National Roundup

Arkansas
ACLU asks judge to block state’s trans youth treatment ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent Arkansas from enforcing its ban on gender confirming treatments for transgender youth while a lawsuit challenging the prohibition proceeds.

The ACLU requested a preliminary injunction against the new law, which is set to take effect on July 28. It will prohibit doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the ban last month on behalf of four transgender youth and their families, as well as two doctors who provide the treatments.

The ban is forcing some families of transgender youth to move out of state to continue their children’s treatments, if they can afford to do so, the filing contends.

“The threat of harm to plaintiffs is concrete, imminent, and devastating, and far outweighs any conceivable cost to the state of maintaining the status quo while this case proceeds,” the filing asserts.

Republican lawmakers enacted the ban in April, overriding a veto by GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The governor  vetoed the ban following pleas from pediatricians, social workers and the parents of transgender youth who said the measure would harm a community already at risk for depression and suicide.

At least seven transgender youth have been hospitalized because of suicide attempts since discussion about the treatment ban began, the ACLU said in its filing.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office said she had expected the ACLU’s request and is reviewing the group’s filing.

“She looks forward to responding on behalf of the people of Arkansas,” spokeswoman Amanda Priest said.

Utah
State attorney apologizes for angry email to LGBT politician
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah state attorney angry about being awakened from a nap has apologized for sending an expletive-laden email to an LGBT politician campaigning to be the first Asian American person elected to the Salt Lake City council.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Steven Wuthrich told Darin Mano he hated him and his family, then threatened to “do everything in my power to see you will never get elected to any office higher than (a) dog catcher.”

He sent the missive after Mano knocked on his door Saturday looking for someone else living there who is a registered voter, possibly Wuthrich’s wife or roommate, Mano told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Mano was appointed to the city council and is now campaigning to be the first Asian American officially elected. Mano is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a father of four. He t old Fox13-KSTU he was shocked and disturbed by the missive.

“It was hard not to wonder why that email was so particularly aggressive,” said Mano.

Wuthrich apologized in a statement Tuesday, saying he regrets the “ferocity and language” of the email and does not wish any harm to Mano or his family.

“I am taking steps to examine my reaction and find ways to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,” he said.

The Utah Attorney General’s office has said officials take situation seriously and are determining next steps.

Iowa
Man charged with killing family blamed masked intruder
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 20-year-old man charged with killing his parents and younger sister in their family home in Iowa told police that a masked intruder was to blame for the homicides, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday.

Alex Jackson called 911 on Tuesday morning to report that he and his dad had been shot by a male intruder at their Cedar Rapids home, the complaint says.

Officers who responded found 61-year-old Jan Jackson, 68-year-old Melissa Jackson and 19-year-old Sabrina Jackson dead from gunshot wounds in different rooms of the home. They found Alex Jackson suffering from a gunshot wound to his foot, and recovered a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that is believed to have been the firearm used in the shootings.

Alex Jackson told police that he woke up to the sound of gunfire and was shot during a struggle with a masked man over the rifle, which he claimed he and his father had left on the fireplace after cleaning it the previous night, the complaint says.

Investigators say they found no sign of forced entry or burglary at the home. Alex Jackson denied shooting his family members but admitted that his father had recently told him he needed to find a job or move out of the home, the complaint says.

Jackson was treated for his wounded foot at a hospital before he was booked on three counts of first-degree murder late Tuesday at the Linn County jail. He made a brief initial court appearance Wednesday morning and was ordered jailed on a $3 million bond.

The case marks the first known triple homicide in Cedar Rapids since 1982 and only the second since at least 1959, according to Cedar Rapids Police Department spokesman Greg Buelow, who searched the agency’s archives Wednesday.

The audio of Jackson’s 911 call cannot be released because it contains information of “material importance to our investigation,” Buelow said.

Alex Jackson graduated from Kennedy High School in 2019, a year before his younger sister graduated from the same school, according to a spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids school district. Both played in the symphony band.

Alex Jackson became an Eagle Scout in 2017 after working with the Save Cedar Rapids Heritage organization on a project to fix up a historic home. He spent hours painting the walls and ceiling of the home, originally built in the late 1800s, so that low-income families could move in, according to Boy Scouts of America Troop 766.

Alex Jackson was on suicide watch Wednesday in accordance with the jail’s practice for new inmates charged with crimes that could lead to life imprisonment, Sheriff Brian Gardner said.