National Roundup

Maine
Yellow flag law invoked more than a dozen times after deadly shootings
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A Maine law used to restrict access to guns during a mental health crisis has been invoked more than a dozen times since the killings of 18 people last month, and several people whose guns were temporarily removed referenced the name of the gunman responsible for the mass shooting.

An updated list from the state shows weapons restriction orders were imposed at least 13 times under the yellow flag law since the Oct. 25 mass shootings in Lewiston, the deadliest in state history. That brings the total to 94 times since the law went into effect in July 2020.

Four people either mentioned Lewiston gunman Robert Card’s name or said they would become the “next mass shooter,” according to the state’s list, which includes a brief synopsis of the circumstances in each case. On Friday, the law was invoked five times that day, according to the list.

The updated figures were released Monday during a law enforcement training that focused on the yellow flag law, Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Tuesday. Several hundred officers participated in the training.

Eighteen people were killed and another 13 wounded when Card, an Army reservist, opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar.

Tens of thousands of residents were ordered to shelter at home as hundreds of law officers participated in a manhunt that ended with the discovery of Card’s body two days later in nearby Lisbon. An autopsy concluded he died by suicide.

Under Maine’s yellow flag law, a warning to police can trigger a process where an officer visits an individual and makes a judgment call on whether that person should be placed in temporary protective custody, triggering assessments that with a judge’s approval can lead to a 14-day weapons restriction. A full court hearing could lead to an extension of restrictions for up to a year.

Police had received warnings about Card. Some family members and fellow reservists were concerned about his mental health and access to weapons. One reservist wrote in a text: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”

Deputies visited Card’s home in Bowdoin twice about a month before the mass shootings, but he didn’t come to the door. The sheriff said law enforcement didn’t have the legal authority to knock down the door.

It’s unclear what happened after that, though the sheriff’s office canceled its statewide alert seeking help locating Card a week before the deadly rampage.

Louisiana
Lease of Gulf waters delayed by whale protection debate must continue, court rules
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An auction of federal Gulf of Mexico leases for oil and gas drilling must be held in 37 days, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, rejecting environmentalists’ arguments against the sale and throwing out plans by the Biden administration to scale back the sale to protect an endangered species of whale.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling means the lease sale — once set for September, but postponed multiple times amid legal fights — will be held in December. And it must cover 73 million acres (30 million hectares), as originally planned when the administration announced the sale in the spring.

The administration later scaled back the area covered by the lease sale to 67 million acres (27 million hectares) as part of an agreement to protect the endangered Rice’s whale. But the state of Louisiana joined oil and gas companies in opposing the changes.

A federal judge in southwest Louisiana ordered the sale to go on without the whale protections, which also included regulations involving vessel speed and personnel. That led to an appeal by environmental groups — and delays while the arguments continued.

On Tuesday, a 5th Circuit panel rejected the appeal.

Oil industry attorneys disputed that the protections were needed in the area to be leased and said the administration had not gone through legally required procedures to impose the new restrictions.

Industry supporters also had been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the sale, which was ordered in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

An attorney for an environmental group called the ruling “disappointing and unjustified,” in an emailed statement.

The American Petroleum Institute, a powerful U.S. oil and gas industry trade association, lauded the development.

Maine
Men ordered to pay $1.25 million for racially motivated attack on Black man
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A pair of white men sentenced to federal prison for breaking a Black man’s jaw in a random attack have been ordered to pay $1.25 million in damages by a state judge.

The judge issued a default judgement against Maurice Diggins and Dusty Leo, of Biddeford, both of whom are in federal custody and weren’t represented by attorneys in the proceeding.

The victim, Daimon McCollum, may never collect the damages but the award “demonstrates that this kind of conduct is abhorrent and won’t be tolerated,” his attorney, Allyson Knowles, said Wednesday.

McCollum was attacked in April 2018 in Biddeford by the men, who taunted and shouted racial slurs from their vehicle before a confrontation in which McCollum was struck in the jaw.

Knowles said Superior Court Justice Richard Mulhern issued a default judgment last month. Leo and Diggins initially participated in the proceedings with letters but then stopped, Knowles said. On Nov. 9, the judge ordered them to pay $750,000 in punitive damages and $500,000 in compensatory damages.

The attack happened after the McCollum family celebrated a college scholarship for one of three kids. Afterward, McCollum walked to a convenience store for a snack when he was accosted by Diggins and his nephew.

Diggins circled McCollum and hurled racial taunts, preventing him from going into the store, while Leo approached and punched him in the jaw, Knowles said. McCollum ran away and the men followed him to his home.

McCollum and his family had originally moved from the Bronx to Maine, in part because of the low crime rate. He has moved away from Biddeford since the assault, his lawyer said.

Diggins, whose tattoos including swastikas and initials “WPWW” for “White Pride World Wide” were discussed at his trial, is serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of two counts of committing a hate crime and one count of conspiracy.

Leo, who pleaded guilty and received a three-year sentence, is currently residing in a halfway house and is due to be released from federal custody next week, an official said.