With nearly 10,000 supporters outside of the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento, CA, the roar of their chants and cheers could be heard 16 floors above where Hmong leader and patriarch Gen. Vang Pao and ten other defendants were arguing for their cases to be dismissed.

Simultaneoulsy throughout the US, thousands of other supporters gathered in their respective cities to show a unified thrust of support never seen before in the Hmong community.

The three year journey to justice taken by VP finally paid off when federal prosecutors announced in September that all charges against the General would be dismissed. Unfortunately, authorities would arrest two others in connection with the federal conspiracy charges adding to the ten others who are awaiting their fate while on bail.

With his health ailing and with the untimely loss of two of his wives in the same year, the General was surely facing a death sentence if he had to endure much more of the grueling court proceedings that he faced. 

By dismissing the General's charges, the federal prosecutors have gained much ground on their case against the other men. Dubbed, "Operation Popcorn" by federal authorities, the men are charged with 

conspiring to attack the country of Laos.

An undercover ATF agent acted as an arms dealer, brokering a deal in which the men were going to purchase a chache of guns and ammunition. Through the ordeal, no guns were ever sold and funds were never exchanged. The entire case against the men revolve around the taped conversations that took place with the agent.

Not too many things are more devestating to a parent than losing a child. But when Ka Ge and May Kong lost their three sons in a bizarre murder-suicide shooting spree, their pain and loss was unfathomable. Siong Kong, 25, along with his two brothers Toua Kong, 32, and Seng Kong, 13, were shot down as they were finishing up a birthday party at Seng's residence in Menomonie, WI.  The suspected gunman Geu Tou Vang, 23, reportedly shot himself at the scene. He would die the next morning at a nearby hospital. To this day, authorities have not discovered a motive or a reason for the senseless killings.

Authorities allege that after finding out that his wife may have been having an affair with a co-worker, Chu Vue devised a sophisticated plot to kill the alleged lover, Steve Lo. Vue, a Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy at the time, used his law enforcement resources and training to track down Lo at his home where he was found shot to death in the driveway. 

Police say Vue masterminded the killing which involved seven others, including two of his brothers who were also wanted in an unrelated killing in Minnesota. In all, eight people were arrested and charged with this crime. They are all awaiting their trials.

Standing in line for his final physical before being deployed to Afghanistan, Pfc. Kham Xiong was caught in the gunfire of alledged shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist. A father of three young children, Pfc. Kham Xiong, 23, was a St. Paul resident who graduated from the  Community of Peace Academy.

The fallen hero was buried at the Ft. Snelling National Cemetery with full honors. He is the first "Xiong" to be buried there.

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