Pennsylvania
Judge refers district attorney to federal prosecutors for investigation
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for investigation into whether he broke the law while overseeing a post-conviction case.
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond disqualified Krasner and Assistant DA Matthew Stiegler from participating in the case involving Dennis Johnson, who is seeking to have his second-degree murder conviction overturned.
Diamond also took the unusual step of recommending that the DOJ investigate whether Krasner committed any crimes, including perjury and obstruction of justice, according to court documents.
In a memorandum referring the matter for “investigation and other appropriate action” the judge said “troubling” activity by Krasner and Stiegler was uncovered during recent evidentiary hearings into how the DA’s office handled the Johnson case.
That included allegedly pressuring staffers to lie to Diamond in court and threatening “consequences” for those who did not follow Krasner’s orders, the judge wrote.
“I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” Diamond said.
Krasner said in a statement that he “respectfully and vigorously” disagrees with the decision.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also did not immediately reply to inquiries seeking details about the potential investigation.
Johnson was convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith. In 2022 the DA’s office made a court filing stating that Johnson was entitled to habeas relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
Court documents show that DA employees told Krasner the case should be directed to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office due to potential conflicts of interest involving Stiegler. Krasner opposed the move, saying he needed to stay involved to “protect the office,” according to the documents.
Johnson’s petition remains on hold. Diamond said the DA’s office could continue to handle the case moving forward, but it is not immediately clear which prosecutor might take it on.
Wisconsin
Lawyers for victim in running back’s battery case seek to seal evidence
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Lawyers representing the victim in the battery case involving Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs have filed a motion to seal evidence.
“The motion is consistent with our client’s desire to protect her privacy, particularly in light of Mr. Jacobs taking responsibility for his actions in the criminal proceeding,” Ramses Jalalpour and Amir Tahmassebi said Tuesday in a statement.
ESPN first reported the filing of the motion.
Jacobs pleaded no contest on Thursday to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend.
The woman said Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took a phone from her while she was on the ground.
According to a criminal complaint, the woman’s statement was corroborated by surveillance video from the camera system in the garage. That video hasn’t been released.
In a brief supporting the motion, the woman said she was seeking “to seal and restrict public disclosure of police and supplemental reports, dispatch and communications records, recordings, photographs, witness statements, investigative notes, forensic materials, medical or treatment-related information, digital evidence, and other documents or media.”
The brief indicated she wanted “only to prevent unnecessary public disclosure of information that identifies or locates (her), reveals intimate details of the victimization or creates a material risk of further harm to her.”
Jacobs was charged in late August and the NFL subsequently placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents the three-time Pro Bowler from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck. Players on the commissioner’s exempt list are allowed at team facilities for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation and other non-football activities.
Jacobs could face a league suspension.
After pleading no contest to the battery charge, Jacobs was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs. Under an agreement with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble, avoiding the victim, submitting to supervision, completing counseling and paying restitution to the victim.
Utah
Charlie Kirk’s family says security failures led to his assassination
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Charlie Kirk’s family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist’s assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
Attorneys for the family said Kirk’s death resulted from a string of “reckless decisions” by officials at Utah Valley University that left him exposed to a rooftop sniper, who fired a fatal shot from more than 400 feet (122 meters) away on Sept. 10, 2025.
The university has faced harsh criticism for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Kirk, 31, had been debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and with several thousand people in attendance. An Associated Press review following the shooting showed the campus in Orem did not use several public safety practices that have become standard safeguards at events around the country.
Campus police staffing was far below recommended levels for a school of that size. They also did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.
“The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year,” Kirk family attorney D. Loren Washburn wrote in the notice to state and university officials.
The document, dated Sept. 9, a day before the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s death, is a required step under state law before his family can file a formal claim or lawsuit. It names the university and its then-president, Astrid Tuminez; the campus police department and its chief, Jeffrey Long; and the state of Utah.
A spokesperson for Utah Valley University said the school was aware of the notice and would address it “consistent with our established processes.”
“Our focus remains on supporting our campus community,” spokesperson Sharon Turner said in a statement.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office said it does not comment on potential litigation.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family alleged additional lapses by officials, including not conducting an adequate risk assessment before approving the event, failing to establish a secure perimeter and having no first responders immediately available, resulting in Kirk being taken to a nearby hospital in a private vehicle rather than an ambulance after he was shot.
“Tragically, the UVU Parties took none of these safety measures — steps only they had the authority to take — resulting in a situation that rendered Mr. Kirk helpless before his assassin,” Washburn wrote.
Long said after the shooting that six of his officers staffed the event and coordinated with Kirk’s eight-person private security team. The school said it was expanding its police force following the shooting.
Utah resident Tyler Robinson turned himself in a day after Kirk’s killing. Prosecutors say he told his romantic partner that he “had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred.”
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. A judge on Sept. 1 ordered the case to proceed toward trial. A date has not yet been set.
Prosecutors during a preliminary hearing in July presented what they characterized as overwhelming evidence against Robinson. That includes surveillance video of Robinson on the campus, DNA tests linking him to a rifle found near the assassination site and a handwritten note he allegedly left for his romantic partner that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”
Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, and widow, Erika Kirk, attended the hearings.
State law allows heirs or personal representatives of people who die to file lawsuits seeking damages if the death was caused by a wrongful act or negligence. The notice from Kirk’s family did not specify what damages they may seek.
Missouri
Election chief faces lawsuit from fired election integrity director
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s former election integrity director filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, alleging he was fired after raising concerns that staff were plotting to file a fake complaint in a legal case about the state’s voter database.
The lawsuit by Nicholas La Strada, a Republican, also asserts that Hoskins’ office illegally directed local election officials to change the results of a city council race and used state funds for a politically oriented mailing.
Hoskins already faces scrutiny for his actions in Missouri’s congressional redistricting saga. Last Thursday, the state Supreme Court found Hoskins temporarily in contempt of its order not to take steps to use new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump in the November election. On Friday, several voters who signed a referendum petition putting the new congressional district map to a statewide vote in November filed suit seeking class-action status for monetary damages against Hoskins.
The latest lawsuit, though unrelated to redistricting, calls into question Hoskins’ role overseeing the November election.
“How can you trust a secretary of state’s office when they fired the man who was telling them what they cannot do,” said attorney Erin N. Vernon, of Independence, the lead lawyer in the lawsuit.
La Strada had served for 14 years as the Pettis County clerk, overseeing local elections, when Hoskins hired him as the state’s election integrity director in January 2025. The suit says La Strada was stripped of his administrative access to the state’s voter registration system after several months on the job. That came after he raised concerns that the office may have illegally spent funds to mail information in opposition to a St. Louis County ballot measure, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit contends Hoskins’ office illegally intervened in an April municipal election. After the results of a close Marshall City Council race in central Missouri had been certified, Hoskins’ office received a complaint about the tallying of write-in votes, recounted them itself and instructed city officials to change the results. The suit says only a judge can order such action.
“If you’ve done it once, what’s to stop them from doing it on bigger elections in November and coming right in and changing it to who they want, their preferred candidate,” Vernon said.
Also in April, La Strada alleges in his lawsuit that he was present for a conversation in which several members of Hoskins’ staff discussed the possible use of a “burner phone” and internet protocol address scrambler to file a fake whistleblower complaint as part of a federal administrative proceeding involving the state’s voter registration database. The suit says La Strada twice raised concerns with Hoskins, but his Capitol security badge then was deactivated before a hearing in the case and he was fired effective May 1.
The state election integrity director post remains vacant, Moy said.
Judge refers district attorney to federal prosecutors for investigation
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for investigation into whether he broke the law while overseeing a post-conviction case.
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond disqualified Krasner and Assistant DA Matthew Stiegler from participating in the case involving Dennis Johnson, who is seeking to have his second-degree murder conviction overturned.
Diamond also took the unusual step of recommending that the DOJ investigate whether Krasner committed any crimes, including perjury and obstruction of justice, according to court documents.
In a memorandum referring the matter for “investigation and other appropriate action” the judge said “troubling” activity by Krasner and Stiegler was uncovered during recent evidentiary hearings into how the DA’s office handled the Johnson case.
That included allegedly pressuring staffers to lie to Diamond in court and threatening “consequences” for those who did not follow Krasner’s orders, the judge wrote.
“I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” Diamond said.
Krasner said in a statement that he “respectfully and vigorously” disagrees with the decision.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also did not immediately reply to inquiries seeking details about the potential investigation.
Johnson was convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith. In 2022 the DA’s office made a court filing stating that Johnson was entitled to habeas relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
Court documents show that DA employees told Krasner the case should be directed to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office due to potential conflicts of interest involving Stiegler. Krasner opposed the move, saying he needed to stay involved to “protect the office,” according to the documents.
Johnson’s petition remains on hold. Diamond said the DA’s office could continue to handle the case moving forward, but it is not immediately clear which prosecutor might take it on.
Wisconsin
Lawyers for victim in running back’s battery case seek to seal evidence
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Lawyers representing the victim in the battery case involving Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs have filed a motion to seal evidence.
“The motion is consistent with our client’s desire to protect her privacy, particularly in light of Mr. Jacobs taking responsibility for his actions in the criminal proceeding,” Ramses Jalalpour and Amir Tahmassebi said Tuesday in a statement.
ESPN first reported the filing of the motion.
Jacobs pleaded no contest on Thursday to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend.
The woman said Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took a phone from her while she was on the ground.
According to a criminal complaint, the woman’s statement was corroborated by surveillance video from the camera system in the garage. That video hasn’t been released.
In a brief supporting the motion, the woman said she was seeking “to seal and restrict public disclosure of police and supplemental reports, dispatch and communications records, recordings, photographs, witness statements, investigative notes, forensic materials, medical or treatment-related information, digital evidence, and other documents or media.”
The brief indicated she wanted “only to prevent unnecessary public disclosure of information that identifies or locates (her), reveals intimate details of the victimization or creates a material risk of further harm to her.”
Jacobs was charged in late August and the NFL subsequently placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents the three-time Pro Bowler from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck. Players on the commissioner’s exempt list are allowed at team facilities for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation and other non-football activities.
Jacobs could face a league suspension.
After pleading no contest to the battery charge, Jacobs was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs. Under an agreement with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble, avoiding the victim, submitting to supervision, completing counseling and paying restitution to the victim.
Utah
Charlie Kirk’s family says security failures led to his assassination
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Charlie Kirk’s family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist’s assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
Attorneys for the family said Kirk’s death resulted from a string of “reckless decisions” by officials at Utah Valley University that left him exposed to a rooftop sniper, who fired a fatal shot from more than 400 feet (122 meters) away on Sept. 10, 2025.
The university has faced harsh criticism for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Kirk, 31, had been debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and with several thousand people in attendance. An Associated Press review following the shooting showed the campus in Orem did not use several public safety practices that have become standard safeguards at events around the country.
Campus police staffing was far below recommended levels for a school of that size. They also did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.
“The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year,” Kirk family attorney D. Loren Washburn wrote in the notice to state and university officials.
The document, dated Sept. 9, a day before the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s death, is a required step under state law before his family can file a formal claim or lawsuit. It names the university and its then-president, Astrid Tuminez; the campus police department and its chief, Jeffrey Long; and the state of Utah.
A spokesperson for Utah Valley University said the school was aware of the notice and would address it “consistent with our established processes.”
“Our focus remains on supporting our campus community,” spokesperson Sharon Turner said in a statement.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office said it does not comment on potential litigation.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family alleged additional lapses by officials, including not conducting an adequate risk assessment before approving the event, failing to establish a secure perimeter and having no first responders immediately available, resulting in Kirk being taken to a nearby hospital in a private vehicle rather than an ambulance after he was shot.
“Tragically, the UVU Parties took none of these safety measures — steps only they had the authority to take — resulting in a situation that rendered Mr. Kirk helpless before his assassin,” Washburn wrote.
Long said after the shooting that six of his officers staffed the event and coordinated with Kirk’s eight-person private security team. The school said it was expanding its police force following the shooting.
Utah resident Tyler Robinson turned himself in a day after Kirk’s killing. Prosecutors say he told his romantic partner that he “had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred.”
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. A judge on Sept. 1 ordered the case to proceed toward trial. A date has not yet been set.
Prosecutors during a preliminary hearing in July presented what they characterized as overwhelming evidence against Robinson. That includes surveillance video of Robinson on the campus, DNA tests linking him to a rifle found near the assassination site and a handwritten note he allegedly left for his romantic partner that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”
Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, and widow, Erika Kirk, attended the hearings.
State law allows heirs or personal representatives of people who die to file lawsuits seeking damages if the death was caused by a wrongful act or negligence. The notice from Kirk’s family did not specify what damages they may seek.
Missouri
Election chief faces lawsuit from fired election integrity director
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s former election integrity director filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, alleging he was fired after raising concerns that staff were plotting to file a fake complaint in a legal case about the state’s voter database.
The lawsuit by Nicholas La Strada, a Republican, also asserts that Hoskins’ office illegally directed local election officials to change the results of a city council race and used state funds for a politically oriented mailing.
Hoskins already faces scrutiny for his actions in Missouri’s congressional redistricting saga. Last Thursday, the state Supreme Court found Hoskins temporarily in contempt of its order not to take steps to use new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump in the November election. On Friday, several voters who signed a referendum petition putting the new congressional district map to a statewide vote in November filed suit seeking class-action status for monetary damages against Hoskins.
The latest lawsuit, though unrelated to redistricting, calls into question Hoskins’ role overseeing the November election.
“How can you trust a secretary of state’s office when they fired the man who was telling them what they cannot do,” said attorney Erin N. Vernon, of Independence, the lead lawyer in the lawsuit.
La Strada had served for 14 years as the Pettis County clerk, overseeing local elections, when Hoskins hired him as the state’s election integrity director in January 2025. The suit says La Strada was stripped of his administrative access to the state’s voter registration system after several months on the job. That came after he raised concerns that the office may have illegally spent funds to mail information in opposition to a St. Louis County ballot measure, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit contends Hoskins’ office illegally intervened in an April municipal election. After the results of a close Marshall City Council race in central Missouri had been certified, Hoskins’ office received a complaint about the tallying of write-in votes, recounted them itself and instructed city officials to change the results. The suit says only a judge can order such action.
“If you’ve done it once, what’s to stop them from doing it on bigger elections in November and coming right in and changing it to who they want, their preferred candidate,” Vernon said.
Also in April, La Strada alleges in his lawsuit that he was present for a conversation in which several members of Hoskins’ staff discussed the possible use of a “burner phone” and internet protocol address scrambler to file a fake whistleblower complaint as part of a federal administrative proceeding involving the state’s voter registration database. The suit says La Strada twice raised concerns with Hoskins, but his Capitol security badge then was deactivated before a hearing in the case and he was fired effective May 1.
The state election integrity director post remains vacant, Moy said.
