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Timeline › 2026 › August › 13

August 13, 2026

9 entries on this date.

DOJ found California's CDCR failed to protect women prisoners from staff sexual abuse at two facilities

On August 13, 2026, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division concluded a CRIPA investigation finding that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation failed to protect female prisoners at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino from a longstanding pattern of staff sexual misconduct. DOJ cited broken confidential-reporting systems, deficient investigations, and insufficient accountability, and gave California 49 days to remedy the violations before facing possible litigation.

Defense Secretary Hegseth announced expansion of unauthorized boat-strike campaign to land operations in Latin America

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on August 13, 2026, during a visit to Panama, that the administration's unauthorized boat-strike campaign against alleged drug traffickers would expand to joint land operations, citing agreements with Colombia, Honduras, and Ecuador — which had already launched joint raids with the U.S. in March 2026 — while Guatemala publicly denied reaching any such agreement. The expansion extends a campaign that had killed more than 200 people in over 60 vessel strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September 2025 without congressional authorization or public evidence that those targeted were traffickers, and no new authorization was sought for the land-based expansion.

WIRED FOIA disclosure reveals CBP employees misused law-enforcement databases to surveil exes, colleagues, and family members for over a decade

WIRED reported on August 13, 2026 that internal CBP and DHS Inspector General records, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, document nearly 300 allegations of law-enforcement-database misuse by Customs and Border Protection employees between 2009 and 2022, including officers using government systems to track romantic interests, family members, and colleagues, and in some cases to feed information to suspected smugglers. Of those allegations, 138 were referred to CBP management and 78 were assigned to internal criminal investigators, but CBP withheld or left blank the outcome in most cases and would not disclose specific disciplinary results.

VP Vance and HHS Secretary Kennedy referred ~225 hospitals to DOJ, HHS IG over gender-affirming care billing

On August 13, 2026, Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a separate letter to HHS Inspector General Thomas March Bell, each referring hospitals, clinics, and pharmacy benefit managers for investigation of allegedly fraudulent insurance billing codes tied to pediatric gender-affirming care. The referrals followed release of an HHS-commissioned report, "Wolves in White Coats," which identified roughly 225 hospitals and health systems with pediatric gender programs and named specific organizations — including Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Rady Children's Hospital, NYU Langone Hospitals, and several Planned Parenthood affiliates — in an appended referral list. As of this recording, DOJ has not confirmed opening a formal investigation.

HSI infiltrated Minnesota unions and advocacy groups and subpoenaed financial records without judicial review during Operation Metro Surge

Court filings unsealed August 13, 2026 revealed that Homeland Security Investigations, coordinating with the Department of Justice, ran undercover surveillance operations codenamed "Operation Puppet Master" and "Operation Whipple Shield" during winter 2025-2026 as part of Operation Metro Surge, reaching far beyond the 15 activists eventually charged. Undercover agents infiltrated encrypted chats and organizing meetings, and HSI used administrative subpoenas to obtain years of financial records from labor unions and advocacy groups, none of which has been charged with a crime.

Trump signed drone tariffs that sent stock of Trump Jr.-linked dronemaker Unusual Machines soaring

On August 13, 2026, President Trump signed a Section 232 proclamation imposing tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones and drone components, primarily targeting Chinese manufacturers. Shares of Unusual Machines Inc. (UMAC), a Florida-based domestic drone-parts maker, closed roughly 22-24% higher the next trading day -- the largest single-day gain among U.S. drone stocks -- benefiting Donald Trump Jr., who holds 200,000 shares of the company he received as compensation for joining its advisory board in November 2024.

ICE detained Werner Kunkel under a removal order tied to his vacated murder conviction, hours after a judge ordered his release

ICE took Werner Kunkel, 65, into federal immigration custody at the Devils Lake, North Dakota jail on August 13, 2026, one day after North Dakota District Judge Ted Sandberg ordered him released on a $25,000 personal-recognizance bond with electronic monitoring. The detainer ICE invoked traces to a 1996 removal order based on the same 1995 murder conviction a state court vacated in February 2026 after finding prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence. ICE transferred Kunkel to the Grand Forks County Jail to await deportation proceedings, and no bond hearing had been scheduled as of this recording.

Indianapolis police officer misused automated license-plate readers for personal reasons, suspended with termination recommended

On August 13, 2026, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced that an officer, who has not been publicly identified, had been suspended with a recommendation for termination after using the department's automated license-plate-reader system for personal reasons. IMPD said it learned of the misuse on August 6, 2026, immediately placed the officer on administrative duty with no police powers, revoked the officer's access to the system, and collected the officer's department-issued equipment. Chief Tanya Terry recommended termination "based on facts gathered during the early stages of the administrative investigation," and both administrative and criminal investigations remain ongoing.

Chandler, Ariz. police officer misused Flock license-plate cameras to locate family member, resigned before investigation completed

A Chandler, Arizona police officer resigned on August 13, 2026, after admitting to department investigators that they used the city's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to locate an older family member with prior health concerns. Chandler Police said in a written statement that a routine scheduled audit flagged unusual account activity on August 6, the officer was questioned and admitted the misuse, was placed on administrative leave, and resigned before a formal investigation could be completed. The city had already announced on August 7 that it would end its use of all 40 Flock cameras following the internal investigation.