The plan sounded frighteningly concrete. The group would round up political
enemies and those defending migrants and refugees, put them on trucks and

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


August 3, 2020

 

The New York Times: Body Bags And Enemy Lists: How Far-Right Police Officers
And Ex-Soldiers Planned For ‘Day X’
<[link removed]>

 

“The plan sounded frighteningly concrete. The group would round up political
enemies and those defending migrants and refugees, put them on trucks and drive
them to a secret location. Then they would kill them. One member had already
bought 30 body bags. More body bags were on an order list, investigators say,
along with quicklime, used to decompose organic material. On the surface, those
discussing the plan seemed reputable. One was a lawyer and local politician,
but with a special hatred of immigrants. Two were active army reservists. Two
others were police officers, including Marko Gross, a police sniper and former
parachutist who acted as their unofficial leader. The group grew out of a
nationwide chat network for soldiers and others with far-right sympathies set
up by a member of Germany’s elite special forces, the KSK. Over time, under Mr.
Gross’s supervision, they formed a parallel group of their own. Members
included a doctor, an engineer, a decorator, a gym owner, even a local
fisherman. They called themselves Nordkreuz, or Northern Cross. “Between us, we
were a whole village,” recalled Mr. Gross, one of several Nordkreuz members who
described to me in various interviews this year how the group came together and
began making plans.”

 

Reuters: Exclusive: U.S. Proposes House Arrest For 'Most Dreaded' Taliban
Prisoners, To End Stalemate
<[link removed]>

 

“The United States has proposed that hundreds of Taliban prisoners be
transferred to house arrest in a supervised facility when they are freed from
Afghan jails, three senior official sources said, a proposed solution for a
deadlock that is holding up peace talks. The proposal for Taliban fighters
accused of conducting some of the bloodiest attacks in Afghanistan to be placed
in a location where they would be under both Taliban and Afghan government
surveillance was presented this week to the warring Afghan sides by top U.S.
diplomats, the sources said. The diplomats are trying to kickstart peace
negotiations in Doha that have been delayed over the prisoner issue. The Afghan
government is resisting freeing the final batch out of some 5,000 prisoners
whose release was demanded by the insurgent group as a condition to start peace
talks. Around 400 prisoners are still in government custody, with Western
allies also expressing concerns over releasing around half of those. “The
Americans and their allies agree that it would be insane to let some of the
most dreaded Taliban fighters walk out freely...the Afghan forces arrested them
for conducting some of the most heinous crimes against humanity,” said a senior
western diplomat in Kabul.”

 

The New York Times: Trump Officials Reconsider Prosecuting Isis ‘Beatles’
Without Death Penalty
<[link removed]>

 

“The Trump administration is trying again to find a way to resolve the cases
of two British Islamic State detainees who are notorious for their roles in the
torture and killing of Western hostages, and who have been held in indefinite
wartime detention by the American military in Iraq since October, according to
officials. One option under renewed consideration is for the Justice Department
to drop its insistence that prosecutors be free to bring capital charges
against the men, half of a cell of Britons called the “Beatles” by their
captives because of their accents. Since the men were captured in early 2018,
when Jeff Sessions was attorney general, the Justice Department has insisted
that it be free to seek their execution. But at an interagency National
Security Council meeting this week, Attorney General William P. Barr did not
rule out dropping that stance, officials said. A chief obstacle to bringing the
men to trial has been a need for evidence held by the British government.
Britain has abolished the death penalty and a British court has blocked it from
cooperating in capital charges. Litigation is slowly continuing, but assurances
that American prosecutors would not seek the death penalty could swiftly make
the evidence available.”

 

United States

 

National Review: Holding Murderous Terrorists Accountable
<[link removed]>

 

“In the case of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the United States needs
to hurry up and intervene. Imagine you had a beloved child, born in a free and
prosperous country. Imagine that he or she grew into a brave and selfless
adult, the kind that ventured into some war-stricken land to help those less
fortunate. Now imagine that he or she was mercilessly abducted, starved,
tortured, raped, beaten, stripped of his or her clothing, and barbarically
murdered in front of the whole world. Unimaginable, isn’t it? Tragically, Diane
and John Foley, Paul and Ed Kassig, Marsha and Carl Mueller, Shirley and Art
Sotloff — as well as the families of the 23 other victims of the ISIS cell
nicknamed the “Beatles” (on account of their English accents) — know only too
well what this is like. For six years, these parents have been suffering the
shock of this real-life nightmare. Now they are worried that their children’s
killers could evade justice. Two of the British-born jihadi “Beatles,” Alexanda
Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were captured by Kurdish forces, are now
being held by American forces in Iraq. Last year, then–U.K. home secretary
Sajid Javid stripped Kotey and Elsheikh of their British citizenship on
national-security grounds and agreed, with then–U.S. attorney general Jeff
Sessions, that they would be extradited to the United States to face trial
there.”

 

Syria

 

The Jerusalem Post: Will Oil Deal For Eastern Syria Help Or Hurt Those
Fighting ISIS?
<[link removed]>

 

“Reports of an oil deal involving the eastern Syrian autonomous regional
authorities have caused a controversy as radical-left anti-American activists
unite with the pro-Turkey, pro-Russia, pro-Syrian regime lobbies to slam what
they see as a conspiracy of Americans “stealing” oil from Syria. As with most
things in Syria, the actual reality on the ground is far more unclear than the
simplistic narratives to be found on social media and among Western
commentators. In October 2019, the US, under President Donald Trump, suddenly
decided to withdraw from part of eastern Syria, enabling a Turkish offensive,
which backed Syrian rebel extremists who attacked and ethnically cleansed Kurds
and other minorities – driving 200,000 into refugee camps and spreading chaos
and instability in an area of northern Syria that was recovering from ISIS. In
the wake of the instability, the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, which has trained
tens of thousands of Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) members and successfully
helped them defeat ISIS, remained in part of eastern Syria. Trump indicated the
US would stay to secure the oil. In reality, America was also staying to check
Russian and Iranian forces and to keep fighting ISIS sleeper cells.”

 

Iran

 

Al Jazeera: Iran Says It Has Arrested Head Of US-Based 'Terrorist Group'
<[link removed]>

 

“Iran says it has arrested the head of a United States-based “terrorist group”
accused of bombing a mosque in 2008 that killed 14 people and wounded more than
200 others in the southern city of Shiraz. The group's “Jamshid Sharmahd, who
was leading armed and sabotage operations inside Iran, is now in the powerful
hands” of Iran's security forces, state television said in a report on
Saturday, citing a statement from the intelligence ministry. The statement did
not elaborate on where or when the leader of the opposition royalist group
known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, known in Farsi as Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e
Iran, or Tondar (Farsi for thunder), was arrested. The group seeks to restore
Iran's monarchy, which ended when the fatally ill Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
fled the country in 1979 just before its Islamic Revolution. The group's
founder disappeared in the mid-2000s. It remains unclear how the US-based
accused was arrested. Iranian state television broadcast a report on Sharmahd's
arrest, linking him to the April 12, 2008 bombing of the Hosseynieh Seyed
al-Shohada Mosque in Shiraz.”

 

Turkey

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Turkish General Who Discovered Qatar’s Funding Of Extremists,
ISIS Oil Smuggling Is Executed
<[link removed]>

 

“A senior officer who discovered the funneling of illicit Qatari funding for
extremists in Syria through Turkey was executed at the orders of a
general-turned-war profiteer, who was identified as working with Turkish
intelligence to deepen the conflict in Syria, reported Nordic Monitor. The
bombshell revelation was made by Col. Fırat Alakuş, who worked in the Special
Forces Command’s (Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı, or ÖKK) intelligence section, at
a court hearing whose transcript was obtained by Nordic Monitor. “Testifying
under oath at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court in the Turkish capital on
March 20, 2019, Alakuş revealed that Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı, in charge of the
ÖKK at the time, ordered the assassination of Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi because
Terzi discovered that Aksakallı was working secretly with MIT in running
illegal and clandestine operations in Syria for personal gain while dragging
Turkey deeper into the Syrian civil war,” it said. “[Terzi] knew how much of
the funding delivered [to Turkey] by Qatar for the purpose of purchasing
weapons and ammunition for the opposition was actually used for that and how
much of it was actually used by public officials, how much was embezzled,”
Alakuş said.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Islamic State Gunmen, Suicide Bomber Attack Afghan Prison
<[link removed]>

 

“The Islamic State group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a complex attack
by a suicide car bomber and multiple gunmen against a prison in eastern
Afghanistan, which Afghan officials said killed at least three people and
injured 24 others. The hourslong gunbattle between Afghan security forces and
insurgents in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, was still ongoing
Sunday evening, and casualties were likely to rise, according to Attaullah
Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor. Tariq Arian, spokesman for the
Interior Ministry, said at least three people were killed, while Zahir Adil,
the spokesman for the provincial Health Ministry, provided the figure of 24
wounded. The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, known as IS in Khorasan
province, claimed responsibility for the attack. The IS affiliate is
headquartered in Nangarhar province. Sunday’s attack comes a day after the
Afghan intelligence agency said a senior IS commander was killed by Afghan
special forces near Jalalabad. The Taliban’s political spokesman Suhail Shaheen
told The Associated Press, “We have a cease-fire and are not involved in any of
these attacks anywhere in the country,” but said he was not aware of the
details of the Jalalabad attack.”

 

Al Jazeera: Afghanistan Ceasefire Holds As Hundreds Of Taliban Fighters Freed
<[link removed]>

 

“A ceasefire between the Taliban and Afghan government appears to be holding
for the third and final day, as hundreds of the armed group's prisoners are
released in a bid to bring peace talks closer. The government has released 317
Taliban prisoners since the beginning of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid
al-Adha on Friday, the country's office of National Security Council said on
Twitter on Sunday. Calm prevailed across much of Afghanistan, with officials
not reporting any major clashes between the two sides since the truce began to
mark Eid. President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban have both indicated that
long-delayed negotiations could begin straight after Eid. Under a deal signed
by the Taliban and the US in February, the “intra-Afghan” talks were slated to
start in March, but were delayed amid political infighting in Kabul and as a
contentious prisoner swap dragged on. The deal stipulated that Kabul would free
about 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for 1,000 Afghan security personnel
held captive by the Taliban. Including the newly released prisoners, the total
number of Taliban prisoners freed from Afghan custody has reached 4,917
prisoners, the National Security Council said.”

 

Fox News: Report: Taliban Allowing Al Qaeda Training Camps And Providing
Support, Despite U.S. Agreement To Cut All Ties
<[link removed]>

 

“Just months after the U.S. signed a controversial deal with the Taliban to
end the long-running war in Afghanistan – predicated on the notion that the
insurgent group would not offer safe haven to Al Qaeda – local officials worry
that terrorists still reign in parts of the country. According to Afghan news
outlet Tolo, Yasin Khan, the governor of the southern province of Helman, has
pointed to an increasing Al Qaeda footprint in the district along the Durand
Line with Pakistan as well as the border pockets between Afghanistan and Iran.
Helmand has long been a bloody battleground for U.S. and Afghan troops, and has
emerged as a Taliban stronghold. “The Helmand governor said that it was
worrying that the Taliban would not cut ties with al-Qaeda and other foreign
fighters,” Tolo reported on Friday, citing several officials who claimed that
“there is a presence of Al Qaeda and other foreign fighters ranging from Disho
district of Helmand towards some districts in Herat,” an area spanning many
miles. Khan also stressed that Al Qaeda currently has a presence in Bahramcha
region of Disho district of Helmand toward Herat province and that its
operatives “are providing training and support to the Taliban,” in addition to
supplying materials.”

 

Stars And Stripes: A Bloodied ISIS Still A Threat In Afghanistan As It Looks
To Recruit Disgruntled Taliban
<[link removed]>

 

“The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has suffered heavy losses in the
past year but could spoil the country’s peace process by attacking cities and
recruiting Taliban splinter groups angered by the negotiations. After recent
battlefield losses, much of the group is hiding in the remote Kunar province,
where dense forests shield them from airstrikes, said one commander with the
group, known as ISIS-Khorasan province. But some cells are hidden away in
cities like Kabul and Jalalabad, where they plan to recruit “former jihadis”
and stage attacks, said the commander, who goes by the pseudonym Ibadullah.
“We’ve just changed our operations, because it’s difficult for us to be where
the U.S. and Taliban can attack us,” said Ibadullah, who added during a phone
call that he commands about a dozen fighters. “Now we want to do guerrilla
attacks in the cities.” Islamic State fighters line up Nov. 19, 2019, in
Jalalabad, Afghanistan, after surrendering to the Afghan government. The group
has suffered heavy battlefield losses but remains a threat as it aims to
recruit Taliban disgruntled by the peace process.”

 

Lebanon

 

Al Monitor: Hezbollah, Israel Jostle In Syria, Lebanon
<[link removed]>

 

“On July 27, after a week of daily airstrikes attributed to Israel targeting
several Iranian and Hezbollah interests in Syria, the Israeli military said a
few of the Lebanese group’s fighters crossed into the disputed Shebaa Farms
area between Lebanon and Israel, triggering tensions on the border. Hezbollah
denied that it made the maneuver. This may be an indication that while the
balance of power is holding in Syria, Hezbollah is  attempting to play a
deceptive game to safeguard its credibility with its domestic constituency and
Israel on the Lebanese border. In a period of a week, two incidents appear to
again pit Hezbollah and Iran against Israel, first in Syria, then in Lebanon.
The first was when alleged Israeli attacks in Syria destroyed weapons and
ammunition warehouses and killed Iranian-backed non-Syrian and Syrian
militiamen in southern and southwestern Damascus, according to the Syrian Human
Rights Observatory. Hezbollah announced one death, Ali Kamel Mohsen, known by
his nom de guerre Jawad. What will this mean? Nicolas Blanford, a senior
nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said last year that Hezbollah
Secretary-General “Sayed Hassan Nasrallah pledged retribution from Lebanon
should Israel kill any of its members in Syria. A response was expected from
Lebanon.”

 

Middle East

 

The Africa Report: Islamic State’s Great ‘Capacity To Regenerate’ Itself
<[link removed]>

 

“The Islamic State armed group has been largely weakened in recent years, but
under its new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the terrorist
organisation is regrouping and once again sowing its seeds of violence. It was
not until a week after the death of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi in October 2019 in Idlib, Syria that the successor to the
self-proclaimed Caliph was appointed: Muhammad Said Abd Al Rahman al-Mawla,
officially known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Once an unknown man,  he
is often referred to by his nickname Abu Omar al-Turkmani, or simply
al-Turkmani, the Turkmen. “Jihadist propaganda was thus trying to give credence
to the fiction surrounding the leader, not only of Arab descent, but also a
descendant of the Prophet Mohammed through his Quraych tribe and his Hashemite
clan,” explains Jean-Pierre Filiu, a professor in the contemporary Middle East
history at Sciences-Po in Paris. Al-Turkmani is a veteran of the organisation
and will have the difficult task of guiding Islamic State (IS) through a
tumultuous period in the organisation’s history. But the group often lands back
on its despite the challenges at hand. Reliable information on this leader of
the terrorist group is quite rare and can be counted on one hand.”

 

Nigeria

 

BBC News: Nigeria Boko Haram: Governor Says Battle Against Militants Being
Sabotaged <[link removed]>

 

“A governor in north-east Nigeria has suggested efforts to defeat jihadist
group Boko Haram are being undermined by elements of the security apparatus.
Borno State's Babagana Zulum said President Muhammadu Buhari needed to know
sabotage within the system was frustrating work to end the insurgency. Babagana
Zulum was speaking bluntly days after his heavily armed convoy suddenly had to
flee a town near Lake Chad because of sustained gunfire. The army blamed Boko
Haram. The governor suggested soldiers were behind it and once again used the
word sabotage. Babagana Zulum also questioned why the Nigerian army was
stopping thousands of displaced people from returning home to their fields
whilst soldiers were instead cultivating the land. Governor Zulum is not the
first person to essentially suggest that corruption within the military is
prolonging the people's suffering in north-east Nigeria.”

 

Africa

 

The Defense Post: Al-Qaeda-Linked Group Claims Attack On French Forces In Mali
<[link removed]>

 

“Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in Mali claimed responsibility on Thursday for
a suicide raid on French forces in the north of the Sahel state this month,
which left one soldier dead. In a statement verified by the
jihadist-surveillance group SITE Intelligence, the Group to Support Islam and
Muslims (GSIM) said that it attacked a French military camp near the town Gossi
in northern Mali on July 23. Islamist fighters sent two vehicles packed with
explosives against the camp gates, to clear the way for another, which
detonated after entering the base, the statement added. “The raid coincided
with a mortar shelling, enabling commandos to storm the base, and clash with
the Crusader soldiers that remained,” GSIM said, referring to French troops.
One French soldier died in the attack, according to France’s presidency. GSIM —
which is active in several Sahel states — said on Thursday that two of its
fighters died in the raid. Mali has been struggling to contain a jihadist
revolt that first broke out in the north in 2012, despite the presence of
French and UN troops in the country. The conflict has since spread to the
center of the impoverished nation of some 20 million people, and to neighboring
Burkina Faso and Niger.”

 

Reuters: Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kill 16 In Northern Cameroon
<[link removed]>

 

“Suspected militants from Islamist group Boko Haram killed at least 16 people
and wounded seven early on Sunday in a grenade attack on a camp for displaced
people in northern Cameroon, a local official said. The assailants threw a
grenade into a group of sleeping people inside the camp in the village of
Nguetchewe, district mayor Medjeweh Boukar told Reuters. The camp is home to
around 800 people, he said. The village is located close to the Nigerian
border. Boukar was informed by residents that 16 had died. A security official
earlier said 15 had died. The wounded were taken to a nearby hospital, they
said. “The attackers arrived with a woman who carried the grenade into the
camp,” Boukar said, adding that women and children were among the dead. Over
the past month there have been twenty incursions and attacks by suspected
Islamist militants, Boukar said. Boko Haram has been fighting for a decade to
carve out an Islamic caliphate based in Nigeria. The violence, which has killed
an estimated 30,000 people and displaced millions, has frequently spilled over
into neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Terrorists ‘View Prison As An Opportunity’, Report Warns As
Government Pushes To Increase Sentences
<[link removed]>

 

“Jailed terrorists may see their time in prison “as an opportunity” to become
more extreme and prepare for attacks, a report has warned as the government
pushes to increase sentences. Research by the International Centre for the
Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) found that at least five terror attacks have
been plotted or carried out by serving and released prisoners in Britain since
2016. They include the stabbings at Fishmongers’ Hall and Streatham, as well as
a plot by a cell who met inside prison. The report, which covers 10 European
countries including the UK, warned that jihadis were “increasingly turning
prisons into a theatre of conflict and confrontation”. “There is an emerging
view among extremists that prison is an opportunity, not necessarily just to
recruit or network, but to also work on themselves,” it said. “Imprisoned
recruiters learn psychology to become better recruiters, for example, while
imprisoned ideologues learn Islamic and jihadist history to become better
ideologues. “At the same time, they see prison as a test of their commitment to
the cause and a place to recover from Isis’s battlefield losses and the wider
upheaval in the jihadist scene.”

 

Germany

 

Voice Of America: Germany Dissolves Elite Army Unit Over Far-Right Activity
<[link removed]>

 

“Germany’s defense ministry officially disbanded a company of its Special
Forces Command (KSK) on Saturday, following reports that it had been exposed to
far-right and neo-Nazi ideology. The move showed how deeply rooted right-wing
extremism could be within the German army, some experts said. “The announcement
basically acknowledges for the first time that it is not just individual cases
in which soldiers show up as right-wing extremists, but that there are
right-wing extremist networks in the German Federal Armed Forces,” said Fabian
Virchow, a professor at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and
director of the Research Unit on Right Wing Extremism. “It shows that this
danger has been systematically underestimated in the past by political and
military leaders,” Virchow told VOA. German Defense Minister Annegret
Kramp-Karrenbauer made the initial announcement of disbanding the KSK’s 2nd
Company July 1 after an investigation into allegations of right-wing
activity…“If Germany … will continue to take part in the U.N. or NATO missions
that involve actual fighting, you need a special forces unit,” Hans-Jakob
Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin, told
VOA. “Disbanding the whole KSK would mean that Germany's ability to partake in
international missions is severely hampered, because you just cannot be in Mali
without the KSK,” Schindler added.”

 

Europe

 

The Irish Times: Lisa Smith Sent Forward For Trial On Terrorism Charges
<[link removed]>

 

“Former Irish Defence Forces member Lisa Smith has been sent forward for trial
to the Special Criminal Court accused of membership of the Islamic State
terrorist group. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed trial in
the non-jury court which is used for terrorism related and organised crime
trials. Dublin District Court heard on Friday that the DPP has obtained a
certificate, under the Offences Against the State Act that, in this case, the
ordinary courts were inadequate to secure the administration of justice. The
certificate was furnished to Judge Marie Quirke, who noted that the Attorney
General agreed with the decision in relation to the trial venue. A State
solicitor asked the judge to make an order of return for trial to a sitting of
the Special Criminal Court. Lisa Smith, a 38-year-old mother of one, from Co
Louth, has indicated through her solicitor that she will challenge the decision
that she cannot have a jury trial. She had initially been charged in December
with an offence contrary to the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) which
carries a possible 10-year sentence, for being a member of Islamic State from
2015 to 2019.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

SunStar: Speak Out: What Is Terrorism In The Philippines?
<[link removed]>

 

“By the time you’re reading this, the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 or
Republic Act (RA) 11479 has taken effect. Whilst many are worried about this
new law, do they know what constitutes an act of terrorism? In this article,
terrorism will be defined based on the ATA and distinguish it from its previous
definition in the repealed Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 or RA 9372. In
ATA’s Section 4, terrorism is said to be committed by any person who, within or
outside the Philippines, regardless of the stage of execution engages in acts
intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, or endangers a
person's life. Terrorism is also engaging in acts intended to cause extensive
damage or destruction to a government or public facility, public place or
private property. It is also terrorism to do acts intended to cause extensive
interference with, damage or destruction to critical infrastructure. Acts of
terrorism include the development, manufacture, possession, acquisition,
transportation, supply or use of weapons, explosives or of biological, nuclear,
radiological or chemical weapons. It is also terrorism to release dangerous
substances, or causing fire, floods or explosions.”

 

Technology

 

Newsmax: Artifact Looters On Facebook Helped Fund ISIS
<[link removed]>

 

“Facebook is accomplishing its mission of connecting the world, but under that
noble goal lies some evil taking advantage of the platform, including ISIS
using it to fund its worldwide terrorist network. They do it by giving ancient
artifact looters in Syria a forum to market, connect, review, and sell
historical pieces throughout the world on Facebook, experts told The Atlantic.
“Facebook is how our community has stayed connected during the war, but at the
same time, it’s also helped destroy it,” Adnan Al Mohamad, a onetime
archaeologist at Aleppo's Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums in the
Department of Excavation, told The Atlantic. “For Syrians, this is real life,
not an online life. Smuggling and trafficking these artifacts is a war crime,
so why isn't Facebook held to the standard of international law?” Facebook has
since moved to ban the sale of artifacts, including “archaeological discoveries
and ancient manuscripts, tombstones, coins, funerary items, and mummified body
parts,” according to public-policy manager Greg Mandel. “We now prohibit the
exchange, sale or purchase of all historical artifacts on Facebook and
Instagram,” he wrote in an email to The Atlantic.”

 

Forbes: Twitter Permanently Bans Former KKK Leader David Duke
<[link removed]>

 

“Twitter confirmed late Thursday that it has permanently banned former Ku Klux
Klan leader David Duke from its platform, marking one of the platform’s most
high-profile crackdowns on the far right as social media companies face growing
pressure to combat hate speech. Twitter said that it “permanently suspended”
Duke “for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct,” and did
not single out any specific posts that triggered the ban. The company also
cited new policies announced in March that stipulate the platform will block
links to harmful outside content, including hateful or extremist content, and
suspend users who share them. Twitter has previously taken temporary action
against Duke’s account, but said in a statement to the Washington Times earlier
in July that it allowed Duke to remain on the platform because he is no longer
associated with the KKK. Duke, who led the KKK from 1974 to 1978, is described
by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “the most recognizable figure of the
American radical right, a neo-Nazi” and an “international spokesman for
Holocaust denial.”



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