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Civil Rights

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School-Aged Children, College Students In Maryland Among Recipients Of Racist Text Messages: AG School-Aged Children, College Students In Maryland Among Recipients Of Racist Text Messages: AG
School-Aged Children, College Students In Maryland Among Recipients Of Racist Text Messages: AG Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is imploring possible victims to come forward after the state was the latest to be targeted by a series of racist text messages that have been circulating. Brown issued an alert this week advising that his office has received multiple complaints about racist messages that were sent to Black residents, including some school-aged children and college-aged students, "causing significant distress." "Without knowing or making any assumptions about the senders’ true intent," Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell said in a statement.  …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Former Maryland Police Officer Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Man During DC Stop: Feds Former Maryland Police Officer Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Man During DC Stop: Feds
Former Maryland Police Officer Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Man During DC Stop: Feds A former police officer in Maryland who broke bad has been convicted for violating a man's civil rights, using excessive force, and crossing the line during an incident in Northeast DC, federal authorities announced. Officer Philip Dupree, 40, formerly of the Fairmont Heights Police Department in Prince George’s County, was found guilty on Monday, June 17 for abusing a suspect during a traffic stop that was recorded by his victim's sister. "We depend on law enforcement officers to protect our communities from crimes and to protect our civil rights while doing so,” US Attorney Matthew Graves…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Devoted Maryland Nursing Educator Jane Solberg Dies, 33 Devoted Maryland Nursing Educator Jane Solberg Dies, 33
Devoted Maryland Nursing Educator Jane Solberg Dies, 33 Tributes are pouring in for Jane Jordan Solberg, a devoted nursing educator from Howard County who died Sunday, Dec. 31 at the age of 33. Born in Georgia, Jane graduated from the McDonogh School with honors in 2008, discovering her passion for theater, singing, and dancing along the way, her obituary says. She went on to pursue a career in nursing and eventually earned an advanced degree during the COVID pandemic. Upon graduating, Jane taught nursing at several different institutions and was incredibly dedicated to her work. “She loved her students, and they loved her,” reads her obituar…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Former Correctional Officer Gets Time For Sexually Abusing Inmates At MD Prison: Feds Former Correctional Officer Gets Time For Sexually Abusing Inmates At MD Prison: Feds
Former Correctional Officer Gets Time For Sexually Abusing Inmates At MD Prison: Feds A former correctional officer in Maryland will spend years on the other side of the bars after admitting to violating prisoners' civil rights, prosecutors say. Baltimore native Owen Nesmith, 54, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, June 20, to multiple charges that include the depravation of rights under the color of law and making false statements for having sexual contact with victims at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup. On Thursday, officials announced that Nesmith has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for abusing the inmates. Nesmith was the acting lieutenant at…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
State Department Official From Maryland Resigns Over Biden's Support For Israel State Department Official From Maryland Resigns Over Biden's Support For Israel
State Department Official From Maryland Resigns Over Biden's Support For Israel Senior US State Department official Josh Paul has stepped down from his position amid President Joe Biden's response to the Israel-Hamas conflict overseas, he says. After more than 11 years with the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM), Paul announced his resignation in an open letter on LinkedIn, citing a promise the Maryland native made to himself that conflicts with the current regime's handling of the ongoing war.   Paul said that he is leaving his position because "in our current course with regards to the continued - indeed, expanded and expedited - provision of lethal …

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by Zak Failla
News
No Charges For Secret Service Officers Who Killed Teen Outside Ambassador's DC Residence: DOJ No Charges For Secret Service Officers Who Killed Teen Outside Ambassador's DC Residence: DOJ
No Charges For Secret Service Officers Who Killed Teen Outside Ambassador's DC Residence: DOJ Two US Secret Service offers will not face charges who were involved in the fatal shooting of a teen near an ambassador’s residence in DC earlier this year, federal officials announced. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges against two officers from the Secret Service Uniformed Division who were involved in the April shooting of 19-year-old Gordon Casey outside an ambassador’s residence in Northwest Washington. Shortly before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, of…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Police Officer Indicted for Excessive Force and Witness Tampering: DOJ Maryland Police Officer Indicted for Excessive Force and Witness Tampering: DOJ
Maryland Police Officer Indicted for Excessive Force and Witness Tampering: DOJ A police officer in Maryland who broke bad has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly violating a man’s civil rights and obstruction of justice, federal authorities announced on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Officer Philip Dupree, 38, formerly of the Fairmount Heights Police Department in Prince George’s County could face decades in prison for an incident in 2019 where he allegedly abused his power while conducting a traffic stop, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment alleges that during the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2019, Dupree was on duty as a Fairmont Heights P…

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by Zak Failla
News
No Criminal Charges For Virginia Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Black Army Lieutenant: Prosecutor No Criminal Charges For Virginia Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Black Army Lieutenant: Prosecutor
No Criminal Charges For Virginia Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Black Army Lieutenant: Prosecutor A former Virginia officer will not face charges after he pepper sprayed a black lieutenant in a traffic stop, according to NBC Washington.  The army lieutenant, Caron Nazario, was not charged for any traffic violations from the 2020 incident, but spoke out that this altercation was a violation of his civil rights, reports said. Nazario posted the police body-cam footage from the incident, in the hopes that justice would be served in what he believed was a racially-motivated crime.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lieutenant Caro…

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by AJ Goldbloom
News
DOJ Launches Civil Rights Probe Into Maryland State Police Hiring Practices DOJ Launches Civil Rights Probe Into Maryland State Police Hiring Practices
DOJ Launches Civil Rights Probe Into Maryland State Police Hiring Practices A federal investigation has been launched by the Department of Justice into alleged racially discriminatory hiring practices within the Maryland State Police. On Friday, July 15, US Attorney Erek Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced that they have opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into the department under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion, according to the DOJ. The investigation wil…

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by Zak Failla
News
'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman 'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman
'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman A New Jersey man admitted that he sent racist texts to a Maryland woman threatening to hurt her and her family, federal authorities said. "I know where you live now, I'm coming to rape your family," Michael Marotta, 26, of Sewell (Gloucester County) texted the woman using an anonymizing messaging service, they said. Marotta "used racial epithets" in the texts, which included "eat my bullets," according to an FBI complaint. Taking a deal from the government rather than face trial, Marotta pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday, March 8 to making threatening interstat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Black Women Wrongfully Accused Of Shoplifting In Hershey Were Detained For Hours: Report Black Women Wrongfully Accused Of Shoplifting In Hershey Were Detained For Hours: Report
Black Women Wrongfully Accused Of Shoplifting In Hershey Were Detained For Hours: Report A pair of sisters and their cousin have filed a civil suit saying they were racially profiled and wrongly accused of stealing while shopping at an outlet mall in Hershey, then held for hours by police, PennLive reports. Sisters Quashae and Quanae Brown, and their cousin Trinity Reid, had just left The Gap and Old Navy at the mall in when a pair of Derry Township officers stopped them and accused them of stealing a $6 onesie on Dec. 22, 2020, the outlet says.  Police found no stolen items but held the women — who were never charged — for hours, according to PennLive. The sisters f…

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by Jillian Pikora