The Extremism Roundup

Islamist Extremism

Gunmen killed 40 people and over injured 100 others in a shooting at a concert hall near Moscow, in March 2024. Eleven Tajikistan nationals associated with ISIS were later arrested for the terrorist attack - Ali Cura/Anadolu via Getty Images

Eight Immigrant ISIS Supporters Arrested in Multi-City Sting Operation

• Eight Tajikistan nationals were arrested for attempting to support ISIS by providing money, technology, and equipment to the terrorist organization.

• The arrests were a result of a joint operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other international law enforcement agencies in a coordinated sting operation spanning Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

• The suspects used complex financial transactions to mask the flow of funds intended for ISIS.

• The suspects crossed into the US via the Southern border and were linked to ISIS later, as a result of the U.S. government’s highly sensitive targeting of the communications of ISIS members abroad.  Read More

Anti-Israel Violence Sweeps Country

• Felony burglary charges have been filed against 13 Stanford University students associated with the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for breaking into the school president’s office and locking themselves inside. Read More
• Anti-Israel activists vandalized the homes of individuals associated with the Brooklyn Museum and the United Nations with red paint and graffiti. Read More
• Masked anti-Israel protesters took over a New York City subway car and demanded to know if there were any “Zionists” on the train — then warned them: “This is your chance to get out.” Read More
• The U.S. Department of Education has initiated an investigation into a complaint that Chapman University failed to respond to antisemitic harassment and exclusion of Jewish students in violation of the Civil Rights Act. Read More
• An NYC Anti-Israel protester told Jews who were honoring the hundreds of Israelis killed on Oct. 7 that he wished “Hitler was still here” because the Nazi leader would have “wiped all you out.” Read More
• UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian shared a livestream from the Gaza encampment at the University in which speakers praised violent Palestinian “resistance.” Read More

Minnesota Man Sentenced for Support to ISIS

• Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, 27, of St. Louis Park, Minn., was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for providing material support to ISIS.

• Al-Madioum joined ISIS in Syria in 2015, received military training, and served as a soldier and personnel database administrator.

• He continued to support ISIS after being injured in military activities until his capture by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019. Read More

Militant-Right & Militant-Left Extremism

Nicholas Fuentes, leader of far-right group America First, attends an anti-vaccine protest in front of Gracie Mansion on November 13, 2021 in New York City - Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Far-Right Conference Canceled in Detroit

• The group America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), led by the far-right nationalist Nicholas Fuentes, canceled their conference in Detroit due to a dispute between the organizers and the venue.

• The event was supposed to be a counter to the Turning Point USA’s convention also being held in Detroit. Fuentes entered a TPUSA event, but was quickly escorted out by security while shouting that Israel was in control of the conference. 

• Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke was in attendance, along with fellow antisemites and anti-Israel personalities Jake Shields, Sulaiman Ahmed, Anastasia Maria Loupis, and Nicolas "Sneako" Kenn De Balinthazy. Read More

Three Plead Guilty to Targeting Pro-Life Pregnancy Resource Center

• Three Florida residents–Caleb Freestone, Amber Smith-Stewart, and Annarella Rivera–pleaded guilty to conspiring to threaten and intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy resource centers by vandalizing the facilities with threatening messages.

• The attacks, conducted between May and July 2022, targeted centers providing abortion alternatives and included messages like, “If abortions aren’t safe then neither are you.”

• The defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, with sentencing to be scheduled later. Read More

NYPD Arrests Man Heavily Armed During Traffic Stop

• Judd Sanson, 27, was arrested in East Elmhurst, N.Y., after a traffic stop revealed an arsenal of weapons, including a loaded 9 mm pistol, along with a body armor vest with an NYPD patch inside it, an MTA vest, and a baton with the written words “Left Me No Choice” and an Arabic expression that means, “Ask In God For Forgiveness.”
• Police also recovered a Guys Fawkes mask, which is sometimes used as an anti-government symbol.  
• Sanson, who allegedly expressed extremist views online, faces multiple charges, including criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful use of a police uniform emblem. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Read More

  Hate Crime

A Bellingham (Wash.) police patrol vehicle in front of Whatcom Middle School - KOMO News via KOMO News screenshot

Man Charged With Hate Crime After Assaulting Black Student

• Bellingham, Wash., police are investigating a hate crime after a Black student was attacked during a Whatcom Middle School field trip.

• The assault occurred at a local park, where the student was targeted with racial slurs before being physically attacked by another student. Read More

Man Facing Hate Crime Charges for Road Rage Incident

• A man in Baltimore faces charges after a road rage incident believed to be a hate crime.
• The suspect allegedly used racial slurs and made threats against the victim, who is of Asian descent. The incident escalated to physical violence, with the suspect attempting to assault the victim. Read More

Tacoma Man Charged With Attempted Murder

• Dallas Clayton Stevens, 31, of Tacoma, Wash., was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, and a hate crime.

• Stevens shot a Black employee outside a Tacoma pot shop in a racially motivated attempted murder case. Read More

  School Threats

Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md. - Wayne Valentine via Google Maps screenshot

Maryland Student Charged With Violent Threats

• A 15-year-old student was charged after a bomb threat was phoned in at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md.

• The student was charged with threats of mass violence and disrupting school operations. Read More

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

An oil tanker pictured in the Persian Gulf near the seaport city of Bushehr, southern Iran, April 29, 2024 - Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Men Sentenced for Conspiracy to Sell Iranian Petroleum to China

• Zhenyu “Bill” Wang, 43, a Chinese citizen, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, of McKinney, Texas, were sentenced to 45 months in prison for attempting to violate U.S. sanctions by selling Iranian petroleum to China and laundering the proceeds.
• The scheme involved masking the origin of Iranian oil, creating fake documents, and setting up offshore accounts to receive and launder funds.
• Both men conspired to profit significantly, with plans for multiple shipments. Their actions were part of a broader effort to evade U.S. sanctions, posing a threat to national security. Read More

QUOTABLE 

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man.”

- George Washington to Alexander Hamilton

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.