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Attorney General Sues Nonprofit
Alleging Misappropriated Grant Money
The District of Columbia’s attorney general is suing a nonprofit he accuses of misappropriating funds intended under a city contract to prevent gun violence.
The lawsuit seeks to recover more than $250,000 awarded to Women in H.E.E.L.S. (Healing, Elevation, Empowerment, Love, Support) Inc. for a violence reduction program in the Congress Heights neighborhood.
The lawsuit blames Ikeia Hardy, the nonprofit’s chief executive, for diverting $57,302 of the grant money to her personal checking account.
Women in H.E.E.L.S. was awarded up to $814,000 a year in fiscal 2022 and 2023 after a competitive grant process.
The lawsuit alleges Women in H.E.E.L.S. failed to return the part of the money suspected of being diverted after the attorney general terminated its contract in March 2023. The termination was based on accounting discrepancies the nonprofit could not explain.
“Nonprofits in particular that are the beneficiaries of public grants are also the beneficiaries of public trust,” said Adam Gitlin, chief of the attorney general’s Antitrust and Nonprofit Enforcement Section, in a statement. “They need to be doing what they are supposed to be doing with public funds.”
Other allegations in the lawsuit say Women in H.E.E.L.S. violated city regulations by hiring a business for “professional services” that was associated with one of its employees. The organization lost its federal tax-exempt status after failing to file required Internal Revenue Service forms.
Hardy responded to the allegations in a statement saying, “This is an ongoing legal matter, so I cannot speak in detail at this time. What I can say is that the allegations are misleading. With all the challenges surrounding violence interruption and public safety, I’ve become an easy target. I stand by my work and my integrity, and I look forward to having my day in court to resolve this matter and clear my name."
The lawsuit is filed in D.C. Superior Court as District of Columbia v. Women in H.E.E.L.S., Inc.
Bondi Says Justice Dept. on “High Alert”
After Iranian Threats of Reprisal for Bombing
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the Justice Department is on “high alert” after U.S. bombings of Iran’s nuclear sites.
Bondi testified last week during a House Appropriations Committee hearing that Iranians who entered the United States illegally represent a threat of terrorist sleeper cells.
“Over 1,000 have entered our country, and I can tell you we are on high alert and everyone is looking at that very closely,” Bondi said.
Bondi is one of several national and local officials who are urging increased vigilance.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned in an advisory of a "heightened threat environment" after the U.S. bombing of nuclear sites in Iran.
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Latest News
Supreme Court Gives Trump
More Executive Order Authority
The Supreme Court last week limited the authority of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions that block controversial executive orders from the president.
The immediate issue was an executive order from President Donald Trump that ended birthright citizenship, or the right to be an American citizen by virtue of being born in the United States or because at least one parent of a newborn was a U.S. citizen.
Lower federal courts issued injunctions saying the executive order could not be enforced because it was an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court disagreed. It said federal courts cannot issue “universal” injunctions that apply nationwide, only injunctions for or against the states, groups or individuals who sue.
Twenty-two states and the American Civil Liberties Union filed lawsuits to declare Trump’s executive order 14160 unconstitutional when he signed it in January.
Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
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D.C. in Brief
Media Matters Sues Federal Trade Commission
For “Retaliatory” Investigation of its News
A Washington, D.C., media watchdog organization accuses the Federal Trade Commission in a new lawsuit of retaliating against it for reporting about extremist content on social media site X.
The FTC notified Media Matters in May that it was being investigated for possibly colluding illegally with advertisers by reporting that ads were appearing on X next to pro-Nazi posts.
X is owned by Elon Musk, who led Trump administration efforts to downsize the federal government in an efficiency move.
“The Court should put an end to the latest effort by the Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s government allies to punish, intimidate, and harass Media Matters for publishing reporting they do not like,” the lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., says.
The Media Matters lawsuit continues a struggle between President Donald Trump and media organizations that have criticized his administration.
Trump also has sued CBS News, shut the Associated Press out of the White House press pool and moved to close down international broadcaster Voice of America.
Media Matters is a nonprofit with liberal leanings that its founder said was intended to spotlight “conservative misinformation.”
A 2023 Media Matters report said advertisements for major firms like IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity were being displayed on X next to user posts containing antisemitic content. It included praise for Adolf Hitler.
Several large companies suspended their X advertising after the report.
Before the FTC investigation, the attorneys general of Texas and Missouri started investigating Media Matters while alleging the nonprofit was engaged in fraud for its inaccurate reports.
Doxing Campaign Expands from Judges
To Include Capitol Police and Lawmakers
U.S. Capitol police and members of Congress are the latest to get hit with a wave of doxing in which anonymous perpetrators send pizzas to their homes under an assumed name.
Doxing refers to gathering personal information about someone and using it in a public way intended to shame or intimidate them.
Until now, judges in seven states have been the primary victims of the doxing. They included Michelle Childs of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Each of the judges has presided over lawsuits that had strong political overtones, such as opposing Trump administration policies. In Childs’ case, she participated in a ruling against President Donald Trump’s authority to fire an independent government watchdog.
Childs has received seven of the pizzas.
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We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org