#162: Nazis 🤝Hezbollah

A Tennessee Neo-Nazi, under indictment for multiple arsons, had a new terrorism charge added to his rap sheet. It may turn some heads. The Justice Department says Regan Prater gave a list of “individuals purportedly affiliated with Israel” to the terrorist organization Hezbollah.  

Late last night, a federal judge ordered four deported families to be brought back to the U.S. at the government’s expense.

The deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division quit.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys are not taking well to understanding what it’s like to be a federal defender. But in all seriousness, the transcript of the hearing may be a window into DOJ dynamics or simply a window into a single sleep-deprived lawyer (Thanks to Lawfare for a copy of the transcript).

Speaking of the Twin Cities, this DOJ declaration is eye-opening: “To respond to this wave of habeas petitions, this Office has been forced to shift its already limited resources from other pressing and important priorities. The MN-USAO has cancelled all ACE work and any other affirmative priorities and is operating in a reactive mode. AUSAs are appearing daily for hearings on contempt motions. The Court is setting deadlines within hours, including weekends and holidays. Paralegals are continuously working overtime. Lawyers are continuously working overtime. All this is happening while the MN-USAO Civil division is down 50%.” Reporters may be focusing on the habeas surge numbers, but we were struck by the cancellation of ACE line. For those not in the DOJ policy weeds, “ACE work” is investigations involving federal funding fraud. 

Kash Patel’s girlfriend’s defamation lawsuit against a conservative influencer survived a motion to dismiss, with a judge finding that the plaintiff’s pleading appeared to show “actual malice.” Meanwhile, her case against a long-shot candidate for the U.S. Senate for allegedly accusing her of being a Mossad operative is on the rocks because there is no proof of service.

D.C. Judge Ana Reyes blessed the Internet with the history of the word “shithole” in footnote #6 of an order. In other Judge Reyes news this week, she issued one of the more unique minute orders we’ve seen, lapping praise on an AUSA whom she ruled against.

A Fairfax man who allegedly lit a Federal Protective Service inspector’s car on fire was arrested again after reportedly driving by his house with a .38 special revolver.

Probation officers are worried that a man from Ashburn, Virginia, who was already sentenced to seven years in prison for a $5 million golf course investment Ponzi Scheme, is at it again.

We’re about to reach the DOGE subject to discovery stage.  

Speaking of which, a judge ruled that our nation’s parents can keep fighting. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York tried to explain just what exactly the Justice Department is doing to redact and release all the Epstein files. Clayton’s letter, addressed to two federal judges, was filed after an attorney representing several victims wrote them about the Department’s redaction failures. Late last night, a new filing was made by DOJ explaining the current status. 

A federal judge ruled the IRS can’t share information with ICE.

A judge sentenced a Mississippi man to 30 years in prison for setting a Mormon church on fire.

“TrumpGenius” can’t join X/Twitter’s lawsuit against the state of New York.

The son of the head of interrogations in Iran under Shah Reza Pahlavi sued the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran.

We found the plot of the modern-day Catch Me If You Can.

In potentially very pricey taxpayer news, the Third Circuit ruled that the government has to pay the attorney fees of undocumented immigrants who successfully file habeas detention petitions.

The FBI says a wanted man cut the pinky of a New York state police officer while a task force was trying to arrest him.

An Ohio grand jury indicted ten Indian nationals on student visas that reportedly stole millions of dollars from elders through gold transfers. That being said, a reminder that even 33-year-olds from Brooklyn can get caught up in a scam. Or, probably more commonly, hopeful crypto investors.

The director of financial management at the U.S. African Development Foundation agreed to plead guilty to accepting bribes from a contractor and lying to conceal it from investigators.

For history buffs, the three downward arrow tattoo on his chest are pulled from Iron Front.

Repeatedly submitting messages on the White House website and calling the Secret Service to threaten the president ends exactly how you’d expect.

A New York judge dismissed Louise Blouin’s civil suit against Conde Nast for publishing an article about how she lost her home in the Hamptons. 

The Justice Department announced that it helped Bulgarian officials take down three large piracy sites.

A 22-year-old Maryland man pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. When FBI agents arrested him at the airport as he tried to leave the U.S. to join ISIS, he told them, “I’m just gonna get out in 20 years and I’m just gonna do it here … You think 20 years is something? I’ll be like 40 when I get out, then I’ll just do it.” For the record, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Sure, it’s a very unique format for an order but we got tripped up by the “31st of February” thing, Judge Biery.

An Airforce pharmacist is accused of stealing and then reselling $13 million worth of medical equipment from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

The father of a 4-year-old who died from fentanyl exposure was charged with another New York man for distributing the opioid and for their alleged roles in the child’s death. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wants a judge to order a show-cause hearing for why Nike hasn’t responded to a subpoena in the EEOC’s investigation into whether the company discriminated against prospective white employees.

This video only has four thousand views on YouTube, but it was the guitarist’s proud dad writing in the comment section that pushed us to make it the song of the week. 

A defensive analyst for the Ohio State football team sued the university, claiming it failed to properly investigate reports of sexual harassment.

Homeland Security Investigations says a registered sex offender in Alaska paid to have a child smuggled into the U.S.

The Justice Department wants all Maine federal judges to recuse themselves. 

A Maryland man was charged with allegedly posting a racist threat on YouTube in 2023.

University professors don’t like the Trump administration’s gold card visa.

The SEC cleared up a years-long saga about one of its attorneys after a pro se defendant argued that she could not appear in federal court because she was not barred to practice in New York state courts.

Ryan Routh, President Trump’s second attempted assassin, was sentenced to life in prison by Florida’s Judge Aileen Cannon. Before sentencing, Routh had requested to the judge that he play President Trump in a golf death match. True story. 

Five attorneys were sanctioned for signing off on a brief containing AI hallucinations.

A 21-year-old from South Carolina was arrested for purportedly threatening to shoot up the Charleston, Florence, and Georgetown airports. He was reportedly upset about the sound of planes flying over his house.

The feds would like some of the Epstein legal proceedings to end. This time, in an already dismissed civil case brought by victims.

Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his grave about this subpoena from England over a bad online review.

A man incarcerated at a low-security federal prison was charged with allegedly murdering his cellmate in March 2025. He was set to be released this week.

It’s getting kind of mean at this point, but the Third Circuit ruled once again that Alina Habba isn’t a U.S. Attorney.

A Michigan man who authorities say threatened on Facebook to kill ICE agents was reportedly arrested while on his way to Minnesota.

On that note, here are all of the other Minneapolis related threat cases (so far). And here’s another one allegedly targeting ICE, with some pictures in the filing that seem on par.

The former head of the Queens Defenders legal aid office pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from the office.

The FBI filed another 764 case this week in New York. We did a longer piece on the terror ring a few weeks ago for the Rabbit Hole if you’d like to be reminded of humanity’s horrors.

A former professor at Texas A&M sued the school after she was fired for purported references to gender and sex in her summer literature class that led to a political firestorm in the state.

It’s a shame a reporter has to remind a federal judge about their obligations. 

AI nerds, here you go.

The CEO of Cars4Expats was indicted on wire fraud charges.

Florida wants to enter into a consent decree with the federal government over which detained undocumented immigrants are released.

We have very smart and eagle eyed subscribers. A note about last week’s issue, one reader points out that “BASE jumping is an acronym. Bridge, Antenna, Structure, Earth. Base jumping is… not that.” We learned something new everyday. 

Meanwhile, a Michigan man sued his local town over the police chief’s agreement to cooperate with ICE.

A couple renters in Alaska are understandably terrified by their Florida landlord’s son. 

Maybe, just maybe, one judge is not the principled hero some parts of the Internet wanted to make him out to be?

The state of Florida designated the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a terrorist organization. Now a federal judge says Laura Loomer has to keep paying the group monthly for a past lawsuit settlement. There’s so much to unpack in just two sentences. 

An appeals court denied sunshine on the process of obtaining Biden-era warrants that targeted dozens of congressional staffers.