By MICHAEL GOLDBERG and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS (Associated Press)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who called themselves the “Goon Squad” pleaded guilty Thursday to a racist assault on two Black men in a home raid that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth.

The officers entered the house without a warrant on Jan. 24, assaulting the men with a sex toy and using stun guns and other objects to abuse them over a roughly 90-minute period, court documents show. After one victim was shot and wounded in a “mock execution” that went awry, the documents say the officers conspired to plant and tamper with evidence instead of providing medical aid.

The Justice Department launched its civil rights probe in February. The Mississippi attorney general’s office announced Thursday it had filed state charges against the six former officers, including assault, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

“The defendants in this case tortured and inflicted unspeakable harm on their victims,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, adding that they “egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect.”

The civil rights charges come after an Associated Press investigation linked the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.

“It’s kind of a partnership in crime,” U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said about the conspiracy charges unsealed Thursday.

Law enforcement brutality has come under increased scrutiny in the U.S. in recent years, with the 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the January beating death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kristen Clarke, who’s in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said Thursday “many law enforcement officers work hard to serve the public and to carry out their duties with integrity and professionalism and respect,” but the former Mississippi officers’ misconduct “is outrageous and shocks the conscience.”

“The actions of these defendants not only caused significant physical, emotional and psychological harm to the victims, but it also caused harm to the entire community who feel that they can’t trust the police officers who are supposed to serve them,” Clarke said, adding that the misconduct leaves “other officers to try to mend the communal wounds inflicted by these defendants.”

Court documents said the officers took on the Goon Squad nickname “because of their willingness to use excessive force and not to report it.”

Those who were charged and pleaded guilty in the case are five former Rankin County Sheriff’s Department employees — Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke — and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, who was off duty when he participated in the raid.

The two victims, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Rankin County in June seeking $400 million in damages. Elward shoved a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and fired, according to court documents. The bullet lacerated Jenkins’ tongue and broke his jaw before exiting his neck.

Dedmon, Elward and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three federal felony offenses for a separate incident. Prosecutors said that on Dec. 4, Dedmon beat a white man, used a Taser on him and fired a gun near his head to coerce a confession, while Elward and Opdyke failed to intervene.

The men walked into the courthouse with family members. Federal marshals took all six into custody and they entered the courtroom with shackles on their wrists and feet.

“They became the criminals they swore to protect us from,” said U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca. “Now, they’ll be treated as the criminals as they are.”

Lee said the men will be sentenced in mid-November. Dedmon and Elward each face a maximum of 120 years plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines; Hartfield faces 80 years and $1.5 million; McAlpin, 90 years and $1.75 million; Middleton, 80 years and $1.5 million; and Opdyke, 100 years and $2 million.

The former officers are scheduled to plead guilty to the state charges on Aug. 14, said Mary-Helen Wall, a deputy state attorney general.

The documents identified Opdyke and Dedmon as the ones who assaulted the two men with the sex toy.

The officers initially went to the home in Braxton because a white neighbor had complained that Black people were staying with a white woman who owned the house. The court documents say Parker was a longtime friend of the homeowner and was helping care for her.

Officers used racist slurs against the two men during the raid and “warned them to stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River — areas with higher concentrations of Black residents,” the documents say.

Before the raid, the officers agreed to enter without a warrant if they could avoid being spotted by the home’s security cameras. They also planned to use excessive force ahead of time — but not in the face, agreeing to “no bad mugshots,” the documents say.

The deputies threw eggs on the handcuffed victims and forced them to lie on their backs while pouring milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup down their mouths. They forced the men to strip naked and shower to remove the evidence.

The officers also repeatedly electrocuted the victims with stun guns to see whether the sheriff’s department or police department weapons were more powerful.

One deputy, Middleton, offered to plant an unregistered firearm at the scene.

The victims are identified in the court documents only by their initials, but Jenkins and Parker have discussed the episode publicly.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced on June 27 that all five deputies involved in the episode had been fired or resigned. Hartfield was later revealed to be the sixth law enforcement officer, and was also fired.

At a news conference, Bailey said he first learned “the real truth” of everything that happened to Jenkins and Parker when he read unsealed court documents Thursday.

“This is the most horrible incident of police brutality I’ve learned of over my whole career, and I’m ashamed it happened at this department,” Bailey said.

Malik Shabazz, one of the attorneys representing Jenkins and Parker, issued a statement Thursday thanking the Justice Department.

“These guilty pleas are historic for justice against rogue police torture in Rankin County and all over America,” Shabazz said in the statement from Black Lawyers for Justice. “Today is truly historic for Mississippi and for civil and human rights in America.”

___

Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.

By JULIE WATSON and LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material.

The two sailors, both based in California, were charged with similar moves to provide sensitive intelligence to the Chinese. But they were separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other’s actions.

Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities.

U.S. officials have for years expressed concern about the espionage threat they say the Chinese government poses, bringing criminal cases in recent years against Beijing intelligence operatives who have stolen sensitive government and commercial information, including through illegal hacking.

The pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security topics on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.

U.S. officials said the cases exemplify China’s brazenness in trying to obtain insight into U.S. military operations.

“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”

Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers.

Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise.

Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country” for greed.

The Justice Department charged Wei under a rarely-used Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government.

After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing. Wei did not visibly react when read the charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what quite obviously is (expletive) espionage.”

Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese inelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said.

The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May.

The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements.

The Associated Press was unable to reach an attorney for Zhao, who pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles.

The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.

Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over.

It was unclear if federal officials were looking at other U.S. sailors and if the investigation was ongoing.

At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases.

U.S. Attorney Grossman said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.”

He added that the U.S. will use “every tool in our arsenal to counter the threat and to deter China and those who have violated the rule of law and threaten our national security.”

____

Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of sailor Wenheng Zhao’s name.

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG (Associated Press/Report for America)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who called themselves the “Goon Squad” pleaded guilty Thursday to a racist assault on two Black men in a home raid that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth.

The officers entered the house without a warrant on Jan. 24, assaulting the men with a sex object and using stun guns and other objects to abuse them over a roughly 90-minute period, court documents show. After one victim was shot and wounded in a “mock execution” that went awry, the documents say the officers conspired to plant and tamper with evidence instead of providing medical aid.

The Justice Department launched its civil rights probe in February. The Mississippi attorney general’s office announced Thursday it had filed state charges against the six former officers, including assault, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

“The defendants in this case tortured and inflicted unspeakable harm on their victims,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, adding that they “egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect.”

The civil rights charges come after an Associated Press investigation linked the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries.

“It’s kind of a partnership in crime,” U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said about the conspiracy charges unsealed Thursday.

Court documents said the officers took on the Goon Squad nickname “because of their willingness to use excessive force and not to report it.”

The two victims, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Rankin County in June seeking $400 million in damages. The bullet fired into Jenkins’ mouth lacerated his tongue and broke his jaw, then exited his neck.

Those who were charged and pleaded guilty in the case are five former Rankin County Sheriff’s Department employees — Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke — and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, who was off duty when he participated in the raid.

Federal marshals took the former officers into custody Thursday, and the judge said the men will be sentenced in mid-November. Dedmon and Elward each face a maximum of 120 years plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines; Hartfield faces 80 years and $1.5 million; McAlpin, 90 years and $1.75 million; Middleton, 80 years and $1.5 million; and Opdyke, 100 years and $2 million.

The former officers are scheduled to plead guilty to the state charges on Aug. 14, said Mary-Helen Wall, a deputy state attorney general.

The documents identified Elward as the person who shot Jenkins, and Opdyke and Dedmon as the ones who assaulted the two men with the sex object.

The officers initially went to the home in Braxton because a white neighbor had complained that Black people were staying with a white woman who owned the house. Officers used racist slurs against the two men during the raid and “warned them to stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River — areas with higher concentrations of Black residents,” the documents say.

Before the raid, the officers agreed to enter without a warrant if they could avoid being spotted by the home’s security cameras. They also planned to use excessive force ahead of time — but not in the face, agreeing to “no bad mugshots,” the documents say.

The officers threw eggs on the handcuffed victims and forced them to lie on their backs while pouring milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup down their mouths. The men were forced to shower to remove the evidence.

The officers also repeatedly electrocuted the victims with stun guns to see whether the sheriff’s department or police department weapons were more powerful.

One deputy, Middleton, offered to plant an unregistered firearm at the scene.

The victims are identified in the court documents only by their initials, but Jenkins and Parker have discussed the episode publicly.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced on June 27 that all five deputies involved in the episode had been fired or resigned. Hartfield was later revealed to be the sixth law enforcement officer, and was also fired.

Malik Shabazz, one of the attorneys representing Jenkins and Parker, issued a statement Thursday thanking the Justice Department.

“These guilty pleas are historic for justice against rogue police torture in Rankin County and all over America,” Shabazz said in the statement from Black Lawyers for Justice. “Today is truly historic for Mississippi and for civil and human rights in America.”

___

Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.

Before you know it, the new school year will be upon us, so now is the perfect time to start setting your families up for success. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 160 million school days are lost yearly due to infectious illnesses. Absenteeism can cause stress to families, schools and students on many fronts. Vaccinations are a vital component of what you can do to reduce the likelihood of several illnesses.

While summer is a time for camps, sports, vacations and family, ensuring your child has the necessary health records and immunizations before school starts is essential. Virginia requires all children entering daycare, public and private schools to give proof of vaccination before entering daycare, kindergarten, seventh and 12th grades, so you want to start scheduling those pediatric medical and dental appointments now.

A concerning statistic is pediatric immunization rates, which reached as high as 98% in 2008 but dropped sharply during the pandemic to the point where we are seeing the reemergence of previous vaccine-preventable infections. These immunizations protect your child and prevent the spread of serious communicable diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles and more.

The immunization schedules are based on CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians recommendations. Students can receive vaccines from healthcare providers or local health departments prior to school entry. For seventh graders, vaccines include a two-shot HPV vaccination series that can prevent six types of cancer, including cervical cancer. Parents who elect to have their child receive the HPV vaccination now will be doing them an excellent service later in life.

In addition, given last year’s earlier-than-usual flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season, please consider getting a flu shot early in the fall rather than waiting.

Feel free to talk to your school or visit the Virginia Department of Health’s web resource at vdh.virginia.gov/backtoschool to determine which immunizations and health care services your child may need for school entrance and sports physical requirements. Please note that children who do not meet the vaccination requirements risk not being able to start on time.

Physical activity, social support, school family, positive encouragement and a supportive environment all contribute to a healthy mind and overall health. Coming out of the pandemic, this is truer than ever.

A 2021 study by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission found significant mental health issues prevalent in Virginia middle and high school students. Fifty percent of Virginia middle school and 65% of high school students reported anxiety or nervousness. And 39% of Virginia middle school students and 53% of high school students reported they experience uncontrollable worry. Many suffer quietly, so please have emotional wellness check conversations with your children and if you have questions or need resources, call or text 988 or talk to your health care provider.

Lastly, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of excellent hand hygiene practices. The CDC says handwashing can help reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illnesses. It can reduce the number of missed school days due to infectious illnesses.

I saw this firsthand when starting a hand hygiene campaign with five second-grade classes at a Virginia Beach public school pre-pandemic during peak winter respiratory season. Staff educated 90 students on proper hand hygiene techniques. The children participating in the education saw a sizable 71% decrease in illness-related absences. In the 30 days before the training, there were 126 absences; after, there were only 37 absences. You’ll likely reduce or eliminate seasonal illnesses by reminding your children to wash their hands regularly and reinforcing proper hand hygiene.

Getting up to date on immunizations early, performing emotional wellness checks, and reinforcing healthy hand washing will set your child up for success by reducing illnesses and helping them be more present in school. These are small steps that can reap big dividends.

Dr. Kavita Imrit-Thomas is public health director for the Virginia Department of Health’s Portsmouth Health District.

Follow along for live updates as Donald Trump is due to appear in federal court Thursday after being indicted by the Justice Department for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It’s the third criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.

— Here’s a breakdown of the sprawling election indictment

— Trump lawyer hints at a First Amendment defense in the Jan. 6 case

— Republicans are remaining silent about the latest charges against Trump

— The judge assigned to Trump’s case is a tough punisher of Capitol rioters

— Here’s where the various cases involving Trump stand

Trump has arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington to surrender to authorities on charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 defeat in the presidential election.

Trump’s motorcade made its way through D.C.’s crowded streets, using lights and sirens — a journey documented in wall-to-wall cable coverage once again — and onlookers flanked the streets as the former president arrived at the courthouse.

The early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination will appear before a magistrate judge on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States. The courthouse sits within sight of the U.S. Capitol that his supporters attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.

It’s the third criminal case filed against Trump this year, but the first to try to hold him criminally responsible for his efforts to cling to power in the weeks between his election loss and the Capitol attack that stunned the world as it unfolded live on TV.

Trump has said he did nothing wrong and has accused special counsel Jack Smith of trying to thwart his chances of returning to the White House in 2024.

Trump’s plane has landed in the Washington area before he heads to the courthouse to surrender to authorities and face a judge on federal charges alleging a plot to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss

Trump is expected to make his initial appearance before a magistrate judge Thursday two days after being charged in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump has denied all charges. Before taking off, Trump took to social media to again criticize the case as politically motivated and repeat his baseless claim that the 2020 election was “crooked.”

Trump’s plane has departed for Washington ahead of the former president’s court appearance on charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump, wearing a suit and red tie, left his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Thursday afternoon and boarded a private plane before taking off for the nation’s capital.

Trump is expected to appear before a federal magistrate judge on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses Trump of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden.

Trump has denied all charges. Before taking off, Trump took to social media to again criticize the case as politically motivated and repeat his baseless claim that the 2020 election was “crooked.”

Law enforcement have been increasing security at Washington’s federal courthouse ahead of Trump’s appearance, patrolling the area by foot, bike and car.

The courthouse sits less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol, where Trump’s supporters smashed windows, attacked law enforcement and poured into the House and Senate chambers to halt Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has left his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to head to Washington, where he will face a judge on federal conspiracy charges alleging the former president conspired to subvert the 2020 election.

Trump will fly by private plane to Washington, where he is expected to surrender to authorities and make his first appearance in federal court later Thursday in the case stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to cling to power after he lost to President Joe Biden.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and criticized the case — and two others he faces — as an effort to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump will appear at the same courthouse where more than 1,000 of his supporters fueled by his false claims of election fraud have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump is charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding and obstructing an official proceeding. He’s also accused of violating a post-Civil War era civil rights statute that prohibits conspiring to interfere with rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution — in this case, the right to vote and have one’s vote counted.

Authorities are stepping up security at the federal courthouse in Washington hours before Trump is set to surrender and face a judge on felony charges accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.

Dozens of police officers and vehicles were stationed Thursday morning near the courthouse, where Trump is expected to be processed and appear in court on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of Congress.

Law enforcement has set up metal barricades near the courthouse to limit movement and police were patrolling the area by car, bike and foot.

It’s the third time this year the early 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner will have to answer to criminal charges in court.

It comes nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, ERIC TUCKER and NOMAAN MERCHANT (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington to surrender to authorities on charges he plotted to overturn his 2020 defeat in the presidential election.

The early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination will appear before a magistrate judge on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States. The courthouse sits within sight of the U.S. Capitol that his supporters attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.

It’s the third criminal case filed against Trump this year, but the first to try to hold him criminally responsible for his efforts to cling to power in the weeks between his election loss and the Capitol attack that stunned the world as it unfolded live on TV.

Trump’s motorcade made its way through D.C.’s crowded streets, using lights and sirens — a journey documented in wall-to-wall cable coverage once again.

Trump has said he did nothing wrong and has accused special counsel Jack Smith of trying to thwart his chances of returning to the White House in 2024.

An indictment Tuesday from Smith charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

The Republican former president was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six unnamed co-conspirators, mostly lawyers, they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock function of the U.S. government,” repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

This is the third criminal case brought against Trump in less than six months.

He was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign. Smith’s office also has charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and refusing government demands to give them back. He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year.

And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.

Trump’s lawyer John Lauro has asserted in television interviews that Trump’s actions were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and that he relied on the advice of lawyers. Trump has claimed without evidence that Smith’s team is trying to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.

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AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Ellen Knickmeyer, Ashraf Khalil, Rebecca Santana, Stephen Groves, Serkan Gurbuz, Rick Gentilo, Alex Brandon, Yihan Deng, Kara Brown, Nathan Posner and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump and of the U.S. Capitol insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, ERIC TUCKER and NOMAAN MERCHANT (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump headed to Washington on Thursday to answer to charges that he worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with the former president set to appear in a federal courthouse mere blocks from the U.S. Capitol building that his supporters stormed to try to block the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump departed from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club after 1 p.m. to be flown by private plane to Washington. In what’s become a familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual, he will be processed by law enforcement and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge. He’s expected to then be released as the case proceeds, enabling him to rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024.

An indictment Tuesday from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

Law enforcement officials ramped up security outside the courthouse, including by setting up barricades.

The Republican former president was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six unnamed co-conspirators, mostly lawyers, they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Democrat Joe Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock function of the U.S. government,” repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

This is the third criminal case brought against Trump in less than six months.

He was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign. Smith’s office also has charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and refusing government demands to give them back. He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year.

And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.

Trump’s lawyer John Lauro has asserted in television interviews that Trump’s actions were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and that he relied on the advice of lawyers. Trump has claimed without evidence that Smith’s team is trying to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump is the early front-runner to claim the Republican nomination.

Smith said in a rare public statement this week that he was seeking a speedy trial, though Lauro has said he intends to slow the case down so that the defense team can conduct its own investigation.

The arraignment will be handled before U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadyaha, who joined the bench last year. But going forward, the case will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of President Barack Obama who has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of the Capitol rioters.

Chutkan has also ruled against Trump before, refusing in November 2021 to block the release of documents to the U.S. House’s Jan. 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.

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AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Ellen Knickmeyer, Ashraf Khalil, Rebecca Santana, Stephen Groves, Serkan Gurbuz, Rick Gentilo, Alex Brandon, Yihan Deng, Kara Brown, Nathan Posner and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump and of the U.S. Capitol insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.

VIRGINIA BEACH — A man who murdered a Grassfield High School student during a 2016 drug deal in an Applebee’s parking lot was sentenced Thursday to 56 years in prison.

The sentence handed down to Jacquan Wilson, 25, by Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Stephen Mahan was at the midpoint of what state sentencing guidelines had recommended he serve. The guidelines suggest a punishment based on the circumstances of a crime and the defendant’s background.

Wilson was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery and using a firearm to commit a felony at trial in March. He was 17 when he fatally shot 18-year-old Bryant Austin Cueto.

The incident happened May 1, 2016, outside an Applebee’s restaurant on General Booth Boulevard.

Wilson and his friend Andarion McInnis had arranged to meet Cueto to buy Xanax from him. Cueto was a senior at Grassfield High School in Chesapeake and was driven to the restaurant by a friend.

When Wilson and McInnis arrived, Wilson climbed into the backseat, pulled out a gun and demanded Cueto hand over the drugs. When Cueto refused, McInnis ordered Wilson to “pop him.” Wilson fired once, striking Cueto in his back.

Wilson and McInnis were arrested a few days later, and police said Wilson confessed to his role in the crime.

Wilson first went to trial in the case in February 2019 but a mistrial was declared after two jurors’ cars were broken into. Prosecutors and the defense said they were concerned the incident might impact the jurors’ ability to be fair and impartial in their deliberations. Wilson represented himself during his second trial and was found guilty of all charges.

McInnis went to trial in 2017. A jury acquitted him of murder, but found him guilty of robbery, conspiracy and a firearm offense. The panel recommended he serve 48 years but a judge later reduced the amount the 28 years.

Jane Harper, [email protected]

By Sally French | NerdWallet

Labor Day may mark the unofficial end of summer in the U.S. — but it’s hardly the end of airport crowds. In fact, given record-breaking crowds already this year, there’s a good chance this Labor Day weekend could be busier than any prior Labor Day weekend.

Already this summer, U.S. airports have set fresh passenger records. June 30, the Friday before July 4, marked a new record high of passengers on a single day when more than 2.884 million people passed through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.

That figure topped the previous record of 2.882 million people from the Sunday after 2019’s Thanksgiving, according to a NerdWallet analysis of TSA data showing the number of passengers screened at U.S. TSA checkpoints over the last four years.

Roughly 12% more people passed through U.S. airports in June 2023 versus June 2022, which is perhaps unsurprising given the lingering effects of the pandemic through 2022.

The more impressive feat, though, is that 2023’s crowds have exceeded 2019 levels. TSA screened 0.6% more passengers in June 2023 versus June 2019, proving that summer is back and bigger than ever.

Expect Labor Day 2023 crowds to be no different, but some days around the long weekend are significantly busier than others.

The best and worst days to fly Labor Day weekend

TSA checkpoint data suggests most people use Labor Day — which is observed on the first Monday of September — as a long weekend. They depart on Friday, bask in two full days of vacation and return home on Monday.

To avoid crowds, and likely save money, book Labor Day travel on days that aren’t the start and end of the weekend. Based on an average of the past four years, here were the most to least crowded days for the week surrounding Labor Day, ranked:

1. Friday before Labor Day (most crowded).
2. Thursday before.
3. Labor Day Monday.
4. Sunday after.
5. Friday after.
6. Monday after.
7. Monday before.
8. Thursday after.
9. Tuesday after.
10. Wednesday before.
11. Sunday before.
12. Saturday before.
13. Wednesday after.
14. Tuesday before.
15. Saturday after (least crowded).

When broken out by pre- and post-Labor Day travel, here are the three least crowded days to travel ranked from least to most crowded:

Pre-holiday:

1. Tuesday before (overall least crowded day pre-holiday).
2. Saturday before.
3. Sunday before.

Post-holiday:

1. Saturday after (overall least crowded day post-holiday).
2. Wednesday after.
3. Tuesday after.

During the seven days after and before Labor Day (including the holiday itself), the Friday before Labor Day has been the single busiest day to fly over each of the past four years.

As far as the period starting on Labor Day itself and spanning the subsequent seven days, Labor Day Monday has been the busiest day to fly over the past three years. If Labor Day Monday is excluded from the rankings, the Sunday after has been the busiest over the past three years. In 2019, the trends were flipped: the Sunday after was the busiest, and the holiday itself was the second busiest.

The smarter, cheaper Labor Day weekend itinerary

If you work a standard Monday-Friday workweek and have the holiday off, leaving Friday after work and returning on Labor Day seems logical. But following the same itinerary as everyone else means you’ll likely pay — both in airfares and navigating airport crowds. For lighter crowds (and perhaps better deals), try these travel days instead:

Fly on the Tuesday or Wednesday before: Let Labor Day weekend become closer to a week by jetting off earlier than the folks leaving Thursday or Friday, assuming you have enough vacation days to use (or can work remotely). You’ll have more time away from home and be more relaxed without the big airport crowds.

Travel on Saturday: Crowds are light on Saturdays before and after the holiday. So, rather than rushing out of work on Friday afternoon to catch a flight, opt for the morning flight the next day.

That Saturday morning flight might also reduce your risk of delays, too. According to travel booking site Hopper’s Flight Disruption Outlook for Spring 2023, flights departing after 9 a.m. are twice as likely to be delayed than departures scheduled from 5-8 a.m.

Fly home the Sunday before: While most folks fly home on Labor Day Monday, you might get a head start by flying home on Sunday. Sure, you’ll have one less vacation day than folks following your same itinerary departing Monday, but that’s not a bad thing. By returning Sunday night, you’ll have a whole day to refresh and prepare for the week ahead by doing laundry, meal prepping or catching up on potential jetlag. Sometimes the nicest way to relax is by taking a vacation from your vacation.

More From NerdWallet

By KIM TONG-HYUNG (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A man rammed a car onto a sidewalk Thursday in South Korea, then stepped out of the vehicle and began stabbing people at a shopping mall. Authorities said at least 14 people were wounded in the country’s second mass stabbing in a month.

At least five people were hurt by the car, and nine others were stabbed in the attacks that occurred in a crowded leisure district near a subway station in the city of Seongnam, according to Yoon Sung-hyun, an official from the southern Gyeonggi provincial police department.

Authorities arrested a suspect in his 20s at the scene and were questioning him. Police did not identify the man or offer any immediate information about a potential motive.

The head of the National Police Agency described the attack as “virtually an act of terrorism.”

An official at Gyeonggi’s provincial fire department, Ha Dong-geun, said at least two of the wounded were hospitalized in serious condition.

Photos from the scene showed forensic units examining the halls of the AK Plaza, where the stabbings took place. A white Kia hatchback with a broken front window and ruptured front tire could be seen on a sidewalk near the subway station.

South Korea’s Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper published a video on its website that it said was sent by a witness. The footage showed a man wearing sunglasses and a black hoodie walking up the mall’s escalator with an object in his hand.

A witness named Hwang Hee-woon told YTN television that he “heard a sound from the first floor that seemed like a scream, so customers and shop workers were gathering on the rails of the second-floor near the escalator to see what was happening below.”

“Suddenly, someone told us the person who committed the crime was coming up to the second floor, so we ran away in panic,” he said. He ended up hiding inside a refrigerated storage room with some mall employees.

Last month, a knife-wielding man stabbed at least four pedestrians on a street in the capital, Seoul, killing one person.

The National Police Agency held an online meeting Thursday with regional police chiefs to discuss ways to deal with stabbings and other attacks against random targets.

During the meeting, National Police Agency Commissioner Gen. Yoon Hee-keun made the comment about terrorism. Officials discussed increasing nighttime patrols in leisure districts and other crowded areas and strengthening security camera surveillance, according to the agency.