KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that a law making it a crime to “encourage” or “induce” immigrants to enter or live in the country illegally is unconstitutional.

The U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia issued his ruling from the bench Wednesday before throwing out the convictions of Jose Felipe Hernandez-Calvillo and Mauro Papalotzi. Prosecutors said the men, who themselves are in the country illegally, managed crews of workers who installed drywall for a Lawrence company.

After they were convicted of conspiring with supervisors to violate the law, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in a similar case that encouraging immigrants to be in the country illegally is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Kansas isn’t governed by the Ninth Circuit, but Murguia found the argument persuasive. He said in his ruling that he was adopting the Ninth Circuit court’s analysis “in full” and agreed that the law is “overbroad.” Four others who also were charged in 2016 with violating the law, including the company’s owner, pleaded guilty in 2017 to misdemeanors.

The law was passed by Congress in 1952 and has been amended several times since then. Violations carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, with another five tacked on if the defendant acted for “commercial advantage or private financial gain.”

“The important thing, other than the First Amendment issue, is that the government was using this (law) to charge people who did nothing more than make a job available to an undocumented person, whether or not they had direct knowledge that the person was undocumented,” said Hernandez-Calvillo’s attorney, Tom Bradshaw.

“The statute requires that when you ‘encourage’ or ‘induce,’ you know the person was here illegally. But the government has played loose with that.”

Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said in an email that his office “is evaluating the judge’s ruling at this time” and had not made a decision about its next step. If prosecutors appeal, that sets up the potential for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Kansas, to overturn Murguia’s ruling. That would create a conflict between two federal circuits, setting the stage for a possible Supreme Court decision to resolve the issue.

The two men whose convictions Murguia threw out could still be deported, although the government has not initiated deportation proceedings against them. Bradshaw said his client is raising a son who was born in the U.S. and just graduated from high school.

KANSAS CITY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and are asking the public for help to locate witnesses.

According to a social media report from Kansas City Police, On May 25, three people were shot at a party at Local Legends Gaming, 3933 Main Street.

The place was packed with young adults and juveniles, but witnesses haven’t come forward.

Detectives have a person of interest but need witnesses to prosecute. If you were there, do right & call Assault Squad: 234-5227

BARTON COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 12:30p.m. Thursday in Great Bend.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Toyota Tundra driven by James W. Juergensen, 71, Great Bend, was making a right turn onto 19th Street at Heizer Street when the pickup struck Sreehitha Kadiyala, 23, Great Bend,  walking northbound crossing 19th street.

EMS transported Kadiyala to the hospital in Great Bend. Juergensen was not injured.

MANHATTAN — Law enforcement and school district authorities are investigating an alleged social media threat in Manhattan.

On Wednesday, a citizen alerted the Riley County Police Department that a video had been posted to the social media messaging phone app Snapchat which depicted a 15-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl holding what appeared to be a gun and making threatening statements, according to Captain Josh Kyle.

Preliminary investigation indicates the video was directed at a different 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy.

All the parties mentioned are students at Manhattan High School West Campus.

USD 383 has assisted RCPD during this investigation and all involved parties including parents have been contacted, according to Kyle. The video did not include any threats to the safety of Manhattan High School.

No arrests have been made.  The RCPD has not heightened its presence at the school in response to this incident.

TOPEKA – A federal court Wednesday sided with Kansas and declared that the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule exceeded federal authority and violated administrative procedures, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

“From the beginning, it was clear to us that the WOTUS rule proposed by President Obama’s administration went far beyond the authority granted to the federal agencies by the Clean Water Act and did not go through the proper administrative procedures prior to its adoption,” Schmidt said. “This ruling agrees with our assessment and lays the groundwork for the Trump administration to continue its efforts to replace the illegal rule with one that instead complies with federal law.”

The ruling by Judge Lisa Godbey Wood in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted summary judgment to the 10 plaintiff states, including Kansas.

Because the Trump administration already has begun the proper rulemaking process to repeal the illegal Obama-era WOTUS rule and replace it with a lawful rule, Judge Wood did not vacate the Obama-era WOTUS rule but instead left in place the preliminary injunction she entered last year. That injunction will continue to prohibit the implementation of WOTUS in Kansas and the other plaintiff states while the repeal-and-replace rulemaking proceeds.