Islamist Extremism |  | Pro-Palestinian protesters blocking Holland Tunnel in NYC Jan 8, 2024 - via NY Post video screenshot | Pro-Hamas Protesters Shut Down Major Manhattan Bridges Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters swarmed three bridges and the Holland Tunnel in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning, blocking rush-hour traffic for more than an hour. Demonstrators from the “Shut it Down for Palestine” rally marched through City Hall Park, and then groups of them descended on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges and Holland Tunnel. Some of the demonstrators sat down in the middle of major roadways, linking themselves together using zip ties and even cement-filled tires, which forced the police to employ power tools to get them apart. The police took over 330 people, most of them women, into custody. Read More
California Man Pleads Guilty to Helping Syrian Terrorists Murat Kurashev, 36, a Russian national living in Sacramento, Calif., pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the designated foreign Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Between July 2020 and February 2021, Kurashev sent approximately $13,000 to two couriers associated with an HTS fundraiser, using money transfer services. Surveillance footage captured Kurashev in the midst of these transactions. Evidence from social media discussions, encrypted messaging, and FBI forensic analysis of Kurashev's iCloud account revealed his awareness of HTS's violent extremist ideology, his desire to support jihad financially, and his consumption of extremist content. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Read More Detroit Mosque Commemorates Hezbollah Fighter The Islamic Center of America announced that it would hold a commemoration service for three individuals killed in an Israeli strike in Bint Jbeil, South Lebanon on December 30, 2023. While Hezbollah initially claimed the individuals were civilians, one of them, Ali Bazzi, was disclosed later as being affiliated with Hezbollah as a "jihad fighter." The center's announcement for commemoration services described the three individuals as martyrs who died unjustly in an attack by the Israeli army. The Islamic Center of America is the largest mosque in North America and the religious center for the local Shiite community in Detroit, Mich. Read More Chicago Protestors Promote Hamas Spokesperson At an anti-Israel protest in Chicago, protestors held up a Palestinian flag featuring the image of “Abu Obaida.” Abu Obaida is the alias of the spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Read More | | | | | Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism |  | Proud Boys members faced counter-protesters when they arrived at the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 6 to mark the anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riot - WSYX via ABC 6 screenshot | Proud Boys and Leftist Activists Clash at Ohio Statehouse Three years after the U.S. Capitol riot, protests marking the anniversary took place at the Ohio Statehouse. Proud Boys members gathered at the Statehouse, encountering counter-protesters from the far-left group JUST (Justice, Unity, and Social Transformation). No arrests or injuries were reported related to the protests. Read More Florida Proud Boy Sentenced for January 6 Assault - Christopher Worrell, a Florida man convicted on felony assault charges for his actions at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 120 months in prison.
- Worrell, found guilty on six felony counts and a misdemeanor, assaulted police officers with a dangerous weapon, used pepper gel against officers, and breached the Capitol grounds with other Proud Boys.
- He cut off his GPS ankle monitor, became a fugitive, and was arrested after a six-week FBI manhunt. Worrell's sentencing includes 36 months of supervised release, restitution of $2,000, and a $610 special assessment. Read More
| | |  | Hate Crime |  | Aiyanna Winstead, 21 - Delaware State Police screenshot via Delaware.gov screenshot
| Delaware Woman Arrested for Hate Crime Aiyanna Winstead, a 21-year-old from Laurel, Del., was arrested for a hate crime after allegedly racially abusing employees at Tacos Chabelita Mexican restaurant. Winstead made threats to kill the staff and shouted racist statements during a phone call on December 30, 2023, stemming from a food order dispute involving a family member. Winstead was charged with a felony hate crime and four counts of making terroristic threats. Read More High School Basketball Game Cancelled Due to Antisemitic Outbursts A high school girls' basketball game in New York between The Leffell School and Roosevelt High School was abandoned after antisemitic slurs were hurled at the Jewish opponents. The incident occurred during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, with a Roosevelt player reportedly shouting, "I support Hamas, you f–king Jew" at a Leffell School player. The Leffell School team, experiencing both verbal abuse and a physically aggressive style of play, decided to end the game after the third quarter, leading to Roosevelt's voluntary forfeit. The incident prompted condemnation, investigations, and apologies from school officials. Read More North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Jewish Organization Jeffrey Hobgood, 64, has pleaded guilty to making violent threats to the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. The FBI arrested Hobgood in October for sending threats not only to the Jewish organization but also to politicians and national companies like Walmart and Spectrum. Read More Illinois Man Faces Charges for Alleged Hate Crime Assault Terrence Clyne, 68, from Orland Park, Ill., is facing a felony hate crime charge along with two misdemeanor counts of battery for allegedly assaulting a neighbor of Palestinian descent during a dispute over garbage cans. The incident involved Clyne making hateful comments about the man's Palestinian origin and physically assaulting him. Clyne also directed hateful comments toward the man's wife, who attempted to deescalate the situation. According to court documents, Clyne punched the man twice with a closed fist while yelling anti-Palestinian epithets. Read More | | School Threats |  | Students demonstrate for stricter gun control legislation at the March for Our Lives rally at the Iowa state capitol building on January 8 - Scott Olson/Getty Images | School Shooter Kills 1, Injures 5 Others Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old senior at Perry High School in Iowa, opened fire, killing a sixth-grader and injuring five others, including the school's principal, using a pump-action shotgun and a handgun. Butler died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by the time first responders arrived. The shooting triggered a mass evacuation of 1,785 students on their first day back after winter break. Police arrived seven minutes after the first call, and multiple victims were transported to hospitals. Butler posted a TikTok hours before the incident, and he had previously posted videos related to guns. Read More Iowa Teen Charged With Threat of Terrorism for Threat to School Lakeeve Fort, an 18-year-old student from West Des Moines, Iowa, has been charged with the threat of terrorism. Reports were received by West Des Moines Police about comments, both in-person and online, by Fort expressing support for the suspect in the deadly shooting at Perry High School. Read More | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) participates in a Senate Banking Committee hearing in December 2023 - Win McNamee/Getty Images
| Senator Menendez Faces New Bribery Charges Related to Qatar Fund U.S. prosecutors have filed new criminal charges against Senator Robert Menendez, accusing him of accepting bribes to assist a businessman, Fred Daibes, in securing millions of dollars in investments from a fund linked to Qatar's government. Menendez, who already faces corruption-related charges related to Egypt, allegedly introduced Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family with ties to the investment company. The senator is accused of making public statements supporting Qatar while the company considered investments in Daibes' real estate development. The superseding indictment also revealed that agents found over $480,000 in cash hidden in envelopes, clothing, closets, and a safe during a search of Menendez's home, some of which was discovered in jackets with his name. Menendez, denying any wrongdoing, faces charges in both the Qatar-related and Egypt-related cases. Read More | | | | Research and Trends in Extremism |  | Israeli forces seized around NIS 10 million from nine money exchange branches in Judea and Samaria on Dec. 28, 2023, during a raid on companies found to be transferring funds to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Israel Defense Forces via Times of Israel screenshot
| State Dept. Offers $10 Million Reward for Information to Disrupt Hamas Financial Networks The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information disrupting the financial mechanisms of the Foreign Terrorist Organization Hamas. The reward targets Hamas financial facilitators Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmad Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah. These individuals are involved in Hamas's financial network, including a Sudan-based financier with ties to al-Qaeda and operatives in Turkey connected to Hamas's investment network. The reward seeks information on their activities, aiming to disrupt and identify revenue sources, major donors, financial institutions, businesses, and criminal schemes linked to Hamas. 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 “Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.”
- James Madison, Federalist Papers #10
| | | 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. | | | | |
