Alexander Cain Poplin (31), an active duty servicemember of the US Army, was arrested in Hawaii for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to his conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
In addition to the felonies of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder, Poplin is charged with three misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.
On the morning of 6 Jan 2021, Poplin attended a rally held by the former President at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Poplin was observed wearing a black Columbia jacket, a black beanie, and an Army ACU camouflage backpack. Throughout the day, he was seen holding various flags.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Poplin was at the Lower West Plaza of the US Capitol Building and within the restricted perimeter. He was holding an “Area Closed” sign in his left hand and a flagpole with a blue flag in his right. Poplin allegedly repeatedly struck a Metropolitan Police Department officer with the blue flagpole. Video footage from open-source media and body-worn cameras captured the assault. Poplin’s alleged actions at the Lower West Plaza contributed to the chaos as rioters confronted law enforcement officers who were defending the Capitol. After the attack, Poplin reportedly posted on Facebook “we beat their fucking ass and stood for something” and “we took our house back.”
In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips may call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Civilian Cargo Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain Attacked by Russian Jets in Black Sea
Ukraine accused Russia of using strategic bombers to fire missiles at a civilian ship carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea.
The ship was in the maritime economic zone of Romania, a NATO member, when it was hit. The vessel was transporting the grain from Chernomorsk, Ukraine, to Istanbul when it was attacked. The ship’s cargo was bound for Egypt. Russia deployed Tupolev Tu-22 bombers to fire the missiles at around 11 PM local time on 11 Sep.
Tupolev Tu-22M-3 (Image courtesy of airliners.net).
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the strike was “a brazen attack on freedom of navigation and global food security.”
The attack was confirmed by the Romanian Coast Guard, which said the vessel had a crew of 22 people on board. No one was injured and the ship headed to Constanta for damage assessment.
The ship was 55 kilometers from the town of Sfantu Gheorghe in the exclusive economic zone of Romania when the attack took place. The exclusive economic zone is the maritime area adjacent to a country’s territorial waters and can extend up to a maximum of 200 nautical miles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier that a cargo ship carrying wheat was hit by a Russian missile strike in the Black Sea as it was headed for Egypt.
“Today’s strike in the Black Sea was against an ordinary civilian vessel immediately after leaving Ukrainian territorial waters. According to preliminary data, fortunately, there were no casualties,” he said. “Ukraine is one of the key global donors of food security. The internal stability and life of dozens of countries in different parts of the world depends on the normal and smooth operation of our export food corridor.”
Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain producers and exporters, has been shipping about four million tons of grain each month through the Black Sea corridor, which was set up through a deal mediated by Turkey and the UN.
The US recently signalled that it may allow Ukraine to fire missiles more deeply into Russia. Aircraft like the TU-22M-3 could have easily sunk this unarmed cargo ship. This move by the Kremlin is probably a warning that if Ukraine is permitted to strike deep targets in Russia with Western hi-tech weapons, the Kremlin will retaliate with economic attacks like this.
Sources:
Civilian Cargo Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain Hit By Russian Strike In Black Sea (rferl.org)
US reconsidering Ukraine missile restrictions on firing into Russia (voanews.com)
NYPD Commissioner to Resign After FBI Seized His Phone
Edward Caban (L) being sworn in as NYPD Police Commissioner on 17 July 2023. Mayor Eric Adams is on the right.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said he would resign Thursday, one week after it emerged that his phone was seized as part of a federal investigation that touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle.
Edward Caban (57) had been in charge of the nation’s largest police department for about 15 months. Of Puerto Rican heritage, he was the first Latino to lead the 179-year-old NYPD and oversee its annual budget of over $5 billion. There are approximately 36,000 sworn officers in New York’s Finest.
Caban was one of several high-ranking city officials whose electronic devices were seized recently by federal investigators. The subject of the investigation, which is being led by the SDNY US Attorney, remains unclear. Federal authorities are also investigating Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, who runs a nightclub security business.
Other NYC officials whose devices were recently seized include First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety; his brother David Banks, the Board of Education chancellor; and Timothy Pearson, a mayoral adviser and former high-ranking NYPD official.
Mayor Adams, a first-term Democrat, was subpoenaed in July, eight months after federal agents seized his cell phones and an iPad while he was leaving an event in Manhattan. Federal authorities haven’t publicly accused him or any officials of any crimes and Adams has denied any wrongdoing. The SDNY investigation may have to do with campaign fundraising.
Under Commissioner Caban, from 1 Jan 2024 to 1 Sep 2024, the NYPD tallied 243 murders, compared with 279 in the same period last year. Burglary, grand larceny, and auto thefts were also down. At the same time, there was a 17.8% spike in reported hate crimes, 11.1% jump in rapes and smaller increases in some other categories.
Caban was criticized for his handling of officer discipline. The NYPD has stifled more than 400 cases of alleged misconduct this year which an oversight board had investigated and substantiated. Two examples follow.
In April, Caban declined to take disciplinary action against two officers involved in the fatal 2019 shooting of Kawaski Trawick inside his Bronx apartment. Caban said the officers “acted within the law” and that the city’s police watchdog agency waited too long to bring administrative charges.
In August, Caban upheld a department administrative trial judge’s recommendation to drop a disciplinary case against Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who was accused of ordering officers to void the November 2021 arrest of a retired officer who previously worked for him. The trial judge, Rosemarie Maldonado, said the watchdog agency didn’t have jurisdiction to investigate the case.
Mayor Adams named retired FBI Special Agent Thomas Donlon interim police commissioner. The timing of Caban’s resignation is astonishing with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) convening in NYC. Several weeks ago, the director of the US Secret Service resigned in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Sources:
FBI seized phones, iPad of NYC mayor amid campaign fundraising probe | CBC News
https://www.propublica.org/article/nypd-tossed-out-police-misconduct-discipline-cases-edward-caban
Bomb Threats Reported in Springfield, Ohio, Amid False Malignant Claims Targeting Haitian Migrants
Donald Trump pandering to the Haitian vote during a 2016 visit to Little Haiti, Miami. Now Haitians have becoming a convenient scapegoat for him. Photo courtesy of Michael Bennett via miamitimesonline.com.
Local and federal law enforcement agencies responded Thursday to a bomb threat made against multiple facilities in the Ohio city of Springfield. City Hall, a driver’s exam station, an Ohio BMV facility, the Springfield Academy of Excellence, and Fulton Elementary School were all evacuated and cleared by explosive-detecting K9s.
The threat comes days after Donald Trump repeated baseless and dehumanizing claims made online that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating residents’ pets. He made the comments during his Tuesday debate against Vice President Kamala Harris which were echoed by his running mate, JD Vance.
The city of some 58,000 people has pushed back against the claims, with City Manager Bryan Heck explaining in a recorded statement “it is disappointing that some of the narratives surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle.”
The city manager added Springfield is experiencing challenges due to the rapid growth of its immigrant population, those challenges “are primarily due to the pace of the growth rather than the rumors.”
Sources:
Bomb threats reported in Springfield amid false claims targeting migrants – UPI.com
Trump, missing-in-action with Haitians, still draws handful of supporters – The Haitian Times
North Korea Releases Rare Images of Uranium Enrichment Site
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a uranium enrichment facility, which produces weapon-grade nuclear materials. The photos were published by North Korean state media on Friday, 13 Sep 2024. No located or date were released for the photos and certain faces in the pictures had been blurred before their release. (Courtesy: KCNA / Rodong Sinmun)
New pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un touring what state media described is a uranium enrichment facility have given an extremely rare glimpse inside the isolated nation’s closely guarded nuclear weapons program.
According to a report from Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited the facility – a bright, sterile warehouse filled with long rows of cylindrical machinery – which is used to produce weapons-grade nuclear material for the North’s growing arsenal. The report comes as North Korea continues to ramp up its illegal nuclear weapons program and strengthens relations with Russia, deepening widespread concern in the West over the isolated nation’s direction under Kim.
The location and exact date of Kim’s visit to the site were not disclosed in the report, but the purpose of his inspection was clear, according to KCNA: to lay out a “long-term plan for increasing the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials.”
Experts say the images – which show Kim flanked by men in military uniforms and crisp white lab shirts – underscore North Korea’s growing confidence in its position as a nuclear power.
In a speech celebrating the 76th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Monday, Kim pledged to “exponentially” expand the regime’s nuclear arsenal, reiterating bellicose rhetoric he has used in the past.
As reported here on Coriolanus, the North Korean supremo ordered the launch of a ballistic missile into the sea when the dust settled after the US presidential debate. For years the West kept “kicking the can down the road” regarding North Korea and the dynastic family which has been producing WMDs while starving their own people. Neighboring South Korea, Japan, and China, must be wondering how this dangerous dynasty will one day end and what type of fallout will ensue.
Sources:
North Korea releases images of Kim Jong Un visiting a uranium enrichment site | CNN
Four Black Rights Activists Convicted Over Nefarious Russian Links
Protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in London to support Omali Yeshitela (Imagery: BBC, circa Sep 2024)
Four activists for black rights have been convicted of federal charges of conspiring to act as unregistered Russian agents.
Omali Yeshitela (82), Penny Hess (78), Jesse Nevel (34), and Augustus Romain (38), face maximum sentences of five years in prison. A jury in Tampa, FL, found them not guilty of the more serious charge of acting as agents of a foreign government. A date has not yet been set for sentencing.
Yeshitela is the founder of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and Uhuru Movement. Hess and Nevel are white allies of the groups. Romain is the leader of a Georgia-based spinoff known as Black Hammer. The four carried out a number of actions in the US between 2015 and 2022 on behalf of the Russian government and received money and support from Aleksandr Ionov, the president of the Moscow-based group Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia.
Mr. Ionov used the APSP, Uhuru Movement, and Black Hammer to promote Russian views on politics, the Ukraine war, and other issues. The US State Dept is offering a reward up to $10 million for information that would lead to his arrest.
Sources:
Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov – Rewards For Justice
US black-rights activists convicted over Russian links (bbc.com)
Usutu Virus Threatens Blackbirds in Germany
The blackbird is one of the most common birds in Germany, but the spread of Usutu virus is threatening their population. Numerous cases have been identified in the Rendsburg and Eckernförde areas of Germany (see map). Infested birds become disoriented, begin to stagger, and often die within a few days.
The Usutu virus, which originated in South Africa, was first detected in Germany in 2011. Since the disease mostly affects blackbirds, the Usutu epidemic is also known as “blackbird death”. The virus is generally transmitted by mosquitoes. Humans can become infected with the virus – but serious illness is rare. Most recently, the pathogen caused a severe bird mortality in Germany in 2018.
Source:
Dead blackbirds: Usutu virus reaches the Rendsburg area | SHZ
Trump Tower Declared ‘Public Nuisance’ After Killing Thousands of Fish in Chicago
Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. Locals have long derided the building as an aesthetical and architectural eyesore which doesn’t blend in with the Windy City’s marvelous architecture. (Courtesy Ghornephoto / Getty Images).
An Illinois Cook County judge has ruled that Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago has been conducting operations that violate state and federal environmental law, operates without a legitimate state environmental permit, and has killed thousands of fish over the years.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus L. Wilson on Monday found that Trump International Hotel & Tower “committed a continuing public nuisance through a series of failures to comply with state and federal law dating back to 2008.”
This ruling has taken years of litigation to achieve, with Friends of the Chicago River, the Sierra Club, and the Illinois Attorney General having filed the lawsuit in 2018.
Sources:
Trump Tower Declared ‘Public Nuisance’ After Killing Thousands of Fish | IBTimes
News Detail Page (illinoisattorneygeneral.gov)
Dog Rushes into Burning Ukraine Home to Save Helpless Kitten
A few years ago, an explosion occurred in a defense industry building near Donetsk City, Ukraine. Fire and smoke spread to nearby areas. As people rushed out of burning buildings and homes, they made sure that family members were with them, but some pets got left behind in the chaos. One dog re-entered a burning house to the surprise of the owner and neighbors. After a while, the dog emerged from the house fire with a tiny fluff ball in his jaws. The dog had gently picked up a kitten from the burning home and carried him to safety.
The lucky kitten has eight lives left.
Source:
Dog Rushes Into Burning Ukraine Home To Save Helpless Kitten (iheartdogs.com)
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Coriolanus 