Islamist Extremism |
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Protesters march in Dearborn, Mich., May 18, 2021, to protest President Biden's support for Israel - SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images
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‘Death to America’ Chanted at Dearborn Al-Quds Day Rally
"Death to America" and "Death to Israel" were prominent chants at the International Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn, Mich. The chant came while Dearborn activist Tarek Bazzi, a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi Institute, was speaking against U.S. support for Israel. He quoted Malcolm X, calling America "one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth." Al-Quds Day was established by Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and Iran's first Supreme Leader, and takes its name from the Arabic term for Jerusalem. Read More Idaho Man Arrested for Planning Attacks in Support of ISIS
The FBI arrested a man on Saturday after he allegedly made plans to attack churches in Idaho and pledged his allegiance to ISIS. Alexander Scott Mercurio, aged 18, planned to attack churches in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday, April 7, so that it would be during Ramadan. Mercurio “stated he intended to incapacitate his father with a pipe, handcuff him, and use the firearms locked in the closet to attack the church,” court documents say. Read More |
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Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism |
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A woman holds a pro-Trump poster at a rally in Anaheim, Calif., September 2023 - Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images |
Trial Starts for Two Antifa Members Accused of Riot Conspiracy
The trial began for two men allegedly involved in the clash between an anti-fascist group and supporters of former President Donald Trump during a rally on January 9, 2021, in Pacific Beach, Calif. Brian Cortez Lightfoot, 27, and Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, members of a group of self-described anti-fascists from the Los Angeles area, face charges that include conspiracy to commit a riot. Their nine co-defendants have pled guilty to various charges and some have already been sentenced to prison. Read More Member of Rise Above Movement Sentenced
- Tyler Laube, 27, who admitted to punching a reporter in the face while marching with the white supremacist group Rise Above Movement, was sentenced to time already served in custody and a year of supervised release.
- The Rise Above Movement is a Southern California-based militant group that travels to rallies around the country to attack counter-protestors. Read More
Neo-Nazi Guilty of Battery
- Burt Colucci, 48, of Lakeland, Fla., was found guilty of misdemeanor battery in connection to a confrontation at a neo-Nazi demonstration in 2022, in which he pepper-sprayed a counter-protestor after a verbal confrontation.
- Colucci is the current commander of the National Socialist Movement, a prominent neo-Nazi group.
- Colucci was initially charged with one count of assault and one count of battery, both with hate crime enhancements. He was acquitted of the assault charge and hate crime enhancements but was instead convicted of misdemeanor battery in a jury trial. Read More
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Hate Crime |
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Technicians at work at Muslim-owned business where Anthony Paz Torres shot multiple people in 2015 - Tom Fox via The Dallas Morning News screenshot |
Texas Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Shooting
Anthony Paz Torres, 39, of Texas, was sentenced this week to 37 years in prison, with credit for time served in state custody, following his guilty plea to hate crime charges after he shot and killed one individual and attempted to kill three others at a Muslim-owned tire store in Dallas. Read More Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Assault
John Sullivan, of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to willfully causing bodily injury to a victim because of their perceived race and national origin. Sullivan yelled racial threats to the victim and his family outside a post office, then drove his car into the victim. Read More |
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School Threats |
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Granite City police car - Belleville News-Democrat via Yahoo News screenshot |
Illinois Man Charged for Posting Terrorist Threats to School
Richard K. Schneidewind, 41, of Troy, Ill., was charged with making terroristic threats toward Granite City High School and First Student Bus Company. Schneidewind allegedly created a Facebook page using another person's name and threatened to have someone place a bomb at the high school, threatened to have someone bring an AR-15 to the school and open fire, and threatened to have someone shoot a bus driver. Read More Michigan Teen Arrested for Threats to School
A 15-year-old student has been arrested after she threatened to shoot up Clarkston Junior High School in Oakland County, Mich. An investigation determined the threat was non-credible. The teen was accused of domestic terrorism and named in an Oakland County juvenile court petition with domestic terrorism for threatening to shoot up her school. Read More Michigan Teen Arrested for Snapchat Post
- A Hillsdale High School student was arrested for an alleged threat to the school made in a Snapchat post.
- A 15-year-old Hillsdale, Mich., boy was identified as the suspect. Further investigation revealed no immediate threat to the school. Read More
12-Year-Old and Parents Arrested, Firearms Seized After Threats to California Middle School
- Police seized firearms and arrested a parent after a 12-year-old made threats against Jurupa Middle School in Jurupa Valley, Calif.
- The 12-year-old student who made the threats was also arrested and booked for criminal threats. Read More
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Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |
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Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Iranian policymaker and scholar who played a key role on Iran's nuclear diplomacy team during negotiations with the EU and the IAEA - HOSSEIN FATEMI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images |
Congress Launches Investigation Into Princeton Research Fellow With Ties to Iran
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is investigating Princeton University's Seyed Hossein Mousavian for allegedly promoting Iran's interests, raising questions about his past as an Iranian diplomat and his activities in the U.S. Mousavian denies ongoing ties with the Iranian government despite his attendance at the funeral of Qasem Soleimani and participation in an Iranian media tribute to Soleimani. Read More Russian Nationals Admit to Sending Aviation Tech to Russia
- Two Russian nationals Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin, who reside in Miami-Dade County, Fla., have admitted to unlawfully exporting aviation technology to Russia, contravening U.S. export regulations. Read More
Microsoft Researchers Uncover Two China-Backed Disinformation Campaigns
- Microsoft researchers have uncovered two disinformation campaigns backed by China that target voters in the U.S. and abroad via social media.
- One operation used fake accounts to mimic U.S. voters and influence the 2022 midterm elections, focusing on divisive domestic issues. The other, known as Storm-1376, utilized AI-generated content to sway perceptions, notably attempting to affect Taiwan's presidential election. Read More
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QUOTABLE “The fathers of the Government expected and intended the institution of slavery to come to an end. They expected and intended that it should be in the course of ultimate extinction. And when I say that I desire to see the further spread of it arrested, I only say that I desire to see that done which the fathers have first done.”
- Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln-Douglas Debates
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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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