Islamist Extremism |  | JNS | Anti-Israel Group Calls to ‘Globalize Intifada’ at New York Rally Within our Lifetime (WOL), a New York City-based anti-Israel group, held a rally in front of the offices of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) urging to “globalize the intifada.” WOL is led by Nerdeen Kiswani, who has a history of harassing and making violent threats toward Jews. Attendees were flying the flag of the group Samidoun, which is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—a U.S.-designated foreign terror group. Read The Clarion Project’s exhaustive study on the PFLP’s use of groups like Samidoun to operate in America and Europe. Convicted Terrorist Sentenced for Selling Meth While on Supervised Release Ahmed Binyamin Alasiri, 45, a.k.a. Kevin Lamar James, of Garden Grove, Calif. was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for selling nearly 4 pounds of methamphetamine. Alasiri was arrested while he was on supervised release after completing a 16-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to levy war against the U.S. through terrorism. In 2007, Alasiri pleaded guilty to conspiracy to raise money for attacks on U.S. military operations, and Israeli and Jewish facilities in Southern California. Senators Urge Action Against UNHRC Sixty-eight senators, including Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter urging U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to prioritize reversing the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) permanent Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter states the COI is just the latest endeavor to discredit the only Jewish state and is likely to “further fuel antisemitism worldwide.” | | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images | Man Sentenced for Bringing Weapons Near US Capitol on January 6 - Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 72, of Falkville, Ala. was sentenced this week to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal and local firearms offenses stemming from the discovery of weapons in his pickup truck parked near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
- Coffman admitted in his plea agreement that he exited the pickup truck and walked in the direction of the U.S. Capitol Building, while carrying a loaded handgun and revolver.
- Coffman has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 6, 2021. Coffman will be placed on three years of supervised release following his prison term.
Portland BLM Rioter Pleads Guilty - Malik Muhammed, 25, a BLM activist from Indiana, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing unregistered destructive devices in federal court.
- Muhammed was charged in April 2021 in a 28-count indictment, which included eight charges for attempted murder and attempted aggravated murder.
- Muhammed traveled from Indianapolis to Portland with his girlfriend during the late summer of 2020 and “violently engag[ed] in area riots” following the death of George Floyd.
Michigan Governor Kidnapping Conspirators Awaiting Jury Decision - The trial of four men involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is ending. The four men who were involved in the Boogaloo Boi militia group “The Wolverine Watchmen” are awaiting jury deliberations and could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Not-Guilty Pleas Entered by BLM Fundraisers - A Boston Black Lives Matter activist, Monica Cannon-Grant, and her husband both pleaded not guilty to charges that they defrauded donors who gave to their nonprofit and spent most of the $1 million raised for their own personal gain.
| | | | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Peter R. Barber/The Daily Gazette | Former GE Engineer Convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Economic Espionage - A federal jury convicted Xiaoqing Zheng, 59, of Niskayuna, N.Y. of conspiracy to commit economic espionage to benefit China. Zheng worked at GE from 2008 until the summer of 2018. The trial evidence demonstrated that Zheng conspired to steal GE’s trade secrets surrounding GE’s steam and gas turbine technologies.
China Using TikTok, Instagram to Spread Disinformation - Dozens of accounts have been identified as belonging to Chinese state media reporters who have transformed their accounts and started identifying as “bloggers,” “influencers” or non-descript “journalists” in order to run disinformation campaigns.
| | | | | Hate Crimes |  | Google Maps | A federal grand jury in Austin, Texas returned a three-count indictment charging Franklin Barrett Sechriest with crimes relating to the intentional fire set at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Austin on Oct. 31, 2021. - A 16-year-old in New York City has been arrested in connection to a hate crime assault after a group of teens attacked a Hasidic man in Brooklyn.
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--Franklin D. Roosevelt
| | | NOTE TO OUR READERS: We have pulled out the salient points of the articles in this newsletter to keep you informed and focused on the most relevant, important and timely news in national security and extremism. While our national security experts stand behind the summary bullets and deem them trustworthy, Clarion Project does not endorse all the views expressed in the articles linked. | | | | |
