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June 22, 2026

U.S.–Israeli Citizen Extradited from Norway Is Arraigned in Orlando on Indictment Alleging Threats to Jewish Community Institutions

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Orlando, FL — Michael Ron David Kadar, 27, a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, was arraigned today on an indictment from the Middle District of Florida charging him with hate crimes and obstruction of the free exercise of religion committed against Jewish institutions throughout Florida, including schools and community centers. In addition, Kadar faces charges in the District of Columbia for threats made against the Israeli Embassy and the Anti-Defamation League Washington, D.C. offices and in the Middle District of Georgia for cyberstalking and conveying false information to police dispatch regarding an alleged hostage situation at a residence in Athens, Georgia.

June 22, 2026

Mesa Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Fentanyl Overdose Death

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Edgar Giovany Baca-Anaya, 27, of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 120 months in prison, followed by 96 months of supervised release. Baca-Anaya previously pleaded guilty to Distribution of Fentanyl and admitted that the distribution resulted in the death of another person.

June 22, 2026

Defense News: National Guard Counterdrug Program adapts to evolving criminal threats

Source: United States Army

ARLINGTON, Va. — Drug trafficking networks often cross state and international borders, and analysts with the National Guard Counterdrug program are helping law enforcement officials identify trafficking routes and connect investigations across jurisdictions in order to disrupt and stop the flow of illicit drugs.

“Borders serve as the main line of defense for preventing drugs from entering the U.S., but threats posed by illicit drug trafficking do not stop there,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Laurie Rodriguez, National Guard Bureau Counterdrug division chief. “They exist in all states.”

In one recent investigation, Guard analysts identified text-based communications tied to a fentanyl trafficking network operating across six states. Their work contributed to the seizure of 196,000 fentanyl pills and additional narcotics arrests, said Rodriguez.

The investigation was one of thousands supported each year by the program, which provides analytical, reconnaissance, operational, and training support to law enforcement agencies throughout all 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Congress authorized the program in 1989. Since then, the mission has expanded well beyond its early efforts focused on marijuana eradication.

“What once focused primarily on local and state marijuana eradication missions has expanded into disrupting activities and dismantling drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations,” Rodriguez said, adding that the program is structured differently in each state based on local needs, threats, and law enforcement partnerships.

Nationwide, nearly 3,000 Guard personnel support those efforts as part of the program. All serve on Title 32 status and remain under control of their governors while supporting federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Rodriguez said today’s drug trafficking organizations operate more like sophisticated criminal enterprises than isolated local groups, using communications, financial, and transportation networks that often span jurisdictions and international borders.

Much of the program’s mission now centers on criminal intelligence analysis and interagency coordination.

Guard analysts assigned to High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, state intelligence hubs known as fusion centers, and multi-agency task forces help law enforcement investigators identify trafficking routes, communication patterns, financial links and organizational structures connected to larger criminal networks.

“Analysts act as a force multiplier and bridge gaps between local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” Rodriguez said.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matt Howard, head of the Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, said Guard personnel often help connect agencies and investigative efforts that may otherwise operate separately.

“I think we are sometimes the bridge between elements or agencies where we can get folks to kind of work together,” he said. “I think we’re really the trusted brokers.”

Beyond analysis, the Counterdrug program provides military-unique capabilities many law enforcement agencies cannot sustain independently, said Rodriguez. Reconnaissance teams use fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and specialized equipment to identify trafficking corridors and illegal drug activity, while other personnel provide communications, transportation, engineering and language translation support.

“I’ve worked with law enforcement agencies that have like 12 people, counting the secretary,” said Howard. “They don’t have helicopters. They don’t have an analysis person.”

The Counterdrug program brings those capabilities, said Rodriguez.

The program also operates five schools that train Guard members, law enforcement personnel, and community organizations in areas including criminal intelligence analysis, ground reconnaissance, and partnership development.

Other elements of the Counterdrug program work with anti-drug coalitions and community organizations to help communities develop long-term prevention strategies and responses tailored to local conditions.

“The Guard is already connected to these communities,” Rodriguez said. “The trust is already there.”

Rodriguez said the program continues adapting alongside law enforcement partners as criminal organizations evolve their methods and operations.

In fiscal year 2025, the Guard Counterdrug program supported more than 2,800 law enforcement agencies and contributed to narcotics-related seizures valued at approximately $15 billion, according to NGB figures.

Rodriguez said those operations are not only removing narcotics from communities, but also disrupting the financial networks that sustain larger criminal organizations.

“We’re denying these cartels and high-priority targets the revenue that they would have otherwise,” she said.

Defense News in Brief: Allies come together in the Indo-Pacific: Valiant Shield 26

Source: United States Navy

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – U.S. Pacific Command joint forces, along with allied and partner forces, are scheduled to participate in exercise Valiant Shield (VS26) 2026, June 22–July 1, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex.

June 22, 2026

Defense News in Brief: USS Fitzgerald returns to San Diego following three months underway

Source: United States Navy

SAN DIEGO (June 19, 2026) – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) returned to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following a three-month underway to the U.S. 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operations, June 19.

June 22, 2026

Defense News in Brief: NPS Celebrates 400+ New Graduates During Spring Quarter Commencement

Source: United States Navy

MONTEREY, Calif. – The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) celebrated the achievements of its 2026 Spring Quarter graduating class during a commencement ceremony in King Hall, June 18, recognizing more than 400 U.S. and allied military officers and government civilians prepared to excel in the fleet and force through advanced education and research.

June 22, 2026

Security News: MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA RAISES AWARENESS OF GOVERNMENT IMPOSTER SCAMS

Source: United States Department of Justice

In honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Kurt L. Wall, joins the Elder Justice Coordinating Council and other government agencies and organizations across the country to spread the word about government and business imposter scams.

June 22, 2026

Defense News: Idaho Army Guard battalion transitions to mobile infantry

Source: United States Army

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Army National Guard’s 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion reorganized as a mobile infantry battalion June 18 in a ceremony at Gowen Field, part of a strategic modernization effort designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities in response to emerging global threats.

“The nature of warfare is evolving, and so too must we,” said Lt. Col. Jared Mckie, executive officer of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team). “Defeating the adversaries of tomorrow requires a force that is more agile, more deployable and capable of operating across vastly different, complex terrain.”

During the ceremony, the unit was reorganized as the 2nd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry). Its two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company were redesignated as mobile infantry companies; a newly formed multi-purpose company was activated; and its logistics support company was reorganized as a combat logistics company.

The reorganization is part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s transition from an armor brigade to a mobile brigade combat team as part of the U.S. Army’s Transformation Initiative. The modernization effort is designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities by adapting fighting formations and integrating new technologies to prepare units and Soldiers to fight on the battlefield of the future.

The regiment has turned in its Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles for Infantry Squad Vehicles, which are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform and can carry up to nine Soldiers.

“The tools we fight with are changing, but the mission remains the same: to find the enemy, fix them and destroy them,” Mckie said. “The vehicles we fight on will change, but the lethality, the discipline and the proud heritage of the 2-116th will remain intact.”

The unit’s headquarters and headquarters company will remain in Caldwell. A Company will relocate from Emmett to Burley. B Company will remain in Nampa. C Company will remain on Gowen Field. D Company, the newly formed multi-purpose company, will be located in Emmett and provide the regiment with organic strike, reconnaissance and sensing capabilities.

G Company, 145th Brigade Support Battalion, was reorganized as C Company, 145th Light Support Battalion and will remain on Gowen Field. The event also featured a change-of-command ceremony for all the battalion’s company commanders and a change-of-responsibility ceremony for all its first sergeants.

Earlier this month, the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team)’s engineer battalion was inactivated, and a signal, engineer and military company were each reactivated as part of the brigade’s transition to a mobile brigade combat team. In July, the Idaho Army National Guard will activate the 1st of the 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry), which will be headquartered in Lewiston. Logistics and engineer companies in northern Idaho will convert to infantry units.

In August, the 145th Brigade Support Battalion will relocate from Lewiston to the new Jerome Readiness Center and become the 145th Light Support Battalion. The Jerome Readiness Center will be dedicated to former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on June 29.

Units in Twin Falls and Jerome were already scheduled to relocate to the Jerome Readiness Center later this summer and will now become logistical support units. Elsewhere in the Magic Valley region, the field artillery battery in Burley will relocate to Boise.

In eastern Idaho, the 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment’s headquarters will remain in Pocatello. The region will gain an infantry company in Saint Anthony and gain nearly 275 additional part-time Soldiers. Following the transition, which is expected to be completed by the end of September, Idaho Army National Guard units will be located in 19 communities across the state.

Outside Idaho, subordinate battalions of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team from the Montana and Oregon Army National Guards converted to infantry battalions and ceased affiliation with the brigade. The 1st of the 221st Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, will remain affiliated with the brigade and convert to a mobile infantry battalion.

The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team) will retain its cavalry lineage and designation following its transition.

The brigade traces its lineage to the 1st Cavalry, which was constituted on March 4, 1920, and organized throughout Idaho’s Snake River Valley. The unit was redesignated as the 116th Cavalry on Oct. 12, 1921, and has been headquartered in Boise since Dec. 9, 1930. Elements of the brigade and its predecessor organizations have served in every major conflict since 1891, including the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border Campaign, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

Brookings Man Convicted in Federal Trial Charging Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Joseph Darrell Peterson, Jr., age 47, of Brookings, South Dakota (formerly of Veblen, South Dakota) of two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

June 22, 2026

Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Continuing to Commit Child Sexual Abuse Offenses

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A previously convicted sex offender from Williams County was sentenced to federal prison for committing offenses that involved sexual abuse of children while he was out on parole for a separate offense.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.