Shayna Jacobs

New York City

Courts, law enforcement and criminal justice

Education: Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, MS; Montclair State University, BA in History

Shayna Jacobs is a federal courts and law enforcement reporter on the national security team at The Washington Post, where she covers the Southern and Eastern districts of New York. Jacobs previously covered courts and crime for the New York Daily News, including numerous high-profile arrests and lawsuits, as well as major news events like Hurricane Sandy. She has served as an assistant adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Latest from Shayna Jacobs

Charges against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allege 16 years of abuse and crimes

The music mogul was arrested on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He is being held without bail.

September 17, 2024
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs charged with sex-trafficking, denied bail

Combs’s indictment and arrest follows several sexual assault lawsuits against him and Homeland Security raids on two of his mansions.

September 17, 2024
Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at a movie premiere at the CBS Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles on May 30, 2018.

NYPD commissioner resigns amid federal corruption probe

The move comes about a week after Commissioner Edward Caban’s electronics were seized in an ongoing federal investigation into potential corruption.

September 12, 2024
Edward A. Caban, left, speaks after being sworn in as NYPD commissioner outside the police department's 40th precinct on July 17, 2023, in New York. Mayor Eric Adams is on the right.

Trump’s N.Y. hush money sentencing delayed until after Nov. election

As a result of the date change, Donald Trump will probably face his New York sentencing either as a just-defeated candidate or as president-elect.

September 6, 2024
Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday.

Choice facing N.Y. judge: Does Taliban leader get war-related immunity?

Judge Katherine Polk Failla’s ruling could significantly truncate charges against Haji Najibullah, alleged orchestrator of a deadly attack on a military convoy.

September 1, 2024
A military honor guard carries the casket of Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. McKay during his funeral at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y. Haji Najibullah, a former Taliban commander, is accused of commanding a fatal ambush of McKay, Matthew L. Hilton and Mark Palmateer in Afghanistan in 2008.

Trump again asks N.Y. federal court to take over hush money case

Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued that the former president is being harmed by actions taken by the state court judge overseeing the N.Y. case.

August 29, 2024
Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, departs after making a campaign stop at the Truong Tien restaurant in  Falls Church, Va., on Monday.

Former congressman George Santos expected to plead guilty

The former lawmaker was ousted from the House and is expected to plead guilty to multiple felony counts Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

August 17, 2024
George Santos, who was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives, arrives to appear in court on Aug. 13 in Central Islip, N.Y., ahead of his corruption trial.

Trump seeks delay in New York hush money case sentencing until after election

Trump’s lawyers asked a judge to delay sentencing for his criminal conviction for falsifying business records, scheduled for Sept. 18, until after the election.

August 15, 2024
Donald Trump leaves the courtroom in Manhattan on May 20 during his hush money trial.

U.S. charges man in alleged plot that raised concerns about Trump’s safety

A complaint in federal court in Brooklyn charges a suspect with a murder for hire plot to assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on American soil.

August 6, 2024
Attorney General Merrick Garland

New York prosecutor files opposition to reversing Trump’s conviction

The district attorney’s office said the Supreme Court’s ruling giving broad application to presidential immunity does not have any bearing on Trump’s guilty verdict.

July 25, 2024
District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his legal team hold a news conference following the verdict against Donald Trump on May 30 in New York.