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X Edition: United States Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media Politics | Wed Jun 14, 2017 | 7:02pm EDT Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media left right 4/4 left right James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois is seen in this undated photo posted on his social media account. Social Media via REUTERS 1/4 left right 2/4 left right 3/4 left right 4/4 left right 1/4 By Sue Britt | BELLEVILLE, Ill. The suspect who opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they played baseball on Wednesday raged against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on social media and idolized Bernie Sanders, whom he saw as the only politician who understood the working class. Authorities identified the gunman as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He died from injuries sustained in a shoot-out with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Hodgkinson is believed by investigators to have been a person "of strong views," a senior U.S. official said, without elaborating. The Belleville News-Democrat newspaper posted a photograph of Hodgkinson protesting outside a post office there in 2012, wearing sunglasses and a goatee and holding a homemade placard that read "TAX the Rich." Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook including "The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans," "Terminate The Republican Party," and "Donald Trump is not my President," his profile showed before it was taken down. Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Republicans also control both chambers of Congress. "Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co." Hodgkinson wrote in a March 22 post. His profile picture was a U.S. flag with the slogan: "Democratic Socialism explained in 3 words: 'We the People.'" Hodgkinson went to Washington several weeks ago to protest against Trump's election, his brother told the New York Times. The former mayor of Alexandria, Bill Euille, said he talked with the suspect at the local YMCA most mornings for more than a month, and even tried to help find Hodgkinson a job after seeing he was living out of a gym bag, the Washington Post said. Stephen Brennwald, an Alexandria attorney, also saw Hodgkinson at the YMCA wearing long pants rather than gym attire, and said he often seemed to be staring into space. "It's just very freaky to think that this guy who was just sitting in there for weeks, not really doing anything, actually turned out to shoot at people," Brennwald told Reuters. 'DESPICABLE ACT' Hodgkinson's Facebook profile featured a cover photo of Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who ran unsuccessfully to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year. Sanders, an independent who ran as a progressive populist but was defeated by Hillary Clinton, said the suspect had "apparently volunteered" on his campaign. In a statement, Sanders condemned the shooting as a despicable act." One woman who asked not to be named told Reuters that Hodgkinson had contacted her via Facebook as part of a political discussion, but that he subsequently commented on her page that Clinton was a "liar" and a "baby killer." "I actually blocked him at one point," the woman said. A bartender at the Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria said Hodgkinson started coming in for beers about a month ago. "He was a regular-looking guy that kind of gave you a sense of the creeps, but you can't really put your finger on it," said Christina Shrimshaw, 27, who served him a handful of times but never remembered him discussing politics. "He would talk about very mundane things, like golf. He was big into watching the Golf Channel." Also In Politics No hint of new gun control push in U.S. Congress after shootings Trump being investigated for possible obstruction of justice: Washington Post A neighbor in Belleville, William Schaumleffel, recalled how in March he heard gunshots and saw Hodgkinson shooting with a long gun toward woods across a corn field from his yard. "I yelled at him: 'Hey, stop shooting over there. There are houses over there,'" Schaumleffel said. Hodgkinson did not stop, he added, so he filed a report with the sheriff's office. Hodgkinson's criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations, according to state records that identified him as a 5-foot, 6-inch (1.67-metre) man weighing 190 pounds (86 kg), with brown eyes. Most of the infractions were ultimately dropped. Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and real estate appraiser, but did not renew his home inspector license after it expired last year, state records showed. His license to appraise real estate expired in 1997. According to Facebook, Hodgkinson went to Belleville Township High School West and studied flight training at Southwestern Illinois College. Beginning in mid-2015, Hodgkinson began expressing support for Sanders' 2016 campaign, and federal records showed he donated $18 to the effort. "Bernie is the Only Candidate in Decades that Really Cares about the Working Class," Hodgkinson posted on June 13, 2016. The Belleville News-Democrat published letters he wrote the paper criticizing Republicans, tax policies and income inequality. One from August 2012 read: "I have never said 'life sucks,' only the policies of the Republicans." (Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins, Diane Bartz, Dustin Volz, Letitia Stein, Gina Cherelus, Mark Hosenball, Chris Kenning, Ian Simpson, Angela Moon, Peter Szkeley and Grant Smith; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Politics Senate backs legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday for new sanctions punishing Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and to force President Donald Trump to get Congress' approval before easing any existing sanctions. 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Egypt's bruised Brotherhood fails to show street power

Fri, Aug 23 16:22 PM EDT 1 of 5 By Maggie Fick and Lin Noueihed CAIRO (Reuters) - Mass protests called by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood mostly failed to materialize on Friday as the movement reels from a bloody army crackdown on followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi. Troops and police had taken relatively low-key security measures before the "Friday of Martyrs" processions that were to have begun from 28 mosques in the capital after weekly prayers. But midday prayers were canceled at some mosques and few major protests unfolded in Cairo, although witnesses said at least 1,000 people staged a march in the Mohandiseen district. There were no reports of violence in that procession, but the Brotherhood's website said one person had been killed in the Nile Delta town of Tanta in clashes with security forces. The Interior Ministry confirmed the death. Brotherhood supporters also turned out in Alexandria, several Delta towns, the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, the north Sinai town of Rafah, and Assiut in the south, with minor skirmishes reported in some places. The Health Ministry said 54 people had been wounded on Friday in Cairo and two Delta provinces, without giving any details of the violence or who was injured. "We are not afraid; it's victory or death," said Mohamed Abdel Azim, a retired oil engineer who was among about 100 people marching slowly from a mosque near Cairo University. "They intend to strike at Muslims," the grey-bearded Azim said. "We'd rather die in dignity than live in oppression. We'll keep coming out until there's no one left." Despite his defiant words, the mood of the protesters seemed subdued, perhaps a sign that the crackdown and the round-up of Brotherhood leaders has chilled the rank-and-file. Some marchers carried posters of Mursi, who was toppled by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on July 3 after huge demonstrations against his rule. "No to the coup," they chanted. A militant Islamist group active in the lawless Sinai Peninsula threatened new attacks on the army and police. In a statement published on a jihadist website, the Salafi Jihadi group condemned security forces for what it called the "heinous crime" of killing Brotherhood supporters. It was the first statement from any of the militant groups in the Sinai desert bordering Israel since last Wednesday's violent move by security forces on the Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo. The number of attacks on security forces in Sinai has jumped since the army removed Mursi. Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 24 policemen on Monday. "GOD WILL BRING DOWN SISI" At another small protest in Cairo, a veiled nursery teacher with four children, who gave her name as Nasra, said: "God will make us victorious, even if many of us are hurt and even if it takes a long time. God willing, God will bring down Sisi." Egypt has endured the bloodiest civil unrest in its modern history since August 14 when police destroyed protest camps set up by Mursi's supporters in Cairo to demand his reinstatement. The violence has alarmed Egypt's Western allies, although President Barack Obama acknowledged that even a decision to cut off U.S. aid to Cairo might not influence its armed forces. But he said Washington was re-evaluating its ties with Egypt. "There's no doubt that we can't return to business as usual, given what's happened," he told CNN in an interview. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for a halt to the $1.5 billion a year given mostly in military assistance to Egypt to bolster its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Military cooperation includes privileged U.S. access to the Suez Canal. The Brotherhood, hounded by the new army-backed rulers, had called for demonstrations across Egypt against the crackdown, testing the resilience of its battered support base. Security forces kept a watchful eye, but did not flood the streets, even near Cairo's central Fateh mosque, where gun battles killed scores of people last Friday and Saturday. The mosque's metal gates and big front door were locked and chained. Prayers were canceled. Two armored vehicles were parked down the street, where people shopped at a busy market. Only one riot police truck stood by near Rabaa al-Adawiya square in northeastern Cairo, home to the Brotherhood's biggest protest vigil until police and troops stormed in, killing hundreds of people, bulldozing barricades and burning tents. SYMBOLIC VICTORY The mosque there was closed for repairs. Workmen in blue overalls stood on scaffolding as they covered its charred walls with white paint. Children scavenged through piles of garbage. Troops used barbed wire to block a main road to Nahda Square, the site of the smaller of the two Brotherhood sit-ins. The authorities declared a month-long state of emergency last week and they enforce a nightly curfew. An official of the interim government said in a television interview on Friday that the state of emergency and curfew would be reconsidered if the security situation calmed. Security forces have arrested many leading figures from the Brotherhood, all but decapitating an organization that won five successive votes in Egypt after the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. In a symbolic victory for the army-dominated old order, Mubarak, an ex-military man who ruled Egypt for 30 years, was moved out of jail on Thursday. His successor Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, remains detained incommunicado. The Brotherhood's "General Guide" Mohamed Badie, who was arrested on Tuesday, is due to go on trial on Sunday along with two other senior figures, Khairat al-Shater and Saad al-Katatni, on charges that include incitement to violence. More than 1,000 people, including over 100 soldiers and police, have been killed since Mursi's overthrow. Brotherhood supporters say the toll is much higher. Graffiti on a mosque wall in a rundown Cairo neighborhood illustrated the deep divisions that have emerged since Sisi's takeover. The spray-painted message "Yes to Sisi" had been crossed out and painted over with the word "traitor." Slogans elsewhere read "Mursi is a spy" and "Mursi out". Someone had also written "Freedom, Justice, Brotherhood". The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, emerged as Egypt's best-organized political force after Mubarak fell. Its popularity waned during Mursi's year in office when critics accused it of accumulating excessive power, pushing a partisan Islamist agenda and mismanaging the economy. The Brotherhood, which the new government has threatened to dissolve entirely, says Mursi's administration was deliberately undermined by unreformed Mubarak-era institutions. Mubarak, 85, still faces retrial on charges of complicity in the killings of protesters, but he left jail on Thursday for the first time since April 2011 and was flown by helicopter to a plush military hospital in the southern Cairo suburb of Maadi. The authorities have used the state of emergency to keep him under house arrest, apparently to minimize the risk of popular anger if he had been given unfettered freedom. (Additional reporting by Cairo bureau; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Will Waterman and David Stamp)

At least 26 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences

At least 22 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences Sat, Jan 26 09:02 AM EST 1 of 15 By Yusri Mohamed and Yasmine Saleh PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 22 people died on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, adding to bloody street turmoil confronting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said after the violence. The state news agency quoted a general as saying the military aimed to "establish calm and stability in Port Said and to protect public institutions". The unrest began with nationwide rallies on Friday to mark the second anniversary of the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, a democratic uprising that protesters now accuse Mursi of betraying by ramming through an Islamist-hued constitution. While anniversary-related violence subsided, a new flare-up hit Port Said after a court sentenced 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths of 74 people after a local soccer match on February 1, 2012, many of them fans of the visiting team. Residents ran wildly through the streets of Port Said in rage that men from their city had been blamed for the stadium disaster, and gunshots were reported near the prison where most of the defendants were being held. State television, citing the Health Ministry, said 22 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. Security sources said at least two of the dead were policemen. A witness said some men stormed a police station in Port Said, where protesters lit tires in the street, sending black smoke funneling into the air. At least nine people were killed in clashes with police on Friday, mainly in the port of Suez where the army has also deployed. Hundreds were injured as police rained down tear gas on protesters armed with stones and some with petrol bombs. The schism between Islamists and secular Egyptians is hurting efforts by Mursi, freely elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a slide in Egypt's currency. The political strife and lack of security that has blighted the Arab world's most populous country over much of the post-Mubarak era is casting a chilling shadow over a parliamentary election expected to start in April. Highlighting tensions, the opposition National Salvation Front coalition called for a government of national unity and an early presidential vote among other demands. It said it would call for more protests next Friday and could boycott the parliamentary election if its demands are not met. Mursi's opponents say he has failed to deliver on economic pledges or be a president representing the full political and communal diversity of Egyptians, as he pledged. His supporters say his critics do not respect the democracy that has given Egypt its first freely elected leader. VICTIMS' RELATIVES CHEER At the Port Said soccer stadium a year ago, many spectators were crushed and witnesses saw some thrown off balconies after the match between Cairo's Al Ahly and local team al-Masri. Families of victims in court cheered and wept for joy when Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid read a list of 21 names "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote execution, as all death sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority. A total of 73 people have been standing trial. Other rulings will be issued on March 9, the judge said. One relative in the court shouted: "God is greatest." Outside the Al Ahly club in Cairo, fans also cheered. They had threatened more violence unless the death penalty was meted out. Thousands took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other cities on Friday to protest against what they call the authoritarianism of Mursi's rule. Protesters in Cairo were again hurling stones at police lines in Cairo on Saturday. "We want to change the president and the government. We are tired of this regime. Nothing has changed," said Mahmoud Suleiman, 22, in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolt and near where youths stoned police. "PURSUING CRIMINALS" Ahmed Salama, 28, a protester camped out with dozens of others in Tahrir, said: "The protests will continue until we realize all the demands of the revolution - bread, freedom and social justice." In a statement in response to Friday's violence, Mursi said the state would not hesitate in "pursuing the criminals and delivering them to justice". He urged Egyptians to respect the principles of the revolution by expressing views peacefully. The president met on Saturday with the National Defence Council, which includes senior ministers and security officials, to discuss the spate of violence. In a televised statement, the National Salvation Front said it was holding Mursi responsible. The Front was formed from disparate groups last year when Mursi awarded himself extra powers and fast-tracked an Islamist-flavored constitution to a referendum, opposed by the Front although the document was passed in the popular vote. "Egypt will not regain its balance except by a political solution that is transparent and credible, by a government of national salvation to restore order and heal the economy and with a constitution for all Egyptians," prominent opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account. Until the Front was formed, the opposition had struggled to unite and their vote had been split at presidential and parliamentary polls, helping Islamists. The last parliament was dissolved based on court order, demanding a new vote this year. Mustapha Kamal Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said the latest violence reflected the frustration of many liberal-minded Egyptians and others. "The state of polarization between Islamists and others is most likely to continue and will have a very negative impact on the state's politics, security and economy," he said. Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose among Egyptians two years ago has unraveled, triggering bloody street battles last month. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Heinrich)