A federal jury has awarded $667,000 in damages to a group of incarcerated Muslim men in Missouri who were pepper-sprayed by state correctional officers while praying. The money will be distributed among eight men who were handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and placed in solitary confinement after praying in their prison housing unit on Feb. 28, 2021. According to the lawsuit, those who were placed in solitary confinement were left without access to soap or running water to wash off the pepper spray. The jury ruled in favor of the incarcerated men on all counts. The Missouri Department of Corrections did not immediately return a request seeking comment on the judgment.
Families and supporters of Americans detained in Iran worry that their loved ones risk becoming collateral damage amid continued Israeli and American bombardment, or victims of retaliation from Iran’s repressive regime. Advocates for the detainees estimate there are at least six Americans are held in Iran, including some housed in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. Among the Americans currently detained are Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian American reporter, Kamran Hekmati, an Iranian American jeweler from New York, and Afarin Mohajer, a California resident originally from Iran. The Trump administration declined to respond to specific questions about the detainees, but called on Iran to immediately release them.
The long-held practice of faith leaders ministering to detained migrants has become far more contentious — and consequential — as detention numbers soar across the country during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Many of the clergy and volunteers from faiths as diverse as Catholic and Sikh say they are worried about inconsistent access and deteriorating conditions. And yet, they argue their role is vital not only to preserve the right to worship, but to remind migrants of their humanity and that they’re not forgotten. Groups of Christian clergy sued the government recently in Illinois and Minnesota after being denied access.
Court documents show that a man accused of killing three women in Utah was already known to police in Iowa. Twenty-two-year-old Ivan Miller had been scheduled for an arraignment Friday in Iowa where he's accused of breaking into a cabin back in December. Miller had been released without bail on those charges in January after vowing to appear for the next court appearance. He's now jailed in Colorado and separately charged in Utah with the deaths of the three women. A public defender representing Miller in the Colorado case said Friday during a court hearing that his client will fight extradition to Utah and does not want to speak to media.
The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, in its first months of operation in El Paso, Texas. The emergencies included repeated suicide attempts by detainees, seizures, injuries from fights and a pregnant woman in pain. Data from more than a hundred 911 calls obtained by The Associated Press, interviews with detainees and court filings offer a portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected claims of subprime conditions, saying detainees receive food, water and medical treatment in a facility that's regularly cleaned.
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Arizona. Police say they conducted a traffic stop in Scottsdale at roughly 1 a.m. Friday and Brooks was arrested after an investigation. He was taken to jail and released following the booking process around 3:30 a.m. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since Feb. 21 because of a fractured left hand. He’s expected to be out until at least late March after having surgery. The Suns say they are aware of the situation and gathering information.
Britney Spears has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol near her Southern California home. Authorities say Spears was pulled over after reports that her BMW was driving fast and erratically on a highway on Wednesday night. The California Highway Patrol says she was jailed after taking a series of field sobriety tests. A representative for Spears calls the incident “completely inexcusable” and says she plans to comply with the law and seek help. Jail records show she was booked early Thursday and released later in the morning. The district attorney will decide on charges.
Serious medical and mental health emergencies have been routine at the nation’s largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility since its opening in August. Data from more than a hundred 911 calls at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, along with interviews and court filings, offer a disturbing portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress. Current and former detainees say they struggle to obtain health care as disease spreads, lose weight because of a lack of food, and fear security guards known to use force to put down disturbances. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected claims of subprime conditions, saying Camp East Montana detainees receive food, water and medical treatment in a facility that is regularly cleaned.
A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months after the denial of his asylum application has died in the hospital. The man's brother says Wednesday that 56-year-old Emmanuel Damas told officers he had a toothache in mid-February but was not sent to a dentist. Damas is among least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office says Damas’ cause of death is pending.
Many Americans were alarmed when ICE officers in Minneapolis detained a 5-year-old boy and his father last month and sent them to a Texas detention center. But he was no outlier. The government has been holding hundreds of children and their parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. An Associated Press report finds that many have been detained for well beyond the 20-day limit set by a longstanding court order. Since the Trump administration reopened Dilley last spring, the number of children and parents held there has risen sharply. Parents and children recount stressful conditions, including experiences that raise questions about the quality of care provided. The Department of Homeland Security has strongly defended the care and conditions there.