Alanna Durkin Richer, Author at The Rapid City Post

Posters of a person throwing a sandwich are pictured along H Street, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

DC man seen throwing sandwich at agent charged with misdemeanor after grand jury declines indictment

August 28, 2025

A man captured on camera hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in Washington has been charged with a misdemeanor after prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to return a more serious felony indictment, according to court papers filed Thursday. The move is a blow to the Trump administration, which had touted the felony assault case to show it would aggressively prosecute violence against law enforcement even after Trump pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who brutally attacked officers with poles and other makeshift weapons.

This combination of images shows Washington Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith speaking in Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, and Attorney General Pam Bondi speaking on Aug. 11 in Washington. (AP Photo)

A tale of two Chief Pams: Federal takeover brings confusion over command of DC police

August 13, 2025

The White House says Attorney General Pam Bondi is effectively in charge of Washington D.C.’s police department. But there’s already a Pam who is leading the city’s police force — Chief Pamela Smith — and she says she only reports to the mayor. D.C. and federal officials say they are working together after President Donald Trump announced he was placing the police department in the nation’s capital under federal control to crack down on violent crime. But despite the tone of cooperation, the unusual arrangement is raising questions about who gets to make decisions about D.C. police resources, personnel and policy and — in the event of a disagreement — which Pam gets the final say.

FILE - People gather to light candles in a makeshift memorial to honor Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim who were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, during a candlelight vigil outside of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers indicted on federal hate crime and murder charges

August 6, 2025

The man accused of shooting two Israeli Embassy staff members outside a Jewish museum in Washington has been indicted on federal hate crime and murder charges. The indictment against Elias Rodriguez was unsealed Wednesday and includes nine counts, including hate crime resulting in death. It also could clear the way for the Justice Department to potentially seek the death penalty. Rodriguez is accused of killing Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in May, reportedly shouting “Free Palestine” during his arrest. Prosecutors say Rodriguez planned the attack, flying from Chicago with a handgun. Witnesses described him pacing outside before opening fire. He allegedly confessed inside the museum afterward.

Pam Bondi dodges questions on Epstein and Bongino amid Justice Department turmoil

July 15, 2025

Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer questions Tuesday about investigate files related to Jeffrey Epstein and her clash with a top FBI official. She’s seeking to press ahead with a business-as-usual approach in the face of right-wing outrage that has plunged the Justice Department into turmoil. Bondi was pressed by reporters at an announcement touting drug seizures. The Trump administration is struggling to contain the fallout of a decision not to release any more records related to the wealthy financier’s sex trafficking investigation.

What the Justice Department’s push to bring denaturalization cases means

July 1, 2025

The Justice Department is ramping up efforts to revoke the citizenship of immigrants who commit crimes or pose a national security risk. That’s according to a recent memo underscoring the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda. The Justice Department is pledging to “prioritize and maximally pursue” denaturalization cases against those who obtained their citizenship through fraud or deceit. The public push builds upon the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, but efforts to identity and go after those suspected of cheating to get their citizenship are not new.

Justice Department abruptly fires 3 prosecutors involved in Jan. 6 criminal cases, AP sources say

June 27, 2025

The Justice Department has fired at least three prosecutors involved in U.S. Capitol riot criminal cases, according to two people familiar with the matter. It’s the latest move by the Trump administration targeting attorneys connected to the massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Those dismissed include two attorneys who worked as supervisors overseeing the Jan. 6 prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington as well as a line attorney who prosecuted cases stemming from the Capitol attack. That’s according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Justice Department spokespeople did not not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Friday evening.

FILE - Emil Bove, attorney for then former President Donald Trump, attends Manhattan criminal court during Trump's sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via AP, File)

Trump judicial nominee Bove denies advising Justice Department lawyers to ignore court orders

June 25, 2025

A Justice Department official nominated to become a federal appeals court judge says he never told department attorneys to ignore court orders, denying the account of a whistleblower who detailed a campaign to defy judges to carry out President Donald Trump’s deportation plans. Ex-Trump defense attorney Emil Bove pushed back Wednesday against suggestions from Democrats the whistleblower’s claims make him unfit to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, hearing cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The whistleblower was a department lawyer fired after conceding in court Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported by Trump’s Republican administration. The whistleblower says Bove said the administration might need to ignore judicial commands.

Trump judicial nominee suggested ignoring court orders on deportations, whistleblower claims

June 24, 2025

A top Justice Department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members, a fired department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday. The filing seeking an investigation into the claims about Principal Assistant Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who is set to face lawmakers Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to become a federal appeals court judge. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on X that the claims are “utterly false.” Blanche said he was at the meeting and “at no time did anyone suggest a court order should not be followed.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Close ally of drug kingpin ‘El Mencho’ gets 30 years in prison as US ramps up pressure on cartels

June 20, 2025

Two close associates of the fugitive Jalisco New Generation boss known as “El Mencho” have been brought to justice in a U.S. courtroom as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the cartel it recently designated a foreign terrorist organization. Jose González Valencia, “El Mencho’s” brother-in-law, was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. prison on Friday following his 2017 arrest at a beach resort in Brazil. Meanwhile, “El Mencho’s” son-in-law pleaded guilty in a separate case to a money laundering conspiracy charge. The U.S. government is offering up to $15 million for information leading to “El Mencho’s” arrest.

Ex-Trump defense lawyer Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official, is picked to be federal judge

May 28, 2025

President Donald Trump says he’s nominating his former criminal defense lawyer Emil Bove to become a federal appeals court judge. As a high-ranking Justice Department official, Bove was behind the controversial move to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams as well as some of the agency’s most scrutinized actions since Trump’s return to the White House in January. Trump has picked Bove to fill a vacancy on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The nomination, which is subject to Senate confirmation, comes just months into Bove’s contentious tenure at the department.

Alanna Durkin Richer.