Oklahoma
Pastor who was backed by Trump exits House runoff after reports of inappropriate texts
Jackson Lahmeyer, an Oklahoma megachurch minister who founded Pastors for Trump, has withdrawn from a runoff for a U.S. House seat from Oklahoma, following reports that he had sent romantic text messages to a woman who is not his wife.
A day after advancing to the August runoff, Lahmeyer issued a statement on Wednesday saying that he had made the “difficult decision” to suspend his campaign “after prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty four hours.”
Lahmeyer’s email statement announcing his withdrawal hit inboxes just minutes after President Donald Trump endorsed his runoff opponent, Mark Tedford.
On Monday, a day before Oklahoma’s primary, Trump had reiterated his support for Lahmeyer, whom he initially endorsed last month, commending him for founding Pastors for Trump. The nationwide faith leader coalition was among the groups that worked to boost Trump in his 2024 campaign.
The Daily Mail reported Sunday that Lahmeyer had exchanged thousands of romantic text messages with a woman who worked as a fundraiser for his campaign. Multiple news organizations reported that Lahmeyer acknowledged his behavior in a now-deleted social media post, saying the matter “was already dealt with privately” and that he owned “crossing a boundary line through text messaging.”
Lahmeyer’s campaign did not immediately return a message seeking answers as to whether he had spoken with Trump before shuttering his campaign, or why he had deleted his social media accounts.
On the website for Sheridan Church, the Tulsa congregation that Lahmeyer pastors, he is listed as part of the lineup of an event called Remnant Rising. Other speakers include Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned.
Louisiana
Rapper Mystikal sentenced to 20 years for rape
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The rapper Mystikal, who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, will serve 20 years in prison for raping a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022.
Mystikal, whose given name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in March with a sentencing cap of 20 years, five years less than the maximum punishment for the crime. His plea deal reduced the charge from first-degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence.
Days before his Tuesday sentencing hearing, he asked a judge to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences,” according to ABC affiliate WBRZ.
The victim spoke in court before sentencing and asked the judge to give Mystikal the maximum sentence, WBRZ reported. She reportedly said the rapper had punched her, choked her, pulled out her braids and forcibly raped her at his home in Prairieville, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Baton Rouge.
“If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” he said in response, according to the local TV station.
A lawyer for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mystikal has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since his arrest in 2022.
The Louisiana rapper rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Washington
Supreme Court sides with man who says it’s not a crime for marijuana users to have guns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided Thursday with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights.
In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled in favor of Ali Danial Hemani, who argued that a law barring guns from anyone who uses drugs illegally violates the Second Amendment. Hemani wasn’t charged with any other crimes or accused of using the weapon under the influence.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, saying the ruling limits but doesn’t end the government’s power to take guns from drug users.
The decision is a loss for President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, which had defended the 1968 law despite arguing against other gun restrictions. The measure was also used in a case against
Hunter Biden, who was convicted in Wilmington, Delaware, of buying a gun while addicted to cocaine in 2018. He was later pardoned by his father, then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Someone addicted to a drug could still be prosecuted after Thursday’s decision, Gorsuch wrote. “We do not address efforts to ban addicts, or those presently intoxicated, from possessing a firearm,” he wrote.
Prosecutors could potentially still charge a marijuana user, if they had evidence the person was dangerous.
It’s the latest in a series of firearm cases to reach the Supreme Court since a landmark ruling expanding gun rights in 2022 led to a wave of challenges around the country.
Since then, the high court has upheld a law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and strict regulations on ghost gun kits but has struck down a ban on bump stocks, an accessory that enables rapid fire. The justices are also considering a second firearm case this term over strict regulations on carrying guns in Hawaii.
The Texas case comes after significant shifts in the legality and use of cannabis. More than half of U.S. states have now legalized it broadly, and it’s gained widespread use for health purposes.
“Whatever one thinks of these developments, the federal government has not just tolerated them; it helped fuel them,” Gorsuch wrote. “All of which leaves it awkwardly positioned to suggest that the millions of Americans who now regularly use marijuana are categorically and unusually dangerous.”
Recreational use remains illegal on a federal level even after the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug in April.
It’s rare to see standalone criminal charges filed against people accused solely of owning guns and using drugs.
The case made for some unusual political alliances. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association both supported Hemani’s case, as did cannabis legalization groups like NORML. On the other side were gun safety groups like Everytown that usually oppose the Trump administration on Second Amendment issues.
Pastor who was backed by Trump exits House runoff after reports of inappropriate texts
Jackson Lahmeyer, an Oklahoma megachurch minister who founded Pastors for Trump, has withdrawn from a runoff for a U.S. House seat from Oklahoma, following reports that he had sent romantic text messages to a woman who is not his wife.
A day after advancing to the August runoff, Lahmeyer issued a statement on Wednesday saying that he had made the “difficult decision” to suspend his campaign “after prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty four hours.”
Lahmeyer’s email statement announcing his withdrawal hit inboxes just minutes after President Donald Trump endorsed his runoff opponent, Mark Tedford.
On Monday, a day before Oklahoma’s primary, Trump had reiterated his support for Lahmeyer, whom he initially endorsed last month, commending him for founding Pastors for Trump. The nationwide faith leader coalition was among the groups that worked to boost Trump in his 2024 campaign.
The Daily Mail reported Sunday that Lahmeyer had exchanged thousands of romantic text messages with a woman who worked as a fundraiser for his campaign. Multiple news organizations reported that Lahmeyer acknowledged his behavior in a now-deleted social media post, saying the matter “was already dealt with privately” and that he owned “crossing a boundary line through text messaging.”
Lahmeyer’s campaign did not immediately return a message seeking answers as to whether he had spoken with Trump before shuttering his campaign, or why he had deleted his social media accounts.
On the website for Sheridan Church, the Tulsa congregation that Lahmeyer pastors, he is listed as part of the lineup of an event called Remnant Rising. Other speakers include Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned.
Louisiana
Rapper Mystikal sentenced to 20 years for rape
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The rapper Mystikal, who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, will serve 20 years in prison for raping a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022.
Mystikal, whose given name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in March with a sentencing cap of 20 years, five years less than the maximum punishment for the crime. His plea deal reduced the charge from first-degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence.
Days before his Tuesday sentencing hearing, he asked a judge to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences,” according to ABC affiliate WBRZ.
The victim spoke in court before sentencing and asked the judge to give Mystikal the maximum sentence, WBRZ reported. She reportedly said the rapper had punched her, choked her, pulled out her braids and forcibly raped her at his home in Prairieville, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Baton Rouge.
“If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” he said in response, according to the local TV station.
A lawyer for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mystikal has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since his arrest in 2022.
The Louisiana rapper rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Washington
Supreme Court sides with man who says it’s not a crime for marijuana users to have guns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided Thursday with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights.
In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled in favor of Ali Danial Hemani, who argued that a law barring guns from anyone who uses drugs illegally violates the Second Amendment. Hemani wasn’t charged with any other crimes or accused of using the weapon under the influence.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, saying the ruling limits but doesn’t end the government’s power to take guns from drug users.
The decision is a loss for President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, which had defended the 1968 law despite arguing against other gun restrictions. The measure was also used in a case against
Hunter Biden, who was convicted in Wilmington, Delaware, of buying a gun while addicted to cocaine in 2018. He was later pardoned by his father, then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Someone addicted to a drug could still be prosecuted after Thursday’s decision, Gorsuch wrote. “We do not address efforts to ban addicts, or those presently intoxicated, from possessing a firearm,” he wrote.
Prosecutors could potentially still charge a marijuana user, if they had evidence the person was dangerous.
It’s the latest in a series of firearm cases to reach the Supreme Court since a landmark ruling expanding gun rights in 2022 led to a wave of challenges around the country.
Since then, the high court has upheld a law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and strict regulations on ghost gun kits but has struck down a ban on bump stocks, an accessory that enables rapid fire. The justices are also considering a second firearm case this term over strict regulations on carrying guns in Hawaii.
The Texas case comes after significant shifts in the legality and use of cannabis. More than half of U.S. states have now legalized it broadly, and it’s gained widespread use for health purposes.
“Whatever one thinks of these developments, the federal government has not just tolerated them; it helped fuel them,” Gorsuch wrote. “All of which leaves it awkwardly positioned to suggest that the millions of Americans who now regularly use marijuana are categorically and unusually dangerous.”
Recreational use remains illegal on a federal level even after the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug in April.
It’s rare to see standalone criminal charges filed against people accused solely of owning guns and using drugs.
The case made for some unusual political alliances. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association both supported Hemani’s case, as did cannabis legalization groups like NORML. On the other side were gun safety groups like Everytown that usually oppose the Trump administration on Second Amendment issues.
