Crime & Arrests

Todd and Julie Chrisley are home from federal prison after getting pardons from President Trump, and their family and legal team talked about their release in a press conference ... where Todd fired a shot at CNN.

Todd and Savannah Chrisley, as well as attorneys Alex Little and Zack Lawson, held a press conference Friday in Nashville where they reacted to the full and unconditional pardons granted by Trump.

Savannah stepped up to the mic first ... calling Todd and Julie's pardons a "dream" and expressing gratitude for everyone in the Trump administration and beyond for getting her parents out of jail. She also railed against the "politicization" of the Department of Justice.

"Mia," a former assistant to Sean "Diddy" Combs who's testifying under a pseudonym in the music mogul's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC, took the stand again Friday morning.

The prosecution asked Mia about several harrowing incidents over the course of her employment with Diddy, including her time in development with Revolt Films, one of the mogul's Combs Enterprises companies. She told the jury Diddy's ongoing intimidation of her resulted in anxiety attacks and PTSD ... and her eventual parting with Diddy.

She said she left the company in 2017, when Diddy wanted to shut down Revolt Films. She said they were working out severance pay for her.

Todd Chrisley is soaking up his freedom -- he just dropped his first post-prison photos, and he’s looking thrilled to be free!

Check out the pics -- he's beaming in two selfies with his daughter Savannah, who has been glued to his side since his release from Federal Prison Camp Pensacola Wednesday evening.

He's surely thrilled to be out of his prison garb ... opting for a simple outfit consisting of black shorts and a beige long-sleeve shirt, finished off with aviator sunglasses and a black baseball cap.

We're getting a closer look at the alleged plot undertaken by two NYC suspects accused of kidnapping an Italian man and torturing him to obtain a password to his Bitcoin fortune ... prosecutors revealed in court this week the victim was allegedly lured to Manhattan in an attempt to reclaim some of his currency that had already been stolen.

John Woeltz and William Duplessie, two hard-partying "crypto bros" living in an 8-bedroom SoHo townhouse, are in custody after a barefoot and bloody Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan approached a cop on the street last week and said he'd just escaped from being imprisoned and tortured at the residence.

Prosecutors allege Woeltz and Duplessie had previously forced Carturan, a multimillionaire, to send them Bitcoin after they threatened to kill his family. Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly told Carturan he could get his Bitcoin back if he personally showed up in New York, which he did in early May.

A wide-eyed Uber driver who cops say pointed a gun at a Miami rapper in a viral video has been arrested ... and, while she was screaming and waving what looked like a weapon around in that clip, she's much calmer in the police body cam footage.

Jennifer Benitez was arrested May 17 after cops stopped her in Port St. Lucie, Florida because she had active warrants out for her arrest. In the video, cops yell at her to get out of the vehicle.

She follows their instructions to the letter, lying on the ground with her hands behind her back as they slap the cuffs on her.

The Diddy criminal trial is now at a dozen days of testimony ... and today's witnesses talked about sexual assaults, violence, "period blood," and some of Cassie's relationships with other celebs ... including a flirtation with Michael B. Jordan.

Things got emotional in the courtroom Thursday as a former Diddy assistant testifying under the pseudonym "Mia" recalled alleged sexual assaults, rapes and threats she endured from Diddy.

Mia sobbed during her testimony, and a lot of what she said lined up with some of Cassie's testimony about extortion ... though it's fair to wonder why prosecutors didn't bring Mia to the stand right after Cassie.

Donald Trump may have commuted Larry Hoover's federal life sentence, but the ex-Gangster Disciples leader still has a slew of red tape to cut through before he's totally free!!!

Hoover is still on the hook for a life sentence in the state of Illinois and the Governor's office tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the only way the 74-year-old can continue his quest for parole or clemency is to petition the Prisoner Review Board, AKA the PRB.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's office says, unlike Donald Trump, Illinois follows the law -- and its state justice system is no exception!!!

Julie Chrisley’s a free woman -- and wasting no time jumping back into everyday life after Trump’s last-minute pardon.

Check the pic -- Julie's post-slammer glow was written all over her face as she left a Nashville butcher Thursday, rocking her natural locks ‘cause clearly, the salon hasn’t made the post-prison to-do list yet.

After two and a half years behind bars for bank fraud and tax evasion, Julie’s first day out was clearly about the basics -- food runs and making sure everyone knew she was back in town.

One of Diddy's former assistants says the music mogul sexually assaulted her for the first time during his birthday party at a swanky hotel in New York City ... but she says it didn't end there.

The witness, who is testifying under the pseudonym "Mia," told jurors she was working for Diddy in 2009 when he sexually assaulted her at The Plaza Hotel in New York, where he was celebrating his 40th birthday.

Mia said Diddy rented out the penthouse for a party filled with unnamed celebrities and she says he asked to speak to her in the kitchen, clearing out the room and leaving just the two of them alone.

Alice Marie Johnson says Larry Hoover's federal prison sentence was commuted to give him the hope of receiving a real second chance ... but he still has years to serve in an Illinois prison for a state crime, and Alice hopes the Illinois governor might grant him clemency as well.

We spoke with President Donald Trump's "pardon czar" on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and, we asked her about Trump's decision to commute Hoover's federal sentence.

She tells us she first learned about Larry's case from Kanye West and Drake's live-streamed event at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum back in 2021, where she was sitting first row at the event and learned of Larry's plight.

Diddy's former assistant says she had to clean up some pretty nasty scenes in the hotels where he stayed with Cassie ... including some fluid she says he told her was "period blood."

The ex-employee, who is testifying under the pseudonym "Mia," told jurors one of her jobs as a Diddy assistant was to clean up hotel rooms before housekeeping ... due to concerns about embarrassing photos getting out.

Mia testified the rooms she encountered were "destroyed" and the "really nasty" conditions were a "nightmare." She said there would be candle wax everywhere, broken glass, oil on the walls, and sometimes even blood.

Tory Lanez's team has launched a spiraling, detailed new website containing never-before-heard audio from the night that got him convicted for shooting Megan Thee Stallion … with the defense’s trial witness telling cops at the scene the fired shots came from a woman!!!

Tory's team designed the site 36hourslater.com to uncover the 3 days following the shooting, sparked by Megan going on Instagram Live to tell her side.

L.A. native Sean Kelly was interviewed by investigators on the early morning of July 12, 2020 and told cops he could see one woman -- who we now know to be Kelsey -- angrily exit the rear passenger side of a Cadillac Escalade and open the driver-side passenger door in a fit of rage to confront the other woman, later learned to be Megan.

The man who allegedly plowed his vehicle through a sea of celebrating Liverpool FC fans earlier this week has just been hit with over half a dozen criminal charges, officials announced.

Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said Thursday 53-year-old Paul Doyle has been charged with two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving for his alleged actions during Liverpool FC's trophy parade on Monday.

Sims revealed Doyle has been taken into custody ... and will appear before a judge on Friday morning to face the charges.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino insists convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered in jail ... and he says there's video to prove the wealthy financier killed himself in his cell, and it'll soon be released.

Thursday morning, Bongino was on "Fox & Friends," where he disclosed the existence of video from Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan ... and he claims the footage shows no one else was involved in Epstein's death.

Bongino -- a conservative talk show host recently appointed to his FBI position by President Trump -- said last week he and FBI Director Kash Patel had reviewed the evidence and concluded Epstein did, in fact, end his own life. Still, plenty of people remained unconvinced.

Prince's security intervened when Diddy was starting to attack Cassie outside a party hosted by the "Purple Rain" singer ... one of Diddy's former personal assistants testified in court.

The female assistant, introduced by her pseudonym "Mia," says she worked for Diddy as his personal assistant, and later as director of development and acquisition for Revolt Films, a media company Diddy founded.

Mia told the jury she witnessed Diddy get physically violent with Cassie on multiple occasions  ... including a 2010 party hosted by Prince.

Missi Pyle ain’t holding back when it comes to President Trump’s headline-grabbing pardon of Todd and Julie Chrisley -- she straight-up compared the whole thing to a reality TV show gone rogue.

TMZ caught the actress Wednesday at LAX, where she tells us the Prez is basically running "The Apprentice 2.0" ... with the country stuck watching to see who’s getting booted or blessed next.

You gotta check out the clip 'cause Missi didn't flinch when she asked if she thought Trump felt a weird kinship with the Chrisleys -- ya know, fellow reality TV stars with a flair for drama, and criminal convictions.