WCTB

Nearly five years after his arrest, the trial has begun for the man who drove through crowds of tourists in Times Square killing one woman and injuring 22 other people.  Richard Rojas, a 31-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, was arrested in 2017 after he barreled his Honda Accord down a sidewalk along Seventh Avenue between West 42nd Street and West 45th Street before crashing into protective barriers on May 18, 2017.

Rojas was indicted by a grand jury and charged with 29 counts including murder for “depraved indifference” for the death of Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old who was on a family trip when she was killed. Other charges included numerous counts of felony assault for recklessly causing physical injury and injury through risk of death, including for the injury of Elsman’s 13-year-old sister Ava.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office noted in the indictment that Rojas’ defense team does not dispute the facts of the case and intends “to offer a psychiatric defense.” According to a criminal complaint, Rojas allegedly told police that he had smoked marijuana laced with PCP.  PCP, also known as angel dust, has hallucinogenic effects that can cause users to become delusional and paranoid, resembling symptoms associated with schizophrenia.

Rojas allegedly told a traffic enforcement officer after the incident: “I wanted to kill them” and also reported he was hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations.  In addition, just days before the Times Square rampage, Rojas was arrested after he threatened a man who had gone to his apartment to help him notarize documents with a knife and accused him of trying to steal his identity.  He was also arrested twice previously for driving while intoxicated.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trial-start-driver-ran-times-square-tourists-84586199

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A fire on Sunday inside the headquarters of anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action was being investigated as arson, after someone had spray-painted a message outside the building. Madison, Wisconsin police spokeswoman Stephanie Fryer told the Wisconsin State Journal that the fire reported shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday in Madison was suspicious in nature. Federal officials and the Madison Fire Department are helping with the investigation.

Officials were still working to determine how much damage the fire caused, and confirmed no one was injured. Investigators found the remnants of at least one Molotov cocktail and it wasn’t immediately clear who vandalized the building, but the message “If abortions aren’t safe than you aren’t either” was spray-painted on the building. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a statement: “It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted.”

The president of the lobbying group, Julaine Appling, said she considers the fire a “direct threat against us” given that it happened just a few days after a draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion was leaked suggesting the court may soon overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in this country.  Appling said: “This is the local manifestation of the anger and the lack of tolerance from the pro-abortion people toward those of us who are pro-life. We will repair our offices, remain on the job, and build an even stronger grassroots effort. We will not back down. We will not stop doing what we are doing. Too much is at stake.”

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The United States announced new sanctions on Russia after President Joe Biden met with the leaders of the Group of Seven and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. The White House said that the United States will sanction three of Russia’s most-viewed television stations controlled by the Kremlin — including Russia-1, Channel One Russia and NTV. Western companies were among the top advertisers at the stations last year.

The White House said in a statement: “Our unprecedented sanctions are already exacting an immense toll on Russia’s economy and our export controls have strangled Russia’s access to critical technology and the supply chains it needs to sustain its military ambitions. Putin’s war is projected to wipe out the last 15 years of economic gains in Russia. As a result of our export controls, Russia is struggling to replenish its military weapons and equipment.”

The U.S. will also now prohibit U.S. citizens from providing certain business services such as accounting and corporate formation or management consulting to anyone inside Russia.  The White House said: “These services are key to Russian companies and elites building wealth, thereby generating revenue for Putin’s war machine, and to trying to hide that wealth and evade sanction. This action builds on previous prohibitions to restrict the export of goods related to aerospace, marine, electronics, technology, and defense and related materiel sectors of the Russian economy.”

The entire G7 — which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain — has now pledged to phase out and ban the import of Russian oil, which the United States has already done. The White House said it would also impose new rules to restrict Russia’s industrial sector, including controls on such things as industrial engines and bulldozers.  In its statement, the White House said: “These new controls will further limit Russia’s access to items and revenue that could support its military capabilities.”

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