National Roundup

Oklahoma
Judge orders ‘Tiger King’ zoo to turn over big cats
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals’ mothers, to the federal government.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Heil III issued the order last week in the case against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe and the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park based on claimed violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act.

“The Lowes have showed a shocking disregard for both the health and welfare of their animals, as well as the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jonathan D. Brightbill of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Jeffrey Lowe’s attorney, Daniel Card of Oklahoma City, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The Lowes took over operations of the zoo, which was previously run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage — also known as Joe Exotic — and featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”

Maldonado-Passage is serving a 22-year sentence in a Fort Worth, Texas, federal prison for his conviction on charges that he participated in a murder-for-hire plot and violated federal wildlife laws.
Maldonado-Passage has formally requested a pardon from outgoing President Donald Trump.

Missouri
Law raising adult age for crimes to 18 not used
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Most county prosecutors in Missouri are not following a new law that raised the age for being charged as an adult in criminal cases from 17 to 18.

Prosecutors say they can’t implement the change because the Missouri Legislature did not provide funding for juvenile courts and services to handle an influx of new cases that would result from the law, which took effect Jan. 1.

The law was passed in 2018 , tied to funding for increased caseloads in juvenile courts and youth programming staff. The cost was estimated to be about $7.8 million in the first year, The Kansas City Star reported.

Most of the funding would be used to hire more juvenile officers and to add programs at the Division of Youth Services.

Prosecutors in Jackson County and St. Louis said they will implement the law. But the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association and the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys co-signed a letter last year saying 17-year-olds will continue to be charged as adults.

The prosecutors’ association has filed a legal action in Cole County to clarify whether the law takes effect without the funding.

Sarah Owsley, the policy and organizing manager for Empower Missouri, a social justice organization, said it she has not heard any indication the legislature plans to approve funding for the measure during this year’s session. She said it was frustrating the law is not being followed

“When these laws are left up to (prosecutor’s) offices to make a decision about whether or not they follow the law, that’s not a very efficient way. But it’s also not ... the will of the people or in this case of the legislature,” she said.

In 2017, Missouri sent 301 people who were 17 at the time of their crimes to prison, with 87% for nonviolent offenses, according to the bill.

Criminal justice reform advocates say it’s unfair for young people to be tried as adults because neurological differences affect how teenagers make decisions. They also said Black youth are particularly at risk. In Jackson County, for instance, 95% of the minors charged and tried as adults are people of color.

Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson, president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said the issue likely will have to be decided by the courts if lawmakers don’t provide funding.

Marcia Hazelhorst, executive director of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, said her organization hopes to work with legislators during this session to resolve the problem.

The Campaign for Youth Justice, a national organization, helped get Missouri’s law passed. The campaign’s CEO, Marcy Mistrett, said the letter from the prosecutors and juvenile justice leaders did not trump state law, and the juvenile justice association was working against the best interests of young people.

“(Hazelhorst) does not have any authority over what the law is,” Mistrett said. “They are refusing to implement it on time, but that doesn’t mean the bill is not going into law on time.”

Missouri is one of five states that have not effectively raised the age for adult prosecution.

Michigan will implement their Raise the Age law in July while the remaining states — Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin — are expected to consider proposals during their 2021 legislative sessions.

New York
Stores drop MyPillow after CEO pushes election conspiracies
NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of MyPillow, a vocal and in the past few weeks very visible supporter of President Donald Trump, says a backlash against the company has begun after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol this month.

Mike Lindell, the company CEO and also the face of the brand, said major retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s have dropped his products recently.

Both companies confirmed the decision to cease carrying the brand Tuesday, but cited flagging sales rather than Lindell’s actions or his support for Trump.

“There has been decreased customer demand for MyPillow,” Kohl’s said in an email. “We will sell our current inventory and not buy additional/future inventory in the brand. “

Lindell has continued to push bogus claims of election fraud since Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the presidential race.

That has led to extensive pressure on social media for outlets carrying MyPillow, based in Chaska, Minnesota, southwest of Minneapolis, to drop the brand.

Other companies have been caught in the crossfire as once-loyal customers are repulsed by the support of some executives for Trump.

Many households purged their pantries of Goya products after the CEO of the company appeared next to Trump at the White House and praised his performance.

Speaking with Right Side Broadcasting Network, which is best known for its live stream coverage of Trump rallies on its YouTube channel, Lindell said that Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s were good companies but were scared by the social media demands to boycott his products.

“I told them, you guys come back any time you want,” he said in a video released on YouTube. “It’s not their fault that they’re scared.”

Lindell said MyPillow products have also been pulled from online furniture store Wayfair and Texas supermarket chain HEB.