Wednesday’s mob insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is
unlikely to be the last violent action from far-right extremists, who may

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


January 8, 2021

 

USA Today: 'This Was Really Big': Far-Right Extremist Groups Use Capitol
Attack To Recruit New Members
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“Wednesday’s mob insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is
unlikely to be the last violent action from far-right extremists, who may also
be using the week’s extraordinary events to recruit members for a swelling
coalition around outgoing president Donald Trump, according to experts on
extremism. While this week’s attack was extraordinary in it’s brazenness, it
was also a wake-up call to federal and local law enforcement that threats from
far-right Trump supporters should be taken very seriously over the last two
weeks of Trump’s presidency and beyond, said Mary McCord, legal director at the
Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C. “There’s a whole lot of talk about what happened in
far-right extremist forums and chatrooms today, and about how the inauguration
on January 20 will be the last stand and now is the time to recruit,” McCord
said. State capitols should ramp up security, much as Washington, D.C., has
started to do, she said, in the expectation that Trump's followers may try to
repeat this week's attack or worse.”

 

Euronews: Poland Charges Two Suspects For Preparing 'Terror Attack' On Mosque
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“Poland has charged two suspects on suspicion of planning a far-right
“terrorist attack” on a place of Islamic worship. The suspects are accused of
“preparing a crime to threaten the life or health of many people or property”
using explosives. They were also charged with “public incitement to murder
against ethnic and religious groups”, possession of explosives and firearms
without a permit, and the transport of drugs within the European Union. They
face prison sentences of up to 10 years if convicted. Authorities say the
attack was planned for a “specific religious object of the Islamic community”
and the perpetrators had also planned to “spread poisonous substances”.
Prosecutors in Szczecin brought charges against the two last month, following a
joint investigation led by Poland's Internal Security Agency. The two suspects
had planned to “prevent the Islamisation” of Poland, the authorities added in a
statement. Both defendants are said to have prevented “extreme views”, calling
for violence and Islamophobia. One of the two also created a “manifesto”,
similar to one written by the far-right terrorist in the Christchurch mosque
attacks in 2019.”

 

United States

 

The Washington Post: What Happened At The Capitol ‘Was Domestic Terrorism,’
Lawmakers And Experts Say
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“After supporters of President Trump descended on the U.S. Capitol building,
hoping to stop the counting of electoral college votes, lawmakers and experts
alike repeated a phrase to describe the violent mob: “domestic terrorists.”
“Those who performed these reprehensible acts cannot be called protesters; no,
these were rioters and insurrectionists, goons and thugs, domestic terrorists,”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a speech after
lawmakers reconvened. “They do not represent America.” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham
(R-S.C.) said Thursday that the band of people who occupied the House floor
were “terrorists, not patriots,” evoking the fact that September will mark 20
years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “What happened today was domestic
terrorism,” GOP spokesman Michael Ahrens tweeted. Members of both political
parties pointed to the destruction of government property, threats to law
enforcement and two explosive devices found near the Capitol as acts of
terrorism as far-right extremist groups rallied in the nation’s capital to
contest the results of the presidential election. In the media, CNN executives
told the organization’s journalists that they could refer to the siege as
“domestic terrorism.”

 

The New York Times: The Far Right Told Us What It Had Planned. We Didn’t
Listen.
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“A woman was killed in the riot on Wednesday — Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old 
Trump supporter, was shot in the Capitol by a police officer. Her death
shouldn’t have happened, and it should now be investigated, no question. What’s
frightening, however, is that many Trump supporters are already heralding her
as a martyr. “Say her name,” advocates of Wednesday’s coup attempt have
tweeted, co-opting the language of the Black Lives Matter movement. A dead or
injured white woman — even the illusion of one — has always been a powerful
symbol on the far right, a rallying cry for people to stand up and act to
preserve their contorted notions of honor, liberty and purity. Consider the
apocryphal stories of sexual violence that led to countless lynchings. Or of
Ruby Ridge in Idaho, in 1992, when federal agents killed an unarmed white woman
during a botched raid: “When the Feds blew the head off Vicki Weaver I think
symbolically that was their war against the American woman, the American
mother, the American white wife,” an acolyte of the far right, a pastor, said
at the time. “This is the opening shot of a second American Revolution.”
Right-wing activists have been citing Mrs. Weaver’s death ever since as
evidence that they stand for what is good and right: family and freedom.”

 

CNN: Insurrection Fueled By Conspiracy Groups, Extremists And Fringe Movements
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“The mob of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday included
conspiracy theorists linked to QAnon and the Proud Boys -- two right-wing
extremist factions that President Donald Trump repeatedly refused to condemn
during his election campaign last year. The insurrection at the heart of
America's democracy, egged on by Trump's rhetoric, represented a stunning show
of force for the fringe movements and their adherents. Four people were left
dead during the mayhem, according to the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police
Department, including one woman shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer and three
other people who had medical emergencies. One of the most recognizable figures
in the videos and photos of the chaos on Capitol Hill was a man in his 30s with
a painted face, fur hat and a helmet with horns. The protester, Jake Angeli --
known by followers as the QAnon Shaman -- quickly became a symbol of the
bizarre and frightening spectacle as photos circulated of him roaming the
Capitol halls holding an American flag affixed to a spear in one hand and a
bullhorn in the other, and even standing shirtless atop the Senate dais.”

 

Patch: Massachusetts Hate Group Had Role In Capitol Hill Riot
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“One of the groups that participated in Wednesday's Capitol Hill riot was
NSC-131, a Massachusetts-based hate group with chapters around the world that
was founded by a Malden man in 2019. The nonprofit Counter Extremism Project
says NSC-131 is a "leaderless, decentralized organization" and lists Chris
Hood, 22, as its "alleged founder." During Wednesday's riot, screenshots taken
from Telegram, the encrypted social network NSC-131 uses to communicate, showed
members holding up the group's logo during the riot. "Known NSC tactics include
antagonizing social-justice protesters, vandalism, and posting stickers and
other propaganda," the Counter Extremism Project says in its entry on NSC-131.
"NSC members have joined right-wing and pro-police rallies where they have
displayed Nazi flags and symbols, as well as engaged in physical altercations."
It's not clear if Hood participated in Wednesday's riots in Washington, D.C.
Patch left messages at Hood's listed phone number and will update this story if
he responds. A woman who answered the phone number Thursday afternoon declined
to comment and hung up.”

 

WXPI: Alleged ISIS Supporter In Pittsburgh Accused Of Surveilling,
Intimidating Local FBI Agent, Wife
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“Federal charges have been filed against an alleged ISIS supporter in
Pittsburgh for surveilling and intimidating a local FBI agent and his wife.
Investigations into Khaled Miah began in early 2019 over extremist comments he
made online. Agents spoke with Miah in September at the FBI building in the
South Side. A short time later, he allegedly began driving to the home of the
special agent he spoke with, and posted a picture and personal information of
the agent’s wife on a Twitter account she operated. Investigators obtained
images of homemade explosives from Miah’s iCloud account following a search of
his home. Then two weeks ago, Miah tweeted “the zero hour is approaching,”
followed by the coordinates of the FBI building in Washington. In online posts,
he also expressed sympathies toward extremist views and ISIS. Miah has been
charged with threatening interstate threatening communications, influencing a
federal officer by threats and destroying records in a federal investigation.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Officials: Attacks Around Afghanistan Kill At Least 23
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“Attacks in Afghanistan left at least 23 civilians and security forces dead,
officials said Thursday, even as Afghan negotiators were in Qatar to resume
talks with the Taliban aimed at finding an end to decades of conflict. In
southern Uruzgan province, a suicide car bomber detonated a vehicle full of
explosives early Thursday near a military base, killing six security forces,
said a provincial council member who was not authorized to speak with the
media. Mohammad Karim Karimi, deputy head of the provincial council in Uruzgan,
confirmed the attack on the military base in Tirin Kot, the provincial capital,
but couldn’t provide an exact death toll. He said the explosion was so strong
it sent shock waves through the city. In southern Helmand province, at least
five civilians were killed and five others wounded in a suspected airstrike
late Wednesday on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital,
according to Attaullah Afghan, head of the provincial council. He said the
casualties included children and women. Abdul Nabi Elham, provincial governor,
said officials were investigating to determine whether the assault was an
airstrike or some other type of attack. No one immediately claimed
responsibility for either attack.”

 

Pakistan

 

Associated Press: Pakistan Arrests 7 Shiite Militants, Foils Possible Attacks
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“Pakistan's counter-terrorism police and the country's intelligence agency
raided hideouts of an outlawed Shiite militant group in the eastern Punjab
province and arrested seven suspects who allegedly wanted to attack leaders of
rival Sunni Muslims' groups, a spokesman said Thursday. In a statement, the
Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department said the suspects from the outlawed
Sipah-e-Mohammad group were arrested in three separate raids over the previous
24 hours from cities of Sargodha, Khusab and Sahiwal. It said officers seized
bomb-making material and guns that were to be used in sectarian attacks by the
arrested men. The suspects were being directed by militant leader Mehmood
Iqbal, who was hiding in a neighboring country, officials said. Authorities did
not name the country but officials have previously blamed Iran for backing
Shiite militants. Pakistani security forces often make such arrests, but the
latest ones came just after Sunni militants killed 11 Shiite coal miners they
had abducted from southwestern Baluchistan. Angered over Sunday's killing of
coal miners, hundreds of minority Shiites from the Hazara community have since
been rallying in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.”

 

Reuters: Protests Over Killing Of Hazara Spread To Karachi, Other Cities In
Pakistan
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“Protests over the killing of 11 Shi’ite Hazara minority coal miners by
Islamic State militants on Sunday have spread to other cities in Pakistan,
including the economic powerhouse of Karachi. Police said on Thursday there
were sit-ins in at least 19 locations in the sprawling southern metropolis.
Flights were delayed because access to the airport had been affected. Hundreds
of Hazara have been killed in Pakistan over the last decade in attacks by
Pakistani Sunni Muslim militant groups who see Shi’ites as apostates, and by
Islamic State militants. Attacks have included bombings in schools and crowded
markets and brazen ambushes of buses along Pakistani roads. The protesters have
asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Quetta, where demonstrators have kept
up a five-day long vigil alongside coffins carrying the victims’ bodies,
blocking a major highway. Demands also include the dissolution of the
provincial government there, and a serious effort by Islamabad to find and
punish the culprits. Most of the victims were seasonal migrant workers from an
impoverished area of neighbouring Afghanistan."

 

Nigeria

 

Pulse Nigeria: The Security Threat Hiding In Plain Sight
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“The Nigerian Army has launched another massive operation against Boko Haram
and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) elements to dislodge them from
their enclaves and hideouts in the North East. Nigerian army launches operation
to smoke out terrorists from their enclaves and hideouts. Nigerian army
launches operation to smoke out terrorists from their enclaves and hideouts.
The Chief of Training and Operations, Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, disclosed this at
the maiden media briefing on ‘Operation Tura Takaibango’ on Thursday, at 27
Brigade Tactical Headquarters, Buni Gari in Yobe. Angbazo said the new
operation was operationalised on Jan. 3 in the entire North East Theatre of
operation comprising Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as subsidiary of Operation ‘Lafiya
Dole’ (OPLD). He said that the recent upsurge in insurgents’ operations with
the attendant abductions of some travelers along major roads in Borno and Yobe,
necessitated the need for urgent steps to check the unwholesome trends.
According to him, the current threat if not neutralised could result to further
attacks on more innocent civilian settlements, the migration of terrorists into
Yobe and Southern Borno with possibility of increased attacks on civilian
communities.”

 

Premium Times: Nigeria: Military Hits Terrorists, Kills Scores In Air Strikes
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“Mr Enenche says the feat was achieved on Tuesday, when the Nigerian Air Force
(NAF) helicopter gunships was deployed to provide close air support to ground
troops as they repelled terrorists. The Defence Headquarters of the Nigerian
military said the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole has eliminated
several Boko Haram terrorists in an air attack on the Wamdeo-Chul axis in the
Southern part of Borno. The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John
Enenche, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja said the air strike also
destroyed two gun trucks belonging to the terrorists. Mr Enenche said the feat
was achieved on Tuesday, when the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter gunships
was deployed to provide close air support to ground troops as they repelled
terrorists. He said the terrorists attempted to breach the two locations when
the troops repelled them. According to him, upon sighting the NAF helicopter
gunships, the terrorists, mounted on gun trucks and motorcycles, attempted to
beat a hasty retreat whilst firing at the attack aircraft. “However, they were
hit by the helicopters' barrage of rocket and cannon fire, which resulted in
the immobilization of two of the gun trucks, one of which was seen engulfed in
flames.”

 

Africa

 

UN Dispatch: Mozambique Is Experiencing A Surge Of Violence As Crisis Worsens
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“There is a worsening Jihadist insurgency in a  province in Northern
Mozambique called Cabo Delgado. The insurgency began in 2017, but in recent
weeks the fighting has intensified substantially. Over half a million people
have been displaced — most over the last few months. And in early January 2021,
the French energy company Total announced it was suspending operations on a
massive $3.9 billion natural gas project in the region amid concerns about the
safety of personnel. The jihadist group known as Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jammah. It
also  referred to locally as al-Shabaab, though it has no known ties to the
Somali group with the same name. The group espouses a puritanical view of Islam
and has pledged fidelity to the Islamic State. And like the Islamic State, it
is capturing territory and committing atrocities in the process, including
several reported mass beheadings. My guest today, Zenaida Machado is a senior
researcher with the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. I caught up with
hear from Maputo, the capitol of Mozambique. She explains the history of this
insurgency, including how this group has shifted tactics from targeted
assassinations to more recently capturing territory, including strategically
important cities and corridors.”

 

The African Report: Endeavour Mining Is Ready To Face The Terrorist Threat In
The Sahel
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“Helicopter rides for personnel, strengthened security, daily coordination
with the public defence and security forces...The mining company believes it
has deployed “all the necessary precautions” for its operations. Despite the
threat of armed groups, at times active not far from its mining sites in
central and eastern Burkina Faso, Endeavour Mining, driven by high gold prices,
has not experienced a crisis. “So far, it cannot be said that these security
and health crises have had a serious impact on our production. We have
anticipated the risks, and we are assured that we are ready to face them with
appropriate means. As far as the risk of terrorism is concerned, we are taking
the necessary precautions with the help of a team of experts specialised in
investment security and people who are defining specific procedures to reduce
the dangers,” says Pascal Bernasconi, executive vice-president of the mining
company. Established in the Country of Honest Men, as well as in Mali and Côte
d’Ivoire, Endeavour will soon be in Senegal, due to its merger with Teranga
Gold, which is currently being finalised.”

 

Europe

 

Euractiv: Lawmakers Call For Tougher EU Disinformation Laws In Wake Of US Riots

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“Lawmakers in the European Parliament have raised concerns at the role that
social media played in the storming of the US Capitol in Washington, saying the
EU’s proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) should double down on the spread of
conspiratorial material online. Supporters of outgoing president Donald Trump
provoked violent scenes in the US capital on Wednesday, obstructing the
certification of the November election votes which would formally declare
Democrat Joe Biden as the new US President … But even on mainstream platforms,
acts of violence had been openly advocated. In a TikTok video, one Trump
supporter asked his fellows to bring their guns to the protests. For that
reason, the escalation in violence could have hardly come as a surprise to US
authorities, says Alexander Ritzmann, a consultant to the European Commissions
Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) and advisor to the Counter Extremism
Project (CEP). “They must have known,” Ritzmann told EURACTIV Germany.
According to public FBI documents, the Bureau has been closely following the
activities of online groups such as QAnon, a loose collective of conspiracy
theorists who believe Donald Trump is their only saviour from the villains
among Washington’s “elite”.

 

Technology

 

The Independent: Online Extremism ‘Cannot Be Policed’, Says Head Of UK
Counter-Terror Police
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“Extremism has become so widespread online that it “cannot be policed”, the
head of UK counter-terror policing has said. Campaigners have called for more
action against hateful material, but concerns over potential infringements of
civil liberties have sparked a parliamentary inquiry on freedom of expression.
Riots at the US Capitol in Washington have reignited international debate about
how extremist content and conspiracy theories should be tackled. The British
government is assessing official recommendations to create a legal definition
of extremism, which could be used to criminalise material that currently falls
short of the law. Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu warned
that a low legal threshold could leave police “overwhelmed” by cases. “When you
look at the volume of material which is horrific, shouldn’t be allowed online
and is really distressing for a lot of people, the volume is so high it cannot
be policed,” he told The Independent. “It would have to be prevented and that
is the most important thing.” Mr Basu said the Online Harms Bill, which
proposes internet regulation that would force companies to remove material or
face multimillion pound fines, was “fundamental” to combating the issue.”



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