Islamist Extremism |  | CUNY Law grad Fatima Mousa Mohammed calling for revolution - via Twitter screenshot | CUNY Law Commencement Speaker Calls for Revolution and Supports Hamas During the CUNY Law school's commencement speech, a graduating student, Fatima Mousa Mohammed, called for a revolution and criticized the "law as a manifestation of white supremacy" and called for the dismantling of capitalism, racism, imperialism, and Zionism around the world. Mohammed expressed support for individuals arrested in connection to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), a charity that concealed its financial support for the terrorist organization Hamas through charitable donations, contributing millions of dollars to the group. Mohammed was selected to speak by her classmates and received a standing ovation for her speech from the faculty and fellow law school graduates. Read More New Jersey Man Sentenced for Training With Hezbollah - Alexei Saab, also known as Ali Hassan Saab, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for receiving military-type training from Hezbollah, marriage fraud, and making false statements.
- Saab joined Hezbollah in 1996 and received training in firearms, explosives, and military tactics. While living in the U.S., he conducted surveillance on various locations, including major cities and prominent landmarks, and provided detailed information to Hezbollah's external operations unit.
- Saab also attempted to carry out a murder and engaged in fraudulent marriage for immigration purposes.
- Saab was an adjunct lecturer at CUNY’s business school, the Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business. Read More
Support for Violence at “Nakba Day” in North Carolina - At a Nakba Day rally in Raleigh, N.C., Rania Masri, a Lebanese-American environmental organizer, stated that Israel has no right to exist and endorsed armed resistance by Palestinians.
- Dana Al-Hasan, an American activist and postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, praised the coordination between fighters in Gaza and other armed Palestinian factions in Jenin and Al-Aqsa.
- Claire Clark, an American transgender rights activist, dismissed claims that she should support Israel due to LGBTQ-friendly policies, stating that her enemies are in the U.S. and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people fighting for their freedom. Read More
| | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Chad Edward Keith - FBI via The Jewish Chronicle screenshot | Colorado Man Convicted on Weapons Charges After Trying to Establish “White Private Community” Chad Edward Keith, 41, from Colorado, has been ordered held in federal detention and his 11 guns were seized after the FBI found that he illegally possessed the firearms. He allegedly expressed Nazi and white supremacist sympathies and had plans to establish a "white private community" in Fremont County. Keith has been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person due to a previous federal weapons conviction. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine. Keith owns a property in Cotopaxi with multiple underground bunkers, a water cistern, and a deep well, which is described as "100% OFF GRID." He also allegedly planned to build a school with an "anti-Semitic curriculum" for younger children. Keith allegedly expressed antisemitic viewpoints to the FBI informant, and "has described himself as both a "National Socialist" and a Nazi. Read More Oath Keepers Founder Sentenced - Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, founder of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the group’s Florida chapter, have been sentenced for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.
- Rhodes received the longest sentence to date,18 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Meggs was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
- Rhodes, Meggs, and others were found guilty after an eight-week trial. Read More
SUNY Professor Arrested for Assaulting Reporter With Machete SUNY Hunter College professor Shellyne Rodriguez surrendered to police after brandishing a machete at a New York Post reporter who came to her door seeking comment about her harassing pro-life students. Rodriguez, 45, has been charged with menacing and harassment for the incident. She turned herself in to the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx. The confrontation occurred after Rodriguez destroyed a table display set up by pro-life students on campus. She chased the reporter out of the building, wielding the machete and making explicit threats. Following the incident, Rodriguez was immediately relieved of her duties at Hunter College, and the college condemned her actions. Read More Cop City Protestors Arrested for Stalking Officer Three far-left extremists were arrested in Bartow County, Ga., for placing fliers on mailboxes that identified a police officer and accused him of involvement in the shooting of Manuel Terán, who was fatally shot after he shot an officer at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed "Cop City." Julia Dupuis, Abeeku Vassall, and Caroline Tennenbaum were charged with felony intimidation of an officer of the state and misdemeanor stalking. The trio allegedly drove around the officer's neighborhood and distributed fliers calling him a murderer, leading to allegations of harassment and stalking. Dupuis and Vassall were released on bond with conditions, while Tennenbaum's bond was denied. Read More | | |  | Hate Crimes |  | Nathan Thomas and Sebastian West - via Fox 13 Salt Lake City screenshot
| Two Charged With Hate Crime for Assaulting LDS Missionary Two men, Nathan Thomas and Sebastian West, both 22-year-old residents of Payson, Utah, have been charged with federal hate crime offenses in connection to the assault of a black Panamanian missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The incident occurred on April 26, more than three years after the missionary was attacked while on his way to teach a family in Payson. The suspects, wearing dark hoodies and red bandanas, allegedly mocked and taunted the missionary before physically assaulting him, targeting him because of his race. Read More |  | | School Threats |  | James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images | Teen Arrested for Threat to Texas School A high school student was arrested in Euless, Texas, following an online threat targeting Trinity High School. The arrest took place before school on Thursday of last week, and the student's name and mugshot have not been released yet. The Irving Police Department has raised awareness about an increase in school threats posted online, and although the threat in this case was deemed not credible, it is being taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. Read More Georgia School Canceled After Teens Threatened to Shoot It Up The Museum School of Avondale Estates in DeKalb County, Ga., canceled its last day of the school year due to multiple threats made by a group of teens. The first threat occurred when a group of teenagers drove by the school, shouted a threat to "shoot up the school," and prompted an immediate lockdown. After the lockdown was lifted, another group of teens in a different car repeated the same threat, leading to the decision to close the school on Friday. Two individuals were arrested and charged with terroristic threats and disrupting public school, and the investigation is ongoing. Read More | | |  | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Demonstrators hold pictures of victims during a 2018 protest against the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong meditation practitioners - Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
| Illegal Agents of Chinese Government Charged in Bribery Scheme John Chen and Lin Feng, both of Los Angeles, have been charged with acting as unregistered agents of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and conspiring to bribe a public official, among other charges. The defendants allegedly participated in a PRC government-directed scheme targeting U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual practice in China. The U.S. government accused Chen and Feng of attempting to bribe an undercover law enforcement agent they believed to be an IRS official in order to further the PRC government's campaign of repression in the U.S. Read More Chinese Hacking Group Targets US Critical Infrastructure - A state-sponsored Chinese hacking group has been conducting cyber espionage on various U.S. critical infrastructure organizations, including telecommunications and transportation hubs, according to Western intelligence agencies and Microsoft.
- The espionage also targeted Guam, a U.S. territory with strategically important military bases, posing challenges for mitigation efforts, as stated in Microsoft's report.
- This Chinese cyber-espionage campaign against American critical infrastructure is one of the largest known, with concerns about potential disruption of critical communications infrastructure between the U.S. and Asia during future crises. Read More
| | |  | Research and Trends in Extremism |  | An Army veteran displays his MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) Vietnam patch - Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
| New Survey on Support for Extremism Among Military Veterans A new report by RAND Corporation finds that support for extremist groups and beliefs among military veterans is similar to or lower than levels seen in the general U.S. population. The survey of nearly 1,000 veterans revealed lower rates of support for extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Antifa compared to the general population, while support for political violence and the Great Replacement theory was similar. Support for specific extremist groups ranged from 1 percent (white supremacists) to 5.5 percent (Antifa) among veterans. However, support for political violence (17.7 percent) and the racist Great Replacement theory (28.8 percent) was similar to that of the general population. Marine Corps veterans showed the highest support for extremist groups and beliefs among different branches of service. Read More |  | Have You Found A Story You Think We Should Cover? | If you see an article on violent extremism in the U.S. or hostile foreign influence that is reliable, timely, and fits into one of the six categories that we cover in this newsletter, please send us a note, either by replying directly to this email or by submitting a contact form under the appropriate "news tip" category. | | | | | QUOTABLE “The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world."
- James Madison
| | | NOTE TO OUR READERS: We have pulled out the salient points of the articles in this newsletter to keep you informed and focused on the most relevant, important and timely news in national security and extremism. While our national security experts stand behind the summary bullets and deem them trustworthy, Clarion Project does not endorse all the views expressed in the articles linked. | | | | |
