Month: June 2020

A white former Atlanta police officer charged with felony murder in the death of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who was shot twice in the back, was granted a bond of $500,000 on Tuesday despite Brooks’ widow making a tearful plea to keep him locked up.

Following a nearly two-hour hearing, Judge Jane C. Barwick of the Superior Court of Fulton County granted bail to Garrett Rolfe, who fatally shot the 27-year-old Brooks while on duty June 12 in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant.

Rolfe, who has been in the Gwinnett County Jail since he surrendered on June 18, was expected to be released on Tuesday afternoon following the posting of bail, according to his attorneys. He only has to put up 10%, or $50,000, to secure the bond.

In making her decision, Barwick rejected arguments from prosecutors that Rolfe is a danger to the community and a flight risk.

“I do not believe he is a danger to the community,” Barwick said.

The judge imposed a series of strict conditions for Rolfe’s release, requiring him to be fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, adhere to a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, surrender his passport, possess no firearms, and avoid contact with Brooks’ family, witnesses in the case, and any Atlanta police officer.

While the hearing was held in Barwick’s courtroom, Rolfe’s attorneys, prosecutors and other participants attended via Zoom video conferencing.

Prior to announcing her decision, Barwick allowed Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, to address the court.

Miller asked Barwick to deny Rolfe bond.

“My husband did not deserve to die, and I should not have to live in fear while waiting for the man who killed my husband to be tried in court,” Miller said, breaking into tears. “This defendant should not be treated like anyone else who is accused of taking someone’s life without remorse.”

Miller also told the judge that Brooks was a “loving, caring, feeling, wonderful father, and the best husband I could ask for.”

“He had the brightest smile and the biggest heart,” she said.

While Barwick thanked Miller for speaking, she said that like all defendants Rolfe has to be considered innocent until proven guilty. She said her discretion in setting bail was “limited” to the statutes of state law.

Rolfe, who was fired from the police department, did not speak during the hearing.

He is charged with 11 counts, including felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and seven violations of his office. Three of the aggravated assault charges stem from a stray bullet Rolfe fired that hit a vehicle occupied by three people.

Clinton Rucker, executive assistant district attorney for Fulton County, had initially requested that no bail be set for Rolfe, but later requested $1 million bail be set if bail were to be granted. Rolfe’s attorney, Bill Thomas, requested the judge set bail in the range of $50,000 to $100,000.

“While the family of Rayshard Brooks is disappointed that his killer was granted bond today, they understand that this is just one step in the long quest for justice for Rayshard,” the family’s attorneys, L. Chris Stewart and Justin Miller, said in a joint statement.

Brooks’ death came amid seething tensions as protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police broke out in Atlanta and in cities across the nation.

The Brooks shooting came just days after six Atlanta police officers were criminally charged after viral video caught them deploying stun guns on two black college students and dragging them from their car as a protest was occurring nearby.

Brooks was killed after a Wendy’s employee called police to complain that Brooks was passed out behind the wheel of a car in the drive-thru lane, according to police.

Officer Devin Brosnan was the first to arrive on the scene and knocked on Brooks’ window but could not wake him up. Body camera video showed Brosnan opening the door and shaking Brooks awake.

Rolfe responded to the scene when Brosnan radioed a dispatcher saying he needed a DUI-certified officer.

When officers tried to put Brooks in handcuffs, Brooks struggled, wrestled with both officers on the ground, and then grabbed Brosnan’s stun gun.

Surveillance video showed Brooks running through the parking lot as the officers chased after him. While fleeing, Brooks allegedly shot the stun gun at Rolfe, who drew his weapon and opened fire. Brooks died from two gunshots to his back, the medical examiner determined.

At a news conference last week, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard alleged that video of the incident recorded Rolfe kicking Brooks as Brooks lay dying on the ground and Brosnan standing on Brooks’ shoulder. But during Tuesday’s hearing, another one of Rolfe’s attorney, Noah Pines, denied that Rolfe kicked Brooks after shooting him.

Brosnan, who has been placed on administrative leave from the police department, was charged with two counts of violations of oath and one count of aggravated assault for allegedly standing on Brooks’ shoulder after he was shot by Rolfe. Brosnan also surrendered to authorities on June 18 and was released on $50,000 bail.

The 18-year-old also is planning to attend Winston-Salem State University.

At 18, Rajah Caruth already has a trophy case filled with medals and awards from competitive driving, from races all over the country.

He’s just getting started.

The soon-to-be Winston-Salem State University freshman already has his NASCAR license, and he has big dreams to become one of the sport’s top drivers like Bubba Wallace, whom he considers a role model.

But the journey for Caruth, like for most African American drivers, hasn’t been easy. Caruth didn’t grow up in a racing family, had no connections and didn’t know much about how to make his dream a reality. Most of what he knew about racing came from being a fan of cartoon characters like Lighting McQueen and Speed Racer.

Caruth attended his first race in middle school.

“That really flipped the switch,” he said. “That was the point where I realized that this is what I want to do, this is what I want to put my life and my career into.”

NASCAR currently has just one Black driver in the top flight: Wallace.

In recent weeks, he’s emerged as a new face of the franchise because he has “Black Lives Matter” on his car and initial reports of a noose found in his garage, which led to an FBI investigation.

In the wake of that story, many in the NASCAR community stepped up and supported Wallace, embracing Black Lives Matter and giving young drivers like Caruth hope for the future.

“He’s been a good role model, a really good role model, and an ambassador for the sport,” Caruth said of Wallace. “He’s been a really good person for me to look up to, just in terms of how to carry myself, online and at the racetrack, how to treat people, how to deal with criticism and just mean people.”

During the Honor QuikTrip 500 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, NASCAR President Steve Phelps had drivers shut down their cars so he could read the following message over the public address system:

“The Black community and all people of color have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better. The time is now to listen, to understand and to stand against racism and racial injustice.”

Caruth said that while he’s personally faced issues regarding his race, it’s been on a “much smaller” scale than Wallace’s battles with online trolls and attacks via social media.

“I’m definitely not going to act like, you know, I had the worst time possible, but I definitely had my fair share of interactions that were not of the positive sort,” Caruth added.

Seeing more people who look like him in and around racing, even if not behind the wheel, has been encouraging, he said.

“There aren’t really many of us drivers, but there are a lot of us behind the scenes,” said Caruth. “It’s good to be on pit road and see Mike Metcalf and Tigger and everybody on pit road, you know, people of color that you know got my back. And it’s cool to see them whenever I go to a cup race.”

In 2010, NASCAR launched its Drive for Diversity Development Program, which includes Caruth now and, previously, Wallace. And in 2017, the program hired Jusan Hamilton, the first Black race director.

Caruth said he knows how to become a champion driver: “You can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“People will say, ‘Oh, you don’t have experience, or, you know, you’re this, that, and the other,'” he continued. “You really just have to stay focused. If you know you can drive, then go show it. If you stay true to yourself and make sure you surround yourself with your family, with good people, you’ll be able to do great things.”

As the coronavirus pandemic enters its fifth month, an increasing number of renters from across the country are facing a grim reality — possible eviction.

In New Orleans, mothers like Shankya Phillips worry about their families and the roofs over their head.

“Where do you get help from, where do you turn when you can’t turn to a shelter anymore, when the home you are living in, you can’t afford,” Phillips said. “It’s scary.”

The 28-year-old mother of two is about to get evicted.

“I just want people to know this is actually happening, that this is real life. Like, people are actually getting kicked down the street,” she told ABC News correspondent Kayna Whitworth.

Phillips lives in an apartment that she describes as leaky, and has been unemployed since the clothing store she worked at shut down three months ago.

The extra federal unemployment benefits of up to $600 a week, provided as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, will end at the end of July, leaving millions of unemployed Americans like Phillips in limbo.

About 28 million Americans are at risk of eviction as a recession fueled by COVID-19 creates economic havoc across the country, according to new estimates from the real estate analytics firm Amherst Holdings.

The 120-day moratorium on evictions in federally assisted housing properties mandated by the CARES Act is also set to expire on July 25th. According to the Urban Institute, that moratorium covers roughly 12.3 million out of the 43.8 million rental units in the U.S. — one in four units.

For the roughly three-quarters of American rental units that aren’t federally subsidized, eviction moratoriums are dependent on state and local governments. In Louisiana, the moratorium ended June 15.

New Orleans is just one of an increasing number of places where protections for tenants are starting to phase out, even as cases rise in some areas.

The eviction rate in New Orleans before COVID-19 was already twice the national average. In some neighborhoods, however, it was up to four times higher.

Unemployment is now four times higher than before the pandemic. When coupled with the expiring federal benefits, Cashauna Hill, director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, is worried the city is on a collision course.

“Folks here know what’s coming down the pike. We, unfortunately, have had more than our share of experience dealing with disasters and governmental failures,” Hill told ABC News.

Hill and her staff are fighting to keep people like 53-year-old Lawyer Winfield in their homes.

“You know there’s a certain comfort in having this little place… I can’t imagine being without it,” Winfield told ABC News.

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services told ABC News it had seen a 100% increase in their eviction cases. Meanwhile, 41% of Louisiana renters said they were worried about being able to make June’s rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Winfield says the housing crisis that has been impacting New Orleans for years should be taken seriously now. “It must be treated as a crisis because of this pandemic,” he said.

Without extended aid, housing rights advocates fear for what’s to come.

“We’re really concerned that we’re going to see an avalanche of evictions as the courts open back up,” Hill said.

But landlords are also feeling the strain.

Kim Valene has been a landlord in the big easy for nearly 20 years and says she never had to evict someone until now.

“I’m not a bad guy and I really like my tenants and take care of my property. But you’ve got to understand, you know, certain people are taking advantage of the situation,” she said.
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Valene is currently trying to remove a tenant who she says has not paid rent since the pandemic began and has a pit bull dog, which are illegal in the city.

Valene says she wasn’t able to take action until the moratorium on evictions expired. In the end, she anticipates losing $15,000 and she says she still has to pay her mortgage, property taxes and insurance.

Impending evictions have the city on edge and health leaders taking notice.

“Every economic impact has a public health impact, and so, certainly putting people out of their homes would be devastating,” Dr. Jen Avengo, director of New Orleans’ Health Department, told ABC News.

Avengo says she has been working on solutions to address New Orleans’ housing crisis for years, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem.

“We need help and we need it soon,” she said.

For mothers like Phillips, the dream is a simple one.

“I want to raise my kids with a nice little fence in the front yard, and where my dog can run around and not have to worry about them getting shot,” Phillips said.

But right now, that dream is out of reach.

“It makes you want to leave New Orleans,” she said. “But who wants to leave the place they love?”

Jenna Harrison contributed to this report

Following a White House briefing Tuesday morning regarding reports that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. military personnel, House Democrats renewed their call for an all-Member briefing from the intelligence community – “so we’d have direct evidence and discussion from intelligence community into how credible they assess the information.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the intelligence a “red flag” and said the American people must understand whether the United States’ relationship with Russia is “compromised by the relationship between the president and Mr. Putin.”

“It either was not waved, or the president ignored the wave,” Hoyer, D-Md., said. “We need to get to the bottom of this. What we need is a briefing by the intelligence community to give us their assessment of the credibility of this information and we need to know from the White House what action would have been taken.”

The Democrats were briefed by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the same three officials who briefed a group of Republicans at the White House on Monday.

While there are reports that the bounty program was not fully verified by the U.S., House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff insisted Trump should have been briefed “with caveats.”

“Don’t deprive the president of information he needs to keep the troops safe because you don’t have it sign, sealed and delivered,” Schiff, D-Calif., said. “If you’re going to be on the phone with Putin, this is something you ought to know.”

Schiff said that as Congress examines the reports on the bounties, Trump should not be inviting Russia into G7 or G8 or “further ingratiating Russia into the community of civilized nations.”

“I find it inexplicable in light of these very public allegations that president hasn’t come before the country and assured the American people that he will get to the bottom of whether the Russians are putting a bounty on the heads of American troops,” Schiff said. “And that he will do everything in his power to protect American troops.”

“If there’s a problem with being able to brief the president on intelligence he doesn’t want to hear, that’s a problem for entire country’s national security,” Schiff added.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel said that if the bounty report “isn’t something to go crazy about, then I don’t know what is.”

“It just makes no sense at all,” Engel, D-N.Y., said. “Why doesn’t the president question Putin? Why doesn’t the president condemn what Putin has done? Why doesn’t the president stand up for the United States? I mean, for God’s sake, these are our soldiers and if we’re not going to protect them, what are we going to do?”

Hoyer said he received a phone call Sunday evening from White House chief of Staff Mark Meadows inviting him to put a group of eight to 10 Democrats together for a briefing at the White House, but he maintained that the briefing “was not as a substitute” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s requests for a full briefing for all Members of Congress.

“The president called this a hoax publicly. Nothing in the briefing that we have just received led me to believe it is a hoax,” Hoyer added. “There may be different judgments as to the level of credibly but there was no assertion that the information we had was a hoax.”

While the lawmakers refused to discuss details of the briefing due to its secret nature, Schiff emphasized that the briefing fell short – complaining that the “right people to give the briefing really were not in the room.”

“We need to hear from the heads of the intelligence agencies about how do they assess the allegations,” Schiff said. “What can they tell us about the truth or falsity of these allegations? What can they tell us about steps they are taking or undertaking to vet the information they may have?”

Hoyer added that the White House briefing did not reveal “any new substantive information” and the White House did not assure Democrats that their request for an all-Member briefing would be fulfilled.

Several House Republicans received a similar briefing on Monday, while Senate Republicans planned to attend their own briefing later Tuesday.

House GOP leaders on Tuesday forcefully condemned Russia following briefings on the intelligence regarding their bounties reportedly put on U.S. troops in Afghanistan — using much sharper language than the White House on the subject.

“America’s adversaries should know, and should have no doubt, that any targeting of U.S. forces by Russians, by anyone else, will meet a swift and deadly response,” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the No. 3 House Republican, said Tuesday.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, defended the Trump administration’s record on Russia – touting the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles for Ukraine – while slamming what he called the “selective leaking” behind the initial New York Times report and accusing Democrats of “playing politics.”

“The idea that someone would try to do something selective, inside a report, to play games, is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter what party you are in. And we should not play any games with this,” he said.

As Trump faces criticism for not responding to the intelligence suggesting the targeting of U.S. troops, McCarthy offered a defense of the president, calling the safety of service members his “top priority.”

“I’ve been with this president when we’ve gone to Dover. I’ve watched his face. I’ve watched him console families. I’ve spoken with him at night when he has to call families. I will tell you it is his top priority,” he said.

He passed away Monday night of natural causes.

Carl Reiner, one of the original kings of comedy, who created “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and directed Steve Martin‘s earliest films, has died at the age of 98.

Carl Reiner’s assistant, Judy Nagy, confirmed to ABC News his passing last night of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills.

Born Carlton Reiner on March 20, 1922, in New York City, Reiner showed an early interest in acting as a teenager. After serving as a radio operator in World War II, he began performing comedy at a resort in New Hampshire and later landed on Broadway in several musicals.

During the early years of television comedy, from 1950 to 1957, Reiner appeared in skits with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in “Your Show of Shows,” while working alongside the show’s writers Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Later, Reiner teamed up with Brooks playing the straight man to Brook’s “2000 Year Old Man” in a series of skits they performed over several decades.

Using his experiences as a television writer, Reiner created “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” starring Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore and occasionally himself as temperamental host Alan Brady.

When the show ended in 1966 after five seasons, Reiner began directing films, notably the box office hits “Oh, God!,” starring George Burns,” and “The Jerk,” starring Steve Martin.

Reiner and Martin teamed up on three more films in the 1980s, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” “The Man with Two Brains” and “All of Me.”

In his later years, Reiner returned to the screen, making guest appearances on “Mad About You” and “Beggars and Choosers,” and co-starring in the remake of the Rat Pack classic, “Ocean’s Eleven” and the film’s two sequels.

Reiner won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during his career.

He is the father of actor and director Rob Reiner, author Annie Reiner and painter, actor and director Lucas Reiner. He was married to singer Estelle Lebost for 64 years until her death in 2008.

It is only one of the virus-related scams noted recently.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of fraudulent COVID-19 antibody tests.

While real tests indicate whether or not an individual was previously infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, the FBI warns the false tests are not only a method for scammers to give out fraudulent results but also to steal personal information from people who take the fake tests.

Scammers, according to the FBI, are also looking for insurance and Medicare information, “which can be used in future medical insurance or identity theft schemes.”

The FBI urges the public to be aware of “claims of FDA approval for antibody testing that cannot be verified, advertisements for antibody testing through social media platforms, email, telephone calls, online, or from unsolicited/unknown sources, and marketers offering ‘free’ COVID-19 antibody tests or providing incentives for undergoing testing.”

Officials urge checking the Food and Drug Administration website, consulting with a primary care physician, using a known laboratory or health care provider, among other recommendations.

This is not the first coronavirus scam officials have sounded the alarm on.

Last week, the Department of Justice warned of fake COVID-19 mask exemption cards.

The cards say in part “I am exempt from any ordinance requiring face mask usage in public. Wearing a face mask posses [sp] a mental and or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) I’m not required to disclose my condition to you.”

The warning, which first came from the United States Attorney’s office in the Middle District of North Carolina, pointed to spelling and other errors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office suggested the message could come in the form of cards, flyers or postings.

“Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle,” said U.S. Attorney G.T. Martin in a release. “These cards do not carry the force of law. The ‘Freedom to Breathe Agency,’ or ‘FTBA,’ is not a government agency.”

Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is also cracking down on COVID-19 scams.

It says has seized over 885 fraudulent COVID-19 tests, prohibited drugs and counterfeit masks. In May, it partnered with private businesses to protect the American public from COVID-19 fraud.

ABC News’ Eden David contributed to this reporting.

Conservatives cheered the ruling; teachers unions called it a “seismic shock.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a victory for advocates of school choice, striking down Montana’s exclusion of religious schools from a state scholarship program funded by tax credits.

The narrow 5-4 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, said that a “no-aid provision” in the Montana constitution violates the First Amendment. Thirty-eight other states have similar amendments. The ruling could make it easier for religious schools nationwide to obtain public funds.

“The Montana Constitution discriminates based on religious status,'” Roberts wrote. “Montana’s no-aid provision bars religious schools from public benefits solely because of the religious character of the schools.”

“A State need not subsidize private education,” he said, “but once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”

Religious and legal conservatives celebrated the ruling.

“This decision blots out a great stain on our history and gives today’s low-income students a chance to attend religious schools of their choice using state-endorsed private school scholarship funds,” said Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, legal adviser to The Catholic Association.

“The Court’s decision represents an important victory for religious liberty and religious equality in the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement.

Public school advocates warned the decision clears the way for more state funding to be shifted toward private, religious schools.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called it a “seismic shock that threatens both public education and religious liberty.”

The National Education Association, a leading public teachers union, said the decision would harm students. “At a time when public schools nationwide already are grappling with protecting and providing for students despite a pandemic and mounting budget shortfalls, the court has made things even worse opening the door for further attacks on state decisions not to fund religious schools,” said NEA president Lily Eskelsen García.

In 2015, the Montana legislature approved dollar-for-dollar state tax credits of up to $150 per year to help fund scholarships for low-income children seeking to attend private schools of their choice.

Mothers Kendra Espinoza, Jeri Anderson and Jamie Schaefer, all plaintiffs in the case, say they could not afford tuition payments to send their kids to Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell without the financial aid.

The Montana Department of Revenue blocked the use of the tax-credit supported scholarships for religiously-affiliated education, citing the state’s constitution, which explicitly bans use of public funds – directly or indirectly. After a lengthy legal fight, the state Supreme Court struck down the scholarship program in its entirety.

“Its judgment put all private school parents in the same boat,” wrote Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a dissenting opinion. She and the court’s three liberals argued that elimination of the program altogether precluded any discrimination on the basis of religion.

“If for 250 years, we have drawn a line at forcing taxpayers to pay the salaries of those who teach their faith from the pulpit, I do not see how we can today require Montana to adopt a different view respecting those who teach it in the classroom,” wrote Justice Stephen Breyer in his dissent.

But Roberts, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — all raised in the Catholic Church — concluded that the state’s blanket ban on aid to religious schools while other institutions remained eligible amounts to unconstitutional discrimination.

“The Montana legislature created the scholarship program; the legislature never chose to end it,” Roberts wrote. The court’s decision, he said, “expressly discriminates on the basis of religious status.”

Nearly four dozen wildfires are currently burning from California to Nebraska.

The Charleston Fire in Douglas County, Colorado, has forced hundreds of families to flee their homes yesterday as the fire quickly grew to 500 acres.

Nearly four dozen wildfires are currently burning in the West all the way from California to Nebraska.

Gusty winds and extremely dry conditions in the last few days have helped the spread of these wildfires from Nevada to Utah and into Colorado.

Today, the windy conditions will move further east threatening areas from Colorado to New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma where Red Flag Warnings have been issued.

Meanwhile in the East, flash flooding and severe storms are expected from the Midwest into the Northeast.

There were also flood rescues yesterday in Kentucky where some areas got more than 4 inches of rain in just a few hours flooding roads and neighborhoods and where people had to be rescued out of the water and their cars.

In the Northeast, damaging winds of up to 70 mph hit the borough of Queens in New York City bringing down trees and golf ball-sized hail was reported in the Hudson Valley.

Today, severe storms are expected in the Plains from the Dakotas into Nebraska where damaging winds will be the biggest threat.

Besides the storms, flooding rainfall is possible in the mid-Mississippi River Valley around St. Louis down to Tennessee where locally some areas could see up to a half a foot of rain and flash flooding today.

Elsewhere, a holiday week heat wave is developing for most of the Eastern U.S.

Today, a Heat Advisory has been issued from Texas to Missouri for five states where temperatures could reach as high as 105 degrees with the heat index in some areas approaching 109.

This scorcher then should move east into the Midwest, the Great Lakes and the East Coast.

Temperatures and humidity will make it feel like its 90 to 100 degrees from Minneapolis to Chicago, Detroit and even New York City by the Fourth of July.

Cards claiming to exempt the bearer from mask ordinances carry the DOJ logo.

A group which circulated so-called “Face Mask Exempt” cards, purporting to exempt the bearer from ordinances requiring face coverings to be worn in public say they will find “different means” of distributing them after their websites were taken down.

Department of Justice officials issued a statement on the cards, some of which were branded with its logo, advising that they were fraudulent and were not issued by a government agency.

The cards, which for the moment are no longer available for purchase, say “wearing a face mask poses a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability [sic] act, I am not required to disclose my condition to you.”

The card also carries a warning that violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act could be met with “steep penalties,” including fines of $75,000 or $150,000.

The cards feature a Department of Justice logo and a logo incorporating a bald eagle for the group that produced them, the Freedom to Breathe Agency.

The cards also warn: “Denying access to your business/organization will be also [be] reported to FTBA for further actions.”

“Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle,” U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin of the Middle District of North Carolina said in a statement . “These cards do not carry the force of law. The ‘Freedom to Breathe Agency,’ or ‘FTBA,’ is not a government agency.”

FTBA’s Wix website and Facebook group page have been taken down. A new, private Facebook group was created last week, and now has over 400 members.

In a statement provided to ABC News, the FTBA’s communications team said the cards were “an educational tool,” and that their purpose was “to educate the public on their legal and human rights under the Constitution of the United States of America.”

The group also said they had issued a statement clarifying that the cards were not issued by the Department of Justice, adding that they would be pursuing distribution of the cards by other means.

“We already have several independent business outlets activated that are selling these cards and will be launching nationwide distribution,” the group’s communications team said.

The group said it created the cards after receiving complaints from “desperate citizens” across the U.S. who had medical conditions that prevented them wearing face masks.

The group’s founder, Lenka Koloma, advertised versions of the cards which did not feature the Department of Justice logo on her personal Facebook page. Her post advertising the cards was flagged as false information by the social media giant’s fact checkers. Her personal website also features videos on how to deal with “face mask shaming.”

“It is our focus to educate the public about the importance of unobstructed oxygen to their overall well-being and help the community, increase natural immunity without sacrificing their freedom of responsible choice, their health and the health of others,” Koloma said in a statement provided to ABC News.

Face masks have been a flashpoint for conflict during the coronavirus outbreak, with a string of violent encounters — including the murder of a store security guard — tied to confrontations over the coverings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

Joseph DeAngelo, the man now known as the Golden State Killer, pleaded guilty on Monday to 13 counts of first-degree murder in front of dozens of victims and victims’ relatives, prosecutors said.

The plea deal also required him to admit to multiple uncharged acts, including rapes, which were described in horrific detail by prosecutors.

In many cases, DeAngelo broke in, confronted couples asleep, then tied up the man and raped the woman. He often threatened to kill them and would eat their food and steal belongings.

After DeAngelo was taken into custody in 2018, he said to himself in an interview room, “I did all those things. I destroyed all those lives,” according to prosecutors.

Instead of a courtroom, DeAngelo, in an orange jumpsuit and using a cane, appeared in a California State University–Sacramento ballroom. With over 150 victims and relatives expected to attend, prosecutors sought a room that would be large enough to accommodate them and promote social distancing, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The deal will “allow the remaining victims and family members … to hear the defendant admit that he committed these acts,” Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Amy Holliday said at Monday’s hearing.

The death penalty will be taken off the table and he will serve life without parole, Holliday said.

DeAngelo, now 74 years old, was accused of committing 13 murders as well as multiple rapes and burglaries in the 1970s and 80s, terrorizing communities from Northern to Southern California.

DeAngelo was a police officer during the crimes in the 1970s.

DeAngelo on Monday admitted the counts against him in a weak, strained voice, saying each time, “I admit.”

He admitted to shooting and killing Claude Snelling in front of Snelling’s daughter when he broke into their home in September 1975. DeAngelo kicked the daughter three times in the face and then fled, prosecutors said.

DeAngelo also admitted to the attempted murder of a police officer but was not charged with the crime. DeAngelo shot at the officer when the officer confronted him trying to ransack a home in 1975.

He also said “I admit” to the February 1978 killing of Brian and Katie Maggiore.

The couple was walking their dog when Brian Maggiore was shot. Katie Maggiore ran away and yelled for help, but DeAngelo caught up with her and shot her in the head, prosecutors said.

DeAngelo admitted to the killing of a couple in Goleta, California, in 1979, after which he rummaged through the fridge and ate leftovers.

Also in Goleta, friends Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez were killed in July 1981.

Sanchez was shot and then beaten to death, bludgeoned in the head two dozen times, prosecutors said.

DeAngelo then bound Domingo, raped her and beat her in the head more than 10 times, prosecutors said.

Domingo’s daughter, Debbi Domingo McMullan, told ABC News there’s “no such thing as closure. It’s a lifelong process.”

“We’ve served time all these years, now it’s his turn to serve time,” she said.

DeAngelo admitted to killing Lyman and Charlene Smith in their Ventura home in March 1980. Charlene Smith was also bound and raped.

The couple was later found dead by Lyman Smith’s 12-year-old son.

DeAngelo admitted to the killing of Keith Harrington and the rape and killing of his wife Patrice Harrington, who were bludgeoned to death at their home in Dana Point in August 1980.

Keith Harrington, a medical school student, and Patrice Harrington, a pediatric trauma nurse, had been married for three months, said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

DeAngelo admitted to the murder of Manuela Witthuhn, who was bound, raped and bludgeoned to death while home alone on Feb. 5, 1981. Her body was found by her mother, Spitzer said.

He admitted to the killing of 18-year-old Janelle Cruz, who was also bound, raped and bludgeoned in the face and head at her home in May 1986.

“You attacked her, you beat her and you raped her,” Spitzer said in court, addressing DeAngelo.

“Three of her teeth had been knocked out and she had swallowed a significant amount of blood,” he said.

The “Golden State Killer” crimes went unsolved until April 2018, when DeAngelo was arrested in Sacramento County.

DeAngelo became the first public arrest obtained through genetic genealogy, a new technique that takes the DNA of an unknown suspect left behind at a crime scene and identifies him or her by tracing a family tree through his or her family members, who voluntarily submit their DNA to public genealogy databases.

This allows police to create a much larger family tree than using law enforcement databases.

To identify DeAngelo, investigators narrowed the family tree search based on age, location and other characteristics.

Authorities surveilled DeAngelo and collected his DNA from a tissue left in a trash. Investigators plugged his discarded DNA back into the genealogy database and found a match, linking DeAngelo’s DNA to the DNA found at crime scenes, prosecutors said.

Since DeAngelo’s arrest, over 150 other crime suspects have been identified through genetic genealogy.

ABC News’ Jenna Harrison and Annie Pong contributed to this report.