The Extremism Roundup

Islamist & Anti-Muslim Extremism 

• The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia recently made the dramatic statement that Islamic doctrine and jurisprudence must be reinterpreted and modernized. Muslim reformer Hany Ghoraba pointed out that the grand imam of Al-Azhar University in Egypt then called for modernizing Islamic teachings and criticized the “rigidity of contemporary Islamic jurisprudence.” 

• ISIS supporters have swarmed GETTR, a new pro-Trump social media site, with jihadist propaganda, including videos of beheadings. At least 250 accounts have been reportedly found.   

• A new study determined that 84 percent of antisemitic posts reported to social media platforms are not removed. A sampling of 714 posts have been viewed over 7 million times by users. The authors’ point was proven when Twitter recently suspended the Nation of Islam’s account for spreading misinformation about covid vaccines, and not because of its consistent antisemitism.

• In Amarillo, Texas, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran has been charged with possession of a destructive device and possession of explosive components after an explosion at his home led law enforcement to discover bomb parts. No information about his motivation has been released.
• In Florida, the imam of the North Miami Islamic Center was found to have preached that “the Jews” are the “lowest of the lowest” of Allah’s creations and that Jews are deceiving the world about the Holocaust in order to make money. Imam Kablawi has stated that the FBI is investigating him for ties to ISIS and involvement in terrorism.
• In Kentucky, Imam Omar Zaid advocated for a military coup to overthrow the Biden Administration and directly endorsed violence by preaching, “If good men do not pick up the gun and kill the right people, the powers that be are going to force a sort of pseudo civil war.”
• In California, Sheikh Tarik Ata of the Orange County Islamic Foundation preached in favor of violent jihad against the “Nazi-like” state of Israel. He also said that Muslims should aspire to be like those in Turkey who have volunteered to fight Israel. Sheikh Ata also claimed that Muslims have never persecuted Jews.

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism

• In Washington state, an Alt-Left extremist has pled guilty to committing a terror attack on a railway in November 2020 by setting up a shunt on a track, possibly derailing a train. One other woman has also been indicted. Over 40 shunts were discovered on train tracks last year. In December, a train was derailed, causing a large fire and oil spill. Anarchist websites said the purpose of the attacks was to stop a pipeline from being built through land belonging to indigenous peoples. 

• In Seattle, a supporter of Antifa is running for Seattle City Attorney and is tied for the lead. Nicole Thomas-Kennedy has tweeted in support of riots, saying “Property destruction is a moral imperative.” She explicitly supported Antifa “Black Bloc” extremists who blocked traffic as “bad*ss” who she “respect[s].” Thomas-Kennedy also demonized police as “armed thugs.”
• In Portland, an Alt-Left extremist was arrested for assault and felony unlawful use of a weapon and then released without bail. He was previously arrested for throwing an explosive at police officers during a riot. 
• The Biden Administration’s new National Security Council plan to combat domestic terrorism is being criticized by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for failing to mention anarchist extremism. Grassley stated that 500 domestic terrorism investigations were opened by the FBI during last year’s rioting, which is about 25 percent of the overall total.
• A new poll found that 10 percent of registered voters have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Antifa. Another 8 percent said their opinion was only “somewhat unfavorable.” A different poll found that 23 percent of likely voters say that those arrested in last year’s riots should not be prosecuted. 
• The survey also found that 20 percent of likely voters agree with the Black Lives Matter organization’s denunciations of the American flag and Thin Blue Line flag as symbols of racism.
• A poll found that 66 percent of likely U.S. voters want Congress to investigate the wave of rioting that included 574 violent protests that injured over 2,000 police officers.   

• In Georgia, a former police officer and Marine veteran was sentenced to about four years in prison for illegal possession of 11 firearms, some of which were marked with neo-Nazi symbols. He was discovered to be part of an extremist militia called “Shadow Moses.” Investigators found him talking about his plans to commit hate crimes based on race, planning for a civil war, and boasting of physically abusing and arresting black people on false charges as a police officer.
• The Marine Corps has kicked out a lieutenant after someone on Twitter discovered a picture of him standing next to white nationalist Richard Spencer at a neo-Nazi rally. He also made a social media post of an image that included a racial slur against former President Obama. The Marine Corps says he has a tattoo associated with a white supremacist group, advocated extremist doctrine and lied about not being a member of a white supremacist group.
• In Alaska, an assistant attorney general has been fired after “anti-fascist” activists online discovered that he used an online pseudonym to make antisemitic and racist remarks. Matthis Cicotte is part of an Alt-Right Mormon extremist group called Deseret Nationalists. He advocated for political violence and defended the white supremacist terrorist who killed a counter-protestor in a vehicular attack during the 2017 Unite the Right rally.
• On the second anniversary of the terrorist attack at a Walmart in El Paso that targeted Hispanics, a memorial to the 23 victims whose lives were lost was unveiled. The perpetrator was a white supremacist who believed in the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory that claims there’s an organized genocide against white people by other ethnic groups. 
• Two more Washington D.C. police officers who battled rioters on January 6 have committed suicide, bringing the total number of suicides to four. The recent congressional hearing that featured harrowing bodycam footage and emotional testimony from four officers who resisted the rioters showed how physical injuries and mental trauma is often overlooked when acts of extremism are covered by the news media, which focuses almost solely on the number of deaths.
• The FBI says it has been unable to identify over 300 people who took part in the January 6 attack, over 200 of whom attacked police officers. So far, about 560 participants have been charged, including 30 who pled guilty.  
• A new poll found that 7 percent of registered voters say they have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of white supremacists. Another 6 percent said their opinion was only “somewhat unfavorable.” When the terminology was changed to “white nationalists,” 10 percent of registered voters said they have a very or somewhat favorable opinion. Another 10 percent said their opinion is only “somewhat unfavorable.”

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

• The Justice Department has indicted nine individuals, including defendants in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, of being agents of the Communist Chinese regime. The group is part of a CCP campaign to intimidate and harass certain Chinese nationals living in the U.S. into moving back to China. The operation includes threats to harm the victims’ family members in China.

• A new poll found that 50 percent of Americans chose China as the country that poses the greatest threat to the U.S., followed by Russia (29 percent), North Korea (9 percent) and Iran (3 percent).

Other Ideological Extremism

• A QAnon adherent in Wisconsin pled guilty to firing a paintball gun at two reservists at a Wisconsin Army Reserve Center. The attacker told the soldiers, “This is for America!”
  

• A new poll found that 29 percent of Americans agree that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.” Thirty-five percent agreed that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.”