International

In prison the aggressor of the Danish Prime Minister, who perpetrated “a spontaneous act”

The Frederiksberg court (Denmark) decreed pre-trial detention this Saturday, until June 20, for a 39-year-old Polish citizen for assaulting the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, yesterday in the center of Copenhagen, in what the police described as an “isolated and spontaneous act.”

“We see it as an isolated and spontaneous act, and at this moment we do not have the hypothesis of our investigation that it will be a planned attack against the Prime Minister,” the inspector of the Copenhagen Police, Trine Møller, told the Ritzau agency after the hearing with restrictions held today.

The individual, accused of assault against a public official, denied the charges during the hearing, and according to the police report, he was clearly influenced by alcohol and other drugs when he was arrested, a minute after hitting Frederiksen in the arm with his fist and pushing her.

A doctor defined the suspect as a mental imbalance.

Frederiksen was treated last night at the Kingdom Hospital in Copenhagen and was diagnosed with a “slight whiplash,” the Prime Minister’s office reported.

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For this Saturday, the planned participation of the prime minister in events in Herlev, Rødovre, Roskilde, Holbæk and Slagelse was canceled.

During the interrogation held last night, the individual, who has lived in Denmark for a few months, admitted to having recognized Frederiksen and said he did not remember much of what happened, but denied having beaten her.

In his statement today before the judge, the individual, who needed an interpreter, showed his sympathy for Frederiksen and assured that she was a “very good” prime minister.

“At the moment our main hypothesis is not that it was a politically motivated act. We don’t have any more comments about the case,” the Police had pointed out in their account on social network X.

The incident has provoked numerous reactions of condemnation and solidarity with the assault by members of the Danish Government and the leaders of the main local political parties and the institutions of the European Union.

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Frederiksen, 46, has been head of government since June 2019: the first legislature, at the head of a center-left coalition; and since December 2022, at the head of a center executive with two right-wing forces.

The incident provoked numerous reactions of condemnation and solidarity with the assault by members of the Danish Government and the leaders of the main political parties.

“Oh, no, what a surprise. That’s not Denmark. We don’t attack our prime ministers. I send my best thoughts to Mette,” the vice president and minister of Defense, the liberal Troels Lund Poulsen, wrote on the social network X.

Leaders of other countries, such as the prime ministers of Portugal and Italy and the president of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, also sent messages of support to Frederiksen.

Mette Frederiksen, 46, has been head of government since June 2019: the first legislature, at the head of a center-left coalition; and since December 2022, at the head of a center executive with two right-wing forces.

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The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also condemned the attack on the Prime Minister of Denmark, the Social Democratic Mette Frederiksen.

“Shocked by another physical aggression against a democratically elected leader. I condemn it. My solidarity with Mette Frederiksen. Violence will not determine our political options,” Borrell said in a message disseminated through the social network X.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was also “very shocked” after learning of the aggression against Frederiksen and condemned “this despicable act that goes against everything we believe and what we fight to make Europe.”

“I wish you strength and courage, I know you have plenty,” Von der Leyen told the Danish Prime Minister in X, on account of this attack that occurred in the course of the European Parliament elections from June 6 to 9, after which German politics aspires to remain at the head of the Community Executive.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, described the aggression against Frederiksen as “atrocious”, asserted that “violence has no place in politics” and asked the Danish leader to “stain strong,” through a publication in X.

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The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, was “indignant” by the aggression committed and “vehergically” condemned this “cowardly” act, also through the social network X.

“All my thoughts are with you and your family, dear Mette, and I hope you will soon overcome this horrible attack,” said Michel, who chairs the EU body that brings together the presidents and prime ministers of the Twenty-seven.

International

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

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Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

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Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

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International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

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Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.