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Eye on Extremism
January 8, 2021
“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
“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
“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.
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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 - Official
“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 In Cabo Delgado Region
“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
“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
“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
“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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