Trial set for 'Smallville' star Allison Mack in sex-cult case

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/trial-set-smallville-star-allison-mack-sex-cult-case-161013277.html

Allison Mack and Keith Raniere came face-to-face on Friday in Brooklyn federal court. It’s the first time the Smallville actress has seen Raniere, the alleged leader of a sex cult purportedly involving Mack, since he was arrested in Mexico in March.

A judge has scheduled a trial for the pair to begin on Oct. 1. Both Mack and Raniere have been charged with sex trafficking, sex-trafficking conspiracy, and forced-labor conspiracy for their involvement in the alleged sex cult.

Mack and Raniere have separate legal representation and did not look at each other at all during today’s status conference, according to Fox News, which reported that Mack “appeared nervous and shaken up in court, focusing her gaze mostly on the floor except when looking up at the judge.”

Raniere pleaded not guilty on all charges on Friday. He and the 35-year-old actress have been accused of running a secret sorority called DOS within the self-help group NXIVM, which was founded by Raniere. Mack, his alleged co-conspirator, supposedly recruited women as sex slaves, coerced them to perform sexual acts, and branded them with their initials.

One bombshell revelation came when prosecutors revealed that Mack married Battlestar Galactica actress Nicki Clyne in February 2017 at the alleged request of Raniere. Clyne has supposedly been a member of NXIVM for years.

In Friday’s status conference, federal prosecutors told Judge Nicholas Garaufis they are anticipating more charges and additional suspects. A superseding indictment could come in a month or so, Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza said, according to the New York Daily News.

Raniere has been held without bail, whereas Mack was released on $5 million bond last week. She has been placed under house arrest with GPS monitoring at her parents’ home in California. A follow-up status conference has been set for June 12, and Mack’s lawyers are apparently petitioning that she not be ordered to appear. It’s believed that Mack is working on a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Mack is best known for portraying Chloe Sullivan on Smallville from 2001 to 2011. She has praised Raniere throughout the years, revealing that she joined NXIVM to cope with the “overwhelming and intimidating” success she experienced.

“I have a wonderful teacher and mentor named Keith Raniere who really gave me some incredible guidance,” she said in an interview with Fine Magazine last year. “I think everyone needs a mentor.”

Michael Merkt

‏ @MichaelMerkt

50m50 minutes ago

The caravan of Central American immigrants has entered CA. All will be considered for permanent status. This again gives a great shout out to all the other illegals on the road to America. Nothings changed and the borders are wide open, come get you piece of our American dream.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/last-big-group-of-caravan-asylum-seekers-cross-into-us/ar-AAwLv7J?ocid=st

Last big group of caravan asylum seekers cross into U.S.

Seventy men, women and children poured through a U.S. port of entry early Friday to seek asylum, the largest single group yet accepted by U.S. officials from the caravan of Central American migrants that enraged President Donald Trump.

Fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, the migrants were among the last who had planned to ask for asylum, bringing the total to 228 who have crossed the border since last weekend.

The nearly 400 migrants who reached Tijuana last week faced wrenching dilemmas about whether to enter the United States and request asylum, beginning an indefinite and complex process that could end in deportation. Many decided to stay in Mexico for now.

After a month-long, 2,000-mile journey, their arrival at the border was hotly anticipated. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions beefed up legal resources on the border this week to handle people from the caravan.

Trump had urged that the caravan to be detained and repeated his call for stronger border security Monday morning, writing on Twitter, "Our Southern Border is under siege."

The Trump administration said on Friday it will end temporary protections on Jan. 5, 2020 for up to 57,000 Honduran immigrants who arrived in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Mitch two decades ago. Temporary protection is different than the asylum status being claimed by members of the caravan.

Just after 9 a.m., the migrants lined up to enter the long passageway between the countries. In single file, they walked straight through, mothers carrying teddy bears in one hand and small children in another.

Among them was Irma Rivera, 31, with a son in her arms and a daughter prancing ahead.

They had walked this route yesterday, led to the U.S. gate with a large group of migrants only to be turned back.

As they reached a bend in the walkway on Friday, the view opened onto American soil and a large U.S. flag.

"Where is the wall? I want to climb Trump's wall," said the boy, four years old. His mother laughed, tears glistening. There was no wall in sight, only a chance to join a long-lost brother in Texas and begin a new life.

Her husband, a farmer, was killed late last year in El Salvador by a gang of farmers he had denounced for robbing his land, she said.

In Mexico outside the port of entry, the remaining migrants were joined in a makeshift camp by other would-be asylum-seekers who had come seeking information and donations.

Meanwhile, the caravan's organizers scrambled to collect migrants' names to track their dispersal across U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centers after they exit the port of entry's detention facility in coming days.

>>1302472

"Where is the wall? I want to climb Trump's wall," said the boy, four years old. His mother laughed, tears glistening. There was no wall in sight, only a chance to join a long-lost brother in Texas and begin a new life.

Pissed about this damn Caravan getting through!