Photographs from the scene showed the charred remains of the bus on the roadside.
Boyko Rashkov, the Bulgarian interior minister, visited the site of the accident on Tuesday. “The picture is horrifying,” he told reporters, adding that the victims’ bodies had turned to ash, making it difficult to identify them. “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Seven survivors with burns and lacerations, including a teenage girl, were taken to Pirogov Hospital in Sofia, Maya Argirova, head of the burn clinic there, told reporters. The injured are in good condition and will be transported to Skopje when they have fully recovered, according to hospital officials.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of North Macedonia visited the hospital on Tuesday.
“It is a terrible tragedy because many of them are children,” Mr. Zaev said of the victims, adding that he had spoken to one of the injured who had managed to break a window of the bus and help several people escape. “He explained that they were sleeping on the bus when a loud explosion was heard,” Mr. Zaev said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but the Bulgarian authorities said that they were working swiftly to investigate the accident.
Stanislav Vladimirov, mayor of Pernik, a Bulgarian town close to the site, said that accidents were common in the area because of the notoriously dangerous roads.
Malikah Shabazz, a daughter of the civil rights leader Malcolm X, has died. She was 56.
Shabazz was found unconscious by her daughter inside their home in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, New York police said.
“At this point in time, working with other authorities, the medical examiner, and speaking to the family, she had been ill for a period of time, and at this point, nothing appears suspicious,” the NYPD commissioner, Dermot Shea, told a local news outlet.
Malikah Shabazz and her twin sister, Malaak, were the youngest of Malcolm X’s six daughters with his wife, Dr Betty Shabazz. Betty Shabazz was pregnant with the twins when Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights, a New York neighborhood, on 21 February 1965.
Bernice King, a minister and daughter of the civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr, shared her condolences on Twitter.
“My heart goes out to her family, the descendants of Dr Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X,” King wrote. “Dr Shabazz was pregnant with Malikah and her twin sister, Malaak, when Brother Malcolm was assassinated. Be at peace, Malikah.”
Shabaz’s death came just days after two men convicted for assassinating Malcolm X were exonerated by a Manhattan judge, after two years of re-investigation.
The judge dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam after prosecutors and the men’s lawyers said the renewed investigation found new evidence that undermined the case against them.
“We have a violent crime crisis, quite frankly a gun crisis, in the city,” Christopher Geldart, the deputy mayor for public safety and justice, told residents last month at a meeting on Capitol Hill, where three people were fatally shot in separate attacks in October, including one on a sports field after a dispute at a flag football game.
Kyle Rittenhouse took jabs at “the left” and said he’s looking into legal action against people who he feels misrepresented his case.
Rittenhouse, recently acquitted on all charges in a racially-charged multiple homicide trial, stood by his stance that he was acting in self-defense when he killed two people and injured one other in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The 18-year-old blamed the charges against him on “a mob mentality” during an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired Monday night.
“And apparently, a lot of people on the left, it’s criminal to want to protect your community,” Rittenhouse said.
The exonerated teen said he’s hoping to lead a quiet life as an Arizona State University student, even as he receives numerous threats and feels his life has been “extremely defamed” by the case.
Kyle Rittenhouse said he’s looking into legal action.Fox News
Carlson asked if the shooter was confident the government would protect him, and Rittenhouse replied “I hope so, but we all know how the FBI works.”
Rittenhouse was 17-years-old when he went armed with a semiautomatic rifle to Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020 amid anti-police brutality and anti-racism protests.
He has claimed he was protecting a local business when he shot a man who threatened him and tried to take his gun. He ran, but was pursued by other protesters and clashed with them, ultimately shooting two more people before running toward police.
Tucker Carlson asked if the shooter was confident the government would protect him.Fox News
Rittenhouse said he plans to take legal action amid what he felt were media misrepresentations and people who called him a white supremacist.
“I have really good lawyers who are taking care of that right now,” Rittenhouse said. ”So, I’m hoping one day there will be some, there will be accountability for the actions that they did.”
Carlson replied, “You’re intent you’re not going to let that go?”
Kyle Rittenhouse sits for an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Courtesy of Fox News via AP
“Like I said, I have really good lawyers handling that,” Rittenhouse said.
Early in the interview, Rittenhouse described his version of events throughout the night and his experiences in a juvenile detention facility and jail as he awaited trial. He said even after his deadly confrontation and walking to police to tell them he had shot people, he didn’t expect the charges against him.
“I didn’t know I was gonna be arrested for defending myself because everything was on video,” he claimed. “But part of the reason I think I was arrested is because of the mob mentality. And they were like, ‘oh yeah we’re just gonna arrest him’ even though there was videos already out showing I was attacked and having to defend myself.”
Kyle Rittenhouse carries a weapon as he walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis., during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake, Aug. 25, 2020. Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP
He described telling his parents about the confrontation, saying his mother “was in shock.”
“She wanted to go into hiding and I said no the right thing to do would be to turn myself in, I didn’t do anything wrong,” Rittenhouse said.
He blamed his original legal team, who he later dropped, for pushing a narrative that he was in an unorganized militia, a claim he denied.
Kyle Rittenhouse also told Tucker Carlson that he felt President Joe Biden had “defamed” him.Fox News
“I’m not a racist person, I support the BLM movement,” Rittenhouse said. “I support peacefully demonstrating and I believe there needs to be changed. I believe there’s a lot of prosecutorial misconduct not just in my case but in other cases.
“It’s just amazing to see how much a prosecutor can take advantage of somebody,” he added. “Like if they did this to me, imagine what they could have done to a person of color who maybe doesn’t have the resources I do or is not widely publicized like my case.”
Rittenhouse also told Carlson that he felt President Joe Biden had “defamed” him when he tweeted out a video implying that he was a white supremacist.
A man has been charged with five counts of intentional first-degree homicide after a vehicle was driven into a Christmas parade on Sunday night in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The city’s police chief named him as Darrell E Brooks at an afternoon press conference on Monday. He is accused of killing five people and injuring another 48, including two children who remain in a critical condition.
Daniel Thompson, the police chief, said the suspect was involved in an unspecified domestic disturbance immediately before the parade incident, and that further charges were expected.
Thompson said Brooks “drove right through the barricades” to enter the parade route and raced towards a collision with those entertaining the holiday crowds, including a marching band, a troupe of Dancing Grannies.
Was it a terrorist attack? Thompson said there was no evidence the bloodshed on Sunday was a terrorist attack or that the suspect knew anyone in the parade. The suspect had acted alone, the chief said.
Who were the victims? Tamara Durant and Jane Coolidge, both 52; Leanna Owens, 71; Virginia Sorenson, 79; and Wilhelm Hospel, 82, all died on Sunday.
How many are in hospital? At least 10 children remained in intensive care on Monday afternoon, health officials said. Injuries ranged from broken bones to serious head wounds.
Starbucks launches aggressive anti-union effort as upstate New York stores organize
Richard Bensinger, left, and baristas discuss their efforts to unionize three Buffalo-area stores at the movement’s headquarters in New York. Photograph: Carolyn Thompson/AP
Starbucks has launched an aggressive anti-union campaign as six stores in the Buffalo, New York, area have filed for union elections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in recent weeks. If successful, the stores would be the first Starbucks corporate locations to unionize in the US.
Workers at the coffee chain have reported numerous captive audience meetings, one-on-one talks, store shutdowns, closures, remodelings, and text messages – a mode of contact that was previously used only for emergencies. Dozens of corporate executives have flooded stores with the intent to deter workers from voting to unionize, workers say.
The billionaire former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz visited Buffalo to present a case against unionizing to workers on 6 November and incited criticism for making an analogy to the Holocaust in discussing the company’s mission.
How have the Starbucks Workers United reacted? They filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB on 4 November over Starbucks’ conduct during the union campaign.
Roger Stone and Alex Jones among five to receive Capitol attack subpoenas
Members of the Oath Keepers militia provide security to Roger Stone at a rally on 5 January. Photograph: Jim Urquhart/Reuters
The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack on Monday issued new subpoenas to five political operatives associated with Donald Trump, including Roger Stone and the far-right radio show host Alex Jones, as the panel deepens its inquiry into the Save America rally that preceded the 6 January insurrection.
The subpoenas demanding documents and testimony expand the select committee’s inquiry focused on the planning and financing of the rally at the Ellipse, by targeting operatives who appear to have had contacts with the Trump White House.
House investigators issued subpoenas to the veteran operatives Stone and Jones, Trump’s spokesperson Taylor Budowich, and the pro-Trump activists Dustin Stockton and his wife, Jennifer Lawrence.
Why were they subpoenaed? The chair of the select committee, Bennie Thompson, said the subpoenas aimed to uncover “who organized, planned, paid for, and received funds related to those events, as well as what communications organizers had with officials in the White House and Congress”.
What else are they interested in? They want to know more about Stone’s connection to the Oath Keepers, the militia group he used as his private security detail before several members stormed the Capitol.
Joe Biden intends to run again in 2024, White House confirms
Joe Biden has been keen to quash rumors of a one-term presidency. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images
There has been a drop in the president’s polling numbers in recent months, leading some Democrats to speculate he might not seek another four-year term.
“He is. That’s his intention,” said the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, as Biden flew onboard Air Force One for a Thanksgiving event with US troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Democrats were rattled by Republican victories in Virginia’s gubernatorial election this month and a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.
The statement from the White House follows reports that Biden has been reassuring allies of his intentions to run again, and that he is keen to quash rumors of a one-term presidency.
Biden will be 15 days short of his 82nd birthday on 5 November 2024. He was already the oldest presidential candidate to be elected as commander-in-chief when he beat Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
In other news…
The ruling says the arbitrators found Kevin Spacey violated his contract’s demands for professional behaviour. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP
Kevin Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind House of Cards more than $30m because of losses brought on by his firing for alleged sexual misconduct, according to an arbitration decision made final on Monday.
At least 45 people including 12 children have died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria hours before daybreak today. The tragedy is the most deadly bus accident in the country’s history.
For the past few months, small municipalities – many without any standing abortion clinics – such as Lebanon and Mason – have outlawed abortion. Though women in those cities can still travel to get an abortion, the bans send an intimidating message.
China’s birthrate has plummeted to its lowest level since 1978 as the government struggles to stave off a looming demographic crisis. The government is under pressure to prevent a potential population decline after decades of interventionist policies and, more recently, high living costs.
Don’t miss this: the female imams taking over an LA mosque
Nurjahan Boulden, Tasneem Noor, and Samia Bano after praying together in Venice, California. Photograph: Anna Boyiazis/The Guardian
In many mosques across the world, women are not even allowedto pray. In some mosques in the US, womenmay enter but are often forcedpray in separate rooms – leading some to call it the “penalty box”. Spiritual leaders that have pushed boundaries – by running mixed congregation or an LGBTQ mosque – have received death threats. But at the Women’s Mosque of America, women are using their sermons to cover previously untouched topics including sexual violence, miscarriage and domestic violence.
Climate check: Want to fight for climate action but feel daunted or powerless? Try this
Insulate Britain activists protest in London, UK. Photograph: Belinda Jiao/Sopa/Rex/Shutterstock
For anyone hoping for some optimism about our planet, the recent Cop26 climate summit left much to be desired. The scale of the crisis can make us feel powerless – and individual action may seem like a drop in the ocean where climate change is concerned. But there are ways to use the affiliations we already have – such as with employers, universities, unions or religious groups – to boost our collective voice for change.
Want more environmental stories delivered to your inbox?Sign up to our new newsletter Down to Earth to get original and essential reporting on the climate crisis every week
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(CNN)As authorities piece together the circumstances regarding how and why an SUV barreled through marchers during a Christmas parade Sunday in Waukesha, Wisconsin — killing five and injuring dozens — the suspected driver of the vehicle will make his first appearance in court on Tuesday.
CNN’s Paul P. Murphy, Raja Razek, Dave Alsup, Holly Yan, Amir Vera, Joe Sutton, Keith Allen, Shimon Prokupecz and Evan Perez contributed to this report.
The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Neena Pathak, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Kaitlin Roberts, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea Daniel, Mooj Zadie and Rowan Niemisto.
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Monday’s batch of subpoenas focuses on the funding and organization of rallies on Jan. 5 and 6, as well as the march from the rally at the Ellipse to the Capitol.
Jones and Stone gave speeches to Trump supporters on Jan. 5, urging them to push back against the election results.
“I don’t know how this is all going to end, but if they want to fight, they better believe they’ve got one,” Jones told a crowd at Freedom Plaza in Washington the night before the attack, as PBS detailed.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Jones helped secure funding for the Jan. 6 rally. Jones has said he tried to de-escalate the riot and stop people from breaking into the Capitol, the Journal added.
For Jones, the committee’s demand is just the latest in a series of legal issues. A court last week found him liable for defamation in a lawsuit brought by parents of children killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have also removed pages associated with Jones and his Infowars show for violating the services’ community standards.
Stone, meanwhile, raised money for “private security” on Jan. 5 and 6, and called for people attending a Jan. 5 rally to join an “epic struggle,” as Mother Jones has reported. He has defended his comments that day.
In August, a group of Capitol Police officers sued him and a host of other defendants — including Trump himself — alleging civil rights violations. The suit accused Stone of actively participating in “Trump’s strategy to disseminate false claims of election fraud,” and of helping popularize the #StopTheSteal slogan. A process server presented Stone with the lawsuit on Sept. 15 while he was on a talk radio show.
“This is a big, big stack of papers, which is good because we’re out of toilet paper today,” Stone told the hosts.
He later called the suit “baseless, groundless, and unsubstantiated” in an email to CNN.
Stone said in a statement that he had not yet been served by the committee, nor had he seen the details of the information requested, but that he would determine his course of action after reviewing the requests with his lawyer.
“I have said time and time again that I had no advance knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol on that day,” he said. “Any statement, claim, insinuation, or report alleging, or even implying, that I had any involvement in or knowledge, whether advance or contemporaneous, about the commission of any unlawful acts by any person or group in or around the U.S. Capitol or anywhere in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, is categorically false.”
Stockton and Lawrence, who are a couple, participated in a detailed POLITICO profile that ran last week. The two had taken part in a bus tour in swing states in the weeks after Election Day 2020 to trumpet false claims of election fraud, and promoted the Jan. 6 rally in the weeks leading up to it. Trump’s retweet of one of Lawrence’s posts was used as evidence during his impeachment trial later that month. Lawrence sued the firm that made the House impeachment managers’ graphics, alleging defamation.
Stockton took questions from committee investigators at the end of October, POLITICO had first reported, and the pair said in the profile they had reached out to the panel about voluntarily testifying.
Stockton and Lawrence did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though both of them made posts on Twitter acknowledging receipt of the subpoenas.
The committee also subpoenaed Budowich, Trump’s spokesperson, who has fielded media inquiries for the former president about the Jan. 6 probe itself. Budowich was formerly the executive director of the Tea Party Express. He also helped oversee the Save the U.S. Senate super PAC, which tried to help Republicans win in the 2020 Georgia Senate run-off elections, as POLITICO previously reported. Republicans narrowly lost both races, handing control of the Senate to Democrats.
Budowich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SOFIA, Nov 23 (Reuters) – At least 45 people, including 12 children, died as a bus carrying mostly North Macedonian tourists crashed in flames on a highway in western Bulgaria hours before daybreak on Tuesday, officials said.
Seven people who leapt from the burning bus were rushed to hospital in Sofia and were in stable conditions, hospital staff said. Bulgaria’s interior ministry said 45 people died, making it the most deadly bus accident in the Balkan country’s history.
Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov said bodies were “clustered inside and are burnt to ash.”
“The picture is terrifying, terrifying. I have never seen anything like that before,” he told reporters at the site.
The cause of the accident was unclear but the bus appeared to have hit a highway barrier either before or after it caught fire, Bulgarian officials said.
The accident happened on Struma highway about 45 km (28 miles) west of Sofia around 2:00 a.m. (0000 GMT), Bulgarian officials said. The coach party was returning to Skopje from a weekend holiday trip to Istanbul, a trip of about 800 km (500 miles).
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A view shows the site where at least 45 people were killed when a bus with North Macedonian plates caught fire on a highway, near the village of Bosnek, in Bulgaria, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
Television footage showed the bus charred and gutted by fire in the middle of the highway, which was wet from rain.
“We have an enormous tragedy here,” Bulgarian interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev told reporters.
North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he had spoken to one of the survivors who told him the passengers were sleeping when they were woken by the sound of an explosion.
“I am terrified. This is such a huge tragedy,” he told private television channel BTV.
Bulgarian investigative service chief Borislav Sarafov said four buses from a North Macedonian travel agency had entered Bulgaria late on Monday from Turkey.
“Human mistake by the driver or a technical malfunction are the two initial versions for the accident,” he said.
The White House has said that Joe Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, a statement that comes amid speculation over his future as the president sees a dip in his approval rating.
Biden, 79, has suffered a drop in his polling numbers in recent months, leading some Democrats to speculate he might not seek another four-year term.
“He is. That’s his intention,” said the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, as Biden flew onboard Air Force One for a Thanksgiving event with US troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Democrats were rattled by Republican victories in Virginia’s gubernatorial election earlier this month and a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.
The statement from the White House follows reports that Biden has been reassuring allies of his intentions to run again, and that he is keen to quash rumors of a one-term presidency.
A recent Washington Post/ABC survey survey found just over 40% of voters approved of Biden, continuing a steady downward trend in the president’s ratings amid inflation and supply chain issues and intra-party fighting over key aspects of the president’s agenda.
Questions have arisen about the viability of Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate in 2024 should Biden decide not to run again. A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll found her with a 28% job approval rating.
Biden underwent his first physical examination on Friday since taking office in January and doctors found he has a stiffened gait and attributed frequent bouts of coughing to acid reflux. Doctors said he was fit to serve.
Biden’s political prospects appeared to have been buoyed last week by congressional passage of a $1.2tn infrastructure plan. Still being debated is another $1.75tn in spending on a social safety net package.
Biden was already the oldest presidential candidate to be elected as commander-in-chief when he beat Donald Trump in the November 2020 election, and will be 15 days short of his 82nd birthday on 5 November 2024, the next time voters in the US will be asked to choose their president.
Germany’s health minister has issued a stark warning to the country’s public, telling citizens that vaccination was the key to their survival.
“Some would say this is cynical but probably by the end of this winter, pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered or dead … That’s the reality,” Jens Spahn told a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
Blaming “the very contagious delta variant” for the country’s rapid surge in infections, which is seen as its fourth wave of the pandemic, Spahn said “that is why we so urgently recommend vaccination.”
Germany is considering whether to implement stricter Covid-19 measures and even a partial lockdown like its neighbor, the Netherlands, as cases soar. On Monday, more than 30,000 new cases were recorded, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.
In the meantime, Germany has one of the lower vaccination rates in western Europe with 68% of its adult population fully vaccinated, but only 7% having received a booster shot. Boosters are needed as we know that the immunity offered by vaccines wanes after around six months.
Spahn told Germans not to be picky about which vaccine they wanted to receive, saying “some vaccinating physicians say BioNTech is the Mercedes of the vaccines and Moderna is the Rolls-Royce,” Deutsche Welle reported.
“There is enough vaccine for all upcoming vaccinations,” Spahn said. “And both vaccines work.”
Germany deploys both the Pfizer-BioNTech shot (BioNTech is a German company and Germans have tended to prefer this shot) as well as the Moderna vaccine, AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine and the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) shot.
Covid vaccines greatly reduce the risk of severe infection, hospitalization and death but some countries in Europe have experienced greater vaccine hesitancy than others. And there is increasing segregation now when it comes to access to public spaces for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Merkel’s warning
Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel also issued her own warning to the country on Monday, stating that current Covid rules were “not enough” to stop the fourth wave and that stronger action needed to be taken.
“We have a highly dramatic situation — the current rules are not enough,” Merkel told a meeting of leaders of her conservative Christian Democratic Union party, Reuters reported.
Having met with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states, which have largely determined their own Covid response measures during the pandemic, Merkel called on state premiers to decide on tougher restrictions by Wednesday.
Germany has already implemented stricter Covid rules in recent days. Last Thursday, Merkel and the country’s 16 state premiers agreed a new package of measures to tackle the virus, with restrictions introduced for unvaccinated people in areas of the country where hospital admissions exceed a certain threshold.
Merkel noted at the time that “many of the measures we are announcing would not be necessary if more people were vaccinated.” She said the country was also considering making it mandatory for hospital staff to be vaccinated, and that free Covid testing would resume.
Several states and cities have already imposed stricter rules requiring the public to show Covid passes, which have an individual’s vaccination status or if they’ve just recovered from the virus (also widely known as “2G rules” as they refer to whether people are vaccinated — “geimpft” in German — or recovered, “genesen”) in order to access bars, restaurants and other public venues like movie theaters or museums.
Europe’s latest wave
Germany is not alone in witnessing a rapid increase in Covid cases as winter sets in, with Europe as a whole seeing soaring infections, prompting many countries to tighten rules.
Austria has re-imposed a full lockdown with citizens asked to work from home and non-essential shops closed, while the Netherlands’ partial lockdown sees bars and restaurants closed at 8 p.m. (among other rules) and is meant to last until early December, although it could be extended.
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Many countries are increasingly relying on Covid passes to keep leisure activities and businesses open, although critics say they are segregating societies down vaccination lines.
Europe has been rocked by protests in the last few weeks against fresh restrictions, with demonstrations breaking out in Brussels, Vienna, Rome and Amsterdam last weekend.
The region’s Covid crisis has not been lost on the U.S. which only recently lifted an international travel ban that had prohibited visitors from 33 countries, including the U.K. and much of Europe. On Monday, the U.S. State Department warned Americans not to travel to Germany due to the “very high level of Covid-19 in the country.”
The advisory came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement to “avoid travel to Germany. If you must travel to Germany, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.”
“Because of the current situation in Germany, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants,” the CDC warned. The same level of travel warning applies to the U.K., Austria, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Denmark and Norway among other European countries.
Every parade has an act that draws the eye, that brings a quick smile and a delighted laugh.
An act like the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, who with their pom-poms, sense of humor and moxie have entertained crowds across the area for decades.
Founded in 1984, they usually performed 25 times a year, although they had to take a break in the earlier months of the pandemic.
“The Grannies are kind of a really tight unit,” said Beth Krohn, a retired member of the group. “We used to call it a sisterhood.”
On Sunday, the women were doing what they loved best: performing, providing entertainment and bringing joy to those gathered at the Waukesha Christmas Parade.
But in an instant, when a red SUV roared down the parade route, several of the Dancing Grannies were tragically run down, with four fatalities.
On Monday, police released the names of those killed, including Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, and Tamara Durand, 52, who were all part of the Dancing Grannies, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81, who helped the group.
A fifth person also died. Police identified her as Jane Kulich, 52. Kulich worked at Citizens Bank, which said in a statement that “one of our team members who was walking with the parade float was struck and passed away as a result of her injuries.”
“Our condolences go out to her family and friends for this inconceivable loss,” the bank said in its statement. “Please lift our team and the entire community as we all grieve.”
It’s hard to imagine, so close to Thanksgiving, the unparalleled grief visited on the families and friends of those who died. Each used their time and talent to help others in their own way.
Virginia Sorenson: Heart of the group
If the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies had a beating heart, it was Sorenson. Everyone called her Ginny.
She had a bad back and a bad hip but loved to dance and was an instructor and choreographer who helped newcomers and veterans with the group’s routines.
“What did she like about it? Everything,” said her husband of 56 years, David Sorenson. “She liked the instructing. She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women. She liked to perform.”
Sorenson, a 19-year veteran of the Dancing Grannies, was near the back of the group holding a banner when she was killed.
David Sorenson was at the parade Sunday, helping ferry the dancers from their parking spots at the finish to the start of the route.
He said Ginny “was going to ride in the van behind the women and be an instructor. They were short help so she offered to hold the banner going down the street. So she did that. I was at the end (of the parade route) in the car. I was sitting in the car waiting.”
She never arrived.
The Sorensons lived a long and fulfilling life together, with three children and six grandchildren. They met decades ago at a church event.
“She taught me to do the Can-Can,” her husband said.
At their home in Muskego, she cared for animals, including two horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
A registered nurse, Ginny Sorenson still worked part-time in medical records. She used the extra money to pay for the horses and give treats to the grandchildren, her daughter Heather Sorenson said.
For the Sorensons, the Grannies were an activity for the entire family. Their grand kids often marched with the group and held the banner. The Sorensons also held frequent parties for the group, especially around Halloween.
Tamara Durand: Making her debut
At the opposite end of experience on the Dancing Grannies was Durand, a young grandma who was “super excited” Sunday because she was going to make her debut with the group.
“She danced her way through life,” her husband David Durand said Monday. “She danced when there was no music. She always danced. That describes her personality.”
Besides dancing, Durand had a passion for her grandson, providing care for him four days a week so that her daughter could go to nursing school.
She volunteered for several years as a chaplain at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, according to her LinkedIn page and a 2019 church bulletin. The bulletin, from St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc, says she turned to work helping the sick and dying after converting to Catholicism.
Before that, she worked for more than 17 years as an elementary school teacher at the Beaver Dam Unified School District.
On Sunday, she posted a picture to her Facebook page, dressed in the blue and white outfit worn by Grannies and holding pom-poms. She wrote that it was her first Dancing Grannies parade.
Her death left her family heartbroken. “Everybody is pretty shocked,” her husband said.
LeAnna Owen: Always encouraging
Owen of Cudahy managed an apartment complex and was an enthusiastic member of the Dancing Grannies.
Owen was full of kindness for her tenants, said Dave Schmidt, who owns the two 32-unit buildings Owen managed.
“She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was the nicest lady,” Schmidt said.
Owen had managed the properties on South Packard Avenue for about 10 years. Before that, she lived at another property Schmidt’s family owned.
“She was the glue that kept that apartment complex running for us,” Schmidt said. “She will be sorely missed.”
Owen was focused on making sure tenants had a positive experience, Schmidt said. She knew, and had relationships with, every tenant.
The Dancing Grannies were an integral part of her identity.
“When she’d bring it up … she would just have this big smile on her face,” Schmidt said.
When a reporter from WDJT-TV (Channel 58) profiled the group in August, Owen’s interview was featured heavily.
“Can you keep up with the group?” reporter Winnie Dortch asked Owen, who was the smallest, shortest dancing granny of the crew.
“Oh, you bet I can,” Owen responded, laughing. “I’m encouraging them. ‘Come on, come on!’ “
Speaking in her sparkly red and white parade costume, Owen recalled a treasured moment when members of the group were recognized by children on a trip to Door County.
“A whole bunch of them got up and came over and started talking to us, and it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re kind of like minor celebrities,’ ” Owen recounted to the reporter.
Owen, a grandmother, leaves behind two sons.
Wilhelm Hospel: Helped the dancers
Hospel was a familiar presence among the Grannies. His wife, Lola, was one of the dancers, and he helped out, ferrying the dancers and making sure everyone had what they needed.
Jim Ray, who identified himself on Facebook as a co-worker of Lola, wrote Monday that he was “absolutely heartbroken.” Another man, Todd Heeter, wrote that Hospel was his former landlord. Heeter said he was at a loss for words after hearing the news that Hospel, who he described as “81 years young,” was dead.
Jane Kulich: A bright light of service
An online fundraiser for Kulich’s family, verified by a GoFundMe spokesperson, called Kulich “loving, beautiful and charismatic mother, grandmother and friend to so many.”
“The world is a much darker place without a woman like this in the world,” the GoFundMe page reads.
According to her LinkedIn page, Kulich described herself as “a very hard worker who enjoys helping others” with “awesome customer service skills.”
She had worked at Citizens Bank as a teller since November of 2020.
Prior to that, Kulich was a caregiver for Visiting Angels, worked as server at Dave’s Family restaurant for nearly four years and worked as a production assistant at Klinke Cleaners for two and a half years.
Kulich had studied medical billing and coding at West Allis’ now-closed Sanford Brown College and she listed the following as causes she cared about: animal welfare, children and human rights.
In a Facebook post, Kulich’s daughter, Taylor Smith, wrote this tribute: “There’s no words. It’s so unreal. My mom was killed last night. We are told she didn’t suffer. Thank God. I’m so grateful I got to have her this long, but damn. She was walking in the parade last night. She was so happy. I love you mom. Rest in peace my beautiful angel.”
Smiles, cheers, warmth: Dancing Grannies reflect
On Monday, the Waukesha community was in deep mourning as people tried to come to terms with the deaths, the injuries, the trauma. It was the kind of event that ripples out into southeast Wisconsin and across the country.
And it will never make sense.
In a post shared on Facebook, the Grannies said: “Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness.
“While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds cheers and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts.”
Devi Shastri of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
It ought to be possible to operate a retail store in one of America’s largest and most iconic cities, but this most basic commercial proposition is in doubt in San Francisco.
The erstwhile Golden City is beset by an ongoing tide of theft that is closing down retail locations and again demonstrating the city’s unwillingness to govern itself.
Cities around the country dub themselves “the capital” of this or that signature product — artichokes in Castroville, Calif., earmuffs in Farmington, Maine, spinach in Alma, Ark., fried chicken in Barberton, Ohio.
San Francisco, and the larger Bay Area, now could easily claim the title of Shoplifting Capital of the USA — should it want the honor.
Hey, look — here are 80 people engaged in a large-scale smash-and-grab robbery of a Nordstrom in Walnut Creek outside of San Francisco last weekend, one of a series of jaw-dropping thefts over the last several days, including an operation that cleared out a Louis Vuitton on San Francisco’s Union Square.
Check this out — people running out of a Neiman Marcus with fancy handbags into waiting cars.
You won’t believe it — this guy loads merchandise from a Walgreens into a big trash bag and jumps on his bike to ride down the aisle and out of the store.
These aren’t episodic crimes. Walgreens says that its San Francisco stores experience a level of theft five times the national average. As a consequence, the chain has been steadily closing locations. It has shuttered 17 already and last month announced five more closures, including the one hit by the man on the bike (who was finally arrested after robbing the store one too many times).
Target and Safeway have been reducing hours to try to limit their locations’ exposure to theft.
Stores often put the likes of toothpaste and shampoo behind security locks, as if they are high-end goods or the outlets are operating in Caracas, Venezuela.
The shoplifting problem represents a deliberate choice rather than an unstoppable tide. Modern societies long ago figured out how to maintain civil order such that law-abiding people could buy and sell goods without being systematically preyed on by thieves. It’s just that the Bay Area has chosen to forget.
In 2014, California adopted Proposition 47, which made thefts of $950 or less a misdemeanor. Once people realized that they were unlikely to be arrested or prosecuted for stealing below $1,000, they, of course, responded to the incentive. For their part, the stores advise employees not to interfere with shoplifters lest they get hurt. Many crimes don’t even go reported.
New York City famously re-established order in the 1990s based on “broken windows” policing, or a focus on offenses that degraded the quality of life; San Francisco and similar locales are engaged in “broken windows” neglect — the broken windows being at high-end stores struck by emboldened robbers.
This is a polity deciding that it is more important to stay its own hand from arresting and jailing criminals than to protect businesses from getting robbed, protect duly employed people from having to watch cretins flout the law and protect neighborhoods from losing retail outlets that they depend on.
The stance of San Francisco isn’t exactly anti-business. No, it is, in effect, privileging one business model over another. On the one hand, there are the legitimate businesses that buy their goods and sell them in legal market transactions. On the other, there are the organized crime rings that oversee the theft of vast amounts of merchandise that is turned around and sold online.
The former model should be given the environment to thrive, the latter ground to dust. A rational society knows this, and perhaps one day San Francisco will again as well.
The driver who plowed through a Christmas parade in downtown Waukesha, killing five people and injuring nearly 50, did so intentionally and is expected to face first-degree homicide counts and other charges, police said Monday.
The suspect, Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, recently had been released from custody in a strikingly similar case, in which he was accused of driving over a woman during a domestic dispute, sending her to the hospital and leaving tire marks on her pant leg.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting that case, said Monday it was launching an internal review of a prosecutor’s “inappropriately low” $1,000 bail recommendation. The bail amount was signed off on by a court commissioner.
The horrific scene Sunday evening tore at the heart of the Waukesha community and rippled outward from the Norman Rockwell-style parade that has been a six-decade tradition. At least 18 children were among the injured, 10 of whom remained in Children’s Wisconsin’s intensive care unit.
“Last night, that parade became a nightmare,” Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said Monday.
Police Chief Daniel Thompson became emotional Monday at a news conference as he read the names of the victims: Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; Jane Kulich, 52; and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
“Right now our focus, the Waukesha Police Department’s focus, the city of Waukesha’s focus, is the families, the victims and due process,” Thompson said.
Investigators learned Brooks was involved in a “domestic disturbance” before he drove into the parade route, the chief said. There was a report of a knife being involved, but police were unable to confirm that as of Monday afternoon, he added.
Thompson said a police chase did not lead to the driver’s actions but Thompson said he would not be providing more details about the suspect’s motivations at this point. The chief said there was no sign the event was an act of domestic terrorism. Waukesha prosecutors expect to file formal charges Tuesday.
The suspect’s earlier interactions with the criminal justice system quickly drew scrutiny Monday. He has two open court felony cases in Milwaukee County. In July 2020, he was charged with three felonies after being accused of firing a gun during an argument with a relative.
Earlier this month, a woman told police that Brooks purposefully ran her “over with his vehicle” while she was walking through a gas station parking lot after he had followed her there after a fight, according to the criminal complaint.
Brooks was arrested and charged Nov. 5 in the case.
The $1,000 bail recommended by prosecutors, and accepted by the court commissioner, was “inappropriately low” given the nature of the charges, according to a statement Monday from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, led by District Attorney John Chisholm. The assistant district attorney who appeared at the hearing where bail was set was Carole Manchester. Manchester did not respond to a call or email from a Journal Sentinel reporter Monday seeking comment.
The bail also was not consistent with the office’s approach to cases “involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail,” the statement read.
“This office is currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps.”
Wisconsin requires payment for the full amount of bail set in any criminal case.
An attorney representing Brooks in his current Milwaukee County case declined to answer questions about the most recent charge there. The attorney, Joseph Domask, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he is not representing him in the Waukesha incident.
The Journal Sentinel tried to reach Court Commissioner Cedric Cornwall, who set the bail, and did not hear back. Milwaukee County Chief Judge Mary Triggiano, who oversees the court system, said the judicial code of conduct restricted her from commenting on pending cases.
Brooks posted the $1,000 bail on Nov. 11 and was released from Milwaukee County Jail on Nov. 16 and into the custody of Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, where he had a hold in a paternity case, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
Brooks was booked in Waukesha County, appeared before a court commissioner and then was released from custody that same day, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Monday.
A history of contacts with law enforcement, courts
The suspect has a history of criminal allegations involving violence, court records show.
He has been charged with crimes 10 times since 1999, when Brooks pleaded guilty at 17 years old to a felony charge of inflicting substantial bodily harm against another person, according to court records. He also has been cited for traffic and disorderly conduct offenses.
A decade ago, during a traffic stop, a Milwaukee police officer jumped inside Brooks’ car, fearing he was about to be run over. The officer had pulled him over for not wearing a seat belt. As Brooks began to drive away while the officer was talking to him, the officer got inside the car and wrestled for control of the steering wheel.
Eventually, the officer was able to stop the car and removed the keys. Brooks ran away from the car, court records say, and he was arrested hiding in a children’s playhouse in the same block. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in that case.
More recently, Brooks was charged in July 2020 with two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was accused of getting into a fight with a relative and then firing a gun at the relative and a friend, according to court records.
His bail was set at $10,000 and then reduced to $7,500. Prosecutors were prepared to go forward with his jury trial on Feb. 9, according to the district attorney’s office’s statement. Brooks was still in custody at that time and had made a speedy trial demand, but because another jury trial was in progress in the same court, the case was postponed.
Story continues below the gallery.
After hearing arguments from Brooks’ attorney, bail was dropped to $500 by Milwaukee County Judge David Feiss, online records show. Brooks posted that bail Feb. 21. A plea and sentencing hearing was scheduled in that case for Nov. 11. At that hearing, Brooks’ attorney requested another adjournment and the prosecutor did not object. Feiss scheduled a status hearing in December.
By that Nov. 11 hearing, Brooks already was in custody for the domestic-related incident.
According to court records, on Nov. 2, Brooks knocked on the door of a woman staying at a Milwaukee hotel, yelling profanities. She opened the door and tried to walk past him, but he snatched her phone and drove off, records say.
The woman was later walking toward a gas station when Brooks pulled up alongside her and demanded she get in the car, the criminal complaint said.
When she refused, he punched her in the face and then as she walked away through the gas station parking lot until Brooks ran her over his vehicle, a 2010 maroon Ford Escape, the complaint says. The vehicle is similar to the description of the SUV involved in the parade tragedy.
Brooks was charged Nov. 5 with felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony bail jumping and three misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and battery, with domestic abuse assessments.
Reporters who approached a Milwaukee address associated with Brooks were stopped by police who said the resident did not want to speak to reporters.
Three neighbors said they frequently saw Brooks but seldom said anything beyond a quick hello. One neighbor told reporters her home security system captured several police officers at his home and examining his car several weeks ago. Officers were again seen at the house Sunday night, the neighbor said.
A woman who had a child with Brooks told a Journal Sentinel reporter he was not involved in her or her children’s life.
“I have no idea what makes him tick, why he would do something so stupid and tragic and why he would hurt those babies and those kids,” she said.
‘Senseless violence’: Vigils, funds organized to help victims
Dozens of witness videos showed a red SUV hurtling through the parade and appeared to show the vehicle hitting members of the Waukesha South High School Blackshirt Band, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies and a children’s dance group.
Three of those who died — Sorenson, Owen, Durand — were members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies and a fourth, Hospel, was helping the dance troupe. Sorenson, known as Ginny, was described as the group’s beating heart.
“What did she like about it? Everything,” said her husband of 56 years, David Sorenson. “She liked the instructing. She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women. She liked to perform.”
Kulich, the fifth fatal victim in the attack, had worked at Citizens Bank as a teller since November of 2020 and was remembered as a “loving, beautiful and charismatic mother, grandmother and friend to so many.”
The Waukesha Xtreme Dance had injured members, including an 11-year-old girl named Jessalyn. Her uncle, Ryan Kohnke, told the Journal Sentinel she had danced with the group since preschool.
Kohnke was at the parade and scrambled to find family in the aftermath, spotting his niece on the ground.
“It’s just senseless violence,” Kohnke said. “The horrific scene that followed and the trauma that it’s going to have on this community, it’s unfortunate.”
As of Monday morning, six patients were in critical condition at Children’s Wisconsin, hospital, officials said. Three additional patients were in “serious” condition, while others were in fair condition and two had been released.
The hospital treated 18 children, from ages 3 to 16, who were injured in the Waukesha Christmas Parade incident. The patients included three sets of siblings, hospital officials said.
“As an emergency doctor, we’re trained for these types of incidents but you never want to experience them,” said Dr. Amy Drendel, medical director at Children’s Wisconsin Emergency Department and Trauma Center. “Our region has experienced mass casualty events in the past but none in recent history involving such a large number of children.”
Gov. Tony Evers visited the hospital on Monday and met with local officials in the wake of the attack, according to his spokeswoman.
Earlier, authorities said 11 adults and 12 children were ferried to local hospitals. Others were taken by friends and family. Children’s Wisconsin hospital said it had 15 patients and no fatalities. Aurora Medical Center-Summit, a hospital in Waukesha County, confirmed they were treating 13 patients early Monday morning.
The United for Waukesha Community Fund has been created for those affected by the tragedy. People can make donations through the Waukesha Community Foundation at waukeshafoundation.org/parade.
Children’s Wisconsin is operating an emotional and mental health support line at 414-266-6500.
Correction: An earlier post contained inaccurate information about when the suspect had been released from custody in Milwaukee County Jail and how many crimes he had been charged with since 1999, citing online court records. This article has been updated with the correct number of charges and information from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail.
Rory Linnane, Talis Shelbourne, Sophie Carson, Evan Casey, Cathy Kozlowicz, Mary Spicuzza, Bruce Vielmetti, Patrick Marley, Cary Spivak, John Diedrich and Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Mr. Jones conducted an interview of Mr. Flynn from the Willard on Jan. 5 in which the men spread the false narrative of a stolen election. Mr. Jones was then seen among the crowd of Mr. Trump’s supporters the next day, amplifying false claims of widespread fraud but also urging the crowd to be peaceful. Among those who marched alongside him to the Capitol was Ali Alexander, a promoter of the “Stop the Steal” effort who has also been issued a subpoena, the committee said.
“The White House told me three days before, ‘We’re going to have you lead the march,’” Mr. Jones said on his internet show the day after the riot. “Trump will tell people, ‘Go, and I’m going to meet you at the Capitol.’”
The panel is also demanding documents and testimony from Dustin Stockton and his fiancée, Jennifer L. Lawrence, who reportedly assisted in organizing a series of rallies after the election advancing false claims about its outcome.
Mr. Stockton was reportedly concerned that the rally at the Ellipse would lead to a march to the Capitol that would mean “possible danger,” which he said “felt unsafe.” These concerns were escalated to Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, the committee said.
Understand the Claim of Executive Privilege in the Jan. 6. Inquiry
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What is executive privilege? It is a power claimed by presidents under the Constitution to prevent the other two branches of government from gaining access to certain internal executive branch information, especially confidential communications involving the president or among his top aides.
What is Trump’s claim? Former President Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the disclosure of White House files related to his actions and communications surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He argues that these matters must remain a secret as a matter of executive privilege.
Is Trump’s privilege claim valid? The constitutional line between a president’s secrecy powers and Congress’s investigative authority is hazy. Though a judge rejected Mr. Trump’s bid to keep his papers secret, it is likely that the case will ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court.
Is executive privilege an absolute power? No. Even a legitimate claim of executive privilege may not always prevail in court. During the Watergate scandal in 1974, the Supreme Court upheld an order requiring President Richard M. Nixon to turn over his Oval Office tapes.
May ex-presidents invoke executive privilege? Yes, but courts may view their claims with less deference than those of current presidents. In 1977, the Supreme Court said Nixon could make a claim of executive privilege even though he was out of office, though the court ultimately ruled against him in the case.
Is Steve Bannon covered by executive privilege? This is unclear. Mr. Bannon’s case could raise the novel legal question of whether or how far a claim of executive privilege may extend to communications between a president and an informal adviser outside of the government.
What is contempt of Congress? It is a sanction imposed on people who defy congressional subpoenas. Congress can refer contempt citations to the Justice Department and ask for criminal charges. Mr. Bannon has been indicted on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena that seeks documents and testimony.
Mr. Stockton and Ms. Lawrence are known to be close to Stephen K. Bannon, a former top aide to Mr. Trump, who has been charged with federal crimes after refusing to comply with his subpoena. The couple worked at the conservative website Breitbart and then at Mr. Bannon’s nonprofit seeking private financing to help complete Mr. Trump’s border wall.
In a ruling made public Monday, a judge determined Laurie Snell, the children’s mother, would have sole legal custody, while Parnell’s schedule with them would be limited to three weekends a month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. That would have made it difficult for Parnell to continue a campaign.
Indeed, Parnell’s campaign has privately said for weeks that the embattled Senate candidate’s future in the race would come down to the judge’s decision.
If he kept custody of his three children, Parnell could have won in Pennsylvania, advisers said. Losing his kids, though, spelled the end of the campaign.
“His kids are old enough that they have weekend commitments and schedules,” said Christopher Nicholas, a Pennsylvania Republican consultant, prior to the news that Parnell suspended his campaign. “Since his time with them is three weekends a month, how could he take care of them and still campaign across the state?”
Meanwhile, Trump had recently expressed disappointment in how his endorsement of Parnell has panned out, including blaming his son Don Jr., a friend of Parnell’s who pushed for the endorsement. According to a person familiar with Trump’s frequent commentary on Parnell, he has been fixated on the situation — both upset at being tied to it, via his support for Parnell, and incredulous about what was going on with his preferred candidate.
But Trump didn’t rescind his support of Parnell earlier this month, despite Snell’s allegations of abuse. The Trump team was planning to move forward with a January fundraiser scheduled for Parnell at Mar-a-Lago.
Pennsylvania is a crucial state for Republicans to win to retake control of the 50-50 Senate in 2022. The GOP is defending the seat currently held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, and President Joe Biden won the state in 2020.
Former Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.), who retired from the House in 2018, is thinking about entering the race and is expected to make a decision soon, according to a source familiar with his plans.
Other Republicans in the race, including Jeff Bartos and Carla Sands, have trailed behind Parnell in polling.
Democrats also face a crowded nominating contest, with a primary field that includes Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Rep. Conor Lamb and state Sen. Sharif Street.
Chrystul Kizer (shown here with her lawyers in 2019) is arguing that it was self-defense when she killed the man who sexually abused her.
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Chrystul Kizer (shown here with her lawyers in 2019) is arguing that it was self-defense when she killed the man who sexually abused her.
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In the aftermath of Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal in Kenosha, Wis., last week, advocates are turning back to the case of teenager Chrystul Kizer, who is also arguing it was self-defense when she killed her adult sexual abuser, set his house on fire and stole his car in 2018.
Kizer, who was 17 at the time, is accused of shooting Randall P. Volar III in the head; Volar had previously been arrested on child sexual assault charges.
Kizer was released from jail in June 2020 after groups such as the Chicago Community Bond Fund raised money to pay her $400,000 bond. She is still awaiting trial.
Prosecutors say the killing was premeditated. But what’s notable in this case is that Kizer’s lawyers are invoking a self-defense argument thathas never been used in a homicide case in the state before.
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Homicide Or Self-Defense: The Rittenhouse And Arbery Cases
Originally, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge David Wilk said that Kizer could not use the affirmative defense argument in this case since it involved homicide. But Wilk’s decision was overturned by an appellate court, which ruled that, per a state statute, Kizer can argue “affirmative defense” if her attorneys can show that her actions against Volar were a direct result of the trafficking she experienced.
Wisconsin’s supreme court is currently reviewing the case.
What protesters are saying
Protesters spent the weekend chanting the names of Rittenhouse’s victims as well as Kizer’s name, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
Their argument is that if Rittenhouse successfully argued his case claiming self-defense, then Kizer’s case should have the same outcome.
“Chrystul Kizer was in this building [Kenosha County Courthouse] advocating for her justice too,” Democratic State Rep. David Bowen said. “And we didn’t hear any of y’all. And we didn’t hear anybody that was out making noises for Kyle Rittenhouse.”
Protesters demonstrate against the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict at Civic Center Park in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday.
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Protesters demonstrate against the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict at Civic Center Park in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Kizer’s case also brings up a test of how the law can oftentimes not apply equally to everyone, particularly Black girls and women like Kizer.
Sharlyn Grace, who is the former executive director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund, told Wisconsin Public Radio last year that Kizer’s case in particular is important to highlight
“We see these cases as incredibly important … to protect and uplift and support the individual women, who are overwhelmingly Black women,” Grace said.
“Because the reality is that Chrystul Kizer was not kept safe by police and prosecution and incarceration and, in fact, after she was forced to defend herself and she chose to survive, she was then further harmed by those systems.”
The legal argument and why it may or may not work
Julius Kim, an attorney and former criminal prosecutor in Wisconsin, says invoking affirmative defense essentially flips the burden of proof onto the prosecution.
If the defense can prove that Kizer was a victim of sex trafficking, then it falls on the state to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that either she wasn’t a victim of human sex trafficking, or that the crime that she committed was not a direct result of that human sex trafficking,” Kim tells NPR.
While protesters are bringing up Kizer’s case in the context of the Rittenhouse trial, Kim points out a key difference: the videos played during the Rittenhouse trial showed the “imminency” of the danger,” he says, and that type of element is missing in Kizer’s case, since the state is arguing that Kizer traveled to Volar’s house with the intent to kill him.
Self-defense argument are common with any violent altercation, Kim says, but far less common when it comes to child sex trafficking cases, which often go unnoticed in the first place. Kizer is a “sympathetic defendant,” he says,and her case will ultimately test whether the affirmative defense argument can hold up in a caseinvolving homicide.
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