Duke player allegedly target of racial slur during BYU volleyball game

A Duke University women's volleyball player was allegedly harassed by a fan with a racial slur while playing in a game against Brigham Young University in Utah on Friday, according to BYU.

The fan, who was not a student, was sitting in the BYU student section, and was identified by Duke during the game, according to BYU. The fan has since been banned from all BYU athletic venues.

"To say we are extremely disheartened in the actions of a small number of fans in last night's volleyball game in the Smith Fieldhouse between BYU and Duke is not strong enough language," BYU said in a statement. "We will not tolerate behavior of this kind. Specifically, the use of a racial slur at any of our athletic events is absolutely unacceptable and BYU Athletics holds a zero-tolerance approach to this behavior. We wholeheartedly apologize to Duke University and especially its student-athletes competing last night for what they experienced."

Rachel Richardson, Outside Hitter for Duke University Women's Volleyball is pictured in an official team roster portrait for the 2022 season. goduke.com

Rachel Richardson, who is Black, is a sophomore at Duke and was the target of the alleged racial slurs. Richardson heard the slur "every time she served," according to former Texas county prosecutor Lesa Pamplin, who is running for county judge and said Richardson is her goddaughter in a tweet posted on Saturday.

"She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus. A police officer had to be put by their bench," Pamplin tweeted. "Not one freaking adult did anything to protect her."

Lesa Pamplin poses with her goddaughter Rachel Richardson in an image taken during the Duke Invitational Volleyball tournament in 2021. Lesa Pamplin

In a statement posted on Twitter Sunday, Richardson said officials and BYU coaching staff were aware of what was happening during the game but she said they failed to stop the fan and end the behavior.

"This is not the first time this has happened in college athletics and sadly it likely will not be the last time," Richardson said.

But she said that after game, Tom Holmoe, athletic director for BYU, was “quick to act in a very respectful and genuine matter,” and said that he is taking steps to better educate his staff and student-athletes on ways to handle inappropriate behavior from fans in the future.

"This is an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better," Richardson said Sunday. "It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist."

Holmoe said he met with Richardson and her coach to discuss what had happened, and while addressing fans at a match Saturday night said "As children of God, we are responsible. It's our mission to love one another and treat everybody with respect. And that didn't happen. We fell very short. We didn't live up to our best."

Nina King, Duke University Vice President & Director of Athletics said Friday's alleged incident is unacceptable and all players should be able to compete in a safe environment.

"Duke student-athletes should always have the opportunity to compete in an inclusive, anti-racist environment which promotes equality and fair play," King said in a statement on Saturday.

The Smith Fieldhouse at Brigham Young University has record setting attendance during a BYU vs Duke match in an image posted by BYU Women's Volleyball, Provo, Utah, Aug. 26, 2022.

@BYUwvolleyball/Twitter

Duke Athletics has been in contact with its student-athletes at the tournament, said King, and will "continue to support them in every way possible and look forward to connecting further upon their return from Provo."

BYU and Duke were competing in the doTERRA Classic on Friday and Saturday, which was a four-team round robin tournament in Provo that also included Rider and Washington State University.

Duke's match against Rider on Saturday was moved to a different location to "afford both teams the safest atmosphere for competition," King said. Attendance was limited to staff and family, BYU Volleyball said on Twitter.

"On behalf of my African American teammates and I, we do not want to receive pity or to be looked at as helpless," Richardson said. "We do not feel as though we are victims of some tragic event. We are proud to be young African American women; we are proud to be Duke student-athletes, and we are proud to stand up against racism."

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John Bolton was the target of Iranian murder plot in 'likely' retaliation for general's death: Prosecutors

The Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed charges against an Iranian national and member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps whom prosecutors say allegedly tried to arrange the murder of Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton in "likely" retaliation for the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani when Trump was president.

The criminal complaint against 45-year-old Shahram Poursafi, who remains at large abroad, accuses him of attempting to pay various individuals in the U.S. $300,000 to kill Bolton, beginning in October.

Poursafi is charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and with providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot.

In a statement after the case was unsealed Wednesday, Bolton said, in part: "I wish to thank the Justice Department for initiating the criminal proceeding unsealed today; the FBI for its diligence in discovering and tracking the Iranian regime’s criminal threat to American citizens; and the Secret Service for once again providing protection against Tehran’s efforts."

"While much cannot be said publicly right now, one point is indisputable: Iran’s rulers are liars, terrorists, and enemies of the United States. Their radical, anti-American objectives are unchanged; their commitments are worthless; and their global threat is growing," Bolton said.

The complaint and supporting law enforcement affidavit further allege how the Tehran-based Poursafi and the person he wanted to hire in the U.S. to arrange the killing -- identified by the FBI as a confidential human source -- conducted months of video and photo surveillance of Bolton at his home and office, in the Washington area, in late 2021 and early 2022.

According to the affidavit's timeline, on Oct. 22 Poursafi asked an unnamed U.S. resident to take photographs of Bolton while claiming it was for a book that Poursafi was writing. The resident later introduced Poursafi to the FBI's confidential source and Poursafi offered this person money to hire someone to "eliminate" Bolton, adding he had another "job" for which he would pay $1,000,000, the affidavit claims.

Investigators also said that Poursafi appeared to have private information about Bolton's routine and schedule, though the source of his information was not clear.

Shahram Poursafi is wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities to include material support to terrorism and the attempted murder for hire of a former high-ranking United States Government (USG) official.

FBI

At one point Poursafi allegedly suggested Bolton be killed by car or in the parking garage at his work and later said he should be shot -- either while he was alone or, if he was in a group, without harming anyone else -- the FBI said in the complaint affidavit.

The source whom Poursafi allegedly worked with told Poursafi they were working with a third individual who had ties to a cartel, the affidavit states.

The complaint affidavit also documents extensive communications between Poursafi and the confidential source. At one point, according to the complaint, he advised the source that killing someone "was like crossing the street; it was better not to spend too much time looking in one direction, but just to do it."

Poursafi also told the FBI's source that his “group” would require video confirmation of the target’s death, according to the affidavit. Poursafi repeatedly made further contact with the source, stating he was under pressure from his "group" or "his people" to have the killing carried out.

National Security Adviser John Bolton attends a meeting with President Donald Trump as he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Aug. 26, 2019.

Andrew Harnik/AP, FILE

In January, the FBI alleged in the affidavit, Poursafi told the source he had a second "job" once Bolton was killed and he suggested that someone working for the Revolutionary Guard Corps was conducting surveillance on an unnamed second target in the U.S.

"This is not the first time we have uncovered Iranian plots to exact revenge against individuals on U.S. soil and we will work tirelessly to expose and disrupt every one of these efforts," Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in a statement Wednesday.

In a statement later Wednesday, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: "The Biden Administration will not waiver in protecting and defending all Americans against threats of violence and terrorism. Should Iran attack any of our citizens, to include those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences. We will continue to bring to bear the full resources of the U.S. Government to protect Americans."

ABC News' Adam Carlson, Sarah Kolinovsky and John Santucci contributed to this report.

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Fourth Peru PM resigns in year as probes target President Castillo

Fast News

Anibal Torres says he is quitting over "personal reasons" amid multiple criminal probes centered on Pedro Castillo, leader of the Andean country which is no stranger to political upheaval.

Anibal Torres (R) first served as Pedro Castillo's justice minister, and then took over prime ministerial portfolio after three previous PMs had come and gone. (Reuters Archive)

Peru's Prime Minister Anibal Torres has resigned, becoming the fourth to step down in a year under embattled President Pedro Castillo.

In a letter sent to Castillo, who has survived two impeachment votes in 12 months and is the target of five criminal investigations, Torres said on Wednesday he was stepping down "for personal reasons."

Torres posted a copy of the letter, in which he wished Castillo success, on Twitter.

His resignation will trigger an automatic cabinet reshuffle.

Torres, 79, first served as Castillo's justice minister, and then took over the prime ministerial portfolio in February after three previous prime ministers had come and gone.

Political upheaval

The country has had seven interior ministers since Castillo took over in July 2021 –– a high turnover even for a country that is no stranger to political upheaval.

In five days of 2020, Peru had three different presidents.

Leftist Castillo –– a rural school teacher who unexpectedly took power from Peru's traditional political elite in elections last year –– has been under nonstop fire from his right-wing rivals.

He also finds himself in the crosshairs of the attorney general's office, with investigations into alleged public tender corruption and claims that Castillo plagiarised his university thesis.

Peruvian presidents can be investigated while in office, but cannot be charged.

Opinion polls show that three-quarters of Peruvians disapprove of Castillo's management of the country.

Source: AFP

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