Month: September 2023

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones denied former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ request for an emergency stay in the Georgia election interference case.  Meadows had pushed for Jones to hold back on his previous decision to deny his motion to move the case to federal court; however, the judge wrote in his ruling that Meadows did not show he is entitled an emergency stay.

Meadows filed the motion to stay Jones’ decision on Monday, citing factors including “irreparable harm, balance of equities and public interest.” Jones determined that Meadows failed to demonstrate anything more than a “possibility of irreparable harm in absence of a stay.” and rejected Meadows’ argument of “prejudice to the state,” saying that the state has a strong interest in the criminal prosecution being free from federal interference. Jones also ruled that Meadows should not be offered protection under the Supremacy Clause because he was not acting “in the scope of his federal office” when he was involved in the acts alleged in the charges against him, including arranging the infamous call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump was recorded asking Raffensperger to “find” votes that would change the result of the state’s election in Trump’s favor.

Meadows is charged with soliciting an official to violate their oath of office and violating the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits officials from using their government status to influence an election. He is among 19 defendants in the case related to the 2020 presidential election, including former President Donald Trump.

Trump’s attorneys were granted an Oct. 23, start date for their trial in the case, and Jones acknowledged that there is no guarantee that Meadows will go on trial in October. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has been hesitant to rule that all 19 defendants will go on trial at that time.

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Danelo Cavalcante, the convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison late last month, has been captured after a two-week search. Cavalcante escaped from the Chester County Prison in on Aug. 31 in Chester County, Pa. The 34-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing his girlfriend to death in July, and is also wanted on a homicide accusation in Brazil, authorities previously said.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmed at a news conference that Cavalcante was apprehended just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday by members of a tactical team leading the manhunt;  no shots were fired. Bivens said authorities started getting closer to Cavalcante shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, when a burglar alarm sounded in a residence that was within the parameters of their search. The investigation did not find anything, but it brought the team closer to the area. Subsequently, authorities were able to monitor Cavalcante’s movements using an overhead aircraft which identified a “heat source” on the ground, Bivens said. Cavalcante tried to escape by crawling “through thick underbrush,” Bivens continued, “taking his rifle with him when he went.” He said Cavalcante was subdued by a police dog and “forcibly taken into custody” after resisting officers as they attempted to arrest him. Cavalcante sustained “a minor bite wound,” according to Bivens, but there were no other injuries. The escapee was transported to a police station in Avondale for questioning, and will ultimately be moved to a state prison.

Chester County Prison’s acting warden Howard Holland said that Cavalcante escaped from the exercise yard by climbing up a wall to the roof area. Surveillance footage from the prison grounds, which authorities released about a week into their search, showed Cavalcante hoisting himself up from the ground by balancing between a fence and a brick wall, and climbing upward until he disappeared fro

Cavalcante, a Brazilian national, was convicted last month of first-degree murder and sentenced to serve life in prison without parole for killing his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in April 2021. He allegedly stabbed her to death, and the woman’s young children witnessed the crime. Cavalcante is also wanted in connection with a homicide in Brazil, according to the U.S. Marshal Service, and he was repeatedly described as “extremely dangerous” by law enforcement throughout the manhunt involving hundreds of local, state and federal officers.m the camera’s view. His escape is under investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.

Editorial credit: George Sheldon / Shutterstock.com