Defense News: USAG Rheinland-Pfalz kicks off 2026 Army Emergency Relief Campaign

Source: United States Army

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The yearly Army Emergency Relief (AER) campaign kicked off on installations across the world on March 1. The campaign, which runs until June 14, educates Soldiers about the types of AER assistance available to them and provides the opportunity for them to donate to help fellow Soldiers.

To jump start this year’s campaign, the garrison hosted several kick-off events, including breakfasts at dining facilities in Baumholder, Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl, and a cake cutting in Sembach.

Jessee Dean, AER specialist with USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Army Community Service, said the garrison’s goals for this year are to reach a 20 percent participation rate for all active duty soldiers and to notify all active duty members of the services AER provides.

Dean said that during last year’s campaign, USAG-Rheinland-Pfalz contributed $31,585 to the campaign. This year’s goal is to exceed that total and take in at least $32,000 in donations.

The Army Emergency Relief fund has provided soldiers and Army families with over $2 Billion in financial assistance to nearly four million people over the last 84 years.

“AER is one of the best organizations helping soldiers and families,” said USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Command Sergeant Major Randy Rivera, noting that AER provides soldiers with zero-interest loans, grants and a variety of different types of financial assistance, including scholarships for dependent spouses and children for up to a four-year degree.

Rivera also explained that AER offers grants for soldiers and families’ permanent change of station (PCS) travel and emergency leave. They offer coverage for up to $500 or 50 percent of the price of airline tickets for emergency leave, and even financial assistance for things like car repair.

AER is solely funded by donations from active duty, U.S. Army Reserve, Army National Guard and retired Soldiers, and other organizations whose goal is to support Soldiers during times of financial difficulty.

If you are interested in donating, head to https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/donate/ and select one of the two donation options – standard online donation via bank card, eCheck or PayPal, or a recurring payroll allotment. Additionally, cash and check donations can be given via DA Form 4908, which can be obtained through and turned into AER Unit Representatives.

For more information on the Army Emergency Relief Fund Campaign and how to support, visit the official AER website at https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org, contact your unit AER representative, or reach out to Dean at +49 (0) 9641-70-541-9012

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz sets, serves and secures the total force community, enabling power projection for the European Theater.

Connect with us: https://linktr.ee/usag_rp

Owners and CEO of Wholesale Pharmaceutical Company Sentenced for Distributing More Than $92M of Black-Market HIV Drugs

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Two owners of a pharmaceutical wholesale company were sentenced Friday to a total of 38 years in prison for orchestrating a complex, nationwide drug diversion scheme that harmed vulnerable HIV-positive patients, placed countless others at risk, and corrupted the supply chain for prescription drugs in the United States.

“Patrick and Charles Boyd did not just commit fraud and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, they preyed upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society: HIV patients who depend on life-saving treatments to manage their disease,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraud schemes like this one undermine the integrity of our supply chain for necessary prescription drugs. These defendants will rightly spend years in prison for their reprehensible conduct, which took advantage of people for illicit profit. This case is another example of how the Criminal Division, our United States Attorney partner in the Southern District of Florida, and law enforcement will pursue and seek convictions of those who defraud our systems, endanger our citizens, and seek to line their pockets with fraud proceeds.”

“These defendants treated life-saving HIV medication like street contraband,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “They bought drugs off the street from black-market suppliers, shipped them in dirty boxes and discarded packaging, falsified paperwork, and pushed those medications back into the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain. The consequences were real. HIV patients received bottles containing the wrong drugs, and at least one patient lost consciousness after ingesting medication that should never have been in that bottle. As a former military prosecutor, federal prosecutor, and trial judge, I have seen how greed can drive dangerous schemes. When criminals gamble with patient safety for profit, federal prison is the result.”

“Friday’s sentence underscores the extreme danger these defendants created,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “They took life‑threatening actions that showed an alarming disregard for human life in service of nothing more than a payday. Their criminal scheme endangered vulnerable patients, put entire communities at risk, and undermined the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid. HHS‑OIG will continue working with our law enforcement partners — and using every tool in our arsenal — to pursue and dismantle illegal black‑market rings that seek to corrupt the nation’s drug supply and exploit taxpayer‑funded health care programs.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, brothers Patrick Boyd, 47, and Charles Boyd, 43, of Easton, Maryland, founded and owned Safe Chain Solutions, a wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical medications located in Maryland. Charles Boyd was the CEO, while Patrick Boyd served as a Managing Partner who oversaw the company’s sales division. The evidence presented at trial showed that Patrick and Charles Boyd conspired with at least five black-market suppliers to purchase HIV drugs obtained through patient “buyback schemes” at steep discounts. One of their suppliers testified at trial that he purchased HIV drugs from patients on the street, removed the original prescription labels, and packaged the bottles in cardboard boxes — sometimes scavenged from trash on pick-up days — before shipping them to the defendants. On one occasion, this supplier used a diaper box he found on the street to ship the drugs. Many of these bottles were dirty, unsealed, and showed obvious signs they had previously been dispensed, such as the two depicted below:

Trial evidence showed that pharmacies complained to Safe Chain Solutions about their illicit conduct. For example, pharmacies reported to Safe Chain Solutions that they received bottles with entirely different drugs in them as early as August 2020.

In another documented complaint, one of their pharmacy customers sent the defendants a photo of the condition in which he received HIV drugs from them: 

The customer informed Patrick and Charles Boyd that these bottles of HIV drugs did not meet “safety standards . . . and may present risk for our patients” and returned the drugs.

Evidence admitted at trial included an article shared between the defendants discussing these serious risks, just days before the customer complained. According to the article, “The schemes hurt individuals with HIV, cost taxpayers millions of dollars and drive up the viral load in communities, exposing others to the illness and spoiling the city and state’s mission to drive the number of new HIV diagnoses to zero.”

Despite these early complaints, Patrick and Charles Boyd continued buying cheap, diverted HIV drugs from the same black-market suppliers for many months, and continued selling the drugs to pharmacies along with falsified paperwork designed to fool their customers and regulatory agencies.

A patient who received a bottle of prescribed HIV medication sold to a pharmacy by the defendants testified at trial that Seroquel, an anti-psychotic drug, was actually in his bottle. He testified that he unwittingly ingested the Seroquel and lost consciousness for 24 hours. Evidence at trial established that missing even a single dose of HIV medication can increase a patient’s viral load and heighten community transmission risk in areas with high HIV infection rates. There was at least one additional documented complaint where another HIV patient unwittingly ingested a different drug that was in his bottle.

The trial evidence also established the many elaborate steps Patrick and Charles Boyd took to conceal their criminal conduct from detection. They worked with the black-market suppliers behind the back of their own Director of Compliance, who testified that she repeatedly raised concerns throughout the conspiracy but was ignored. They also enlisted attorneys as part of their cover-up. One of those attorneys testified at trial, describing how the Boyd brothers concealed and misrepresented material information while seeking legal advice about pharmacy complaints and reporting obligations to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the evidence, the defendants failed to report numerous incidents to the FDA involving pharmacies that had received incorrect or tampered medications.

Between April 2020 and September 2021, Patrick and Charles Boyd bought and resold more than 28,000 bottles of these black-market HIV drugs. They paid more than $92.8 million for the drugs, which they sold to pharmacies for a profit. Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurers were billed and paid for these illicit drugs.

In October 2025, Patrick and Charles Boyd were convicted at trial of conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce; conspiracy to traffic in medical products with false documentation; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; two counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce; and two counts of wire fraud. Patrick Boyd was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Charles Boyd was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In addition to the prison sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay $21,850,000 in forfeiture.

A third defendant, Adam Brosius, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud with the Boyds and was sentenced to 97 months in prison in connection with his role in the scheme.

HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacqueline Zee DerOvanesian and Alexander Thor Pogozelski for the Southern District of Florida, with the assistance of Assistant Chief James V. Hayes of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff for the Southern District of Florida handled asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit. 

Defense News: U.S. Army exchange officers build trust, strength within NATO

Source: United States Army

SEMBACH, Germany — Far from the familiar formations of the U.S. Army, a select group of American Soldiers is deeply embedded within the military forces of their European allies. Each year, U.S. Army NATO brings these exchange officers together for a crucial training and leader development event, ensuring they remain ready and connected while serving in isolated assignments across seven countries.

This initiative is part of the Military Personnel Exchange Program, a cornerstone of security cooperation since 1954. The program is designed for the reciprocal exchange of personnel, placing U.S. Soldiers in allied units and vice versa. According to Todd Scatini, the MPEP program manager for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, it’s a powerful framework for building partner capacity and integrating forces at the unit level. The program, he said, allows the U.S. to tangibly demonstrate its commitment by having a presence directly within allied formations.

The annual gathering is more than just a training requirement; it’s a vital opportunity for connection and shared understanding.

“It’s always good to bring the folks in to put a face to a name and have a discussion about what’s going on in your part of the world,” said Col. Jeremiah D. Pope, commander of U.S. Army NATO Brigade.

Beyond the immediate benefits of camaraderie, the program plays a vital role in the strategic fabric of the alliance. This broader perspective was emphasized by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kareem (Monty) Montague, an exchange officer assigned to the French Forces Command in Lille, France.

“I think this training is incredibly important because we are all stationed across Europe, working regularly with our European partners,” he said. “And there is a benefit to bringing all of us together once a year, not just to meet annual training requirements, but to share lessons learned and integrate our understanding of the unique challenges we all face.”

Montague stressed that the true power of the program lies in building the deep-seated trust that is essential for combined operations.

“If we’re going to fight with allies, we have to understand them, and there has to be a mutual trust that’s only gained over time,” he explained. “The more people who have experiences serving in those allied formations and take those experiences back to the U.S., the better we understand our allies and the more effective we’ll be on the battlefield, which is where it all matters.”

This visible presence of American Soldiers in allied ranks sends a clear message of solidarity. Capt. Paolo Bonventre, a military exchange officer with the Folgore Airborne Brigade in Livorno, Italy, sees this as a fundamental aspect of his role.

“I think right off the bat, it is important because it provides a presence and shows our commitment to our allies, that we are invested in our relationship with them,” he said.

The program’s influence also cascades through the ranks. Scatini highlighted that U.S. Army sergeants major are teaching in NCO academies in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. “In terms of impact and ability to educate and inspire an allied NCO Corps,” he said, “those sergeants major are senior leaders to a generation of noncommissioned officers that then go out and become the backbone of our partner armies.”

For the officers themselves, the annual training is a welcome chance to build their own support network. “This is a time for me to be able to meet these guys, get some perspective from them, and make those connections with them,” Bonventre noted.

Recognizing the challenges of being in isolated assignments, the leadership of U.S. Army NATO ensures that robust support is always available.

“Don’t suffer in silence,” Pope urged the exchange officers. “The U.S. Army NATO support staff, whether it’s finance, medical, administrative, whatever it is, we have a section to help you take care of that… I have an open-door policy. Just come right down and talk to me.”

U.S. Army NATO provides direct support to approximately 60 MPEP Soldiers and their families across Europe and also supports roughly 1,000 Soldiers assigned to NATO billets at 84 locations in 24 countries.

Defense News: Arizona Army National Guard strengthens skills for wildfire response

Source: United States Army

PICACHO STAGE FIELD, Ariz. — Soldiers with the 2-285th Assault Helicopter Battalion, Arizona Army National Guard, trained alongside federal, state and local firefighting partners during helicopter bucket aerial firefighting qualification hosted by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, March 5, strengthening the state’s ability to rapidly respond to wildland fires.

The training ensures Arizona National Guard Soldiers remain prepared to combat wildland fires from the air. It included classroom instruction and field drills designed to test coordination between helicopter crews and firefighting ground crews. Personnel with the 2-285th AHB, DFFM, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and local fire departments practiced interagency operations to train and qualify in calling for and executing aerial water drops. Trainings like these enhance collaboration between military and mutual aid agencies while reinforcing the Army National Guard’s dedication to readiness and emergency response.

“This training is critical for ensuring our crews are ready to respond effectively to wildland fires when called upon,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephan Hilgendorf, 2-285th instructor pilot. “Flying with the Water Bucket requires precision, teamwork and clear communication with ground crews to deliver water safely and efficiently where it’s needed most. The opportunity to train alongside firefighting professionals in real-world scenarios strengthens our ability to integrate into joint operations and protect lives, property and natural resources, directly supporting our communities.”

More than 40 UH-60 Black Hawk pilots and crew chiefs successfully qualified in aerial firefighting for the 2026 season. Each crew member is essential to mission execution. While the pilots navigate the aircraft, crew chiefs play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of aerial firefighting operations.

“The crew chief is the one who truly directs the helicopter bucket,” said Staff Sgt. Tyler Mowbray, 2-285th crew chief. “We are the pilot’s eyes on the ground and the steady hand ensuring 600 gallons of water is picked up, flown and delivered with precision and safety. Without our constant vigilance and communication from the cabin, the bucket is just dead weight; with us, it’s a mission-critical tool.”

Given Arizona’s unique conditions, where fire season is not confined to a single period, and wildland fires can ignite year-round, it is essential for the Arizona National Guard to maintain a constant state of readiness. Through real-world training and interagency coordination with local mutual aid partners, the battalion remains committed to being always ready and always there to respond to emergencies at home.

Related Links

The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil

State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil

The National Guard on Facebook | Facebook.com/TheNationalGuard

The National Guard on Flickr | Flickr.com/TheNationalGuard

The National Guard on Instagram | Instagram.com/us.nationalguard

The National Guard on X | X.com/USNationalGuard

The National Guard on YouTube | YouTube.com/TheNationalGuard

Antifa Cell Members Convicted in Prairieland ICE Detention Center Shooting

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Nine North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were convicted today by a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas for their roles in rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center on July 4, 2025.  

In a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, jurors heard testimony from more than 45 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, also known as Autunm Hill; Zachary Evetts; Benjamin Song; Savanna Batten; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Elizabeth Soto; Ines Soto; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pleaded guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists.

“Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”

“These guilty verdicts and convictions rightly reflect the vicious, armed attack that these Antifa cell members planned and executed against law enforcement and detention center officers on the night of July 4 last year,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas. “Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from some peaceful protest or First Amendment expression. Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, sixteen people have been brought to justice for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them. We will continue in this mission to hold others accountable who perpetrate such violence and fund these ANTIFA groups in the Northern District of Texas.”

“Today’s verdict shows the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.”

“The coordinated attack on the Prairieland Detention Center required a whole of government approach from the initial response throughout the investigation and trial. The FBI’s JTTF led this collective effort resulting in convictions and guilty pleas by those who committed violent acts against our law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI Dallas Field Office. “I want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that collaborated with us on this investigation. Our collective goal remains to ensure the safety and security of our communities in North Texas.”

“This case marks a historic moment as it represents the nation’s initial federal indictment targeting a coordinated group of Antifa cell members engaged in violent criminal activity,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “The charges demonstrate our unwavering commitment to confronting domestic terrorism and protecting our communities from organized threats.”

Testimony and other evidence at trial established that the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law. An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that Antifa’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organized riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions. 

Evidence at trial revealed that most of the Antifa Cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups. For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called “zines,” according to trial evidence.

Trial testimony reflected that, late at night on July 4, at least 11 of the defendants rioted and attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, which the DHS was using to house illegal aliens awaiting deportation. The defendants dressed in “black bloc” — dark clothing with head and face coverings that concealed their identities — designed to hide each individual’s identity but also to aid and abet those members engaged in illegal acts by making members indistinguishable from one another to law enforcement. Evidence introduced at trial revealed that the defendants brought eleven firearms, body armor, and eleven military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items for gunshot wounds to the scene of the attack. Many of these items were introduced by the government as exhibits. Additionally, fingerprint evidence linked many of the defendants to the items at the scene, and evidence obtained on phone locations supported that those who participated in the attack all turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to prevent tracking on the night of the attack.

After Antifa Cell members arrived at Prairieland, they began shooting off and throwing fireworks (explosives) at the facility and vandalizing vehicles and a guard shack on Prairieland property:   

Witnesses testified that an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911. When the officer began issuing commands to defendant Nathan Baumann, Benjamin Song can be heard on police bodycam video yelling, “get to the rifles!” and then he opened fire on the officers, striking the Alvarado police officer in the neck as the unarmed correctional officers ducked and ran for cover. Police arrested most of the Antifa Cell shortly after the attack, many near the scene. Benjamin Song escaped and remained at large with the help of others until his capture on July 15, 2025.

Trial evidence demonstrated that collectively, the Antifa Cell acquired over 50 firearms in the Fort Worth/Dallas area prior to July 4. During trial, the government introduced numerous chats of the members, who used an encrypted messaging app to coordinate with each other that had auto-delete functions, permanently deleting some Antifa Cell members’ communications. They also used monikers in group chats to hide their identities, and some of the planning chats included only trusted participants. The chats introduced at trial revealed that members in this limited group conducted reconnaissance and discussed what to bring to the riot, including firearms, medical kits, and fireworks:

Witnesses who testified during the government’s case included the Alvarado police officer who was shot in the neck by Song, detention officers present that night who also took cover from rapid fire, multiple additional responding officers, numerous investigative agents, and cooperating codefendants, including Baumann, Sharp, Thomas, and Kent. Among other things, Kent testified that the night before the attack at a “gear check,” Song proposed to free the detainees at Prairieland and told the group that they should wear black bloc and bring rifles, because he (Song) wasn’t going to be arrested.  Evidence at trial also revealed that some of the defendants attended a peaceful daytime protest at Prairieland on July 4 — without the gear they brought that night — and that they reported back to other defendants details regarding security at the facility:

The jury convicted the nine defendants of the following offenses:

  • Riot, with the intent to commit an act of violence, involving conduct such as shooting and throwing fireworks and explosives, slashing tires on a government vehicle, spraying graffiti on property and vehicles, destroying a closed circuit camera, shooting at officers, and dressing in black bloc.
    • Defendants convicted: Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto
  • Providing Material Support to Terrorists, including property, services, training, communications equipment, weapons, explosives, personnel (including themselves), and transportation.
    • Defendants convicted: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, and I. Soto
  • Conspiracy to Use and Carry an Explosive, and Using and Carrying an Explosive, during a riot.
    • Defendants convicted: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, and I. Soto
  • Attempted Murder of Officers and Employees of the United States, involving the unlawful attempt to kill with malice aforethought Correctional Officers-1 and 2, and an Alvarado Police Officer.
    • Defendants convicted:  Song
  • Discharging a Firearm During, and in Relation to, and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, i.e., the attempted murder of two correctional officers and an Alvarado Police Officer.
    • Defendants convicted:  Song
  • Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record, by transporting a box containing numerous Antifa materials, such as insurrection planning, anti-law enforcement, anti-government, and anti-immigration enforcement documents and propaganda from Sanchez Estrada’s residence to a location in Denton, Texas, intending to conceal the box’s contents and impair its availability for use in a federal grand jury and federal criminal proceeding.
    • Defendant convicted: Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada
  • Conspiracy to Conceal Documents and other objects that would implicate Maricela Rueda in the riot and shooting at the Prairieland facility.
    • Defendants convicted: Sanchez Estrada and Maricela Rueda

Song faces a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda, Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison. Sanchez Estrada faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

The sole count of providing material support to terrorists to which Baumann, Gibson, Kent, Morgan, Sharp, Thomas, and Sikes pleaded guilty mirrors the material support offense in the charges presented to the jury at trial. Each of these defendants faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Sentencing hearings for the 16 defendants are pending in front of U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman for the Northern District of Texas who oversaw the trial.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Dallas Field Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office (ICE ERO), ATF, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Alvarado Police Department, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Gatto, Shawn Smith, and Matt Capoccia for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.

Virginia Man Charged with Illegally Selling the Firearm Used in the Campus Shooting at Old Dominion University

Source: United States Department of Justice

Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, Virginia, appeared in federal court today and was charged by criminal complaint with dealing in firearms without a license in connection with the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU), and with three counts of making false statements during purchases of firearms. View complaint here. View affidavit here.

“The Biden Department of Justice declined to prosecute this man and let him off easy with a warning,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Left-wing soft-on-crime policies cost lives — but this Department of Justice doesn’t tolerate crime, we punish it.”

“Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will finally face the full weight of justice,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated ATF and FBI agents, in partnership with state and local law enforcement officers, we have arrested and charged this safety threat and removed him from the community.”

“If you steal firearms, lie on federal forms, and put weapons in the hands of convicted terrorists, this FBI will find you,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “I want to thank our Norfolk Field Office and partners who continue to work 24/7 to bring to justice those responsible for yesterday’s attack. In the meantime, we continue to keep the victims, their families, and the entire Old Dominion community in our prayers.”

On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, committed a shooting at ODU in Norfolk during an Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (ROTC) class, killing one victim and wounding two more. Today, law enforcement searched Chapman’s residence and located ammunition consistent with the firearm recovered from the ODU shooting. Chapman allegedly stole the firearm from a vehicle in Newport News one year before the ODU shooting and sold it to Jalloh days before the ODU shooting.

Jalloh was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. As a previously convicted felon, Jalloh could not legally purchase or possess firearms or ammunition.

In addition, according to court documents, in 2021, Chapman allegedly purchased three firearms that were recovered from crime scenes shortly afterward. Two were recovered from the scene of a homicide and another recovered from a drunk in public incident.

If convicted, Chapman faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke Bresnahan and Rebecca Gantt for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Former Boston Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A former science teacher at Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for coercing and enticing at least one underage female to engage in sexual conversations online and requesting that she produce and send child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of herself. Defendant, who also previously worked at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Hyde Park and the Brookline Public Schools, possessed CSAM depicting rape of both female and male minors, ranging in age from approximately five to 17 years old.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 133 Border-Related Cases This Week

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 133 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).