William Brangham:
We begin the day’s other headlines with new details about the man accused of setting fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion Sunday; 38-year-old Cody Balmer has been charged with arson, attempted homicide, and terrorism.
Court documents say he jumped over a fence to gain entry, used handmade Molotov cocktails to set the mansion fire, and planned to beat Governor Josh Shapiro with a hammer if he ever found him. Shapiro and his family were safely evacuated. No one was injured. Authorities have not stated a motive for the attack. Shapiro said he and his family celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover just hours before in the same room that was set ablaze.
Unsealed federal court documents reveal that a Wisconsin teenager arrested last month for killing his parents did so to take their money and carry out a plot to assassinate President Trump. The documents further said the suspect identified with a satanic neo-Nazi terror network. He wrote a three-page antisemitic manifesto that praised Adolf Hitler.
He bought a drone and explosives, which authorities allege he planned to use in an attack. The teen shared that plan with others, including a Russian speaker, and intended to flee to Ukraine.
The FAA says the tour company whose sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in New York City last week is shutting down effective immediately. The chopper from New York Helicopter Tours broke apart in midair, killing a family of five Spanish tourists and the pilot. The FAA also said it would review the tour company’s operating license and safety record.
In total, five sightseeing helicopters have crashed into New York City’s rivers in the past two decades. They remain a popular tourist draw.
Turning overseas, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol denied criminal charges that he led an insurrection when he declared martial law late last year. He was ousted from office just 10 days ago for that short-lived martial law attempt.
Today, Yoon told the court that martial law is not a coup d’etat. Prosecutors said the former president tried to paralyze state institutions like Parliament. Yoon’s lawyers said he was fully within his constitutional authority.
Yoon Kab-keun, Attorney for Yoon Suk Yeol (through interpreter): During this trial, we will fully explain why the president had to declare emergency martial law. The prosecutors are now seeing this as an insurrection. We believe it can be proven that this doesn’t have to be regarded as a crime in the first place.
