Officials in the US state of Georgia are investigating online threats made against members of the grand jury that indicted former United States President Donald Trump’s alleged election interference investigation, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-indicted-over-2020-election-interference-in-georgia-625533">on Monday</a>. This comes after personal information including, names and addresses of grand jury members were posted online, said the local sheriff’s office.&nbsp;

<h2>What happened?</h2>

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday (August 17) said that they are working on tracking the origins of threats against grand jury members who, earlier this week, indicted Trump on 13 charges, which included racketeering and election meddling.&nbsp;

This comes after personal information, including addresses and photos of the jurors, were reportedly shared on right-wing platforms. Officials in Fulton County, which also includes Atlanta, the state capital, said threats could amount to jury intimidation.&nbsp;

“Our investigators are working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to track down the origin of threats in Fulton County and other jurisdictions,” said the sheriff’s office, in a statement.&nbsp;

It added, “We take this matter very seriously and are coordinating with our law enforcement partners to respond quickly to any credible threat and to ensure the safety of those individuals who carried out their civic duty.”&nbsp;

<h2>Whose information was supposedly leaked?</h2>

The posts that purportedly share names and addresses of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-why-is-donald-trumps-georgia-indictment-different-626154">Fulton County grand jury </a>are being tracked by Advance Democracy, a non-profit research organisation whose president, Dan Jones, a former FBI investigator and a part of the Senate intelligence committee told Reuters, “Statements by Trump and his allies continue to inspire violent language and threats online.”&nbsp;

According to the group, two NBC reporters who wrote about the grand jury incident also had their purported addresses posted online, reported Reuters.&nbsp;

The organisation has also reportedly tracked posts containing violent rhetoric against the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis who oversaw the over two-year investigation regarding the alleged efforts made by Trump and 18 others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.&nbsp;

The group has also called on the Fulton County police to take the matter “seriously”. 
 
“The latest threats against jury members shows you don’t have to be a politician or government official to be the target,” said Jones. He added, “Equally important is that political leaders on the right denounce these threats and the statements that inspire them.”&nbsp;

<h2>Trump’s case in Georgia</h2>

In a recent update about <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-requests-april-2026-trial-date-for-election-interference-trial-626587">the case</a>, lawyers for Trump on Thursday (August 17) asked a federal judge in Washington to schedule an April 2026 trial for the former president regarding the federal charges against his alleged attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.&nbsp;

Earlier this month after the indictment by the US Special Counsel Jack Smith against Trump, the former president lashed out on his social media platform, Truth Social, and said “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”&nbsp;

The 98-page Georgia indictment on Monday listed 19 defendants and 41 criminal counts and while the document is available as a public record and does include the names of grand jurors but not their addresses or any other personally identifiable information.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
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Officials in the US state of Georgia are investigating online threats made against members of the grand jury that indicted former United States President Donald Trump’s alleged election interference investigation, on Monday.

Officials in the US state of Georgia are investigating online threats made against members of the grand jury that indicted former United States President Donald Trump’s alleged election interference investigation, on Monday. This comes after personal information including, names and addresses of grand jury members were posted online, said the local sheriff’s office. What happened? The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday (August 17) said that they are working on tracking the origins of threats against grand jury members who, earlier this week, indicted Trump on 13 charges, which included racketeering and election meddling. This comes after personal information, including addresses and photos of the jurors, were reportedly shared on right-wing platforms. Officials in Fulton County, which also includes Atlanta, the state capital, said threats could amount to jury intimidation. “Our investigators are working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to track down the origin of threats in Fulton County and other jurisdictions,” said the sheriff’s office, in a statement. It added, “We take this matter very seriously and are coordinating with our law enforcement partners to respond quickly to any credible threat and to ensure the safety of those individuals who carried out their civic duty.” Whose information was supposedly leaked? The posts that purportedly share names and addresses of the Fulton County grand jury are being tracked by Advance Democracy, a non-profit research organisation whose president, Dan Jones, a former FBI investigator and a part of the Senate intelligence committee told Reuters, “Statements by Trump and his allies continue to inspire violent language and threats online.” According to the group, two NBC reporters who wrote about the grand jury incident also had their purported addresses posted online, reported Reuters. The organisation has also reportedly tracked posts containing violent rhetoric against the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis who oversaw the over two-year investigation regarding the alleged efforts made by Trump and 18 others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The group has also called on the Fulton County police to take the matter “seriously”. “The latest threats against jury members shows you don’t have to be a politician or government official to be the target,” said Jones. He added, “Equally important is that political leaders on the right denounce these threats and the statements that inspire them.” Trump’s case in Georgia In a recent update about the case, lawyers for Trump on Thursday (August 17) asked a federal judge in Washington to schedule an April 2026 trial for the former president regarding the federal charges against his alleged attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Earlier this month after the indictment by the US Special Counsel Jack Smith against Trump, the former president lashed out on his social media platform, Truth Social, and said “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” The 98-page Georgia indictment on Monday listed 19 defendants and 41 criminal counts and while the document is available as a public record and does include the names of grand jurors but not their addresses or any other personally identifiable information. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

US: Georgia investigates threats against Donald Trump grand jury members identified online

Joseph Tacopina, lawyer of former US president Donald Trump, said on Monday (March 13) that the former president had no plans to participate in the grand jury probe that is investigating the alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Tacopina made the revelation in ABC News show "Good Morning America"

Trump faces accusations of paying to Daniels to cover-up a love affair. Trump denies this.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, former lawyer of Donald Trump is expected to testify before Manhattan grand jury. He has said that he orchestrated to pay Daniels the money on behalf of the former president.

"This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds," Cohen said of Trump outside a Manhattan courthouse on his way to the grand jury.

Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, confirmed earlier that Cohen was scheduled to testify in the closed door proceeding at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT).

The Manhattan District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Grand jury proceedings are not public.

The renewed interest in Stormy Daniels and the $130,000 payment she received before the 2016 presidential election comes at a critical time for Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Daniels has said she received the payment in exchange for not discussing a sexual liaison with Trump, who denies it happened.

Trump has been given a chance to testify before the grand jury as a person subject to an investigation, Susan Necheles, an attorney for the former president, told Reuters last Thursday, a sign the grand jury may be close to deciding whether to bring criminal charges against him.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Joseph Tacopina, lawyer of former US president Donald Trump, said on Monday (March 13) that the former president had no plans to participate in the grand jury probe that is investigating the alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Joseph Tacopina, lawyer of former US president Donald Trump, said on Monday (March 13) that the former president had no plans to participate in the grand jury probe that is investigating the alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Tacopina made the revelation in ABC News show "Good Morning America" Trump faces accusations of paying to Daniels to cover-up a love affair. Trump denies this. Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, former lawyer of Donald Trump is expected to testify before Manhattan grand jury. He has said that he orchestrated to pay Daniels the money on behalf of the former president. "This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds," Cohen said of Trump outside a Manhattan courthouse on his way to the grand jury. Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, confirmed earlier that Cohen was scheduled to testify in the closed door proceeding at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT). The Manhattan District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Grand jury proceedings are not public. The renewed interest in Stormy Daniels and the $130,000 payment she received before the 2016 presidential election comes at a critical time for Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Daniels has said she received the payment in exchange for not discussing a sexual liaison with Trump, who denies it happened. Trump has been given a chance to testify before the grand jury as a person subject to an investigation, Susan Necheles, an attorney for the former president, told Reuters last Thursday, a sign the grand jury may be close to deciding whether to bring criminal charges against him. (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Trump has no plans to take part in Stormy Daniels hush money probe: Lawyer

Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in a years-old probe into payments made to keep the porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president.

New grand jury in New York to examine Donald Trump's hush money case

A grand jury has convened in New York on Tuesday to start investigating the criminal charges on former US president <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> regarding his business dealings and hush money.

The investigation will be focusing on Trump’s wide range of criminal accusations, mainly involving matters of hush money paid to women, tax evasions, improper property valuations and more.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/reforms-assurance-and-cheetos-floyds-family-meets-biden-on-georges-death-anniversary-387389">Reforms, assurance and Cheetos: Floyd's family meets Biden on George's death anniversary</a>

Cyrus Vance Jr, Manhattan district attorney, has been conducting an investigation into Trump’s malpractices.

The grand jury will be looking into the matters where Trump has been accused of paying hush women to tackle his hidden sexual relationships with women also his improper relations with lenders. It will also look into the donations the Trump empire has made to evade tax.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-washington-post-cnn-alleges-trump-of-spying-on-reporters-386653" hreflang="en">After Washington Post, CNN alleges Trump of spying on reporters</a>

Trump, however, has labelled this investigation as a “witch hunt” and has claimed he is being “unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system”.

As the former president plans to re-run for White House in 2024 elections, he has accused opponents of carrying out this "witch hunt" to slim down his chances of winning the next election and misleading his supporters.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/former-us-president-donald-trump-sued-for-referring-to-covid-19-as-china-virus-386663" hreflang="en">Former US President Donald Trump sued for referring to COVID-19 as 'China virus'</a>

Vance will also be investigating whether Trump’s employees were paid off-the-books compensations for their apartments, school tuitions and more.

&nbsp;

A grand jury has convened in New York on Tuesday to start investigating the criminal charges on former US president Donald Trump regarding his business dealings and hush money.

A grand jury has convened in New York on Tuesday to start investigating the criminal charges on former US president Donald Trump regarding his business dealings and hush money. The investigation will be focusing on Trump’s wide range of criminal accusations, mainly involving matters of hush money paid to women, tax evasions, improper property valuations and more. Also read | Reforms, assurance and Cheetos: Floyd's family meets Biden on George's death anniversary Cyrus Vance Jr, Manhattan district attorney, has been conducting an investigation into Trump’s malpractices. The grand jury will be looking into the matters where Trump has been accused of paying hush women to tackle his hidden sexual relationships with women also his improper relations with lenders. It will also look into the donations the Trump empire has made to evade tax. Also read | After Washington Post, CNN alleges Trump of spying on reporters Trump, however, has labelled this investigation as a “witch hunt” and has claimed he is being “unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system”. As the former president plans to re-run for White House in 2024 elections, he has accused opponents of carrying out this "witch hunt" to slim down his chances of winning the next election and misleading his supporters. Also read | Former US President Donald Trump sued for referring to COVID-19 as 'China virus' Vance will also be investigating whether Trump’s employees were paid off-the-books compensations for their apartments, school tuitions and more.

Grand jury starts investigating Donald Trump's tax evasions, hush money

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two very different accounts emerged Friday from either side of an apartment door in Louisville, the one that police officers knocked off its hinges in March as they delivered a search warrant at the home of Breonna Taylor.

In newly-released audio from closed-door grand jury proceedings, there was conflicting testimony over what happened in the seconds before the police shot and killed Taylor, a Black emergency room technician whose death pulled people to the streets in protests across the country.

Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said in the new recordings that he was “scared to death” when he and Taylor heard pounding on the door in the middle of the night and got no response to their yelled queries of who was knocking.

The officers involved in the raid, though, insisted in interviews with investigators that they had loudly identified themselves as police before they burst through the door. It was only after one officer was shot, they said, that they opened fired at the couple, killing Taylor.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ban-no-knock-warrant-biden-harris-react-to-breonna-taylors-unjust-ruling-329887">Also read|&nbsp;'Ban no-knock warrant': Biden-Harris react to Breonna Taylor's unjust ruling</a>

The dueling accounts of a chaotic and tragic night are captured in 15 hours of recordings from the grand jury’s examination of the fatal raid. For the first time, some of those directly involved in the police shooting — including neighbors, officers and Taylor’s boyfriend — are heard describing the fateful night.

“Next thing I know, she’s on the ground and the door’s busted open and I hear a bunch of yelling and just panicking,” Walker said in an interview with investigators in March that was played for the grand jury last week. “And she’s right here bleeding,” he adds of Taylor. “And nobody’s coming, and I’m just confused and scared.”

The grand jury concluded its work last week by bringing an indictment against one former officer for endangering Taylor’s neighbors; they brought no charges against the two officers who shot her.

Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky attorney general, released the recordings Friday after a judge ordered him to do so, but the recordings did not include the instructions that prosecutors gave to the 12 jurors. One juror said Cameron was deflecting blame by saying it was jurors who had opted not to indict the two officers who shot Taylor.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/breonna-taylors-family-asks-grand-jury-transcripts-to-be-released-330345">Also read|&nbsp;Breonna Taylor's family asks grand jury transcripts to be released</a>

One of those officers, Detective Myles Cosgrove, who the FBI said fired the shot that killed Taylor, described in the audio being uncertain about exactly what occurred during the chaos after police used a battering ram to burst into Taylor’s apartment and were shot at by Walker.

“I just sensed that I’ve fired,” Cosgrove said in an interview last month that was played for the jurors. But, he added: “It’s like a surreal thing. If you told me I didn’t do something at that time, I’d believe you. If you told me I did do something, I’d probably believe you, too.”

The grand jurors met in person over three days last week and reviewed police interviews of officers and witnesses at the scene, 911 calls and body camera videos from after Taylor was shot. They also met directly with detectives who had investigated the killing, and the jurors sound at times inquisitive or skeptical on the recordings, peppering detectives with questions and pointing out inconsistencies in some of the officers’ accounts.

Below are highlights of the evidence presented in the new recordings.

An officer who shot Taylor described a chaotic scene.

Cosgrove, who the FBI said fired the shot that killed Taylor, described a disorienting scene of flashing lights as officers breached the door and seemed to suggest uncertainty about exactly what happened.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/police-officers-shot-in-louisville-during-protests-over-breonna-taylor-shooting-case-329803">Also read|&nbsp;Police officers shot in Louisville during protests over Breonna Taylor shooting case</a>

“I know that I have fired,” he said during an interview he gave police investigators last month that was played for the grand jury. “I just sensed that I’ve fired.”

But, he added, “It’s like a surreal thing. If you told me I didn’t do something at that time, I’d believe you. If you told me I did do something, I’d probably believe you, too.”

As soon as he got to the doorway, Cosgrove said, he was “overwhelmed with bright flashes and darkness. And what I describe as a movie reel that’s doing that ticking where you see white and black, white and black.”

Cosgrove said that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg during the raid, fell to the ground and that he had to step over his wounded colleague.

“I know John, my friend that I’ve known for 15 years, has been shot in this confined space,” Cosgrove said. “And I know this person is down and I sense that there’s still these gunshots happening due to those bright lights. I can’t even explain what it is.”

Cosgrove said he also saw a shadow of a person, a “larger than normal human shadow,” when they raided the apartment.

After jurors heard a recording of the interview that Cosgrove gave to investigators, one juror asked, “Does he have a history of panic attacks?”

Detective Jeff Fogg, an investigator with the attorney general’s office who interviewed Cosgrove, said he did not know.

“In these types of situations, whatever happened that night, everybody responds to it differently,” Fogg responded.

Taylor’s boyfriend says he was ‘scared to death.'

Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, told investigators he was “scared to death” when he heard loud banging on the apartment door and did not get a response when he and Taylor asked who was there.

Walker, who investigators have said shot the first officer who walked through the door in the leg, said he grabbed his gun after he and Taylor repeatedly yelled, “Who is it?”

The police said in interviews that were also released Friday that they had loudly announced themselves several times before breaking down Taylor’s door, but Walker said they had not heard anything but the knocking.

Walker said that he and Taylor were watching a movie with the lights off when they heard the knocking, and that they both got up and began to put their clothes on, with Taylor asking “at the top of her lungs” who was at the door. He took deep breaths as he gave his account of what happened to investigators on the same day that Taylor was shot; the interview was later played for the grand jurors.

As he and Taylor began to walk out of the bedroom and toward the door, he said, he saw the door go off its hinges. Walker said he fired one shot from his gun before he could even see who was at the door.

“All of a sudden, there’s a whole lot of shots,” Walker said. Cameron, the attorney general, has said that the police fired a total of 32 rounds, at least six of which struck Taylor.

“They’re just shooting, like, we’re both on the ground,” Walker said. Then the shots stopped, Walker said, and he saw that Taylor was bleeding.

“Next thing I know, she’s on the ground and the door’s busted open and I hear a bunch of yelling and just panicking,” Walker said, adding of Taylor: “And she’s right here bleeding. And nobody’s coming, and I’m just confused and scared.”

Walker said that just after the shooting, an officer told him that he was going to jail for the rest of his life and asked him, “Were you hit by any bullets?”

Walker said that when he replied, “No,” the officer responded by saying, “That’s unfortunate.”

Walker added that those were the officer’s “exact words.” He said that he did not know which officer had told him that, but it was definitely an officer in uniform. In the courtroom, someone responded: “That’s not appropriate.”

Jurors raised questions about some of the evidence.

The dozen grand jurors appeared inquisitive throughout the proceedings, asking witnesses about the evidence and sometimes sounding skeptical about what was provided to them.

The first witness before the grand jury was an investigator for the attorney general’s office who presented photos and videos of the scene, including the body camera videos of three officers who arrived after the shots were fired. The questioning was led by Barbara Maines Whaley, an assistant attorney general.

Grand jurors asked whether Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, had been named in the search warrant (he had not), what exactly the officers saw when the apartment door opened, and whether the officers executing the warrant were aware that the police had already found Jamarcus Glover, an ex-boyfriend of Taylor’s who was the target of the drug investigation.

Glover was in custody by the time the police raided Taylor’s apartment. At one point, a juror asked about the time stamps on a video. Another asked why they had not seen the room where the gun was found; the investigator said that the room would be shown in a different video.

The grand jurors peppered a detective from the attorney general’s office with several questions on the third and final day that they met, just hours before indicting Hankison. They asked if the police had recovered drugs or money from the apartment; the detective said no, and that the police had not searched the apartment for drugs or paraphernalia after shooting Taylor. They asked whether he had diagrams of the scene (no) and why the officers’ body cameras were not activated (the detective said he did not know).

Officers said the police knocked and announced themselves before the raid.

Grand jurors heard at least two Louisville police officers who were at the raid on Taylor’s apartment say the group knocked and announced their presence several times before breaking down the door, according to a recording of the proceedings released Friday.

Those accounts, which have been questioned by several of Taylor’s neighbors and her boyfriend, were included among roughly 15 hours of audio filed by the attorney general Friday, which includes interviews heard by the grand jury over several days last week.

Another officer at the raid, Detective Michael Nobles, told police investigators he heard movement and voices, including a female voice, inside the apartment before the police entered.

Nobles, who held the battering ram that broke through Taylor’s door, said he stood at the door, knocking and announcing himself as police for one or two minutes before he used the battering ram to force his way into Taylor’s apartment. His interview was also played for grand jurors. He said it took three knocks with the battering ram to break down the door completely.

The first blow hit the handle, he said. The second broke the door, but left it still on the hinges. The third broke down the door completely.

When he entered, Nobles said it was “pitch black,” and that Sgt. John Mattingly, one of the officers who shot Taylor, was quickly shot in the leg after the team entered the building.

In previous interviews with The Times, 11 of 12 of Taylor’s neighbors said they never heard the police identify themselves. One neighbor said he heard the group say “Police,” just once.

The detective who was indicted said he thought someone in the apartment had a semi-automatic weapon.

Grand jurors were played recordings of radio calls from Hankison, the detective who fired blindly from outside the apartment and has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment.

“Officer down on Springfield!” Hankison shouted into the radio at 12:43 a.m.

The calls suggest that Hankison, who was fired several months after the shooting, believed that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly had been wounded by someone with an “AR” — short for AR-15, a type of a military-style semi-automatic rifle — who was “barricaded” inside the apartment.

In fact, investigators later said, Mattingly was struck by a 9-mm round fired by Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, who has said he mistook the officers for intruders.

During a March 25 interview with investigators that was also played for the grand jury, Hankison said he saw a figure inside Taylor’s apartment holding what he believed to be an AR-15.

Hankison told investigators he did not remember if he returned fire after the team broke down the door, or if he immediately spun around and exited the hallway.

Once he retreated, Hankison said, he went around the side of the apartment to get a better vantage point. He said he could see muzzle flashes through the sliding glass door and heard that an officer had been shot. The gunfire intensified as he peered through the window, Hankison said. “I could see it lighting up the room.”

Hankison said he then shot through the window toward where he believed the shooter to be, then changed locations and fired through another window. Shortly after that, the muzzle flashes ceased, Hankison said.

The Louisville Metro Police Department fired Hankison in June. The police chief at the time accused him of violating the department’s policy on the use of deadly force, saying he had “wantonly and blindly” fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment.

Hankison told investigators in the March interview that he had not anticipated a firefight. He expected one unarmed woman, who had no criminal record, to be home alone, he said.

After hearing Hankison’s recorded interview, one juror questioned his account of where he perceived the shooter to be, and why he had fired through multiple windows. Other jurors questioned Hankison’s account of events as compared to other testimonies they had heard.

“You are hearing several accounts of what happened,” said Fogg, an investigator with the attorney general’s office. “So that’s the challenge here, to try and keep everything as part of the entire picture.”

Here’s what the charge of ‘wanton endangerment’ means.

The only charges brought by the grand jury were three counts of “wanton endangerment in the first degree” against Hankison for his actions during the raid.

Under Kentucky law, a person commits that crime when he or she “wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person,” and does so “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Other states may use terms like “reckless endangerment” for an equivalent offense.

But the charges against Hankison are not for killing Taylor. None of the 10 shots he fired are known to have struck her. Instead, the Kentucky attorney general said the former detective was charged by the grand jury because the shots he fired had passed through Taylor’s apartment walls into a neighboring apartment, endangering three people there.

Hankison is charged with one count for each of the neighboring apartment’s occupants: a pregnant woman, her husband and their 5-year-old child, who were asleep. They were not hit by the shots.

The crime is a Class D felony in Kentucky, which means it can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine on conviction for each count.

A person can be guilty of wanton endangerment even if they did not intend to harm anyone or to commit a crime; it is sufficient to recklessly disregard the peril that one’s actions create.

Hankison was fired from the force. During the raid, he fired into her apartment from outside, through a sliding glass patio door and a window that were covered with blinds, in violation of a department policy that requires officers to have a line of sight.

Protesters have demanded justice in the Breonna Taylor case for months.

The name Breonna Taylor has echoed across the nation for months as demonstrators demanded the police be held accountable for her death.

Outrage over the killing of Taylor, 26, has spread far from Louisville, with protests drawing crowds in cities across the United States, beginning in the spring and continuing throughout the summer. Rallying cries of “Say Her Name” have been ubiquitous at the rallies.

The police killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in May after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee, brought renewed attention to deadly episodes involving the police, including Taylor’s death, and fueled Black Lives Matter protests that persisted throughout the summer.

In September, when the grand jury announced no charges against the officers who killed Taylor, protesters poured into the streets of Louisville with renewed strength and anger, demanding stronger charges. The protesters called for all three officers, who are white, to be held to account for Taylor’s death.

Taylor’s family, too, has pleaded for justice, pushing for criminal charges against the officers. Taylor’s case has also been the center of campaigns from several celebrities and athletes, some of whom have dedicated their seasons to keeping a spotlight on her case.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two very different accounts emerged Friday from either side of an apartment door in Louisville, the one that police officers knocked off its hinges in March as they delivered a search warrant at the home of Breonna Taylor.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two very different accounts emerged Friday from either side of an apartment door in Louisville, the one that police officers knocked off its hinges in March as they delivered a search warrant at the home of Breonna Taylor. In newly-released audio from closed-door grand jury proceedings, there was conflicting testimony over what happened in the seconds before the police shot and killed Taylor, a Black emergency room technician whose death pulled people to the streets in protests across the country. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said in the new recordings that he was “scared to death” when he and Taylor heard pounding on the door in the middle of the night and got no response to their yelled queries of who was knocking. The officers involved in the raid, though, insisted in interviews with investigators that they had loudly identified themselves as police before they burst through the door. It was only after one officer was shot, they said, that they opened fired at the couple, killing Taylor. Also read| 'Ban no-knock warrant': Biden-Harris react to Breonna Taylor's unjust ruling The dueling accounts of a chaotic and tragic night are captured in 15 hours of recordings from the grand jury’s examination of the fatal raid. For the first time, some of those directly involved in the police shooting — including neighbors, officers and Taylor’s boyfriend — are heard describing the fateful night. “Next thing I know, she’s on the ground and the door’s busted open and I hear a bunch of yelling and just panicking,” Walker said in an interview with investigators in March that was played for the grand jury last week. “And she’s right here bleeding,” he adds of Taylor. “And nobody’s coming, and I’m just confused and scared.” The grand jury concluded its work last week by bringing an indictment against one former officer for endangering Taylor’s neighbors; they brought no charges against the two officers who shot her. Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky attorney general, released the recordings Friday after a judge ordered him to do so, but the recordings did not include the instructions that prosecutors gave to the 12 jurors. One juror said Cameron was deflecting blame by saying it was jurors who had opted not to indict the two officers who shot Taylor. Also read| Breonna Taylor's family asks grand jury transcripts to be released One of those officers, Detective Myles Cosgrove, who the FBI said fired the shot that killed Taylor, described in the audio being uncertain about exactly what occurred during the chaos after police used a battering ram to burst into Taylor’s apartment and were shot at by Walker. “I just sensed that I’ve fired,” Cosgrove said in an interview last month that was played for the jurors. But, he added: “It’s like a surreal thing. If you told me I didn’t do something at that time, I’d believe you. If you told me I did do something, I’d probably believe you, too.” The grand jurors met in person over three days last week and reviewed police interviews of officers and witnesses at the scene, 911 calls and body camera videos from after Taylor was shot. They also met directly with detectives who had investigated the killing, and the jurors sound at times inquisitive or skeptical on the recordings, peppering detectives with questions and pointing out inconsistencies in some of the officers’ accounts. Below are highlights of the evidence presented in the new recordings. An officer who shot Taylor described a chaotic scene. Cosgrove, who the FBI said fired the shot that killed Taylor, described a disorienting scene of flashing lights as officers breached the door and seemed to suggest uncertainty about exactly what happened. Also read| Police officers shot in Louisville during protests over Breonna Taylor shooting case “I know that I have fired,” he said during an interview he gave police investigators last month that was played for the grand jury. “I just sensed that I’ve fired.” But, he added, “It’s like a surreal thing. If you told me I didn’t do something at that time, I’d believe you. If you told me I did do something, I’d probably believe you, too.” As soon as he got to the doorway, Cosgrove said, he was “overwhelmed with bright flashes and darkness. And what I describe as a movie reel that’s doing that ticking where you see white and black, white and black.” Cosgrove said that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg during the raid, fell to the ground and that he had to step over his wounded colleague. “I know John, my friend that I’ve known for 15 years, has been shot in this confined space,” Cosgrove said. “And I know this person is down and I sense that there’s still these gunshots happening due to those bright lights. I can’t even explain what it is.” Cosgrove said he also saw a shadow of a person, a “larger than normal human shadow,” when they raided the apartment. After jurors heard a recording of the interview that Cosgrove gave to investigators, one juror asked, “Does he have a history of panic attacks?” Detective Jeff Fogg, an investigator with the attorney general’s office who interviewed Cosgrove, said he did not know. “In these types of situations, whatever happened that night, everybody responds to it differently,” Fogg responded. Taylor’s boyfriend says he was ‘scared to death.' Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, told investigators he was “scared to death” when he heard loud banging on the apartment door and did not get a response when he and Taylor asked who was there. Walker, who investigators have said shot the first officer who walked through the door in the leg, said he grabbed his gun after he and Taylor repeatedly yelled, “Who is it?” The police said in interviews that were also released Friday that they had loudly announced themselves several times before breaking down Taylor’s door, but Walker said they had not heard anything but the knocking. Walker said that he and Taylor were watching a movie with the lights off when they heard the knocking, and that they both got up and began to put their clothes on, with Taylor asking “at the top of her lungs” who was at the door. He took deep breaths as he gave his account of what happened to investigators on the same day that Taylor was shot; the interview was later played for the grand jurors. As he and Taylor began to walk out of the bedroom and toward the door, he said, he saw the door go off its hinges. Walker said he fired one shot from his gun before he could even see who was at the door. “All of a sudden, there’s a whole lot of shots,” Walker said. Cameron, the attorney general, has said that the police fired a total of 32 rounds, at least six of which struck Taylor. “They’re just shooting, like, we’re both on the ground,” Walker said. Then the shots stopped, Walker said, and he saw that Taylor was bleeding. “Next thing I know, she’s on the ground and the door’s busted open and I hear a bunch of yelling and just panicking,” Walker said, adding of Taylor: “And she’s right here bleeding. And nobody’s coming, and I’m just confused and scared.” Walker said that just after the shooting, an officer told him that he was going to jail for the rest of his life and asked him, “Were you hit by any bullets?” Walker said that when he replied, “No,” the officer responded by saying, “That’s unfortunate.” Walker added that those were the officer’s “exact words.” He said that he did not know which officer had told him that, but it was definitely an officer in uniform. In the courtroom, someone responded: “That’s not appropriate.” Jurors raised questions about some of the evidence. The dozen grand jurors appeared inquisitive throughout the proceedings, asking witnesses about the evidence and sometimes sounding skeptical about what was provided to them. The first witness before the grand jury was an investigator for the attorney general’s office who presented photos and videos of the scene, including the body camera videos of three officers who arrived after the shots were fired. The questioning was led by Barbara Maines Whaley, an assistant attorney general. Grand jurors asked whether Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, had been named in the search warrant (he had not), what exactly the officers saw when the apartment door opened, and whether the officers executing the warrant were aware that the police had already found Jamarcus Glover, an ex-boyfriend of Taylor’s who was the target of the drug investigation. Glover was in custody by the time the police raided Taylor’s apartment. At one point, a juror asked about the time stamps on a video. Another asked why they had not seen the room where the gun was found; the investigator said that the room would be shown in a different video. The grand jurors peppered a detective from the attorney general’s office with several questions on the third and final day that they met, just hours before indicting Hankison. They asked if the police had recovered drugs or money from the apartment; the detective said no, and that the police had not searched the apartment for drugs or paraphernalia after shooting Taylor. They asked whether he had diagrams of the scene (no) and why the officers’ body cameras were not activated (the detective said he did not know). Officers said the police knocked and announced themselves before the raid. Grand jurors heard at least two Louisville police officers who were at the raid on Taylor’s apartment say the group knocked and announced their presence several times before breaking down the door, according to a recording of the proceedings released Friday. Those accounts, which have been questioned by several of Taylor’s neighbors and her boyfriend, were included among roughly 15 hours of audio filed by the attorney general Friday, which includes interviews heard by the grand jury over several days last week. Another officer at the raid, Detective Michael Nobles, told police investigators he heard movement and voices, including a female voice, inside the apartment before the police entered. Nobles, who held the battering ram that broke through Taylor’s door, said he stood at the door, knocking and announcing himself as police for one or two minutes before he used the battering ram to force his way into Taylor’s apartment. His interview was also played for grand jurors. He said it took three knocks with the battering ram to break down the door completely. The first blow hit the handle, he said. The second broke the door, but left it still on the hinges. The third broke down the door completely. When he entered, Nobles said it was “pitch black,” and that Sgt. John Mattingly, one of the officers who shot Taylor, was quickly shot in the leg after the team entered the building. In previous interviews with The Times, 11 of 12 of Taylor’s neighbors said they never heard the police identify themselves. One neighbor said he heard the group say “Police,” just once. The detective who was indicted said he thought someone in the apartment had a semi-automatic weapon. Grand jurors were played recordings of radio calls from Hankison, the detective who fired blindly from outside the apartment and has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment. “Officer down on Springfield!” Hankison shouted into the radio at 12:43 a.m. The calls suggest that Hankison, who was fired several months after the shooting, believed that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly had been wounded by someone with an “AR” — short for AR-15, a type of a military-style semi-automatic rifle — who was “barricaded” inside the apartment. In fact, investigators later said, Mattingly was struck by a 9-mm round fired by Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, who has said he mistook the officers for intruders. During a March 25 interview with investigators that was also played for the grand jury, Hankison said he saw a figure inside Taylor’s apartment holding what he believed to be an AR-15. Hankison told investigators he did not remember if he returned fire after the team broke down the door, or if he immediately spun around and exited the hallway. Once he retreated, Hankison said, he went around the side of the apartment to get a better vantage point. He said he could see muzzle flashes through the sliding glass door and heard that an officer had been shot. The gunfire intensified as he peered through the window, Hankison said. “I could see it lighting up the room.” Hankison said he then shot through the window toward where he believed the shooter to be, then changed locations and fired through another window. Shortly after that, the muzzle flashes ceased, Hankison said. The Louisville Metro Police Department fired Hankison in June. The police chief at the time accused him of violating the department’s policy on the use of deadly force, saying he had “wantonly and blindly” fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment. Hankison told investigators in the March interview that he had not anticipated a firefight. He expected one unarmed woman, who had no criminal record, to be home alone, he said. After hearing Hankison’s recorded interview, one juror questioned his account of where he perceived the shooter to be, and why he had fired through multiple windows. Other jurors questioned Hankison’s account of events as compared to other testimonies they had heard. “You are hearing several accounts of what happened,” said Fogg, an investigator with the attorney general’s office. “So that’s the challenge here, to try and keep everything as part of the entire picture.” Here’s what the charge of ‘wanton endangerment’ means. The only charges brought by the grand jury were three counts of “wanton endangerment in the first degree” against Hankison for his actions during the raid. Under Kentucky law, a person commits that crime when he or she “wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person,” and does so “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Other states may use terms like “reckless endangerment” for an equivalent offense. But the charges against Hankison are not for killing Taylor. None of the 10 shots he fired are known to have struck her. Instead, the Kentucky attorney general said the former detective was charged by the grand jury because the shots he fired had passed through Taylor’s apartment walls into a neighboring apartment, endangering three people there. Hankison is charged with one count for each of the neighboring apartment’s occupants: a pregnant woman, her husband and their 5-year-old child, who were asleep. They were not hit by the shots. The crime is a Class D felony in Kentucky, which means it can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine on conviction for each count. A person can be guilty of wanton endangerment even if they did not intend to harm anyone or to commit a crime; it is sufficient to recklessly disregard the peril that one’s actions create. Hankison was fired from the force. During the raid, he fired into her apartment from outside, through a sliding glass patio door and a window that were covered with blinds, in violation of a department policy that requires officers to have a line of sight. Protesters have demanded justice in the Breonna Taylor case for months. The name Breonna Taylor has echoed across the nation for months as demonstrators demanded the police be held accountable for her death. Outrage over the killing of Taylor, 26, has spread far from Louisville, with protests drawing crowds in cities across the United States, beginning in the spring and continuing throughout the summer. Rallying cries of “Say Her Name” have been ubiquitous at the rallies. The police killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in May after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee, brought renewed attention to deadly episodes involving the police, including Taylor’s death, and fueled Black Lives Matter protests that persisted throughout the summer. In September, when the grand jury announced no charges against the officers who killed Taylor, protesters poured into the streets of Louisville with renewed strength and anger, demanding stronger charges. The protesters called for all three officers, who are white, to be held to account for Taylor’s death. Taylor’s family, too, has pleaded for justice, pushing for criminal charges against the officers. Taylor’s case has also been the center of campaigns from several celebrities and athletes, some of whom have dedicated their seasons to keeping a spotlight on her case.

Breonna Taylor grand jury audio reveals conflicting accounts of fatal raid

Movie producer Harvey&nbsp;Weinstein&nbsp;was indicted&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said, the first case to emerge from a slew of sexual misconduct allegations against him.

"This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged," Vance said in a statement on the charges against the disgraced 66-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio and the Weinstein Co.

The grand jury indictment follows his arrest and court appearance last Friday on charges related to two among about 70 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, all of which Weinstein has denied.

Vance's statement said Weinstein was charged with rape in the first and third degrees and a criminal sexual act in the first degree.

Ben Brafman, the head of Weinstein's legal team, said his client would plead not guilty and defend himself against the charges.

If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.

Earlier&nbsp;on Wednesday, Weinstein declined to testify before the grand jury after a judge denied a request by his lawyers to postpone the appearance. Brafman had argued Weinstein was denied access to information about the case and lacked preparation time.

"Mr&nbsp;Weinstein intends to enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies," Brafman said in a statement after the indictment.

"We will soon formally move to dismiss the indictment and if this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr&nbsp;Weinstein to be acquitted."

The grand jury indictment spares the prosecution the step of having to go before a judge to demonstrate there is enough evidence to bring Weinstein to trial.

The indictment follows a months-long investigation with the New York Police Department. Police have not identified the two women but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013.

Weinstein remains out on $1 million cash bail ordered by a judge last Friday. Weinstein surrendered his US&nbsp;passport and agreed to wear a monitoring device that tracks his location, confining him to the states of New York and Connecticut.

Some of the allegations date back decades. Weinstein has denied ever having nonconsensual sex.

The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct.

Actresses who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct include Uma Thurman, Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and Salma Hayek.

The grand jury indictment follows his arrest and court appearance on charges related to two among about 70 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct

Movie producer Harvey Weinstein was indicted on Wednesday on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said, the first case to emerge from a slew of sexual misconduct allegations against him. "This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged," Vance said in a statement on the charges against the disgraced 66-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio and the Weinstein Co. The grand jury indictment follows his arrest and court appearance last Friday on charges related to two among about 70 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, all of which Weinstein has denied. Vance's statement said Weinstein was charged with rape in the first and third degrees and a criminal sexual act in the first degree. Ben Brafman, the head of Weinstein's legal team, said his client would plead not guilty and defend himself against the charges. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison. Earlier on Wednesday, Weinstein declined to testify before the grand jury after a judge denied a request by his lawyers to postpone the appearance. Brafman had argued Weinstein was denied access to information about the case and lacked preparation time. "Mr Weinstein intends to enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies," Brafman said in a statement after the indictment. "We will soon formally move to dismiss the indictment and if this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr Weinstein to be acquitted." The grand jury indictment spares the prosecution the step of having to go before a judge to demonstrate there is enough evidence to bring Weinstein to trial. The indictment follows a months-long investigation with the New York Police Department. Police have not identified the two women but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. Weinstein remains out on $1 million cash bail ordered by a judge last Friday. Weinstein surrendered his US passport and agreed to wear a monitoring device that tracks his location, confining him to the states of New York and Connecticut. Some of the allegations date back decades. Weinstein has denied ever having nonconsensual sex. The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct. Actresses who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct include Uma Thurman, Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and Salma Hayek.

Film producer Harvey Weinstein indicted for rape

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