Month: February 2022

On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the state’s “vaccine-or-mask” requirement for indoor businesses, citing “major improvement” in COVID-19 numbers.  Gov. Hochul said in a briefing that the rule — which mandates that workers either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or wear a mask at all times while on the job — will be dropped effective Thursday, January 10th.

Gov. Hochul said that since the peak of the Omicron surge on Jan. 7 when 90,000 state residents tested positive in a single day, “we’ve witnessed a 93% drop in cases and are now below where we were [before the surge]. That is what we were watching for, that is what we were waiting for, and it’s finally happening.”  Hochul instituted the mask-or-vaccine rule on Dec. 10 amid a surge in cases driven by the Omicron coronavirus variant.  The rule faced widespread criticism from the state’s businesses and political opponents, who asserted it was confusing.  Despite that, Hochul extended the mandate twice, and as she announced its lifting she defended her stance, saying: “we saw how quickly Omicron was spreading, studying what was happening around the globe and saying this was coming our way — we know this is coming to New York and we need to be prepared for that. It was a strong action to take at the time — we heard a lot about it. But I again stand behind that as a way to not have to shut down businesses when this variant ended up spreading like wildfire.”  When the mask-or-vaccine rule was implemented on December 10th, New York’s seven-day average of new cases stood at 51 per 100,000 residents, peaking at 382 per 100,000 a month later.  It has now dropped to 35 per 100,000, according to state health officials.

However, New York schools are still under a mask mandate until at least Feb. 21.  On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his mandate for schools will end in March, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said he recommends ending the statewide mask mandate in schools effective February 28.

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On Wednesday, a second man charged in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution at the federal trial of four other defendants.

27-year-old Kaleb Franks of Waterford, Michigan admitted in U.S. District in Grand Rapids that he and other members of the ‘Wolverine Watchmen’ — a Michigan-based self-styled “militia” group — hatched the plot to abduct Whitmer at her summer home in 2020 because they were upset by the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. The plot, which allegedly included plans to use semiautomatic assault-type weapons and to bomb a bridge near Whitmer’s vacation home, was foiled by undercover law enforcement officers who infiltrated the group.

Franks admitted in court that the kidnapping plan originated solely with him and the others charged in the conspiracy.  25-year-old Ty Garbin, the other man charged in the case, pleaded guilty last year to firearms charges and conspiracy charges of providing material support for terrorists. Garbin was sentenced in August to 75 months in prison. Garbin is also expected to testify for the prosecution in the upcoming federal trial for Adam Fox, 40, Barry Croft Jr., 45, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33.  In addition, eight other men face charges in state court stemming from the kidnap plot. Attorneys for those suspects filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing they were entrapped; the judge, however, rejected that motion.

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On Tuesday, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was escorted out of an event by a Secret Service agent because of a reported “security threat.”  Emhoff’s wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, was not with him at the event taking place at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. in commemoration of Black History Month.  Emhoff’s office put out a press release saying that he was visiting the school “to meet with students who are participating in a program that helps them relate to history on a personal level.”

Emhoff was ushered out of the event at the school at approximately 2:18 p.m on Tuesday. Dunbar’s principal followed a few minutes later, stating there was a security threat reported by the school to the Secret Service. A school announcement came over the intercom at 2:34 p.m. calling on teachers to evacuate the school and reporters left the building as well. Enrique Gutierrez, the press secretary for DC Public Schools, said, “It was an apparent bomb threat … It was a bomb threat. We’re taking precautions, evacuation — evacuating everybody. Seems like all the students are out and safe.”

Katie Peters, Emhoff’s communications director, said in a statement: “U.S. Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman was meeting with students and faculty. Mr. Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to Secret Service and D.C. Police for their work.”

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A 17-year-old was arrested in connection to a homicide investigation that led to the death of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer last week during a predawn “no-knock” raid. The teenager was identified as Locke’s cousin in court documents. Prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 fatal shooting of 38-year-old Otis Rodney Elder.

New details about the investigation emerged that led to the fatal encounter with Locke, 22, who was not named in the search warrant. Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman said last week that officers from the Minneapolis Police Department were executing the warrant as part of the St. Paul homicide investigation. Police tracked the teenaged suspect and his associates to the Bolero Flats apartment building in Minneapolis, ultimately executing search warrants on three apartments: the one the teen lived in with his mother; another apartment two doors down connected to his associate; and an apartment belonging to the girlfriend of the teen’s brother seven floors down. Minneapolis police say the last apartment where Locke was killed was the only one with a “no-knock warrant.”

The charging documents say that investigators had those three search warrants and probable cause “pick up and holds,” which would allow them to arrest the teen and two associates on suspicion of murder and aiding an offender after the fact. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Locke’s parents, confirmed in a statement that the charged teenager is Locke’s cousin and that “all available information confirms that Amir was never a target of that investigation or those search warrants.”

The search warrant for the downtown Minneapolis apartment building will likely be unsealed after the teenager is arraigned and provide more information about his connection to the case. He is currently being held in Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. The state asked the court for an order enabling it to prosecute the 17-year-old as an adult because “retaining the proceeding in juvenile court does not serve public safety.”

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