LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska has launched a program design to help low-income jail inmates in Lancaster County who can’t afford to make bail.

The organization announced Thursday that it has created a revolving bail fund as part of a six-month pilot project. When inmates who post bail appear for trial, the money will be returned to the fund to assist others.

The ACLU of Nebraska says it received money for the fund from a local downer who was impressed with its work to promote prison and jail reforms.

Executive Director Danielle Conrad says the project was launched this week with help from Lancaster County Jail officials.

Lancaster County Public Defender Joe Nigro says the current bond system punishes the poor, who often can’t afford to post bond.

United States Attorney Joe Kelley announced today that Taylor Michael Wilson, 25, of St. Charles, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, to one count of violence against a mass transportation system.  Because there were passengers on board the train at the time of the offense, the charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison.  Wilson also pleaded guilty in the District of Nebraska to a charge from the Eastern District of Missouri for possessing an unregistered short barrel rifle in violation of federal firearms law.  This charge carries a penalty of up to ten years in federal prison.  The pleas were entered before Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart.  Sentencing was scheduled for October 5, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable John M. Gerrard, United States District Court Judge.

According to admissions made in his plea, Wilson admitted that on October 19, 2017, he boarded an Amtrak train in California.  He remained on the train until it crossed into Nebraska on October 21, 2017.  As the train neared the Furnas County line in Nebraska, Wilson, armed with a concealed .380 caliber handgun, broke into a secured engine compartment of the train, disabling the train and cutting the lights to the passenger compartment.  His actions brought the train to a screeching halt in a remote area.  Some passengers tried to escape through windows of the train as word reached their compartments that another passenger had accessed the secured engine compartment.  Amtrak conductors immediately made their way to the engine compartment.  Several conductors, working together, were able to subdue Wilson, who declared that he was now the conductor of the train.  As he resisted them, one conductor saw him reach for his waistband, where deputies responding to the scene would later find Wilson had concealed the handgun.  Conductors were able to get Wilson off the train and hold him in custody until deputies from two counties reached the location of the train.  Wilson carried calling cards of the National Socialist Movement, one of which read, “Conquer we must, for our cause is just!”  Wilson stated that he was “trying to save the train from the black people.”

The FBI conducted a search of Wilson’s residence in St. Charles, Missouri.  They found hidden journals and propaganda about the National Socialist Movement, as well as a copy of Mein Kampf and a pressure plate of the kind used to build an explosive device.  The FBI also recovered his weapons collection, which included illegal unregistered firearms – to include a short barrel rifle and a submachine gun.  Also found was a play that Wilson wrote about taking over America, and numerous derogatory writings about the American government and the American media.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Democratic gubernatorial hopeful and state Sen. Bob Krist is calling on Gov. Pete Ricketts to fire the head of Nebraska’s corrections department.

Krist made the remarks Thursday outside the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, a southeast Nebraska prison that saw deadly outbreaks of violence in 2015 and 2017.

Krist says the state prison system “continues to spiral out of control” under Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes. Frakes has faced criticism from lawmakers in the past.

Krist is waging an uphill campaign to unseat Ricketts, a Republican with a significant fundraising advantage in GOP-dominated Nebraska.

Krist also announced the endorsement of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, NAPE/AFSCME Local 61, which represents frontline prison workers.

A spokesman for the governor’s office was not immediately available for comment.

JULY 12, 2018 (LINCOLN, NEB.)  — The Nebraska State Patrol Carrier Enforcement Division has assessed $331,920.00 in civil penalties against Von Busch and Sons Inc. of Lincoln, NE.

The investigation into the company came after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) produced a list in which Von Busch and Sons Inc. was listed as a carrier with severe problems involving maintenance and operation of commercial vehicles. Additionally, on February 15, 2018, the company was involved in a one-vehicle fatality accident, which killed a worker, and furthered concerns of the company’s safety practices.

The investigation showed that Von Busch and Sons Inc. had been fined before and minimal corrective action was taken. Prior to the most recent action, Von Busch and Sons Inc. had been the subject of seven (7) separate compliance reviews from 2002 to 2016 that yielded a number of safety violations, mainly stemming from the lack of maintenance being conducted on the vehicles.

After the most recent compliance review, NSP investigators requested that Von Busch and Sons Inc. submit documentation that they were making changes to improve the safety of operations in their company. Von Busch and Sons Inc. did submit an action plan; however, within a month of receiving the plan investigators followed up with the company and found that insufficient actions had been taken to correct the violations found in the compliance review.

NSP Carrier Enforcement Investigators discovered 453 violations involving controlled substance and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance, and driver qualification requirements.

Investigators will continue to monitor the progress that Von Busch and Sons Inc. is making to improve safety operations in their company