Arraignment

Delaware state Rep. Josue Ortega has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor offensive touching charge stemming from an alleged May domestic incident. He was charged in August after Kaywren Phelps, a woman he had been in a relationship with, alleged he punched her in the face and took her phone during an argument near a Wilmington shopping center. Police documented swelling and discoloration on her face when she reported the incident. Ortega entered his plea on September 22, ahead of a scheduled arraignment, and a trial has been set for December.

Phelps' allegations, made public earlier this summer, prompted a Delaware House Ethics Committee investigation whose findings have not been disclosed. Both Ortega and Phelps previously filed competing protection-from-abuse petitions against each other. Ortega, whose district covers parts of Wilmington, lost his reelection bid in a three-way Democratic primary this month. His attorney has declined to comment on the case.

The Justice Department has charged a Utah postal worker with discarding more than 300 mail-in ballots ahead of the state's June primary. Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 16 on charges of unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail; the indictment was unsealed and Seei was arrested and arraigned in federal court in Salt Lake City, pleading not guilty. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 30. Officials said Seei, a letter carrier in Eagle Mountain, dumped the ballots along with other mail into a dumpster at a church parking lot shortly after starting his shift on June 3, and never delivered them. Prosecutors said Seei admitted he threw away the mail to "lighten his workload," and officials declined to say whether the conduct was politically motivated.

The case comes amid heightened national scrutiny of mail-in voting security ahead of the 2026 midterms. Most Utah voters cast ballots by mail, and nearly a third of voters nationwide use the method. The DOJ says it is expanding election-monitoring efforts and pursuing thousands of election-related investigations nationwide.

Two Michigan residents face terrorism charges in separate cases involving threats against elected officials, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced.

Anthony Dekinderen, 61, of Lake Orion, allegedly emailed a Michigan journalist threats to kill members of the Michigan Supreme Court, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. He faces nine counts of false report or threat of terrorism, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was arraigned September 19 with bond set at $5 million, requiring GPS monitoring if posted.

Alicia Choucair, 33, of Roseville, is accused of threatening a dispatcher with violence against Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud unless "her people" were kept out of the city. She faces two counts of false report or threat of terrorism, a computer crime count, and a hate crime charge, and was arraigned September 17 with bond set at $20,000.

Nessel, who created the state's Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit in 2019, said threats against officials are becoming more common and will be prosecuted fully. Both defendants await probable-cause conferences.

Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin was arrested by the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office while working as a featured extra on a Christmas movie set at a horse farm in Paris, Kentucky, after a tip alerted deputies to his location. He was booked into a local detention center before being transferred to the Louisville Metro Detention Center on a charge tied to a Jefferson Family Court contempt order. He later appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Judge Angela Johnson ruled Bevin must serve the full 60-day sentence, rejecting his attorney's request for home detention, saying he had shown "complete disregard" for the court. The contempt stemmed from Bevin's repeated failure to turn over financial records and appear at hearings in a child support dispute brought by his son Jonah, one of four children the Bevins adopted from Ethiopia, who alleges he was abandoned at an abusive, now-closed Jamaican facility. Johnson said she may revisit the sentence in 30 days; it remains appealable. Bevin served as governor from 2015 to 2019.

Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire, 59, faces two felony charges — obstruction of justice and misconduct in office — filed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office. The case stems from a Feb. 18 incident in which Hodshire allegedly disclosed confidential information about an active investigation, tipping off a theft suspect and his parents that a Williams County, Ohio, sheriff's office had a search warrant and planned to search the family's property. Testimony from Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Travis Pohl at an Aug. 31 probable cause hearing indicated phone records show Hodshire called the suspect's parents and later the suspect himself before Ohio investigators executed the warrant.

Hodshire was arraigned Sept. 2 and released on bond; each charge carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A probable cause conference is scheduled for Sept. 30 in Jackson. Hodshire has denied wrongdoing, saying he was assisting an out-of-state agency as a courtesy and did nothing to interfere with the investigation. First elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024, he says he intends to remain in office in full capacity, and county commissioners have voiced support, though they lack authority to remove him.