivon Adams’ arrest alleges he beat 4-year-old Athena Brownfield to death the night of Dec. 25 and later buried her on property he and his wife once owned near the nearby town of Rush Springs, where authorities found the child’s body. (Caddo County, Oklahoma, Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)
FILE -This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Ivon Adams. Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested in Arizona on murder and child neglect charges and returned to Oklahoma. An affidavit for Ivon Adams’ arrest alleges he beat 4-year-old Athena Brownfield to death the night of Dec. 25 and later buried her on property he and his wife once owned near the nearby town of Rush Springs, where authorities found the child’s body. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via AP, File)