Jan. 6 defendants ramp up claims for million-dollar US payouts

WASHINGTON — Dozens of people who were charged or convicted in connection with the violent riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have filed lawsuits seeking millions of dollars from the U.S. government after the Trump administration walked back the sprawling prosecution effort.

The latest case, filed on Friday in Washington, was brought on behalf of 12 former Jan. 6 defendants, including one man found guilty of seditious conspiracy against the government in a high-profile case involving the extremist group the Oath Keepers. Earlier in the week, a judge “reluctantly” let the government dismiss the original indictment.

The claimants in the new case are each seeking at least $1 million, alleging they were victims of a “malicious prosecution” and suffered emotional distress and other harms. The case is one of at least a dozen Jan. 6 compensation lawsuits filed to date, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of court records.

Cases filed by Jan. 6 defendants have picked up in recent months, after litigants said they exhausted a months-long administrative process that’s required under U.S. law before they can take the government to court.

—Bloomberg News

Trump-backed hopeful's Arabic name cost him Michigan primary, some Republicans say

DETROIT — A U.S. House candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump likely lost a Tuesday congressional primary to someone who wasn't campaigning because of his Arabic name, multiple Republicans said, after their party aggressively sought votes from Arab Americans in Michigan in the 2024 election.

In July, the National Republican Congressional Committee chose Amir Hassan, a U.S. Navy veteran from Flint, for a program meant to elevate candidates who could help expand the GOP majority in the U.S. House, where Republicans are clinging to a narrow majority. However, Hassan lost his bid to be the Republican nominee in Michigan's 8th District to Thomas Smith, who had ended his own campaign and endorsed a different candidate.

Smith will take on U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., in November.

Smith got about 31,000 votes or 50% of the GOP primary ballots cast in the district that includes Bay and Saginaw counties and much of Genesee County. Hassan received 33%, while Al Lemmo, whom Smith endorsed on July 16, got 16%.

—The Detroit News

Ban hijabs and halal foods? Texas Republicans offer early blueprint of plan to 'stop Islam'

DALLAS — A ban on the sale of halal foods. Hijabs forbidden in public schools. Required school lessons on the "violence and political domination of Islam."

Some Texas Republicans have offered an early blueprint of a legislative agenda targeting the hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the state with new laws that would make practicing their faith essentially impossible.

The plan is part of a broader effort by Republicans to stop what they call the "Islamification of Texas," a political narrative describing the perceived growth in Muslim influence and communities. Critics, however, called the plan an attack on freedom of speech and religion that has left Muslims and other non-Christians vulnerable to harassment and violence.

At a conference this month hosted by the far-right grassroots organization True Texas Project, several Republican lawmakers and activists warned of a "Muslim invasion" that seeks to replace Christians across the country.

—The Dallas Morning News

Dead and injured following a shooting at a school near Bangkok

BANGKOK — Several people have been killed and more than a dozen others injured in a shooting at a school north of Bangkok. The exact number of victims remained unclear in the hours following the incident.

At midday on Friday, the newspaper Khaosod cited the authorities as saying that five teachers had been killed.

It was also reported that the teenage perpetrator had previously shot and killed his grandparents. According to the security forces, the pupil was later found dead in a classroom, apparently having shot himself after the attack. Investigators discovered large quantities of ammunition in his bag.

According to initial investigations, the suspected perpetrator was in Year 9. Khaosod quoted the authorities as saying that other pupils had regularly mocked him and also physically assaulted him. The incident took place on Friday morning at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi Province.

—dpa