U.S. Attorney McSwain Announces Charges Against Four Men For Arson Of Philadelphia Police And Pennsylvania State Police Vehicles During Violent Civil Unrest

 The U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below:

 PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Carlos Matchett, 30, of Atlantic City, NJ; Khalif Miller, 25, of Philadelphia, PA; and Anthony David Ale Smith, 29, of Philadelphia, PA, have been charged by Indictment for the arson of a Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) vehicle, and in a separate case, that Ayoub Tabri, 24, of Arlington, VA, has been charged by Indictment for the arson of a Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) vehicle. Both incidents occurred during violent civil unrest in Philadelphia on May 30, 2020.

Following peaceful protests in Philadelphia in the early afternoon of May 30, 2020 in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, civil unrest began to unfold later that afternoon that resulted in widespread looting, burglary, arson, destruction of property, and other violent acts.

On that day, PPD Civil Affairs Car C-109 was parked on the north side of City Hall near Broad and Market Streets. During the violent episodes that began in the vicinity of City Hall that afternoon, defendants Matchett, Miller, and Smith allegedly placed combustible materials into the vehicle, after a road flare placed in the vehicle started a fire. As a result of these acts, the PPD vehicle was destroyed. A grand jury charged each of the defendants with two counts of arson, and one count of obstructing law enforcement in the commission of their duties during a civil disorder.

On the same day and at roughly the same time, PSP troopers responded to the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets, a few blocks north of City Hall. PSP placed two patrol sport utility vehicles – marked as K1-7 and K1-17 – at the on-ramp for I-676 in an effort to prevent protestors from gaining access to the highway. Soon thereafter, a group of individuals began attacking the two vehicles. The windows of the vehicles were shattered and PSP equipment stored inside was stolen, including road flares, fire extinguishers, and “riot bags” containing additional PSP-issued equipment. Tabri allegedly threw a lit road flare into K1-17, igniting a fire that engulfed the SUV. A grand jury charged the defendant with two counts of arson, and one count of obstructing law enforcement in the commission of their duties during a civil disorder.

“I want to be clear that we at the U.S. Attorney’s Office support peaceful protest – indeed, it is part of our job to protect First Amendment freedoms. We take that responsibility very seriously. But violence is not speech. There is no right to riot, loot, rob, destroy or commit arson. If you engage in violent civil unrest and commit a federal crime in this District, we will come after you as hard as we can because residents deserve safe and secure neighborhoods, not mayhem.”

“The FBI remains committed to protecting the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms,” said Philadelphia Division Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll. “Violence and destruction of property jeopardize the rights and safety of all citizens, including peaceful demonstrators. Today’s indictments send the message that if you seek to hijack peaceful protests to pursue violent and extremist agendas, the FBI and its law enforcement partners will bring you to justice.”

“These individuals were not in the City to participate in a peaceful protest: instead, it appears they posed as protestors and allegedly set fire to a Pennsylvania State Police vehicle and a Philadelphia Police vehicle,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Arson is an extremely violent act which presents a tremendous threat to public safety. We will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to seek justice during these tumultuous times.”  

“Thousands peacefully assembled and protested throughout Philadelphia following the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020,” said Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Philadelphia. “Today’s indictments demonstrate how law enforcement successfully works together to pursue violent opportunists who commit criminal acts that undermine the peaceful protestors’ message. HSI works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate, identify and hold accountable individuals who commit malicious, destructive, unlawful acts.”

“The Pennsylvania State Police thanks all of the partnering local, state, and federal agencies that assisted with this investigation,” said Captain James Kemm, commander of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop K. “We respect the public’s right to peacefully protest, but violence and destruction of property will not be tolerated.”

If convicted, all four defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison, and a maximum possible sentence of 65 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $750,000.

The Matchett, Miller, and Smith case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Philadelphia Police Department; and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office; with assistance from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The Tabri case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Pennsylvania State Police. Both cases are being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

Murder City: My First Philadelphia Weekly 'Crime Beat' Column

 Philadelphia Weekly published my first Crime Beat column today. 

You can read the column at https://philadelphiaweekly.com/murder-city/ or below:

Ralph Cipriano: Amid Rioting, Philadelphia Inquirer Mythologizes Walter Wallace Jr. As 'Family Man'

 Ralph Cipriano at BigTrial.net offers his take on the “martyrdom” of a career criminal who was shot and killed by Philadelphia Police when he threatened them with a knife. 

Before he was shot to death Monday by police, a knife-wielding Walter Wallace Jr. had at least three standing protection from abuse orders filed against him, by his mother and the mother of his children. 

On March 3rd, Wallace was arrested for stabbing the mother of his children, Big Trial has previously reported. According to court records detailed in a new report by Mitch Blacher of NBC 10, the cops arrested Wallace in March after he told the mother of  his children, "I'll shoot you and that house up." But she decided against pressing domestic abuse charges, so District Attorney Larry Krasner charged Wallace with only making terroristic threats. And Wallace was turned loose after he plunked down a $1,000 deposit on $10,000 bail, while awaiting a trial that was continuously postponed during the pandemic.  

Wallace's lengthy rap sheet includes a 2019 arrest for kicking the windows and door panels of a police vehicle. In 2016, during a robbery, Wallace allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck, and according to the victim, held a gun to her head. In 2013, he violated a protection order filed by his mother by throwing water in her face, punching her in the face, and threatening to shoot her, according to court records shown on air by Blacher and NBC 10. 

This is the same guy The Philadelphia Inquirer mythologized today as a "family man" who had "many mental health crises and encounters with police." And it worked. Wallace was a mentally ill career criminal with some 18 arrests; an amateur rapper seen on video cavorting with guns that, as a convicted felon, he was barred from possessing, while rapping about "niggers" and "bitches." 

And now, thanks to the Inquirer and the rest of the media, Wallace has been elevated in death to becoming an issue in the final days of the presidential campaign. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, announced yesterday that they reacted "with shock and grief" at the "emotional weight of learning about another Black life in America lost." 

... The latest chapter of civil unrest in Philadelphia began on Monday, when cops were summoned on police radio to the 6100 block of Locust Street by a dispatcher who shared a "report of an 27 year old male assaulting an elderly female." It was the third police radio call of the day involving Wallace. 

"Use caution," the cops were advised as they pulled up to Wallace's parents' house. "This is an ongoing domestic issue going on up there." 

The shooting of Wallace set off two days of riots. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.bigtrial.net/2020/10/amid-riots-inky-mythologizes-walter.html#more 

Eight Individuals Charged With Conspiring To Act as Illegal Agents of the People’s Republic of China

 The U.S. Justice Department released the below: 

A complaint and arrest warrants were unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging eight defendants with conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).  Six defendants also face related charges of conspiring to commit interstate and international stalking.  

The defendants, allegedly acting at the direction and under the control of PRC government officials, conducted surveillance of and engaged in a campaign to harass, stalk, and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the PRC as part of a global, concerted, and extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”  

Zhu Yong, Hongru Jin, and Michael McMahon were arrested today and will be arraigned this afternoon via teleconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.  Rong Jing and Zheng Congying were arrested in the Central District of California, and their initial appearances will take place in that district later today.  Zhu Feng, Hu Ji, and Li Minjun remain at large. 

“With today’s charges, we have turned the PRC’s Operation Fox Hunt on its head — the hunters became the hunted, the pursuers the pursued,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “The five defendants the FBI arrested this morning on these charges of illegally doing the bidding of the Chinese government here in the United States now face the prospect of prison.  For those charged in China and others engaged in this type of conduct, our message is clear: stay out.  This behavior is not welcome here.” 

“The Chinese government’s brazen attempts to surveil, threaten, and harass our own citizens and lawful permanent residents, while on American soil, are part of China’s diverse campaign of theft and malign influence in our country and around the world,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “The FBI will use all of its tools to investigate and defeat these outrageous actions by the Chinese government, which are an affront to America's ideals of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.” 

“As alleged, the defendants assisted PRC officials in a scheme to coerce targeted individuals to return to the PRC against their will,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme.  “The United States will not tolerate the conduct of PRC carrying out state-authorized actions on U.S. soil without notice to, and coordination with, the appropriate U.S. authorities.  Nor will we tolerate the unlawful harassment and stalking of U.S. residents to further PRC objectives.”  Acting U.S. Attorney DuCharme also extended his thanks and appreciation to the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office for their work on the case. 

“Today’s announcement of these charges further highlights the FBI’s ongoing and aggressive commitment to investigate China’s efforts to illegally impose its will in the United States”, said Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. of the FBI Newark Field Office.  “This case should serve as a reminder to the People’s Republic of China that when it directs criminal activity within our borders, the FBI and its law enforcement partners will make sure the perpetrators are held accountable.” 

“The worldwide presence and investigative capabilities of the Diplomatic Security Service enables us to work with our law enforcement partners domestically and around the world to bring criminals to justice,” said Keith Byrne, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Diplomatic Security Service. 

According to the complaint, the defendants participated in an international campaign to threaten, harass, surveil and intimidate John Doe-1, a resident of New Jersey, and his family in order to force them to return to the PRC as part of an international effort by the PRC government known within the PRC as “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Skynet.”  

In furtherance of the operation, the PRC government targets Chinese individuals living in foreign countries that the PRC government alleges have committed crimes under PRC law and seeks to repatriate them to the PRC to face charges.  Rather than rely upon proper forms of international law enforcement cooperation, such as Interpol “red notices” and requests for information through appropriate governmental channels, the defendants allegedly engaged in clandestine, unsanctioned, and illegal conduct within the United States and facilitated the travel of PRC government officials (PRC Officials) to U.S. soil in order to further carry out these illegal acts.  Between 2016 and 2019, multiple PRC Officials directed the defendants, and several others, to engage in efforts to coerce the victims to return to the PRC, which included the following: 

Surveillance and Coercion 

In April 2017, defendants Zhu Feng, Hu Ji, Li Minjun, Hongru Jin, Zhu Yong, and Michael McMahon, together with others, including the PRC Officials, allegedly participated in a scheme to bring John Doe-1’s elderly father from the PRC to the United States against the father’s will and to use the surprise arrival of his elderly father to threaten and attempt to coerce John Doe-1’s return to the PRC.  Zhu Feng, Hu Ji, and Zhu Yong worked with Michael McMahon, a private investigator, to gather intelligence about and locate John Doe-1 and his wife in the United States.  PRC Officials coerced the father of John Doe-1 to travel from the PRC to the New York area in the company of Li Minjun, a doctor, who traveled with the elderly father from the PRC to the New York area.  Hongru Jin assisted with logistics of the operation when Zhu Feng, Li Minjun, John Doe-1’s elderly father, and other PRC officials arrived in the U.S. 

As charged in the complaint, during this phase of the scheme, McMahon, whose task was to surveil John Doe-1’s father in order to locate John Doe-1 and his wife, suggested to Zhu Feng that they could “harass [John Doe-1].  Park outside his home and let him know we are there.”  Later, Zhu Feng told McMahon, “[t]hey definitely grant u a nice trip if they can get [John Doe-1] back to China haha.” 

The conspirators also discussed the false statements John Doe-1’s father should make to U.S. immigration authorities about the purpose of his travel to the United States.  The conspirators also made efforts to destroy evidence and delete their electronic communications to avoid detection by U.S. law enforcement. 

Targeting and Harassment of Victims’ Daughter 

Between May 2017 and July 2018, Rong Jing and several co-conspirators allegedly targeted John Doe-1’s adult daughter for surveillance and online harassment.  Specifically, Rong Jing attempted to hire a private investigator to locate John Doe-1’s adult daughter in order to photograph and video record the daughter as part of a campaign to exert pressure on John Doe-1.  Around the same time, an unidentified co-conspirator sent harassing messages over social media to John Doe-1’s daughter and her friends related to the PRC’s interest in repatriating John Doe-1. 

Continued Harassment of Victims 

In September 2018, Zheng Congying and another unidentified co-conspirator allegedly affixed a threatening note to the door of the John Doe-1’s residence stating, “If you are willing to go back to mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right.  That’s the end of this matter!”  Between February 2019 and April 2019, other co-conspirators caused unsolicited packages to be sent to John Doe-1’s residence.  These packages contained letters and a video with messages intended to coerce John Doe-1’s return to the PRC by threatening harm to family members still residing in the PRC. 

The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted of the charged conspiracy to act as an agent of the PRC, each of the eight defendants charged today faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Defendants Zhu Feng, Hu Ji, Li Minjun, Michael McMahon, Rong Jing, and Zheng Congying also face an additional charge of conspiracy to commit interstate and international stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren and J. Matthew Haggans are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Walter Wallace Jr., Who Was Shot By Philadelphia Police, Had A Criminal History, Rapped About Shooting Cops

 Louis Casiano at FoxNews.com offers a piece on the criminal background of Walter Wallace Jr, (seen in the above police mugshot), the man who was shot and killed by Philadelphia Police officers after threatening with a knife. 

The Black man fatally shot by Philadelphia police officers on Monday was an aspiring rapper who sometimes rhymed about shooting people, including police officers, and was awaiting trial for allegedly threatening to shoot a woman, according to media reports. 

Walter Wallace Jr., 27, also rapped about social justice and police injustice on his social media, WPVI-TV reported. 

 

Court records obtained by the news outlet also show Wallace had a criminal history. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to robbery, assault and possessing an instrument of crime, according to documents obtained by Fox News.

Authorities said he kicked down the door of another woman and put a gun to her head.

He was sentenced to 11 months to 23 months in jail. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and punching an officer in the face. It was not clear if the two officers who shot Wallace knew him, his mental health struggles or his past, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Tuesday. 

"There are several questions that need to be answered... including what the officers knew when they responded, what was put out by radio and how any previous contact with Mr. Wallace factored into yesterday," she said during a virtual news conference.

Authorities said Wallace was armed with a knife and ignored commands to drop it when he was shot Monday afternoon. The two officers fired at least seven rounds apiece. It was not clear how many times Wallace was hit.

Neither officer had a Taser. 

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video via the below link:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/walter-wallace-philadelphia-police-rap-cops

Looting And Vandalism Continue In Philadelphia Following Police Shooting Man With A Knife

 Fox 29 News in Philadelphia reports on a second of rioting and looting following the police shooting of a man threatening the officers with a knife. 

PHILADELPHIA - Protests and looting continued for a second night in Philadelphia following the deadly police-involved shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.

 

The Philadelphia Police Department increased presence across the city Tuesday and several hundred members of the Pennsylvania National Guard are being deployed.

SKYFOX flew over the scene as protesters clashed with police in West Philadelphia, while dozens of people in Port Richmond were seen looting multiple stores, including a Walmart and Foot Locker amid the unrest.

Philadelphia police said a large crowd of around 1,000 people are currently looting in the area of Castor and Aramingo. They advised residents to avoid the area. 

Police are also requesting that all residents in the 12, 16, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26th Districts remain indoors except when necessary. These areas are experiencing widespread demonstrations that have turned violent with looting.

 At least one officer was injured and taken to the hospital during the chaos.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video via the below link:

https://www.fox29.com/news/hundreds-of-protesters-march-throughout-philadelphia-following-walter-wallace-jr-shooting 

Ralph Cipriano: Amid Riot Over Police Shooting, Philly Hits 400 Murders

 Ralph Cipriano at BigTrial.net. offers a piece on the rioting following the police shooting of a man who threatened the police with the knife, and on Philadelphia reaching 400 murders this year. 

We interrupt the rioting, looting and requisite political pandering over the fatal police shooting yesterday of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27 year-old black man armed with a knife, to make an important announcement -- the city of Philadelphia just hit 400 murders! 

Barry Torrance, a 44-year-old black man, was found shot in the head yesterday by his aunt on the 4800 block of Westminster Avenue in West Philadelphia. Ironically, the crime scene was just four blocks away from where the rioting and looting erupted on 52nd Street over the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. 

Torrance, who subsequently died of his wounds, became this year's 400th homicide. By comparison, as of Oct. 12th, New York City, with more than five times the population of Philadelphia, had only 362 murders.  

In Philadelphia, there have been less than a dozen officer-involved shootings this year, but they sure get a lot of attention, especially when, as the case was yesterday, the victim involved is black, and the officers involved are white. Meanwhile, the city has 400 homicides on the books this year, as well as 132 suspicious deaths that may turn out to be homicides.  

A conservative estimate of Philly's homicides this year is that at least 90%, of those victims, are black, as are the victims whose deaths have been classified as suspicious. But apparently when it comes to our current racial politics, those hundreds of black lives don't matter.  

So the demonstrators who marched on the police station at 55th and Pine weren't chanting "Say his name" about Barry Torrence, Official Homicide Victim No. 400. No, instead, they were chanting about Walter Wallace Jr., a career criminal with 18 prior arrests, including domestic abuse and five assaults on cops.  

During yesterday's riots and looting, while they were arresting more than 90 people, some 30 cops were injured. Twenty of those cops were released from hospitals after being treated for injuries caused by flying rocks, bricks and other projectiles. A 56-year-old female police sergeant who was struck by a pickup truck was admitted to a hospital for a broken leg.  

But the emotional wounds inflicted on the cops by the demonstrators, as well as by the city's groveling progressive leaders, may be more lasting. 

Video posted on Twitter showed demonstrators laughing and cursing as they tossed projectiles at Philly cops, who were reduced to running away to escape injury. Because of prior P.C. edicts by our woke mayor and police commissioner, the cops were barred from using tear gas on a couple hundred demonstrators who richly deserved it.  

As one cop said, "We are the laughing stock of the world." 

The police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. took place on the 6100 block of Locust Street, where, shortly before 5 p.m., police were summoned by a report of a man with a weapon. The victim's mother tried to intercede and disarm her son, without success, before police wound up firing a fatal fusillade of 13 shots. 

On video, Wallace, who was brandishing a knife, was told several times by two cops, as well as by bystanders, to drop the weapon. The two cops, who had their guns drawn, kept backing up and away from Wallace. But Wallace chased the two cops out in the street while holding the knife high and pointing it right at the cops. When Wallace kept advancing, the cops opened fire. Wallace wound up dead in a shooting that cops described as "textbook." 

As many black conservatives have noted, there's a history of making black martyrs out of black criminals. Wallace fits the bill, with a rap sheet featuring 18 arrests, including incidents of domestic violence and five assaults on police.  

Another legitimate question to ask the D.A.'s office is why Wallace was out on the street. His most recent arrest was on March 3rd, for terroristic threats. He was released the next day on $10,000 monetary bail, meaning he had to post only $1,000 to get out of jail.  

He had a trial scheduled for April 3rd that wound up being postponed. A trial scheduled for July 10th was also postponed, as was a trial for Aug. 13th. On July 10th the D.A.'s office requested a continuance because a witness was unavailable. A trial was scheduled for Nov. 4th, but an order was granted for a continuance, and the trial was canceled on Oct. 7th.  

Then, there's Wallace's rap sheet. In 2019, Wallace pleaded guilty to giving a false identification to law enforcement officers, but received no further penalty.  

In 2017, Wallace was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months and put on probation for five years after he was found guilty of robbery, simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime.  

In 2016, Wallace was sentenced to three years probation for a negotiated guilty plea to aggravated assault, terrorist threats, and simple assault. In 2014, he was sentenced to a year's probation for resisting arrest. In 2013, he was sentenced to six months in jail and two years probation after he entered into a negotiated guilty plea for assault, contempt for violating a court order, and resisting arrest.  

You get the idea. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.bigtrial.net/2020/10/amid-riot-over-police-shooting-philly.html#more