95.1 The Bee

Following an hours-long standoff, a suspect was killed Thursday afternoon in a gunfire exchange with officers in response to the suspect’s attempt to breach the Cincinnati FBI field office building at around 9 a.m.  Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Nathan Dennis said in a news briefing Thursday evening that the suspect ended the standoff by firing at officers; officers returned fire and the suspect died on the scene. No officers were injured in the confrontation. The suspect’s identity has not been confirmed.

Ohio Highway Patrol troopers and local law enforcement agents responded to the alleged breach attempt Thursday morning at the FBI field office, with the suspect allegedly attempting to break in through the visitor screening center. The FBI said the individual fled following an immediate response from special agents, prompting law enforcement to shut down roughly a one-mile stretch of a nearby highway and issue a lockdown warning for residents and businesses in the surrounding area.

Authorities did not give any indication of a possible motive for the breach, and said the incident is still under investigation. The incident came one day after FBI Director Christoper Wray delivered a warning about violent threats circulating online in the aftermath of this week’s FBI search at former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

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On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has filed a legal motion in the southern district of Florida to unseal the warrant and FBI property receipt in the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence. Garland said he personally approved the search warrant, and that Trump’s counsel was given a copy of the search warrant and FBI property receipt at Mar-A-Lago on Monday during the search.  Said the Attorney General: “The Justice Department has filed a motion in the southern district of Florida to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to a court approved search the FBI conducted earlier this week. That search was a premises in southern Florida belonging to the former president.”

Garland added:  “The department filed a motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter. Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing.”

Garland also defended the department from the attacks by Republicans about its credibility and independence: “I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and Justice Department are dedicated, patriot public servants. Every day they protect the American people form violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety, while safeguarding our civil rights.”

Garland said the search warrant was authorized by a court upon probable cause. The FBI carried out the warrant as part of a court-authorized search related to an investigation into potential mishandling of classified documents that ended up at Mar-a-Lago.

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On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged an Iranian military operative with plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton. Bolton, who served as Trump’s third national security advisor for 17 months before resigning, was the main architect of the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

According to court documents, 45-year-old Shahram Poursafi of Tehran, Iran attempted to arrange the killing of Bolton in retaliation for the January 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who led a special forces unit of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard. Soleimani had been a key figure in Iranian and Middle East politics and his death exacerbated tension between Iran and the United States

Poursafi, a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, attempted to pay individuals in the United States in October 2021 a reward of $300,000 to carry out the plot in either Washington, D.C., or Maryland. Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, was charged with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire and with providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire. Additionally, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot. Poursafi remains at large abroad.

In a statement, Bolton thanked the Justice Department, FBI and the Secret Service: “While much cannot be said publicly right now, one point is indisputable: Iran’s rulers are liars, terrorists, and enemies of the United States. Their radical, anti-American objectives are unchanged; their commitments are worthless and their global threat is growing.”

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Three people were killed Wednesday when a house exploded in the southern Indiana city of Evansville. The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was investigating.

Evansville Fire Department Chief Mike Connelly said a total of 39 houses were damaged by the explosion at around 1 p.m, adding that the department has not confirmed how many of the houses were occupied when the explosion happened because “some were too unstable to enter. Debris is strewn over a 100-foot (30-meter) radius” including “typical construction materials such as wooden boards, window glass and insulation.”

Fire Chief Connelly said that CenterPoint Energy, the local gas utility, was last called to the home in January 2018. CenterPoint issued a statement saying: “CenterPoint Energy is working closely with the Evansville Fire Department, State Fire Marshal and other agencies as the investigation of this incident continues.” It was the second house explosion in the area in just over five years. A house explosion on June 27, 2017, killed two people and injured three others.

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