Special-ed teacher arrested after allegedly putting 5-year-old student in chokehold

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A New York City special education teacher has been arrested after allegedly putting a 5-year-old elementary school student in a chokehold.

Anthony Wicks, 46, was charged with second-degree assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child, WCBS-TV reported, adding that prosecutors said Wicks grabbed the student's neck with both hands and put him in a headlock.

'It was a very scary moment for him. … He said that ... his teacher's hands were tight around his neck, and that he said that he would be good and that he asked his teacher to let go.'

More from the station:

Wicks walked out of Manhattan Criminal Court silently with his husband Tuesday night, leaving on supervised release after his arraignment. The judge ordered Wicks not to have contact with the child, and when asked if he understood, Wicks replied to the judge, 'Yes, of course.'

This is Wicks' first arrest. He is a full-time special education teacher, and his attorney says Wicks has worked for the city's education department for five years and at a preschool for three years before that.

Police told WCBS the incident occurred Monday inside a classroom at P.S. 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School in Hamilton Heights. The child's older brother told the station the 5-year-old wouldn't go in the "time-out corner" as the head teacher instructed. Wicks is an assistant teacher, parents noted to WCBS.

"He was making a fuss about going in the time-out ... and then the teacher choked him," the brother told the station. "That teacher wasn't the one who was even talking to him. ... What other people have told me is that when he was getting choked, he was crying and then wouldn't calm down."

The child's father told WCBS the principal called around noon Monday to say the boy was fine but that the parents needed to come to school.

"It was a very scary moment for him," the child's father noted to the station. "He said that ... his teacher's hands were tight around his neck, and that he said that he would be good and that he asked his teacher to let go."

A Department of Education spokesperson told WCBS, "This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable, and this employee has been immediately removed from this site. Pending the outcome of the arrest and if convicted, we will pursue their termination. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our students."

The station said it has not heard back from Wicks — who is awaiting arraignment on the charges — after an attempt to reach him by phone.

One parent of a student in the 5-year-old's class told WCBS she came to school Tuesday because she was upset the school never notified her about the incident.

"I had to find out through social media," she told the station. "That teacher is the teacher of my child, my 5-year-old child, and it's so upsetting because the school did not disclose anything. ... I went to go speak in there, and they couldn't give me any information. I want to withdraw him today."

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Masked thugs shoot mother dead in front of her husband, son after she tried to defend them amid robbery in NYC condo building

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A pair of masked robbers shot a mother dead in front of her husband and son after she tried to defend them amid a robbery in their New York City condo building Monday night, the New York Post reported.

Two suspects in black ski masks allegedly followed the victim’s 61-year-old husband into the building — Two Bridges at 44 Market St. in lower Manhattan — and then into the elevator where they attempted to rob him, the Post said.

'It’s all surreal,' Liu’s son told the Post Tuesday. 'I feel only sadness right now.'

Lin Rong Yan, 32, buzzed his dad into the building and was waiting for him in the eighth-floor hallway when the elevator opened and revealed the crime in progress, the paper said, citing sources.

Yan tried to intervene, and one of the suspects pistol-whipped him, sources told the Post.

His mother — 57-year-old home health aide Ying Zhu Liu — heard what was happening and came out with a stick to confront the robbers, but she was shot in the face in front of her husband and son, the paper said.

The robbers grabbed a cellphone from Liu’s husband and fled in an unknown direction, the Post said, adding that the pair were still at large as of early Tuesday.

Police told the paper the gunman was wearing a half-red, half-black hooded jacket, black pants with a white stripe down the leg, and white sneakers; the second suspect was wearing a black hooded coat, black pants, and black-and-white sneakers.

Liu’s son told the Post he didn't recognize either of the suspects.

The paper said the hallway was still smeared with blood 12 hours after the fatal shooting.

"I heard a fight, gunshot, and then just called 911. I didn't open the door. I was scared for my life, thought the best thing I could do was call police," neighbor John Lee told WCBS-TV.

“It’s all surreal,” Liu’s son told the Post Tuesday. “I feel only sadness right now.”

A family friend added to the paper that "no such crimes happened in this building" over the past decade.

Those with information about the case can confidentially call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), WCBS said, adding that tipsters can submit them online or through a direct message on Twitter @NYPDTips.

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Judge Judy torches Alvin Bragg for 'nonsense' case against Trump, accuses DA of 'self-aggrandizement'

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Media personality and former judge Judy Sheindlin recently slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) for wasting taxpayer dollars on his New York criminal trial against former President Donald Trump.

During an interview with CNN's Chris Wallace, Sheindlin called Bragg's case against Trump "nonsense."

'You had to twist yourself into a pretzel to figure out what the crime was.'

"I would be happier, as someone who owns property in Manhattan, if the district attorney of New York County would take care of criminals who were making it impossible for citizens to walk in the streets and use the subway, to use his efforts to keep those people off the street, than to spend $5 million or $10 million of taxpayers' money trying Donald Trump on this nonsense," Sheindlin stated during the episode of "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace."

"That's my view. But I, as a taxpayer in this country, resent using the system for your own personal self-aggrandizement," Sheindlin continued, clarifying that she was referring to Bragg.

"You had to twist yourself into a pretzel to figure out what the crime was," she added. "He [Bragg] doesn't like him [Trump]. New York City didn't like him for a while."

Wallace asked Sheindlin what she thinks of Trump. She paused momentarily and then replied, "What do I think of him? I think he was a good businessman, a real estate guy. And he was certainly terrific on 'The Apprentice.'"

"What did you think of him as president of the United States?" Wallace pressed.

"I don't think that Donald ever should have been president, and I don't think that Donald even thought that he was going to be president. I don't think so," Sheindlin responded.

Last year, Bragg filed 34 felony counts of falsifying business records against the former president. At the end of May, a jury found Trump guilty on all counts. Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, stated they had been "expecting" a guilty verdict from jurors. He said they plan to appeal.

"We're going to appeal, and we're going to win on appeal," Blanche remarked. "The goal is to appeal quickly and hopefully be vindicated quickly."

"We didn't think we were gonna get a fair shake in Manhattan, and we didn't," he added.

Bragg was asked to testify before Congress about his prosecution of Trump. Bragg's general counsel indicated that he was "committed to voluntary cooperation," but he refused to attend a June 13 session before the House Judiciary Committee, citing "scheduling conflicts."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stated that the committee would subpoena Bragg and Matthew Colangelo, one of the lead prosecutors in the case, if they did not voluntarily testify.

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New York's highest court refuses to hear Trump's gag-order appeal

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The highest court in the state of New York has declined to hear an appeal from former President Donald Trump in connection with his recent "hush-money" trial.

Back in March, acting Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump's Manhattan trial, issued a gag order, barring the former president from making public remarks about witnesses or family members of either the judge or the prosecutors. Trump was permitted to speak out against Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The gag order 'restricts President Trump’s core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign' and 'violates the fundamental right of every American voter to hear from the leading candidate for President.'

Merchan was prompted to issue the order after Trump noted that Merchan's daughter, Loren, is a political consultant who has worked for some of Trump's most virulent Democrat opponents, including Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who once attended the trial to show support for Trump, likewise characterized Loren Merchan as "a political operative" and "a big Democrat fundraiser."

Despite the judge's order, Trump continued to post about the trial on social media, even calling out "two sleazebags," perhaps referring to his former attorney Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors alleged Trump violated the gag order on 10 separate occasions. Merchan declined to throw Trump in jail for those alleged infractions but did fine him $1,000 per violation.

After Trump was convicted on all 34 counts, his attorneys asked Merchan to lift the gag order, but he has not done so. Trump's attorneys then took the case to the appellate division of the state supreme court, which ruled that Merchan's order was "properly determined."

Trump's team then appealed to the State of New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, arguing that the gag order "restricts President Trump’s core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign" and "violates the fundamental right of every American voter to hear from the leading candidate for President."

Bragg's filing countered that Trump has a "well-documented history of leveling threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating remarks against trial participants" and that the gag order was necessary for the safety of trial participants.

On its decision list issued on Tuesday, the appeals court declined to hear Trump's appeal, stating that "no substantial constitutional question is directly involved."

For now, the gag order remains in effect, though CNN suggested Trump may have other appeal options available for the next 30 days. Trump's attorney Todd Blanche declined the outlet's request for comment.

Trump is scheduled to be sentenced July 11, just a few days before the Republican National Convention.

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Alvin Bragg agrees to testify before Congress about Trump New York case, but only after sentencing

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) recently agreed to testify before Congress about his prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Last year, Bragg filed 34 felony counts against Trump for allegedly falsifying business records. Late last month, a panel of 12 Manhattan jurors found the former president guilty on all counts.

'If they're not willing to come voluntarily, we will subpoena them.'

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requested that Bragg testify at a June 13 session regarding the DA's case against Trump.

According to a letter from Bragg's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, the DA is "committed to voluntary cooperation" with the committee regarding its investigation into the New York trial. However, Dubeck claimed that Bragg would be unable to attend the upcoming session due to "scheduling conflicts."

"That cooperation includes making the District Attorney available to provide testimony on behalf of the Office at an agreed-upon date, and evaluating the propriety of allowing an Assistant District Attorney to testify publicly about an active prosecution to which he is assigned," Dubeck wrote to Jordan. "However, the proposed date that the Subcommittee selected without consulting the Office presents various scheduling conflicts."

Additionally, Dubeck claimed that the committee failed to make "clear the scope of the proposed testimony." The letter further stated that Bragg may be unable to testify before Congress until after Trump's sentencing, which is slated for July 11.

"The trial court and reviewing appellate courts have issued numerous orders for the purpose of protecting the fair administration of justice in People v. Trump, and to participate in a public hearing at this time would be potentially detrimental to those efforts," Dubeck wrote.

Jordan recently told the Washington Reporter that the committee plans to subpoena Bragg and Matthew Colangelo, one of the lead prosecutors in the case, if they do not show up to testify.

"Everything's on the table, if they're not going to. We got a notice yesterday and we're communicating with them. But if they don't come, we will. If they're not willing to come voluntarily, we will subpoena them," he told the outlet.

Colangelo, a former top-ranking Department of Justice official, effectively took a demotion to join Bragg's prosecution team in the New York criminal trial against Trump. Jordan stated that Bragg's decision to recruit Colangelo as a lead prosecutor in the case gave "the perception that the Justice Department is assisting in" the "politicized prosecution" of the former president.

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[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-07-at-3.49.58 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-07-at-3.49.58%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Here’s the latest information you need to know about each prosecution Democrats are waging against the Republican presidential candidate.