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9 AGs back appeal of dismissed charges against officers who killed Ghaisar

Three months after a federal judge ruled two U.S. Park Police officers were immune from charges in the killing of unarmed Virginia driver Bijan Ghaisar, nine attorneys general are asking a higher court to reconsider.

After state prosecutors in Virginia appealed a U.S. district judge’s decision finding federal officers Lucas Amaya and Alejandro Amaya immune from local charges in the unarmed driver’s killing, the attorneys general filed a brief supporting that appeal.

In 2017, two U.S. Park Police officers who patrol the federal George Washington Parkway pursued the 25-year-old McLean man, after he left the scene of a minor traffic accident in which he had been rear-ended.

The pursuit ended off the parkway when the officers approached Ghaisar between their cruiser and a ditch. Dash cam video viewed in court showed that when Ghaisar’s car then began to inch away from them at low speed, Vineyard and Amaya fired multiple shots through the windshield. Ghaisar sustained several gunshot wounds and later died of his injuries at the hospital.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine led the brief and was joined by the attorneys general of Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

Racine said he finds it unclear why a federal judge found the Supremacy Clause applied to the federal officers, shielding them from state charges because they were acting in their official capacity.

“We need the court to clarify the standards for granting immunity to federal officers to ensure states can still seek justice when crimes are committed within their borders,” Racine said in a statement. “This is particularly important to the District because so many federal law enforcement agencies operate here. And I hope Virginia’s new attorney general will continue to pursue this case.”

Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. In place of the people movers, the airport will add a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways and new concourses. An above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles is also in the offing, according to Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The airport makeover would add to a long list of renovation projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on the Washington region after his term ends in January 2029. Among other undertakings, he is building a new White House ballroom and wants to build a towering triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. But of all the construction projects Trump is pursuing, the renovations at Dulles could prove to be his most popular and benefit the greatest number of people. The airport, the area’s primary international airport, served roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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