Washington
Appeals court says 28-year sentence is too lenient for Libyan militant convicted in Benghazi attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 28-year prison sentence is too lenient for a Libyan militant who was convicted of terrorism-related charges in the 2012 attacks on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Ahmed Abu Khatallah’s sentence and transferred the case back to the district court in Washington, D.C., for resentencing.
A district court judge initially sentenced Khatallah to 22-year prison sentence in 2018, but the appeals court rejected it four years ago as a “shockingly” light punishment under the circumstances. The appeals court panel concluded that the 28-year sentence, which U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper handed down in 2024, remains unreasonably lenient.
The D.C. Circuit judges said a 28-year sentence does not reflect the seriousness of Khatallah’s crimes.
“Khatallah helped prepare for and execute a premeditated, armed attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost. He pressured a Libyan security force not to patrol the Mission during the attack. And his only stated regret was that the terrorists did not kill every American at the Mission,” the appellate ruling says.
The latest appeal was decided by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan.
Khattala was captured in 2014 and convicted of multiple terrorism-related charges after a 2017 trial, but the jury acquitted him of murder.
The Benghazi attack became a political flashpoint in Washington. A Republican-led congressional panel’s report blamed Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration, including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for security failures and a slow response to the compound attacks.
Florida
The Tate brothers fight extradition to the UK where they are charged with rape and sex trafficking
MIAMI (AP) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom, their lawyer told a U.S. magistrate in Miami on Monday after the brothers were were arrested to face rape and sex trafficking charges.
The Tates appeared in federal court for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition.
The brothers, normally photographed in tailored suits and stylish fitted shirts, wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during the brief hearing.
An attorney for the brothers, Joseph McBride, has blasted the charges as “filth and slander.” On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request would be denied.
U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for next Monday.
Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”
The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other alleged victims in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.
Their lawyer said in a statement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department without input from leadership.
But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.
The new allegations are the latest in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the U.S., Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.
The dual U.S. and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn’t gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.
Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida.
California
Father and son arrested after holding 2 Forest Service workers at gunpoint
REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A father and son are expected to face federal kidnapping charges after they zip-tied two U.S. Forest Service employees and held them at gunpoint inside a trailer in Northern California near Mt. Shasta.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the two workers were conducting routine field operations in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when they were taken Thursday. They were released early Friday morning after being held for more than 12 hours near Gunboot Lake.
“I want to say how profoundly grateful and relieved that we are, that our two employees were released safely. Their well-being continues to be our highest priority,” Schultz said.
The 49-year-old suspect and his adult son surrendered around 2:30 a.m. Friday and walked out of the trailer carrying an assault rifle and knives. He also told authorities he had grenades.
Shortly after deputies from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s office reached the remote area around noon Thursday they deployed drones to help locate the trailer and started calling additional law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, for help.
FBI Sacramento acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh said it’s fortunate no one was hurt during the standoff.
“Crisis situations like this don’t often result in everyone leaving the scene safely,” Tosh said.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said he plans to charge both men with kidnapping federal employees, but no charges were listed in online court records Saturday afternoon.
Appeals court says 28-year sentence is too lenient for Libyan militant convicted in Benghazi attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 28-year prison sentence is too lenient for a Libyan militant who was convicted of terrorism-related charges in the 2012 attacks on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Ahmed Abu Khatallah’s sentence and transferred the case back to the district court in Washington, D.C., for resentencing.
A district court judge initially sentenced Khatallah to 22-year prison sentence in 2018, but the appeals court rejected it four years ago as a “shockingly” light punishment under the circumstances. The appeals court panel concluded that the 28-year sentence, which U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper handed down in 2024, remains unreasonably lenient.
The D.C. Circuit judges said a 28-year sentence does not reflect the seriousness of Khatallah’s crimes.
“Khatallah helped prepare for and execute a premeditated, armed attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost. He pressured a Libyan security force not to patrol the Mission during the attack. And his only stated regret was that the terrorists did not kill every American at the Mission,” the appellate ruling says.
The latest appeal was decided by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan.
Khattala was captured in 2014 and convicted of multiple terrorism-related charges after a 2017 trial, but the jury acquitted him of murder.
The Benghazi attack became a political flashpoint in Washington. A Republican-led congressional panel’s report blamed Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration, including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for security failures and a slow response to the compound attacks.
Florida
The Tate brothers fight extradition to the UK where they are charged with rape and sex trafficking
MIAMI (AP) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom, their lawyer told a U.S. magistrate in Miami on Monday after the brothers were were arrested to face rape and sex trafficking charges.
The Tates appeared in federal court for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition.
The brothers, normally photographed in tailored suits and stylish fitted shirts, wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during the brief hearing.
An attorney for the brothers, Joseph McBride, has blasted the charges as “filth and slander.” On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request would be denied.
U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for next Monday.
Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”
The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other alleged victims in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.
Their lawyer said in a statement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department without input from leadership.
But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.
The new allegations are the latest in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the U.S., Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.
The dual U.S. and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn’t gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.
Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida.
California
Father and son arrested after holding 2 Forest Service workers at gunpoint
REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A father and son are expected to face federal kidnapping charges after they zip-tied two U.S. Forest Service employees and held them at gunpoint inside a trailer in Northern California near Mt. Shasta.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the two workers were conducting routine field operations in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when they were taken Thursday. They were released early Friday morning after being held for more than 12 hours near Gunboot Lake.
“I want to say how profoundly grateful and relieved that we are, that our two employees were released safely. Their well-being continues to be our highest priority,” Schultz said.
The 49-year-old suspect and his adult son surrendered around 2:30 a.m. Friday and walked out of the trailer carrying an assault rifle and knives. He also told authorities he had grenades.
Shortly after deputies from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s office reached the remote area around noon Thursday they deployed drones to help locate the trailer and started calling additional law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, for help.
FBI Sacramento acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh said it’s fortunate no one was hurt during the standoff.
“Crisis situations like this don’t often result in everyone leaving the scene safely,” Tosh said.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said he plans to charge both men with kidnapping federal employees, but no charges were listed in online court records Saturday afternoon.
