Stupid people of the week

Texas soldier with top security clearance charged with attempting to pass sensitive tank data to Russia: DOJ

A U.S. Army soldier in Texas with a top security clearance has been charged with handing over sensitive information about the military’s main battle tank in exchange for Russian citizenship.

Taylor Adam Lee, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges of attempted transmission of national defense information to a foreign adversary and attempted export of controlled technical data without a license.

“This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army,” said Brigadier General Sean F. Stinchon, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command.

Federal prosecutors said Lee attempted to hand over information to someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship.

Lee was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso where he held a Top Secret (TS) / Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance, the Justice Department said.

In June, he allegedly transmitted information regarding the M1A2 Abrams tank online and offered assistance to Russia, stating, “the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses.”

“At this point I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian Federation when I’m there in any way,” he allegedly said.

During a July meeting between Lee and someone he believed to be a representative of the Russian government, Lee allegedly passed an SD card, which contained documents and information on the Abrams battle tank, another armored fighting vehicle used by the U.S. military, and combat operations, prosecutors said.

Several documents contained technical data that Lee wasn’t authorized to provide, prosecutors said.

Other documents on the SD card were marked as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and featured banner warnings and dissemination controls. During the meeting, Lee allegedly said that the information on the SD card was sensitive and likely classified.

Lee also discussed obtaining and providing a specific piece of hardware inside the M1A2 Abrams tank to the Russian government, authorities said. On July 31, he delivered what appeared to be the hardware to a storage unit in El Paso.

He then sent a message to the individual he believed to be a representative of the Russian government stating: “Mission accomplished.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Army.

“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the U.S. – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to protect Americans and safeguard classified information.”

Lee’s arrest came on the same day that a soldier shot five other soldiers in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, shot five soldiers in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) area of the installation, authorities said.

All the soldiers were treated on-site and then transported to Winn Army Community Hospital, according to Fort Stewart officials. Radford, who has been apprehended, serves as an automated logistics sergeant assigned to the ABCT.

Source; Fox News

Texas Deputy Jennifer Escalera Under Fire After Saying She’ll Hand Out Tickets Because She “Didn’t Get Cracked”

A Texas sheriff’s deputy is under internal investigation after a controversial TikTok video in which she implied a lack of sex influenced her professional conduct went viral and sparked outrage.

The now-deleted clip, originally posted to TikTok by Harris County Precinct 5 deputy Jennifer Escalera, shows the uniformed officer writing in a notepad beneath a suggestive caption:

“Didn’t get cracked last night so everyone is getting a ticket…”

In popular slang, “cracked” is often interpreted to mean having sex, a detail that didn’t go unnoticed by social media users or department officials.

Internal Affairs Steps In
Escalera‘s badge number was not to be found in the video but her name plate was. Her identification was later confirmed by a number of sources, including The Houston Chronicle and AOL, though the department has not officially identified her.

Following public outrage, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable‘s Office released a statement to Fox 26 Houston regarding the following regarding the fact that the incident is now under investigation:

“Our administration is aware and internal affairs has opened an investigation. We have no other comment at this time.”

It remains unclear whether Escalera has been placed on leave during the investigation or whether any formal disciplinary action is imminent.

A Pattern of Uniformed TikToks
Before she had her account deleted, Escalera supposedly posted several other videos on TikTok while in uniform. There were funny and casual ones covering everything from motherhood commentary to reflections on being a law enforcement officer.

While it is not clear if those other videos are being investigated, numerous critics have challenged the professionalism and ethics of speaking on the record in uniform, especially when they include personal or sexual references.

Community Reaction: ‘Unprofessional’
The public reaction in the Houston community has been swift, with residents expressing outrage overwhelmingly at what they see as a betrayal of the public‘s trust.

“It’s very unprofessional,” one Precinct 5 resident told Fox 26. “You shouldn’t be doing things like that. When you’re a professional, you carry yourself a certain way.”

Another local, Alex Fitch, echoed the sentiment:

“It makes them look unprofessional when they start posting videos like that. You can’t take them seriously… Then they wonder why people don’t respect them.”

Policy and Perception in the Digital Age
Police forces around the nation grapple with how to handle officers’ social media lives, particularly when uniforms or badges are included in personal posts. Videos like Escalera‘s blur the line between personal life and professional conduct, raising difficult questions about how officers project themselves publicly.

While Escalera joined the Harris County Constable‘s Office in September 2021, as reported by The Chronicle, its impact on her future in the agency is yet to be seen.

Precinct 5 has thus far remained silent on commenting further, and Escalera‘s social media accounts have been erased.

Source; Yahoo!

Mexico City police officers are under investigation after being caught groping each other in a patrol car

Note that I’m using Google Translate here to make an English post out of a Spanish language article, should things seem a tad off…

A video circulating on social media has sparked controversy by showing two police officers from the Mexico City Citizen Security Secretariat (SSC) performing sexual acts inside a patrol car while traveling on public roads.

The clip has sparked outrage, leading the institution to take immediate action to clarify the facts.

Following the release of the video, the SSC issued a statement announcing that the two police officers involved have already been identified .

The Secretariat indicated that both the man and the woman will be summoned to give their statements about what happened.

In addition, the SSC’s General Directorate of Internal Affairs has opened an internal administrative investigation to determine the circumstances and responsibilities of the case. The institution made it clear that it “will not tolerate acts that violate police protocols and the principles that govern the institution .”

So far, the exact date of the incident has not been confirmed, nor has it been confirmed whether the officers were on duty at the time . The SSC is continuing its investigation to obtain more details about the incident.

The Secretariat assures that if the acts are proven to be true, the necessary measures will be taken in accordance with the institution’s internal protocols, without tolerating behavior that contravenes the values and standards that should guide police action.

The investigation is ongoing, but the Ministry of Citizen Security has reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and respect for the principles that guide the work of law enforcement agencies in Mexico City .

Meanwhile, public attention remains focused on how the SSC will handle this case and the potential sanctions for those involved.

This incident has sparked a debate about the conduct of law enforcement officers , highlighting the importance of maintaining integrity in the exercise of public functions. Citizens expect clear and swift responses to ensure compliance with ethics and the law within security institutions.

Here’s a copy of the video should you want to view it. For research purposes.

Source; El Imparcial 

Camper’s ‘repeated cries’ spark rescue mission — but he was singing songs by infamous rock band

He just wanted to be a big rock star.

Rescue teams in British Columbia responded to what they thought was a camper in distress, but the screams they heard in the mountainous forest turned out to be an outdoorsman belting out his favorite Nickelback songs.

The man had been solo camping the Boulderfields near Central Okanagan, a popular destination for bikers and rock climbers in the province, when two hikers called 911 after hearing what they described as “repeated cries.”

Members of the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue crew happened to be out in the woods training nearby when the calls came in, and immediately started looking for the imperiled nature lover, deploying their drone team and enlisting two Royal Canadian Mounted Police to assist in the effort.

As the search teams neared the sound of the bleating echoing through the darkened woodlands, they heard “faint yelling … but couldn’t make out what was being said,” they described in a statement online.

“Was it ‘help’? Or worse, Nickelback?” the snarky post read.

Turns out the camper was “singing his heart out to the trees, blissfully unaware that the acoustics of the Boulderfields had turned his tent-side concert into an accidental distress signal,” the teams wrote.

“He wasn’t in trouble,” said COSAR Search Manager Duane Tresnich. “Unless you count his singing.”

COSAR noted that its rescue services are provided free of charge, adding, “and the money you save could be spent on singing lessons.”

Nickelback, the much-maligned Canadian alt-rock group that got its start in Alberta, is known not only for selling over 50 million albums worldwide, but also as something of a pop-culture punchline.

The band even made a documentary in 2023, “Hate to Love: Nickelback” about spending two decades as the “most hated band in the world,” despite their mega-success by any objective measure, with eight songs hitting Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart including “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph.”

Source; NY Post

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals