by KS
UNITED STATES: Ransomware Strikes Pipeline
The era of 21st Century computer malware just struck one of the main veins of American energy.
On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline, which stretches from Houston, Texas to New York and supplies petroleum based resources to 45 percent of the East Coast, was hit be a ransomware cyberattack that shut down its operations. The attack was so severe that two days later, President Biden declared a state of emergency.
“The President continues to be regularly briefed on the Colonial Pipeline incident. The Administration is continually assessing the impact of this ongoing incident on fuel supply for the East Coast. We are monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast and are evaluating every action the Administration can take to mitigate the impact as much as possible. The President has directed agencies across the Federal Government to bring their resources to bear to help alleviate shortages where they may occur,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki posted in a statement.
While looking for answers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that the DarkSide group was responsible for the attack. It is strongly believed that the Russia government had a hand in sponsoring the action.
Civil Rights Charges for Chauvin & Others
A federal grand jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, returned two indictments that were unsealed May 7. The first indictment charges former Minneapolis Police Department officers Derek Chauvin, 45; Tou Thao, 35; J. Alexander Kueng, 27; and Thomas Lane, 38, with federal civil rights crimes for their roles in the death of George Perry Floyd Jr.
The three-count indictment alleges that all four defendants, while acting under color of law, willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional rights, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242. Specifically, Count One of the indictment alleges that on May 25, 2020, Chauvin held his left knee across Mr. Floyd’s neck, and his right knee on Floyd’s back and arm, as George Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting, and kept his knees on Mr. Floyd’s neck and body even after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive.
The indictment alleges that Chauvin’s actions violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer and resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, Mr. Floyd.
Count Two of the indictment charges that Thao and Kueng willfully failed to intervene to stop Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, resulting in bodily injury to, and the death of, Mr. Floyd.
Finally, Count Three of the indictment alleges that all four defendants saw Mr. Floyd lying on the ground in clear need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him. The indictment alleges that by doing so, all four defendants willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes an arrestee’s right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. The indictment alleges that this offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, Mr. Floyd.
A separate, two-count indictment also charges Chauvin with willfully depriving a Minneapolis resident who was then fourteen-years-old of the constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242. Count One of this indictment alleges that on Sept. 4, 2017, Chauvin, without legal justification, held the teenager by the throat and struck the teenager multiple times in the head with a flashlight.
The indictment alleges that this offense included the use of a dangerous weapon – a flashlight – and resulted in bodily injury to the teenager. Count Two of the indictment charges that Chauvin held his knee on the neck and the upper back of the teenager even after the teenager was lying prone, handcuffed, and unresisting, also resulting in bodily injury.
Both indictments charge violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242. 18 U.S.C. § 242 states that it is a crime for an official acting under color of law to willfully violate a person’s constitutional rights. If government employees, like police officers, use or misuse the power provided to them by their position, they are acting “under color of law.”
An indictment is merely a formal accusation of criminal conduct. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The charges announced today are separate from the Justice Department’s civil pattern or practice investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department that the Attorney General announced on April 21. The charges announced today are criminal, while the pattern or practice investigation is a civil investigation that will be conducted separately and independently from the criminal case, and will be handled by a different team of career staff from the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The charges announced today are also separate from, and in addition to, the charges the State of Minnesota has brought against these former officers related to the death of Mr. Floyd. The federal charges allege different criminal offenses; specifically, they allege violations of the U.S. Constitution, rather than of state law.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan and Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk for the District of Minnesota commend the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in this matter, and thank the Minneapolis Police Department for its cooperation in the investigation.
The federal criminal cases are being prosecuted by Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk of the District of Minnesota, Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich and Allen Slaughter of the District of Minnesota.
EUROPE: Banning Conversion Therapy
Following Queen Elizabeth’s Speech on May 11th, Minister for Women & Equalities Liz Truss has confirmed that the UK Government will take legislative steps to ban conversion therapy.
Legislation will be introduced, protecting people from the coercive and abhorrent practice of conversion therapy in the UK.
Many forms of the practice are already prevented under current legislation, but this new ban will ensure that it is stamped out once and for all.
New funding will also be made available to increase the support available for victims of conversion therapy, the first time a government has offered this in the UK. This support is expected to be in place by summer.
“As a global leader on LGBT rights, this government has always been committed to stamping out the practice of conversion therapy,” Truss said. “We want to make sure that people in this country are protected, and these proposals mean nobody will be subjected to coercive and abhorrent conversion therapy.
“Alongside this legislation, we will make new funding available to ensure that victims have better access to the support they need.”
As soon as parliamentary time allows, and following a consultation, the ban will be introduced in parliamentary legislation. The accompanying consultation will seek further views from the public and key stakeholders to ensure that the ban can address the practice while protecting the medical profession; defending freedom of speech; and upholding religious freedom.
This announcement furthers the UK’s position as an international leader on LGBT equality, having legalized same-sex marriage and introduced one of the world’s most comprehensive legislative frameworks for protecting LGBT people from violence and discrimination.
AFRICA: Congo Attack Proves Fatal
The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the May 10 attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in which one Malawian blue helmet was killed.
The attack, which took place near the town of Beni in the restive North Kivu province, was carried out by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group.
In a press statement, Security Council members “condemned in the strongest terms” all attacks and provocations against the UN peacekeeping in the DRC (known by its French acronym, MONUSCO).
They “stressed the importance of MONUSCO having the necessary capacities to fulfil its mandate and promote the safety and security of the UN peacekeepers, pursuant to relevant Security Council resolutions.”
The members also reiterated their full support for the UN force and expressed their deep appreciation to the mission’s troop and police-contributing countries.
In a separate statement, Secretary-General António Guterres also denounced the attack.
He recalled that attacks against UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime, and called on the Congolese authorities to investigate the incident and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.
“The Secretary-General reaffirms that the United Nations, through his Special Representative in the DRC, will continue to support the Congolese Government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability in the east of the country,” the statement added.
