The Extremism Roundup

Islamist Extremism

Migrants pass through coils of razor wire while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on March 13, 2024 in El Paso, Texas - John Moore/Getty Images

Hezbollah Terrorist Caught Trying to Cross Border

• Basel Bassel Ebbadi, a 22-year-old Lebanese migrant, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, after illegally crossing the border and admitting to being a member of Hezbollah with intentions to construct a bomb in New York.

• He revealed in a sworn interview his extensive involvement with Hezbollah, including seven years of training focused on jihad and an additional four years guarding weapon locations, highlighting indoctrination toward violence against non-Muslims.

• Border agents recorded 98 encounters with terror watchlisted individuals at both the northern and southern borders in fiscal year 2022, and almost twice as many, 172, in fiscal year 2023. Read More

Jordanian Nationalist Assaults Jews in Miami Beach

• Mohamed Al Saccal, 39, is currently in custody facing charges of aggravated assault in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., for threats he made against Orthodox Jews.

• Al Saccal, who was born in Jordan, allegedly chased a couple on their way to a synagogue along Collins Avenue, yelling antisemitic sentiments and threatening their lives with a dagger. Read More

College Condemns Islamophobia in Response to Antisemitic Graffiti

• Smith College in Northampton, Mass., responded to antisemitic graffiti by condemning Islamophobia and is considering a BDS measure against Israel.

• The college president's statement, which also mentioned considering divestment from Israel following a campus club's demand, has drawn criticism for not directly addressing antisemitism and for potentially fueling further antisemitism. Read More

Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism

Neo-Nazis holding flares outside the home of investigative reporter Jordan Green - Jordan Green via Washington Post screenshot

White Supremacists Stalk Journalist to His Home

• Jordan Green, a journalist for media outlet Raw Story, was targeted by neo-Nazis at his North Carolina home.

• Six individuals holding lit flares and giving salutes were involved in the intimidation. They were retaliating against his investigations into their groups on Telegram.

• The harassment included threatening phone calls and sharing of the journalist’s address online. Read More

Fight Outside Florida Jewish Community Center

• A fight broke out outside the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie, Fla., during dueling rallies related to Israel and Palestine.
• Witnesses said it appeared that several anti-Israel protesters attacked a man who was supporting Israel. Read More

Animal Rights Protestors Arrested for Assault

• Authorities in Florida arrested two suspects during a protest at a Starbucks, including a 13-year-old who allegedly assaulted a police officer.
• The protest, involving about 15 people, was against Starbucks' extra charge for vegan milk. The teen faces battery and trespassing charges. Read More

Missouri White Supremacist Charged in Vandalism Hate Crime

• Frankie Rizzello Jr., a 20-year-old resident of Chesterfield, Miss., was charged with two hate crimes Sunday after police said he spray-painted the name of a white nationalist group on a church and an Asian restaurant last year.
• Rizzello, a white supremacist, used a Telegram channel to claim responsibility for and celebrate a variety of white supremacist and antisemitic vandalism incidents in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Read More

Massachusetts Man Sentenced After Sending Bomb Threat to Arizona Election Official

• James W. Clark, 40, of Falmouth, Mass., was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for sending a communication containing a bomb threat to an election official in the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
• Clark conducted online searches that included the full name of the election official in conjunction with the words “how to kill” and “address.” Additionally, Clark conducted online searches involving the Boston Marathon bombing. Read More

  Hate Crime

Medics at the scene of Vermont shooting of three Palestinian-American college students - via New York Times video screenshot

Vermont Hate Crime Wasn’t Islamophobic

• An investigation into the November 2023 shooting of three Palestinian-American college students in Burlington, Vt., which was initially reported as an Islamophobic hate crime, revealed the accused shooter was in fact a Hamas supporter. 

• For months after the incident, major news outlets reported the crime was fueled by Islamophobia, in attempt to prove that hate crimes against Muslims are equal in number to those against Jews. Read More

California Rideshare Driver Charged With Antisemitic Attack

• Former California rideshare driver Csaba John Csukás was charged with a federal hate crime for an assault on a rider because he perceived the rider to be Jewish or Israeli.

• Csukás faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the hate crime charge. Read More

Washington Former Convict Charged With Violent Hate Crime Against Black Woman

• Adan Hernandez-Mayoral, 23, was charged with hate crime and second-degree assault in Kent, Wash., after forcibly pulling a Black woman whom he didn’t know off a King County Metro bus by the throat and attempting to stab her multiple times.

• Hernandez-Mayoral was previously convicted of domestic violence crimes and second-degree robbery. Read More

Illinois University Investigates Vandalism as a Hate Crime

• Bradley University in Peoria, Illi., is investigating a hate crime where graffiti targeting the Jewish community was sprayed on campus buildings, including a Jewish fraternity house, referencing the Israel-Hamas conflict.  Read More

  School Threats

Guns found in Springfield, Mass., home after school threat - via Springfield Police Department official website screenshot

12-Year-Old Arrested for Threat to Massachusetts School

• Police arrested Ramon Gonzalez, 24, and Nathan Gonzalez, 20, along with a mother, Lilly Casanova, 40, who will be criminally charged after her 12-year-old made an alleged school threat and police seized two guns from her home in Springfield, Mass.
  

• According to police, Casanova refused to allow detectives to search her home after they received information that a 12-year-old allegedly said they had access to a gun and would bring it to school and use it, forcing police to obtain a search warrant. Read More

Arrest Made in Connection to Threat to California High School

• A suspect has been arrested in connection with a social media threat made toward Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif.
  

• The threat was posted on Instagram and included a post that alleged a school shooting was going to take place. Another post showed a gun on someone’s lap.
  

• The suspect was not identified, but police confirmed they are not a Taft High School student. Read More

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, after meeting with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on March 14 in Washington, DC - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

ODNI Report Warns That Chinese Government is Using TikTok to Influence US Elections

• The annual assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) highlights concerns about China influencing U.S. elections via online disinformation campaigns and sophisticated influence activities.

• Concerns about TikTok's national security threat prompted legislative actions, including a potential mandate for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. app store ban. Read More

Concerns Arise Over Former US Official’s Work for Chinese Companies

• Concerns have arisen over former U.S. officials, such as ex-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, working for Chinese entities like SZ DJI Technology, amid scrutiny over the company's alleged military connections. 
• Lynch, who is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of DJI, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies.
• Transparency advocates say there are gaps in the law that allow lawyers and lobbyists to avoid disclosing their advocacy for companies possibly subject to U.S. sanctions. Read More

QUOTABLE 

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”

- Alexis de Tocqueville

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.