California
Federal indictment charges 3 activists with alleged ‘doxing’ of ICE agent in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three activists opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles have been indicted on charges of illegally “ doxing “ a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, federal prosecutors said.
Investigators said the women followed the agent home, livestreamed their pursuit and then posted the agent’s address online, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Once they arrived at the agent’s home, prosecutors allege the women shouted “ICE lives on your street and you should know,” according to the indictment.
The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent, the statement said.
Prosecutors said a 25-year-old woman from Panorama City, California, is free on $5,000 bond. A 38-year-old resident of Aurora, Colorado, who is also charged in a separate case with assault on a federal officer, is in custody without bond.
And authorities are searching for the third defendant, a 37-year-old woman from Riverside, California.
“Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “The conduct of these defendants are deeply offensive to law enforcement officers and their families. If you threaten, dox, or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time.”
Doxing is a typically malicious practice that involves gathering private or identifying information and releasing it online without the person’s permission, usually in an attempt to harass, threaten, shame or exact revenge.
Attorneys for the women could not immediately be reached on Monday. An email was sent to the Federal Public Defender’s Office asking if its attorneys are representing the defendants.
According to the indictment, the three women last month followed an ICE agent from the federal building in downtown Los Angeles to the agent’s residence in Baldwin Park east of LA. They livestreamed the entire event, court documents say.
In July, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to prosecute people for publishing federal agents’ personal information in response to fliers in Portland, Oregon, that called for people to collect intel on ICE.
Critics of the Trump administration’s raids have expressed outrage over federal agents wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves in public while arresting immigrants in California.
Last week, California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business.
New York
Financier accused of abusing women in soundproofed ‘dungeon’ in NYC penthouse
NEW YORK (AP) — A retired Wall Street financier was arrested Friday on charges that he lured dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as “The Dungeon.”
Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested Friday at his rental home in Fairfield, Connecticut, authorities said. He pleaded not guilty at a federal court in Brooklyn. His former personal assistant, Jennifer Powers was also arrested at her home in Southlake, Texas, and is expected to appear in court in Texas on Monday, authorities said.
The wealthy former financier was ordered to remain detained, despite efforts by his lawyers to have him freed on a $25 million bond. Messages for comment were sent to multiple lawyers for both Rubin and Powers.
During a three-decade career, Rubin worked at various financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and Soros Fund Management.
Prosecutors said Rubin, with the help of Powers, abused the women between 2009 and 2019 after recruiting them to fly to New York to engage in sadomasochistic sex acts with Rubin in exchange for money.
They said Rubin and Powers spent more than $1 million recruiting women to participate in paid sex acts involving bondage and submission, including victims who had previously been sexually abused, were financially desperate or who suffered from addiction. Once they were in New York, the women were encouraged to use drugs or alcohol to prepare for their sexual encounters, and they sometimes engaged in conduct beyond the scope of their consent, prosecutors said.
During the encounters, women suffered significant pain, including bruises and psychological trauma, and sometimes required medical treatment, according to prosecutors.
Prior to 2011, the commercial acts usually occurred at luxury hotels in Manhattan, but from 2011 to 2017, the encounters usually occurred in a two-bedroom penthouse near Central Park, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
The penthouse contained “The Dungeon,” a soundproofed room painted red that had a lock on the door and was outfitted with bondage and discipline instruments, prosecutors said.
They said Powers maintained the dungeon, cleaned it between uses and restocked the equipment, while also recruiting women, arranging their flights and managing fallout from complaints about the sessions with Rubin.
Rubin and Powers required the women to sign nondisclosure agreements and pledge that they were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they signed the agreements, prosecutors said.
According to court papers, Rubin has funded virtually all aspects of Powers and her family’s lifestyle since 2012, including rent on their Manhattan apartment; her children’s private school tuition; and the down payment and mortgage on their Texas-based home after the Powers moved to Texas in 2020.
Some of the alleged victims sued Rubin and Powers in 2017. A jury found at trial that only Rubin was liable and awarded the women $3.9 million. He is currently appealing the verdict.
If convicted of all charges, Rubin and Powers each face a sentence of at least 15 years in prison.
Federal indictment charges 3 activists with alleged ‘doxing’ of ICE agent in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three activists opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in Los Angeles have been indicted on charges of illegally “ doxing “ a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, federal prosecutors said.
Investigators said the women followed the agent home, livestreamed their pursuit and then posted the agent’s address online, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Once they arrived at the agent’s home, prosecutors allege the women shouted “ICE lives on your street and you should know,” according to the indictment.
The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of publicly disclosing the personal information of a federal agent, the statement said.
Prosecutors said a 25-year-old woman from Panorama City, California, is free on $5,000 bond. A 38-year-old resident of Aurora, Colorado, who is also charged in a separate case with assault on a federal officer, is in custody without bond.
And authorities are searching for the third defendant, a 37-year-old woman from Riverside, California.
“Our brave federal agents put their lives on the line every day to keep our nation safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “The conduct of these defendants are deeply offensive to law enforcement officers and their families. If you threaten, dox, or harm in any manner one of our agents or employees, you will face prosecution and prison time.”
Doxing is a typically malicious practice that involves gathering private or identifying information and releasing it online without the person’s permission, usually in an attempt to harass, threaten, shame or exact revenge.
Attorneys for the women could not immediately be reached on Monday. An email was sent to the Federal Public Defender’s Office asking if its attorneys are representing the defendants.
According to the indictment, the three women last month followed an ICE agent from the federal building in downtown Los Angeles to the agent’s residence in Baldwin Park east of LA. They livestreamed the entire event, court documents say.
In July, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to prosecute people for publishing federal agents’ personal information in response to fliers in Portland, Oregon, that called for people to collect intel on ICE.
Critics of the Trump administration’s raids have expressed outrage over federal agents wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves in public while arresting immigrants in California.
Last week, California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business.
New York
Financier accused of abusing women in soundproofed ‘dungeon’ in NYC penthouse
NEW YORK (AP) — A retired Wall Street financier was arrested Friday on charges that he lured dozens of women, including former Playboy models, to be sexually and physically assaulted during encounters in his Central Park penthouse in a soundproofed room described in court papers as “The Dungeon.”
Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested Friday at his rental home in Fairfield, Connecticut, authorities said. He pleaded not guilty at a federal court in Brooklyn. His former personal assistant, Jennifer Powers was also arrested at her home in Southlake, Texas, and is expected to appear in court in Texas on Monday, authorities said.
The wealthy former financier was ordered to remain detained, despite efforts by his lawyers to have him freed on a $25 million bond. Messages for comment were sent to multiple lawyers for both Rubin and Powers.
During a three-decade career, Rubin worked at various financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and Soros Fund Management.
Prosecutors said Rubin, with the help of Powers, abused the women between 2009 and 2019 after recruiting them to fly to New York to engage in sadomasochistic sex acts with Rubin in exchange for money.
They said Rubin and Powers spent more than $1 million recruiting women to participate in paid sex acts involving bondage and submission, including victims who had previously been sexually abused, were financially desperate or who suffered from addiction. Once they were in New York, the women were encouraged to use drugs or alcohol to prepare for their sexual encounters, and they sometimes engaged in conduct beyond the scope of their consent, prosecutors said.
During the encounters, women suffered significant pain, including bruises and psychological trauma, and sometimes required medical treatment, according to prosecutors.
Prior to 2011, the commercial acts usually occurred at luxury hotels in Manhattan, but from 2011 to 2017, the encounters usually occurred in a two-bedroom penthouse near Central Park, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
The penthouse contained “The Dungeon,” a soundproofed room painted red that had a lock on the door and was outfitted with bondage and discipline instruments, prosecutors said.
They said Powers maintained the dungeon, cleaned it between uses and restocked the equipment, while also recruiting women, arranging their flights and managing fallout from complaints about the sessions with Rubin.
Rubin and Powers required the women to sign nondisclosure agreements and pledge that they were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they signed the agreements, prosecutors said.
According to court papers, Rubin has funded virtually all aspects of Powers and her family’s lifestyle since 2012, including rent on their Manhattan apartment; her children’s private school tuition; and the down payment and mortgage on their Texas-based home after the Powers moved to Texas in 2020.
Some of the alleged victims sued Rubin and Powers in 2017. A jury found at trial that only Rubin was liable and awarded the women $3.9 million. He is currently appealing the verdict.
If convicted of all charges, Rubin and Powers each face a sentence of at least 15 years in prison.
