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Vermont Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Shooting of Students of Palestinian Descent 

A vigil is held on the grounds of Brown University, after three students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Vermont, at the school's main green in Providence, Rhode Island, US, November 27, 2023. (Reuters)
A vigil is held on the grounds of Brown University, after three students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Vermont, at the school's main green in Providence, Rhode Island, US, November 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Vermont Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Shooting of Students of Palestinian Descent 

A vigil is held on the grounds of Brown University, after three students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Vermont, at the school's main green in Providence, Rhode Island, US, November 27, 2023. (Reuters)
A vigil is held on the grounds of Brown University, after three students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Vermont, at the school's main green in Providence, Rhode Island, US, November 27, 2023. (Reuters)

The man accused of shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, over the weekend pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges on Monday and was ordered by a judge to remain held without bond.

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arraigned in Chittenden County Criminal Court in Burlington, appearing via a video feed from the county jail where he has been detained since his arrest on Sunday, the day after the attack.

Police have said investigators were treating Saturday evening's gun violence in the heart of Vermont's largest city as a suspected hate-motivated crime.

Two of the three men who were shot recounted they were wearing black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, and one said they were conversing in a mix of English and Arabic when the gunman confronted them, according to charging documents filed in court.

The three friends - identified in court documents as Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid, all aged 20 - remained under medical care on Monday with gunshot wounds to the spine, chest and buttocks, respectively, authorities said.

The victims told police they were shot while strolling near the University of Vermont, about a block from the house of Awartani's grandmother, following an afternoon at a bowling alley, according to a police affidavit filed in support of the charges.

All three men are undergraduate students at colleges in other cities but were staying with Awartani and his relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to police, Easton approached the three men right outside his apartment, drew his pistol and wordlessly opened fire from a few steps away, then vanished from the scene. Investigators said he fired four shots in all.

‘I've been waiting for you’

The shooting sparked an intense manhunt by local, state and federal law enforcement, including the FBI and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Eaton was taken into custody the following day after an ATF agent knocked on his door while canvassing the neighborhood and was greeted by the suspect, who held his hands out with palms upturned and said to the officer, "I've been waiting for you," according to the police affidavit.

A search of the apartment later turned up a handgun, ammunition matching the rounds found at the crime scene, a .22-caliber rifle and two shotguns, police said.

He was charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder, a felony punishable by a prison sentence of 20 years to life if convicted.

"Although we do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement, I do want to be clear that there is no question that this was a hateful act," said Sarah Fair George, state's attorney for Chittenden County, during a briefing on Monday.

The shooting came amid a surge in anti-Islamic, anti-Arab and antisemitic incidents and threats reported around the United States since a bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas erupted on Oct. 7.

"In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime," Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement on Sunday.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit at his three-minute arraignment, Eaton responded "yes, sir" when asked by the judge if he understood the charges against him.

Police said the suspect had legally acquired the gun used in the shooting a few months ago.

The US Department of Justice is assisting local authorities in the investigation, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Monday.

"No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of lethal violence," Garland said ahead of a separate meeting at the department's Southern District of New York office.

The White House said President Joe Biden was horrified by the shooting. "There is absolutely, absolutely no place for violence or hate in America," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news briefing.

According to the victims' families, Awartani is a student at Brown University in Rhode Island, Abdalhamid is enrolled at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Aliahmad attends Trinity College in Connecticut.

Police said all three are of Palestinian descent - two of them US citizens and the third a legal US resident.

They are graduates of the Ramallah Friends School, a private Quaker secondary school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the families said.

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World

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

UK police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, said it was “assessing” reports that the former Prince Andrew sent trade reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010. The assessment followed the release of millions of pages of documents connected to a US investigation of Epstein.

The police force did not name Mountbatten-Windsor, as is normal under UK law. But when asked if he had been arrested, the force pointed to a statement saying that they had arrested a man in his 60s. Mountbatten-Windsor is 66.

“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,’’ the statement said. “It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence."

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” the statement added.

Pictures circulated online appearing to show unmarked police cars at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with plainclothes officers appearing to gather outside the home of Mountbatten-Windsor.

World

Georgia Arrests Two Foreigners Trying to Purchase Uranium

FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Georgia Arrests Two Foreigners Trying to Purchase Uranium

FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Georgia has ‌detained two people who attempted to purchase $3 million worth of uranium and a cache of a radioactive isotope found in nuclear weapons testing programs, the national security service said on Thursday.

Two foreign nationals from unspecified countries were arrested in the city of Kutaisi, the State Security Service said in a statement.

"They were planning to ‌illegally purchase ‌nuclear material uranium and radioactive ‌substance ⁠Cesium 137 for $3 ⁠million and illegally transport it to the territory of another country," Reuters quoted it as saying.

It said other foreigners had been arriving in Georgia in recent weeks with the aim of purchasing and transporting the nuclear and ⁠radioactive materials, without elaborating further.

The ‌statement did ‌not specify the quantity of materials the individuals were ‌attempting to procure. There were ‌no details on the substances' origin or potential destination.

Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope present primarily in the aftermath of nuclear weapons testing ‌and nuclear power plant accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster in ⁠then-Soviet ⁠Ukraine in 1986.

The security of nuclear materials was one of the biggest concerns after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, of which Georgia was part. There have been several serious incidents involving the illicit trade in nuclear materials in Georgia over recent decades.

Most recently, three Chinese citizens were arrested in the capital Tbilisi for attempting to purchase two kilograms of "nuclear material" uranium.

World

Former South Korean President Yoon Receives Life Sentence for Imposing Martial Law

FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Former South Korean President Yoon Receives Life Sentence for Imposing Martial Law

FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in a dramatic culmination to the country’s biggest political crisis in decades.

Yoon was ousted from office after a baffling attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, The Associated Press said.

Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time.

Martial law crisis recalled dictatorial past Yoon’s martial law imposition, the first of its kind in more than four decades, harkened back to South Korea’s past military-backed governments when authorities occasionally proclaimed emergency decrees that allowed them to station soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or at public places such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.

As lawmakers rushed to the National Assembly, Yoon’s martial law command issued a proclamation declaring sweeping powers, including suspending political activities, controlling the media and publications, and allowing arrests without warrants.

The decree lasted about six hours before being lifted after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.

Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by lawmakers and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been under arrest since last July while facing multiple criminal trials, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.

Yoon's lawyers reject conviction Yoon Kap-keun, one of the former president’s lawyers, accused Jee of issuing a “predetermined verdict” based solely on prosecutors’ arguments and said the “rule of law” had collapsed. He said he would discuss whether to appeal with his client and the rest of the legal team.

Yoon Suk Yeol told the court the martial law decree was only meant to raise public awareness of how the liberals were paralyzing state affairs, and that he was prepared to respect lawmakers if they voted against the measure.

Prosecutors said it was clear Yoon was attempting to disable the legislature and prevent lawmakers from lifting the measure through voting, actions that exceeded his constitutional authority even under martial law.

In announcing Yoon and Kim’s verdicts, Jee said the decision to send troops to the National Assembly was key to his determination that the imposition of martial law amounted to rebellion.

“This court finds that the purpose of (Yoon’s) actions was to send troops to the National Assembly, block the Assembly building and arrest key figures, including the National Assembly speaker and the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, in order to prevent lawmakers from gathering to deliberate or vote,” Jee said. “It’s sufficiently established that he intended to obstruct or paralyze the Assembly’s activities so that it would be unable to properly perform its functions for a considerable period of time.”

Protesters rally outside court

As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon’s critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty.

There were no immediate reports of major clashes following the verdict.

A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available, but most analysts expected a life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.

South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.

Other officials sentenced for enforcing martial law

The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the military.

Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring the measure.

The Seoul Central Court has also convicted two members of Yoon’s Cabinet in other cases. That includes Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to legitimize the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.

Yoon is the first former South Korean president to receive a life sentence since former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for his 1979 coup, a bloody 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju that left more than 200 people dead or missing, and corruption.

The Supreme Court later reduced his sentence to life imprisonment, and he was released in late 1997 under a special presidential pardon. He died in 2021.