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Monday, September 8, 2025
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Chicago Man Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Targeting United States Service Members
Press Release
Chicago Man Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Targeting United States Service Members
Thursday, August 28, 2025
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Chicago, Ill., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to fraud offenses targeting United States service members.
Dwayne D. Adams, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie Epps, Jr., to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud.
Adams conspired with others that sought to defraud United States military service men and women through the use of social media. Adams is the third and final defendant to enter a guilty plea for his role in defrauding active service members of the United States military.
According to the plea agreement, Adams conspired with others that employed a scheme to defraud United States military service men and women. Service members who had recently joined the United States military were contacted through various social media platforms. Upon communicating with each military member, a person within the conspiracy would use the information obtained from the social media platform and then contact the service member claiming to be a senior military official. In their fake role of a senior military member, Adams and others would tell each service member that they were receiving the wrong salary, and they were owed more money than they were being paid. Adams and others involved in the scheme advised each victim that they needed to return their prior pay using a cash application. Adams and others told the victims that they would receive a higher salary rate from the military once they returned their prior pay. If a service member followed these instructions, the members of this scheme would take the monies transferred and would never return any monies to the victim. Adams conspired with others in this scheme by taking the cash application transfers and conducted financial transactions that transferred the victim’s money to accounts that were accessed by all members of the scheme.
Under federal statutes, Adams is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Militia Members Sentenced for Conspiracy to Murder Border Patrol Officers, Attempted Murder of FBI Agents
Press Release
Militia Members Sentenced for Conspiracy to Murder Border Patrol Officers, Attempted Murder of FBI Agents
Thursday, August 28, 2025
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Two members of the 2nd American Militia were sentenced on Aug. 27, 2025, in federal court for their roles in a 2022 conspiracy to murder U.S. Border Patrol agents and, related to their shooting at FBI agents during the execution of a search warrant, of attempting to murder federal agents.
Bryan C. Perry, 39, of Clarksville, Tenn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to a total of 15 consecutive life terms in federal prison without parole for his convictions for one count of conspiracy to murder a federal officer and fourteen counts of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The court also sentenced Perry to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 20 years for his convictions for seven counts of attempted murder of a federal officer, seven counts of assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and one count of assault of a federal officer that inflicts bodily injury. Perry further received concurrent sentences of varying terms of imprisonment for his convictions for conspiracy to assault a federal officer, conspiracy to injure an officer, assault of a federal officer that involves physical contact, depredation of government property, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of body armor by a violent felon, and communicating a threat to injure. The court also sentenced Perry to five years of supervised release following his incarceration and a restitution amount of $3,717.98.
Jonathan S. O’Dell, 35, of Warsaw, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to a total of 165 years in federal prison without parole for one count each of conspiracy to murder a federal officer, conspiracy to assault a federal officer, conspiracy to injure an officer, assault of a federal officer that inflicts bodily injury, depredation of government property, possession of a firearm while subject to a court order of protection, communicating a threat to injure, making a false statement, escape from custody, two counts of assault of a federal officer involving physical contact, seven counts each of attempted murder of a federal officer and assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and 14 counts of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The Court also sentenced O’Dell to five years of supervised release following his incarceration and a restitution amount of $19,234.63.
On Nov. 7, 2024, Perry and O’Dell were found guilty after a 9-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo. The jury deliberated for about two hours and 23 minutes before returning guilty verdicts, ending a trial that began on Oct. 28, 2024. On the morning of the first day of trial, O’Dell pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing a firearm while subject to a court order of protection, one count of making a false statement to a federal agent, and one count of escaping from custody.
Evidence introduced during the trial showed that, throughout the summer, and fall of 2022, Perry and O’Dell recruited and attempted to recruit other individuals to join the 2nd American Militia, a group they co-founded, and join in their plan to travel to the United States-Mexico border to go to war with U.S. Border Patrol. Perry posted several videos on TikTok in an attempt to recruit other members into their conspiracy and they advertised a recruitment event in Warsaw.
On Sept. 5, 2022, Perry, bringing at least two stolen firearms, body armor, and gas masks with him, traveled from Tennessee to Warsaw to live with O’Dell. They used O’Dell’s residence as a staging site as they prepared for their trip to the border and collected firearms, paramilitary gear, ammunition, and other supplies.
On Sept. 12, 2022, Perry posted a video on TikTok in which he discussed illegal immigrants coming into the United States from Mexico. Perry stated that the U.S. Border Patrol was committing treason by allowing these illegal immigrants to enter the United States, and that the penalty for treason was death. Perry posted another video on TikTok the next day in which he stated that he was “ready to go to war against this government.”
On Sept. 22, 2022, Perry posted a video on TikTok in which he stated, “we’re out to shoot to kill” and that “our group is gonna go protect this country.” On Oct. 3, 2022, Perry posted a video on TikTok in which he stated, “we were going out huntin’,” that his group was taking their “full kits,” and that they were leaving for the United States – Mexico border on Oct. 8, 2022.
O’Dell and Perry continued to conduct preparatory steps to further their conspiracy, including continuing to recruit others, attempting to acquire other gear, and practicing shooting at targets with firearms.
On Oct. 7, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at O’Dell’s residence. Federal agents approached the property at about 6 a.m. in vehicles with red and blue lights activated. As the FBI approached, an agent utilized a loudspeaker in the lead armored vehicle, the “Bearcat,” to announce they were with the FBI and that they had a search warrant for the residence. Seven agents were inside or behind the Bearcat. The FBI agent began to repeat the announcement, again stating that they were with the FBI, when gunshots were fired from a front window at the lead FBI vehicle. Perry fired 11 shots from his Voodoo Innovations multi-caliber rifle with an AM-15 lower receiver. Several rounds hit the lead FBI vehicle.
Agents responded by deploying flash bangs around the residence. Agents used the Bearcat to conduct a breach of the front door of the residence using an affixed ram. Agents did not return fire and, after the gunshots ceased, the FBI established a perimeter and began communicating with the persons inside the residence to come out.
O’Dell and his girlfriend came out of the residence and surrendered to authorities. Perry eventually came out of the residence. Perry took down an American flag from the front porch of the residence and walked down the steps while waving the flag. After beginning to walk to the agents, Perry then turned around and moved back to the residence. Agents pursued Perry, who began to fight and swing his fists, striking the agents several times and causing injury to at least one agent before he was taken into custody.
Agents then searched the residence and found six firearms, 23 magazines filled with ammunition, 1,770 rounds of various other ammunition, 11 spent casings, two sets of body armor with corresponding plate carrier vests, one handheld radio, two sniper rests, two gas masks, two ballistic helmets, multiple containers of a binary explosive mixture commonly sold as an exploding target, zip ties, medical supplies, and two 2nd American Militia patches. Agents also found two go-bags that contained food, provisions, and other gear.
Later, on Sept. 29, 2023, while O’Dell was in custody awaiting trial on the charges, he escaped from the Phelps County, Mo. Jail and eventually led authorities on a high-speed chase in Ray County, Mo., before being apprehended.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Clark and Ashley Turner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Ray County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Caldwell County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
DHS Announces New Reimbursement Opportunities for State and Local Law Enforcement Partnering with ICE to Arrest the Worst of the Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens
DHS News Release:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs |
DHS Announces New Reimbursement Opportunities for State and Local Law Enforcement Partnering with ICE to Arrest the Worst of the Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens |
Funding from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill supported the expansion of 287(g) partnerships with state and local law enforcement WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new reimbursement opportunities for state and law enforcement who are helping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest and remove the worst of the worst including murderers, gang members, rapists, terrorists, and pedophiles from American communities. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, ICE supercharged efforts with state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration officers in our efforts to make America safe again. 287(g) partnerships have increased 609%—from 135 agreements to 958. The 287(g) Program Task Force Model provides participating state and local law enforcement with the tools, training, and resources to enforce immigration laws while performing routine police duties. Currently, state and local police are participating from 40 states, with 8,501 Trained Task Force Officers and over 2,000 additional officers in-training. Starting October 1, 2025, participating law enforcement will have these reimbursement opportunities:
"ICE is not only supercharging our hiring, we are also multiplying partnerships with state and local law enforcement to remove the worst of the worst including murderers, gang members, rapists, terrorists, and pedophiles from our country. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE launched a new reimbursement program for state and local law enforcement who partner with DHS to make America safe again,” said ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan. “We encourage all state and local law enforcement agencies to sign a 287(g) agreement now. By joining forces with ICE, you’re not just gaining access to these unprecedented reimbursement opportunities—you’re becoming part of a national effort to ensure the safety of every American family.” DHS encourages all state and local law enforcement agencies to sign a 287(g) agreement to help defend the homeland and to gain access to these reimbursement opportunities. Learn more at https://www.ice.gov/287g. |
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Monday, September 1, 2025
CBS Deceptively Edits Secretary Noem’s Answers, Cutting More than 23% of Footage from Face the Nation Interview
DHS News Release:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs |
CBS Deceptively Edits Secretary Noem’s Answers, Cutting More than 23% of Footage from Face the Nation Interview |
“CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth” WASHINGTON –Today, CBS’ “Face the Nation” selectively edited answers by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on August 31. In total CBS cut nearly four minutes of her 16 minute and 40 second interview during its live broadcast. In doing so CBS removed more than 23% of Secretary Noem’s answers exposing the truth about criminal illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, President Donald Trump’s lawful actions to protect the American people, and Secretary Noem’s commitment to fight on behalf of the American people and their tax dollars. “This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia,”– Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.” COMPARE HERE: https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/1962256536475926676 During the live broadcast, CBS edits deprived the American people from hearing the truth about MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The following 25 seconds were cut from her answer: “This individual was a known human smuggler, MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater, and someone who was um so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors. And even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off. He was so sick in what he was doing and how he was treating small children. So, uh, he needs to never be in the United States of America and our administration is making sure we're doing all that we can to bring him to justice.” During an answer to a question about Secretary Noem’s successful arrest of 5,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles, CBS cut the following: “...And many of these individuals were people who have, you know, conducted horrific um horrific activities against American citizens, trafficking of children and pedophiles. And so that's uh one of the things that the people of a LA can be grateful for is that they don't have those bad actors, those people on their streets anymore because of the work of President Trump and his administration.” CBS also edited out Secretary Noem’s answers explaining how she is fighting for the American people and ensuring taxpayer dollars are being spent correctly: “...You know, in Washington, D.C., I rarely run into anybody who says, ‘I'm a lobbyist for the American taxpayer.’ Well, guess what, Kristi Noem is. Every day I get up and I think the American people are paying for this. Should they? And are these dollars doing what the law says they should be doing? I'm going to make sure that they go there and they're spent what's appropriate according to the law and that the taxpayers understand that it's a worthwhile effort.” CBS also thought it in the interest of their viewers to edit out Secretary Noem’s expectations for all employees of DHS to work on the American people’s behalf: “...And my hope is that every single person within the Department of Homeland Security, but also in this government gets up every day wanting to make America safer, wanting to do their job and to contribute to that in a very productive way.” Likewise, CBS cut an entire answer from Secretary Noem explaining how DHS is maintaining its standards as it hires 10,000 new agents to re-establish law and order by year’s end. O’KEEFE: “All right. So, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is aiming to hire another 10,000 officers by the end of this year, Nearly double the size of the current force. Basic training is being reduced from 13 weeks to 8 weeks in an attempt to accelerate the hiring and the onboarding of these officers. Uh there's signing bonuses. Some age caps have been lifted. Did the hiring standards get lowered in part to meet this daily quota of 3,000 arrests? NOEM: Oh, what we've done as far as recruitment, and again, Ed, we've got over 130,000 people that have applied to be a part of that 10,000 new hires within ICE, but we did not reduce any of the qualifications or time frames. What we did was that we made sure that we were being much more efficient in getting these officers out on the street and giving them more opportunity to get trained uh quickly and recognize the previous training that they had. if they were a previous law enforcement officer or someone that wanted to come back out of retirement, we facilitated that where before the federal government had ignored those individuals or put them through classes that they had already qualified for or become masters at. So, I think that streamlining is what needed to happen. And we're so grateful that so many other retired law enforcement officers or those from different areas of the country say, "Listen, I want to be a part of what ICE is doing because these individuals are out there making sure that they're going after dangerous criminals and bringing them to justice and making sure that if they're here in this country and they've perpetuated these crimes and violence that they have the opportunity to go home to their own home country and place consequences there as well." CBS also cut out a minor transition from Ed O’Keefe : O’KEEFE: Well, you anticipated some of the questions we asked of him. So, as we say in this business, stay tuned for that. But we'll uh let's let's ask you a few more while we have you. |
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