Today is
Thursday June 04, 2026
TYLER – Smith County Judge Neal Franklin and members of the Smith County Sheriff’s Office stopped by Bell Elementary School in Tyler on Thursday to chat with local students. As a part of National County Government Month, Franklin and members of the sheriff’s office’s K-9 team showed up outside the school on Thursday with the county’s new Terradyne armored law enforcement vehicle, that students got to look inside of and learn about.
Bell Elementary recently became a partner with Smith County through the new Community Connect Program from the Tyler Area Business Education Council and Tyler ISD. Students also got to meet with the K-9 team, who told them about the work they do and the role that dogs like K-9 Bella serve in law enforcement.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Onion is taking another stab at getting control of Alex Jones’ Infowars platforms and turning them into comedy sites spoofing the conspiracy theorist.
A Texas judge is set to consider Thursday whether to approve the satirical news outlet’s proposed takeover, though Jones has filed last-minute appeals in state and federal courts to try to stop the hearing. It comes amid legal fights over more than $1 billion Jones owes to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for falsely saying the 2012 massacre in Connecticut was a hoax.
The Onion has pursued the Infowars platform before and is gearing up in case it is successful this time. It is already selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark Onion image.
Jones has vowed to fight an Onion takeover. If it happens, he would continue broadcasting on his personal social media accounts, new websites and dozens of radio stations that air his program. He also plans to keep selling merchandise, including dietary supplements and clothing that bring in millions of dollars a year.
What to know about Alex Jones, Infowars and the Onion:
How Jones got here
Several relatives of the 20 first graders and six educators killed at Sandy Hook sued Jones and his company in Connecticut and Texas for defamation and inflicting emotional distress for saying the shooting was staged by “crisis actors” to win more gun control.
Victims’ relatives testified that followers of Jones subjected them to death and rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media.
Jones argued there was no proof that linked him to the others’ actions. He did concede under oath that the shooting did happen.
The Connecticut case produced a judgment against Jones of more than $1.4 billion in damages, which was reduced by about $150 million during appeals. In Texas, Jones was hit with nearly $50 million in damages. His Texas appeal remains pending.
Jones filed for bankruptcy in late 2022.
How Infowars became a media empire
Jones pushed many conspiracy theories over the last three decades, including that the U.S. government was behind or failed to stop the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks.
As the outlandish nature of his false claims grew, so did his presence across radio stations, his Infowars website and social media.
After getting fired from an Austin radio station in the mid-1990s, he began broadcasting from home on his Infowars website. He bought the domain name for $9.
In 2004, he had two employees and a tiny office. By 2010, Jones had over 60 employees. By 2024, he had four studios in Austin and a warehouse for the products he sells.
Jones says he has a new Austin studio ready if he loses Infowars.
Why a judge rejected The Onion’s previous bid
Jones’ bankruptcy case included a 2024 auction to liquidate Infowars’ assets to help pay off the judgments, and the The Onion was named the winning bidder. But the bankruptcy judge tossed that plan, citing problems with The Onion’s bid and the bidding process.
The bankruptcy judge then allowed the Sandy Hook families to pursue liquidation in state court. Jones has appealed that ruling.
The Onion’s new plan would be a six-month licensing deal with a right to renew as the court-appointed receiver works to eventually sell the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems. Proceeds from the liquidation would go to the Sandy Hook families.
The Onion would pay $81,000 a month to cover the rent for the building housing Infowars’ studios, utilities and other costs.
What The Onion has planned for Infowars
The Onion recently announced that it had hired people to run the revamped Infowars platforms, including Tim Heidecker, one half of the comedy duo Tim and Eric, known for their work on the Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” shows. Besides parody, plans include showcasing other forms of comedy.
Based in Chicago, The Onion was founded in the 1980s and for decades has skewered politics and pop culture, including making Jones a frequent target of mocking articles. It carries the banner of “America’s Finest News Source” on its masthead.
Mass shootings in the U.S. are often followed by The Onion publishing slightly updated versions of one of its most well-known recurring pieces of satire: “‘No Way to Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
HOUSTON (AP) — A North Texas man who claims he was not the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who says prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence faced execution Thursday evening.
James Broadnax was sentenced to death for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler’s recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life without parole.
Prosecutors say Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that “I pulled the trigger” and that he had no remorse.
Broadnax was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Houston.
His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, filing multiple final appeals after lower courts declined to stop the lethal injection.
His lawyers have focused his final appeals on two issues: Cummings has recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax’s constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors during his trial on the basis of race.
“I’m really gonna tell it like it’s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swann,” Cummings said recently from prison in a video created as part of the efforts to stop Broadnax’s execution.
Broadnax’s attorneys say in filings with the high court that Cummings’ confession is “corroborated by the fact that his DNA, and not Mr. Broadnax’s, was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims.”
In the video, Broadnax said his confession was false as at the time he didn’t care about his life. Broadnax’s lawyers say he was under the influence of drugs during the television interviews.
He also apologized to the families of Butler and Swan for taking part in the robbery.
“I wish I could show them my soul, so they could see just how sorry I am. I am very much remorseful for everything that happened,” Broadnax said.
His attorneys also allege prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors on the basis of their race, “utilizing a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror,” according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated to the jury. Broadnax is Black.
In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Broadnax’s attorneys had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors had violated his constitutional rights by using some of the rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person in order to secure a death sentence. A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott,T.I. and Killer Mike, had filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax’s appeal.
But the high court rejected that appeal as well as another that focused on how forensic evidence was presented at his trial.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied Broadnax’s request for a 180-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has described Cummings’ confession as the shooter as “questionable new evidence.” It also said in court documents that Broadnax’s claims that potential Black jurors were targeted for removal are “entirely meritless” as these jurors were stricken not because of race but because of their answers during questioning, including that some opposed the death penalty.
Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler’s mother, has asked that the execution proceed.
“This so called confession from cummings is just a stall tactic by broadnax’s desperate defense team. Its all a lie,” Butler wrote in a post on social media.
If the execution is carried out, Broadnax would be the third person put to death this year in Texas, which has historically held more executions than any other state.
About an hour before Broadnax’s scheduled execution on Thursday, Florida is set to put to death James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, for beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
TROUP — Antisemitic signs were spotted in downtown Troup Wednesday and city officials quickly removed them, citing a violation of state law. Our news partner KETK reports that there were around six laminated sheets of paper filled with hate speech targeting the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities. There was also a QR code leading to a website with even more hateful content.
Texas Transportation Code § 393, in conjunction with HB 3611, makes it illegal to place signs in the right-of-way of a public road without permission from the city or county. Troup Police Chief Shawn Murray is asking businesses to remain vigilant and report anyone putting up more signs.
LONGVIEW — One person has been arrested following a shooting at a residence on Club Drive on Wednesday morning. According to the Longview Police Department, officers responded to a shooting in the 100 block of Club Drive near E Cotton St at around 7 a.m. Upon arrival, officers located a person who had been shot; the victim was later transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Melvin Colbert, 59, was arrested during the police department’s investigation as the shooter. Colbert was booked into the Gregg County Jail and charged with aggravated assault-family violence causing serious bodily injury and unlawful possession of a firearm by felon.
AUSTIN, Texas ( Texas Tribune)– Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is leading both of his prospective Republican opponents in a new poll of Texas’ U.S. Senate race — though the result is within the margin of error in either scenario, suggesting a close contest in November.
The poll, conducted by Texas Public Opinion Research from April 17 to 20, found Talarico leading Sen. John Cornyn by three percentage points, 44% to 41%. The Austin Democrat leads Attorney General Ken Paxton by a margin of five percentage points, 46% to 41%. The survey included 1,865 likely general election voters and had a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points.
TPOR is a nonpartisan public opinion research group directed by Democratic strategist Luke Warford. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and in recent cycles, polls have routinely offered rosy projections for the minority party that are not borne out in November.
Still, Democrats are hopeful that President Donald Trump’s flagging approval ratings, paired with backlash from Latino voters over the economy and the White House’s immigration policies, will create an environment more akin to 2018, when Democrat Beto O’Rourke came within 3 points of unseating GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.
Cornyn and Paxton are competing in a May 26 runoff to be the Republican nominee for Senate and take on Talarico, who won a competitive primary of his own in early March. A handful of polls throughout the cycle, some nonpartisan and some sponsored by Democrats, have found Democratic candidates with narrow leads or within the margin of error in hypothetical general election matchups.
Closely watched by politicos around the country, Texas’ Senate contest already features the most expensive primary on record, with most of the money coming on the Republican side in support of Cornyn. The Cook Political Report considers the seat to be “likely Republican,” but the messy Senate Republican runoff, Talarico’s fundraising prowess and a wave of Democratic overperformances in special elections have both parties eyeing the race with heightened interest.
Cornyn and his supporters have argued the longtime senator would be a stronger general election candidate than Paxton in a cycle in which the national environment is expected to be tough for Republicans. The TPOR poll found little variance in how the two Republicans perform in hypothetical matchups with Democrats.
In both scenarios, Talarico’s support is heavily powered by voters of color, college-educated Texans and independents. Among Black voters, Talarico leads Cornyn by 51 percentage points and Paxton by 56 percentage points. Among Latino voters, Talarico leads Cornyn by a 32-point margin and Paxton by a 27-point margin.
Independents broke heavily for the Democrat in both matchups: Talarico leads 51% to 29% among the group against Cornyn, and 53% to 28% with independents against Paxton.
The poll also found that more voters had a favorable impression of Talarico than those with unfavorable views — 41% to 34%, with the rest saying they were unsure. Meanwhile, Paxton and Cornyn are underwater by 10 and 15 percentage points, respectively, the two lowest favorability marks among all candidates in the survey.
Most polling of the Republican runoff has found it to be a neck-and-neck contest or Paxton leading by single digits. A TPOR poll of the runoff, conducted April 6 to 7, found Paxton up by 8 percentage points.
Beyond the Senate race, the TPOR poll found Republicans leading in the high-profile contests for governor and attorney general — though the former race is also within the margin of error.
In the survey, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott led the Democratic nominee, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, 48% to 43%.
The poll found that while Hinojosa is leading with both Latinos and independents, Abbott has stronger support than Cornyn and Paxton among those groups.
Paxton’s decision to run for Senate opened up the attorney general seat for the first time in over a decade, drawing crowded Democratic and Republican primaries that are both being decided by runoffs. On the Democratic side, Dallas state Sen. Nathan Johnson is facing former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski. In the Republican runoff, voters will pick between Galveston state Sen. Mayes Middleton and Austin U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
The TPOR poll asked voters whom they would pick between the Democrat and the Republican, rather than measuring each hypothetical general election matchup. It found Republicans leading the attorney general race, 45% to 39%.
MARSHALL — Police arrested a man on Tuesday after a morning shooting left another person with multiple, non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. According to our news partner KETK, Marshall Police received a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Oak Street on Tuesday at 7:42 a.m., where law enforcement found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency medical aid was provided to the victim, who identified the suspect as Kornelius Bell of Marshall. The victim was then taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Marshall Police Department said.
Bell was found at a residence in the 300 block of Cedar Street, where he was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Harrison County Jail and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. The firearm believed to have been used in the incident was recovered at the residence.
Though an arrest has been made, the Marshall Police Department continues to follow up on leads with additional charges expected. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the police department at 903-935-4575.
ALTO – Alto ISD superintendent Derrick Conley announced on Monday that he will be resigning from his position at the end of the school year. According to our news partner KETK, Conley said he will be leaving Alto to work in a school district near his grandchildren, allowing him to be more involved in his family’s daily lives.
“I am forever grateful to the Alto ISD Board of Trustees for allowing me this opportunity to lead,” Conley said. “I would like to thank all of the leaders, teachers, and staff, and I will sincerely miss our kids.”
The school district where Conley has accepted his new position has not been disclosed.
RUNAWAY BAY (AP) — A tornado-producing thunderstorm left at least two people dead in northern Texas and displaced at least 20 families, with many homes sustaining major damage, authorities said Sunday.
Emergency responders worked through Saturday night and Sunday in the town of Runaway Bay to clear debris in order to reach damaged homes and provide medical care where needed, Wise County Judge J.D. Clark, who serves as the county’s chief executive, told a news conference.
“Access has been difficult due to blocked roadways and downed utilities, but crews have continued pushing forward to reach those in need,” Clark said. “Roads in the affected area will remain closed by law enforcement to ensure safety and allow emergency crews to manage the scene without obstruction.”
The storm also hit Springtown, where Parker County Assistant Fire Chief David Pruitt said in an email that a second person died south of the city limits. There was “significant damage” in the area, Pruitt said.
“One of the most significant ongoing challenges is the widespread power outage affecting many residents,” he wrote. “Officials are coordinating with utility providers and emergency partners as restoration efforts continue.”
National Weather Service teams confirmed that an EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 135 mph (217 kph) had touched down in the Runaway Bay area. They were still assessing damage in Springtown on Sunday afternoon.
The slow-moving supercell traveled through the area around 10 p.m. Saturday, said meteorologist Patricia Sanchez with the Fort Worth weather service office.
It moved southeast from around Wichita Falls, near the Oklahoma border, passing just west of Fort Worth. Runaway Bay is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth on Lake Bridgeport. Springtown is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth.
Weather service radar picked up a “potentially large and extremely dangerous” tornado near Azle at 10:14 p.m. Saturday. That’s about another 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Springtown.
HENDERSON COUNTY – A man has been arrested after Tool Police found a woman who died at a residence on Bradley’s Bend Friday. According to Tool PD, an officer was responding to a possible burglary around 8:35 p.m. when they found a woman who had suffered fatal injuries inside her home. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identity is being withheld until notifying of next of kin.
A man was also found inside the home and reportedly got into a brief physical altercation with the responding officer, according to our news partner KETK. After the altercation, the unidentified man was arrested but hasn’t been formally charged with a crime yet.
Tool PD, the Henderson County District Attorney’s Office, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers are investigating the case as a homicide. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Tool Police Department at 903-432-2550.
TYLER – As Tyler voters head out to the polls, East Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran has weighed in on the Tyler mayoral race by throwing his support behind John Nix. In an endorsement video shared to Nix’s Facebook page on Friday, Moran stressed his support for Nix’s “Thrive Tyler” action plan for for the city’s future.
“Today, I want you to know that I am fully supporting and strongly endorsing John Nix to be your next mayor and I want you to know why I think that John is uniquely qualified to lead the city of Tyler in the next few years,” Moran said. “He’s put forward a strong study plan that addresses all the critical needs that plan, the Thrive Tyler plan, is exactly on point for what the City of Tyler needs. So this week, let’s get to the polls.”
Nix and Moran are both Republicans and have both served on the Tyler City Council. Nix is currently running against fellow candidates Shirley McKellar, James Wynne and Stuart Hene.
HUNTSVILLE (AP) – When he was 19, James Broadnax jotted down rap lyrics, thoughts and even job leads in a notebook that would become evidence at his capital murder trial.
Prosecutors selected lyrics with alleged references to gang affiliation and shootings to convince jurors that instead of life in prison, Broadnax, who is Black, should be put to death after his conviction — a move his lawyers argue biased the almost all-white jury.
Broadnax isn’t the only defendant or even the only person on Texas’ death row whose rap lyrics have been introduced to a jury. Rap lyrics have featured in hundreds of court cases in more than 40 states over the past 50 years, though judges often exclude other forms of creative expression from being used as evidence, researchers have found. Treating rap lyrics as diary entries minimizes their artistic value while playing on negative racial stereotypes to influence jurors, experts say.
“It denies rap music the status of art. It is characterized as autobiography,” said Erik Nielson, co-author of the book “Rap on Trial.” “It really does speak to underlying assumptions that some people have about young men of color — and that’s almost exclusively who this practice targets — that they aren’t sophisticated enough to engage in various literary devices. That there isn’t metaphor here.”
Rap lyrics are commonly used in racketeering or gang-related cases. Prosecutors try to establish the defendant’s involvement in an underlying crime by introducing lyrics as evidence, Nielson said. If someone is charged with a shooting, for example, prosecutors look for lyrics that mention a shooting.
“If the lyrics were written before the alleged crime, the prosecutors will say this is evidence of motive,” Nielson said. “If they’re written afterward, they’re characterized as a straight-up confession.”
Rap lyrics introduced in court as autobiographical
Broadnax and his cousin were charged with murder for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. After more than a decade on death row, he is scheduled to be executed April 30.
In their pending appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Broadnax’s execution, his attorneys argue that a judge should have considered the potential for racial bias and instructed the jury that his lyrics should not be viewed as autobiographical.
“The emphasis on the rap lyrics was a key element in this racially charged narrative,” Broadnax’s attorneys wrote. “Worse, the record in this case confirms that the jury delivered a death sentence based on the racial stereotypes invoked by the rap lyrics.”
Kemba, a rapper featured in the documentary “As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial,” told The Associated Press that introducing rap lyrics is particularly effective with juries because of innate prejudices — and because prosecutors want convictions.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t see rap or Black music as artistic expression,” he said. “And when you’re in a court case, there’s already an assumption that you’ve done something (wrong).”
The defendants in these cases are “almost exclusively young men of color, often with very limited resources,” and many can’t afford a private attorney, Nielson said.
But some high-profile rappers have had their songs introduced in court, like Young Thug, whose lyrics were used as evidence at his trial on gang and racketeering charges. He pleaded guilty to those charges and was released from custody in 2024.
Stereotypes about rap emerge
“The criminalization and the targeting of hip-hop has been going on for all 50 years of the culture,” said Nielson, who noted the use of rap lyrics in court ramped up in the early 1990s.
The monitoring of Black artistic expression dates back to the antebellum South, he said, though that intensified as rap music became more critical of power structures, like N.W.A.’s 1989 song “F— the Police,” which condemns police brutality.
In 2022, The New York Times’ Jaeah Lee looked for non-rap examples of lyrics used at trial from 1950 onward and found only four. Three cases were thrown out and one led to a conviction that was overturned. In that same time period, Nielson found roughly 700 examples of rap lyrics used in court cases, including lyrics that someone rapped but didn’t even write.
Another study conducted by University of Nevada assistant professor Adam Dunbar examined stereotypes of rap. He presented people with lyrics, saying they were from rap, country or metal music. When it came to rap, respondents overwhelmingly considered the lyrics to be autobiographical.
“But if they’re given the same lyrics and told that those are country or heavy metal lyrics, they say, ‘No, it’s just art,’” said J.M. Harper, director of “As We Speak.”
Some rappers have begun directly attesting to the fictional nature of their music. The year before he was fatally stabbed in 2021, Drakeo the Ruler released the song “Fictional” from behind bars because his lyrics were being treated as nonfiction. In 2023, 21 Savage described his raps as “fiction as hell.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that they are doing this for fear of prosecution,” Nielson said.
Rules of evidence can be open to judge’s interpretation
A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott, T.I. and Killer Mike, have filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax, cautioning against considering rap lyrics autobiographical.
Prosecutors in the case said Texas law allows evidence relevant to a defendant’s reputation at sentencing and contend the court shouldn’t consider the argument against the lyrics because Broadnax failed to raise concerns in previous appeals. State courts have ruled against other appeals by Broadnax’s attorneys.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is not the prosecutors,” rapper LL Cool J told the AP in 2024, adding that judges should better block rap lyrics from trials. “The question is: Why is it even admissible?”
Lucius T. Outlaw III, a professor at Howard University School of Law who filed the amicus brief on behalf of Nielson and Killer Mike, said judges enforce rules of evidence specific to each state.
One judge might view rap lyrics as relevant; another may disagree. One might worry about triggering “anti-rap, which is anti-Black, bias,” he said, “where another judge will say, ‘I don’t see that prejudice.’”
“Guidelines about what is relevant when it comes to artistic expression and what is overly prejudicial is so needed,” he said.
Jeff Bellin, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said current rules tell judges to exclude evidence if it has low value as proof and a danger of creating bias.
“The safeguard should be judges, but they are often not aware of the social issues, or the context, when it comes to rap lyrics,” he said.
New legislation seeks protection for lyrics
Bellin said legislating around the issue is difficult because lawmakers don’t want to create rules that would exclude evidence truly relevant to any case.
In the past five years, at least 27 bills have been introduced federally and in a half-dozen states to limit the use of a defendant’s creative expressions, including rap lyrics, in criminal proceedings, according to an AP analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.
On April 9, Maryland became the third state to pass legislation, creating “guardrails and a test for judges to impose anytime prosecutors want to use artistic expression, not just rap,” Outlaw said, noting it requires a factual connection between the potential evidence and the charges.
“It’s not the cure-all, but it’s a huge, important step,” he said.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue that involved driving through the congregation to “kill as many Jews as possible,” according to authorities and court documents.
The arrests come a month after an armed man crashed his pickup truck into a major Detroit-area synagogue in another attack on Jewish people. Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was being held Thursday in the Davidson County jail under a $10 million bond, jail records show. She was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with conspiring with two “male subjects” to commit murder and assault against members of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston on April 21, 2028, according to warrants laying out two felony counts against her.
The FBI office in Charlotte said Thursday in a social media post that a juvenile was arrested in relation to the plot and charged in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. There was no immediate information on whether the juvenile was one of the two male subjects identified in Hicks’ warrants, which listed only their first names and noted their last names as “unknown.”
A Houston Police Department news release on Thursday announced a 16-year-old being arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder related to “a threat directed towards certain Jewish institutions in our area” that the agency learned about Wednesday. The department didn’t identify Congregation Beth Israel specifically. The FBI and the Houston school district police department assisted in the arrest.
“At this time, there is no other known credible threat,” the release said.
Explaining why Hicks’ detention was necessary, District Court Judge Carlton Terry wrote Wednesday in part that the alleged “conspiracy is to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.”
“Allowing a co-conspirator a chance to communicate with either of those individuals or those who could relay a message puts lives at risk,” Terry added.
The FBI said its Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force began the investigation Tuesday evening after a tip to a North Carolina law enforcement agency.
While Hicks’ warrants point to a potential attack two years from now, Alan Martin — a senior assistant district attorney covering Davidson County — said in an interview that there had been “some concern that there could be an imminent event” targeting the Houston synagogue. A potential motive for the planned violence wasn’t immediately disclosed in North Carolina court documents. The investigation is continuing.
Attempts to speak by phone with Hicks’ court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful Thursday. The lawyer, Chad Freeman, told the Houston Chronicle that the case was in its early stages and Hicks’ youth could be a factor in her defense.
“I anticipate getting numerous experts involved in the case to look at both investigatory and possible forensic matters,” Freeman told the newspaper. Her next scheduled hearing is May 13.
Congregational Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Texas, founded in the 1850s. It also operates a school going up to fifth grade. The Charlotte FBI’s social media post Thursday mentioned an alleged planned attack at a Jewish school.
The potential threats communicated to congregation leadership by Houston police prompted Beth Israel to close on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston wrote in a social media post. The campus reopened Thursday, the federation said.
“The safety and security of the Houston Jewish community is of utmost importance to all of us,” the federation wrote.
Lexington is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Raleigh.
The FBI said Ayman Ghazali sought to inflict as much damage as he could on Jewish people when he drove his pickup truck March 12 into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Ghazali, 41, was armed when the truck smashed through doors and into the hallway of an early childhood education area, striking a security guard. He then exchanged gunfire with another guard before fatally shooting himself. No one else among the 150 children and staff was injured.
Ghazali, a Lebanese-born man who was a U.S. citizen, had learned a week before the attack that four of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in his native country.
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Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release from immigration custody of the family of a man charged in a fatal 2025 firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, against demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages in Gaza.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio said Hayam El Gamal and her five children can be released from a family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, as long as El Gamal and her oldest child, who is 18, wear electronic monitoring. Biery denied the government’s request to stay his ruling so it could appeal. One of the family’s lawyers, Eric Lee, posted on X that they were released later in the day.
El Gamal was born in Saudi Arabia and is an Egyptian national. She and her family have been in immigration detention since June after her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at people demonstrating for awareness of Israeli hostages in Gaza. An 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack later died. El Gamal has said she was shocked by the attack.
Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. He is being prosecuted in both state and federal court for the attack, which prosecutors say injured a total of 13 people. Investigators say he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.” He has pleaded not guilty to state charges, including a murder charge, and federal hate crimes charges.
After the attack, the Trump administration claimed the family was being rushed out of the country. The White House said in social media posts that they “COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT” and that six one-way tickets had been purchased for them, with their “final boarding call coming soon.”
Biery decided to release the family even though an immigration appeals court had dismissed their case to stay and issued a deportation order for them. That came after a federal magistrate judge recommended on Monday that they should be released.
Lawyers for the family claim the deportation order was directed by the “political leadership” in Washington, which the government’s lawyer, Anne Marie Cordova, denied. People who have final deportation orders are normally subject to mandatory detention.
In a statement, acting assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis criticized Biery’s ruling.
“Despite receiving full due process and a final order of removal, this activist judge appointed by Bill Clinton is releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets,” Bis said.
Biery had barred the family from being deported until he could hold Thursday’s hearing. One of the family’s lawyers, Chris Godshall-Bennett, told Biery they will also ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to stop the family from being deported while they seek asylum and permission to remain in the United States.
Another federal judge blocked their immediate removal after the attack. Since then, the family has tried several times to be released on bond and return to Colorado while their asylum application is considered.
The magistrate judge recommended this week that they be released after their attorneys argued they have not been treated fairly in immigration proceedings.
RUSK COUNTY — Authorities are investigating after an East Texas student was hospitalized on Wednesday for consuming suspected drug?laced gummies. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred on a West Rusk CCISD school bus, where at least one student ate gummies believed to be laced with an unknown substance. The student was taken to the hospital, treated and later released.
The district says it is cooperating fully with the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office as the investigation continues. “West Rusk CCISD focuses on the safety and security of our students at all times. As the investigation is conducted and completed, that information will be shared,” the district said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office confirmed that the gummies have not yet undergone drug testing, so their contents remain unverified. Read the rest of this entry »