How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war'

How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war'

Arresting judges. Threatening theirimpeachment. Routinelyslamming themon social media and trying to go around them completely. President Donald Trumpand his allies have led an intense pressure campaign on the judiciary four months into his administration. Both sides of the political spectrum are using the term constitutional crisis. "It's an all-out war on the lower courts," said former federal Judge John Jones III, who was appointed by President George W. Bush. More:'Spaghetti against the wall?' Trump tests legal strategies as judges block his policies As the clash becomes a defining moment in the president's second term, conservative activists are pushing Congress to rein in federal judges and pressing Trump to intensify his fight with the courts. The Article III Project, a Trump-aligned group, arranged164,000 phone calls, emails and social media messages to members of Congress in recent weeks urging lawmakers to back Trump in this judiciary fight. They called for impeaching Judge James Boasberg - one of the federal judges who has drawn MAGA's ire - after heordered a temporary haltto Trump's effort to deport some immigrants. They also want lawmakers to cut the federal budget for the judiciary by $2 billion after Judge Amir Ali ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze that amount of foreign aid. The group is supporting bills introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, aimed at stopping federal district judges from issuing nationwide court orders, which have blocked some of Trump's policies. Mike Davis, a former Republican Senate aide and the Article III Project's founder and leader, said the legislation sends a message to Chief Justice John Roberts as the Supreme Court weighstaking a position on the injunctions.Issa's bill has cleared the House, while Grassley's has yet to advance. Related:Called out by Trump for how he leads the Supreme Court, John Roberts is fine keeping a low profile "It's really effective," Davis said. "When you talk about these legislative reforms it scares the hell out of the chief justice." Pizzas have been sent anonymously to the homes of judges and their relatives, prompting judges to raise concerns about apparent intimidation tactics. In his year-end report in December, Roberts warned that the court's independence isunder threat from violence. More:Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts: Courts' independence under threat from violence Activists on the right are adopting some of the language being employed by Trump critics about an impending constitutional crisis, but with a very different meaning: opponents say Trump threatens the Constitution's separation of powers by ignoring court rulings, while Trump supporters say judges are usurping the president's rightful executive authority. Both argue that the nation is at a perilous moment. More:Kamala Harris doesn't hold back in sharp rebuke of Trump's first 100 days ' Steve Bannon − the president's former White House chief strategist − is predicting an explosive summer of crisis with the judicial battle at the center, saying on his podcast recently that the nation is approaching "a cataclysmic" moment. Many of Trump's critics agree, but believe it's a crisis of Trump and the right's own making. "Some allies of the administration are inviting the constitutional crisis... because they want to enfeeble our judiciary and destroy our system of checks and balances," said Gregg Nunziata, an aide for Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was in the Senate and now the executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, a group founded by conservative legal figures from previous Republican administrations. Trump has pushed the boundaries of executive power during his first four months in office with aggressive moves that are drawing legal challenges, includingshuttering whole federal agencies, mass layoffs of federal workers,firing members of independent boardand taking dramatic steps to deport undocumented immigrants. He also hasinvoked a 1798 wartime lawto more quickly whisk people out of the country. Trump's actions have sparkednearly 250legal challenges so far. The court cases have resulted inat least 25nationwide injunctions through late April temporarily halting Trump's actions, according to the Congressional Research Service. More:Dismantling agencies and firing workers: How Trump is redefining relations with Congress and courts Frustrated with unfavorable court decisions, the administration has taken an increasingly hostile stance to the federal bench. Trump complained ina May 11 social media postabout a "radicalized and incompetent Court System." "The American people resoundingly voted to enforce our immigration laws and mass deport terrorist illegal aliens," said White House spokesman Kush Desai. "Despite what activist judges have to say, the Trump administration is legally using every lever of authority granted to the executive branch by the Constitution and Congress to deliver on this mandate." The clash with the courts has sparked talk of a breakdown in the constitutional order. After the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" the return of a Maryland resident wrongly deported to El Salvador and the administration continued to resist bringing him back, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, declared: "The constitutional crisis is here. President Trump is disobeying lawful court orders." Bannontalked in an NPR interviewabout a "constitutional crisis that we're hurtling to." Trump and allies such as Davis have complained that the judges ruling against him are left wing partisans. "Once judges take off their judicial robes and enter the political arena and throw political punches, they should expect powerful political counter punches," Davis said. Yet some of the president's biggest legal setbacks have come from Republican-appointed judges, includingmultiple judges appointed by Trump. Judge Fernando Rodriguez of the Southern District of Texas is aTrump appointeewhoruledagainst him on using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport certain migrants. Another Trump appointee, Judge Trevor McFadden with the D.C. District,ruled last monththat the Trump administration must reinstate access to presidential events for the Associated Press news agency, which had been barred because it continued to use the term "Gulf of Mexico" instead of Gulf of America in its coverage. More:Judge lifts Trump restrictions on AP while lawsuit proceeds over 'Gulf of Mexico' Jones, who had a lifetime appointment to serve as a federal judge beginning in 2002 until he left to become president of Dickinson College in 2021, called the rhetoric directed at judges by the Trump administration "abominable... and entirely inappropriate." "It absolutely misrepresents the way the judges decide cases," he said. "And unfortunately, many people are listening to this and and they're getting a completely mistaken impression of how judges do their jobs." One of the biggest points of contention has been due process rights, which are guaranteed under the Constitution's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. They prohibit the federal and state governments from depriving any person "of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The same rights American citizens have to contest government actions against them in court extend to undocumented immigrants facing detention and deportation. Trump came into office promising mass deportations and has moved aggressively, including invoking the Alien Enemies Act, which allows for the targeting of certain immigrants "without a hearing and based only on their country of birth or citizenship,"according tothe Brennan Center for Justice. More:Trump has cracked down on immigration and the border. At what cost? Courts have balked at his tactics. In the most high-profile case,the Supreme Courtruled theTrump administration must "facilitate"the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongly sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The Supreme Courton May 16also temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to more quickly deport a group migrants held in Texas, sending the case back to the appeals court to decide the merits of whether the president's use of the legislation is lawful, and if so what process should be used to remove people. The administration hasn't brought Abrego Garcia back, and Trump has expressed frustration with the judiciary's insistence on due process. He lashed out after the latest Supreme Court ruling,writing on social mediathat the court "is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do." Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller brought up the debate on May 9when he saidthe administration is investigating suspendinghabeasdue process rights, which only is allowed by the Constitution to preserve public safetyduring "Rebellion or Invasion." "It's an option we're actively looking at,"Miller said."Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not." Conservative media figure Rogan O'Handley told USA TODAY he saw online commentary about suspending habeas corpus and began promoting it to the 2.2 million followers of his @DC_Draino X handle. He said he was dismayed by the judicial rulings against Trump's immigration agenda and seized on the idea to "get around" the courts. "We had to step up the intensity of our tactics," he said. More:Trump administration floats suspending habeas corpus: What's that? O'Handley went on Bannon's podcast April 22 to promote suspending habeas. He was invited to join the White House press briefing on April 28 and asked a question about it. Two days later, on April 30, Trump was asked during a Cabinet meeting about his administration's planned response to the rash of nationwide injunctions against his deportation efforts andseemed to alludeto suspending habeas. The idea –last done in Hawaiiin 1941 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor – highlights how the Trump administration is determined to push through any legal or constitutional obstacle to its deportation plans. Among Trump's biggest obstacles so far during the second term is the judiciary, which repeatedly has blocked some of his actions, calling his methods unlawful and drawing his ire. "We need judges that are not going to be demanding trials for every single illegal immigrant,"Trump told reportersrecently on Air Force One. "We have millions of people that have come in here illegally, and we can't have a trial for every single person." Immigration cases don't go before a jury, but instead are decided solely by an immigration judge. Miller hascomplained about a "judicial coup"while Bannon, the podcaster and White House chief strategist during Trump's first administration,says there is a "judicial insurrection." Another judge puts himself in charge of the Pentagon. This is a judicial coup.https://t.co/3MeWN8GhzW — Stephen Miller (@StephenM)May 7, 2025 The conflict has been brewing for months. Trumpsaid March 18 on social mediathat a federal judge who ruled against him in an immigration case should be impeached, drawing a rare rebuke from Roberts, the chief justice of the United States and another Bush appointee. "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,"Roberts saidin March. Tensions have only escalated. On April 25 federal authorities announced charges againsta Wisconsin judgeand former New Mexico judge, accusing them of hampering immigration enforcement efforts.Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Duganpleadednot guilty May 15. On May 22, theHouse passed Trump's sweeping tax legislationand included language inside the more than 1,100-page measure that could protect the Trump administration if a judge determined officials violated a court order. The language limits a judge's ability to hold someone in contempt of court if they "fail to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order." Constitutional scholars told USA TODAY the Trump administration can't suspend habeas corpus without congressional approval. "If President Trump were to unilaterally suspend habeas corpus that's flagrantly unconstitutional," said University of North Carolina School of Law professor Michael Gerhardt. Duke Law Professor H. Jefferson Powell, a former deputy solicitor general during Democratic President Bill Clinton's administration, said "the standard position of the vast majority of constitutional lawyers is that Congress alone" can suspend habeas corpus. "This is not a close call," he said. More:Judge finds Trump administration disregarded order on Venezuelan deportations Any attempt to suspend due process rights would be a shocking move, the equivalent of a "legal earthquake," said Jones. Miller's comments added to the growing alarm among those concerned the Trump administration is threatening the rule of law and a constitutional crisis. Judges have reprimanded the Trump administration for not following their rulings. Boasbergfound probable causelast month to hold the administration in contempt for "deliberately and gleefully" violating one of his orders. And Judge Brian Murphy with the Federal District Court in Bostonruled May 21that the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated his order not to deport people to countries that are not their own without giving them an opportunity to contest the move. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a May 22 press briefing that the "administration has complied with all court orders," slammed Murphy's ruling and complained about "radical" judges. Murphy is "undermining our immigration system, undermining our foreign policy and our national security," Leavitt said. Jones said the administration is playing "games with the lower courts" but the real sign of a constitutional crisis would be if the Supreme Court sets a "bright line" that the Trump administration disregards. "We're on the verge, maybe, of that," he said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump's clash with judges escalates to 'all-out war'

byRoger Fisher

in

May 25, 2025

How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war'

How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an 'all-out war' Arresting judges. Threatening theirimpeachment. Routinelyslam...

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Pakistan allocates 2,000 megawatts of electricity to bitcoin mining, AI data centres

Pakistan allocates 2,000 megawatts of electricity to bitcoin mining, AI data centres

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will allocate 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the first phase of a national initiative to power bitcoin mining and AI data centres, its finance ministry said on Sunday. The allocation is part of Islamabad's plans to use its surplus electricity to bitcoin mining and AI data centres. Pakistan's energy sector is grappling with challenges, including high electricity tariffs and surplus generation capacity. The rapid expansion of solar energy has further complicated the landscape, as more consumers turn to alternative energy sources to mitigate high costs. The initiative is spearheaded by the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a government-backed body, which is part of a broader strategy to monetize surplus electricity, create high-tech jobs, and attract foreign investment, the ministry said. The allocation is the first phase of a broader, multi-stage digital infrastructure roll-out, it added. (Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

byRoger Fisher

in

May 25, 2025

Pakistan allocates 2,000 megawatts of electricity to bitcoin mining, AI data centres

Pakistan allocates 2,000 megawatts of electricity to bitcoin mining, AI data centres ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will allocate 2,000 megaw...

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Medical errors are still harming patients. AI could help change that.

Medical errors are still harming patients. AI could help change that.

John Wiederspan is well aware of how things can go wrong in the high-pressure, high-stakes environment of an operating room. "During situations such as trauma, or a patient doing poorly, there's a real rush to try and get emergency drugs into the patient as fast as possible," said Wiederspan, a nurse anesthetist at UW Medicine in Seattle. "And that's when mistakes can occur, when you're flustered, your adrenaline's rushing, you're drawing up drugs and you're trying to push them." Despite ongoing efforts to improve patient safety, it's estimatedthat at least 1 in 20 patientsstill experiencemedical mistakesin the health care system. One of the most common categories of mistakes is medication errors, where for one reason or another, a patient is given either the wrong dose of a drug or the wrong drug altogether. In the U.S., these errors injure approximately 1.3 million people a year and result in one death each day, according to theWorld Health Organization. In response, many hospitals have introduced guardrails, ranging fromcolor coding schemesthat make it easier to differentiate between similarly named drugs, tobarcode scannersthat verify that the correct medicine has been given to the correct patient. Despite these attempts,medication mistakesstill occur with alarming regularity. "I had read some studies that said basically90% of anesthesiologistsadmit to having a medication error at some point in their career," said Dr. Kelly Michaelsen, Wiederspan's colleague at UW Medicine and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington. She started to wonder whether emerging technologies could help. As both a medical professional and a trained engineer, it struck her that spotting an error about to be made, and alerting the anesthesiologists in real time, should be within the capabilities of AI. "I was like, 'This seems like something that shouldn't be too hard for AI to do,'" she said. "Ninety-nine percent of the medications we use are these same 10-20 drugs, and so my idea was that we could train an AI to recognize them and act as a second set of eyes." Michaelsen focused on vial swap errors, which account foraround 20%of all medication mistakes. All injectable drugs come in labeled vials, which are then transferred to a labeled syringe on a medication cart in the operating room. But in some cases, someone selects the wrong vial, or the syringe is labeled incorrectly, and the patient is injected with the wrong drug. In one particularly notorious vial swap error, a 75-year-old woman being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee was injected with a fatal dose of the paralyzing drug vecuronium instead of the sedative Versed, resulting in her death and asubsequent high-profile criminal trial. Michaelsen thought such tragedies could be prevented through "smart eyewear" — adding an AI-powered wearable camera to the protective eyeglasses worn by all staff during operations. Working with her colleagues in the University of Washington computer science department, she designed a system that can scan the immediate environment for syringe and vial labels, read them and detect whether they match up. "It zooms in on the label and detects, say, propofol inside the syringe, but ondansetron inside the vial, and so it produces a warning," she said. "Or the two labels are the same, so that's all good, move on with your day." Building the device took Michaelsen and her team more than three years, half of which was spent getting approval to use prerecorded video streams of anesthesiologists correctly preparing medications inside the operating room. Once given the green light, she was able to train the AI on this data, along with additional footage — this time in a lab setting — of mistakes being made. "There's lots of issues with alarm fatigue in the operating room, so we had to make sure it works very well, it can do a near perfect job of detecting errors, and so [if used for real] it wouldn't be giving false alarms," she said. "For obvious ethical reasons, we couldn't be making mistakes on purpose with patients involved, so we did that in a simulated operating room." Ina studypublished late last year, Michaelsen reported that the device detected vial swap errors with 99.6% accuracy. All that's left is to decide the best way for warning messages to be relayed and it could be ready for real-world use, pending Food and Drug Administration clearance. The study was not funded by AI tech companies. "I'm leaning towards auditory feedback because a lot of the headsets like GoPro or Google Glasses have built-in microphones," she said. "Just a little warning message which makes sure people stop for a second and make sure they're doing what they think they're doing." Wiederspan has tested the device and said he's optimistic about its potential for improving patient safety, although he described the current GoPro headset as being a little bulky. "Once it gets a bit smaller, I think you're going to get more buy-in from anesthesia providers to use it," Wiederspan said. "But I think it's going to be great. Anything that's going to make our job a little bit easier, spot any potential mistakes and help bring our focus back to the patient is a good thing." Patient safety advocateshave been calling for the implementation of error-preventing AI tools for some time. Dr. Dan Cole, vice chair of the anesthesiology department at UCLA Health and president of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, likened their potential for reducing risk to that of self-driving cars and improving road safety. But while Cole is encouraged by the UW study andother AI-based research projectsto prevent prescribing and dispensing errors in pharmacies, he said there are still questions surrounding the most effective ways to integrate these technologies into clinical care. "The UW trial idea was indeed a breakthrough," he said. "As with driverless taxis, I'm a bit reluctant to use the technology at this point, but based on the potential for improved safety, I am quite sure I will use it in the future." Melissa Sheldrick, a patient safety advocate from Ontario who lost her8-year-old son Andrew to a medication error in 2016, echoed those thoughts. Sheldrick said that while technology can make a difference, the root cause ofmany medical errorsis often a series of contributing factors, from lack of communication to vital data being compartmentalized within separate hospital departments or systems. "Technology is an important layer in safety, but it's just one layer and cannot be relied upon as a fail-safe," she said. Others feel that AI can play a key role in preventing mistakes, particularly in demanding environments such as the operating room and emergency room, where creating more checklists and asking for extra vigilance has proved ineffective at stopping errors. "These interventions either add friction or demand perfect attention from already overburdened providers in a sometimes chaotic reality with numerous distractions and competing priorities," said Dr. Nicholas Cordella, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University's Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. "AI-enabled cameras allow for passive monitoring without adding cognitive burden to clinicians and staff." AI tools are likely to be deployed to prevent errors in an even broader range of situations. At UW Medicine, Michaelsen is considering expanding her device to also detect the volume of the drug present in a syringe, as a way of preventing underdosing and overdosing errors. "This is another area where harm can occur, especially in pediatrics, because you've got patients [in the same department] where there can be a hundredfold difference in size, from a brand-newpremature babyto an overweight 18-year-old," she said. "Sometimes we have to dilute medications, but as you do dilutions there's chances for errors. It isn't happening to every single patient, but we do this enough times a day and to enough people that there is a possibility for people to get injured." Wiederspan said he can also see AI-powered wearable cameras being used in the emergency room and on the hospital floor to help prevent errors when dispensing oral medications. "I know Kelly's currently working on using the system with intravenous drugs, but if it can be tailored to oral medications, I think that's going to help too," Wiederspan said. "I used to work in a cardiac unit, and sometimes these patients are on a plethora of drugs, a little cup full of all these pills. So maybe the AI can catch errors there as well." Of course, broader uses of AI throughout a hospital also come with data protection and privacy concerns, especially if the technology happens to be scanning patient faces and screens or documents containing their medical information. In UW Medicine's case, Michaelsen said this is not an issue as the tool is only trained to look for labels on syringes, and does not actively store any data. "Privacy concerns represent a significant challenge with passive, always-on camera technology," Cordella said. "There needs to be clear standards with monitoring for breaches, and the technology should be introduced with full transparency to both patients and health care staff." He also noted the possibility of more insidious issues such as clinicians starting to excessively rely on AI, reducing their own vigilance and neglecting traditional safety practices. "There's also a potential slippery slope here," Cordella said. "If this technology proves successful for medication error detection, there could be pressure to expand it to monitor other aspects of clinician behavior, raising ethical questions about the boundary between a supportive safety tool and intrusive workplace monitoring." But while the prospect of AI entering hospitals on a wider basis certainly presents the need for stringent oversight, many who work in the operating room feel it has enormous potential to do good by keeping patients safe and buying medical professionals valuable time in critical situations. "Time is of the essence in an emergency situation where you're trying to give blood, lifesaving medications, checking vital signs, and you're trying to rush through these processes," Wiederspan said. "I think that's where this kind of wearable technology can really come into play, helping us shave off vital seconds and create more time where we can really focus on the patient."

byRoger Fisher

in

May 25, 2025

Medical errors are still harming patients. AI could help change that.

Medical errors are still harming patients. AI could help change that. John Wiederspan is well aware of how things can go wrong in the high-p...

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In 9 minutes and 29 seconds, George Floyd was killed, forever changing this neighborhood

In 9 minutes and 29 seconds, George Floyd was killed, forever changing this neighborhood

MINNEAPOLIS — Nine minutes and 29 seconds was enough time for 46 cars to pass 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. In the same 9 minutes and 29 seconds, 18 customers went in and out of the convenience store on the corner. Six patrons bought beverages or snacks from the coffee shop across the street. Four people signed up for a guided tour of the neighborhood in front of the gas station. Four visiting Chicagoans took pictures of the flowers, stuffed animals, potted plants, posters and other ephemera that form a makeshift memorial. For 9 minutes and 29 seconds on May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee and the weight of his body against George Floyd's neck at this very intersection. As Floyd called for his mother in his final words, Chauvin killed him in the street as people watched. Two officers held the unarmed, handcuffed Black man down. A third monitored the crowd that was stunned by what it witnessed. "That's a long time to kill a man," said Mattie Atta, who spent a few minutes surveying the area before she left, shaking her head. In less than 10 minutes, Floyd's young daughter was left fatherless. The deadly series of events began because her dad was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He was 46 years old. What followed five years ago was an uprising that resulted in burned buildings and cars, and looting throughout Minneapolis, but was largely peaceful in parts of the country. Floyd's murder prompted outraged responses from politicians, businesses, schools and other institutions nationwide, with vows to deal with America's deep-seated racial injustices. Companies pledged more than $66 billion for racial equity initiatives. Cries for police reform were thrust into the forefront. Now, five years later, many of those same lawmakers, companies and institutions have pulled back from those commitments. Trump's return to the White House this year marked the end of many widespread initiatives announced in Floyd's name, some of which were already winding down, forgotten or being purposefully abandoned. Five years later in this previously nondescript area of Minneapolis, hardly anyone could agree on whether things have gotten better here. Or worse. "That's a challenging question," said Andrea Jenkins, council member of Ward 8, where the tragedy occurred. Samar Moseley, who drives a city bus in Minneapolis, said "everything about the city has been exposed since George Floyd." Before the murder, the neighborhood was a distressed community. Gang members frequented the area and used the convenience store, Cup Foods — changed to Unity Foods in 2023 — as a meeting post, community members told NBC News. Crime and drugs were prevalent at times. And the relationship between Black men and the police was atrocious, they said. But after those 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Minneapolis police officers' strained relationship with Black citizens intensified. Protests led to casualties, weeks of rampant looting and apolice station being set afire. More than 300 officers quit in the aftermath. "It was a little tough for all of us," said Charles Adams, the North Minneapolis police inspector who has been in law enforcement in the area for 40 years. Adams is Black. He said he was so bothered by the video of the murder that he could not watch it all. "We were catching more flak from white folks than Blacks. Black people actually were my support mechanism. They were upset for sure, but they treated me the same. White people were giving me the finger while wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts." "That one incident put us back to the 1960s," Adams said. After Floyd's killing, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division launched lawsuits and oversight in several cities across the U.S., including Minneapolis, in response to calls for reform. "The relationship with police has always been a problem," Moseley said. "It's easing up some, but there's still tension." He said he was so distraught about Floyd's murder and the contentious relationship with police that he was inspired to write the song "Black Tears," which spoke to the trauma brought on by the murder at a place he frequented. "What we felt after George Floyd was real pain, and this song was a way for me to get out some of what we all were feeling," Moseley said. "It was like therapy for me." He said the pain has subsided some over five years, but not the anxiety. Even while driving the bus, when a police car rides behind him, tension rises in him, he said. "It's crazy that I can be on my job and I feel uncomfortable when that happens," he said. "But there are so many cases of someone doing nothing and ending up dead or in a battle with cops. It's part of my PTSD. I think the whole city is still suffering from PTSD after George Floyd." After the uproar around Floyd's death settled, the intersection, now George Floyd Plaza, transitioned from a rallying spot for protests that lasted months into a popular a location for visitors curious to see where a man lost his life, or to pay homage to Floyd. "It's a cool place and most people get along," Moseley said. "But I think it's kind of misunderstood because it's a dangerous city, too." Gang presence has decreased in the area, while crime, still a concern, hasleveled off this year after an uptickin homicides and carjackings in 2024. But earlier this month, Trump's Justice Department dismissed lawsuits and ended the oversight programs for local police departments across the country, including in Minneapolis, ending investigations into patterns of unconstitutional behavior, such as discrimination against Black people. Jenkins, the council member, identifies the arc of her life in two segments: "Before George Floyd and after George Floyd." "There have been a number of changes, and yet it feels like things are very much the same," she said. Before Floyd's murder, she was known as thefirst Black, openly transgenderwoman elected to public office in America. Elected in 2018, she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year earlier. But that did not stop Jenkins from tending to her neighborhood on foot, shopping at Cup Foods, frequenting local businesses and greeting her constituents on the street. After Floyd was killed, she found herself in the center of a political and social maelstrom that led to a decline in her health, she said. Because the president of the city council was out of town on May 25, 2020, and unreachable, Jenkins, the vice president, was thrust onto the response leadership team. During the protests, she took calls every two hours nightly — 1 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m. — with members of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department, Minnesota State Patrol, the FBI and other agencies. Because of construction, siren-blaring ambulances headed to the local hospital were rerouted through her neighborhood, adding to the noise. "It was so chaotic," Jenkins recalled. "Not only the calls and the traffic, but there were helicopters whirling above. There was gunfire. And this happened virtually all night." Five years later, Jenkins said she routinely stays up until 4 a.m. "My sleep habits have been deeply challenged. It's part of my PTSD," she said. "Even though it got quiet after a while, I still haven't been able to get back to my old sleeping pattern." Before Floyd's death, she did not move about the community on a motorized scooter as she does now. "I do have multiple sclerosis, but it's exacerbated by the stress," Jenkins said. "It's all added up." She is in her last term on the city council. Jenkins wants to retire to focus on her health, leaving a legacy of having led her community through a torturous time. She helped create a crisis response team that deploys violence interrupters, or specialists who work to defuse conflicts, in situations where people experience mental health issues. It's an alternative to police officers "showing up with guns," Jenkins said. Additionally, there's now a Department of Neighborhood Safety — a network that includes the Minnesota Police Department, fire and emergency management services, 911 operators and the violence interrupters — that works to prevent and react to crime. The biggest transformation, however, may have been in attitude. Some community members have argued in favor of dismantling the Floyd memorial next to Unity Foods. Others in the community have fought back by standing up for it in unison and patrolling against vandals. "There is a stronger sense of community that has grown, particularly at this intersection," Jenkins said. "A lot of people had been just floating through life. But I think now many have found a sense of purpose in coming together and protecting the square." Building trust within a community that already had severe distrust in the police was daunting — and is ongoing. That was not enough to sway veteran officer Adams' daughter, Britteny, from joining the force. She found an organization under intense scrutiny. But last year, Minneapolis experienced itsfirst increase in recruits in five years— 76 new hires, a 133% surge. Adams said about 40 of those new hires are Black. "I'm surprised," he said. "But the good news is that they say they want to be a part of the change." Six months ago, C. Terrence Anderson opened Bichota, a coffee shop less than 50 feet from the site of Floyd's murder. It was an intentional location. "Every neighborhood deserves to have places to gather and just be and find peace and joy and all this connection with their community," Anderson, 37, said. "I wasn't deterred by the location. In fact, I found more purpose being here in this context." His business is part of the revitalization project that is underway to bring more commerce and amenities to the area. At 7 a.m. on weekday mornings, he meets with other business owners at the gas station on the corner to discuss how to strengthen their corridor with jobs, housing and cultural preservation. A cultural healing center is planned, as well as efforts for a formal memorial to Floyd. "My mother's Puerto Rican, and Bichota means, essentially, the joy and confidence that you find in succeeding in a place you're not meant to succeed," Anderson said. "That's the ethos behind this space." For Anderson, who moved to Minneapolis from Los Angeles 10 years ago, this is all in line with his mission. "I feel like even though you look out our windows and you can see our tragedy, I think what people feel in here is joy, peace and connection," he said. "In other words, we're saying you shouldn't stop living. In fact, we should learn from what happened across the street to find a future that's different and better."

byRoger Fisher

in

May 25, 2025

In 9 minutes and 29 seconds, George Floyd was killed, forever changing this neighborhood

In 9 minutes and 29 seconds, George Floyd was killed, forever changing this neighborhood MINNEAPOLIS — Nine minutes and 29 seconds was enoug...

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Kidnapping victim forced to rob bank falsely painted as a criminal in court

Kidnapping victim forced to rob bank falsely painted as a criminal in court

This story originally aired on Feb. 11, 2023. It was updated on May 24, 2025. The only monsters that had ever scared Michelle Renee's 7-year-old daughter Breea were make-believe.  But on Nov. 20, 2000, just a day before three masked men broke in … Michelle Renee:  She calls me. 'Mom, there's somebody outside the window' … I looked out there. I didn't see anything. I didn't see anybody. … So, I just brushed it off. Michelle had chalked it up to her child's imagination.But this time was different. Michelle Renee: She saw them looking through the window. They were there the night before. The same men now held Michelle and Breea at gunpoint in the living room. The gunmen said they'd been following the 35-year-old bank manager for months. Michelle Renee:  It was very much that mind control thing that they were doing, that "we know everything about you." Michelle would recount the events inside the house for investigators: FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: "We're going to be here all night with you to make sure you know exactly what you're going to do or you will die." Throughout the night, the ringleader gave specific instructions about how he wanted Michelle to rob her own bank the next morning: FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: "We're going to go over this again. This is what you're going to do … When Brinks gets there, you're going to get Brinks' money." As she huddled with Breea on the couch, now duct taped, Michelle could hear him talking to a woman on a two-way radio. Michelle Renee: Money One to Money Two were their – Tracy Smith: That's what they called each other. Michelle Renee: Yeah, they called each other Money One to Money Two. Money One was the ringleader. Around 11, the voice on the walkie-talkie got his attention:"Car coming up the driveway. The roommate's there." It was their roommate Kimbra. FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: And they put the gun right here in her face, right up her nose, and said, "don't make us f***ing use this." … I pushed the guy's hand out of her face and said, "don't do this, don't hurt her." And he just pointed it right at me and said, "don't ever f***ing touch me again …" Michelle realized this might be the last night she ever spent with her daughter. MICHELLE RENEE VIDEO WALKTHROUGH: It was almost morning. … I just rubbed her hair so she could try to get some sleep. Michelle Renee: Wondering if that was gonna be the last time I was gonna get to touch her hair and see her sleep … was pretty tough. In the morning the nightmare would continue. Michelle Renee: It was like 6 a.m. … he said "Get up. It's time to get ready for work." FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: I got dressed and started doing my hair when he came in and stopped me and said, "we need to put the dynamite on you now." Michelle, her roommate Kimbra, and Breea would all be strapped with dynamite.  Then Money One showed Michelle what looked like a doorbell. Michelle Renee: "This is a detonation device. … you will disintegrate. Your daughter will go first." FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE:: "One false move, I push this button." … And they sat me right here and said, "now we're going to take your daughter." The gunmen put Breea in her bedroom closet. FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: I was just telling her I'd be right back, that everything is going to be fine. Michelle Renee: "Be brave, Mommy" … that was the last thing she said … before I walked out to go to the bank. Tracy Smith: Did you feel brave? Michelle Renee: No. As two of the gunmen stayed in the house, Money One handed Michelle a briefcase stuffed with a duffle bag before he crouched in the back of her Jeep. With dynamite on her back and a gun to her side, she drove to work. Tracy Smith (outside of the bank): So, you pull up into your spot … What does he tell you before you get out of the car? Michelle Renee: "Don't … don't f*** this up." Tracy Smith: The Brinks truck came at — 8:50? Michelle Renee: I believe right around 8:50 was the drop, right over here (poins to the left side of the building from the entrance). That's when Michelle grabbed her briefcase and headed to the vault. Michelle Renee: I brought my teller in the vault with me, said … "I'm getting ready to clear out this vault, or my daughter and I are gonna die. This is what's happened all night." Tracy Smith: And you whispered to her "I have dynamite on my back"? Michelle Renee: Yes. …Yeah, I whisp — I pulled my shirt up. Tracy Smith: And then you just opened up the duffel bag and started shoveling in money? Michelle Renee: I did. … My heart was racing. My –"am I fast enough?" Michelle's colleagues would alert the authorities, but not before she walked out with $360,000. Michelle Renee: … Just get to the Jeep. Hurl it in the Jeep — Tracy Smith: And go. Michelle Renee: — and just do what's next. Money One directed Michelle to get out a few blocks later. Michelle Renee: And that I would find my Jeep down the street. She found her car and raced home. Michelle Renee: I don't know if Breea's gonna be there. I don't know if she's gonna be alive when I get there …  And I went to open the door, and I was just screaming … "Hello? Hello?" … It was eerily silent. Breea Renee: And I just heard "Breea," and I remember screaming, "We're back here, we're back here." Breea was still in the closet right where Michelle had left her. Tracy Smith: What was that like to hear and see her? Michelle Renee: Oh my gosh … She was alive. ... "I did it. We did it. … we didn't die." Breea Renee: Probably the happiest moment of my life. … But then I could still see the panic on her face. Michelle Renee: The dynamite's still on me. Before leaving, the gunmen had ripped the dynamite off of Kimbra and Breea. So, they cut it off of Michelle's back before running to the nearest neighbor. Rick Brown lived up a steep hill. Rick Brown | Neighbor: I opened the gate, went down the hill real fast, helped them up to the house. I called 911 right away. 911 DISPATCHER: Sheriff's Department, can I help you? RICK BROWN: Yes, some neighbors of ours were held hostage … I need somebody out here right away. Soon, the place was crawling with investigators from the FBI, San Diego Sheriff's Department, and the bomb squad. Tom Manning: This is the dynamite that was taken off of Michelle. San Diego County Prosecutor Tom Manning would lead the task force investigating the case. They quickly figured out the dynamite was fake. Tom Manning: They realize that it actually is two painted dowels or broomstick handles … But as you can see from a distance and the lighting, plus it's on your back with the stress of the situation, you're not gonna take a chance that it isn't real. But during the very real 14 hours they were held hostage, Michelle had held onto any detail that might help identify the attackers. Michelle Renee:  Remembering details is just sort of this part of my DNA about people. That was kinda my superpower. Details like Money One's eyes. FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: When I turned the light on to go to the bathroom … and I saw his eyes in there… I said "those eyes were at my desk; those eyes were at my desk today. Oh my God." Michelle says it was a man with whom she'd had an odd encounter at the bank hours before being taken hostage. Michelle Renee: And he sat at my desk for a really long time asking sorta the same questions over and over. … and then a woman walked in and said, "Chris, we need to get going." And they got up and left. The man had handed Michelle his business card. Tracy Smith: And the name on the business card was? Michelle Renee: Christopher Butler. THE EVIDENCE LEFT BEHIND After hours of police questioning, Michelle and Breea were sent to a hotel. Michelle called her brother Dave. Dave Estey: It didn't sound like her … it was — someone, you know, heavily traumatized. Dave, who lived three hours away, rushed to his sister's aid. Dave Estey: What I saw when I opened that door … it scared the daylights out of me. … "Are you OK?" And she would shake. Tracy Smith: How about Breea? Dave Estey: Same thing. In the days ahead, Michelle struggled to hold it together for her daughter – "She was the strongest person for me," says Breea — while investigators wanted answers. They grilled her about that odd encounter with Christopher Butler. Tracy Smith: Why was he in the bank? What was he saying he was there for? Michelle Renee: He came in to say that he was a potential client. And that he wanted to talk about investments. Before Butler handed Michelle his business card, a woman he introduced as Lisa came in and whisked him away. Michelle Renee: "Hey, Chris, we need to go." It was the same voice Michelle says she heard later that night on the walkie-talkie. Michelle Renee:  I kept saying it over and over. Tracy Smith: "Check my desk. Get that card." Michelle Renee: "Check my desk. Get that card.  …I know that it's them." Tom Manning: Through that card, they started the investigation. The FBI soon discovered Butler was a convicted felon with a history of robbing banks. Tom Manning: They figured out where he was staying … then the team that I work with set up surveillance. Butler and his fiancée, Lisa Ramirez, lived in a house just a few miles from the bank. Tom Manning: Some of the people in the house were tellin' the police who was there, when they planned it Within days, detectives identified the two other men. Christopher Huggins – Tom Manning: He was a big guy, maybe — maybe 6'4" he's … gang ties. And the man who'd held a gun to little Breea — a gang member called "Bones" — real name Robert Ortiz. Tom Manning: Ortiz was the connection … who got the guns. On Dec. 1, they decided to arrest Butler and Ramirez during a traffic stop. Tom Manning (in evidence room): In the glove compartment was a weapon … it's actually a BB gun … if you look at that in a stressful situation, that looks as real as it can get. Tracy Smith: What'd they find when they popped the trunk? Tom Manning: A plethora of evidence. Tracy Smith: All this. Tom Manning: All this. … They found the black bag that Michelle described the money being carried in, several pairs of black gloves … and a homemade ski mask. Tracy Smith: Oh, yeah. Look at the eyeholes there that they clearly cut themselves. Tom Manning: Michelle's credit cards were all found in the trunk of the vehicle … and then of course the money straps from the bank. Also in the trunk, that doorbell "detonator". And there was even more at the house. Tom Manning: They found all the ingredients to make the fake bomb. … There were broom handles, which were cut up into small dowels which actually were used in making the fake dynamite. … They also recovered the actual spray cans … Ramirez's fingerprint was on one of those cans. Tom Manning: It was crazy. I've never seen that much physical evidence left at a crime scene. Tracy Smith: They thought they'd gotten away with it. Tom Manning: Yeah. One thing investigators didn't find on Butler and Ramirez – any of the bank's $360,000. But after arresting Huggins that same day, they did recover $93,000 of the cash that he'd stashed away. Huggins confessed and said he'd already spent several grand on a trip to Vegas. The fourth suspect, Robert Ortiz, was on the lam. When authorities arrested him three months later in Wisconsin, Ortiz still had $32,000 of the bank's money and gave a full confession. Tracy Smith: Did Huggins and Ortiz's confessions corroborate each other? Tom Manning: Yes, very much so. Tracy Smith: So, did Huggins and Ortiz's confessions corroborate what Michelle had told investigators? Tom Manning: Yes, almost identical. Butler denied everything, even when confronted with direct evidence: his thumbprint on the fake dynamite sticks. DETECTIVE: We've got fingerprints that are yours that link you to the bank robbery. CHRISTOPHER BUTLER: I doubt that because I wasn't involved in the bank robbery. He tried to protect Ramirez. CHRISTOPHER BUTLER: Lisa wouldn't have been involved with that. But Ramirez was about to start talking. She admitted she was the female voice on the walkie-talkie. LISA RAMIREZ: That was me. DETECTIVE: That was you? LISA RAMIREZ: Mm-hmm. She even took credit for the idea to use fake dynamite and kidnap the bank manager. LISA RAMIREZ: I honestly know whose idea it was, about eight months ago. DETECTIVE: Who? LISA RAMIREZ: Jokingly, mine. Ramirez said they'd split the money three ways, but that her and Butler's share – more than $100,000 – had been stolen. And to everyone's surprise, she said Michelle was in on the plot. LISA RAMIREZ: Supposedly from what they had told me this Michelle lady was helping them. Tom Manning: We walked out of that thinking, "OK, Lisa's the mastermind behind all this. And, is it possible Michelle's involved?" Manning says, ultimately, he knew Michelle was innocent. Tom Manning: The first time I interviewed her, she had Breea with her. And … I saw that bond and relationship. And when she left, I went, "She's not involved in this." But that wouldn't be enough in court. San Diego County Sheriff's detectives Rudy Zamora, Dale Martin and Randi Demers would have to rule Michelle out as a suspect. Rudy Zamora: Every time we pushed a button, she would react in a way … a true victim should. They recreated the dynamite packs and strapped them on Kimbra, Michelle and Breea. Dale Martin: She was very upset. And Michelle was emotional when asked to revisit the horrific details of the kidnapping. FBI VIDEO OF MICHELLE RENEE AT CRIME SCENE: And then they — I had to put her in there and they just shut the — shut the closet. Dale Martin: She was shaken up. I thought she was gonna have a nervous breakdown. Tracy Smith: When Michelle did those reenactments, were her story, Kimbra's story, and Breea's story consistent? Tom Manning: Yes. Completely consistent. In fact, investigators couldn't find any evidence Michelle was involved. Still, they worried as they took a deep dive into Michelle's life. Rudy Zamora: She was not our normal victim. Tracy Smith: What did they find out about Michelle's past? Tom Manning: She didn't hide anything. Including the fact that for years she had worked as a stripper. Michelle Renee: I'm not embarrassed or ashamed by any of that. Michelle says it was one of the choices she had to make for survival at a young age. Michelle Renee: I ran away at 15. … I worked really, really hard to get to where I was. With no high school diploma, she had climbed the corporate ladder all the way to regional vice president before taking the bank manager job to be home more with Breea. Tracy Smith: And while you were working at the bank, you were still dancing, still stripping for a while? Michelle Renee: I was for a while …The money was really great. But more worrisome were things that went directly to Michelle's credibility. Tom Manning: She falsified resumés … claimed she had various experience, various education which she didn't have. Tracy Smith: Bounced a check, filed for bankruptcy. Tom Manning: Right. Tracy Smith: That doesn't look good. Tom Manning: It doesn't look good. …And if you're a defense attorney, you're lickin' your chops. ATTACKED AT TRIAL By spring of 2001, the suspects were in custody awaiting trial for kidnapping and bank robbery charges, but Michelle and Breea were still reeling from that night of terror. Michelle Renee: I could still hear them. I could still hear the sounds … I couldn't get it to turn off. Breea Renee: I just wanted to hide. I thought they were gonna find us. They were gonna kill us still. In June, Michelle decided to move Breea to Alaska to live with her grandmother. Michelle Renee: I was gonna fly her up there and get her to safety … I was gonna figure out what to do from there. After a few days, Michelle says she had an epiphany. Michelle Renee: To go back to San Diego and get rid of everything I could possibly get rid of and drive back to Alaska. With a dog, some cash, and a camcorder, in July she embarked on a 9-day drive to the Last Frontier. Tracy Smith: You had a deadline. Michelle Renee: I had a deadline. Breea's birthday was in nine days. And I'd promised her I'd be back before her birthday party. That's when Michelle and Breea say they began to heal. Tracy Smith: Did you feel safe in Alaska? Breea Renee: Safer … I could be a kid again. By the time they returned to San Diego a year later for the trial, Michelle says she was ready. Michelle Renee: There was so much evidence. There was no way I thought that this trial was gonna be anything but … slam dunk. Butler and Ramirez would be tried first. Tracy Smith: When her case came across your desk what did you think at first? Herb Weston: She's guilty. Tracy Smith: You thought she's guilty? Herb Weston: Well, yeah. Herb Weston, who represented Lisa Ramirez, had a problem. His client had confessed on camera. DETECTIVE: There was a female voice that came out on one of those walkie-talkies. LISA RAMIREZ: That was me. Herb Weston: If they play that tape, saying that she wasn't involved woulda been difficult. Weston proposed a plea deal, hoping to save Ramirez from a potential life sentence. But the prosecution turned him down. Tom Manning: We thought we would definitely get the key statements in that she was involved. But, since Ramirez had also implicated Butler, the judge ruled her entire statement inadmissible. Herb Weston: We now can at least argue to the jury that she wasn't involved. Without her confession, the case against Ramirez relied almost entirely on Michelle — a fact Manning was keenly aware of during his opening statement to the jury on June 3, 2002. Tracy Smith: You told the jury that this case was about credibility. Tom Manning: Right … Michelle's background was gonna be an issue … I knew there were issues … but I believed her. Tracy Smith: And you thought … the jury would believe her. Tom Manning: Right. But not if the defense had its way. Tracy Smith: What was your strategy going into trial? Herb Weston: My strategy was to beat the hell out of the victim and show all these inconsistencies that the victim is saying. Tom Manning: It got very confrontational. Michelle Renee: I was really, really pissed off. That played right into Weston's hand. Herb Weston: Angry witnesses don't come across as credible. Michelle Renee: I was treated like I was the criminal. During his cross-examination, Weston implied Michelle was lying about recognizing Lisa Ramirez' voice on the walkie-talkie. Herb Weston: Well, wait a minute, ma'am. I've looked at all this stuff. … isn't this the first time you've said that? In fact, he pointed out it wasn't in any of the FBI reports. But Michelle insists she told them. Michelle Renee: I did … I 100% did. And Manning says she identified Ramirez's voice to him before taking the stand. Tracy Smith: Does it bother you that Lisa actually admitted that that was her voice on the walkie-talkie? … the fact is it was Lisa. Herb Weston: But that's not the issue. … for me it made a great opening to attack her credibility. Weston then grilled Michelle about bait money — the traceable bills banks keep in their vaults to trap bank robbers. Tracy Smith: You didn't take the bait money. Michelle Renee: Did not take the bait money. Tracy Smith: Why not? Michelle Renee: They said … "no funny money." Tracy Smith:  You say that's suspicious, that she must have been in on it. Herb Weston: Correct. Maybe worst of all for Michelle, Weston questioned her maternal instincts. Herb Weston: Would a mother run … to a place where her daughter was … if she believes that "I have a bomb on my back?" Tracy Smith: She wasn't sure whether her daughter was dead or alive. Don't you think it's possible she wasn't thinking straight? Herb Weston: Sure … But also what could be true is she knew there wasn't a bomb, and so she didn't have to worry about it. Tracy Smith: Did you feel like you were on trial? Michelle Renee: 100% felt like I was on trial. Dave Estey: I would be sitting in the front row. And all I could think about was … it's gonna take me … maybe six seconds to get from this point to the offender. … that is how irate I was. Tracy Smith: Day after day, listening to this. Dave Estey: Listening to this. Tracy Smith: Is it fair to beat up the victim. Herb Weston: Oh absolutely, absolutely. While Weston hammered on every decision Michelle made that day, the attorney representing Butler went after everything else. Tracy Smith: What was the worst thing they asked you? Michelle Renee: About my sex life. … They were trying to paint me as somebody that was irresponsible … A selfish, terrible mother … that … would do anything for money. And they picked apart Michelle's finances. Tom Manning: She's in … financial distress, and that could be the motive. Tracy Smith: Isn't it kinda odd that we're talking about motive when we're talking about a victim? Tom Manning: It is. … The defense in the case was to make Michelle a culprit here. After Michelle's grueling three-day testimony, it was Christopher Butler's turn. He protected Lisa Ramirez on the stand, claiming Michelle was the mastermind, and that they'd had an affair. Tom Manning: I was shocked. Michelle Renee: It's almost laughable. Tracy Smith: What was his story about how the two of you met? Michelle Renee: From what I understand … we met in a grocery store and that I recruited him. Butler claimed that he'd gone to Michelle's house that night with Huggins and Ortiz. He said that in the early morning hours while smoking pot, Michelle brought up the bank robbery idea again and decided they should do it that morning. Tracy Smith: His evidence of this, his proof of this? Tom Manning: Zero … If any of this were true, he woulda thrown Michelle down in a heartbeat in his (police) interview. The jury deliberated for five days before finding Butler guilty of the bank robbery and Breea and Kimbra's kidnapping. But they hung 9-3 on the charges of kidnapping Michelle. Tom Manning: When we talked to the jurors, you know, we discovered … it was one juror who completely believed Butler and the other two jurors … were unsure. And they found Lisa Ramirez not guilty on all counts. Herb Weston: Oh, it was the best verdict I ever got in my life. Michelle Renee: Mind-boggling. The fact it was her idea to do this to a mother and a child and laughing and proud of it. Tracy Smith: How involved do you think she was in this? Tom Manning: Very involved … the investigators kept saying … she was the brains of the outfit. Tracy Smith: So, the brains of the outfit walked. Tom Manning: Right. The second trial would go very differently, with Huggins and Ortiz easily convicted. Tracy Smith: In so many of the stories that we tell, the ending is the conviction. But in your case, in a lot of ways, that's just the beginning. FACING NEW CHALLENGES Even though the men who had terrorized them were now serving multiple life sentences, Michelle and Breea would never be the same. Breea Renee: There's aspects of that night that are gonna be with me for the rest of my life. They were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder for over two years. Michelle says dealing with the break-in led to a breakthrough. Michelle Renee:  It was two choices. … call them monsters and stay angry … and blame everything in my life on them … Or … I can take this other road. Michelle Renee: The best thing I could do for Breea is to be an example. Michelle wrote a book, "Held Hostage," which was made into a TV movie. And she and Breea went on speaking tours to discuss their experience with trauma. Tracy Smith: A lot of people coming out of this would want to just forget about it, put it behind them. But you and your mom … talked openly about it. Breea Renee: Yes. And I think it was the best decision for us. Breea Renee: I was showing people that it's not always the end-all, be-all when something bad happens to you. You can come out of it stronger. And by 2011, the girl who had hidden from everything was a high school senior and competitive cheerleader. Michelle Renee: She really turned the corner and started enjoying her life again. Michelle Renee: She loved it.  It was her absolute passion. Tracy Smith: You're thriving. You're living the dream. You said you dreamed of this. You were living the dream. Breea Renee: Yes, I was. Then suddenly … Breea Renee: Senior year in December, I started feeling a little off. … I was dropping things. Michelle Renee: Showed up at my work at 6 o'clock, dragging her leg … going "Mommy, something's really wrong. Something's wrong. I don't know what's happening." Breea Renee: I said … "Mom, I'm really scared." They had no idea Breea was in for the fight of her life. Michelle Renee: We rushed her to the hospital. And they started pricking her leg and she couldn't feel it. And her heart rate started going crazy. Tracy Smith: Oh my gosh. Breea Renee: By 8 p.m. that night, I was paralyzed on my left side, couldn't talk, couldn't swallow, blind in my left eye. Michelle Renee: "We found abnormalities in the brain" is all they could tell me that night. Tracy Smith: It almost sounds like there's that same feeling of helplessness that you had the night that you were held hostage. Michelle Renee: Completely. The next morning, Breea was diagnosed with an acute onset of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. Michelle Renee:  Based on the scans, she has … tumefactive MS, which is not only rare in and of itself, but people Breea's age at 18 …rarely get MS. Breea says she was told she might never walk or talk again. Tracy Smith: Just like that. Breea Renee: Just like that. … My life just ended again … I was 18 trying to go off to college, do cheer in college, and that was never gonna happen for me. Tracy Smith: So much of your healing had been talking …. and now you couldn't talk? Breea Renee:  Now I couldn't talk … I couldn't feed myself anymore. Michelle Renee:  She had to relearn all of that. But it was as if they had been training for this for years. Tracy Smith: Do you think in some way what happened to you when you were seven prepared you for battling MS? Breea Renee: Yes … I think it made me strong enough to go through what I went through with MS. Michelle Renee: It was here we go again, here we go again. Breea would spend six weeks in the hospital. Breea Renee: Two to three times a day of physical therapy, occupational … therapy, speech therapy. Michelle Renee: After she could talk again … she turned to me and said, "Kidnapping was a piece of cake compared to this." And just as with the kidnapping, Breea wanted to inspire others. Michelle Renee: She wrote her college essay from her hospital room, from her wheelchair and said, "I'm going to college. I am going to be the first person in my family to graduate college no matter what." BREEA RENEE (video of her reading college essay in the hospital): I now know that there is no time to waste. Life can change so suddenly. She chronicled her journey on her Facebook page. Michelle Renee: She fought tooth and nail every single day for every single step she took. She walked outta the hospital. This time it was Michelle doing the cheerleading. Dave Estey: The rehab started … in the hospital. But the real rehab was Michelle constantly on her, "we're gonna do this." Michelle Renee: We were a total team. We just ended up going into full gear. We lived in a house with stairs.…She couldn't do stairs anymore. Tracy Smith: So once again, you're out of a home that you've been living in? Michelle Renee: Right, and I had to … become her full-time caregiver for about a year-and-a half, two years. … and rebuilding our life, again. Despite the odds, she made it to college. Michelle Renee:  She relapsed three times her first year in college and had to come home. But she did it. Dave Estey: She follows in her mom's footsteps … I mean with the tenacity, and the never give up … philosophy that they have. Breea is walking, talking proof. Tracy Smith: So, they told you would never walk again? Breea Renee: Yeah. I'd never walk again, never see again, never anything like that… Tracy Smith: And? Breea Renee: I would say I beat the odds. Tracy Smith: Yet again. Breea Renee: Yes, exactly. But 20 years after their world first came crashing down, they'd be faced with the unimaginable once again. Christopher Butler could be released. SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT From the very beginning, the case hit close to home for prosecutor Tom Manning. Tom Manning: The fact that there was a little girl. My daughter was the same age as Breea when this happened. Nearly 20 years later, in June 2020, Christopher Butler was up for parole. Michelle Renee:  He's the one who lied about me. Manning made sure he was at the hearing. Tracy Smith: And you had a plan going in. Tom Manning: I did. He saw a chance to set the record straight by asking Butler about the story he'd told on the stand. Tom Manning: I told Michelle if I felt it was right, I was gonna go for it. Tracy Smith: What'd you think … about that? Michelle Renee: Go for it … ask away. Tracy Smith: Even though that's risky? Michelle Renee: It's a little risky … this guy could go to the grave with these lies. The risk paid off. Butler recanted his whole story, admitting he and Michelle never had a relationship. Tracy Smith: How did that feel to hear that? Michelle Renee: Hmm … it's about time … I wanted everybody who ever doubted me to read this parole transcript. I wanna blast it all over the internet … that there was never, ever a chance … that I would ever, ever have been involved in anything like this, ever. Breea says it's a bittersweet victory for her mom. Breea Renee: It feels good, but it's a little too late. … You can search my mom's name and it can come up on the internet. You can't take that back. Dave Estey: Why is it take him so long to come clean? And it's probably because he had an opportunity to be free. Even though Butler was unequivocal that Michelle was not involved – Michelle Renee: He still hasn't really taken responsibility. He blamed his old flame Lisa Ramirez. But Butler said he was sorry for what he'd put his victims through, and even said he'd read Michelle's book more than once. Tracy Smith: He … said some of the passages in your book really got to him. Michelle Renee: Yeah …  on the road trip to Alaska … I really started to think about what it would be like to try to just understand. Michelle says that's when she started to wonder about the people behind the masks. Michelle Renee:  This is someone's son. … This is someone's brother. This is someone's grandson. …What happened to them in their life that got them to the point where they thought … the only option was to attack a mother and her daughter? Tracy Smith: Do you accept Christopher Butler's apology? Michelle Renee: I do … Yeah, 1000%. … I appreciate him finally being honest after all this time … I hope he keeps digging deeper. Breea Renee: Yeah. I forgave him a long time ago and I accept his apology. But neither Breea nor Michelle want Butler released. He's already been denied parole twice. The irony isn't lost on Dave. Dave Estey: All he really did is free everybody else … he's held hostage with his lie. Michelle Renee: In a very weird … way, I could breathe … I could exhale finally after all this time. While they don't believe Butler has changed his ways, they feel very differently about the other two men who held them hostage. Breea Renee: They confessed … they take accountability for what they did. And that's a big thing. Tracy Smith: Are you actually rooting for these guys to succeed at this point? Breea Renee: Yes, yes. … They were younger … than what I am now …  if they are doing the work, I want nothing but the best for them. Especially Robert Ortiz. Michelle Renee:  At the sentencing Robert Ortiz is the only one that turned around and looked at me and said, "I'm sorry" … he mouthed it. They wrote to Ortiz back in 2011 and received a reply 9 years later. Michelle Renee: Out of respect for him, I'm not going to say everything that's in the letter. … I can say that … it's beautiful. … It's heartfelt. … And … I can't wait to see where that leads. Tracy Smith: This is the young man who held a gun to your daughter's head. Michelle Renee: Yes, and she spoke at his parole hearing in his favor. In the meantime, Michelle has written her follow-up book about the road trip that changed her point of view. Michelle Renee: It is about healing … it's called "Nine Days," which is how long I was on the road to Alaska. Dave Estey: I do believe that through this terrible … tragedy that something beautiful was meant to come about.…It has built these people into these incredible human beings. And through it all, they say they wouldn't change a thing — even the kidnapping. Tracy Smith: So, if you look back at the last 20 years, what has this journey been about? Michelle Renee: Raising a remarkable daughter … It's the best thing I've ever done in my life, is be her mom. Tracy Smith: It seems like both of you look at this at least a tiny bit as a gift. Breea Renee: Uh-huh. Yeah … I wouldn't change it. …  it … gave us the chance to build the bond that we have today. And it's just gotten stronger … Yeah. Robert Ortiz was granted parole in January 2021. Christopher Butler was granted parole in December 2024. Christopher Huggins was granted parole in March 2025. Produced by Gayane Keshishyan Mendez. Michael McHugh is the producer/editor. Emma Steele, Lauren Turner Dunn, and Danielle Arman are the associate producers. Greg McLaughlin and Diana Modica are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. 4 women arrested for allegedly aiding escaped New Orleans inmates 9 young siblings killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza Summer travel season kicks off

byRoger Fisher

in

May 25, 2025

Kidnapping victim forced to rob bank falsely painted as a criminal in court

Kidnapping victim forced to rob bank falsely painted as a criminal in court This story originally aired on Feb. 11, 2023. It was updated on ...

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