Arrests

The stepbrother of Anna Kepner -- who was found asphyxiated during a family cruise vacation -- was arrested this week and appeared in a Florida courthouse Friday to face a judge, TMZ has confirmed.

According to a law enforcement source ... the 16-year-old stepbrother was led by U.S. Marshals into a Miami federal courtroom for an appearance ... but since he's a juvenile, the case was sealed. It's unclear if he has been charged in a federal complaint or indictment.

After his court appearance, the stepbrother was released to the custody of a guardian, according to ABC News.

On November 7, Kepner's body was reportedly discovered inside the cabin she shared with her stepbrother on the Carnival Horizon. She was allegedly asphyxiated after someone put her in a chokehold.

The California man facing federal charges for allegedly texting Nancy Guthrie's family about the bitcoin ransom payment has been granted bond by a judge -- and may be outta federal custody in no time.

Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old man from Hawthorne, made his first court appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott ordered Callella to be released on $20,000 bond ... and he's been ordered to not to contact the alleged victims or witnesses.

Federal prosecutors claim Callella texted Nancy's daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

"Home Alone" star Daniel Stern is off the hook after getting hooked by police for allegedly trying to hire a hooker ... 'cause the criminal case against him has been legally terminated.

According to court officials, Daniel's attorneys appeared in court Friday for the first time since prosecutors in California charged the actor with soliciting prostitution ... he wasn't there himself, but his case was heard and dismissed.

A rep for the Ventura County District Attorney tells TMZ ... "The defendant did what he was supposed to do. He completed his education class and earned a dismissal. This is our standard disposition for first-time prostitution offenses."

Actor Timothy Busfield has formally been indicted on child sex abuse charges in New Mexico.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the charges against Busfield, which include four counts of Criminal Sexual Contact of a Child.

The development comes weeks after the 68-year-old filmmaker was arrested on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor. We told you all about it ... Busfield was accused of touching young brothers -- ages 7 and 8 -- on the set of "The Cleaning Lady" several times between November 2022 and spring 2024.

Jeffrey Epstein was put on the hot seat during a 2010 deposition over his criminal conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution ... but the pedophile financier didn't have a clue who his victim was, and even asked a lawyer, "What minor?"

In the stunning clip, Epstein tells the lawyer deposing him that he didn't know the name of his underage victim, but pled guilty anyway in 2009 to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He also pleaded guilty to another count of soliciting prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months in jail in Florida under a plea deal with prosecutors.

The 2010 deposition, released in the latest tranche of Epstein Files, opens with the lawyer repeatedly asking Epstein if any female he interacted with was a prostitute prior to meeting him. Epstein gives the same response each time, saying he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution. He then falsely claims he never pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an underage prostitute.

Bella Hadid's boyfriend Adan Banuelos was arrested for public intoxication last weekend ... and now we have more details from cops about how it all unfolded.

The papers, obtained by TMZ, state that Bella had been pulled over in a traffic stop by deputies at Gator's Cantina in Weatherford, Texas, when Adan approached them in the parking lot.

The arresting officer writes, "I immediately noted that Adan's speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy."

Bella Hadid is mentioned in the arrest report and identified as Adan's girlfriend ... that should dispel those breakup rumors.

D4vd's friend Neo Langston finally went in front of a grand jury after being arrested in Montana for failing to appear as a witness.

Neo showed up Wednesday to a Los Angeles courthouse where a grand jury has been convened since November to gather information on the death of Celeste Rivas ... whose dismembered corpse was found last September inside D4vd's Tesla in Hollywood.

We got Neo on his way out of the courthouse ... and he was mum as our photog peppered him with questions.

We caught up with Beth Silverman, the deputy D.A. presenting the case in Los Angeles, on her way into the courthouse ... and she was all business.

Neo was in front of the grand jury for about 30 to 40 minutes ... and he has since left the courtroom.

Don Lemon is speaking out for the first time about his arrest by the feds ... telling Jimmy Kimmel he was bombarded by agents in an elevator in L.A. and was never given the chance to turn himself in ... all so they could allegedly "embarrass" him.

The veteran journalist recounted his Thursday night arrest on federal civil rights charges on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Monday, explaining he was stepping into a hotel elevator after reporting on the Grammys when all of a sudden, he felt himself "being jostled."

Don says the folks trying to arrest him didn't identify themselves at first and failed to show a warrant until he demanded one. He also claims he was never given an opportunity to turn himself in despite his legal team's efforts -- it's all in the clip.

Bella Hadid and Adan Banuelos might not be totally through like early reports indicated ... because video captures the two cutting a rug in a Texas bar -- just hours before Banuelos was arrested.

We've obtained exclusive video from a bar in Weatherford, TX from Friday night ... which shows the model and the cowboy slow dancing in the little Western-themed spot -- before Adan sweetly nuzzles his face into her neck.

Banuelos then pulls off a series of fancy moves ... spinning Hadid all around him and finishing it off by pulling her into a sweet embrace.

Jane Fonda says the federal government took down the wrong Don ... calling out Trump's admin for arresting Don Lemon instead of the commander-in-chief.

The legendary actress passionately defended the former CNN anchor outside the federal courthouse where Lemon had a court hearing after his arrest for allegedly breaking up a church service ... and she told assembled protesters not to fall for the government's tricks.

Fonda says Don was just a journalist doing his job ... no more, no less -- and certainly no reason for the feds to lock him up.

Federal prosecutors are explaining why they have the gall to arrest and charge Don Lemon in connection with his coverage of an ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service ... they claim he wasn't reporting from the sidelines, and was part of the plot to raid the church.

According to the federal indictment, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors allege Don conspired with protestors to "injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate" clergy, staff, and congregants at Cities Church in Minneapolis.

The feds say Don met up with the protestors before the demonstration and got instructions on where they would be protesting and how the "operation" would go down once at the church.

Prosecutors say Don started livestreaming the morning of the Jan. 18 protest, telling his audience he was in Minnesota with an organization that was gearing up for a "resistance" operation against the federal government's immigration policies.

The feds say Don took steps to "maintain operational secrecy" by not revealing the location of the planned protest to his audience ... and prosecutors say he stepped away from a live mic so he "would not accidentally divulge certain portions of the planning session."

8:17 AM PT -- Don Lemon is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights, and violation of the FACE Act -- interfering by force of someone’s First Amendment rights -- according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.

Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with his coverage of an ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.

Lemon was charged with violating a federal law by impeding people's right to worship during an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis on January 18, according to The New York Times.

In a statement Friday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says ... "At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota."

Nicki Minaj isn't backing down after controversially calling Don Lemon a homophobic slur ... she's doubling down on that remark in a new podcast promo that dropped amid his arrest.

Days before Don's Thursday night arrest, the rapper sat down for an interview on "The Katie Miller Podcast" ... and she was asked to respond to him calling her "racist, unhinged, homophobic and our of [her] depth" -- all comments he made on "TMZ Live."

Minaj replied simply, "C***sucker, stop" ... prompting laughs from Miller before the clip ends.

Sha'Carri Richardson is no stranger to going fast ... but this time, instead of winning her a medal, the prize was a pair of handcuffs for the U.S. track star, who was arrested in Florida for excessive speeding.

25-year-old Richardson was busted Thursday in the Orlando area after cops say she was operating her vehicle recklessly, with the arresting agency -- the Orange County Sheriff's Office -- taking her in on one charge of dangerous excessive speeding, meaning she was allegedly travelling at least 100 miles per hour.

A spokesperson for OCSO says Sha'Carri was “dangerously tailgating and travelling across lanes of travel to pass other motorists.”

Liar, liar, car's on fire! A Florida man, who claimed to have only had one beer, was arrested on DUI charges Friday after he was caught driving a car while it was actively engulfed in flames.

This story is unbelievable ... in the arrest affidavit, obtained by TMZ, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said deputies were putting out a brush fire caused by a vehicle, when they spotted the vehicle in question.

The police report says, witnesses saw Patrick Rinaldi driving on U.S.-192 as heavy smoke was seen coming from his vehicle. Witnesses said Patrick eventually stopped, but only briefly, before driving away again ... only this time, the entire car was engulfed in flames.

And ... according to a Facebook post, this man had his wife in the car with him!

2026 is off to a crazy rough start for Timothy Busfield and his wife, Melissa Gilbert, but Melissa took to Instagram Monday to thank their supporters ... while acknowledging the "heaviness" the whole country is going through right now.

As you know ... Busfield was charged with inappropriately touching 2 boys who were part of the cast of "The Cleaning Lady" in 2022. The actor denies any and all wrongdoing, and was even released from jail pending trial in New Mexico.

While it would be easy to focus on the bad parts of current life -- like the impending trial, the deadly winter storm sweeping the country, and the fatal ICE shootings in Minnesota -- Gilbert is choosing to look at the good.