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Federal judge casts doubt on Bondi’s move to sideline DC police leadership

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A judge on Friday weighed limiting the power of the Trump administration to assume control of the police department in Washington, D.C., after suggesting the appointment of Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole to assume the police chief’s duties was illegal.

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Judge Ana Reyes gave lawyers for the Department of Justice and the D.C. government until early evening to reach a deal that would limit Cole’s authority, or she would issue a temporary restraining order.

Reyes, a Biden appointee, said broader questions over President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital would be addressed in a court hearing next week. 

In the immediate future, the Trump administration will still largely have control over the Metropolitan Police Department regardless of whether it reaches a deal with the D.C. government or becomes subject to a court order.

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‘BRAZENLY UNLAWFUL’: DC OFFICIALS ESCALATE FIGHT WITH TRUMP OVER POLICE TAKEOVER

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at a press conference after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department at the Wilson Building on Aug. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Reyes convened the emergency hearing after D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to block Trump’s takeover of D.C.’s law enforcement operations. Schwalb argued the move was unconstitutional and violated the Home Rule Act, a federal law that gives D.C. residents the ability to self-govern.

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The hearing was a small setback for the administration, as Reyes indicated that Cole must go through Mayor Muriel Bowser to give any further directives to the police force.

Schwalb on Friday framed the hearing as a win, telling reporters his «expectation is that the key issue with respect to control and command of [the MPD] has been resolved today, and that it is clear, as a matter of law, that it is under the chief of police appointed by the mayor.»

But the law also implies that Bowser must be heavily deferential to Cole, meaning he is likely to be able to continue carrying out the Trump administration’s policing priorities in D.C. regarding immigration and homelessness for a 30-day period.

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DOJ attorney Yaakov Roth, arguing on behalf of the government, said the president has «a lot of discretion in determining what’s necessary and appropriate.»

Bowser and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., attended the hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse. Outside the building, dozens gathered to protest the federal takeover, which has also included activating hundreds of National Guard soldiers in D.C. More protesters, including those from the «Free DC» movement, appeared inside the courtroom, underscoring the tension that has arisen over Trump’s orders.

«What we know is that D.C. residents are worried and concerned, and we have a surge of federal officers,» Bowser told reporters. «Chief [Pamela] Smith’s job during this week has been to make sure that if we have and while we have federal officers, that they are being used strategically.»

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Trump nominated Terry Cole to become the next administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. (AP / Virginia.gov)

At the outset of the hearing, Reyes observed that she will be the first judge to rule on a president’s authority to temporarily take control of the Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act since Congress passed the legislation in 1973, underscoring the significance of the case.

The judge made clear she did not plan to immediately rule on whether there was a crime emergency, as Trump stated in his executive order, but that some temporary resolution was still needed. 

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«I want to get to a practical solution because time is short and there are people who need to know who they are taking direction from and what they are doing,» Reyes told both parties.

Reyes, who has become known for presiding over a fast-paced court that keeps litigators on their toes, struck a careful tone of moderation Friday.

«I don’t think the statute is as narrow as you think or as broad as Mr. Roth thinks,» she told attorney Mitchell Reich, who argued on behalf of the D.C. attorney general.

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Schwalb’s lawsuit challenged Trump’s executive order that temporarily federalized D.C. under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s more recent order Thursday that sought to install Cole as the emergency commissioner of the D.C. police force. Schwalb’s office argued the moves were unprecedented and could «wreak operational havoc» on the police department.

Schwalb urged the court to block both of the Trump administration’s orders, stating that the federal government’s temporary takeover of D.C. police under the Home Rule Act «does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District’s authority over its own government.»

AG BONDI STRIPS POWER FROM DC POLICE CHIEF, RESCINDS SANCTUARY CITY PROTECTIONS IN CRIME CRACKDOWN OPERATION

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D.C. police officers at a checkpoint amid Trump crackdown

Police officers set up a roadside checkpoint on 14th Street Northwest on Aug. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

«They infringe on the District’s right to self-governance and put the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk,» he said.

Critics have excoriated Trump’s executive order, arguing it is not reflective of any real emergency in the nation’s capital, which has seen a drop in violent crime (though by how much, exactly, remains a point of contention).

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Attorney Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics czar under President Barack Obama, told reporters Thursday that Trump’s order in D.C. is the latest in a «pattern of assaults on the rule of law» in his second term as president, which all involve declaring various forms of «emergency» as a means of sidestepping normal policymaking processes.

Trump «has declared a fake emergency» in D.C., Eisen said. «There is no ‘emergency’ upon which this action with MPD or the federal military is predicated.»

Jessica Sonkin contributed to this report.

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Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to leave Minnesota, as Tom Homan takes over

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Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s campaign to arrest and deport criminal illegal immigrants, will be leaving Minnesota, along with some border agents, amid violent, and sometimes deadly, clashes between federal authorities and anti-ICE agitators.

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Bovino and an unspecified number of U.S. Border Patrol agents will be leaving the state as soon as Tuesday, multiple federal sources told Fox News. 

«Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,» DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later wrote on X. «As @PressSec stated from the White House podium, @CMDROpAtLargeCA is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.»

The news came the same day that President Donald Trump announced that he would be deploying border czar Tom Homan to take point in Minnesota. White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday defended Bovino, calling him a «wonderful man, and he’s a great professional.»

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DEPUTY AG DEFENDS ICE AGENTS IN MINNESOTA, SAYS OFFICERS ARE ‘ACTING HUMANELY’

People yell at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and other agents while they stop at a gas station. Bovino will be leaving Minnesota amid contentious immigration enforcement operations, sources told Fox News.  (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

«He is going to very much continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol, throughout and across the country,» Leavitt said. «Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis to follow up.» 

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Before leading operations throughout the country, Bovino was chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector in Southern California, which is responsible for 70 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and covers Imperial and Riverside counties. He will return to his previous post where he will resume his previous duties. 

Bovino’s «commander of at large operations» position was created by DHS and took him outside of Border Patrol command. 

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Bovino has been criticized by opponents of Trump’s deportation campaign over tactics used by federal immigration authorities to apprehend criminal illegal aliens. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a harsh critic of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, praised news of Bovino’s impending departure from Minnesota. 

TRUMP CONFIRMS FEDERAL REVIEW OF MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING THAT KILLED NURSE: ‘REVIEWING EVERYTHING’

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A Border Patrol agent chatted with a protester in Minnesota on Thursday, finding common ground over military service.

A Border Patrol agent chatted with a protester in Minnesota on Thursday, finding common ground over military service. (Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful)

«Gestapo Greg is out. Keep the pressure up. It’s working,» he wrote on X. 

In another post, he called for the firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

News of Bovino’s departure came after a deadly weekend in which 37-year-old nurse Alex J. Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Pretti, who was armed with a handgun, was filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street. 

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Authorities said Pretti was resisting disarmament when he was shot. 

At the time, authorities were targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict with bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.

Trump said Homan will report «directly to me» and will help lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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«I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,» Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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«Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets,» he continued.

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Represión en Irán: el régimen detiene a manifestantes heridos en los hospitales como parte de la represión

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Iraníes participan en una protesta antigubernamental en Teherán, Irán, el 9 de enero de 2026. (UGC vía AP, archivo)

Miles de manifestantes heridos en las recientes protestas en Irán habrían sido retirados de hospitales y detenidos por fuerzas de seguridad, según denunció la relatora especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre Irán, Mai Sato. Esta práctica constituiría una violación grave del derecho a la atención médica, protegido por la legislación internacional.

La experta, que también es profesora en la Universidad Birkbeck de Londres, declaró que recibió múltiples informes sobre el retiro forzoso de pacientes en hospitales de diversas provincias. En declaraciones a Reuters, Sato explicó que familias acudieron a los hospitales al día siguiente de los incidentes y no encontraron a sus seres queridos. Además, señaló que las familias enfrentan demandas de entre USD 5.000 y USD 7.000 para recuperar los cuerpos de sus familiares fallecidos, una carga económica significativa ante las dificultades actuales en el país.

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El grupo de derechos humanos HRANA, con sede en Estados Unidos, estima que la cifra de muertos vinculados a las protestas asciende a 5.937, incluyendo 214 miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad. Por su parte, las autoridades iraníes reconocen oficialmente 3.117 fallecidos. Tanto Sato como Reuters aclararon que no han podido verificar de forma independiente estos datos, aunque la relatora considera que las víctimas mortales superan ampliamente las cifras oficiales.

Miembros del personal sanitario en Irán, entrevistados bajo condición de anonimato por Reuters, confirmaron que las fuerzas de seguridad han irrumpido en hospitales, retirando a pacientes y buscando los registros de manifestantes heridos para proceder a su detención. Un médico de la ciudad de Rasht relató que, tras ser operados por heridas de bala, decenas de pacientes fueron sacados por la Guardia Revolucionaria sin que se sepa su paradero. Una enfermera y dos médicos en hospitales de Teherán aseguraron que agentes de la Guardia y la policía revisaron habitaciones en busca de manifestantes heridos.

Estas acciones han disuadido a la población de buscar atención médica, por temor a ser arrestados, lo que representa un riesgo para la vida y la salud de los heridos. Sato advirtió que esta conducta vulnera el principio de neutralidad médica, protegido por los Convenios de Ginebra, que garantizan la protección de doctores, hospitales y pacientes para asegurar una atención imparcial.

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Una mezquita incendiada durante las
Una mezquita incendiada durante las protestas en Teherán, Irán. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (Agencia de Noticias de Asia Occidental) vía REUTERS

Según informes citados por Sato, las fuerzas de seguridad han disparado a manifestantes en el pecho y la cabeza en las 31 provincias del país, apuntando a órganos vitales y haciendo uso de la fuerza letal de manera indiscriminada. El derecho internacional solo permite este tipo de acciones como último recurso y de forma proporcionada. Sato afirmó que estos hechos podrían constituir “muertes ilegales y ejecuciones arbitrarias”, además de alertar sobre un aumento de lesiones oculares causadas por perdigones en las protestas recientes.

La relatora también denunció que las exigencias de pago para la entrega de cadáveres agravan el sufrimiento de las familias, al combinar el dolor con la extorsión. Señaló que el intento de las autoridades iraníes de calificar a los manifestantes de “terroristas” o “alborotadores” busca justificar la represión de lo que describió como un movimiento local y espontáneo.

Policías iraníes desplegados en Teherán
Policías iraníes desplegados en Teherán el 14 de enero. EFE/EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Al menos 240 confesiones forzadas han sido transmitidas recientemente por la televisión estatal de Irán, según denunció un grupo de derechos humanos. Los videos presentan a los arrestados confesando crímenes que incluyen violencia contra miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad, colaboración con opositores o potencias extranjeras y la simple interacción con cuentas críticas en redes sociales.

Diversas organizaciones, entre ellas Amnistía Internacional, han calificado estas grabaciones de “videos de propaganda” y han denunciado que las confesiones serían obtenidas bajo tortura física y psicológica. Se ha reportado que los detenidos son obligados a firmar declaraciones que no pueden leer y a admitir delitos que no cometieron, incluidas acciones pacíficas de disenso.

El jefe del poder judicial iraní, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, ha encabezado personalmente algunas de estas interrogaciones televisadas. Según Roya Boroumand, directora del Centro Abdorrahman Boroumand para los Derechos Humanos en Irán con sede en Estados Unidos, estas confesiones cumplen varias funciones: fabricar legitimidad política, presentar a los manifestantes como agentes violentos de intereses extranjeros y desincentivar la disidencia. Boroumand afirmó que este tipo de prácticas se utilizan para humillar y desacreditar a los opositores, además de recordar a la sociedad el alto costo de desafiar al Estado.

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El edificio de la Agencia
El edificio de la Agencia Tributaria Estatal se incendió durante las protestas en una calle de Teherán, Irán. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (Agencia de Noticias de Asia Occidental) vía REUTERS

Las protestas, originadas por motivos económicos, se transformaron en un movimiento masivo contra la república islámica, especialmente a partir del 8 de enero, cuando las autoridades impusieron un apagón de internet. Miles de personas murieron durante la represión de las manifestaciones, según datos de la organización Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), que también contabilizó más de 41.000 arrestos y 240 confesiones forzadas durante el operativo.

El Centro para los Derechos Humanos en Irán (CHRI) ha calificado la escala actual de confesiones forzadas como sin precedentes, subrayando que estas declaraciones suelen ser la única prueba utilizada para condenar, incluso en casos donde se impone la pena de muerte. Boroumand explicó que al exhibir a los disidentes confesando actos como “colusión con potencias extranjeras”, el Estado legitima la represión con el argumento de proteger la seguridad nacional y usa la confesión televisiva como prueba de culpabilidad para justificar castigos severos.

(Con información de Reuters y AFP)



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Iranian security forces gun down amateur boxer as father searches morgues for missing son: source

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An Iranian amateur boxer was shot and killed by Iranian security forces during ongoing anti-regime protests near Tehran, and his father spent a week searching before identifying his body in a black body bag.

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Harrowing footage circulating online shows his distraught father desperately searching among piles of bodies covered with black body bags, crying out for his missing son.

Sepehr Ebrahimi, 19, was killed on Jan. 11 in the Andisheh area, approximately 19 miles west of Tehran’s city center, according to Iranian opposition sources.

«Sepehr was shot and killed in Tehran,» Ali Safavi, a senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital.

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IRAN LOCKS NATION INTO ‘DARKER’ DIGITAL BLACKOUT, VIEWING INTERNET AS AN ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’

Sepehr Ebrahimi was a 19-year-old amateur boxer. His father spent a week searching for his body after he was killed. (Simay Azadi/National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI))

Video shared on social media, which was viewed by Fox News Digital, shows Ebrahimi’s father calling out his son’s name as he searches a warehouse filled with unidentified bodies following a violent crackdown on demonstrators.

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«My dear Sepehr, where are you?» the father can be heard crying. At one point, he shouts, «Damn Khamenei. They have killed the children of so many people. You killed so many young people!»

According to Safavi, Ebrahimi was shot with live ammunition by Iran’s security forces during protests against the clerical regime.

His family spent an agonizing week searching through morgues, hospitals and detention facilities before finally identifying his body among piles of corpses, also shown in the viral footage.

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KHAMENEI CALLS TRUMP A ‘CRIMINAL,’ BLAMES HIM FOR DEADLY PROTESTS SWEEPING IRAN

Crowd of demonstrators gathered in central Tehran holding signs and chanting slogans.

Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

The killing comes amid ongoing demonstrations across Iran, as anger continues to simmer over political repression, economic hardship and human rights abuses.

Ebrahimi’s death has also renewed attention on the case of another Iranian boxer, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, who is on death row.

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Vafaei Sani, now 30, is a champion boxer who was arrested in 2020 for participating in nationwide pro-democracy protests.

Iranian authorities accused him of supporting the opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).

He has spent five years in prison, during which he has reportedly been tortured and held in prolonged solitary confinement, according to rights organizations.

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IRANIAN SOLDIER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO FIRE ON PROTESTERS DURING NATIONWIDE UNREST

In 2023, more than 100 human rights experts and international organizations sent a letter to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, urging urgent intervention to stop Vafaei Sani’s execution.

His death sentence echoes the case of Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari, who was executed in September 2020.

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Meanwhile, the death of Ebrahimi and others come as Iran’s protest-related death toll continues to rise.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 6,126 people have been killed since the start of the latest wave of protests.

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HRANA also reported that 214 government-affiliated forces and 49 civilians have also been killed, while more than 17,000 deaths remain under investigation.



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