Federal Court

Dershowitz joins Lindell legal team, calls Jan.6 Committee actions ‘great danger’

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Prominent defense attorney Alan Dershowitz has joined the legal team representing MyPillow founder and Minnesota resident Mike Lindell in a civil rights lawsuit against the congressional committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 Committee wants Verizon to turn over Lindell’s cell phone records between Nov. 1, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2021.  Dershowitz…

Man sentenced to 7 years for prostitution robbery scheme

FARGO (KVRR) – An eighth person charged in connection with a prostitution robbery scheme in Fargo has been sentenced to six years in federal prison. Thirty-year-old Zachary Mitchell of Fargo was part of a group that lured men to apartments through an online ad that promoted prostitution. “The victim arranged to meet an individual for the purpose of commercial sex…

Fight over gray wolf protections heads to federal court

BILLINGS, Mont. – U.S. government attorneys are set to appear before a federal judge to defend a decision from the Trump administration that lifted protections for gray wolves across most of the country. The hearing on Friday before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in California comes as officials in Republican-led states including Wisconsin, Montana and Idaho have sought to drive…

Belcourt man sentenced for sexual abuse of a child

FARGO (KVRR) – A Belcourt, N.D. man has been sentenced to 36 1/2 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 11 year-old. Forty-year-old Adam Jason Poitra was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a minor. Federal prosecutors say Poitra sexually abused the child “countless times” between September, 2017 and May, 2018. U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte also sentenced Poitra…

In death threat case, court nixes penalty Rep. Omar urged

Rep. Ilhan OmarNEW YORK – A federal appeals court says a man convicted of threatening the life of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota won’t have to participate after all in a program in which he’d hear stories about Muslim refugees. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the unusual special condition in the sentence for Patrick Carlineo…

Judge allows Dakota Access Pipeline to stay open pending review

WASHINGTON (KVRR) – A federal judge has denied a request by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline pending the outcome of an environmental review. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg announced his decision Friday. Attorneys for pipeline owner Energy Transfer, argued that stopping the flow of oil in the pipeline would be…

Feds file new sex crimes charges against Moorhead man

James VanRadenFARGO (KVRR) – A Moorhead man who had been facing sex crime-related charges in Fargo is now facing federal charges. Forty-six-year-old James Van Raden is charged in U.S. District Court with coercion and enticement. Federal court documents say in December, 2019, Van Raden responded to an ad from an undercover West Fargo police detective who acted as a father…

Grand Forks man facing federal charges for threatening a mass shooting

The incident is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

GRAND FORKS, N.D.–A Grand Forks man appeared in Federal Court on Wednesday after threatening to commit a mass shooting. During his court appearance, it became known that Steven Ralph Lindblad had been indicted on the charges of interstate communication of a threat to injure persons and false information and hoax for an incident that occurred on August 15, 2019. Authorities…

Fight Over Gay Wedding Videos Stays in District Court

The filmmakers say videos are a form of speech with protections under the First Amendment.

ST. PAUL, Minn.–Minnesota’s attorney general says the state will continue to fight a lawsuit in federal court that was filed by two Minnesota filmmakers who want the right to refuse to record same-sex weddings instead of taking the case to the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or U.S. Supreme Court. Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Human Rights…

Attorneys Attempt to Suppress Evidence in DAPL Protester Case

Attorneys for Red Fawn Fallis are seeking to suppress some evidence and statements that she made to police

  MORTON COUNTY, ND — A Denver woman accused of shooting at law enforcement during the Dakota Access pipeline protest says her arrest violated her free speech rights. Attorneys for Red Fawn Fallis are seeking to suppress some evidence and statements that she made to police. A two-day hearing in federal court in Bismarck ended on Monday with the attorneys…