Author: Houston Stringer

NEW YORK, NY – Two men hired by the Iranian government to assassinate Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad have each been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. According to the Department of Justice, Rafat Amirov, 46, of Iran, and Polad Omarov, 41, of Georgia, were convicted in March 2025 of murder-for-hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and related charges. Prosecutors said both men were high-ranking members of an Azerbaijani faction of the Russian Mob who were paid $500,000 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to organize the murder. The plot, which was orchestrated by Iranian intelligence officials, followed earlier failed kidnapping attempts against Alinejad, who has been a vocal critic of Iran’s repression of women and...

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed the 20-year prison sentence of Benjamin Alan Carpenter, also known as “Abu Hamza,” for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by translating the group’s propaganda into English. According to court records, Carpenter founded Ahlud-Tawhid Publications, an organization that translated and published ISIS materials online. Working through Telegram, Carpenter collaborated with someone he believed was affiliated with ISIS to translate videos promoting the terrorist organization’s activities. Federal investigators uncovered Carpenter’s communications and obtained evidence showing that he knowingly provided translation services intended to further ISIS’s propaganda. He was con...

KANSAS CITY, KS – Canyon Anthony Amarys, 28, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, has been arrested in connection with an indictment for attempting to violate the Export Control Reform Act. Amarys, a National Guardsman, made his initial appearance in federal court this week. According to the indictment, in February 2025, Amarys met with an individual he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent. During the meeting, he signed an agreement confirming his covert relationship with a Russian intelligence service and agreed to photograph a military installation at Fort Riley, Kansas, and obtain a helicopter radio for the Russian military. In March 2025, Amarys purchased the helicopter radio, traveled to Kansas to retrieve it, and attempted to export it to a recipient in Romania, understanding ...

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld the 78-month federal prison sentence of Brian Bocage, who described himself as “Michael, the archangel,” after he admitted to a series of arsons targeting monuments, memorials, and a police vehicle outside a synagogue. File Photo (October 2025) According to court documents, Bocage carried out four arsons in Florida and Tennessee and posted videos of the crimes on social media. His targets included the North Lauderdale Veteran’s Memorial, two Tennessee monuments, and a police car outside the Synagogue of Inverrary-Chabad. Bocage pleaded guilty to arson in the Southern District of Florida after previously receiving a 20-month sentence in a separate Tennessee federal case. He argued that his 78-month sentence...

CAMDEN, AR – Special Agents with the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division have arrested 17-year-old Makya McClain of Camden in connection with the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Kimaria Wilson. According to the Arkansas State Police, Camden Police officers responded around 5:45 p.m. on October 19 to a reported shooting at an apartment in Fort Lookout Manor. Upon arrival, officers found Wilson suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving efforts, she was pronounced deceased at approximately 8:30 p.m. by the Ouachita County Coroner. Following a request from Camden Police, state investigators began a homicide investigation. McClain was arrested two days later, on October 21, and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. She was tra...

HESPERIA, CA – Deputies with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrested 36-year-old Scott Binder of Hesperia following an investigation into a video showing a man provoking and then shooting a dog in a yard. According to investigators, Deputy Mark Ballinger identified Binder as the possible suspect after observing a vehicle at his residence similar to the one seen in the footage. On October 30, deputies executed a search warrant at Binder’s home in the 14600 block of Mojave Street, where evidence confirmed he was the individual in the video. Binder was taken into custody and booked into the High Desert Detention Center on multiple felony charges, including animal cruelty, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He rema...

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Google has finalized a $1.375 billion settlement with the State of Texas, resolving two of the largest single-state data privacy enforcement actions ever brought against the company. File Photo (October 2025) Paxton stated that the settlement serves as a warning to other tech companies about violating Texans’ privacy rights. The lawsuits accused Google of unlawfully tracking users’ geolocation data, monitoring incognito browsing, and collecting biometric identifiers without consent. The agreement represents the largest single-state settlement against Google for privacy-related violations. By comparison, a 40-state coalition previously secured $391 million, nearly $1 billion less than the amount obtained by Texas. Thi...

OXFORD, MS – Twenty individuals from Mississippi and Tennessee were arrested in connection with a drug trafficking conspiracy operating across the Mississippi Delta. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, the suspects identified as Brandon Addison, Javery Howard, Milton Gaston, Truron Grayson, Bruce Williams, Sean Williams, Dexture Franklin, Wendell Johnson, Marcus Nolan, Aasahn Roach, Jeremy Sallis, Torio Chaz Wiseman, Pierre Lakes, Derrik Wallace, Marquivious Bankhead, Chaka Gaines, Martavis Moore, Jamario Sanford, Marvin Flowers, and Dequarian Smith face charges related to drug distribution. Nineteen of the defendants are also charged with federal firearm violations tied to drug trafficking, including fourteen who were local law enfor...