The Extremism Roundup

Islamist Extremism

Video Screenshot - via Hindustan Times

Anti-Israel Activists Stage Coordinated Rush-Hour Traffic Shutdown in 5 Cities

• In Chicago, anti-Israel protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O’Hare International Airport, preventing people from reaching their flights.

• Demonstrators shut down all vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and chained themselves to 55-gallon drums filled with cement across Interstate 880 in Oakland.

• In New York City, at 7am, activists blocked Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. 

• Near Seattle, a demonstration closed the main road to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

• In Eugene, Oreg, protesters blocked Interstate 5.  

• The multi-city traffic shutdowns were coordinated by an organization called A15 Action, which called for a “multi-city blockade… in solidarity with Palestine.”

•  A15's website stated , “In each city, we will identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact.”  Read More

Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism

Riddhi Patel - Bakersfield The Sound of Something Better via New York Post screenshot

Anti-Israel Protester Arrested for Threats to California City Council

• Riddhi Patel was arrested for threatening to murder Bakersfield (Calif.) Mayor Karen Goh and city council members during a public meeting.

• The threats were linked to displeasure over new metal detectors at City Hall, installed amid anti-Israel protests.

• Patel faces 18 counts of making terroristic threats and is currently held on $1 million bail. Read More

Man With Alleged Antifa Ties Arrested for Bombing Alabama Attorney General’s Office

• Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, from Irondale, Ala., was arrested for detonating an explosive device outside the Alabama Attorney General's Office.
• According to the DOJ, Calvert had previously posted Antifa content on social media and "expressed his belief that violence should be directed against the government." 
• Charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device, Calvert faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted. Read More

Abortion Activist Sentenced for Firebombing 

• Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, Wisc., was sentenced to 90 months in prison for the firebombing of a building in Madison.
• Roychowdhury attacked the building with a Molotov cocktail because it was occupied by an organization that opposed abortion. Read More

Neo-Nazi Pleads Guilty to Jan. 6 Charges

• Richard Zachary Ackerman, a member of the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Socialist Club 131, pleaded guilty to charges related to his actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
• Ackerman admitted to obstructing law enforcement and stealing a police helmet, which he called a "war trophy."
• Ackerman was first arrested in New Hampshire in June and has been on pretrial release ever since. His sentencing is scheduled for July 25. Read More

  Hate Crime

Vandalism at the Center for Islamic Life, Rutgers University - via ABC7 screenshot

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Assault

• Authorities are investigating the vandalism of an Islamic center at New Jersey's Rutgers University during the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr as a hate crime.

• A building at the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University had its windows shattered, artwork smashed, TVs and printers broken, and a Palestinian flag destroyed, according to the group’s chairwoman. Read More

Former Cornell Student Pleads Guilty to Threats Against Jewish Students

• Patrick Dai, 21, formerly a student at Cornell University, pleaded guilty to making online threats against Jewish students on campus.

• Dai admitted to posting threats on a forum, including violent actions against Jewish individuals and property, which led to his arrest and federal charges.

• His sentencing is set for August, with potential consequences including prison time and fines. Read More

  School Threats

Senatobia High School - via school website screenshot

Two Mississippi Teens Arrested for Bomb Threats

• Two minors have been arrested for making bomb threats to Senatobia High School and Senatobia Middle School in Mississippi. Read More

Long Island Man Arrested for Threats to School

• Ryan Christopher, 42, of Patchogue, N.Y., was arrested after allegedly phoning in a series of threats to shoot and detonate explosives against Half Hollow Hills East High School in Dix Hills, N.Y.

• Christopher has been charged with making a threat of mass harm, a misdemeanor. Read More

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

Protesters demand the "maximum sentence" for former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, accused of spying for Cuba, outside the U.S. Courthouse in Miami on April 12 - CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Former Ambassador to Bolivia Pleads Guilty to Spying for Cuba

• Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, of Miami, a former U.S. ambassador and National Security Council official, pleaded guilty to secretly acting as a Cuban agent for decades.

• Rocha was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his crimes, which included conspiring to act as a foreign agent and defrauding the United States. Read More

Houston Schools Postpone Plan to Partner With Confucius Institute

• The Houston Independent School District board has postponed a vote on establishing a partnership with a Chinese university linked to the "Confucius Institute."
• Confucius Institutes are a Chinese government-backed initiative to project soft power and influence abroad.
• The delay follows unresolved HISD board questions about the program's details, including funding sources and partnership terms. Read More

Research and Trends in Extremism

 NYPD officers clash with Pro-Palestinian protestors demonstrating around Columbia University on February 2 in New York City - Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

ADL Grades Campus Antisemitism - 13 Colleges Recieve an "F"

• A new report by the Anti-Defamation League graded 85 colleges across the nation on their policies and administrative actions taken to protect Jewish students and combat antisemitism.

• Of the colleges graded, two received an “A,” 17 received a “B,” 29 received a “C,” 24 received a “D,” and 13 received an “F.” Read More

QUOTABLE 

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

- Victor Frankl

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.