What If Law Enforcement Refuses to Enforce an Assault Weapons Ban?

Memphis Police Killing Condemned • Smearing Paul Pelosi • Behind Trump-Era Executions

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What If Law Enforcement Refuses to Enforce an Assault Weapons Ban?

Good morning from the Hive newsroom. Joe Biden said he “was outraged and deeply pained” to see the horrific video of Memphis police beating Tyre Nichols, whose death has sparked protests and widespread condemnation, Kelly Rissman writes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the killing of Nichols “by officers sworn to protect the community is unconscionable.”

Just hours before the graphic footage of Nichols circulated, disturbing video was released of the brutal assault on Paul Pelosi. But as Bess Levin writes, Pelosi “will probably have to wait on that apology from the right-wing media,” despite prominent personalities, Republicans, and their conservative followers having “spread baseless rumors” about the October attack. Levin also digs into a new report on the record-setting executions during Donald Trump’s administration.

Meanwhile, in Illinois, Eric Lutz reports how more than 90 sheriffs have vowed to defy an assault weapons ban signed earlier this month by Governor JB Pritzker. Gun control proponents fear the sheriffs’ stance “could undermine the gun-safety measure,” Lutz writes, “erode public trust in the rule of law more broadly, and leave more Illinoisans vulnerable to gun violence.”

Can Illinois’s Assault Weapons Ban Survive Scores of Rogue Sheriffs?

At least 90 county sheriffs have vowed to defy the law, sparking backlash from gun-reform advocates who say law enforcement is neglecting its duty. “There’s a real impact of this chest-beating,” the bill’s sponsor tells Vanity Fair. “They’re making political decisions about the safety of their community.”

“The Profound Fear and Trauma”: Biden and Other Leaders Condemn the Horrific Beating and Ultimate Death of Tyre Nichols

Five Black Memphis police officers now face charges of second-degree murder, assault, and kidnapping.

Paul Pelosi Will Probably Have to Wait on That Apology From the Right-Wing Media

Newly released footage of the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband should put their conspiracy theories to rest, but of course, it won’t.

Report: Donald Trump’s Record-Setting Executions Were Even More Appalling Than Previously Thought

New reporting reveals that Trump pushed his administration to carry out capital punishments to “insulate him from criticism that he was soft on crime,” while showing little regard for the lives of the people on death row.

NBC’s Chuck Todd and Rep. Jim Jordan Spar About “Double Standard” in Documents Debacle

The Ohio Congressman also accused FBI agents as being “weaponized.”