“Twelve National Guard members have been removed from duties related to the
inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., two of them for expre

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


January 20, 2021

 

The New York Times: 12 National Guard Members Removed From Inauguration Duties
Amid Extremist Threats
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“Twelve National Guard members have been removed from duties related to the
inauguration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., two of them for expressing
anti-government sentiments, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday. Two
of the members were removed over texts and social media posts that made
threatening comments toward political officials, Pentagon officials said. They
declined to specify the exact nature of the threats. “I will share that they
were inappropriate,” Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard
Bureau, told reporters during a telephone briefing. Two officials described the
texts as broad in nature — not directed specifically at Mr. Biden or Vice
President-elect Kamala Harris, but rather at lawmakers as a whole. One of the
service members removed, the officials said, made a point of expressing support
for President Trump in addition to making menacing comments. General Hokanson
said that one case was reported by the service member’s chain of command and
that the other was flagged through a tip to a hotline. The other 10 National
Guard members were removed for a wide variety of issues — criminal
investigations, domestic abuse or outstanding complaints. All 12 members have
been sent home, Pentagon officials said.”

 

Al Jazeera: US ‘Terrorist’ Designation Of Yemen’s Houthis Comes Into Effect
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“A leading humanitarian aid group working in Yemen is once more raising alarm
over the effects that the Trump administration’s “terrorist” designation of
Yemen’s Houthi rebels will have on civilians in the war-torn country. Just days
before United States President Donald Trump was set to leave office, his
administration announced plans to label the Houthis a “foreign terrorist
organization” – effectively barring US citizens and entities from interacting
financially with the group. The designation came into effect on Tuesday, just
as the US Treasury Department released details of limited licensing exemptions
to the restrictions. The department said licences would be available, among
other things, to authorise “the official activities of the US government and
certain international organizations, such as the United Nations and the
International Committee of the Red Cross”. It also said the export of
agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices would be exempt. But
the Houthis control large swathes of territory in Yemen – and Joel Charny,
executive director of Norwegian Refugee Council USA, told Al Jazeera on Monday
that the licensing system “is not a panacea.”

 

NBC News: U.S. Soldier Accused Of Wanting To Plot ISIS Strike On 9/11 Memorial
In New York City
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“A U.S. soldier was arrested Tuesday for allegedly saying he wanted to help
ISIS strike the 9/11 Memorial in New York City and attempting to help ISIS to
target U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, according to senior law enforcement
officials. The officials say Cole James Bridges, 20, from Stow, Ohio, allegedly
went into an online forum and chatted with a person he thought was with ISIS,
but was in fact an FBI undercover agent. Bridges is currently assigned to Fort
Stewart in Georgia with the 3rd infantry division of the Army. He was arrested
on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign
terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.
He faces up to 40 years in prison. A criminal complaint alleges that Bridges
started “researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and
their violent ideology” and expressing his support for ISIS on social media
beginning in at least 2019. He joined the Army in September of that year. In
October, he started talking with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS
supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: Biden Nominee Vows To Track Foreign Influence On Domestic
Extremist Groups
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“President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s nominee to be the next director of national
intelligence said on Tuesday that the incoming administration would step up
efforts to examine foreign interference in American politics, including
overseas efforts to influence domestic extremists groups like those tied to the
QAnon conspiracy theory movement. Avril D. Haines, Mr. Biden’s nominee, told
the Senate Intelligence Committee that she would work to establish a center
within the intelligence community on foreign malign influences and assist the
F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security with a public written assessment of
the threat from QAnon. Even before a pro-Trump mob struck the Capitol on Jan.
6, the Biden transition team had been discussing how intelligence agencies
could increase scrutiny on efforts by foreign powers to influence extremist
groups in America. But in the aftermath of the riot, and reports that Russia
and other countries have been trying to amplify disinformation about it, the
Biden team has put even greater emphasis on how to counter domestic extremist
groups. The pro-Trump mob included some followers of QAnon, a wide-ranging
online movement that falsely claims that President Trump is on a crusade to rid
the world of satanic pedophiles organized by the Democratic Party and Hollywood
celebrities.”

 

The Washington Post: Lloyd Austin, Biden’s Nominee To Lead Pentagon, Vows To
Take On Extremism In The Military
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“Retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III vowed Tuesday to eradicate extremism in the
ranks if confirmed as the next defense secretary, as the Pentagon struggles to
address a growing internal threat in the wake of this month’s riot at the U.S.
Capitol. “We can never take our hands off the wheel on this,” Austin, who would
become the country’s first African American Pentagon chief, told lawmakers
considering his nomination by President-elect Joe Biden. “This has no place in
the military of the United States of America.” Austin, who before his 2016
retirement served as head of U.S. Central Command and previously commander of
U.S. troops in Iraq, made reference to a consequential episode earlier in his
career when, as a young officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, a network of
skinhead soldiers was uncovered following the murder of an African American
couple near the division’s base. Nearly two dozen soldiers were later found to
have links to neo-Nazi or extremist groups. A distressing realization, Austin
said, was that military leaders hadn’t picked up on signs about the threat. “We
just didn’t know what to look for,” he said. Austin’s reference to the
25-year-old incident signifies the urgency of the military’s challenge today in
identifying and addressing anti-government and racist currents, among the
numerous issues he will face if he becomes Biden’s Pentagon chief.”

 

Fox News: Alleged Militia Leader Arrested, Officials Say, As FBI Eyes
Extremist Group Suspects After Capitol Riot
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“An alleged militia leader was arrested Tuesday for being involved in the
“planning and coordinating” of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, as the FBI’s
hones its efforts on extremist groups suspected of being linked to the attack,
court papers show. Thomas Edward Caldwell is one of the multiple alleged
militia members to be connected, so far, with the Capitol Hill insurrection.
Federal investigators described the 65-year-old Virginia man as having a
“leadership role” within a paramilitary group known as the Oath Keepers,
according to an affidavit for Caldwell’s arrest. Oath Keepers ‒ identified in
court papers as a “loosely organized collection of militia who believe that the
federal government has been coopted (s.i.c.) by a shadowy conspiracy that is
trying to strip American citizens of their rights” ‒ were seen in photographs
on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6. Investigators scoured Caldwell’s Facebook page
and found that Caldwell “was involved in planning and coordinating the January
6 breach,” the affidavit states. Caldwell allegedly made arrangements for other
Oath Keepers to stay in a Virginia hotel, reportedly writing on Facebook: “This
is a good location and would allow us to hunt at night if we wanted to.”

 

Bloomberg: Far Right Groups Get Bitcoin Windfall Weeks Before Capitol Riot
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“Far-right groups and personalities received a windfall last month and
evidence “strongly suggests” it came from a now-deceased computer programmer
based in France, according to the researcher Chainalysis Inc. On Dec. 8, the
donor sent 28.15 Bitcoins, worth about $522,000 at the time of transfer, to 22
separate addresses in a single transaction, according to Chainalysis, whose
clients include law-enforcement agencies. Web personality Nick Fuentes, who the
Anti-Defamation League describes as a white supremacist, received the largest
portion -- about $250,000 -- -- and other recipients included the
anti-immigration organization VDare and “alt-right streamer” Ethan Ralph, the
researchers said. The French programmer appears to be Laurent Bachelier,
according to online records. Ralph, who hosts a political podcast in which he
denounced the Capitol attack, confirmed that he received about “half a Bitcoin”
on Dec. 8, but still doesn’t know exactly who sent it to him. He said he’d
never received donations from that wallet before and immediately sold his share
of the contribution. “I definitely don’t support domestic terrorism,” Ralph
said in an interview. He rejected the “alt right” label, saying instead that
he’s a right-wing conservative.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: Kurdish-Led SDF Arrests Senior ISIS Leader In Northeast Syria
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“The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Tuesday that it
had captured four Islamic State fighters, including one of the group’s reported
leaders, during an operation in Syria’s northeastern Deir al-Zor province the
previous day. According to the SDF’s Department of Media and Information, the
US-led Coalition provided support for the operation. The local ANHA (Hawar News
Agency) reported that SDF Anti-Terror Units (YAT) arrested the senior Islamic
State leader known as “AJ” who it said had been tasked with carrying out
multiple assassinations, the planting of explosives, and various other attacks
against the SDF. Although the Kurdish-led SDF and the Coalition announced the
territorial defeat of the Islamic State in Syria in March 2019, sleeper cell
attacks by the group persist in liberated territories in what appears to be a
deliberate campaign to destabilize the area. According to the annual report of
the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC) released on Saturday, the
number of attacks and fatalities in 2020 has decreased when compared with
previous years. While in 2019 there were 906 Islamic State incidents, there
were only 572 last year. Moreover, the number of fatalities in 2020 was 209,
roughly half the tally of 415 in 2019.”

 

Iraq

 

The Jerusalem Post: Alleged US Airstrike Was ISIS Attack On Power Lines: Iraqi
Officials
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“An attack by ISIS militants on power transmission towers south of Baghdad
caused the explosions mistakenly reported by regional media as US airstrikes on
sites belonging to pro-Iranian militias in Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad on
Monday night, Iraq's Security Media Cell confirmed on Tuesday morning. On
Monday night, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen news, as well as Al-Hurra
and Al-Arabiya, reported that explosions were heard near Jurf al-Sakhar
overnight after airstrikes targeted sites in the area. While Al-Mayadeen
claimed that US airstrikes had targeted sites belonging to the Iraqi Armed
Forces, Al-Hurra and Al-Arabiya claimed that the sites allegedly targeted
belonged to the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah militia, with multiple deaths and
injuries reported in the alleged incident. Iraq's Security Media Cell denied
that Iraqi security forces in the area had been targeted by any strikes on
Monday night, calling on the media and bloggers to be careful about
transmitting information and not to broadcast rumors. A senior US defense
official told Jennifer Griffin of Fox News overnight that there were no US
airstrikes near Baghdad on Monday night, despite the reports. A Reuters
reported confirmed that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied any knowledge
of airstrikes in Iraq.”

 

Turkey

 

Daily Sabah: Turkey Detains 35 Daesh-Linked Suspects In Counterterrorism
Operations
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“Turkish security forces detained 35 Daesh-linked suspects in counterterrorism
operations in 15 provinces, reports said Tuesday. Police carried out raids in
the Gaziantep-based operation and confiscated organizational materials, Anadolu
Agency (AA) reported. In Istanbul, police detained 16 suspects in 20 different
addresses in five districts, including Fatih, Başakşehir, Küçükçekmece,
Bayrampaşa and Eyüp. Special operations squads carried out the raids. The
suspects were transferred to the police station as part of the investigation.
Security forces are still looking for other suspects, reports said. The
terrorist group has been trying to establish a new formation in Turkey after
receiving a heavy blow in Iraq and Syria. According to testimony by terrorists
detained in previous operations in Adana province, Daesh had been attempting to
kidnap judges, prosecutors and tourist groups as ransom in return for Daesh
terrorists held in Iraq and Syria. Turkey detained the so-called “Turkey emir”
of Daesh, named Mahmut Özden, in August. He was planning to carry out an attack
on Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and target politicians, nongovernmental
organization (NGO) heads and other prominent figures in Turkey, according to
the official investigation.”

 

Afghanistan

 

CBS News: Afghan Journalists Are Being Killed For Their Work, And They Just
“Want To Stay Alive”
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“Nazifa Mahbobi worked for years as a journalist in Afghanistan's capital,
most recently for Radio Free Europe. Last month, she fled her country after
repeated warnings from the national intelligence agency that insurgents were
plotting to kill her. She only made the difficult decision to leave after a
would-be assassin, disguised as vaccination worker, made it into her home. “The
angel of death made it to my apartment doorsteps,” Mahbobi told CBS News. “I
thought I was dying gradually from the inside when the threats turned out to be
serious.” Afghan officials have confirmed to CBS News that a terror cell was
established jointly by the Taliban and the ISIS branch in the country and
tasked with disguising themselves as social workers, including vaccine
administrators, to assassinate journalists in Kabul.  Family members and
relatives take part in the funeral procession of Afghan journalist Rahmatullah
Nekzad, in the Khoja Omari district of Ghazni province, December 22, 2020.
Nekzad was shot dead by gunmen in what appeared to be a targeted killing.
Mahbobi said women knocked on the door of her home twice, but she wasn't there
on either occasion. The women spoke to her mother, who had no idea the visitors
had come to kill her daughter.”

 

Somalia

 

Xinhua: Somali, U.S. Forces Kill 3 Al-Shabab Terrorists In Southern Region
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“Somali and U.S. forces on Tuesday killed three al-Shabab terrorists in the
latest two airstrikes targeting fighters of the extremist group in the southern
region. The U.S. Africa Command (Africom) said the strikes targeted the
militants in the vicinities of Jamaame and Deb Scinnele of the southern part of
the country. “These strikes targeted known al-Shabaab leaders involved in IED
facilitation, fighter training, and attack planning,” Dagvin Anderson, Joint
Task Force-Quartz commander, said in a statement. Anderson said no civilians
were injured or killed as a result of this operation which came as the allied
forces intensified military operations against the al-Qaida allied terrorist
group in the Horn of African nation. “We are working closely with our Somali
partners to support their operations against al-Shabab, protect their people,
and provide governance,” he added. Somalia and partner forces have increased
military raids into territory formerly controlled by al-Shabab after driving
the insurgents out of Mogadishu in 2011. The strikes have largely targeted
al-Shabab figureheads based in southern Somalia where the group still maintains
a strong grip in some regions.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Violence Create Food Crisis In Northern Mozambique- WFP
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“Militant attacks that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee
their homes in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province have created a
humanitarian crisis, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. “What
is happening is nothing short of a food security and nutritional crisis,” WFP
spokesman Tomson Phiri told a U.N. briefing. “This is a humanitarian disaster.”
The attacks have forced 570,000 people to flee, Mozambique President Filipe
Nyusi said last month, saying he would defeat insurgents who stepped up attacks
since pledging loyalty to Islamic State last year. Speaking ahead of a joint
briefing by U.N. agencies on Wednesday, Phiri said there were limited supplies
so the cost of food had soared, while access to water and sanitation was also
impacted, as was education. The insurgent group, Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama, staged
its first attack in 2017. Known at first mainly for beheadings, the fighters
declared allegiance to Islamic State in June 2019 and since then have increased
attacks in scale and frequency.”

 

United Kingdom

 

CNN: Jailed For Life Over Plot To Behead Police Officer, Britain's Youngest
Convicted Terrorist Is Now 'Suitable For Release'
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“Britain's youngest convicted terrorist, who was sentenced to life in prison
for masterminding a plot to behead an Australian police officer in broad
daylight in 2015, can now be set free, a parole board ruled on Monday. The
20-year-old man, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was aged 14 when he planned the
strike in Melbourne for Anzac Day -- a national holiday honoring Australia's
war dead -- according to CNN affiliates Seven News and Nine News. Because he
was a minor, he can only be identified as RXG. RXG recruited Australian
co-conspirator Sevdet Besim, who was 18 at the time, to carry out the attack,
in which a police officer was to be beheaded in front of thousands of people
during Anzac Day celebrations. The plan was ultimately uncovered and foiled by
police, and both were arrested. Later that year, RXG was sentenced to life in
prison for inciting terrorism overseas. But on Monday, the Parole Board for
England and Wales ruled that he could be set free, Seven News and Nine News
reported. “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress
made while in detention, and the evidence presented at the hearings, the panel
was satisfied that RXG was suitable for release,” the board said in a
statement.”

 

Germany

 

Voice Of America: Violent German Far-Right Groups' Recruitment Aided By
Lockdown Frustrations
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“Violent far-right groups are using rising frustration with pandemic lockdowns
in their recruitment efforts, German officials fear. Germany's domestic
intelligence agency is closely monitoring protesters of coronavirus
restrictions, worried that the influence of militants, including Nazi admirers,
ultranationalists and Holocaust deniers, is growing.   While Germany's
far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has seen a precipitous slump in its
poll ratings since the pandemic struck — the party was polling at just 9% of
support last month — officials say violent right-wing extremists, united in
their opposition to what they say are illegitimate curbs on freedom, are
gaining a boost from the coronavirus and strengthening their mobilization
around anti-government conspiratorial narratives.  “Actors within this movement
largely see the COVID-19 pandemic as a chance to spread their ideology more
widely and to reach a broader recruitment base,” warned the Counter Extremism
Project (CEP), a nonprofit nongovernmental organization headquartered in New
York, in a lengthy report assessing threats posed by transnational violent
right-wing extremism in Europe and the United States.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Straits Times: New Indonesian Law Empowers Communities In Anti-Terror Fight

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“Indonesia is pushing back against violent extremism by introducing a
presidential regulation to let civil societies and communities receive
empowerment training to help their neighbourhoods. Aiming for a softer approach
in countering terrorism, local communities would, for example, be trained to
identify vital national infrastructure and other facilities around where they
live that are prone to terrorist attacks. Other programmes propose annual
awards for young people who respond fastest against extremist threats. The
122-page regulation also contains guidelines and action plans aimed at
equipping communities to monitor and report any suspicious clues to prevent
terrorism. The "national action plan to prevent and mitigate violence-based
extremism that lead to terrorism" follows years of deadly terror attacks in
Indonesia by home-grown extremist groups. The government, in explaining its
rationale for the regulation, said: "The country's Constitution mandates the
government to ensure that everyone is entitled to having the feeling of
security and protection from the threat of fear.”

 

Technology

 

USA Today: Hate Speech. Violent Threats. Conspiracy Theories. Is Tech Doing
Enough After Capitol Attack? Depends On Who You Ask
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“Have the nation's leading tech companies been doing a good job handling
violent threats, hate speech and conspiracy theories after the attack on the
U.S. Capitol? Depends on who you ask.  Nearly two weeks later, the role of
Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube in dousing flames on their platforms is
still being hotly debated. More than a third – 37% – of Americans say they
approve of how the companies are cracking down on potentially harmful or
dangerous content, with 28% saying they have gone too far and 23% saying they
haven't gone far enough, according to a new survey from The Harris Poll shared
exclusively with USA TODAY. “Most Americans saw the actions taken by Big Tech
in recent weeks as necessary, but they're still deeply skeptical of the power
and influence these companies have,” John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, said
in an emailed statement.  Opinions largely split along party lines, with 51% of
Democrats saying tech companies were doing a good job, compared with 25% of
Republicans. Generations also diverged in the survey of 1,960 U.S. adults
between Jan. 15 and Jan. 17.”

 

BuzzFeed News: “If They Won’t Hear Us, They Will Fear Us”: How The Capitol
Assault Was Planned On Facebook
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“Right-wing extremists used Facebook to make calls to overthrow the government
and storm the US Capitol in the period leading up to a violent insurrection on
Jan. 6, a tech watchdog group has found, contradicting attempts by the social
media company to downplay the role of its platform in the affair. A new report
from Tech Transparency Project (TTP) shared with BuzzFeed News uncovered a slew
of specific threats made in pro–President Donald Trump and militant groups on
Facebook both before and after President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory in
November. In those groups, organizers and members alike perpetuated the lie
that the election results were fraudulent and made open calls to “Occupy
Congress” on Jan. 6. “If they won’t hear us, they will fear us,” read one image
shared on Dec. 31 to a 23,500 member private group called “The Patriot Party,”
which has since been deleted. “The Great Betrayal is over.” While Facebook said
it had banned pages and groups from right-wing militants and QAnon
conspiracists over the summer, TTP’s report shows that extremist groups
continued to flourish on Facebook. BuzzFeed News previously found that groups
for “Stop the Steal,” the go-to slogan for Trump supporters casting doubt on
Biden’s victory, persisted on the social network in the days after the violence
at the US Capitol.”



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