Oregon
Lawsuit accuses police of illegally monitoring progressive political activists
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon is suing the city of Medford, saying its police department has been unlawfully monitoring progressive political activists who aren’t suspected of criminal activity.
City officials insisted they have not monitored the groups because of their views or constitutionally protected activities, but only to prepare for possible public safety impacts, such as traffic disruptions, conflicts between protesters and counter-protesters, and property damage.
In the early 1980s, after revelations that Portland police had routinely surveilled civil liberties, racial justice and other groups, the Oregon Legislature approved a law barring law enforcement agencies from collecting information about the political, religious or social views or activities of any individual or group unless it directly relates to a criminal investigation.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, the Medford Police Department for several years has monitored the activities and social media accounts of people involved in an array of causes, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, preventing drug overdoses, and providing services for unhoused people.
The lawsuit is based on police emails and other documents first obtained through public records requests by the website info4publicuse.org.
It alleges that the police department broke the law by monitoring or infiltrating social media accounts or groups for information about protests, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and a “Bans off our bodies” demonstration around the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal right to abortion in 2022.
“The Medford Police is blatantly disregarding a three-decades-old state law that prohibits this type of surveillance,” Kelly Simon, ACLU of Oregon legal director, said in a written statement. “Their doubling down is a bald display of impunity from those we trust to enforce the law.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Medford City Attorney Eric Mitton disputed that.
“The purpose of reviewing publicly-available information on social media channels is not to analyze or judge individuals’ political, religious, or social views, but to address legitimate police interests regarding public rallies and protests,” he wrote.
Mitton’s email also included a statement from Medford Police Chief Justin Ivens, who said the department prioritizes community safety while upholding constitutional rights.
“We use publicly accessible information to plan and staff events impacting public safety,” Ivens said. “This ensures our ability to address potential safety concerns while safeguarding those exercising their constitutional right to free speech.”
Among the emails cited in the lawsuit were some showing that police monitored activists’ social media for information about the showing of a drive-in movie in conjunction with Juneteenth activities in 2020, amid broader demonstrations over Floyd’s death; about demonstrations concerning a COVID-19 outbreak at a local jail; and about any plans for protests related to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The lawsuit said public records showed police kept a “dossier” on the local nonprofit the Rogue Valley Pepper Shakers, which promotes LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, including screenshots of its Facebook page.
Other records included emails concerning Stabbin Wagon — an organization that advocates for and provides clean syringes, overdose reversal medication, and contraceptives to at-risk and unhoused residents — as well as public statements its founder Melissa Jones had made criticizing police raids on homeless encampments.
The Pepper Shakers, Stabbin Wagon and Jones are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“Instead of investigating real safety threats, the Medford Police are wasting resources spying on someone like me who’s just trying to care for my neighbors,” Jones said in a statement released by the ACLU.
California
3 people charged after death of prison worker who opened fentanyl-laced letter
A federal prison inmate and two other people were charged Tuesday with conspiring to mail drugs to a penitentiary in California where a mailroom supervisor died this month after opening a letter that prosecutors said was laced with fentanyl and other substances.
According to prosecutors, Jamar Jones, a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, California, plotted with Stephanie Ferreira, of Evansville, Indiana, and Jermen Rudd III of Wentzville, Missouri, to send him drugs that he could sell at the prison. They disguised the shipment as “legal mail” from a law office, investigators said.
The penitentiary’s mailroom supervisor, Marc Fischer, fell ill on Aug. 9 after opening a letter addressed to Jones that contained multiple pages that appeared to be “soaked,” or coated with drugs, according to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the charges.
Within five minutes, according to the affidavit, Fischer started to stumble around and asked for medical help, telling a colleague: “I don’t feel good, it’s going up my arm.” He was taken to a hospital and died two hours later.
Fischer’s cause of death remains undetermined pending toxicology reports, the affidavit said.
Briefly touching fentanyl cannot cause an overdose, and researchers have found that the risk of fatal overdose from accidental exposure is low.
There was no attorney listed in court papers for Jones, who expected to appear in court on the charges next week in Fresno. A number listed in public records for Ferreira did not have voicemail set up. No working phone numbers could be immediately found for Rudd.
Fischer’s death is the latest serious incident in the Bureau of Prisons, which operates 122 federal prisons and has faced myriad crises in recent years, from rampant sexual abuse and other criminal misconduct by staff to chronic understaffing, escapes and high-profile deaths.
In 2019, the agency began photocopying inmate letters and other mail at some federal correctional facilities across the country instead of delivering the original parcels, in an attempt to combat the smuggling of synthetic narcotics.
Legislation was introduced by a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers in 2023 to require the Bureau of Prisons’ director to develop a strategy to interdict fentanyl and other synthetic drugs sent through the mail to federal prisons nationwide. The bill has stalled in the House.
Texas
FTC’s bid to ban noncompete agreements rejected by judge
A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Federal Trade Commission that would have made it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor.
In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown granted a motion for summary judgement filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other plaintiffs, and rejected the FTC’s own petition for a judgement in its favor.
In reaching his decision, Brown concluded that that the FTC “exceeded its statutory authority” in making the rule, which the judge called “arbitrary and capricious.” The judge also concluded that the rule would cause irreparable harm.
As a result of the court’s decision, the FTC won’t be able to enforce its rule, which was set to go into effect on Sept. 4, according to the judge’s ruling.
Still, the decision does not prevent the agency from addressing noncompete agreements through “case-by-case” enforcement actions, said Victoria Graham, an FTC spokesperson.
The FTC is also considering appealing the court’s decision, Graham said.
The FTC voted in April to prohibit employers nationwide from entering into new noncompete agreements or enforcing existing noncompetes, saying the agreements restrict workers’ freedom and suppress wages.
But companies opposing the ban argue they need noncompete agreements to protect business relationships, trade secrets and investments they make to train or recruit employees.
Apart from the Texas case, companies sued the FTC in Florida and Pennsylvania to block the rule.
In the Florida lawsuit, which was brought by a retirement community, the court granted a preliminary injunction, prohibiting enforcement of the rule just for the plaintiff, but not any other company.
In the Pennsylvania lawsuit, the court concluded that the plaintiff, a tree company, failed to show it would be irreparably harmed by the ban and that the company wasn’t likely to win the case.
The divergent rulings mean the issue could end up working its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Arizona
Driver distracted by social media leading to fatal freeway crash gets 22 1/2 years
PHOENIX (AP) — A tractor-trailer driver authorities say caused a fiery crash that killed five people due to being distracted by social media videos, has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.
Maricopa County prosecutors said Monday that Danny Glen Tiner, 38, pleaded guilty to five counts of negligent homicide.
Tiner was driving 68 mph (109 kph) in a 55-mph (89-kph) construction zone during the January 2023 crash on Interstate 10 in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, investigators said.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said digital forensic data showed Tiner accessed at least four social media videos on his cellphone before he failed to yield to stopped traffic and the collision occurred.
The tractor trailer collided with two cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other vehicles, according to authorities. The vehicles crushed between the semi-trucks burst into flames.
The public safety department said Tiner was arrested in June 2023 after an investigation found him responsible for the fatal crash.
Among the five victims were four men who were carpooling to their landscaping job.
Louisiana
Rapper NBA Youngboy to plead guilty to federal weapons charge
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Rapper NBA YoungBoy has agreed to plead guilty to a federal weapons charge once the case is transferred from Louisiana to Utah, where he faces unrelated charges accusing him of running a prescription drug fraud ring.
In court documents filed last week, the rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, waived his right to a trial in Baton Rouge, news outlets reported. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick then closed the Louisiana case and moved jurisdiction to the federal court in Salt Lake City. Gaulden also signed notice of his intent to enter his guilty plea once the case is transferred to Utah.
Prosecutors allege Gaulden, a convicted felon, had a handgun while shooting a music video in Baton Rouge in 2020. He was among 15 people arrested after more than a dozen guns were seized from the video set. Gaulden, 24, of Baton Rouge, faces up to 10 years in prison in the weapons’ case, federal prosecutors have said.
The move gives the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute Gaulden in Utah where he was charged earlier this year with more than 60 felony counts tied to a “large scale prescription fraud ring.”
Gaulden had been living in Utah on house arrest while awaiting his Louisiana trial. Since May 10, he’s been held without bond at the Weber County Jail, north of Salt Lake City, awaiting trial in the drug case.
Lawsuit accuses police of illegally monitoring progressive political activists
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon is suing the city of Medford, saying its police department has been unlawfully monitoring progressive political activists who aren’t suspected of criminal activity.
City officials insisted they have not monitored the groups because of their views or constitutionally protected activities, but only to prepare for possible public safety impacts, such as traffic disruptions, conflicts between protesters and counter-protesters, and property damage.
In the early 1980s, after revelations that Portland police had routinely surveilled civil liberties, racial justice and other groups, the Oregon Legislature approved a law barring law enforcement agencies from collecting information about the political, religious or social views or activities of any individual or group unless it directly relates to a criminal investigation.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, the Medford Police Department for several years has monitored the activities and social media accounts of people involved in an array of causes, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, preventing drug overdoses, and providing services for unhoused people.
The lawsuit is based on police emails and other documents first obtained through public records requests by the website info4publicuse.org.
It alleges that the police department broke the law by monitoring or infiltrating social media accounts or groups for information about protests, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and a “Bans off our bodies” demonstration around the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal right to abortion in 2022.
“The Medford Police is blatantly disregarding a three-decades-old state law that prohibits this type of surveillance,” Kelly Simon, ACLU of Oregon legal director, said in a written statement. “Their doubling down is a bald display of impunity from those we trust to enforce the law.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Medford City Attorney Eric Mitton disputed that.
“The purpose of reviewing publicly-available information on social media channels is not to analyze or judge individuals’ political, religious, or social views, but to address legitimate police interests regarding public rallies and protests,” he wrote.
Mitton’s email also included a statement from Medford Police Chief Justin Ivens, who said the department prioritizes community safety while upholding constitutional rights.
“We use publicly accessible information to plan and staff events impacting public safety,” Ivens said. “This ensures our ability to address potential safety concerns while safeguarding those exercising their constitutional right to free speech.”
Among the emails cited in the lawsuit were some showing that police monitored activists’ social media for information about the showing of a drive-in movie in conjunction with Juneteenth activities in 2020, amid broader demonstrations over Floyd’s death; about demonstrations concerning a COVID-19 outbreak at a local jail; and about any plans for protests related to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The lawsuit said public records showed police kept a “dossier” on the local nonprofit the Rogue Valley Pepper Shakers, which promotes LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, including screenshots of its Facebook page.
Other records included emails concerning Stabbin Wagon — an organization that advocates for and provides clean syringes, overdose reversal medication, and contraceptives to at-risk and unhoused residents — as well as public statements its founder Melissa Jones had made criticizing police raids on homeless encampments.
The Pepper Shakers, Stabbin Wagon and Jones are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“Instead of investigating real safety threats, the Medford Police are wasting resources spying on someone like me who’s just trying to care for my neighbors,” Jones said in a statement released by the ACLU.
California
3 people charged after death of prison worker who opened fentanyl-laced letter
A federal prison inmate and two other people were charged Tuesday with conspiring to mail drugs to a penitentiary in California where a mailroom supervisor died this month after opening a letter that prosecutors said was laced with fentanyl and other substances.
According to prosecutors, Jamar Jones, a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, California, plotted with Stephanie Ferreira, of Evansville, Indiana, and Jermen Rudd III of Wentzville, Missouri, to send him drugs that he could sell at the prison. They disguised the shipment as “legal mail” from a law office, investigators said.
The penitentiary’s mailroom supervisor, Marc Fischer, fell ill on Aug. 9 after opening a letter addressed to Jones that contained multiple pages that appeared to be “soaked,” or coated with drugs, according to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the charges.
Within five minutes, according to the affidavit, Fischer started to stumble around and asked for medical help, telling a colleague: “I don’t feel good, it’s going up my arm.” He was taken to a hospital and died two hours later.
Fischer’s cause of death remains undetermined pending toxicology reports, the affidavit said.
Briefly touching fentanyl cannot cause an overdose, and researchers have found that the risk of fatal overdose from accidental exposure is low.
There was no attorney listed in court papers for Jones, who expected to appear in court on the charges next week in Fresno. A number listed in public records for Ferreira did not have voicemail set up. No working phone numbers could be immediately found for Rudd.
Fischer’s death is the latest serious incident in the Bureau of Prisons, which operates 122 federal prisons and has faced myriad crises in recent years, from rampant sexual abuse and other criminal misconduct by staff to chronic understaffing, escapes and high-profile deaths.
In 2019, the agency began photocopying inmate letters and other mail at some federal correctional facilities across the country instead of delivering the original parcels, in an attempt to combat the smuggling of synthetic narcotics.
Legislation was introduced by a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers in 2023 to require the Bureau of Prisons’ director to develop a strategy to interdict fentanyl and other synthetic drugs sent through the mail to federal prisons nationwide. The bill has stalled in the House.
Texas
FTC’s bid to ban noncompete agreements rejected by judge
A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Federal Trade Commission that would have made it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor.
In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown granted a motion for summary judgement filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other plaintiffs, and rejected the FTC’s own petition for a judgement in its favor.
In reaching his decision, Brown concluded that that the FTC “exceeded its statutory authority” in making the rule, which the judge called “arbitrary and capricious.” The judge also concluded that the rule would cause irreparable harm.
As a result of the court’s decision, the FTC won’t be able to enforce its rule, which was set to go into effect on Sept. 4, according to the judge’s ruling.
Still, the decision does not prevent the agency from addressing noncompete agreements through “case-by-case” enforcement actions, said Victoria Graham, an FTC spokesperson.
The FTC is also considering appealing the court’s decision, Graham said.
The FTC voted in April to prohibit employers nationwide from entering into new noncompete agreements or enforcing existing noncompetes, saying the agreements restrict workers’ freedom and suppress wages.
But companies opposing the ban argue they need noncompete agreements to protect business relationships, trade secrets and investments they make to train or recruit employees.
Apart from the Texas case, companies sued the FTC in Florida and Pennsylvania to block the rule.
In the Florida lawsuit, which was brought by a retirement community, the court granted a preliminary injunction, prohibiting enforcement of the rule just for the plaintiff, but not any other company.
In the Pennsylvania lawsuit, the court concluded that the plaintiff, a tree company, failed to show it would be irreparably harmed by the ban and that the company wasn’t likely to win the case.
The divergent rulings mean the issue could end up working its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Arizona
Driver distracted by social media leading to fatal freeway crash gets 22 1/2 years
PHOENIX (AP) — A tractor-trailer driver authorities say caused a fiery crash that killed five people due to being distracted by social media videos, has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.
Maricopa County prosecutors said Monday that Danny Glen Tiner, 38, pleaded guilty to five counts of negligent homicide.
Tiner was driving 68 mph (109 kph) in a 55-mph (89-kph) construction zone during the January 2023 crash on Interstate 10 in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, investigators said.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said digital forensic data showed Tiner accessed at least four social media videos on his cellphone before he failed to yield to stopped traffic and the collision occurred.
The tractor trailer collided with two cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other vehicles, according to authorities. The vehicles crushed between the semi-trucks burst into flames.
The public safety department said Tiner was arrested in June 2023 after an investigation found him responsible for the fatal crash.
Among the five victims were four men who were carpooling to their landscaping job.
Louisiana
Rapper NBA Youngboy to plead guilty to federal weapons charge
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Rapper NBA YoungBoy has agreed to plead guilty to a federal weapons charge once the case is transferred from Louisiana to Utah, where he faces unrelated charges accusing him of running a prescription drug fraud ring.
In court documents filed last week, the rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, waived his right to a trial in Baton Rouge, news outlets reported. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick then closed the Louisiana case and moved jurisdiction to the federal court in Salt Lake City. Gaulden also signed notice of his intent to enter his guilty plea once the case is transferred to Utah.
Prosecutors allege Gaulden, a convicted felon, had a handgun while shooting a music video in Baton Rouge in 2020. He was among 15 people arrested after more than a dozen guns were seized from the video set. Gaulden, 24, of Baton Rouge, faces up to 10 years in prison in the weapons’ case, federal prosecutors have said.
The move gives the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute Gaulden in Utah where he was charged earlier this year with more than 60 felony counts tied to a “large scale prescription fraud ring.”
Gaulden had been living in Utah on house arrest while awaiting his Louisiana trial. Since May 10, he’s been held without bond at the Weber County Jail, north of Salt Lake City, awaiting trial in the drug case.
