Ben Conarck@conarck

Criminal justice reporter @postlocal. Formerly @BaltimoreBanner • @MiamiHerald • @jaxdotcom • benconarck.27 on Signal 🦉

Joined December 2014
2,111 Photos and videos
The jury in the Trayon White case is deadlocked. Some jurors looked visibly frustrated as the judge brought them into the courtroom. Defense asked for mistrial, but Judge Contreras said it "hasn't been that long, in the grand scheme of things." We're on Day 3 of deliberations.
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“It’s a difficult statute, and obviously from your thoughtful questions, you’re looking at a lot of different scenarios,” Judge Contreras told the jury of eight women and four men. washingtonpost.com/national-…

Jury in Trayon White Sr. bribery trial says it can’t reach verdict

White was charged with accepting $35,000 from a D.C. government contractor in exchange for agreeing to pressure D.C. officials to renew contracts that his companies had obtained for violence-interr...

washingtonpost.com
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They better not come for the chocolate marshmallow sticks next.
Judah Ari Gross@JudahAriGross
Sep 24
News you can use from @jaydeitcher: Sunkist Fruit Gems, a colorful staple of synagogue celebrations, discontinued ejewishphilanthropy.com/sunk…
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Minor update today in the case of Philan Le, accused of intending to use a "dangerous weapon" after setting up a guillotine near the Capitol. Le's attorney filed a motion to dismiss. Today, the judge gave prosecutors 2 weeks to respond. Next hearing: 10/28 washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

He brought a guillotine to D.C. He didn’t expect to get arrested.

Philan Le told The Post about the guillotine’s journey from California and what came next. Legal experts say convicting him may be a challenge.

washingtonpost.com
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Staggering piece by @teoarmus about Florida International University, whose president and "police chief," both children of Cuban emigres, agreed to "deputize four campus police officers as ICE agents." washingtonpost.com/politics/…

Hispanics flock to this university. It let campus police double as ICE agents.

Leaders of Florida International University signed an agreement to deputize its school police as immigration agents. Some wish they had put up more of a fight.

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Trayon White trial: defense attorneys are prepared to call their first witness, former AG Karl Racine.
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White will not testify in this trial, we've just learned with certainty. His defense attorneys have just indicated that they are prepared to rest their case.
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His first time speaking during the trial, White is now telling the judge he understands the implications/conditions under which he is deciding not to testify on his own behalf.
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Liam Scott@liamjscott
Sep 18
Trump's arch needs ‘eternal flame’ to alert pilots, but would pose no hazard, FAA says washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

Arch needs ‘eternal flame’ to alert pilots, but would pose no hazard, FAA says

To make the arch noticeable to pilots, the FAA said it should be marked with “a non-standard eternal flame” and floodlights.

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Secretly recorded FBI footage shows D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. talking about money woes, therapy and Mayor Bowser. The videos show a businessman, who was serving as an informant, handing White envelopes purportedly filled with cash. wapo.st/3T9QfnE
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“The investigation of him, spurred by at least two whistleblower complaints seen by The Washington Post, is expected to be made public Tuesday or earlier, according to officials familiar with the matter.​“ via @DanMorseWP washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

Montgomery County police chief resigns after investigation into Vegas trip

The county’s Office of the Inspector General said Chief Marc Yamada was untruthful when questioned.

washingtonpost.com
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Greg Miller
@gregpmiller
Sep 18
Three former top CIA officials were evacuated from train minutes before Russian strike. washingtonpost.com/world/202…

String of daring Russian plots is testing Washington’s restraint

A strike on a train that imperiled former European leaders and CIA officers is among a spate of attacks that risked a dangerous escalation with the West, experts say.

washingtonpost.com
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Small update on this case: Zion Mitchell, the National Guard member accused of pointing a gun at a fellow troop in a van, has been released from the D.C. jail is on GPS monitoring, per court records. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

National Guard member accused of pulling a gun during argument in D.C.

A National Guard member is accused of pointing his weapon at another Guard member inside a van while sitting outside a Popeye's on H Street Northeast. He's being held in jail.

washingtonpost.com
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The FBI informant who allegedly bribed Trayon White Sr. gave his first public account of their dealings this week. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

Trayon White Sr.’s defense assails credibility of FBI informant in bribery case

Allieu Kamara, a contractor who had millions of dollars in business with D.C., is the star prosecution witness in the case against the council member.

washingtonpost.com
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Jasmine Golden@jas__golden
Sep 17
A Maryland man has spent the past 12 years in prison for the murder of a baby girl he cared for. His attorneys say they now have evidence to prove his innocence, and that no crime may have happened at all. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…

A baby died in his care. He has spent years trying to clear his name.

A judge is weighing Curtis Ryan Morris’s case years after his conviction in the killing of a 3-month-old infant in his care.

washingtonpost.com
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Josh Gerstein
@joshgerstein
Sep 16
JUST IN: Maryland fed court bans public from bringing any electronic devices into its courthouses, as of 11/2/26. Media exception a bit confusing. Order says credentialed media are exempt. Release says media need to apply in advance for permission. Doc: mdd.uscourts.gov/news/electr…
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Scott Nover@ScottNover
Sep 16
Come work with me! The Washington Post is hiring an information and influence reporter. wd5.myworkday.com/washpost/d…
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Nicholas Nehamas@NickNehamas
Sep 16
NEW: Just days after Ecuador's president met with Kristi Noem, ICE arrested his political foe in Miami. Even though an immigration judge found it likely José Serrano would be tortured, the U.S. deported him in a hasty process that took a single day. nytimes.com/2026/09/16/us/po…

U.S. Fast-Tracked Deportation of Ecuadorean Politician Despite Torture Fears (Gift Article)

The removal of José Serrano, a critic of President Daniel Noboa who has been accused of criminal activity, underscores how the Trump administration has asserted control over U.S. immigration courts.

nytimes.com
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At the start of his testimony today, Kamara weighed in on his relationship to White, saying he first met him in 2010 or 2011 thru Danielle Simmons but he's not a blood relative nor is he related to him through marriage. Said he is not in in-law. “I’m not related to him.”
paul schwartzman@paulschwartzman
Sep 16
The FBI informant at the center of Trayon White’s bribery trial tells The Post he is not the DC councilman’s brother-in-law, as White’s attorney said while claiming entrapment in his opening statement. “You know it’s not true.” washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/…
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