He plotted to hijack a commercial airliner and fly it into Atlanta’s Bank of America Plaza.

Clarion Project ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

View in browser ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

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The Extremism Roundup
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*Focused on Evidence Instead of Narratives*
A weekly compilation of the most important developments in the struggle against radical ideologies

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A Word From the CEO
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Dear Reader,

In the closing weeks of 2025, the United States confronted a surge in domestic violent extremism and hate-fueled incidents. Law enforcement disrupted multiple plots, including a far-left anti-government group’s alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plan in California, alongside significant sentencings tied to both Islamist and racially motivated terrorism. Antisemitic violence marred Hanukkah observances, while school closures and arrests tied to online threats further illustrated the enduring, cross-ideological challenge of domestic extremism.

Clarion Project is working tirelessly to curb this tide. Through our work of exposing and preventing online violent extremism, we've helped the public and safety professionals understand, recognize, and reduce the growing threats of violent extremism online and in our communities. We remain vigilant heading into 2026.

Sincerely,

-------------------
A Word From the CEO
-------------------

Dear Reader,

In the closing weeks of 2025, the United States confronted a surge in domestic violent extremism and hate-fueled incidents. Law enforcement disrupted multiple plots, including a far-left anti-government group’s alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plan in California, alongside significant sentencings tied to both Islamist and racially motivated terrorism. Antisemitic violence marred Hanukkah observances, while school closures and arrests tied to online threats further illustrated the enduring, cross-ideological challenge of domestic extremism.

Clarion Project is working tirelessly to curb this tide. Through our work of exposing and preventing online violent extremism, we've helped the public and safety professionals understand, recognize, and reduce the growing threats of violent extremism online and in our communities. We remain vigilant heading into 2026.

Sincerely,

RIchard Green

CEO, Co-Founder

Clarionproject.org

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Islamist Extremism
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Soldiers of the Somalia National Army (SNA) raise their weapons at Awdheegle, one of several towns they recently liberated from the Al-Qaeda-linked militants, Al-Shabaab, on November 11, 2025 - Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

Soldiers of the Somalia National Army (SNA) raise their weapons at Awdheegle, one of several towns they recently liberated from Al-Qaeda-linked militants, Al-Shabaab, on November 11, 2025 - Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

*Kenyan Al-Shabaab Terrorist Sentenced for Plotting “9/11-Style” Attack in Atlanta*
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Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a 34-year-old Kenyan national and al-Shabaab operative, was sentenced on December 22, 2025, to two consecutive life terms plus lifetime supervised release following his November 2024 conviction on six terrorism-related charges, including conspiring to murder U.S. nationals and commit aircraft piracy.

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Abdullah plotted with al-Shabaab to hijack a commercial airliner and carry out a 9/11-style attack targeting U.S. high-rise buildings, including Atlanta’s Bank of America Plaza.

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From 2017 to 2019, al-Shabaab funded Abdullah’s pilot training in the Philippines, where he logged flight hours and studied cockpit security, hijacking tactics, and U.S. visa requirements. The plot was disrupted in July 2019 when Philippine authorities arrested Abdullah, who was extradited to the United States in 2020. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

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Militant-Right and Militant-Left Extremism
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FBI Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis speaks to the press with LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli as they announce the arrest of alleged members of an extremist group that are suspe ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis speaks to the press with LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli as they announce the arrest of alleged members of an extremist group that are suspected of planning bombing attacks in Southern California on New Year's Eve on Monday, December 15, 2025 - Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

*Four Anti-Capitalists Arrested in Alleged New Year’s Eve Bomb Plot
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Four defendants were arrested in December 2025 for their roles in a Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) plot, a far-left, anti-capitalist extremist group advocating violence against U.S. officials. The plan, outlined in an eight-page document titled Operation Midnight Sun, called for coordinated New Year’s Eve bombings at multiple Los Angeles–area sites targeting U.S. companies, with additional attacks planned against ICE agents and vehicles.

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The defendants obtained materials and traveled to the Mojave Desert on December 12, 2025, to build and test pipe bombs, but were arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force before a functional device was completed. They face charges including conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

*California Woman Who Led White Supremacist Group Sentenced
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Dallas Erin Humber, 35, of Elk Grove, Calif., was sentenced on December 17, 2025, to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including soliciting hate crimes and terrorist attacks, providing material support to terrorists, and inciting violence against protected groups.

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From July 2022 to September 2024, she led the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational white supremacist network, directing assassination plots and attacks on officials and critical infrastructure from her home. Prosecutors said her technical and operational guidance contributed to deadly attacks abroad and inspired multiple murder and assassination plots in the United States.

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Authorities seized Nazi propaganda, 3D-printed weapons, ammunition, and related equipment during her arrest. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

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Hate Crime
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Scene of drive-by antisemitic attack on a home in Redlands, Calif. - Rodgir Cohen via Los Angeles Times ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

Scene of drive-by antisemitic attack on a home in Redlands, Calif. - Rodgir Cohen via Los Angeles Times

*Antisemitic Drive-By Targets Hanukkah-Decorated Home in Southern California
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On December 12, 2025, a Jewish family’s home in Redlands, Calif., was targeted in a drive-by attack in which about 20 projectiles were fired while suspects shouted antisemitic slurs, including “Free Palestine.” The incident followed an earlier confrontation involving similar chants and racial slurs, and surveillance footage captured the drive-by.

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Police believe the weapon was likely an airsoft gun, as no shell casings were found and no injuries or significant damage occurred. The Redlands Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible antisemitic hate crime tied to the home’s visible Hanukkah decorations. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

*Washington Man Sentenced for Pipe Bomb Attack*
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Steven Goldstine, 55, of Everett, Wash., was sentenced on December 15, 2025, to five years in prison and three years of supervised release for a racially motivated pipe bomb attack.

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On December 31, 2024, he detonated a pipe bomb under a Black couple’s car, destroying it, then called the victims to gloat using racial slurs; no injuries were reported.

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Prosecutors described the attack as a hate-fueled act of violence, and Goldstine—a convicted felon with prior offenses including arson—was legally barred from possessing explosives or firearms. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

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School Threats
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Social media posts threatening gun violence against several Rosemount, Minn., high schools - via Kare11 News screenshot ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

Social media posts threatening gun violence against several Rosemount, Minn., high schools - via Kare11 News screenshot

*Multiple Minnesota Schools Targeted
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Several south-metro high schools in Rosemount, Minn., closed on December 16, 2025, as a precaution after social media threats surfaced the previous evening.

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The posts, shared around 6:45 p.m. on December 15, showed firearms and included a poll asking “which one first,” naming Apple Valley, Eastview, Rosemount, and Eagan high schools.

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Authorities arrested a 16-year-old male later that day following a search in Eagan, though no weapons were recovered. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

*New Mexico Man Arrested After TikTok Threat
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Dion Torres, 25, of Las Cruces, N.M., was arrested by the FBI in December 2025 on federal weapons charges after posting a violent threat during a December 17 TikTok livestream stating, “I’m shoot up a school tomorrow time to kill kids.” Although he did not name a specific school, the reference to his past attendance at Las Cruces Public Schools prompted an immediate investigation.

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A search of his home uncovered an AR-style rifle, three loaded magazines containing 120 rounds, including armor-piercing ammunition, and wall writings outlining potential attack plans. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

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Foreign Influence Operations
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Scene of drive-by antisemitic attack on a home in Redlands, Calif. - Rodgir Cohen via Los Angeles Times ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )

View of Northwestern University building in Education City in Doha, Qatar - stock photo via Getty Images

*How Northwestern’s Doha Campus Serves Qatari Ruling Families*
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A recent investigation by the Middle East Forum documents how Northwestern University in Qatar functions less as an impartial American academic outpost and more as a privileged training ground for Qatar’s royal and elite families.

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The  investigation found that since 2007, the Qatar Foundation (QF), controlled by the Al-Thani royal family, has poured more than $700 million into Northwestern’s partnership.

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According to the report, approximately 21 percent of the graduates between 2014-2025 bear surnames from the Al-Thani royal family or 11 other elite Qatari dynasties. In peak years, such as 2020, elite families comprised up to 35 percent of a graduating class.

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The Middle East Forum’s findings expose the school not as a genuine branch campus of an American university, but as a patronage pipeline cultivating Qatar’s next generation of leaders. *Read More ( [link removed] 202512-25&utm_medium=email )*

QUOTABLE
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism."

-- George Washington, Farewell Address

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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