In a surprising development, the NAACP has acknowledged that the tragic passing of Nolan Wells might have been accidental. This revelation follows an inconclusive autopsy funded by an NFL star.

Wells, an 18-year-old, was discovered lifeless on Horn Island’s northwestern shore, situated just below Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This unfortunate event occurred two days after he embarked on a Fourth of July boating trip with friends.

Conducted independently in Washington, D.C., the autopsy has left Wells’ cause of death shrouded in uncertainty, stating it as ‘undetermined, pending investigation.’ The circumstances surrounding his death remain equally unresolved.

Initially, authorities suspected drowning as the cause behind Wells’ untimely demise. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office carried out a separate autopsy, the results of which are still pending release.

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, commented, “If it truly was an accident, they have the resources available to help them navigate the situation.” His statement emphasizes the necessity for clarity and support in these trying times.

Wells’ body was flown 800 miles to Washington, DC, to undergo the independent autopsy. His family also planned to hire experts to recover messages from Wells’ phone before turning it over to authorities. 

His father Elmore Wonsley vowed Wednesday morning to ‘keep pushing and fighting’ until they get ‘answers’ about what happened to their son. 

The teen’s parents hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been involved in multiple high-profile cases, including representing George Floyd’s family, to represent them as police investigate how Wells died. 

The independent autopsy was arranged by Crump and the teen’s family, and funded by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. 

Crump said the second autopsy had ‘several limitations’ that created ‘barriers’ to determine exactly how Wells died.

Among those barriers were the decomposition of the teen’s body and how the coroner who conducted the autopsy did not receive all of Wells’ organs or body parts from the Mississippi medical examiner, Crump said.

The attorney did, however, note that DC-based coroner found some red discoloration on the back of the teen’s head.

‘Based on the examination of the body, he cannot rule out foul play,’ Crump said, citing the autopsy report.

Crump reiterated multiple times that investigators found Wells’ body faced down and fully clothed, despite photos from the day showing him shirtless and in swimming trunks.

‘My legal team and I, we stand for truth, no matter who it implicates or who it exonerates. We stand for justice no matter who it convicts or it acquits. We stand for transparency because we have eyes that can see and we don’t need government officials to narrate it for us,’ he said.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. 

Wells allegedly stayed behind on the island while his friends returned to the mainland on a boat, according to authorities. His body was found after his mother filed a missing person report on July 5.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said authorities do not suspect foul play and believe that Wells chose to stay on the island. 

Audio released last week that Wells’ friends were heard calmly asking 911 operators for assistance after their boat began taking on water shortly before the teenager apparently drowned.

‘Hey, we’re at the west tip of Horn, and our bilge pump stopped working,’ a male voice is heard saying.’ We’re sinking, can y’all please come.’ 

Wells’ family has raised questions about his death and has demanded a thorough and urgent investigation. 

On Sunday, Crump reshared an Instagram post suggesting Wells may have made it back and attended a pool party before he died, declaring it as evidence that the current timeline surrounding his death may be flawed. 

‘The streets are talking! Now listen, I don’t know if these are facts or rumors because no official statements have been confirmed,’ the repost from an account called Shannel Tarot TV said.

The post continued: ‘We sometimes have to follow all clues until the truth is found. Here is what was discovered on social media last night.

‘Social media allegations claim a photo exists of Nolan at a land-based pool party in Jackson County before 1am on July 5.’

The post included an image of a group of young people in a swimming pool, with a black boy in the background whose face is not visible, circled in red.

The photo has not been verified. The Daily Mail contacted Crump and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for more information, but did not hear back.

Crump also pointed out that the girl Wells was allegedly talking to had said he was going back to the boat, while his friends said he had decided to stay on the island while they left as their boat was experiencing a mechanical issue.

Police are also investigating a video that allegedly shows a heated argument on the beach, where Wells can allegedly be heard saying: ‘Give me my freaking phone, what are you freaking doing?’

During a fiery eulogy at Wells’ funeral in a Mississippi church on Monday, civil rights activist and Baptist minister Rev Al Sharpton promised a total of $100,000 reward for any new information about the circumstances around Wells’ death.

‘I’m so inspired by who’s accused us of that, that I want to put up a reward of $50,000 for anybody who could give the information that will lead to an arrest and a conviction in the case of what happened,’ Sharpton said, referring to critics who have accused the Wells family and their team of using his death for financial gain.

‘He was not on that island by himself. Somebody saw something and knows something. So I didn’t come to make money. I came to give money. Stand up and tell the truth. Whatever it is, good or bad.

‘We’re not gonna prejudge it, but we cannot end it until we know all the facts. So all you got to do is reach out to Attorney Crump’s office, and National Action Network can do that if it leads to an arrest and conviction. And I will, I guarantee you, you’ll have it before the sun goes down.

Quickly after Sharpton made his announcement, he received a message from actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry matching his donation.

‘You know that Tyler Perry said he would pay for the funeral. He must be watching because he said I’m gonna match you and put up $50,000 more. So we’re putting up $100,000 for anybody that’ll come forward,’ Sharpton said.

‘We just want the truth. That’s all. We just want the truth, and we want to thank Tyler Perry.’ 

The teen’s mother, Christine Wonsley, said of her son, ‘He had a way of making people feel seen, welcomed and valued. He could lift your confidence with just a few words and make you feel like you belong.’

According to a recent report, the Trump administration has notably failed to win or has dropped hundreds of cases in which anti-I.C.E. protesters and migrants were charged with assaulting federal immigration officials.

A comprehensive analysis by The New York Times revealed that out of 558 individuals facing charges, 191 cases were dismissed outright and 22 people were found not guilty. A mere four individuals were convicted after going to trial. Meanwhile, 246 people entered guilty pleas and 95 cases are still working their way through the system.

The newspaper pointed out that traditionally, over 90% of defendants in Justice Department cases either plead guilty or are convicted in court. The Trump administration had based its legal strategy on 18 U.S.C. 111, which criminalizes assaulting or forcibly obstructing a government officer, with penalties ranging from fines to a 20-year prison term.

News Media has reached out to officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for their comments on this matter.

DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis told The New York Times that “it should come as no surprise that there’s an increase in criminal referrals under 18 U.S.C. 111 as there’s been a massive increase in violence and threats against federal law enforcement.”

“Federal prosecutors are correct to prioritize these prosecutions and hold individuals accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” added Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle, describing how prosecutors, at times, reduced or dropped charges based on “mitigating factors identified in a case.”

The New York Times cited another Justice Department official as saying that prosecutors in some of the cases dropped charges when the defendants were deported from the United States.

The newspaper said it based its analysis on court filings, hearing transcripts, videos of encounters and interviews with witnesses and federal officials.

It reported that in dozens of the cases that were lost or abandoned, court records and video showed that federal agents initiated physical struggles, such as shoving, tackling and pepper spraying defendants. Other defendants were able to successfully argue that the assaults they were accused of committing against the federal agents were acts of self-defense, the newspaper added.

Two of the judges overseeing the cases discovered agents purposely destroyed evidence, including demanding that a defendant delete images from their cellphone, according to The New York Times.

Officers also charged more than two dozen people who allegedly filmed or followed agents, sometimes honking car horns or shouting phrases like, “La migra is coming!,” despite no allegations of physical contact with agents, the newspaper reported.

In one case, a judge dismissed assault charges against an immigrant after ruling that the agent involved was cut by glass from a car window that the agent had smashed, and in 65 instances, prosecutors abandoned or dropped charges before deadlines to present evidence to a grand jury or judge, the New York Times also said.

The report did note one occasion when federal immigration officers were seriously hurt by protesters and migrants, including the dragging of an officer who had his arm inside a car window.

It seems like Aaron Rodgers and his family have been on a journey towards mending their strained relationships for quite some time now.

Rumors suggest that the famed NFL quarterback reconnected with his parents last April during a significant event — his induction into the Hall of Fame at his former high school in Pleasant Valley, California. Rodgers reportedly welcomed them in front of the audience, acknowledging their presence with gratitude and allowing the crowd to applaud their contribution to his life and career, according to Ian O’Connor, who penned Rodgers’ biography.

In O’Connor’s revealing book, “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers,” it is noted that Rodgers shared a heartfelt moment with his father, Edward Rodgers, amid the 2023 celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe. The pair embraced, sharing expressions of love that marked a poignant moment in their lives.

This encounter marked their first communication in nearly a decade, as reported by the biographer.

O’Connor mentioned that this meeting was pivotal. At the time, Aaron reportedly described the prospect of a full reconciliation as “definitely possible,” indicating it was merely a question of the right timing.

Page Six has reached out to Aaron’s rep for comment.

On Tuesday, the legendary quarterback broke the internet by posting photos with his family after a decade of estrangement.

In the intimate snaps, Aaron was all smiles as he posed for photos with Edward, mom Darla, and his brother Luke and Luke’s children.

“Another bonding week. #fam,” the athlete captioned the upload.

Aaron and Luke’s younger brother, Jordan Rodgers, did not appear in the pictures.

Jordan, notably, appeared on Season 12 of “The Bachelorette” and won the season. He and the lead, JoJo Fletcher, wed in 2022 and share a 6-month-old daughter named Romy.

Also absent from the post was Aaron’s mystery wife, Brittani, whose identity he has not shared since confirming their nuptials last year.

Although the timing and reason for the long-awaited reunion remains unclear, O’Connor claimed that it was Aaron’s junior college coach, Craig Rigsbee, who “was among the longtime friends who encouraged him to reunite with his family.”

During the decade-plus that Aaron has spent estranged from his family, he spoke about the source of the “dysfunction” — most recently in his 2024 Netflix docuseries.

In “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” the professional football player blamed some of the tension on his parents’ devout Christian beliefs.

“I felt like the love that I was modeled growing up, it’s kind of a merit-based spirituality,” he shared. “If you don’t believe you deserve that love, it’s hard for you to give it, and it’s sure as hell hard for you to receive it.”

He claimed to have never been “super duper close” with anyone in his family — besides Jordan, 37, who he became “distant” from due to “stuff from high school … stuff in college, stuff post-college.”

Today marks a significant return for Nicolas Maduro as he heads to a New York courtroom, amid revelations about his anticipated move to seek prosecutorial immunity in his ongoing drug trafficking trial.

Both Maduro, 63, and his spouse, Cilia Flores, 69, are slated to confront a Manhattan federal judge. The duo stands accused of conspiring to channel narcotics from Venezuela into the heart of the United States.

Legal documents submitted prior to the hearing indicate that prosecutors are bracing for the defense to introduce a motion asserting immunity for the pair.

Since their dramatic January arrest by US Special Forces on Venezuelan soil, Maduro and Flores have been residing in Brooklyn’s stark Metropolitan Detention Center.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has maintained a de facto governance over Venezuela, with interim President Delcy Rodriguez—an ally of Maduro—holding a nominal leadership position.

Maduro and Flores, who face life in prison if convicted, are accused of orchestrating the kidnappings and murders of those who stood in their way, including a drug boss in Caracas, of their alleged drug trafficking.

According to the indictment, Maduro and Flores engaged in a ‘relentless campaign of cocaine trafficking’ to the US. 

The letter, filed by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, laid out the schedule for motions ahead of a June 2027 trial. 

No further details were given but during previous hearings Maduro has described himself as a ‘prisoner of war’ and claimed he was ‘kidnapped’ from his home country. 

Maduro also claimed he was still President of Venezuela, which means he would be immune from prosecution in another country’s courts under international law, a principle which has been held up by the US Department of State. 

But the picture is complicated because since Maduro’s ousting, the US has taken control of large parts of the Venezuelan government with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly controlling the country’s finances and the distribution of its natural resources. 

Rodriguez was sworn in shortly after Maduro’s capture but she has called for his release and said he is still President of Venezuela. 

Speaking on Monday before departing for the Philippines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, Rubio said that the transition process away from the Maduro regime had begun.

Opposition leaders had met with Maduro’s officials and formal talks about a transition will begin in August, however it is unclear if elections will take place soon.

Another potential twist is that, according to a report in the New York Times, the case could take a ‘hairpin turn’ if Maduro claims that the court is not the right venue for the case. 

Maduro’s lawyers could claim that an independent court of arbitration should be overseeing the matter under a 1922 extradition treaty between the US and Venezuela. 

To fight his case, Maduro has hired attorney Barry Pollack, whose previous clients include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Pollack is set to see the case to trial after the US government allowed the Venezuelan government to pay him.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initially declined to issue a waiver to Maduro due to sanctions that are in place against Caracas, but amended it after the last hearing in March.

Meanwhile, the hearing will also give the public a chance to see how Flores and Maduro are coping with their treatment inside the harsh prison conditions. 

Former inmates have said that the MDC is like ‘hell on Earth’ and Maduro and his wife are likely to spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement in a cell.

In the past MDC prisoners have complained about unsanitary conditions and inedible food that was microwaved into the plastic container it came in.

Among those who have been held at the prison include: Ghislaine Maxwell, R Kelly and crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

During Maxwell’s detention at the MDC before her 2021 trial for child sex trafficking, she claimed that her hair was falling out from the stress of the conditions.