The attorney for the alleged killer in-laws painted a drastically different picture Thursday of the transgender New York Times executive gunned down in a Northern California parking lot.
Curtis Briggs stood in front of the court where Jonathan McKinsey’s mother-in-law Shili Chen and father-in-law Shouyong Zhang were attending proceedings Thursday — and told reporters the victim had “rained hell on his family for years.”
“He was extremely rageful, could not control his temper, abused his wife so badly at one point he fractured her spine, abused the kids so badly that a court in Alameda County had to send him to parenting classes,” Briggs said. “McKinsey was extremely violent and dangerous to his family,” he added.
“McKinsey was extremely violent and dangerous to his family,” he added.David Thompson for CA Post
McKinsey faced allegations of spousal abuse and domestic violence from wife Candice Jang, well before he died Sept. 26, after Zhang and Chen allegedly shot him to death.
The New York Times employee was charged last year on two counts of misdemeanor child abuse for the incident, but was ultimately released from jail on the condition that he take parenting classes. Jang called the police after McKinsey allegedly hit their young son.
The California Post spotted Jang at her Dublin home on Wednesday and attempted to speak with her. A friend with her told The Post that she’s in “survival mode” and has “nothing to say” about her husband’s death.
A family member told The Post he would bet that the in-laws murdered McKinsey so Jang could have sole custody of their three kids. Briggs sought to redirect speculation to the slain father.Backgrid for CA Post
The lawyer said Chen weighs 80 pounds, is frail, and is a “loving, devoted grandmother.”Backgrid for CA Post
Briggs told reporters that while the couple did not enter a plea on Thursday, they do plan to enter a not guilty plea.
Prosecutors charged them both with murder with a series of special circumstances and allegations, including lying in wait.
The lawyer suggested he may work toward “blaming the victim” as he looks into court documents.
“Not yet, but once we do an investigation, that may be what happens,” he said. Briggs, in turn, portrayed the grandparents as loving and devoted to their family and each other.
He pointed out a moment in court Thursday where he said Zhang put on Chen’s earpiece for her after a Mandarin interpreter handed it to her and she could not put it on.
“I just thought, ‘Wow, this is completely inconsistent with what the allegations are,'” he said. The lawyer said Chen weighs 80 pounds, is frail, and is a “loving, devoted grandmother.”
Briggs characterization is a far cry from prosecutors’ picture. Officials say Chen and Zhang murdered McKinsey in a cold-blooded ambush-style attack where both grandparents took turns firing at him.Alameda County Sheriff's Office
Briggs characterization is a far cry from prosecutors’ picture. Officials say Chen and Zhang murdered McKinsey in a cold-blooded ambush-style attack where both grandparents took turns firing at him.
A family member told The Post he would bet that the in-laws murdered McKinsey so Jang could have sole custody of their three kids. Briggs sought to redirect speculation to the slain father.
“I can’t make a comment about that right now,” Briggs said in response to a question about whether the grandparents acted on behalf of Jang.
“I don’t know. That’s speculation that’s going around in the public. All I know is that Mr. McKenzie had a reputation terrorizing his family, extremely violent, volatile, rageful, and he was a dangerous person.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly ordered Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave New York after indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran stalled, adding another sharp turn to an already dangerous confrontation.
Axios reported Thursday, citing a U.S. official and another source familiar with the situation, that Rubio issued the order Monday. The Associated Press separately reported that two U.S. officials said Rubio directed the Iranian delegation to leave earlier than planned.
Iran strongly disputes that version of events.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the delegation departed according to a schedule that had been communicated to the State Department on September 17. That denial is important: The claim that Rubio expelled the delegation rests on reporting attributed to unnamed U.S. officials and has not been acknowledged by Iran.
The Iranian delegation left New York early Tuesday. Axios reported that Araghchi and the other Iranian officials boarded a 1:20 a.m. flight to Doha, Qatar.
The departure came as Qatar continued carrying messages between Washington and Tehran. The indirect discussions have covered several high-stakes issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, the wider conflict, Iran’s nuclear program and potential economic relief.
Those talks now appear stuck on a basic but crucial question: Who moves first?
Reuters reported Wednesday that Iran had proposed a seven-day trust-building plan and received American feedback through Qatari mediators. According to that reporting, the central disagreement was not simply over the requested steps but over the sequence in which the two sides would take them.
President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal as insufficient.
The latest diplomatic breakdown is unfolding alongside a fresh warning from the president that the United States could intensify its military campaign.
In a Time interview published Thursday, Trump said it was “possible” that the United States could ramp up bombing after the November 3 midterm elections. He did not identify any potential targets, and his answer stopped short of announcing a new operation.
Still, the timing and wording will command attention in Tehran and across the Middle East. Trump is leaving the military option plainly visible while his administration presses Iran through indirect diplomacy and additional economic penalties.
Trump also said the United States had spent the past six months replenishing its weapons stocks. That statement signals that the administration is thinking beyond the immediate round of talks and preparing for the possibility of a longer confrontation.
The message is unmistakable even if the next move is not: Washington is negotiating, but it is not taking pressure off the table.
The administration added another layer Thursday when the Associated Press reported new U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s automotive and rail sectors. The sanctions arrived as negotiators struggled to bridge their differences and as the dispute over the Iranian delegation’s departure spilled into public view.
For the Trump administration, the challenge is to force meaningful concessions without allowing Iran to use an extended negotiating process to buy time. For Tehran, the challenge is to obtain economic relief and security assurances without appearing to surrender under American military pressure.
The Strait of Hormuz makes the stakes even higher. Any prolonged disruption or escalation surrounding that critical waterway could have consequences far beyond the immediate combatants. That is one reason Qatar’s role as an intermediary remains so important even after this latest setback.
There is also a major difference between stalled negotiations and terminated negotiations. Qatar is still passing messages. Iran submitted a proposal. The United States responded. The parties remain divided, but the diplomatic channel has not disappeared.
At the same time, the reported removal order, Trump’s rejection of the seven-day plan, new sanctions and the president’s bombing warning all point in the same direction: The room for a quick compromise is shrinking.
Rubio’s reported action would mark a particularly blunt signal that the administration was dissatisfied with the pace or substance of the talks. But because Iran says its officials followed a previously disclosed travel schedule, the exact circumstances of the delegation’s departure remain contested.
That dispute should not obscure the larger development. The United States and Iran are still communicating, but they have not resolved the sequence problem at the center of the proposed trust-building arrangement. Neither side wants to give up leverage first.
Trump, meanwhile, is pairing that diplomatic pressure with public uncertainty about what comes next. He did not promise a post-election escalation. He said additional bombing was possible, declined to name targets and emphasized that American weapons supplies had been replenished.
That leaves Iran facing a familiar Trump strategy: negotiate under pressure, understand that the offer on the table may not improve, and do not assume the president’s military threats are empty.
Whether that pressure produces a deal or another round of strikes now depends on whether Washington and Tehran can agree on more than the destination. They must also agree on who takes the first step to get there.
For the second time in a week, President Trump has removed CNN from the press pool.
This time, CNN will be excluded from President Trump’s trip to Texas and Oklahoma today.
Originally, the fake news network was scheduled to travel alongside President Trump and provide media coverage.
However, the White House announced a change of plans…
Instead, Real America’s Voice will be taking CNN’s place!
Check it out:
LMAO! CNN has been COMPLETELY BOOTED from the White House press pool for today, replaced by @RealAmVoice
RAV will have pool cameras traveling on Air Force One to cover BOTH of President Trump’s rallies, AND at the White House
CNN is SEETHING
Real America’s Voice’s took ALL of CNN’s spots today
At this moment, around 12:10pm ET, the pool is gathered and waiting for President Trump’s departure from the White House, as you can see below.
We’ll have it ALL covered right here on 𝕏!
This isn’t the first time that CNN has been given the cold shoulder by the White House.
As you may remember, a federal judge ordered the White House to restore CNN’s press passes after President Trump banned them along with several other fake news outlets.
However, the judge’s order didn’t explicitly prevent President Trump from restricting CNN’s press coverage outside White House grounds…
So, last weekend, CNN was not allowed to join reporters aboard Air Force One during President Trump’s Tennessee trip.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ruled in favor of the outlets two days later and ordered the White House to restore the three outlets’ access, which it did late last week.
But tension flared again over the weekend when Trump traveled to Tennessee to attend a college football game, a day CNN was slated to serve as the designated TV pool outlet but was barred from joining journalists on Air Force One.
On Tuesday, an attorney for CNN issued a fresh filing with the court asking Kelly to rule on the pool issue, saying, “The White House’s words and actions leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO if allowed the opportunity.”
Emily Kuhn, a spokesperson for CNN, confirmed the cable network’s removal from planned pool coverage but did not provide additional comment. Instead, she pointed to an earlier statement from Theodore Boutrous, an attorney representing CNN, MS NOW and Politico in their fight with the White House over press access, calling the ban “a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process.”
In a statement Thursday, Boutrous said that “the White House is persisting in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing the President’s unconstitutional ‘ban on the free press’ by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as a designated television network pooler—to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public.”
Isn’t it kind of odd how CNN is so angry?
I was under the impression they were supposed to be boycotting President Trump anyway, so why should it matter that they don’t get to go on this trip?
A particularly embarrassing error came from Democrat congressional candidate Katy Padilla Stout, who is running in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District against Republican gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera.
Herrera has drawn backlash from Democrats, and some Republicans, over his admitted ownership of Adolf Hitler’s "Mein Kampf." A history enthusiast, Herrera has defended owning the book as part of a historical collection, saying he keeps it alongside The Communist Manifesto and does not actually agree with the ideas in either work. He has also characterized Hitler’s ideology as "incoherent."
But Stout, apparently eager to capitalize on the controversy in a predominantly Republican district, asked for donations on social media alongside a still image of Herrera holding his copy of "Mein Kampf." There was just one problem: The book in the image was actually "The Communist Manifesto." Stout's initial social media post was then quickly deleted.
"If stopping MAGA Republican Brandon Herrera, who defends owning a copy of Mein Kampf, is worth $1 to you, donate here," Stout wrote on her original post.
"That's the Communist Manifesto, genius," Herrera replied. "If you want to support a candidate who can read, you can donate here."
"My opponent apparently doesn’t know the difference between the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf," Herrera wrote in his own social media post. "Just like she didn’t know we have 27 counties in the district, not 26.Anyhow, Clueless Katy is in for a rough morning when she sees our Q3 numbers…"
If Herrera wins in November, he will arrive in Congress with a clear set of priorities: defending the Second Amendment, opposing new federal firearms restrictions, blocking red-flag laws, and advancing national concealed-carry reciprocity.
Herrera has built his public profile around firearms and gun rights, and he has made those issues central to his campaign. He has advocated what he calls an “absolute” view of the Second Amendment and has also expressed support for nationwide constitutional carry. Rather than treating gun rights as a convenient right-wing election-year talking point, Herrera has made them the defining issue of his candidacy. For voters concerned that continuing to steadily erode the rights of law-abiding gun owners, Herrera would be quite the warrior in Congress.
France’s high-school protest movement erupted into another day of fires, assaults, and mass arrests on October 1, forcing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to convene an emergency meeting as violence spread across several major cities.
The disorder has become a political test over public authority, immigration, and assimilation, with Jordan Bardella and the National Rally arguing that France is confronting the accumulated consequences of weakened state authority and years of failed integration.
Bardella reacted most forcefully after members of the leadership team at Marseille’s Victor-Hugo High School were attacked and doused with gasoline. “On behalf of the National Rally, I offer my full support to the principal and members of the school leadership who were assaulted and doused with gasoline,” he said, describing the attack as an event of “extreme gravity” that had shocked the country.
“This barbarity carries no legitimate demand,” Bardella continued in the English translation of his statement. He called it “an expression of extreme violence against representatives of the state, and of a hatred of France that we must fight without weakness.”
The Marseille incident was among the most serious episodes reported during the unrest, with Reuters confirming that attackers doused a headteacher with gasoline and that a fire-service vehicle was also burned. Regional authorities said the principal, deputy principal, general secretary, and a team leader at Victor-Hugo were assaulted during the disturbances.
The scale of the disorder had already become national by the previous day. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported 356 disrupted high schools, 625 arrests, and 83 injured police officers and gendarmes, while Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 119 students and staff had been injured since the movement began.
Public transport became another target in Marseille, where the RTM transit authority said several buses were attacked near schools in the north and east of the city. Drivers were forced to abandon vehicles in haste, one driver was assaulted, and two buses were reported to be burning in northern Marseille.
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional authority said the violence had plainly crossed the boundary separating protest from criminal disorder. “Mortar fire at staff, vehicle fires, gates torn down, stoning and intolerable intrusions: this is not protest, it is delinquency,” it said, adding: “Those who burn our high schools are attacking the Republic.”
In Nantes, flames swept through the entrance hall of Nelson-Mandela High School in what deputy principal Gaëlle Cordier described as a “deliberate” fire. The blaze spread to the façade before firefighters contained it, with administrators expecting the school to remain closed for an extended period.
Pays de la Loire regional president Christelle Morançais rejected attempts to present scenes like those as ordinary youthful protest. “The same wreckers everywhere. The same violence everywhere. The same political exploitation everywhere,” she wrote, concluding: “This is not the youth of France.”
Similar incidents were reported from Lyon, Annecy, Wattrelos, Montpellier, Bordeaux, and Saint-Denis. They included burning school façades, firework mortars, a car driven into school gates before being set on fire, and blazes that threatened surrounding buildings.
Teachers and school administrators increasingly found themselves targeted rather than merely caught between demonstrators and police. Geffray cited a teacher beaten in northern France, a head teacher injured by a firework mortar, and another education worker threatened with death, calling the scale of staff injuries unprecedented.
Bardella has put much of the political blame on Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France Insoumise, accusing them of encouraging escalation after violence was already apparent. “This is where the supposed ‘revolution’ promised by Jean-Luc Mélenchon leads,” he wrote, while proposing that vandals and those he accuses of inciting them should bear the financial cost of the destruction.
LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard had publicly declared that “the high-school movement must expand,” while Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko appeared among protesting students and defended their demands as legitimate. Education Minister Geffray responded by accusing political figures of engaging in a “political exploitation of youth.”
Mélenchon escalated the confrontation further by urging LFI elected officials and activists to intervene around the demonstrations. He described the mobilized students as “harmless,” accused the Lecornu government of repression, and alleged an “obvious racist undertone” in its response.
Lecornu answered by pointing to the violence already documented around the schools, including mortar attacks, fires, and a student injured with hydrochloric acid. “Your accusation of racism is an insult,” he told Mélenchon, saying politicians should be restoring calm rather than racializing a public-safety dispute.
Éric Zemmour placed the crisis in an explicitly anti-revolutionary historical frame, invoking Robespierre’s sans-culottes and Lenin’s Red Guards while accusing Mélenchon of cultivating a modern street movement of his own. That remains Zemmour’s political interpretation rather than evidence that LFI organized the attacks, although even the government has accused LFI figures of irresponsibly encouraging the protests to spread.
Éric Ciotti and Valérie Pécresse focused on the costs imposed on the public by the destruction. Ciotti argued that families of offenders should pay for repairs, while Pécresse said French taxpayers should not continually finance damage committed by rioters and put the bill for one destroyed school gate and associated costs in Saint-Denis at roughly €100,000.
Immigration has inevitably entered the political argument because several of the hardest-hit districts have large populations with immigrant backgrounds and longstanding difficulties involving integration, poverty, and relations with the state. Reporting from the French press describes many affected schools as having significant immigrant-origin student populations, but authorities have not published a comprehensive migration-background breakdown of those arrested.
Le Pen, Bardella and other nationalist politicians make a broader structural argument instead: that sustained immigration combined with weakened assimilation and inconsistent enforcement has contributed to social fragmentation in parts of France.
The confrontation, for France’s nationalist and sovereigntist right, also touches something larger than budgets or policing: whether France can preserve a common national culture rooted in its European and historically Christian inheritance while absorbing large-scale demographic change.
The concern over France’s Christian heritage is not invented, although it should not be conflated with the current school riots. The Interior Ministry recorded 843 anti-Christian acts in 2025, up 9% from 2024, accounting for 34% of all anti-religious incidents it counted; 87% involved property, while physical, verbal and online attacks against Christians rose by 70%.
France has also endured attacks on Catholic churches involving Islamist extremists and recent migrants, most notoriously the 2020 Notre-Dame Basilica attack in Nice. A Tunisian national who had recently entered Europe through Italy was accused of killing three people inside the church, including a sexton and a woman who was beheaded, in an attack authorities treated as Islamist terrorism.
The Basilica of Saint-Denis, burial place of French kings and one of the country’s most important Christian monuments, was separately vandalized in 2019 by a 41-year-old Pakistani national who had recently entered France clandestinely. He was convicted after damaging stained glass and the historic organ, although reporting on the case also documented serious psychological problems and did not establish an Islamist motive.
Those church cases cannot be attributed to the students currently involved in France’s school unrest, and there is no evidence that the present rioters have organized attacks on Catholic churches. The school movement itself began around complaints over teacher shortages, deteriorating buildings and inadequate resources—grievances the government has acknowledged can be legitimate—even as arson, assaults and masked agitators transformed parts of the mobilization into something very different.
With schools burning, staff attacked with gasoline, hundreds arrested and anti-Christian incidents already at a high level nationally, Bardella and Le Pen’s supporters see the moment as vindication of their warnings about order and assimilation, while their opponents dispute both that diagnosis and the attempt to connect these separate crises into a single civilizational narrative.
