WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal agencies are investigating the crash of a helicopter with three passengers into the Atlantic Ocean close to swimmers and sun bathers in Miami Beach, Florida, on Saturday.

A Robinson R44 helicopter plunged into the ocean close to a crowded beach at 1:20 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The agency is investigating the cause of the crash with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Miami Beach police and fire departments responded to the scene and said on Twitter that two of the passengers were transported to a local hospital “in stable condition.”

Video footage of the crash showed the helicopter diving into an area that was full of swimmers.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Paris Jackson “doesn’t write happy songs.”

The 23-year-old singer – who is the only daughter of late superstar Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, and sister to Prince, 25 and Bigi, 19 – revealed that she stays away from writing “happy” songs and most songs end up being about her death.

She said: “I don’t write happy songs When I do try to write a song, it usually ends up being a song about me dying.”

Speaking to the crowd at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen while promoting her new EP ‘The Lost’ , Paris went on to tell the audience how her song ‘Yellowbird’ was inspired by a break up.

According to TMZ, she said: “We broke up two years ago on Valentine’s Day. and then I wrote this song, so I hope you like it. I know he won’t!”

It comes soon after the ‘let down’ hitmaker – whose father Michael suffered a fatal cardiac arrest brought on by a drugs overdose aged 50 back in 2009 – admitted that she would “not be opposed” to the idea of collaborating with her superstar aunt Janet Jackson, who is known for hits such as ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ and ‘Love Will Never Do Without You.’

Back in January 2022, she said: “We haven’t talked about it, but I’m not opposed to it! I love collaborating with all kinds of artists. The genre doesn’t really turn me off, doesn’t matter what genre it is. I can’t say that I see myself doing trap music anytime in the near future, but I’m open to everything.”

Washington (AFP) – Americans are paying to get a star of the psychedelic medicine movement –- ketamine -– shipped to them for at-home mental health treatments that are being called both a breakthrough and a gamble.

A pandemic-spurred easing of prescription rules helped fuel a jump in telemedicine offerings of ketamine, an anesthetic that was once a taboo party drug but has become a buzzed-about tool against depression.

Yet long-term, large-scale studies of ketamine’s medical impact are limited, leaving some experts concerned that an unregulated online boom could result in mishaps or a regulatory crackdown.

“This has to be rolled out slowly,” said Boris Heifets, a Stanford University assistant professor of anesthesiology. “The risk is that we are scaling the fix but not the solution, which is a much more integrated approach to mental health.”

Ketamine has been available in the United States since the 1970s as an anesthetic called a “dissociative” because of the hallucinogenic effects that have helped make it a rave culture drug.

It’s legal for US doctors to prescribe, while some other psychedelics getting renewed attention for mental health uses like LSD or MDMA (also called ecstasy) are classified as having no medical utility and a high risk for abuse.

In this context, recent years have seen an uptick in clinics offering in-person intravenous ketamine treatments for depression, anxiety or chronic pain, though regulations and practices vary across American states.

Ketamine ‘babysitter’

Then came the pandemic, which resulted in US authorities allowing doctors to remotely prescribe drugs like ketamine that previously required an in-person visit.

An increasing number of companies, some already doing in-clinic treatments, began offering to evaluate clients online and to send the drugs for home use to approved candidates.

Nue Life, which launched about a year ago, is one of those firms. Its CEO Juan Pablo Cappello estimated it has served over 3,000 ketamine patients so far.

“If you actually drill down on the sort of potentials for abuse here, you realize of course they exist, but we’re creating a standard of care to make that quite unlikely,” he told AFP.

For example, he noted clients are instructed to have an adult “babysitter” watch over them for the roughly 90 minutes the drug experience lasts, and he reasoned that people simply looking for ketamine could get it cheaper on the street.

Clients of the service, which costs $1,250 for a package providing six ketamine experiences, are encouraged but not obligated to couple it with therapy, Cappello said.

“The at-home telemedicine model, I would argue, is actually safer and more effective for patients,” allowing more patients “to actually take advantage of these therapies,” he added. 

Heifets, the Stanford researcher, noted that making ketamine more available carries risks — including the chances that authorities would tighten access if an at-home treatment resulted in some sort of tragedy. 

‘Change your life’

US regulators in 2019 approved a type of ketamine specifically for adults with treatment-resistant depression, though with stringent rules like requiring patients to be monitored by a health care provider for at least two hours after their dose.

Americans have “a hair trigger for problem-solving through litigation,” Heifets noted of the potential for lawsuits if things go wrong.

He was part of a team that analyzed the real-world effectiveness of intravenous ketamine therapy — which can involve higher doses than the at-home services –- and reported most patients improved, though about eight percent said depressive symptoms worsened after treatment.

“We have very, very little evidence for our understanding of how effective ketamine is for depression at scale,” he added.

Yet for people like 36-year-old New Yorker Philip Markle, who underwent an at-home treatment with a company called Mindbloom, ketamine is a profoundly useful tool.

Over his long battle with depression, the performer and comedian has tried medication, psychedelics like LSD, and talk therapy since the age of 12, but found something unique in ketamine.

Rather than the short-lived sense of change other treatments provided, ketamine imparted a sense of clarity and of helpful self-acceptance -– not the heavy effects he’d experienced with other psychedelics.

“It felt like if any drug could be administered through the mail, and you could do a psychedelic that could change your life, on your own, this would be the one,” he told AFP.

Jordan Stephens wants to “ban” billionaires.

The Rizzle Kicks singer – who is in a relationship with Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall – insisted such a high level of wealth is “unnecessary” and people would question their “obsession” if it related to accumulating something other than money.

Discussing what he’d do if he ruled the world, Jordan said: “I’d ban billionaires. Some people have too much money. Genuinely. It’s unnecessary.

“Do you know there are reasons to believe that the desire for accumulation is not actually an instinctive one? It appears to be mutation. An obsessive need to accumulate.

“If you replaced money with something else, that accumulation would instantly appear unhealthy.

“Look at this man who has two billion packets of crisps. Is he ok? Why has that woman got three billion leaflets?”

And Jordan called to “re-engage our sense of community” and ensure wealth is distributed more evenly.

He told Reader’s Digest magazine: “Jokes aside, let’s re-engage our sense of community.

“Maintain the level of responsibility that would naturally arise with accumulation.

“We live in a world of empty apartments and unhouses people. That’s not right. That’s all I know.”

The 30-year-old star is worried about “modern values” and called for more “balance” and fairness.

He said: “I worry about our modern values. We appear to be the only species that believes in unfair battle.

“Bring back duelling. Bring back sorting out issues through competition that can end respectfully. No ganging up. No foul play.

“Restore honour in surrendering and the acceptance of loss.

“There’s grace in defeat but only if there’s fairness to begin with.

“We need to feel part of something bigger than ourselves. Understand what we’re part of bigger stories.

“And find peace in that realisation.

“I think everybody has a part to play on this earth. There should not be a single soul on the planet that feels disorientated. We need to restore some balance.”

Dame Joanna Lumley thinks Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will be “everything our country wants” when Prince Charles is crowned king.

The ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ actress thinks Queen Elizabeth’s recent announcement that she would like her daughter-in-law to be known as Queen Consort when her spouse takes the throne was great news because the duchess is such a “wonderful person”.

Joanna gushed to Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “When I first met Camilla, she was friendly, very funny and extremely good company.

“This was many years ago, at a mall lunch party given by Jilly Cooper and I remembered liking her at once.

“Since then, I have got to know her better and now I simply think she is a wonderful person – brave, kind and loyal and the best fun to be with.

“She has no airs and graces, as soon as you’re with her, you’re made to feel you could be friends for life. She is on our side, interested in everyone.

“As Queen Consort, I know she will be everything our country wants – a strong support for our new King Charles.

“We all want that day to be far in the future, but when it comes, we shall all be in safe and loving hands with Camilla as Queen.”

And Dame Joan Collins, who is an ambassador for the Princes Trust, thinks the duchess will provide an “encouraging and positive presence” for Charles when he’s king.

She said: “Camilla has been a sterling support for Prince Chares and behind the throne it will be wonderful to have such an encouraging and positive presence for our future King.

“Camilla will be an asset to the continuity of the throne.”

In her message marking her Platinum Jubilee earlier this month, the queen said it was her “sincere wish” Camilla would be known as the Queen Consort, instead of the first-ever Princess Consort as had previously been intended.

She said: “I would like to express my thanks to you all for your support.

“I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me. And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda has promised the live-action ‘Little Mermaid’ will still feature the classic songs from the original animated movie.

The 42-year-old star is working with composer Alan Menken on some new tracks for the upcoming film but he has reassured fans they won’t take the place of the likes of ‘Under the Sea’ and ‘Part of Your World’.

He told Variety’s ‘Awards Circuit’ podcast: “We wrote three or four original tunes, replacing none of the ones you like. All of those are in.

“There’s no bigger Little Mermaid fan than me.

“But we found a couple of opportunities for some other music that I can’t wait to see. I’m in the dark as anyone else, honestly.”

Of the new songs, the ‘Hamilton’ creator revealed one comes when Halle Bailey’s Ariel gives up her voice to become a human.

He said: “[Director] Rob [Marshall] found a creative way to hear from Ariel, even though she is sans voice for a little while. We wrote some music [for] her time on land. She experiences a lot of firsts, as someone with legs for the first time, so we got to lean into all of that musically.”

But Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula won’t have anything new to sing, though Lin wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Daveed Diggs showing off his rapping skills as Sebastian.

Lin has enjoyed collaborating with veteran composer Alan on the project.

He said: “Alan will tell you if he does not like something.

“He’s a very like heart and opinion on sleeve guy. … He’s scoring it as well, along with the songs, just as he did with the original.

“I won’t see a rough cut for another month or couple of months, but the fact that he’s excited has me excited.”

Tom Holland didn’t want people to see his chest hair in ‘Uncharted’.

The 25-year-old actor joked he hoped he was well groomed for filming because he was embarrassed about audiences seeing him without his shirt on in the new action movie

After being asked by host Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small if he was nervous about having his body blown up on an IMAX screen, Tom said on ‘Smallzy’s Celebrity Small Talk’ podcast: “I hoped I shaved my nipples on those days because I have the most embarrassing chest hair.”

Tom shared that joining the film’s cast – which also includes Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas and Sophia Taylor Ali – was “an easy decision” for him as had gotten to know the character while playing the video game.

He said: “It was an easy decision. The initial script that I read was fantastic. The character was someone that I really enjoyed playing in the video games, so someone I was excited to bring to life on the big screen.”

Along with this, the ‘Spiderman: No Way Home’ star also relished the opportunity for a “new challenge” after the Marvel franchise dropped its most recent installment in December.

Tom – who is in a relationship with ‘Euphoria’ star Zendaya – said: “Also I was excited for a new challenge. You know, this film has been incredibly difficult to make for all sorts of reasons, but equally has been as rewarding, so it was an easy decision.”

The British actor thinks it is “funny” that he’s asked if he’s ever been tested for COVID-19 every time he gets swabbed because routine screening has become such a big part of making a movie.

He said: “It’s so funny, every time, I get tested now, the person’s like, ‘Have you been tested before?’ Where do yo think I’ve been, what do you think I do?”

Tom assured that some tests “tickle more than others do” and that there was a testing clinician they nicknamed “deep throat Debbie” on set.

Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden is willing to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin “at any time” to prevent a war in Ukraine, according to his top diplomat who said Sunday Russia appeared on the verge of invading its neighbor.

In a rapid-fire round of US talk shows, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN “everything we’re seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion.”

Aggressive military action has already begun in and around Ukraine, which is facing increased shelling from Russian-backed separatist rebels and a force of what Blinken and Western capitals say is more than 150,000 Russian troops on its borders.

“But until the tanks are actually rolling and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President Putin from carrying this forward,” Blinken said.

He told CBS’s “Face the Nation” Biden has made “very clear that he’s prepared to meet President Putin at any time, in any format, if that can help prevent a war.”

The two leaders last spoke by telephone on February 12, according to the White House.

In Ukraine, more bombardments were heard by AFP reporters overnight close to the frontline between government forces and the Moscow-backed rebels who hold parts of the districts of Lugansk and Donetsk.

And in Belarus, which borders both Russia and Ukraine, Russian military exercises were continuing, Minsk announced Sunday, further ramping up the pressure on an already tense situation.

Blinken said that was just one of several signs that Moscow is gearing up for an invasion, with Putin “following the script almost to the letter.”

“It tells us that the playbook that we laid out, I laid out at the UN Security Council last week, about Russia trying to create a series of provocations as justifications for aggression against Ukraine, is going forward,” Blinken said.

Biden was hosting a rare weekend meeting of his National Security Council on Sunday to address the Ukraine crisis.

Meanwhile US Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking to reporters Sunday after addressing the Munich Security Conference, said Western allies were prepared to hammer Russia with massive sanctions should they invade Ukraine.

“We still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment,” Harris said, although she acknowledged that such a window is “absolutely narrowing.”

“We are talking about the real possibility of war in Europe,” she said.

By Peter Nicholls

WINDSOR, England (Reuters) -Queen Elizabeth tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, sharpening concerns about the health of the world’s longest-reigning monarch two weeks after she marked 70 years on the British throne.

The 95-year-old queen, who has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, quipped just four days ago to Palace staff that she could not move much, and she spent a night in hospital last October for an unspecified ailment.

“The Queen has today tested positive for COVID,” the Palace said. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.”

“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all appropriate guidelines,” the Palace said.

A number of staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at Windsor, the ancient castle where Elizabeth, the world’s oldest monarch, spent much of her time during lockdowns designed to contain the pandemic.

Philip, the queen’s husband of more than 70 years, died in April last year, aged 99.

Their son, Charles, 73, the heir to the throne, earlier this month contracted COVID-19 for a second time. He had met the queen days before.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has said he nearly died from COVID-19 in 2020, was due to scrap coronavirus self-isolation rules as part of a “living with COVID” strategy that aims to achieve a faster exit from the pandemic than other major economies.

“I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health,” Johnson said on Twitter.

DEVOTION TO DUTY

The queen quietly marked the 70th anniversary of her accession to the British throne in early February.

Elizabeth became the queen of Britain and more than a dozen other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand on the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, while she was in Kenya on an international tour.

She is the first British sovereign to spend seven decades on the throne in a dynasty that traces its origins back almost 1,000 years to Norman King William I and his 1066 conquest of England.

Elizabeth’s achievement has been to maintain the popularity of the British monarchy in the face of seismic political, social and cultural change that threatened to make the world’s most famous royal family an anachronism.

When she ascended the throne, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry Truman were running the Soviet Union, China and the United States, respectively, while Winston Churchill was British prime minister.

Including Churchill, she has been served by 14 prime ministers – a quarter of the number in Britain since Robert Walpole 300 years ago. During her reign, there have been 14 U.S. presidents, all of whom she has met bar Lyndon Johnson.

Elizabeth’s quiet devotion to duty has won her support and respect in the United Kingdom, and the broader Commonwealth, in contrast to the scandals that have engulfed other members of the royal family.

“She’s an icon, she’s an icon of the UK: she is an epitome of the UK in some ways, most people in the country have never known any monarch other than her,” Steven Stepanian, who works as a consultant in London, told Reuters.

Shashi Vandrevala, a 72-year-old retiree, said: “She has to get better, we can’t afford to lose her yet.”

ROYAL FUTURE

The queen has in recent years attempted to pass more duties to her heir, Charles, and to his eldest son, Prince William, and his wife, Kate.

There are, though, concerns about the future. Such is the depth of respect for the queen that while she lives, the institution will be safe. What will follow is less certain.

Supporters see the queen as a unifying figure who bolsters Britain’s prestige and economy. Opponents say the institution is a bastion of undeserved privilege, funded in part by taxpayers and undermined by some members’ behaviour.

Prince Andrew, Elizabeth’s second son, last week settled a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Andrew, a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has denied accusations that he forced Giuffre to have sex at age 17 more than two decades ago.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry, once the Windsors’ most popular member, and his American wife Meghan gave up their royal duties to move to Los Angeles. Meghan last year said concerns within the family had been raised over the skin colour of their son.

She also accused the family of neglect, saying she ended up with suicidal thoughts after pleading for help and getting none. The queen said some recollections may vary.

British police said last week they had begun an investigation into allegations in media reports that honours were offered to a Saudi national in return for donations to one of Prince Charles’s charities.

For many British people, though, the queen is very special.

As news of her COVID-19 infection spread, message boards in the London underground stations carried a goodwill message to the monarch, urging her to relax with her dogs.

“Get better soon Your Majesty – chill out with the Corgis,” the message read. “Get plenty of rest. You’re simply the best. Thanks for being such a wonderful queen.”

(Writing by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Kate Holton and Barbara Lewis)

Beyonce and Zendaya are in talks to star in a remake of movie ‘Imitation Of Life’.

The drama film was first released in 1934 – based on Fannie Hurst’s 1933 novel of the same name – and then remade in 1959, starring Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin and Sandra Dee.

It’s thought if Zendaya does sign up for the remake of the classic motion picture, which dealt with issues of race, class and gender, it could take her movie stock “to the next level”.

An insider said: “‘Imitation Of Life’ is renowned in the film world because of the issues it tackled — and they seem more relevant than ever right now.

“Everyone wants Zendaya in their films at the moment but it feels like this could be the movie to take her to the next level and really get some awards buzz.”

‘Lion King’ star Beyonce is said to be keen to “really sink her teeth into” a juicy role.

The insider added to The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Beyonce has dipped her toe in a few projects, like Disney’s ‘Lion King’, voicing the part of lioness Nala.

“But now she wants a project she can really sink her teeth into, so she is very interested.”

Should Beyonce and Zendaya team up for the film, it wouldn’t be the first time they have joined forces.

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ star Zendaya starred in Beyonce’s ‘All Night’ music video in 2016, and she previously admitted to being a huge fan of the ‘Single Ladies’ hitmaker.

During a 2017 discussion about the stars who inspire her, Zendaya said: “Beyonce. She took it to the next level with ‘Lemonade’. She’s got twins, and she’s banging. She’s killing it.”

In 2016, Zendaya said: “I’m just obsessed with Beyonce and have been since my birth.

“Just to be there and really learn from her and see how amazing she is, how detail-oriented, it was cool to just sit back and watch.”

A file photo taken on September 10, 2014 shows the Sante prison in Paris. – Former French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, accused of rape by several former models, was found hanged in his cell in Paris’ Sante prison last night. Joel Saget/AFP/dpa

Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was in pretrial detention in Paris in the wake of a human trafficking and underage sex scandal focused on deceased US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, has been found dead, the AFP news agency reported on Saturday.

The French judiciary had opened investigations into the agent for the rape of minors and for sexual assault. The 76-year-old had been in pretrial detention for more than a year.

Newspaper Le Parisien reported, citing judicial sources, that Brunel was discovered hanged in his cell some time during the night.

Brunel was also suspected of having contacted and organized young girls for Epstein. Prosecutors had already launched an investigation into Brunel in the summer of 2019 and raided his Paris-based modelling agency.

Epstein, who killed himself in a New York prison in August 2019, was charged in the US with abusing dozens of underage girls. He was accused of setting up a sex-trafficking ring with accomplices.

Epstein owned a luxury flat in Paris near the Champs-Elysees. Brunel, who was one of Epstein’s close confidants, was arrested at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport in December 2020 as he was about to leave the country.

Most recently, a court in the US found Epstein’s ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell guilty at the end of December. The jury in New York decided that Maxwell, as Epstein’s aide, had played a central role in setting up Epstein’s ring for the sexual abuse of young girls.

The 60-year-old faces several decades in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 28. Her lawyers have requested a retrial.

Washington (AFP) – Avocado imports from the western Mexican state of Michoacan have resumed following a week-long suspension after steps were taken to ensure the safety of American inspectors, the US government said Friday.

Shipments were halted after a US inspector received a threatening phone call a week ago, prompting fears among lovers of guacamole and avocado toast that prices could spike.

But the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said security and industry organizations “have enacted additional measures that enhance safety for APHIS’ inspectors working in the field.”

As a result, the avocado inspection program “has restarted and avocado exports to the United States have resumed,” APHIS said in a statement.

Michoacan is the world’s largest avocado producer, with 85 percent of its crop exported to the United States, but it is also one of the Mexican states hardest hit by violence linked to organized crime.

Last year a group of avocado producers formed a self-defense group they said was needed to prevent kidnapping, extortion and theft by criminal groups.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that “economic and political interests” afraid of competition also played a part in the US decision to pause exports.

In the statement Friday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said employee safety “is of paramount importance” and noted the “positive, collaborative relationship” between the neighboring nations to resolve the issue. 

In 2021, 92 percent of the $3 billion in avocados imported into the United States came from Mexico, and Michoacan is the only Mexican state with approval to export to the US market, which it has done for some 25 years, according to APHIS.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former President Donald Trump took classified information to his Florida home after leaving the White House, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration said in a letter to Congress on Friday about the 15 boxes of documents it recently recovered.

The Archives said it had informed the Department of Justice, which would handle any investigation.

“NARA has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes,” David Ferriero, the archivist of the United States, said in a letter to Democratic U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House of Representatives oversight committee.

Maloney’s committee has been looking into Trump’s handling of records by the Republican president, who left office in January 2021.

“These new revelations deepen my concern about former President Trump’s flagrant disregard for federal records laws and the potential impact on our historical record,” Maloney said in a statement.

“The National Archives did not ‘find’ anything, they were given, upon request, presidential records in an ordinary and routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act,” Trump said in a written statement.

“If this was anyone but “Trump,” there would be no story here.”

The letter from Ferriero also said that some White House staff conducted official business using nonofficial electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into official electronic messaging accounts and that it was in the process of obtaining some of those missing records.

The Washington Post reported last week that some of the documents taken to Trump’s home were marked as classified, which could intensify the legal pressure Trump or his aides could face.

The Presidential Records Act requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties.

Claiming executive privilege, Trump sued unsuccessfully to stop the release of records from his White House, including to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcombl Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis & Simon Cameron-Moore)

By Jacqueline Thomsen and Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday lost a bid to dismiss lawsuits accusing him of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a lengthy written ruling https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/akpezndgovr/Mehta%20order%20Jan%206%202022.pdf, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said three lawsuits by Democratic members of Congress and two police officers could proceed toward trial.

Mehta agreed to dismiss Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr., who were named as co-defendants, from the lawsuits.

Looming large in the litigation is a Supreme Court case from 1982 holding that presidents are shielded, or immune, from lawsuits over their official acts.

Mehta ruled Trump was not immune from the lawsuits, determining that the then-president’s fiery speech before the Capitol attack was not within the scope of his official presidential duties.

“To deny a President immunity from civil damages is no small step. The court well understands the gravity of its decision,” Mehta ruled. “But the alleged facts of this case are without precedent, and the court believes that its decision is consistent with the purposes behind such immunity.”

Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump and his co-defendants have argued that their remarks preceding the Jan. 6 attack were free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. representatives Eric Swalwell and Jerry Nadler, have invoked an 1871 law passed to fight the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan that prohibits political intimidation.

The lawsuits alleged a conspiracy between Trump and rioters to halt Congress’s certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Without ruling on the merits of that theory, Mehta said the allegation was sufficiently detailed to proceed toward discovery, a process in which litigants exchange evidence and take testimony.

“From these alleged facts, it is at least plausible to infer that, when he called on rally-goers to march to the Capitol, the President did so with the goal of disrupting lawmakers’ efforts to certify the Electoral College votes,” Mehta wrote.

Joseph Sellers, an attorney representing the Democratic lawmakers, said the ruling breaks new legal ground and “demonstrates the extraordinary nature of the conduct of which then-President Trump was engaged.”

(Reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen in Washington and Jan Wolfe in West Palm Beach, Florida; Editing by Howard Goller and Alistair Bell)