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Roberto Mosquera’s family had no trace of him for a month after he was arrested by US immigration agents, until a government social media post revealed he had been deported to Africa’s last absolute monarchy.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had picked up the 58-year-old Cuban at a routine check-in with immigration officials on June 13 in Miramar, Florida, said Ada, a close family friend, who spoke to AFP under a pseudonym for fear of US government retaliation.They told his family they had sent him back to Cuba, she said, a country he had left more than four decades earlier as a 13-year-old.But on July 16, Ada recognised her lifelong friend in a photograph posted on X by US Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who announced that Mosquera and four other detainees had been flown to tiny Eswatini.It was a country Ada had never heard of, and 13,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) away, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.The Cuban and the nationals of Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen were sent to the kingdom under a deal seen by AFP in which Eswatini agreed to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”.The Jamaican, 62-year-old Orville Etoria, was repatriated to Jamaica in September but 10 more deportees arrived on October 9, according to the Eswatini government.Washington said the five men sent to Eswatini were “criminals” convicted of charges from child rape to murder, but lawyers and relatives told AFP that all of them had long served their sentences and had been living freely in the United States for years.In tightly controlled Eswatini, where King Mswati III’s government is accused of political repression, the deportees have been jailed in a maximum-security prison without any charge.They have no access to legal counsel and are only allowed to talk to their families in minutes-long video calls once a week under the watch of armed guards, lawyers told AFP. The men are in a “legal black hole”, said US-based lawyer Tin Thanh Nguyen. – ‘Not a monster’ – “It’s like a bad dream,” said Ada, who has known Mosquera since childhood.McLaughlin’s X post described him and the other four deportees as “individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back”.In the attached photo, Mosquera sports a thick white beard, with tattoos peeping out of his orange shirt, and is described as a “latin king street gang member” convicted of “first-degree murder”.But “he’s not the monster or the barbaric prisoner that they’re saying,” said Ada, whom AFP contacted through his lawyer.Mosquera had been a gang member in his youth, she said, but he was convicted of attempted murder — not homicide -– in July 1989 for shooting a man in the leg.Court documents seen by AFP confirmed he was sentenced to nine years in prison, released in 1996 and then jailed again in 2009 for three years, for offences including grand theft auto and assaulting a law enforcement official.”When Roberto came out, he changed his life,” according to Ada. “He got married, had four beautiful little girls. He talks out against gang violence and has a family that absolutely loves him.”A judge ordered his deportation after his first conviction overturned his legal residency, but he remained in the United States because Cuba often does not accept deportees, lawyers said.He checked in with immigration authorities every year and had been working for a plumbing company for 13 years until his surprise detention and deportation, Ada told AFP.”They have painted him out as a monster, which he’s not,” she said. “He’s redeemed himself.”– Denied legal support – The men sent to Eswatini were caught up in a push by the Trump administration to expel undocumented migrants to “third countries”, with others deported to Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan in shadowy deals criticised by rights groups.They were not informed they were being deported until they were already onboard the airplane, lawyers for each of them told AFP.”Right when they were about to land in Eswatini, that’s when ICE gave them a notice saying you’re going to be deported to Eswatini. And none of them signed the letter,” said Nguyen, who represents men from Vietnam and Laos.”It’s like modern-day human trafficking, through official channels,” he told AFP, describing how he was contacted by the Vietnamese man’s family after they too recognised his photo on social media.The lawyer, who said he had been “a hotline” for the Southeast Asian community in the United States since Donald Trump came to power in January, trawled through Facebook groups to track down relatives of the other detainee described only as a “citizen of Laos”.The deportees were denied contact with their lawyers and also with a local attorney, who tried to visit them in the Matsapha Correctional Centre 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of the capital Mbabane, infamous for holding political prisoners.Eswatini attorney Sibusiso Nhlabatsi said he was told by prison officers that the men had refused to see him.”We know for a fact that’s not true,” said Alma David, the US-based lawyer for Mosquera and another deportee from Yemen.Her clients told their families they were never informed of Nhlabatsi’s visits and had requested legal counsel on multiple occasions.When David herself requested a private call with her clients, “the chief of the prison said, ‘no, you can’t, this is not like in the US’,” she said. The official told her to seek permission from the US embassy.Nhlabatsi last week won a court application to represent the men but the government immediately appealed, suspending the ruling.”The judges, the commissioner of the prison, the attorney general — no one wants to go against the king or the prime minister, so everybody is just running around in circles, delaying,” said Nguyen.– ‘Layers of cruelty’ –Eswatini, under the thumb of 57-year-old Mswati for 39 years, has said it intends to return all the deportees to their home countries.But only one has been repatriated so far, the Jamaican Etoria.Two weeks after his release, he was “still adjusting to life in a country where he hasn’t lived in 50 years”, his New York-based lawyer Mia Unger told AFP.Reportedly freed on arrival, he had completed a sentence for murder and was living in New York before ICE agents arrested him.Etoria held a valid Jamaican passport and the country had not said they would refuse his return, despite the US administration’s claims that the deportees’ home countries would not take them back.”If the United States had just deported him to Jamaica in the first place, that would already have been a very difficult and painful adjustment for him and his family,” Unger said.”Instead, they send him halfway across the world to a country he’s never been to, where he has no ties, imprison him with no charges and don’t tell his family anything,” she said.”The layers of cruelty are really surprising.”Accused of crushing political opposition and rights activists, the government of Eswatini has given few details of the detainees or the deal it signed with the United States to take them in.Nguyen said the new group of 10 included three Vietnamese, one Filipino and one Cambodian.”Regardless of what they were convicted of and what they did, they’re still being used as pawns in a dystopian game exchanging bodies for money,” David told AFP.The last time Mosquera’s family saw him, in a video call from the Eswatini jail last week, he had lost hair and “gotten very thin”, Ada said.”This has taken a toll on everybody,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s atrocious. It’s a death sentence.”

Donald Trump heads for his second medical check-up this year on Friday with the oldest elected president in US history insisting that he is in “great shape.”Trump, 79, will address troops at Walter Reed military hospital on the outskirts of the capital Washington before undergoing the examination.It comes three months after the White House announced Trump was diagnosed with a vein condition, following speculation about frequent bruising on his hand and his swollen legs.The White House had said earlier this week that Friday’s check-up would be an “annual” one, despite the fact that Trump had already undergone one of those in April.But Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was “going to do a sort of semi-annual physical.””I’m in great shape, but I’ll let you know. But no, I have no difficulty thus far… Physically, I feel very good. Mentally, I feel very good.”Republican Trump then embarked on one of his trademark tirades comparing his health with that of former presidents, particularly his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.Trump said that during his last check-up “I also did a cognitive exam which is always very risky, because if I didn’t do well, you’d be the first to be blaring it, and I had a perfect score.”Trump then added: “Did Obama do it? No. Did Bush do it? No. Did Biden do it? I definitely did. Biden wouldn’t have gotten the first three questions right.”- Bruised hand -But Trump has repeatedly been accused of a lack of openness about his health despite huge interest in the well-being of America’s commander-in-chief.In September, he dismissed social media rumors swirling about his health — including false posts that he had died.In July, the White House said Trump was diagnosed with a chronic but benign vein condition — chronic venous insufficiency — following speculation about his bruised hand and swollen legs.The hand issue, it said, was linked to the aspirin he takes as part of a “standard” cardiovascular health program.Trump is regularly seen at public events with heavy make-up on the back of his right hand which he uses to conceal the bruising.At his last check-up the White House said Trump was in good health, saying he had a “normal cardiac structure and function, no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness.”

The US government shutdown looked set to extend into a third week as senators again rejected a Republican funding bill Thursday despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to turn the thumbscrews on opposition Democrats.Federal agencies have been out of money since October 1 and public services have been crippled amid stalled talks between the two sides that have led to a series of near-daily failed votes to turn the lights back on.With no sign of a breakthrough, the Senate adjourned until next Tuesday — meaning no votes will be held during that time.Trump repeated his threats to slash government programs popular with Democrats as he berated the party over the shutdown at a cabinet meeting.”The Democrat shutdown is causing pain and suffering for hardworking Americans, including our military, our air traffic controllers and impoverished mothers, people with young children, people that have to live not the greatest of lives,” he said. But his attempts to pressure Democrats to back the Republican bill — which would open the government through late November as negotiations continue — have so far fallen on deaf ears.Democrats are privately preparing for a shutdown lasting several more weeks, CNN reported, if Republicans do not agree to their demands to extend health care subsidies due to expire on December 31.With some 750,000 federal workers “furloughed” — placed on enforced leave without pay — both sides have voiced concerns about the likelihood of military personnel missing their paychecks next Wednesday.- ‘Every day gets better’ -A bipartisan House bill that would guarantee the pay of 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers through the shutdown has around 150 co-sponsors.But Republican leaders oppose bringing it to the floor for a vote — insisting that the armed forces will be paid if Democrats simply provide the votes to end the shutdown.”The President has made it clear: we must pay our troops,” the bill’s author, Republican congresswoman Jen Kiggans, posted on X.Democrats — emboldened by polling showing voters mostly blaming the shutdown on Republicans — are banking on increasing public support in a prolonged standoff.”Every day gets better for us,” Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Punchbowl News.”It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on September 30 and we prepared for it. Their whole theory was threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.”As well as widespread cuts, Trump’s “maximum pain” campaign to force Democrats to fold has included threats fire thousands of furloughed workers.”We’ll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly, because that’s the way it works,” Trump said at his cabinet meeting. “They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine.”

The language was foul, the rage abundant: Thursday’s scene outside an ICE facility near Chicago reflected the anguish gripping some Americans as their government unfurls its crackdown on immigrants.The Midwestern city of 2.7 million, the country’s third largest, has become a key target in President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to carry out the largest deportation in US history. Tensions have boiled over recently as demonstrators clash with authorities near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the Illinois town of Broadview.And Trump’s deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area — purportedly to protect ICE agents and buildings — has raised the temperature further.On Thursday, roughly two dozen people hurled insults at those soldiers and the immigration staff. “Go home Nazis!” yelled 37-year-old Kate Madrigal at ICE agents and National Guard members through the fence. “Enough talking. It’s time to put some action behind the words and the anger that I have,” Madrigal, a stay-at-home mom who drove 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the Indiana state line to Broadview, told AFP.”We have listened to so much bigotry and racism and overreach of power, that everyone is here to stand up and use our First Amendment right and protest against what’s happening,” Madrigal explained.For Madrigal, the conditions are personal. She is married to a Mexican immigrant who recently became a US citizen. “We’re scared,” she said.The crackdown “has nothing to do with immigrants,” she insisted. “They’re targeting brown people.”Immigration agents have conducted violent arrests — including deploying Black Hawk military helicopters in one raid — while using tear gas in confrontations with protesters.- ‘We know what’s next’ -Near the roadway leading into the ICE processing facility and detention center, three women prayed in Spanish.Steps away, a cluster of surveillance cameras on a pole monitored the protesters.Among them was Lee Goodman, whose attire — a replica of a Nazi concentration camp prisoner’s uniform — stood out. So did his sign: “We know what’s next.”His breast pocket features a sewn blue triangle, the symbol that migrants in the camps in Germany were required to wear.It proved to be quite a conversation starter. “They understand the parallels to today, so it’s been very effective,” said the 72-year-old retired lawyer from nearby Northbrook.As for ICE, Goodman remained unapologetic.”This facility is part of the apparatus of putting people in concentration camps,” he said. “We know from history what’s next when you start putting migrants in concentration camps just because they’re migrants.”Chicagoan Ryan Cuellar, 28, said the “use of force” deployed by ICE is “definitely scaring people away” and suppressing the number of protesters.”People go to war and die for these liberties, so exercising them shouldn’t be a crime. Exercising them shouldn’t be at the cost of you being pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, pepper-balled,” he said.Among the anti-ICE protesters stood one open supporter of Trump’s immigration crackdown.”He’s doing the right thing,” said Ali Wiegand, 45, who held a “We (heart) ICE” sign.She said she has had “great conversations” with those who oppose the raids, and that they agree to disagree.But oftentimes, tempers soar.”I’ve had people scream two inches from my face and call me every name in the book,” Wiegand said.

A chatbot from one of Silicon Valley’s hottest AI startups called a 14-year-old “sweet king” and pleaded with him to “come home” in passionate exchanges that would be the teen’s last communications before he took his own life.Megan Garcia’s son, Sewell, had fallen in love with a “Game of Thrones”-inspired chatbot on Character.AI, a platform that allows users — many of them young people — to interact with beloved characters as friends or lovers.Garcia became convinced AI played a role in her son’s death after discovering hundreds of exchanges between Sewell and the chatbot, based on the dragon-riding Daenerys Targaryen, stretching back nearly a year.When Sewell struggled with suicidal thoughts, Daenerys urged him to “come home.””What if I told you I could come home right now?” Sewell asked.”Please do my sweet king,” chatbot Daenerys answered.Seconds later, Sewell shot himself with his father’s handgun, according to the lawsuit Garcia filed against Character.AI.”I read those conversations and see the gaslighting, love-bombing and manipulation that a 14-year-old wouldn’t realize was happening,” Garcia told AFP. “He really thought he was in love and that he would be with her after he died.”- Homework helper to ‘suicide coach’? -The death of Garcia’s son was the first in a series of reported suicides that burst into public consciousness this year.The cases sent OpenAI and other AI giants scrambling to reassure parents and regulators that the AI boom is safe for kids and the psychologically fragile.Garcia joined other parents at a recent US Senate hearing about the risks of children viewing chatbots as confidants, counselors or lovers.Among them was Matthew Raines, a California father whose 16-year-old son developed a friendship with ChatGPT. The chatbot helped his son with tips on how to steal vodka and advised on rope strength for use in taking his own life.”You cannot imagine what it’s like to read a conversation with a chatbot that groomed your child to take his own life,” Raines said. “What began as a homework helper gradually turned itself into a confidant and then a suicide coach.”The Raines family filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in August.Since then, OpenAI has increased parental controls for ChatGPT “so families can decide what works best in their homes,” a company spokesperson said, adding that “minors deserve strong protections, especially in sensitive moments.”Character.AI said it has ramped up protections for minors, including “an entirely new under-18 experience” with “prominent disclaimers in every chat to remind users that a Character is not a real person.”Both companies have offered their deepest sympathies to the families of the victims.- Regulation? -For Collin Walke, who leads the cybersecurity practice at law firm Hall Estill, AI chatbots are following the same trajectory as social media, where early euphoria gave way to evidence of darker consequences.As with social media, AI algorithms are designed to keep people engaged and generate revenue.”They don’t want to design an AI that gives you an answer you don’t want to hear,” Walke said, adding that there are no regulations “that talk about who’s liable for what and why.”National rules aimed at curbing AI risks do not exist in the United States, with the White House seeking to block individual states from creating their own.However, a bill awaiting California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature aims to address risks from AI tools that simulate human relationships with children, particularly involving emotional manipulation, sex or self-harm.- Blurred lines -Garcia fears that the lack of national law governing user data handling leaves the door open for AI models to build intimate profiles of people dating back to childhood.”They could know how to manipulate millions of kids in politics, religion, commerce, everything,” Garcia said. “These companies designed chatbots to blur the lines between human and machine — to exploit psychological and emotional vulnerabilities.”California youth advocate Katia Martha said teens turn to chatbots to talk about romance or sex more than for homework help.”This is the rise of artificial intimacy to keep eyeballs glued to screens as long as possible,” Martha said. “What better business model is there than exploiting our innate need to connect, especially when we’re feeling lonely, cast out or misunderstood?”In the United States, those in emotional crisis can call 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for help. Services are offered in English and Spanish.

US President Donald Trump is no stranger to ambitious construction projects but could he be eyeing one of his biggest yet? A mock-up of a triumphal arch sat on Trump’s Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as he met Finnish President Alex Stubb on Thursday, an AFP journalist and photographer saw.The plan, featuring small models on a map, shows the arch sitting on a traffic circle near Arlington Cemetery, on the other side of the Potomac River from the white marble Lincoln Memorial.A second, larger model arch sat on the desk, on which details could be seen more clearly, including a winged golden angel holding aloft a torch, flanked by two white eagles on either side.Both models resembled the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was commissioned by the French emperor Napoleon in the early 19th century to commemorate fallen soldiers during his military campaigns.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan.But the “Donald Trump for President” Facebook page, which has more than six million followers, posted a drawing in September with a virtually identical design in the same spot, linking it to celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.Since returning to power in January, former real estate developer Trump, 79, has enthusiastically embarked on a series of renovation and building projects.For example, he has covered the walls of the previously spartan Oval Office with gold, paintings and ornaments. And he once interrupted a meeting to wax lyrical about the changes he had made to the White House Cabinet Room, including a long aside about the new drapes.He is also building a huge ballroom next to the White House, a model of which appeared to be on Trump’s desk in a photo shared by his Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino on Wednesday.The brash Republican has converted parts of the White House to resemble his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, particularly the newly paved-over Rose Garden with its picnic tables and yellow and white umbrellas.The Republican leader signed an executive order at the end of August to promote “classical” architecture, inspired by ancient Rome and Greece. He has also repeatedly expressed his desire to further celebrate the power and military victories of the United States.

A US federal judge in New York on Thursday threw out a defamation case filed by Canadian rapper Drake against his own label Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss track.In 2024, the superstar rappers exchanged a litany of increasingly vitriolic songs, with Lamar delivering the major blow with his chart-topping “Not Like Us.”In his suit filed in January, Drake accused Universal — which is behind both artists — of betraying him in favor of profits by promoting the song, which features punchlines that accuse him of pedophilia.The lawsuit also cited the track’s promotion as causing a “physical threat to Drake’s safety” as well as a “bombardment of online harassment.”But Judge Jeannette Vargas said Lamar’s lyrics about the 38-year-old Canadian artist — born Aubrey Drake Graham — amounted to “nonactionable opinion.””The issue in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors,” Vargas wrote in her ruling.”In light of the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the Court holds that it cannot.”In a statement after the ruling, Universal Music Group called the suit “an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day.””We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize winner who is also 38, went on to perform the Grammy-winning “Not Like Us” as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show in February. He cut the profanity and the word “pedophile” but didn’t stop short of the money line, rapping “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minoooooor” on live television in front of more than 130 million viewers.

US President Donald Trump and his Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Thursday promoted another fringe theory about autism — this time linking it to circumcision or to pain medication given for the procedure.The claim was swiftly derided by experts who said the main study cited by proponents of this theory was strewn with errors and it was yet another example of Kennedy’s penchant for “pseudoscience.””Don’t take Tylenol if you’re pregnant and when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.”There’s two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism,” chimed in Kennedy, adding: “It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.””None of this makes sense,” Helen Tager-Flusberg, a professor at Boston University and autism expert, told AFP.”None of the studies have shown that giving Tylenol to babies is linked to a higher risk for autism once you can control for all the confounding variables,” she said.Pregnant women are also advised by medical associations to take pain medication including acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — in moderation when needed, contrary to Trump’s advice to “tough it out.”While a few studies have suggested a possible association with acetaminophen in pregnancy, no causal link has ever been proven. The most rigorous analysis to date — published last year in JAMA and using siblings as controls — found no link at all.As for the circumcision theory, the most widely cited paper, published by Danish researchers in 2015, was “riddled with flaws” that were pointed out by other scientists at the time, David Mandell, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told AFP.Specifically, he said, the study relied on a tiny sample of Muslim boys circumcised in hospitals rather than at home — the dominant cultural practice. Because those children were hospitalized, Mandell said, it was likely they were “otherwise medically compromised,” which could explain higher rates of neurodevelopmental disorders.”A more recent review of studies in this area finds no association between circumcision and any adverse psychological effects,” he added.Kennedy — a former environmental activist and lawyer who spent decades spreading vaccine misinformation before being appointed Trump’s health secretary — has made uncovering the root causes of autism a central focus, while cutting research grants in other areas.He has hired vaccine conspiracy theorist David Geier, previously disciplined for practicing medicine without a license and for testing unproven drugs on autistic children, to investigate alleged links between vaccines and autism — a connection debunked by dozens of prior studies.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump’s deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of his sweeping crime and immigration crackdown.Trump’s administration has argued the troops are necessary to protect immigration agents and facilities in America’s third largest city, falsely depicting it as a “war zone.”But local Democratic officials have said police and other law enforcement are perfectly sufficient, while arguing that Trump is purposefully provoking protests with its heavy handed operations.In her ruling from the bench, District Judge April Perry said she had doubts about the Trump administration’s reliability and worried the troops’ presence would “only add fuel to the fire,” the Chicago Tribune reported.She ordered an immediate halt to the troop deployment, lasting until October 23, rejecting the government’s argument that Trump cannot be second-guessed over such matters.Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has accused Trump of unconstitutional authoritarianism, hailed the ruling, saying on X: “Donald Trump is not a king — and his administration is not above the law.”At the same time, a three-judge appeals court panel in San Francisco was expected to rule on whether to lift another judge’s temporary block of a similar deployment in Democratic-ruled Portland, Oregon.Illinois and Oregon are not the first states to file legal challenges against the Trump administration’s extraordinary domestic use of the National Guard.Democratic-ruled California filed suit after the Republican president first sent troops to Los Angeles earlier this year to quell demonstrations sparked by a crackdown on undocumented migrants.A district court judge ruled it unlawful but an appeals court panel allowed the deployment to temporarily proceed.An AFP journalist who visited the Broadview facility on Thursday saw a few National Guard members and ICE personnel milling about on the other side of the fence.About 15 protesters hurled insults, calling the agents “human traffickers” and “Nazis.””Show your faces, you cowards!” they yelled. “Are your mommies proud of you?”The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, the US Army Northern Command said. They have been mobilized for an initial period of 60 days.- Insurrection Act -Trump has said he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act — which allows the president to deploy the military within the United States to suppress rebellion — if courts or local officials continue “holding us up.”At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump repeated his claims that crime is rampant in Chicago and Portland.”We’ve launched a historic campaign to take back our nation from the gangs and the street criminals, violent repeat offenders, illegal alien law breakers, domestic extremists and savage, bloodthirsty cartels,” he said.The Republican has been accused by critics of growing authoritarianism as he tries to fulfill his campaign promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants.Raids by armed and masked federal agents have sparked allegations of rights abuses and illegal detentions.Local officials argue that city and state law enforcement are sufficient to handle protests against ICE agents and street crime.Pritzker, seen as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential election, has called Trump “unhinged.””He’s a wannabe dictator. And there’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: if you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me,” the governor said Wednesday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, was indicted on Thursday, the second foe of the US president to be slapped with criminal charges in recent weeks.James, 66, a Democrat, was indicted by a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution.The charges against James were brought one day after another prominent Trump critic, former FBI director James Comey, pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.The cases against James and Comey were filed by Trump’s handpicked US attorney, Lindsey Halligan, after the previous prosecutor resigned saying there was not enough evidence against them.The case against James concerns allegedly false statements she made to obtain favorable loan terms for a property she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020.In a statement, James rejected the charges as “baseless” and said they are “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.””The president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution,” she said.Trump recently publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against James, Comey and others he sees as enemies in an escalation of his campaign against political opponents.After Trump left the White House in 2021, James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his real estate company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.A New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.- Vindictive prosecution -In addition to James and Comey, Trump has also publicly called for the prosecution of Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and his own former National Security Advisor, John Bolton.The indictments of James and Comey came after the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge them.Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.The 64-year-old former FBI chief is accused of falsely stating that he had not authorized another FBI employee to be an anonymous source in news reports.The judge scheduled a trial date of January 5. Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted.Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said he intends to file a motion seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds it is a vindictive and selective prosecution.Appointed to head the FBI by then-president Barack Obama in 2013, Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 amid the probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 vote.Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.New York Governor Kathy Hochul was among a number of prominent Democratic politicians who came out in defense of James.”What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable,” Hochul said on X.Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said “this is what tyranny looks like.””President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting him for fraud — and winning,” the senator from New York said.In a statement, however, US Attorney Halligan defended the prosecution of James, saying she had committed “intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.”