Philadelphia middle and high school students participate in a roundtable with Sen. Bob Casey to discuss gun violence at Temple University on Monday. — Tribune photos/Abdul R. Sulayman
Philadelphia Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, center-left, and Sen. Bob Casey, center-right, discuss gun violence with students Egypt Payton, Dayvion Jackson, Kiara Harris and Cayla Waddington.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey joined middle school and high school students at Temple University on Monday for a roundtable discussion surrounding gun violence and solutions on the local, state and federal levels.
Cayla Waddington, a sophomore at Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School, is a student organizer for the Enough Is Enough Students Against Gun Violence campaign.
“We made up a survey for the students of Philadelphia,” Waddington said. “We surveyed 1,300 students, we went out and talked to students about the gun violence problem and what our students think the problem is. The results came back and said that our students feel there needs to be better gun laws and then more of a focus on mental health in our community.”
According to the survey, 71% of the students selected better gun laws as a possible solution to the threat of gun-related incidents in Philadelphia.
So far in 2022, there have been 787 gun-related incidents, according to the City Controller’s website, including 194 gun homicides out of a total of 218 homicides.
Waddington asked Casey why legislation on confiscating weapons from at-risk people would target only mental health threats and not people who post eye-raising content on the internet before committing mass gun violence, such as the Robb Elementary shooter in Uvalde, Texas.
Casey said he agreed with Waddington that the bill should cover more than just mental health risks.
“I think what you said I agree with, which is this isn’t something simply about someone who’s got a documented mental health issue,” Casey said. “It also should encompass people who have expressed a willingness to engage in violence and people who have made threats.”
Kiara Harris is a 10th-grade student at Sankofa Freedom Academy who also is a part of the Enough Is Enough campaign.
Harris asked Casey why gun violence has not been declared a mental health crisis.
Casey said he agrees that gun violence is a mental health crisis. He that if his Washington colleagues from both parties agreed on one issue involving gun violence, mental health would be that.
“When you’re in Washington, or the senator or House member, talking about the violence that occurred because of a mental health issue, that’s fine to acknowledge that,” Casey said. “But vote for the money. You got to vote for the funding, and many people in Washington are unwilling to do that.”
Casey also said the problem will take a long time to solve. “As much as we’ve got to address a whole range of issues to deal with or to construct a solution over time, I believe that even if we take a series of big steps this year, we’re still going to be a long way from solving this problem. It’s probably going to take a long time. But our problem is we haven’t even taken step one.”
Orlando Serrano, a sixth-grade student at Eugenio Maria de Hostos, asked Casey when that change would begin to happen and when the problem of gun violence would be fixed.
Casey said that change won’t happen until his Washington colleagues are on the same page, but they can’t even agree to properly debate bills, let alone pass legislation with a majority vote.
Casey said he hopes that a bill on background checks for gun purchases is voted on to have an open-ended discussion among his colleagues.
“The problem we have right now is in the United States Senate,” Casey said. “We haven’t gotten enough votes in the United States Senate to even begin to debate on all these measures. The roadblock has been the institution that I work in every day. We’ve got plenty of votes on one side, on my side (Democrats), at least 50 votes there. But in the United States Senate, 50, even 50 plus one, is not enough. So we either have to get 60 votes to pass something, or we’ve got to change Senate rules to not require 60 votes. That’s the basic problem.”
Students from the Enough Is Enough campaign will meet with City Council later this month to discuss the results from their survey.
John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, is running for the U.S. Senate and recently had a stroke. —The New York Times photo/Maddie McGarvey
Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman may be away from the campaign trail until July, his wife told CNN on Monday, as she pushed back on suggestions that the family had not been fully transparent about the extent of his heart condition following a stroke last month.
“I think he deserves a month break to come back as strong as ever,” Giselle Fetterman said in an interview with CNN. “This is going to be a tough race and a really important race. I want him to be fully ready for it.”
Asked if John Fetterman, who serves as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, would return to campaigning by July in one of the nation’s marquee Senate contests, she replied: “Maybe. I think so. That’s my hope.”
Fetterman checked himself into a hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 13 as he was on his way to a campaign event. He was found to have suffered a stroke, which doctors treated, and he was released on May 22 after a nine-day stay. Fetterman’s cardiologist said Friday that the candidate suffers from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy.
In an interview in their hometown of Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, Giselle Fetterman dismissed the notion that the campaign had not been fully transparent about her husband’s health. She had initially described his stroke as a hiccup, and the severity of his illness not revealed until 17 days later.
“It’s still a hiccup,” she said Monday. “Families go through health crises. Our family is not unique in what we’ve gone through, only we had to go through it very publicly.”
Despite multiple statements during and after his time in the hospital, John Fetterman did not disclose previously that he had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in 2017. And while the letter from his cardiologist released on Friday provided insight into what led to Fetterman’s stroke, the doctors that performed the procedure on the candidate in Lancaster last month have yet to speak publicly.
The candidate said in a statement last week that his doctors have instructed him “to rest, eat healthy, exercise, and focus on my recovery” and, because of that, it will “take some more time to get back on the campaign trail like I was in the lead-up to the primary.”
Giselle Fetterman said Monday that they have been releasing information as soon as they receive it, saying: “I think we’ve been incredibly transparent.”
“I just want folks to remember we are real people. This is a real family with kids who watch the news, who follow everything, and the second we get new information, we put it out,” she said. “That’s why we shared the last statement from the doctor. As soon as we (had) it available, it was out. I think it’s important to share. Not only because I think transparency is important, but because I hope it inspires other people to take action on their own health.”
She said the stroke, which she discovered after seeing her husband’s lips twitch in a peculiar way as they rode to a campaign event in the days before the primary election, was a wake-up call.
“It was. I hate that he had to learn it the hard way,” she said. “I’m grateful that he’s alive and will make a full recovery.”
And asked whether she could envision a scenario where he would not be able to return to the campaign in one of the nation’s most closely watched contests, in which he faces Republican nominee Mehmet Oz, she quickly said no.
“I don’t see that, but more importantly, his doctors don’t see that,” she said. “They are all confident he will make a full recovery.”
She also said the campaign was not opposed to more information being released by the team of doctors in Lancaster who treated her husband for the stroke, but said it is the policy of the Lancaster General Hospital to not talk about patient care.
“We have asked, but that’s not the protocol of the hospital,” she said. “It’s not up to us, we’ve asked. That’s up to their policies.”
Philadelphia police investigators work the scene of a fatal overnight shooting on South Street in Philadelphia on Sunday. —AP Photo/Michael Perez
Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore, who is chief of the DA’s homicide unit and District Attorney Larry Krasner announce arrests in South Street shooting.—Tribune Photo/Abdul R. Sulayman
The South Street shooting on Saturday that killed three people and injured a dozen began with a fist fight between two boxers with gun permits, said Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore, who is chief of the DA’s homicide unit, at news conference at its offices on Monday.
According to Pescatore, Quran Garner, 18, is in custody and charged with two counts of two counts aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated assault on police officers.
Authorities say a second person is in custody in connection with the gunfire that killed three people and wounded 11 in a popular Philadelphia entertainment district over the weekend — but no charges have yet been filed in any of the shooting deaths.
City police announced Monday night that the person was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals, but their name and further details were not disclosed. They said more information would be released “upon formal charging.”
“There are no murder charges at this time,” Pescatore said. “That investigation is ongoing.”
Law enforcement is combing through video and ballistic evidence and that process is not yet complete, Pescatore said.
“She is working hand in hand with the Philadelphia Police Department, the ATF and other law enforcement partners, to make sure have all the evidence and it is evaluated correctly,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
According to the DA’s office it all started when Micah Townes and Gregory Jackson had words. Garner is nearby, but it’s not clear at that point if he is with Townes.
Jackson swings and strikes Townes and another unnamed person joins the melee, slamming Towns into a storefront window. At this point, Townes is on the ground, Pescatore said, Jackson shoots at him and Townes returns fire killing Jackson.
The shooting on South Street near American caused a panic by hundreds of people enjoying the weather on the popular street with its shops, restaurants and bars that typically attracts many people on the weekends. Bullets flew everywhere, ricocheting and hitting more than a dozen people. The crime scene was two blocks long.
“People having a fist fight with guns can turn a street into mayhem,” Krasner said. “There are too many guns on the street.”
According to Pescatore, multiple guns were used, including a ghost gun with an extended clip that the DA’s office believes was left behind by Garner. A ghost is put together with separate parts, some of which might not have serial numbers.
Dozens of police were in the area and one officer saw a man with a gun and opened fire, apparently shooting the man in the hand.
According to Pescatore said the shooter was Garner, “Quran Garner is seen on video shooting back towards where the initial confrontation takes place, between Gregory Jackson and Micah Townes. He turned towards police with his gun drawn. Police shoot at him, shooting his hand.”
Garner is at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he underwent surgery on his hand on injuries sustained when police shot him.
Townes is in serious condition at Penn Presbyterian Hospital and has yet to be interviewed, at press time.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Amen Brown called for Mayor Jim Kenney to announce a state of emergency.
Brown said Kenney should immediately convene the Emergency Management Council, along with City Council leaders, for an emergency session on gun violence, at the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, along with state and federal partners.
“The mass shooting of this weekend, resulting in three deaths and 12 injured, is only the most recent incident in a year of record bloodshed,” Brown said. “Philadelphians fear for their children going to school. Seniors are scared to ride SEPTA or even sit on their front porch. Violence is exploding and quality of life is quickly declining. Leaders need to lead. It’s time to take real action to protect our youth, neighbors, family members and friends.”
Kevin Lessard, a spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney said: “We continue to respond with urgency to the epidemic of gun violence plaguing Philadelphia and many other cities across the country. We are already doing a number of the things Rep. Brown suggests, including funding crucial services like libraries and parks and recreation, and we’re doing all we can to fill critical positions within the Police Department. And the Mayor strongly agrees with the Representatives urgent call for more accountability for individuals arrested for illegal gun possession. The Philadelphia Police Department has made gun arrests a top priority, and we agree that these cases must be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
Brown became one of several elected officials to call on the mayor to declare a state of emergency dating back to several years ago.
Last December, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-181st District, called on Gov. Tom Wolf and Kenney to declare a state of emergency in Philadelphia to stop the out of control gun violence in the city, which that time, had seen more than 500 murders.
And in September 2020, the entire City Council voted on a resolution to call on the mayor to call for a state of emergency, but he refused, saying it would result in fear and be a distraction.
Introduced by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, the resolution offered suggestions for the city’s response to the gun violence, which included more transparency of gun violence plans; additional coordination and planning by city agencies. The resolution said the city should seek help from the private sector, nonprofit groups, academic institutions, and health care companies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Enrique Tarrio leads members of the Proud Boys in protesting President Donald Trump’s election defeat, in Washington, Dec. 12, 2020. —The New York Times/Victor J. Blue
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio —AP Photo/Allison Dinner
Enrique Tarrio, former chair of the Proud Boys, and four other members of the far-right group were indicted Monday for seditious conspiracy in connection with the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, the most serious criminal charges to be brought in the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the assault.
The sedition charges against Tarrio and his co-defendants — Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola — came in an amended indictment that was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Washington. The men had already been charged in an earlier indictment filed in March with conspiring to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election, which took place during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
It was not immediately clear what evidence led to the new charges against the members of the Proud Boys, who were central in the effort to storm the Capitol and help forestall President Donald Trump’s defeat.
Charles Donohoe, another Proud Boy lieutenant originally charged with the men, pleaded guilty in April and is cooperating with the government’s inquiry into the group. Around the time of Tarrio’s arrest this spring, federal investigators searched the homes — and seized the phones — of three other high-ranking Proud Boys identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the case, but none of them have been publicly charged.
A charge of seditious conspiracy requires prosecutors to prove that force was used either to overthrow the government or to interfere with the execution of federal law.
The only other defendants in the Capitol riot investigation to have faced a seditious conspiracy charge so far are Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers militia, and 10 of his subordinates. Prosecutors say Rhodes led a conspiracy to forcibly stop the lawful transition of presidential power by sending men into the Capitol on Jan. 6, and by staging a heavily armed “quick reaction force” outside of Washington that was prepared to rush to the aid of their compatriots at the building.
Unlike Rhodes, Tarrio was not in Washington on Jan. 6. He had been ordered to leave the city by a local judge two days earlier after being charged with burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a church during a spree of violence that followed a different pro-Trump rally in December.
Federal prosecutors have said that even though Tarrio was not accused of “physically taking part in the breach of the Capitol,” he nonetheless “led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during” the storming of the building.
Prosecutors have claimed, for instance, that Tarrio issued orders before the attack for members of the group to leave behind their traditional black-and-yellow polo shirts and remain “incognito” when they arrived in Washington on Jan. 6. Tarrio also helped create a “command and control structure” for the group on a private Telegram group chat called the Ministry of Self Defense, prosecutors say.
As the riot at the Capitol unfolded, Tarrio appeared to take credit for the Proud Boys’ role in what was happening. “We did this,” he wrote at one point on the Telegram group chat.
Lawyers for Tarrio and the other men have repeatedly claimed there is no evidence that they conspired in advance to storm the Capitol. By setting up the Ministry of Self Defense group chat and by taking other measures such as acquiring protective gear, the Proud Boys were simply trying to guard themselves against leftist activists with whom they had scuffled at earlier events in Washington, the lawyers said.
The Proud Boys will also be featured when the House committee investigating Jan. 6 holds its initial public hearing Thursday night. The committee intends to present live testimony from Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker who was embedded with the group during the riot, and from Caroline Edwards, a Capitol Police officer who was injured in an early assault that day said to have
