Islamist Extremism |  | Potential Azerbaijani Islamic terrorist Movsum Samadov illegally crossing the U.S. border on Jan. 21 - 1st Responders Media/Twitter via The Dallas Express screenshot
| Apparent Terrorist Makes Threat While Crossing U.S. Border A video on social media highlighted concerns about potential terrorists illegally crossing the U.S. border. The individual in the video was originally identified as Movsum Samadov, allegedly the chairman of the Azerbaijani Islamic party and previously convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. However, a subsequent interview with Samadov by Radio Free Liberty indicates that he is still in Azerbaijan. This incident comes amid a surge in encounters with unlawful migrants at the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting record-high numbers, including a notable increase in apprehensions of individuals on the CBP Terrorist Screening Dataset. Read More Protester Arrested for Assault at Anti-Israel Rally in Florida Shadi Abusammour, a protester at an anti-Israel rally in Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested on robbery charges for allegedly stealing a counter-protester's megaphone and assaulting her by hitting her in the face with it. Abusammour, 30, is reported to have thrown the stolen megaphone into the river during the heated dispute. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer on the scene witnessed Abusammour improperly displaying a gun, leading to his arrest at gunpoint. Charges against Abusammour include robbery by sudden snatching while armed, armed possession of a controlled substance (marijuana), and improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon. Read More NYU Professor Suspended for Defending Hamas Amin Husain, an NYU adjunct professor and anti-Israel activist, spoke at a "teach-in," dismissing allegations of Hamas beheading Israeli babies as untrue and denouncing New York City as "Zionist." The video of the event, held at The New School, shows Husain defending Palestinians' right to fight for liberation and downplaying claims of Hamas atrocities. He mocked a petition calling for his firing and claimed honors for being labeled antisemitic. Outrage from the Jewish community followed, condemning Husain's statements as anti-Jewish. NYU suspended Husain, stating he is no longer teaching, and The New School disassociated from him, emphasizing that antisemitism has no place on their campus. Read More NYPD Thwarts Planned Anti-Israel Flood at JFK The NYPD successfully thwarted around 800 anti-Israel protesters in Manhattan, blocking the Brooklyn Bridge and preventing plans to disrupt JFK Airport. Protesters chanted anti-police and anti-Israel slogans, leading to 10 arrests in Brooklyn, while NYPD issued 108 vehicle summonses in Queens. Despite some disruptions, heightened police activity at JFK Airport largely deterred protesters, resulting in only about 60 individuals reaching the airport, causing traffic issues and inconveniences for travelers. Read More | | |  | Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism |  | An attendee at an anti-abortion rally attended by members of antisemitic group Goyim Defense League, in San Francisco, Jan. 20 - TikTok user @acreativequeer via The Jewish News of Northern California screenshot | GDL Members Crash Pro-Life Rally Antisemitic provocateurs attended a pro-life rally in San Francisco, making Heil Hitler salutes, shouting obscenities, and wearing a T-shirt with the defamatory statement "Jews rape kids." The individuals, followers of the Goyim Defense League, a notorious antisemitic web-based group, were seen distributing antisemitic flyers and engaging in provocative behavior at the rally. Read More Members of The Base Convicted of Defacing Michigan Synagogue - Nathan Weeden, 23, from Michigan, was convicted by a federal jury for conspiring with others to deface Temple Jacob, a Jewish synagogue, with swastikas and symbols associated with the white supremacist group "The Base."
- Weeden's co-conspirators, Richard Tobin and Yousef Barasneh, had previously pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to the incident. Barasneh testified in the trial against Weeden.
- The plan, referred to as "Operation Kristallnacht," aimed to vandalize property associated with African Americans and Jewish Americans. Weeden was convicted of conspiring to threaten or intimidate individuals' rights and intentionally defacing religious property based on race or ethnicity. Sentencing will be scheduled later. Read More
Arson at Construction Site Tied to Atlanta’s Cop City - Construction equipment at a town-home site, associated with building Atlanta’s public safety training center known as "Cop City," was targeted in an arson attack.
- The Atlanta police and fire departments, along with the GBI, FBI, and ATF, are collaborating to investigate the incident, which involved burning four pieces of large construction equipment. No injuries were reported, and the fires have been extinguished.
- Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum stated that this arson is part of dozens of attacks against construction companies involved in building the public safety training center.
- Despite the attacks, construction is progressing, and the 85-acre complex is expected to be completed by December, and operational in January 2025. Read More
Neo-Nazi "Blood Tribe" Demonstrates at University of Wisconsin - A neo-Nazi demonstration occurred on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus, where a group screamed racist chants, lit flares, and displayed antisemitic symbols outside a residence hall.
- Students captured the incident on camera, showing individuals in red jackets chanting threatening phrases like "There will be blood" and projecting a swastika onto the dorm wall.
- The term "Blood Tribe," associated with a "growing neo-Nazi group," was also projected. Read More
| | | Hate Crime |  | John Reardon, hate crime suspect - Attleboro Police via The Sun Chronicle screenshot
| Massachusetts Man Arrested for Threat to Synagogue John Reardon, a 59-year-old man from Millis, Mass., was arrested on hate crime charges for leaving a threatening voicemail at Agudas Achim synagogue, stating, "It’s time to end Israel and all the Jews." The voicemail included references to the Israel-Hamas war, with explicit threats such as "If you can bomb their (expletive) places of worship, we can bomb yours" and "If you can kill their children, we can kill yours." The arrest followed concerns for the safety of the synagogue and its congregants, with the police tracing the call through caller ID and records. Read More Colorado Man Sentenced for Church Arson Darion Ray Sexton, a 22-year-old Colorado man, was sentenced to 39 months in prison for a hate crime related to a fire he set at a church in Loveland on January 19, 2023. Sexton pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime charge on May 5, 2023. He admitted to intentionally setting fire to the church, using Molotov cocktails, targeting the religious character of the building. Read More | | School Threats |  | Gallatin County Middle School, Warsaw, Ky. - via WLWT5 screenshot
| Kentucky School Threat Leads to Arrests and Detention of Juvenile The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a threat made to Gallatin County Middle School, leading to the detainment of a juvenile and the arrest of two adults on unrelated charges. Several other districts reported threats, some involving firearms or bombs, with information obtained from Snapchat. Read More Nevada Teen Arrested for School Threat A 16-year-old Silver Stage High School student in Silver Springs, Nev., was arrested for allegedly making threats of violence, including a school shooting, on social media. - The student created the posts as a form of cyberbullying to provoke a law enforcement response against another student. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from various entities, identified the suspect and charged them with a felony count of making terroristic threats, deeming the threat not credible. Read More
Iowa Teen Charged for School Threat - A 17-year-old from Conrad, Iowa, has been arrested for allegedly making threats to BCLUW High School in Grundy County.
The teen is charged with making threats of terrorism, a Class D felony, and is in custody at the juvenile detention center following the immediate investigation by authorities. Read More | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 20, 2023 - Alex Wong/Getty Images | Rep. Omar Faces Criticism for Position on Somalia Rep. Ilhan Omar faced criticism after a video circulated of her expressing support for Somalia, discussing a deal between Ethiopia and Somalia regarding access to the Somaliland coastline. Some translations of the video suggested Omar told Somali Americans that her "Number One job" is to look out for Somalia and hinted at future territorial ambitions to "unify all Somali-speaking people." Omar responded, stating it was a mistranslation, expressing solidarity with Somalis in Somalia and the diaspora, emphasizing the importance of federal government consent in land lease negotiations with other countries. Read More New Report on Foreign-Influenced Corporations’ Money in State Elections
- A report by the organization OpenSecrets reveals the escalating influence of foreign-influenced companies in U.S. state-level elections, analyzing disclosed corporate contributions in six key states: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, and Washington.
- Between the start of the 2018 election cycle and the end of 2022, foreign-influenced companies contributed over $163 million to political committees in the mentioned states. The top 33 foreign-influenced companies, including Altria, BP, and Coca-Cola, collectively contributed about $134.0 million.
- The report emphasizes the need for transparency and regulatory measures to address challenges posed by foreign-influenced corporate political contributions, pointing to legislative efforts to restrict such influence in state or local elections. Read More
| | | | Research and Trends in Extremism |  | A University of Washington student demonstrates at the We Are Not Silent rally in Bellevue, Wash., March 2021, after an Atlanta shooting rampage that left six Asian women dead - Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images | New FBI Report Shows Alarming Increase of Hate Crime at Schools A newly released FBI report indicates that 10 percent of reported hate crimes in 2022 occurred at schools or on college campuses. Over 30 percent of juvenile victims of hate crimes were targeted at schools, with elementary and secondary schools being the most common locations. The most frequent motivation for hate crimes at schools was anti-Black bias, followed by anti-Jewish and anti-LGBT (mixed group) biases. The report highlights the need for analyzing commonalities in reported hate crimes at schools to develop strategies for prevention and mitigation. Read More | | CLARION PROJECT SPECIAL REQUEST | Raheel Raza, a human rights activist and former advisor to Clarion Project who has appeared in several of our films, such as Honor Diaries, Covert Cash, and By the Numbers, is in need of a kidney. If you or someone you know can help, please contact Raheel at [email protected]. We deeply appreciate your help. | | | | | QUOTABLE “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
- Benjamin Franklin
| | | 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. | | | | |
