The Extremism Roundup

Islamist & Anti-Muslim Extremism 

• A Canadian school board cancelled a speaking event for Nadia Murad, a woman who lived through kidnapping and sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS.
• Murad, a Nobel Laureate, was scheduled to speak to students about her upcoming book, “The Last Girl: My Story Of Captivity,” which documented her treatment. 
• The decision to cancel the event was made by Toronto School Board Superintendent Helen Fisher, who argued that the book could "foster Islamophobia."

• Britain on Friday designated all of Hamas an “Islamist terrorist group.” 
• Britain says members of Hamas or those who support it could face up to 14 years in jail.
• The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has been banned in Britain since 2001. The new ban now extends to Hamas political entities as well.

• Experts at an event held by UAE think tank TRENDS Research and Advisory warned that the Muslim Brotherhood is using “woke” language to “camouflage their true nature” as it takes hold in Europe.
• Experts from George Washington University, Cairo University and Lehigh University warn of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ability to work with progressive movements, which they have very little in common with, to further their political goals.

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism

• Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio has been denied early release from jail in Washington DC.
• Superior court judge ruled that poor living conditions were not sufficient reason for Tarrio to be transferred to house arrest or to have his sentence reduced.
• Tarrio is serving a five-month sentence for stealing and burning a Black Lives Matter banner from a church in Washington DC.
• In addition to pleading guilty to destruction of property, Tarrio pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device. Tarrio also had in his possession two unloaded ammunition magazines emblazoned with the Proud Boys logo, which he said he sells. 

• A jury has awarded more than $26 million in damages to nine plaintiffs, from White nationalists who organized and participated in a violent 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Va.
• The defendants were found liable on a state conspiracy claim and other claims.
• Despite the large jury award, the plaintiffs may not see much of that money. Defendants are citing financial hardships.

• The House Jan. 6 Select Committee issued subpoenas to the leaders of both the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, as well as to both of the organizations they lead.
• The Justice Department has indicted dozens of members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for participating in the US Capitol riot.
• The committee also subpoenaed individuals including InfoWars head Alex Jones and longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone.

• On May 30, 2020, riots erupted in downtown Cleveland following a Black Lives Matter protest, which resulted in extensive property damage.
• Tandre Buchanan joined in the looting of businesses and smashed his way into Colossal Cupcakes.
• Buchanan’s attorney admitted that his client damaged property “as an expression of frustration and anger toward the lack of meaningful changes in response to years of systemic police brutality.”

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

• Hackers potentially tied to Russia are targeting large biomanufacturing companies.
• The Bioeconomy ​​Information Sharing and Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC) revealed the ongoing effort to install malware on an unnamed major biomanufacturing facility this spring.
• Researchers noted that the efforts were similar to previous attacks by a hacking group linked to Russia. 

• The Chinese province of Henan is building a surveillance system with facial-recognition technology that can detect journalists and classifies them into a "traffic-light" system--green, amber and red, with red needing to be “dealt with accordingly.” 
• Journalists, including foreign journalists, are a group of interest to the Henan Public Security Bureau. 
• Last year, it was reported that China's facial-recognition system could recognize people belonging to the Uighur ethnic minority and alert police.