Raisi says funds will be used ‘wherever we need it’

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The Extremism Roundup
=====================


**Promoting Civil Discourse and Marginalizing the Extremes**
A weekly compilation of the most important developments in the struggle against radical ideologies

Islamist Extremism
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*A billboard depicting IRGC navy units observing a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Oman, seen at the Vali-Asr square in Tehran in November 2021 - STR/AFP via Getty Images*


**Justice Department Disrupts IRGC Multimillion Dollar Crude Oil Shipment **


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The Justice Department has disrupted a multimillion-dollar shipment of Iranian crude oil by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, marking the first-ever criminal resolution involving sanctions violations related to Iranian oil. Over 980,000 barrels of contraband crude oil have been seized.


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Suez Rajan Limited pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and was sentenced to three years of corporate probation and a fine of nearly $2.5 million. Empire Navigation, the operating company of the vessel carrying the contraband cargo, has cooperated and transported the Iranian oil to the U.S. at significant expenses.


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The contraband cargo is now the subject of a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, based on U.S. terrorism and money laundering statutes.  [Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)


**$6 Billion Ransom Deal With Iran Finalized**


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On Monday, September 11, Congress was notified that the Biden administration had cleared the way to transfer $6 billion in assets to Iran via Qatar. In addition the U.S. will release five Iranian operatives being held for illegally providing  assistance to the Iranian regime.


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In exchange, Iran will free five U.S. citizens currently in detention. A number of [other U.S. citizens]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email) will remain in Iranian jails.


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The Biden adminstration has stated that the funds will only be used for humanitarian reasons, but Iranian President Raisi [stated in an interview]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email) with NBC News that the funds will be used "wherever we need it."


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Republicans strongly criticized the deal for a variety of reasons, and the irony of the announcement of so much money going to the biggest sponsor of Islamic terror on the anniversary of 9/11 was widely noted.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism
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*Video posted on Gab by Neo-Nazi group showing their demonstration at a Marlborough, Mass., homeless shelter for immigrants - via WBUR screenshot*


**Neo-Nazis March Through Massachusetts**


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A neo-Nazi organization called NSC-131 demonstrated outside a hotel in Marlborough, Mass., where state officials are housing homeless families, with members shouting anti-immigrant slogans.


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The state-funded family shelter system in Massachusetts has expanded due to high housing costs and the arrival of new immigrant families, leading to the placement of over 2,500 families in hotels and motels, which has become a target for hate groups like NSC-131.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**Leftist Activists Clash with Anti-LGBQ Group in New York**


- Fights and arrests broke out between pro- and anti-trans activists outside of Comic Strip Live in New York City where the group Gays Against Groomers was holding a fundraiser. 
- Prior to the fights, protestors of the event chanted “every gender, every race, punch a transphobe in the face.”  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


  Hate Crimes
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*Arrested Brooklyn man Steven Attanasso seen on film brandishing knife at neighbor - via nbcnewyork screenshot*


**Brooklyn Man Accused of Terrorizing Tenants**


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Steven Attanasso has been arrested on felony hate crime and weapon charges in connection to a series of incidents at the Ebbets Field Apartments in Brooklyn, where he has been accused of terrorizing his Black neighbors for over a year.


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Attanasso's arrest comes after previous incidents where he had been arrested and released, including suspicion of setting a fatal fire in the same apartment building.


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The neighbors have documented Attanasso's aggressive behavior, including brandishing knives, damaging doors with a hammer, and using racial slurs, leading to concerns about their safety and a desire for his removal from the building.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**Portland Man Indicted on Charges Related to Racially Motivated Stabbing**


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Adrian Austin Cummins, aged 25, has been indicted on 12 charges related to a stabbing incident on a TriMet MAX train in southeast Portland.


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The stabbing, which investigators deem racially motivated, involved Cummins allegedly attacking two Black teenage boys on the train, injuring one in the arm and the other in the chest.


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Cummins faces charges including attempted murder, assault, bias crimes, robbery, and unlawful use of a weapon, among others. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on Wednesday.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**

  School Threats
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*Brian Jones, 46 - Metro Police Nashville via Nashville.gov screenshot*
**


**Tennessee Man Indicted for Making Threat to Elementary School**


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Brian Jones, 46, of Nashville, Tenn., has been indicted on a federal charge of interstate communication containing a threat to injure after making threats that alluded to an active shooter targeting a Nashville elementary school.


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The investigation began when a woman in Colorado reported concerns about threats made over social media, where the user appeared fixated on a student from the elementary school and made threats toward a teacher.


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Jones' publicly available Twitter page contained videos and photos consistent with the reported threats. Police identified Jones' location near the elementary school through video evidence and discovered he had a history of making threats toward the school, although no firearms or explosive materials were found during a search of his home.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**Oregon School Cancels Classes After Bomb Threat**


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A bomb threat was made against Summit High School in Bend, Ore., via social media.


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School officials, in consultation with law enforcement, decided to cancel all classes and activities at the school on Monday in response to the threat.


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Law enforcement agencies, including the Bend Police Department, Oregon State Police, and the FBI, are actively investigating the threat, which referenced the use of a destructive device and the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations
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*Migrants attempting to cross in to the U.S. from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S. border in San Luis, Ariz., August 2022 - Nick Ut/Getty Images*
**


**Border Patrol Flags Nearly 75,000 Illegal Migrants as Potential National Security Risk**


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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flagged 74,904 illegal migrants between October 2022 and August 2023 as potentially posing national security risks, with some categorized as "special interest aliens."


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Special interest aliens (SIAs) are non-U.S. individuals whose travel patterns or behavior suggest a possible nexus to nefarious activity, including terrorism. They are different from individuals on the terror watch list, who are reasonably suspected of engaging in or intending to engage in terrorism-related activities.


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There has been a surge in individuals on the terror watchlist attempting to enter the U.S. in recent years, with 149 such individuals recorded by Border Patrol so far in fiscal year 2023. Border Patrol has recorded over 1.6 million illegal migrant encounters nationwide.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**Multiple Foreign Nationals Charged in Ransomware Schemes**


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Multiple Russian cybercrime actors have been indicted in three different federal jurisdictions in connection with the Trickbot malware and Conti ransomware schemes.


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Trickbot was a malware suite used for stealing money and facilitating ransomware installations, affecting hospitals, schools, and businesses.


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Conti ransomware was responsible for attacks on over 900 victims worldwide, including critical infrastructure targets.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**FBI Warns of Russian Spies**


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FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted the persistent presence of Russian spies in the U.S., stating that it remains "way too big" despite recent efforts to counter them.


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He emphasized that while the U.S. has made progress in addressing this issue, the Russian intelligence footprint in the country remains disproportionately large and is a continuous challenge to block and disrupt.


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Wray also mentioned that Russia is using intermediaries, known as cut-outs, in its intelligence operations, citing the case of Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a Mexican national arrested in 2020 for spying on behalf of Moscow.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**


**Chinese Hacker Steals Microsoft Signing Key to Spy on US Government Agencies**


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A China-based threat actor known as Storm-0558 gained access to a Microsoft account (MSA) cryptographic key, which was inadvertently leaked in a crash dump outside Microsoft's protected environment in April 2021.


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Storm-0558 compromised a Microsoft engineer's corporate account, likely with access to the debugging environment where the MSA key was stored. This allowed the threat actor to acquire the key, although there are no specific logs confirming this.


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The compromised cryptographic key was used to exploit a zero-day vulnerability, enabling the threat actor to forge signed access tokens and impersonate targeted accounts within 25 organizations, primarily gaining access to Exchange Online and Outlook. Microsoft took steps to mitigate the breach and prevent further unauthorized access.  **[Read More]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email)**

Have You Found A Story You Think We Should Cover?
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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**]([link removed] 202309-14&utm_medium=email) under the appropriate "news tip" category.  

QUOTABLE
 
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“In a constitutional democracy the moral content of law must be given by the morality of the framer or legislator, never by the morality of the judge.”

*- Robert Bork*

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.

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