Next we catch up on the most important June and July filings in the criminal case against the SPLC. Since the superseding indictment was unsealed on June 2, the defense has filed a motion for show cause (seeking contempt/sanction against the DOJ for a draft version of the indictment being sent to the media) and made filings in support of that effort and a motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.

Finally, we cover the latest in the DOJ’s criminal probe of the 2020 election in Fulton County, where a district judge has granted the county’s motion to quash. The DOJ can try again, but to succeed in getting this info, they’re going to need to narrow the scope of the subpoena and provide a stronger basis for it.

00:00 Intro

06:42 Oxferd Comma

45:00 Catching up on June and July filings in United States v. SPLC

01:28:00 District judge quashes DOJ subpoena for 2020 Fulton County election worker and volunteer info

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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00:00 Intro

02:30 Ramblings about Summer, kids, music, depression, etc.

07:00 The episode I canned

08:40 Riffing on the Trump Admin, Iran, Ukraine, Midterms, oil prices, politics

27:00 Approaching World War III

43:45 Presidents are presented with OPTIONS for resolving problems

49:00 We missed the best window to strike Iran

60:00 J5 Pipe Bomber update

01:30:50 Fauci mentioned 35x in the Morens indictment

01:48:15 Thread on the Moren case and Fauci as a conduit

02:09:25 Going through all 35 mentions of Fauci

02:45:43 Outro

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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00:00 Start

02:15 Newsom confirm they are under FBI investigation

18:47 Fmr US Attorney indicted for theft of Smith’s Report

32:57 Minnesota Antifa members indicted; terrorism charges could follow

01:05:55 CIA Agent steals $40 million in Gold bars plus millions more in cash

01:39:10 CodePink being investigated by Treasury’s OFAC

01:51:42 Fulton County trying to fight off grand jury subpoena for 2020 election staffing records

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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United States v. Arnold et al.

(North Texas Antifa Cell that ICE facility)

9 Defendants: Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Benjamin Song, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto.

Charges: Riot, Providing Material Support to Terrorists (x1), Conspiracy to Use and Carry an Explosive (x1), Use and Carry of an Explosive (x1), Attempted Murder of Officers and Employees of the United States (x3), Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence (x3), Corruptly Concealing Documents or Records (x1), Conspiracy to Conceal Documents or Records (x1).

Trial: All defendants were convicted at trial.

Sentencing: Set for June 23, 2026.

Summary: This case has to do with the July 4, 2025, violent assault on the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility by a North Texas Antifa cell. The assault resulted in damage to the building and vehicles, and a responding Alvarado police officer was shot (he survived).

A little over two months after the attack, President Trump designated Antifa a Domestic Terrorist Organization.

While designating a group as a ‘Domestic Terrorist Organization’ isn't actually a thing in U.S. law, the President directing "all relevant executive departments and agencies [to] utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations—especially those involving terrorist actions—conducted by [a group]" absolutely is.

On the same day that a superseding indictment was brought, which added seven more defendants and three more charges, the U.S. State Department announced it had designated four Europe-based Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).

Over twenty arrests were made in the course of the investigation; charges would be brought against 16 individuals in relation to the attack and the concealing of evidence, 7 accepted plea deals before trial for a single charge, 18 USC 2339A—Providing Material Support to Terrorists, and the remaining 9 defendants went to trial.

Why It Matters: This case is remarkable because, one, it is the first time an Antifa member, let alone an entire group, has been hit with terrorism charges, and two, it is the first time DOJ has defined Antifa in a criminal case.

“This case marks a historic moment as it represents the nation’s initial federal indictment targeting a coordinated group of Antifa cell members engaged in violent criminal activity… The charges demonstrate our unwavering commitment to confronting domestic terrorism and protecting our communities from organized threats.”

-HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard

Link

I expect this case, with its definition of Antifa and success at trial, will be a template for future prosecutions of Antifa members and their cells.

Sentencing, for all 16 convicted defendants, is now set for June 23, 2026. The prison time they are facing varies with the charges they were convicted on.

Song is facing a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life.

Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda, Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years.

Sanchez Estrada faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

The defendants who took plea deals before trial, Baumann, Gibson, Kent, Morgan, Sharp, Thomas, and Sikes, each face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

I have threads and videos on this case at the following links.

Thread Brief following the first superseding indictment.

Thread Brief after 6 defendants took plea deals and a second superseding indictment was filed.

I have video playlists for this case on Rumble and on YouTube.

DOJ’s sentencing submissions have not been filed as of writing, but when they are, I will cover them in threads and in a video. Likewise for when the judge hands down the sentences.

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Read more

00:00 Start

11:32 Broken Windows

31:11 Data Center Hysteria

01:11:37 Bolton to Plead Guilty

01:25:00 New Indictment Against SPLC

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That’s the only topic for the episode. Just a thorough read of the order in order to gain 1) an education on the background of the case, the 2020 election probe, the search warrant, the affidavit, the probable cause, and whatever else we find in it; and 2) a tonic against the bad information, bad narratives, and the conspiracy slop that surrounds the subject.

A fun surprise in the order is that the Mar-a-Lago raid comes up over and over and over again. Which, of course, is very gratifying, as the context in which it comes up reinforces the “Templates” idea and “FBI raids being good news” prediction I put forth years ago.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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00:00 Start

05:15 VA Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ dream map

30:05 FBI raids offices and businesses of Senator Louise Lucas

01:32:00 Fulton County fails to stop DOJ from reviewing 2020 election records

01:42:40 DOJ has ANOTHER special counsel working on 2020 election probe and he has sent subpoenas to Fulton County for employee and volunteer records related to 2020 election

01:51:30 WHCA Dinner Shooter Cole Allen indicted, adds new charge

01:59:15 Don’t fall for the Magistrate Judge Faruqui rage bait

02:07:00 Allen gets a new judge

02:10:00 Allen files motion to disqualify DC prosecutor.

02:22:00 DOJ responds to the SPLC’s motions for grand jury disclosures and false statements accusations.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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Grab coffee and a snack for this one.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

I’d love to hear from you: Drop your takes on this episode and the topics covered in the comments.

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The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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This isn’t a document-heavy episode. Instead, I walk you through media, posts, events, associations, and observations. I highlight some things I’ve gotten right, some things I’ve gotten wrong, and admit to being fooled myself.

It’s not a particularly positive or negative episode—just a candid one. My hope is that it encourages you to troubleshoot your own information systems and to swap out faulty or unreliable components, no matter how attached you may be to them.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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In this issue, we continue a series of newsletters providing breakdowns of four major assassination-related cases that played out during the 2024 election.

Those cases are Asif Merchant, Thomas Crooks, Ryan Routh, and Farhad Shakeri.

One has recently completed sentencing (Routh), another has reached sentencing for one defendant with another defendant scheduled to be sentenced next month (Shakeri), a third recently resulted in a conviction at trial just a week ago (Merchant), and a fourth—the one that came closest to succeeding—was investigated, but the defendant died at the scene and no charges were brought against anyone (Crooks). All four cases are extraordinary in their own ways: highly interesting, deeply political, one decidedly bizarre, another chilling and sobering.

All concern the same target: President Donald J. Trump.

I believe these cases are important, beyond the memes, shoot-from-the-hip hot takes, superficial clickbait, and conspiracy theories that surround them. So, I’ve decided to create a series of articles for the Just Cases newsletter that sets aside all those frivolous elements in favor of case filings, court transcripts, testimony, investigative documents, and fact-based reporting. I’ve included information from those sources and provided links to them.

Originally, I wrote these as a single long form issue, but the deep dives grew beyond what is typical for the newsletter format (8,000+ words haha), so I’ve broken them into four issues that will come out back-to-back over the next several weeks. Updates on other cases I’m tracking (Don Lemon, Hannah Natanson, Richman, Comey, and others) will appear in future issues of the Just Cases newsletter.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications and this newsletter is for paid subscribers. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that. This newsletter is exclusively for y’all.

Please share your thoughts on the cases featured in this issue in the comments section. If there’s a case you’d like to see me report on, let me know!

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United States v. Shakeri

Defendants: Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt

Charges: Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Murder-for-Hire, Conspiracy to Commit Murder-for-Hire and Money Laundering Conspiracy, etc.

Trial Date: None. Two defendants in custody have plead guilty, the other is believed to be in Iran (more on that later).

Summary: The defendants in this case are recent additions to an increasing list of Iran-sponsored criminals who have been directed by the Iranian Regime to suppress, harass, kidnap, and murder Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad as well as other Americans. Ms. Alinejad is a Iranian dissident who lives in exile in New York City. She became a U.S. citizen in 2019. Because of her steadfast and vocal opposition to the Iranian Regime, she has been the target of numerous plots to silence her.

Farhad Shakeri is an Afghan national who immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up here, primarily in Virginia. As an adult, he married a successful lawyer, she converted to Islam, and they went on to have five kids together. They lived in New York City. In the early 90’s though, Shakeri turned to crime and in 1994 was convicted of robbery and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 21 years in New York State prison, but would serve just 14 years of it. (Man, you don’t often see long sentences like that for robbery, or even more severe crimes, these days.)

The couple stayed together while Shakeri served his prison sentence. They later moved to Kabul for three years and then to Dubai, but would end their marriage in 2015. She and the kids returned to New York, Farhad Shakeri went to Iran.

While in the New York prison system, Shakeri developed a network of criminal contacts, including contacts with ties to various organized crime syndicates. Authorities refer to this contact group as the “Shakeri Network.”

Among those contacts were the other two defendants in this case—Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt—plus three additional unnamed co-conspirators. Shakeri and one of the co-conspirators were both housed at Woodbourne Correctional Facility from 1996 to 2002. That co-conspirator was serving time for manslaughter. Shakeri was later transferred to Fishkill Correctional Facility, where his time there from 2005 to 2007 overlapped with that of Rivera, who was serving a sentence for second-degree murder.

Shakeri, upon completion of his prison sentence, was released in 2008 and deported from the United States to Afghanistan. According to court filings and DOJ press releases, at some point afterwards he became an asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and began operating out of Tehran. Through Shakeri, the IRGC utilized this network to conduct surveillance and assassinations abroad—including operations in Europe and in the U.S..

Several of those operations were aimed at assassinating a particular critic of the Iranian Regime—Masih Alinejad.

Beginning in December 2023, at the IRGC’s request, Shakeri contacted one of the unnamed co-conspirators—a New York resident whom Shakeri had recruited into his network during their overlapping time at Woodbourne—to locate the victim in this case: Ms. Alinejad. Shakeri began tasking and paying this co-conspirator to surveil Alinejad. He created a cloud account in which he stored images of, contact information on, and biographical details regarding Alinejad.

The ultimate aim of the operation was to assassinate Alinejad.

But first they needed to locate her.

Read more

Chapters

00:00

00:45 Intro to the show

04:30 New series on Trump assassination plots in 2024

10:30 U.S. and Israel are eliminating the Iranian threat (finally!)

27:30 The InfoWar element (If it talks like a malign foreign influence campaign and walks like a malign foreign influence campaign…)

42:30 Gatekeeping is good (Not all ideologies, not all religions, not all immigrants, not all accounts, are equal or even worth listening to/tolerating)

51:00 We are so blessed that both Trump and Netanyahu are leading their respective countries right now.

56:40 Closing thoughts. Pray for the West, for America, for Trump, for our military, and for our allies.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that.

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In this issue, we begin a series of newsletters providing breakdowns of four major assassination-related cases that played out during the 2024 election.

Those cases are Asif Merchant, Thomas Crooks, Ryan Routh, and Farhad Shakeri.

One has recently completed sentencing (Routh), another has reached sentencing for one defendant with another defendant scheduled to be sentenced next month (Shakeri), a third went to trial last week and resulted in a conviction just days ago (Merchant), and a fourth—the one that came closest to succeeding—was investigated, but the defendant died at the scene and no charges were brought against anyone (Crooks). All four cases are extraordinary in their own ways: highly interesting, deeply political, one decidedly bizarre, another chilling and sobering.

All concern the same target: President Donald J. Trump.

I believe these cases are important, beyond the memes, shoot-from-the-hip hot takes, superficial clickbait, and conspiracy theories that surround them. So, I’ve decided to create a series of articles for the Just Cases newsletter that sets aside all those frivolous elements in favor of case filings, court transcripts, testimony, investigative documents, and fact-based reporting. I’ve included information from those sources and provided links to them.

Originally, I wrote these as a single long form issue, but these deep dives grew beyond what is typical for the newsletter format (8,000+ words haha), so I’ve broken them into four issues that will come out back-to-back over the next several weeks. Updates on other cases I’m tracking (Don Lemon, Hannah Natanson, Richman, Comey, and others) will appear in future issues of the Just Cases newsletter.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications, and this newsletter is for paid subscribers. Your support makes pulling these court documents and carefully researching them possible. Thank you all so much for that. This newsletter is exclusively for y’all.

I’d love to hear from you: Drop your takes on these cases in the comments below. Got a case that’s got you fired up and think I should cover it? Tell me!

To keep the insights coming and support my work, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thanks a ton.

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United States v. Merchant

(2024 Iran Directed Assassination Plot Against Trump)

District: Eastern District of New York (EDNY)

Defendant: Asif Merchant

Charges: Terrorism, Murder for Hire

Trial Result: Convicted on all counts. Facing Life in Prison. Sentencing date TBD.

Summary: According to court filings, DOJ press releases, and presentations at trial, Asif Merchant is a Pakistan-born man who works for Iranian intelligence. In the Spring of 2024, on behalf of Iran, he traveled to the U.S. to hire individuals to participate in a three-act plot: 1) steal documents from a targeted person, 2) orchestrate a protest, and 3) assassinate U.S. politicians and government officials. In recorded conversations that included Merchant the names of three 2024 Presidential Candidates were brought up as potential targets: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, President Joseph R. Biden, and President Donald J. Trump.

U.S. intel and the FBI were on to Merchant very early in the game, tracking his movements from Pakistan to Iran, then back to Pakistan before flying to Istandbul, Turkey and finally to Houston, Texas. The FBI was able to get a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant for Merchant, they intercepted him in Houston when he arrived on April 13, 2024, and conducted an interview, but let him go. This has been the subject of some scrutiny and criticism (Grrr, how could they be so stupid?!?! /s). But the thing is…

They knew where he was going and who he was going to meet.

Read more

I’ve got court documents, news articles, press releases, and videos to go with all of it. I think y’all are going to really like this episode.

Below are the timestamps for each chapter. All of these segments either are or will be on my Rumble and YouTube pages as their own videos, BUT in this podcast I’ve included additional (some 30-45 minutes more) coverage of documents and commentary.

Chapters

00:00 Start

00:45 Introduction to episode

11:40 DNI Gabbard on site for execution of search warrant in Fulton County. That Search warrant was obtained by a Special Prosecutor that AG Bondi recently appointed to conduct election fraud probes nationwide

51:30 DOW contractor Perez-Lugones indicted. New court docs, including an affidavit for the search warrant targeting Hannah Natanson’s devices, indicate she may be next

2:07:50 Don Lemon plus eight others indicted for violations of the FACE Act and conspiracy against rights.

3:08:55 More comments on Don Lemon and the disruption of Cities Church. How traumatic it was for the families, the potential for civil suits, and praise for how churchgoers handled the situation.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and contribute to my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

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I hope you appreciate the information, thoughts, and commentary presented in this episode.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:08 WARNING about video. Disturbing material and loud noises at certain points in the episode.

04:03 Who was Alex Pretti? We don’t have a full bio on him, but here’s a little bit of what we know.

09:47 Getting into the incident that resulted in his death. Going over multiple videos, no commentary at first, then frame-by-frame breakdowns, analysis, and commentary.

01:01:34 Trump says Pretti was carrying a “very dangerous gun, a dangerous and unpredictable gun,” adding, “It’s a gun that goes off when people don’t know it.”

01:08:35 Segment covering the Sig P320 and the possibility that it may have gone off immediately after it was removed from Pretti by a CBP agent.

01:23:00 Summary of my view on the shooting incident:

Understandable that it happened. Lawful shoot. No crime was committed by the officers. I don’t have any criticism of the officers involved.

Pretti is physically resisting law enforcement the entire time. From the very first moments of the altercation, from before he is OC sprayed, he is disobeying and obstructing law enforcement. He goes hands-on with them. Gets sprayed multiple times, goes non-compliant. An officer begins to take him into custody. Pretti resists. Curls into a ball, tucks his arms and legs under him. More officers work to get Pretty spread out so they can cuff him and take him into custody. Over a half dozen officers end up involved; at least three are working to gain control of Pretti while a fourth disarms him and a sixth observes.

As he is disarmed and an officer is shouting, “Gun! Gun!” and agents are reacting to that, drawing their weapons or taking a step back to draw, Pretti is still fighting to stand up and does begin to stand up. He goes from knees and elbows on the ground and tucked (resisting pose) to trying to stand up. He gets his right foot under him, planted on the ground, and he still has his phone in his right hand (which not every agent knows is a phone). This is when he is shot. It’s tragic, but justified. However, there’s enough grayness/ambiguity about it that it’s exploitable. It’s the sort of incident that these Antifa/BLM/counterinsurgency cells work to manifest into existence because through them they can gain a martyr, public attention, civil friction, fracturing of political opposition, narrative programming material, and capitulation from authorities.

01:27:00 This was NOT Alex Pretti’s first altercation with federal law enforcement.

01:32:00 Context: Protests, fraud scandal, activation of insurgent groups, local and state law enforcement not working with federal law enforcement, Democrat leadership not cooperating, threats against law enforcement up 8000%, etc

01:35:00 Ret. Green Beret Warrant Officer explains how we are watching a counterinsurgency in Minnesota.

01:01:44:12 Rich Higgins was right.

01:46:25 Criticism for the Trump Admin and their responses to this shooting.

02:13:00 Criticism intensifies.

02:24:35 Closing thoughts

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and contribute to my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

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Chapters

00:00 Start

00:45 Introduction

01:00 Reflecting on Episode 363

11:39 The defense contractor Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, who stole and leaked classified info to WaPo journalist Hannah Natanson, is still in jail and likely awaiting more charges. But DOJ has been blocked by a court order from reviewing the devices they seized from Natanson.

26:36 Halligan OUT at USAO for EDVA

54:12 Organizers of protest that interrupted church service in St. Paul arrested on conspiracy against rights and FACE Act charges.

1:09:02 Greenland Deal takes shape

1:38:39 Just Cases Issue #7 is inbound, closing thoughts, gratitude to y’all, and more introspection.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and contribute to my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

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I’m not entirely sure whether bringing my conundrum straight to the microphone is the smartest way to work through it, haha… but I figured it might help (and it actually did help), and I’m hoping listeners can relate and find some value in the process too.

I hope you enjoy the information, thoughts, and musings presented in this episode.

Chapters

00:00 Start

00:45 Introduction

06:40 Heads up on a new series I’m doing on the Asif Merchant case

09:09 Checking in on some DOJ stuff (Resignations, firings, vacancies, nominees, etc)

10:05 Lindsey Halligan’s interim appointment is up. It’s been 120 days.

28:33 Don Lemon and protesters force their way into a church service and antagonize worshippers.

32:00 Minnesota prosecutors resign, including Trump’s Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney.

36:03 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell receives a subpoena for documents from the DC Attorney. Decides to publish an extraordinary video about how he’s being indicted. Rep. Luna and her fans take a parade lap for some reason.

41:12 Back to Don Lemon and the protesters, the FACE Act, and DAG Dhillon being on top of things.

42:50 DOJ is operating at around 60% manpower.

48:40 List of Trump's US attorneys who have been disqualified.

57:25 Blackpillers and “These things take time”

59:41 Boogaloo Boys, Oathkeepers, and other assholes are back and looking to create bad situations for well-meaning MAGA to fall into.

1:03:50 Insurrection Act talk promotes a trap

1:11:00 … but I understand and sympathize with where it comes from and why it is attractive to some. However, I also recognize the malign aspects of it and how some groups look to exploit these things.

1:20:45 Now I’ll get to some of what has been bothering me.

1:23:05 Perception is Reality, DOJ (as well as other departments and figures in the Trump Admin) is at times too focused on how they are perceived, and that plays into a finite game they cannot win.

1:33:12 “The reason to win the game is so that you can be free of it.” - Naval Ravikant The Trump team cannot win the finite game against the media or the black pillers.

So, how can they be free of it?

By not playing it.

Don’t play the finite game; play the infinite one, which is sticking to your objectives and the pursuit of them, using direct communication to the American people, and refusing to slip into playing the unwinnable game of wasteful, distracting, misdirecting narrative combat with black pillers and media.

1:40:18 Concern that people won’t recognize the Trump Admin’s wins

2:03:30 Let me know your thoughts on all that I've covered so far.

2:04:40 Introspection begins…

2:07:00 Lightbulb moment.

2:13:00 I’ve slipped into playing a finite game, too.

The Just Human Podcast and Just Cases Newsletter are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and contribute to my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

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After I finished the episode, I came across this short thread by Tyler Rogoway and wished I could have included it in the final segment of this episode. So when you finish listening, check it out.

Also, about half the segments in this episode are already on Rumble and YouTube as clips, but the rest are exclusive to Substack listeners for now. Sorry for how abrupt some of the topic changes are. I’ll work on improving the transitions.

Chapters

00:00 Start

00:45 Introduction

08:11 Weaponization of the Renee Good/ICE Shooting Tragedy

01:00:17 DOJ Firings and Resignations

01:21:25 J5 Pipe Bomber Case Update

01:46:40 Comments on Trump’s J6 Pardons

02:00:22 Quick Update on Richman v. United States

02:11:51 Quick Update on United States v. Maduro

02:18:50 Arrest of Defense Contractor Leads to Search of WaPo Journalist's Home and Seizure of Devices

02:51:26 Iran Protest, Trump promising help, and U.S. Forces being out of position (for now)

03:13:55 Closing

Just Human and Just Cases are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and fuel my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

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Hello

A year ago I set this newsletter aside as I took a much-needed break from recording videos, writing, and, well, everything related to news and politics. I was in need of a professional reboot and, to be candid, a serious and personal rehabilitation.

By spring 2025, I was well on my way to being healthy again. I returned to recording videos, writing threads, and occasionally penning articles. Through the summer, fall, and into the winter of 2025, I rebuilt my routines and created more and more content. But I left this newsletter on hold—I wasn’t yet confident I could keep up with everything else plus the collection of cases that would feed into it.

I am now, though.

So I’m bringing the newsletter back. If you want key updates on what’s happening in criminal and civil cases involving threads of politics, espionage, public corruption, and the like—delivered in a concise newsletter format—this is the one for you.

As this is the first issue after a long break, I’ve grabbed a handful of higher profile cases from the ledger of cases that I am tracking. These cases have been in the news over the past three or so months and I have included links to my threads and videos about them.

Please share your thoughts on the cases featured in this issue and on the newsletter in the comments. If there’s a case you’d like to see me report on, let me know!

United States v. Arnold et al.

(North Texas Antifa Cell)

9 Defendants: Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Hanil Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada

Charges: Rioting, Terrorism, Attempted Murder, Conspiracy, etc.

Trial Date: February 17, 2026

Summary: This case has to do with the July 4, 2025, violent assault on the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility by a North Texas Antifa cell. The assault resulted in damage to the building and vehicles, and a responding Alvarado police officer was shot (he survived).

There were 15 defendants originally, but 6 accepted plea deals for a single charge, 18 USC 2339A—Providing Material Support to Terrorists. We may see them as cooperative witnesses at the trial for the remaining 9 defendants.

Why It Matters: This case is remarkable because, one, it is the first time an Antifa member, let alone an entire group, has been hit with terrorism charges, and two, it is the first time DOJ has defined Antifa in a criminal case.

I believe this case will be a template for other prosecutions of Antifa members and their cells.

I have threads and videos on this case at the following links.

Thread Brief following first superseding indictment.

Thread Brief after 6 defendants took plea deals and a second superseding indictment was filed.

I have video playlists for this case on Rumble and on YouTube.

United States v. Bautista

(Smartmatic Corruption Case)

Defendants: Juan Andres Donato Bautista, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, Elie Moreno, SGO Corporation Limited

Charges: Conspiracy, Bribery, Foreign Corruption, Money Laundering, etc.

Trial Date: Was set for April 2026, but that has been cancelled. Hearing set for January 11, 2026, to discuss a new trial date.

Summary: This case relates to the 2016 Philippine elections and contracts for voting machines that were used in that election. Allegations in the case are that Bautista, who was a top official in the Philippines and responsible for overseeing the elections there, entered into a bribery and money laundering scheme with Smartmatic executives (Martinez, Moreno, and Vasquez) for the rigging of contracts for tens of thousands of machines and related services to be used in those elections. Those contracts were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The whole thing came crashing down when, in 2017, Bautista’s wife went to the Philippine authorities and told them her husband was suddenly and mysteriously much, much richer. Later, DOJ, DHS, and Treasury got involved on the U.S. side, as many of these payments had been routed through the U.S., and properties in the U.S. were also purchased as part of the scheme.

The scheme they ran is somewhat complicated, with lots of emails and false business filings, shell companies, fake vendors, fake orders, etc. This flowchart was presented in the indictment to help illustrate the scheme.

Late last year, Smartmatic itself was added as a defendant, and I suspect that was something investigators and prosecutors wanted to do all along but perhaps did not have the political support to do so until 2025.

Why It Matters: For years Smartmatic has been alleged to be a shady elections company, and a case like this, where several of their executives plus the company itself are charged with crimes of money laundering and public corruption, is highly intriguing. Given recent events in Venezuela, and given that Smartmatic traces its roots to that country, with a couple of these defendants being Venezuelan, the case is extraordinary.

I have threads and videos on this case at the following links.

Thread Brief on the original indictment, unsealed in September 2023.

Thread Brief after Smartmatic (SGO Corp Ltd) was added as a defendant in a superseding indictment.

I have videos on this case on Rumble here and here. And on YouTube here and here.

United States v. Bolton

(Fmr. NSA Amb. Bolton Classified Docs case)

Defendant: John Bolton

Charges: 18 Counts. Counts 1-8 are Retention of National Defense Information and Counts 9-18 are Transmission of National Defense Information

Trial Date: Not Set

Summary: Bolton regularly sent emails and text messages to his wife and daughter detailing his experience working in the first Trump Admin. These messages often contained what were essentially rough drafts of a tell-all book he was planning to write after leaving the administration, and they often included classified information. Bolton would get feedback from them on edits he could make to the rough drafts.

Later, Bolton put these drafts together and submitted a book to his publisher. He also emailed that draft to his counsel. That draft contained the same classified information, and the U.S. government later stepped in to prevent it from being published with that classified information, leading to a lawsuit that resulted in Bolton agreeing to remove the classified information. A month later, Iran successfully hacked Bolton’s AOL account and stole messages and attachments that contained classified information.

When the U.S. subsequently got insight on this Iranian hacking operation and learned what they had, they at the same time became aware of Bolton’s retention and transmission of classified information.

And here we are. No trial date has been set, and I think we are pretty far off from one. Perhaps a year away. Loads of classified discovery to deal with, and I believe the investigation is ongoing.

I strongly expect there will be a superseding indictment in the case.

I also strongly suspect this case ties into another one that I am tracking: United States v. Merchant. I’ll have a segment on that case in the next newsletter as it heads to trial soon.

Why It Matters: Bolton is a longtime Washington, D.C., establishment type and, in my opinion, a Swamp Creature. I look forward to seeing how this case develops, where else it may lead, and to Bolton being held accountable.

I have threads and videos on this case at the following links.

Thread Brief from when Bolton’s properties were raided by the FBI.

Thread Brief on the indictment news.

I have playlists for this case on Rumble and YouTube.

Subscribe now

United States v. Cole

(J5 Pipe Bomber case)

Defendant: Brian J. Cole Jr.

Charges: Interstate Transportation of Explosives, Malicious Attempt to Use Explosives

Trial Date: Not set

Summary: It is alleged that Brian Cole, over the course of 2019 and 2020, purchased components consistent with the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. On January 5, 2021, Cole constructed and transported two of the devices to Washington, D.C., placing one at the DNC headquarters and another at the RNC headquarters.

Cole continued making purchases of components from January 2021 through August 2022 and, according to his interview with FBI agents, also experimented with creating a different explosive material.

Cole has confessed to being the person responsible for the pipe bombs discovered at the DNC and RNC on January 6, 2021.

Why It Matters: For five years we’ve lived with and, to some extent, each of us has accepted either a left-aligned or right-aligned narrative about J6 and the pipe bombs. The left’s line is that the pipe bomber must have been a Trump supporter and planted the devices as part of a plan to distract law enforcement and thereby help rioters break into the Capitol building. The right’s line is that the pipe bomber must have been a “fed,” someone working for the FBI, CIA, or MPD, and that they planted the devices as part of a plan to frame Trump and his supporters. Various versions of these narratives exist, but each supposes that the devices and the person(s) responsible for them as being tied to the infamous political events of J6.

This case has blown all of those narratives to pieces.

Brian J. Cole Jr does not appear to be tied to any agency, acting as part of any plan, nor, by his own words, motivated by any thoughts related the events of J6. Rather, he appears to be more like a obscure, neurodivergent, frustrated man who had developed a fascination with explosive devices and on January 5, 2021, was overcome with a desire to “do something to both parties” because “they were in charge” and “everything was just getting worse.”

It’s early days and our assessment of Cole is sure to evolve as we learn more, but it’s clear that many people across the political spectrum got the profile of the person responsible for the J5 pipe bombs totally wrong. Including me. For the honest observer and researcher, it’s a sobering moment. A reminder to not let your hypotheses outpace your facts.

It’s also a clarifying moment, as we witness media and politicians dishonestly discuss the case or just ignore it all together.

You can learn a lot about a person by how they grapple with the revelations here.

I have threads and videos on this case at the following links.

Threads here, here, and here.

I also have playlists for this case on Rumble and YouTube.

United States v. Comey

(False Statements, Obstruction Case)

Defendant: James B. Comey Jr.

Charges: False Statement and Obstruction of Congress

Trial Date: None.

Summary: On September 25, 2025, former FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr. was charged by grand jury indictment with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. I’ve said and written a LOT about this case and will link to the playlists I have on it down below.

As you know, the case is dismissed because a senior district judge ruled that Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed.

However, the case has not completely fallen away into irrelevance. Not at all.

First, there is an appeal.

Briefs have not yet been filed, but you can expect that when they are I will be eagerly digging into them and making videos about them.

Second, there is a related case which I have become quite enamored with…

Richman v. United States

(Arctic Haze search warrant material case)

Defendants: United States Department of Justice

Civil Action: Return of Property

Trial Date: None.

Summary: Following the dismissal of the Comey case, Daniel Richman, who is Person 3 from the Comey indictment, filed to property returned to him that was seized as part of the Arctic Haze media leak investigation some five years ago. That property, which consists of forensics images made from his devices, email accounts, and iCloud, contained messages between Richman and several notable individuels-including Comey and journalist and major media outlets. A selection of those messages was a factor, possible THE factor, that informed the indictmentn against Comey.

Now Richman wants it back. DOJ opposes.

Intially, the judge placed a temporary restraining order on the material, preventing DOJ was accessing it. Then, she issued an order that 1) order DOJ to return the property to Richman, 2) order DOJ to create a single forensic copy of the material and file that under seal in the EDVA, and 3) instructed DOJ to destroy any copies of the material.

Eventually DOJ complied… mostly. See, they discovered a hang up. There’s more copies of these materials and more classified information in them than they had at first understood. They have asked for more time to search for, assess, and comply with the order.

Why It Matters: This case has major implications for the case against James Comey (if that can be revived on appeal) but also for any future re-indictment of him (which can’t happen without materials from Richman, if it can happen at all).

If DOJ wants to bring the same case back from the dead or bring another case charging Comey with the same offenses and based on information from these materials, they need LAWFUL access to them.

And they need to do so within the next few months. Or they are SOL—and out of time.

Additionally, the classified information they have found is incredibly intrigueing and I can’t help but wonder how well Andy McCabe is sleeping these days.

My Comey article is here and I strongly urge you to give it a read or a listen. I also have a follow up video on the case below that I wish every single one of my readers/viewers would watch and give their thoughts on. I think you will find it extremely interesting.

Playlists for the Comey and Richman cases

Comey Rumble and YouTube

Richman Rumble and YouTube

United States v. Maduro

(Narco-Terrorism and Conspiracy case)

Defendants: Nicolas Maduro Moros, Diosdado Cabello Rondon, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, and Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores.

Charges: Narco-Terrorism, Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation, Weapons Trafficking

Trial Date: Not set.

Summary: Nicolás Maduro Moros and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, are in U.S. custody. The rest are fugitives. For now.

Importantly, also in U.S. custody is a key individual who I expect will be a highly valuable cooperative witness against the Maduros—Hugo Armando Carvajal-Barrios, aka "El Pollo" (whom the case is titled after). He pleaded guilty last summer and currently awaits sentencing.

Also in U.S. custody and possibly of use to the prosecution are Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera aka "El Chapo," his sons Joaquín Guzmán López, aka El Güero Moreno, and Ovidio Guzmán López; and Ismael Mario Zambada García, aka "El Mayo."

There's also a significant number of TdA leaders and leaders or members of other cartels who have been apprehended by authorities recently, and they may have information that would be of use to the prosecution in this case.

Why It Matters: Nicolás Maduro is one of the worst figures on the planet. He and his collaborators, his regime and the cartels they work hand in glove with, have directly and indirectly contributed to the deaths of millions of people in this hemisphere. He is also an asset to regimes and groups decidedly hostile to the United States, its interests, and its allies—namely China, Iran, Russia, and various Islamic terrorist groups.

The media won’t say it, but in my opinion, arresting Maduro and bringing him to New York City to stand trial is on the same level as doing the same to Osama bin Laden. It’s that significant of an event.

Perhaps more importantly, the very act of going into Venezuela and taking him into custody has not merely shaken the board on which the global order plays its pieces—it has righted that board, stood America’s pieces firmly upright, and simultaneously tilted the pieces of her enemies toward the edge.

President Donald Trump will go down in history for many achievements—many of them massive victories for America and praised for their global impact. But this operation against Maduro? This is legendary. It may well be his greatest achievement.

My playlists for this case are here on Rumble and here on YouTube.

That’s it for this issue. Share your thoughts on these developments in the comments, and let me know what cases you would like to see in the newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

-Just Human

Just Human and Just Cases are a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and fuel my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or using one of the support options below. Thank you.

Subscribe now

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