WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to a felony charge related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Brian Healion, 33, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty Feb. 22 in the District of Columbia to a felony offense of civil disorder. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly scheduled sentencing for June 13, 2024.
According to court documents, Healion, a Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter member, traveled to Washington, D.C., to protest Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote for the 2020 presidential election. Healion was a member of the Ministry of Self Defense or MOSD, a hand-selected sub-group within the Proud Boys created by former Proud Boys Chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio as a “national rally planning” chapter.
In the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, court documents say that Healion knew Congress was meeting at the Capitol on January 6th to certify the votes of the 2020 Presidential Election. Healion posted a message in a chat with other members of the MOSD that said, “What time is the whole political/presidential situation happening that day? With pence and the electoral votes? And are we planning for either an unlikely joyous moment of pence (sic) growing b-lls?”
On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Healion met with approximately 100 other members of the Proud Boys at the Washington Monument and proceeded to follow Proud Boys leadership – including Ethan Nordean and Philadelphia Proud Boys President Zachary Rehl – on a march toward the Capitol building. A few minutes later, as the group marched past U.S. Capitol Police officers at approximately 11:28 a.m., members of the group taunted them, yelling “Treason,” and warning the officers, “Don’t make us go against you.”
The group, including Healion, continued to march around the perimeter of the Capitol grounds before arriving at the Peace Circle at the edge of the restricted permitter of Capitol grounds. By the time he arrived at the U.S. Capitol, Healion had concealed his face using a black gaiter. Proud Boys leadership then led the crowd, including Healion, in a chant and a surge toward the police line.
The crowd, including Healion, crossed over and trampled bike rack barriers in their advance toward the Capitol building. Once on Capitol grounds, Healion assisted other rioters with crossing back and forth over the police line and witnessed other rioters engage with officers by attempting to pull bike rack barricades away from the police. Healion then moved to the front of the crowd opposite the line of officers and reached out to try and grab a bike. Court documents say that he attempted to grab the bike rack to interfere with the officers’ efforts to maintain a police line. Less than one minute later, Healion succeeded when he again reached out toward the bike rack, grabbed it, and yanked it away from a Metropolitan Police Department Officer.
Healion then followed other Proud Boys members to the Upper West Terrace of the building and eventually into the building at approximately 2:53 p.m. through the Senate Wing Door. Once inside, Healion and others entered the office of a U.S. Senator and posed for pictures. After spending approximately 20 minutes inside the building, Healion and other members of the Proud Boys exited via a broken window.
On Dec. 10, 2021, FBI officials arrested Healion, in Upper Darby.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania provided valuable assistance.
The FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices investigated this case. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.
In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 2-27-2024 at 12 p.m.
2024 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2024)
- Total Mass Shootings: 77
- Total Dead: 133
- Total Wounded: 249
- Shootings Per Day: 1.33
- Days Reached in Year 2024 as of Feb. 27: 58
WORLD
INVASION OF UKRAINE ENTERS ANOTHER YEAR
The UN Secretary-General addressed the Security Council on Friday, underscoring the fundamental need to honor the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as the full-scale invasion by Russia of the country marks its second anniversary.
“Two years on and a decade since Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the war in Ukraine remains an open wound at the heart of Europe,” António Guterres said.
“It is high time for peace – a just peace, based on the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions,” he stressed.
Addressing Security Council members, with several Ministers and ambassadors in attendance, the Secretary-General reminded them of the United Nations principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
He stated that as per the UN Charter, international disputes shall be settled by peaceful means, and that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other State.
Mr. Guterres pointed to the suffering of civilians on both sides of the war.
In Ukraine, at least 10,500 civilians have died and many more have been injured; schools, hospitals and other vital civilian infrastructure have been destroyed, and several hundred towns and villages are cut off from electricity during a brutal winter.
Several million people have been driven from their homes, and countless families, especially on the frontlines, depend on humanitarian assistance.
“Many Ukrainians are experiencing the living nightmare of losing their children. All children that have been deported must be reunited with their families,” Mr. Guterres said.
“The war is also hurting the people of Russia. Thousands of young Russians are dying on the frontlines. Civilians hit by strikes on Russian cities are also suffering,” he added.
The Secretary-General also voiced deep concern over the danger of the conflict escalating and expanding “is very real.”
“Around the world, the war is deepening geopolitical divides. Fanning regional instability. Shrinking the space available to address other urgent global issues,” he said.
Concluding his address, Mr. Guterres said that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, “we have had two years of fighting, two years of suffering, two years of stoking global tensions and straining global relations.”
“Enough,” he stressed, noting that scorning the Charter has been the problem, and honoring it is the solution.
“That means honoring the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. It is time to recommit to the Charter and renew respect for international law,” he said.
“That is the path to peace and security – in Ukraine and around the world.”
UNITED KINGDOM
WOMEN FACING VIOLENCE IN UK
A UN expert has urged the UK Government to take urgent action to end all forms of violence against women and girls, as the country labelled it a “national threat.”
“Entrenched patriarchy at almost every level of society, combined with a rise in misogyny that permeates the physical and online world, is denying thousands of women and girls across the UK the right to live in safety, free from fear and violence,” said Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, in a statement at the end of a 10-day visit to the country.
“A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK and one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime,” she said.
Alsalem acknowledged the robust legal framework for promoting gender equality, including the Equality Act 2010 and other legislation that applies across the United Kingdom. This framework is complemented by important legislation and policies in the devolved regions.
“The UK has been a leader in strengthening its legal framework to address current and emerging forms of violence against women and girls,” the expert said, including coercive control, digitally facilitated violence and stalking, as well as improving access to justice.
“Many countries will look to the UK for inspiration, as well as examples of innovation and good practice on how to make life safer for women and girls, and accountability for crimes committed against them,” she said.
The Special Rapporteur noted that the ability of the UK and Devolved Administrations to realize the full potential of their legislation and policies on violence against women is undermined by a number of realities, including the dilution of the link between these policies and the UK’s international human rights obligations; a general critical discourse and positioning on human rights, particularly in relation to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees; and the fragmentation of policies on male violence against women and girls across devolved and non-devolved areas.
“The UK can do more to translate its political recognition of the scale of violence against women and girls into action,” Alsalem said. She recommended bringing together all legislative and programmatic strands of intervention on the issue, upgrading and formalizing responsibility for discrimination and violence against women and girls in government, anchoring it in human rights commitments, improving coordination between all parts of government and with civil society, and committing sufficient resources to translate its advanced legislation into action.
The expert highlighted the long-standing lack of adequate disaggregated data, including by sex, gender, ethnicity and disability, and the emphasis on sex- and gender-neutral approaches in the design and implementation of interventions as key challenges hampering effective monitoring and progress.
The Special Rapporteur expressed concern about how grassroots organizations and specialized frontline service providers working with women and girls are struggling to meet the needs of the most vulnerable women and girls – both foreign and national – subjected to violence, who fall through the cracks and are not covered by statutory service providers. “They are struggling to survive in an increasingly challenging context of rising living costs, a deepening housing crisis and a critical lack of funding,” she said.
“The situation of NGOs working on gender equality and violence against women and girls has reached a crisis point and is simply untenable,” Alsalem said.
“I urge authorities to restore predictable and adequate funding to these frontline organizations, which provide crucial and life-saving services to women and girls desperate to escape abusive and/or exploitative relationships,” she said.
The expert will present her full report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2025.
