Suspects

Reporting from Washington — A Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says it is “unacceptable” that the Obama administration is refusing to provide Congress with the secret legal opinions cited to justify killing American citizens during counterterrorism operations.

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed against the notion of classified legal opinions, expressed his concerns in a letter to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday.

Previously, Wyden has complained about the refusal of the Justice Department to make public secret interpretations of domestic-surveillance law. On Wednesday, the senator said he wanted to know just how much authority President Obama claims when it comes to the matter of killing American terrorism suspects, but that his request, made last April, to see the classified legal opinions exploring that topic has been rebuffed.

“How much evidence does the president need to decide that a particular American is part of a terrorist group?” Wyden wrote. “Does the president have to provide individual Americans with an opportunity to surrender before using lethal force against them? Is the president’s authority to kill Americans based on authorization from Congress or his own authority as commander-in-chief? Can the president order intelligence agencies to kill an American who is inside the United States?”

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, also has asked for copies of any classified legal opinions dealing with killing American citizens — but has not been provided any, his office said. At a Nov. 8, 2011, congressional hearing, Holder told Leahy that he could not “address whether or not there is an opinion in this area.”

For the executive branch to claim that intelligence agencies have the authority to knowingly kill American citizens while refusing to provide Congress with the legal opinions explaining its reasoning “represents an indefensible assertion of executive prerogative, and I expected better from the Obama Administration,” Wyden wrote to Holder.

A Justice Department official said the department is reviewing Wyden’s letter and will respond later.

“It would be entirely lawful for the United States to target high-level leaders of enemy forces, regardless of their nationality, who are plotting to kill Americans both under the authority provided by Congress in its use of military force in the armed conflict with Al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces as well as established international law that recognizes our right of self-defense,” the official said.

Last month, officials said Holder would be making a speech in the coming weeks laying out the legal justification for lethal strikes against Americans, such as the September CIA drone strike in Yemen that killed Anwar Awlaki, a U.S.-born citizen accused by U.S. officials of helping plan terrorist attacks against American targets. Wyden said he welcomed that.

U.S. officials have said that the CIA goes through extra legal steps when targeting a U.S. citizen as part of its drone strike program.

In early 2010, then-Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the House Intelligence Committee that the intelligence community “take[s] direct action against terrorists” and added that “if we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that.”

Wyden said he is not suggesting “that the president has no authority to act in this area. If American citizens choose to take up arms against the United States during times of war, there can undoubtedly be some circumstances under which the president has the authority to use lethal force against those Americans. For example, there is no question that President Lincoln had the authority to order Union troops to take military action against Confederate forces during the Civil War.”

However, he said, the question becomes thornier when the U.S. is at war around the world with terrorists who don’t wear uniforms. “And it is critically important for the public’s elected representatives to ensure that these questions are asked and answered in a manner consistent with American laws and American values,” Wyden wrote.

Members of Congress need to understand how or whether the executive branch has attempted to answer these questions so that they can decide for themselves whether this authority has been properly defined, Wyden wrote.

“Americans have a particular right to understand how the U.S. government interprets the statement in the Bill of Rights that no American shall ‘be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,’” Wyden wrote. “The federal government’s official views about the president’s authority to kill specific Americans who have not necessarily been convicted of a crime are not a matter to be settled in secret by a small number of government lawyers.”

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday found that 83% of respondents said they approve of the use of drone strikes against terrorist suspects overseas. Sixty-five percent in the poll, conducted by telephone Feb. 1-4, said that American citizens suspected of terrorism are legitimate targets. Democrats approved of the drone strikes on American citizens by a 58%-33% margin, and liberals approved of them, 55%-35%, according to the Post’s blog, the Plum Line.

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[For the record, 9:41 a.m., Feb. 10: An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Anwar Awlaki, a U.S. citizen killed by a CIA drone strike last year in Yemen, was born in Yemen. He was born in New Mexico.]

Nov. 4 (UPI) — Two male suspects were arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly setting off an explosive device inside a Harvard Medical School building early Saturday morning.

The two suspects are Logan David Patterson, 18, of Plymouth, Mass., and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, of Bourne, Mass., each of whom is accused of conspiring to damage, by means of an explosive, the Harvard Medical School Goldenson Building at 220 Longwood Ave. in Boston, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

FBI special agent Erin O’Brien submitted a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts in which she says there is probable cause that Patterson and Cardoza conspired to damage by fire or explosive device a building owned by an institution that receives federal financial assistance and is used in interstate commerce or in any activity affecting interstate commerce.

O’Brien said surveillance cameras at the intersection of Huntington and Longwood avenues at 2:23 a.m. EDT Saturday recorded two people walking toward the HMS campus.

One was wearing a blue/gray balaclava, a “distinctive” brown sweatshirt, tan sweatpants and white Crocs, while the other wore a blue mask, dark hooded jacket, dark plaid pajama pants and black sneakers.

Surveillance video also shows them lighting what appears to be a Roman candle firework at 2:24 a.m. before video from another camera shows them climbing over a chain-link fence and entering a construction area surrounding the Goldenson Building.

They climbed scaffolding next to the Goldenson Building to access its roof at 2:36 a.m., and Harvard University Police responded to a fire alarm on the building’s fourth floor at about 2:45 a.m.

The suspects exited the building via its first-floor emergency exit that leads to a courtyard, where each fled on foot in opposite directions, O’Brien said.

Harvard police found evidence of an explosive device detonating inside a wooden locker in the building’s fourth-floor research lab, which an FBI bomb technician said likely was a large commercial firework after inspecting its remains.

Soon after the alarm alerted police, a surveillance camera recorded one of the suspects removing clothing while sitting on a bench and depositing them in a garbage bin near Longwood Avenue and Autumn Street.

Footage recorded by a security camera at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, which is near the Goldenson Building, shows the other suspect on the campus at 3:09 a.m., entering a residential campus building and charging his phone and then using it to talk to someone at 3:23 a.m.

That suspect had removed his brown sweatshirt and tan pants and left the building soon after, met the other suspect and another individual, and the three walked to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design campus at 3:49 a.m., according to O’Brien.

Several Wentworth students identified Patterson and Cardoza as the suspects and said Patterson told them of his participation in the incident.

The witnesses said the pair told them that they allegedly placed an explosive cherry bomb firework in a locker and shut it before it exploded.

O’Brien said images of the two suspects match those that are posted on social media and that are maintained by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Each faces up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine if convicted of conspiring to damage the university building.

An arraignment hearing for each suspect had not been scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon.

Nov. 3 (UPI) — The Justice Department announced Monday that “multiple suspects” have been charged in Michigan in an alleged Halloween plot to support the terror group ISIS in an “attack on American soil.”

Monday’s charges come three days after Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel announced that the FBI had “stopped a potential terrorist attack in Michigan before it could unfold.”

“Thanks to swift action and coordination with our partners, a violent plot tied to international terrorism was disrupted,” he said Friday.

On Monday, Patel provided more details.

“Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit — stockpiling weapons, scouting targets and training at gun ranges,” Patel wrote in a second post on X. “This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”

According to a Justice Department press release Monday, FBI agents made the arrests Friday in eastern Michigan.

“This newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple suspects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil.”

No information was provided on the identity of the suspects, as the FBI called the investigation “ongoing.”

“With today’s unsealed criminal complaint, the American people can see the results of months of tireless investigative work where the FBI acted quickly and likely saved many lives,” Patel added. “We’ll continue to follow the facts, uphold the law and deliver justice for the American people.”

The special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office credited local authorities for their work to “ensure the safety of the citizens of Michigan and beyond.”

“Defending the homeland will always be one of our top priorities,” said Special Agent Jennifer Runyan. “We will utilize every available federal resource to disrupt and dismantle any individuals or groups who threaten national security.”

Nov. 3 (UPI) — One of two suspects arrested at the scene of the weekend’s mass stabbing on a British train has been released, according to British authorities who continue to investigate.

Eleven people were injured in the Saturday evening attack on a train in Cambridgeshire, located about 37 miles north of London.

Two people — a 32-year-old man and a 35-year-old man — were apprehended at the scene.

In a statement Sunday night, British Transport Police said the 35-year-old man has been released, with no further action required.

“It was reported in good faith to officers responding to the incident that he was involved in the attack, and following enquiries we can confirm that he was not involved,” authorities said.

The 32-year-old, who’s been described as a Black British national, remains in police custody on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police on Sunday night identified him as a Peterborough resident.

Authorities were notified of the stabbing at 7:42 p.m. local time Saturday on the train from Doncaster to London King’s Cross. The 32-year-old suspect is believed to have entered the train at the Peterborough station.

A knife was recovered from the scene.

Ten people were transferred by ambulance to the hospital while an 11th victim arrived later on their own.

Five of the victims have since been discharged, according to authorities that said of the six remaining hospitalized, one is in life-threatening condition.

Authorities identified the most severely injured victim as a member of the London North Eastern Railway.

Following a review of surveillance footage, authorities believe that if it were not for his actions, more people would have died.

“The actions of the member of rail staff were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives,” Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said, though it was not clear what actions the employee took that saved lives.

David Horne, managing director of LNER, said the attack was “deeply upsetting” and that over the coming days they will continue to cooperate with authorities on their investigation.

In a statement on X, LNER said it expects to run a normal service on Monday.

The incident occurred just days after the British government announced it had seized a record number of knives — nearly 60,000 — from England and Wales through its new knife surrender scheme.

Knife homicides in Britain have fallen by nearly 20% while knife crime overall has dropped for the first time in four years, according to government statistics.

Nov. 2 (UPI) — Two suspects have been arrested in Saturday night’s mass stabbing incident on a British train, police said Sunday, while dismissing concerns it was a terror attack.

Officers were called at 7:42 p.m. local time Saturday to respond to reports of multiple people stabbed on board the 6.25 p.m. train from Doncaster to London King’s Cross station, British Transport Police said in a statement.

The train was forced to stop in the small town of Huntingdon, where police and paramedics boarded the train.

The two suspects were arrested within eight minutes of the first 911 call, police said.

Police described the suspects as a 32-year-old Black man and a 35-year-old man of Caribbean descent, both of whom were natural-born British nationals.

They have been detained on suspicion of attempted murder and remain in custody for questioning.

In total, paramedics took ten people by ambulance to a local hospital and another later self-presented. Four victims have been discharged but two people remain in life-threatening condition.

Witnesses described seeing bloody handprints as panic spread through the train cars in comments to The Guardian.

“We declared a major incident yesterday and Counter Terrorism Policing were initially supporting our investigation however at this stage there is nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident,” police superintendent John Loveless said. “This is a British Transport Police investigation.”

Loveless’ comments came after British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged people not to speculate about the attack.

The train station in Huntingdon remains closed and police said riders can see increased police presence throughout the train service on Sunday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the stabbing an “appalling incident” and “deeply concerning” in a statement on social media, while former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it happened on a line he uses regularly.

“My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response,” Starmer said. “Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police.”

Police say a number of people were taken to hospital after a series of stabbings on a train near Cambridgeshire.

Police in the United Kingdom have arrested two suspects after several people were taken to hospital following a stabbing on a train near Cambridgeshire in eastern England.

“We are currently responding to an incident on a train to Huntingdon where multiple people have been stabbed,” the British Transport Police said in a statement on X on Saturday.

“Two people have been arrested,” it said.

Cambridgeshire police issued a separate statement, saying they were called at 19:39 GMT after reports that multiple people had been stabbed on a train.

“Armed officers attended and the train was stopped at Huntingdon, where two men were arrested. A number of people have been taken to hospital,” the police said.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it mobilised a large-scale response to Huntingdon Railway Station, which included numerous ambulances and critical care teams, including three air ambulances.

“We can confirm we have transported multiple patients to hospital,” it said.

One witness described seeing a man with a large knife, and told The Times newspaper there was “blood everywhere” as people hid in the washrooms.

Some passengers were getting “stamped [on] by others” as they tried to run, and the witness told The Times that they “heard some people shouting we love [you]”.

Another witness told Sky News that one of the suspects was tasered by police.

The appalling incident on a train near Huntingdon is deeply concerning.

My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response.

Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 1, 2025

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “appalling” incident was “deeply concerning”.

“My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response,” Starmer said in a statement on X.

“Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the police,” Starmer added.

London North Eastern Railway, or LNER, which operates the East Coast Mainline services in the UK, confirmed the incident had happened on one of its trains and said all its railway lines had been closed while emergency services dealt with the incident at Huntingdon station.

LNER, which runs trains along the east of England and Scotland, urged passengers not to travel, warning of “major disruption”.

It serves major stops, including in London, Peterborough, Cambridge, York and Edinburgh, and trains are often very busy and packed with travellers.

The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said in a post on X, “Hearing reports of horrendous scenes on a train in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire”, and added that his “thoughts are with everyone affected”.

Knife crime in England and Wales has been steadily rising since 2011, according to official government data.

While the UK has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, rampant knife crime has been branded a “national crisis” by Starmer.

His Labour government has tried to rein in their use.

Nearly 60,000 blades have been either “seized or surrendered” in England and Wales as part of government efforts to halve knife crime within a decade, the Home Office said on Wednesday.

Carrying a knife in public can already get you up to four years in prison, and the government said knife murders had dropped by 18 percent in the last year.

Two people were killed – one as a result of misdirected police gunfire – and others were wounded in a stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester at the start of October,  an attack that shook the local Jewish community and the country.