Washington
Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed.
The high court filing follows a brief order from a federal appeals court that kept in place a court order blocking the policy nationwide.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order a week into his term that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.
In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service.
But in March, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.
Trump’s Republican administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned, Settle wrote. The judge is an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush and a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.
In 2016, during Barack Obama’s presidency, a Defense Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members, with an exception for some of those who had already started transitioning under more lenient rules that were in effect during the Obama administration.
The Supreme Court allowed that ban to take effect. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, scrapped it when he took office.
The rules the Defense Department wants to enforce contain no exceptions.
Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members.
The policy also has been blocked by a federal judge in the nation’s capital, but that ruling has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court, which heard arguments on Tuesday. The three-judge panel includes two judges appointed by Trump during his first term.
In a more limited ruling, a judge in New Jersey also has barred the Air Force from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair.
Illinois
Man gets life sentence after admitting to deadly shooting at 2022 July Fourth parade
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — The suburban Chicago man who admitted to fatally shooting seven people and wounding dozens of others during a 2022 Independence Day parade was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti handed down seven consecutive sentences of natural life in prison without the possibility of parole, as prosecutors requested, for the first-degree murder charges after hearing emotional testimony from survivors and the relatives of those killed in the shooting.
After years of unpredictable legal proceedings, Robert E. Crimo III, 24, changed his plea to guilty last month just moments before opening statements at his trial.
Dozens were wounded in the shooting in the suburb about 30 miles north of Chicago. They ranged in age from their 80s to an 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.
Crimo refused to attend his sentencing hearing Wednesday or Thursday despite a judge’s previous warnings that the case would proceed without him. Crimo also declined to provide a written statement in court ahead of sentencing.
Survivors and witnesses told the court about how their lives have changed since he killed seven people and hurt dozens more.
It’s unusual for defendants to skip trial, especially sentencing, but constitutionally they have the right not to attend, said David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law. Often in violent cases, defendants will explain themselves or profess innocence before sentencing.
Some survivors called Crimo a “monster” while another cited their faith in forgiving him. Many described feeling empty or facing deep sadness since the shooting. Some no longer attend public gatherings.
Prosecutors argued that Crimo was fully in control of his actions as he fired 83 shots over 40 seconds.
“This was his evil plan. He intended to end the happiness that he saw around him,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart.
Crimo pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — and 48 counts of attempted murder. Each first-degree murder count carries a maximum life sentence in Illinois.
But even in his absence, prosecutors made sure Crimo’s own words were heard.
They used the first day of the hearing to reveal parts of the trove of evidence prepared for trial, including key parts of Crimo’s videotaped confession.
In a recording of the police interview, which defense attorneys tried to have thrown out, a blank-faced Crimo slumped in a chair with arms crossed. He told officers that he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a problem with the gun. He later fixed the weapon.
Crimo was calm and cavalier, even laughing and joking, said Brian Bodden, a Highland Park police officer.
Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day in the upscale community of about 30,000 people north of Chicago, showing video taken along the parade route and asking witnesses to recount the terrifying aftermath of the attack.
In one video, a marching band played “You’re a Grand Old Flag” before shots were fired. Musicians carrying instruments ran as emergency sirens blared, fleeing along with other attendees.
Many cried during the testimony, while others put their arms around each other inside the Lake County courtroom.
The seven people killed were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., a former mayoral candidate, was charged in connection with how his son obtained a gun license. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. He served less than two months in jail.
Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed.
The high court filing follows a brief order from a federal appeals court that kept in place a court order blocking the policy nationwide.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order a week into his term that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.
In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service.
But in March, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.
Trump’s Republican administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned, Settle wrote. The judge is an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush and a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.
In 2016, during Barack Obama’s presidency, a Defense Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members, with an exception for some of those who had already started transitioning under more lenient rules that were in effect during the Obama administration.
The Supreme Court allowed that ban to take effect. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, scrapped it when he took office.
The rules the Defense Department wants to enforce contain no exceptions.
Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members.
The policy also has been blocked by a federal judge in the nation’s capital, but that ruling has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court, which heard arguments on Tuesday. The three-judge panel includes two judges appointed by Trump during his first term.
In a more limited ruling, a judge in New Jersey also has barred the Air Force from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair.
Illinois
Man gets life sentence after admitting to deadly shooting at 2022 July Fourth parade
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — The suburban Chicago man who admitted to fatally shooting seven people and wounding dozens of others during a 2022 Independence Day parade was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti handed down seven consecutive sentences of natural life in prison without the possibility of parole, as prosecutors requested, for the first-degree murder charges after hearing emotional testimony from survivors and the relatives of those killed in the shooting.
After years of unpredictable legal proceedings, Robert E. Crimo III, 24, changed his plea to guilty last month just moments before opening statements at his trial.
Dozens were wounded in the shooting in the suburb about 30 miles north of Chicago. They ranged in age from their 80s to an 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.
Crimo refused to attend his sentencing hearing Wednesday or Thursday despite a judge’s previous warnings that the case would proceed without him. Crimo also declined to provide a written statement in court ahead of sentencing.
Survivors and witnesses told the court about how their lives have changed since he killed seven people and hurt dozens more.
It’s unusual for defendants to skip trial, especially sentencing, but constitutionally they have the right not to attend, said David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law. Often in violent cases, defendants will explain themselves or profess innocence before sentencing.
Some survivors called Crimo a “monster” while another cited their faith in forgiving him. Many described feeling empty or facing deep sadness since the shooting. Some no longer attend public gatherings.
Prosecutors argued that Crimo was fully in control of his actions as he fired 83 shots over 40 seconds.
“This was his evil plan. He intended to end the happiness that he saw around him,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart.
Crimo pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — and 48 counts of attempted murder. Each first-degree murder count carries a maximum life sentence in Illinois.
But even in his absence, prosecutors made sure Crimo’s own words were heard.
They used the first day of the hearing to reveal parts of the trove of evidence prepared for trial, including key parts of Crimo’s videotaped confession.
In a recording of the police interview, which defense attorneys tried to have thrown out, a blank-faced Crimo slumped in a chair with arms crossed. He told officers that he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a problem with the gun. He later fixed the weapon.
Crimo was calm and cavalier, even laughing and joking, said Brian Bodden, a Highland Park police officer.
Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day in the upscale community of about 30,000 people north of Chicago, showing video taken along the parade route and asking witnesses to recount the terrifying aftermath of the attack.
In one video, a marching band played “You’re a Grand Old Flag” before shots were fired. Musicians carrying instruments ran as emergency sirens blared, fleeing along with other attendees.
Many cried during the testimony, while others put their arms around each other inside the Lake County courtroom.
The seven people killed were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; Eduardo Uvaldo, 69; and married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35.
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., a former mayoral candidate, was charged in connection with how his son obtained a gun license. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. He served less than two months in jail.
