Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Supreme Court rules conviction invalid due to racial bias in jury selection — The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black man on death row in Mississippi, finding that his capital murder conviction was tainted by racial discrimination in jury selection. Prosecutors had struck four of five Black jurors, leaving a jury of 11 white and one Black juror. The trial judge failed to adequately apply the Batson challenge (the constitutional standard against race-based jury exclusion). Justice Kavanaugh's majority opinion found the trial court did not give sufficient opportunity to rebut the prosecutor's race-neutral justifications for the strikes. The ruling revives a federal judge's earlier invalidation of the conviction and may allow prosecutors to retry Pitchford.

Supporting reports

• Federal appeals court temporarily blocks re-detention of Mahmoud Khalil — The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay blocking the re-detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a 31-year-old Palestinian-American activist and US green card holder, pending supreme court review. Khalil was detained by ICE in March 2025 for 104 days; the government argued his pro-Palestinian activism constituted a threat to US foreign policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited concerns about antisemitism and Jewish student safety. The temporary block gives Khalil reprieve as his legal team prepares a supreme court petition.

Supporting reports

• Federal judges blocked Alabama's 6R-1D congressional map for 2026 midterms — A panel of three federal judges blocked Alabama from using its 6R-1D congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections and reinstated the 5R-2D map. Two of the three judges were Trump appointees. Alabama is expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge dismisses criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García, finding presumptive vindictiveness — US District Judge Waverly David Crenshaw Jr. dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García on May 23, 2026, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his deportation to El Salvador. The judge determined there was sufficient evidence of "presumptive vindictiveness" based on the timing of the indictment, statements by acting attorney general Todd Blanche, and sustained DOJ oversight. Ábrego had been deported to a Salvadoran anti-terrorism prison in March 2025 despite a prior court order, then brought back to the US only after being charged with human smuggling related to a 2022 traffic stop.