Don't look now but there's a real dispute emerging among judges in DC about one of the staple charges against nearly every Jan. 6 defendant: Entering and remaining in a restricted building.
Tonight, Judge Cooper acquitted a Jan. 6 defendant of two counts, saying DOJ fell short.
The heart of the dispute: Does DOJ need to show that rioters *knew* Mike Pence (or another USSS protectee) was/would be present to prove someone violated he law. Until recently, judges had all agreed that wasn't necessary.
Cooper (Obama) joins Judges Nichols (Trump) and Lamberth (Reagan) in taking this narrower view of the 18 USC 1752 charges, a misdemeanor that has been leveled against 1,186 of the 1,260-ish Jan. 6 defendants.
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BREAKING: A judge has ordered the immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia student detained amid Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.
@liz_crampton was in the Vermont courthouse where the decision just came down.
@liz_crampton NEW: Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi walked out of court today after a judge ordered his immediate release from ICE detention. His words to Trump: "I am not afraid of you."
NEWS: After canceling thousands of foreign students' immigration records — threatening their ability to study and live in the US — the Trump administration has reversed course and restored them all.
It follows intense pushback from courts across the country.
Details TK
ICE had terminated the records of thousands of students from a federal database called SEVIS that tracks their legal status in the country. The effect of those terminations was in dispute, but many students said they had been barred from continuing their studies and were at risk of deportation.
The reason ICE appeared to have canceled their SEVIS records? Minor legal infractions that showed up in criminal history searches — which the law explicitly says is not a basis to deny a foreign student, studying on an F1 visa, their legal status.
Now, after dozens of judges across the country flagged the likely illegality, ICE says it won't do that anymore. politico.com/news/2025/04/2…
By my count, there had been 103 lawsuits filed in the last 20 days, and judges had issued 50 restraining orders requiring the Trump administration to reverse the SEVIS terminations. Those decisions came in more than 23 states and from judges appointed by several presidents, including Trump. politico.com/news/2025/04/2…
It is unfathomable that Martin was unaware of the widely publicized allegations about Hale-Cusanelli, who he has interviewed for hours and whose case made national headlines for years after Jan.6.
BUSY NIGHT FOR THE COURTS: Late last night, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring DOGE’s access to sensitive Social Securitt data, saying the government flouted the law to provide unfettered access to DOGE without a reasonable basis. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
ALIEN ENEMIES ACT: The Trump administration filed an emergency motion to block Judge Boasberg’s initiation of contempt proceedings, saying his suggestion of forcing the administration to prosecute itself — or bring back deported Venezuelans — is unconstitutional.”
DISMANTLING CFPB: Judge Amy Berman Jackson has called a 10am hearing on whether the Trump administration violated her order against large-scale dismantling of the agency. She is seeking details of a purported reduction in force and the order to implement it.
JUST IN: Judge Boasberg finds probable cause to hold administration in contempt of court for defying his order to turn around planes, demands new details in order for officials to “purge” their contempt. Details TK
BOASBERG said the evidence shows willful defiance by the Trump administration that amounts to criminal contempt. Full 46-page opinion: ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_p…
Boasberg cites the administration’s gloating after his order was violated, noting the snarky “oppose”tweet from Bukele and how it was amplified by administration officials.: ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_p…