Islamist Extremism |  | MEMRI.org | Texas Children Pledge Allegiance to Ayatollah Khamenei A video was posted to the IslamicTV YouTube channel of Shiite children in Houston, Texas performing a song titled "Salute, Commander," an Iranian children's anthem pledging allegiance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The words of the song include an oath to be a martyr (shahid) "one day when you need me." The video was posted by the Islamic Education Center of Houston on its social media accounts but was later removed. Read More EU Lays Out Final Draft of New Iran Deal for US Approval The European Union submitted a "final text" at talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. A senior EU official claimed no more changes could be made to the text, stating, "The negotiation is finished, it's the final text...and it will not be renegotiated.” A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington was ready to quickly reach an agreement to revive the deal. Iranian officials suggested that they did not regard the EU proposals as final. Read More State Department Warns of Terror Attacks Following Zawahiri’s Death The State Department warned U.S. citizens that al-Qaeda supporters may increase their attacks on Americans and U.S. interests overseas in the aftermath of the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The State Department urged U.S. citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance “and practice good situational awareness when traveling abroad.” Read More
| | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Members of the white supremacist group The Patriot Front make a speech as they march through a Boston Pride event on July 2 - Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images | Patriot Front Members Plead Not-Guilty to Conspiracy to Riot - Three members of the group Patriot Front pleaded not guilty in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho court to misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot.
- Garrett J. Garland of Freeburg, Ill., Branden M. Haney of Kaysville, Utah, and Forrest C. Rankin of Lorenzo, Texas, are among 31 Patriot Front members accused of planning to violently disrupt a Pride celebration in June.
- Misdemeanor conspiracy to riot is punishable by up to one year in jail, as well as by a $5,000 fine and up to two years of probation. Read More
FBI Opens Investigation Into Left-Wing Attacks on Pregnancy Centers - FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that the Bureau has launched “domestic violent extremism investigations” into threats and attacks that have targeted anti-abortion groups over the past few months.
- Since the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, attacks and vandalism of anti-abortion activist groups, pregnancy centers and churches has increased exponentially.
- Members of the far-left extremist group Jane's Revenge has claimed responsibility for most of the violent attacks, including the firebombing of a pro-life Christian pregnancy center in Buffalo, N.Y. in June. Read More
More News From the Alt-Right - Members of the neo-Nazi group The Goyim Defense League (GDL) have been dispersing antisemitic fliers across multiple states. Read More
More News From the Alt-Left - Police arrested at least five pro-choice demonstrators who harassed churchgoers outside a Catholic church in New York City. Read More
| | | | | Hate Crime |  | A press conference and memorial vigil is held for Yao Pan Mo on the street corner where he was beaten in January in Harlem - Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images | Anti-Asian Covid-Related Hate Crime Perpetrator Sentenced - Jose Gomez III, 21, of Midland, Texas was sentenced to 25 years in prison on hate crime charges for attacking an Asian family he believed was Chinese and therefore responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
Ahmaud Arbery's Murderers Get Life Sentence - Travis McMichael and his father Greg McMichael, 66, from Brunswick, Ga. were sentenced to life in prison for committing a federal hate crime with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Read More
| | | | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Lockheed Martin's HIMARS rocket system - Pacific Press via Getty Images | Russian Hackers Attack US Defense Contractor - Pro-Russian hacker group Killnet has reportedly launched a new type of cyber-attack on defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
- Lockheed Martin is the developer of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which the U.S. has supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces. Read More
Chinese Propaganda Ring Hosts 72 Fake News Sites in 11 Languages - According to a new report by U.S.-based cybersecurity firm Mandiant, the Chinese marketing firm Shanghai Haixun Technology hosted a ring of at least 72 fake news sites in 11 languages with corresponding fake social media personas that pushed Chinese government talking points. Read More
| | | | | Research & Trends in Extremism |  | A visual depiction of terrorist migration from large to smaller tech platforms - Tech Against Terrorism report, “The Threat of Terrorist and Violent Extremist-Operated Websites," Jan. 2022 | The Threat of Terrorist and Violent Extremist-Operated Websites - A new report from Tech Against Terrorism has found nearly 200 websites on the surface web operated by terrorists and violent extremists.
- These sites promote violent extremist ideologies such as neo-Nazism, violent insurrectionary accelerationism, Salafi-Jihadism and Incel ideology and have over 1.54 million monthly visitors, coming mostly from Algeria, Pakistan, the U.S. and the U.K.
- These websites "provide terrorist actors with a stable and easily located platform that facilitates the dissemination and archiving of propaganda content, recruitment and internal communication.” Read More
Meta Reports on Russian Troll Farm Targeting Internet Apps - Meta released its second Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report.
- The report details threat research into a Russian troll farm that targeted many apps across the internet.
- The report also discusses Facebook’s actions on two separate cyberespionage operations from South Asia. Read More
| | | QUOTABLE
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
--George Orwell
| | | 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. | | | | |
