federal investigation

A newly unsealed federal complaint says a man accused of having a machine gun at Tuskegee University admitted to firing his weapon during a weekend shooting but denied shooting at anyone. The shooting early Sunday on the campus left one man dead and at least 16 others hurt.

A county coroner says the man killed in a homecoming weekend shooting at Tuskegee University has been identified as 18-year-old La’Tavion Johnson. The Macon County coroner said Monday that Johnson was from Troy, Alabama. Authorities say the shooting also injured 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire. Many of the injured were students, but Johnson was not.

Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies. The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Officials in Birmingham pleaded Monday with members of the public for information leading to arrests in a weekend mass shooting that killed four people, announcing rewards of up to $100,000. Authorities have still made no arrests after Saturday’s shooting at Hush Lounge.

A second Alabama jailer has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges for her “minimal role” in the death of a mentally ill man who died of hypothermia after being held naked in a concrete cell.

Alabama state Rep. John Rogers has pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to obstruct a federal investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving state grants. The longtime Democratic lawmaker from Birmingham entered the not guilty plea Thursday in federal court. His assistant, Varrie Johnson Kindall, also pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and tax charges.

An Alabama pastor and voting rights activist pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug conspiracy charges. Kenneth Glasgow is the half-brother of civil rights activist and media personality Al Sharpton. Glasgow entered the plea in Montgomery federal court.

The city council also voted to ask the U.S. Attorney to investigate officer-involved shootings.