It seems like rapper Nicki Minaj is on everyone’s timeline as 2025 comes to a close — and it’s not because of holiday pictures, her next tour, or a new song release. It’s her increased support of President Donald Trump, his administration and conservative groups that has Black social media in an uproar and wondering […]
Christina Carrega
Christina Carrega is the criminal justice reporter at Capital B. Follow her on Bluesky @chriscarrega.bsky.social.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
5 Years After Casey Goodson’s Death in Ohio, His Family Faces a New Legal Hurdle
This month, an Ohio family will gather for their fifth holiday season without Casey Goodson. The 23-year-old was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy while trying to enter his home on Dec. 4, 2020, in Columbus in Franklin County. He was holding keys to the front door in one hand and a bag of Subway […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
Virginia Man Accused of Planting Pipe Bombs Before Jan. 6 Faces Federal Charges
Federal law enforcement has made its first arrest in connection to the planting of two pipe bombs outside the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees, officials announced last week. After a nearly five-year search, Brian J. Cole Jr. has been identified as a suspect. Cole was allegedly seen in surveillance footage […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Grand Jury Declines to Reindict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James is “grateful” after a grand jury declined to reindict her on mortgage fraud charges. On Thursday, the grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, rejected the Department of Justice’s attempt to refile the case just days after a federal judge dismissed an earlier case, sources familiar with the case told multiple news […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
After 17 Police Bullets Killed This N.C. Mom, a Judge Has Dismissed Her Family’s Case
Jada Elizabeth Johnson’s daughter is excelling in kindergarten, absorbing lessons like a sponge and earning high marks that remind her family of Jada. But she still has hard moments, her great-grandfather Rick Iwanski said. The 6-year-old has anxiety, especially at bedtime, when dreams sometimes turn into nightmares of July 1, 2022, when a police officer […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
A City-by-City Breakdown of Trump’s Immigration Raids and Troop Deployments
President Donald Trump’s continued efforts to deport undocumented immigrants and what he says is a crackdown on crime in mostly Democratic-led cities — which have some of the nation’s largest Black populations — is showing no signs of slowing. The Trump administration launched “Swamp Sweep” on Monday, deploying over 200 U.S. Custom and Border Protection […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Officer Found Not Guilty in Killing of Pregnant Black Mother Ta’Kiya Young
The Ohio police officer who shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young was acquitted Friday on all counts, including murder. Young was an excited mom of two little boys, and pregnant with her first daughter, when she encountered Connor Grubb at a Kroger supermarket parking lot on Aug. 24, 2023. She was accused of shoplifting by a […]
Posted inGun Violence, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
After DOJ Pulls Millions for Public Safety, Nonprofits and Neighborhoods Step In
JACKSON, Mississippi — Sharon Brown seemed destined from birth to be a changemaker in her hometown. She grew up reading old newspaper clippings about her mother and aunt protesting for women’s rights in the 1960s, and watching them help neighbors with whatever they could — from child care to groceries. Years later, her mother urged […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Employment
‘Clean Slate’ Laws Could Help Millions of Black Americans Clear Their Records
The 11th day of April means more to Elvina Smith than her daughters will ever know. For 17 years, a shoplifting conviction that led to six days in a Wayne County, Michigan, jail and a year of probation impacted every aspect of Smith’s otherwise law-abiding life. From 2006 to 2007, Smith traveled for miles outside […]
Posted inCulture, History, Politics & Policy
Jesse Jackson’s Health Struggles Highlight the Impact of His Civil Rights Leadership
A longtime friend of the Rev. Jesse Jackson says the civil rights icon is doing better, but he’s unable to respond as quickly as he used to. “He’s getting good care and plenty of rest,” S. Todd Yeary, a civil rights attorney, said Friday morning after he visited Jackson at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. […]