Islamist Extremism |  | Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addressing the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 21, 2022 - Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images | Iranian President Raisi Attacks US in UN Speech Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi repeatedly attacked the U.S. in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. During his speech, Raisi pulled out a photo of Qasem Soleimani, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader who was assassinated by the U.S. in January 2020. He vowed that Iran would continue its efforts to bring former U.S. President Trump to justice for ordering the strike. Raisi also said that soon there will be “a change of the world order," a thinly veiled reference to a change from a world dominated by Western democracies to one dominated by China, Russia, Iran, and their allies. Read More CUNY Assigns Former CAIR Leader to Investigate Antisemitism The City University of New York (CUNY) assigned a former leader of CAIR’s Minnesota chapter, Saly Abd Alla, to investigate an antisemitism and anti-Zionism complaint made internally by a Jewish professor. CAIR has been identified by the Justice Department as an “entity” of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and listed it as an unindicted co-conspirator in funding millions of dollars to Hamas. Read Now Iranian Dissidents Sue Iran’s President Ahead of Travel to US A group of Iranian dissidents and former hostages sued Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, in federal court, alleging torture and other human rights crimes. The plaintiffs are using the 1992 Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows victims to pursue justice through the U.S. legal system. The case was filed ahead of Raisi's travel to the United States to give a speach at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. Read More | | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Activists and parents from Uvalde and Santa Fe rally in support of gun control - Brandon Bell/Getty Images | Man Threatens to Kill US Senator Over Gun Control Brendon Michael Daugherty, 35, from Coon Rapids, Minn., was charged with making interstate threats against a U.S. Senator over the Senator’s views on gun control. Daugherty stated, “You and the Republican Party should be proud that you’re pushing me to become a domestic terrorist. Have a nice [expletive] day; can’t wait to kill ya.” Read More Neo-Nazi Group Leader Defending Himself in Court Christopher Hood, 23, from Pepperell, Mass., decided he will represent himself in court in connection to charges stemming from an alleged fight over the summer outside a drag queen story hour. Hood is the leader of a Massachusetts chapter of neo-Nazi group National Socialist Club 131 (NSC-131). Read More More News From the Alt-Right - Several murals in Fargo, N.D. were vandalized with graffiti promoting the far-right group Patriot Front. Read More
More News From the Alt-Left - Left-wing activists at the University of New Mexico prompted state and campus police to shut down the event and evacuate guests after they attempted to force their way past police officers to protest political commentator Tomi Lahren. Read More
| | | | | Hate Crime |  | Screenshot of vandalized Mahatma Ghandi statue in front of a Hindu temple in Queens - COPCP via QNS | Sukhpal Singh, 27, of Little Neck, Queens was arrested and charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime. Singh allegedly smashed a statue in front of the Tulsi Mandir Hindu Temple in South Richmond Hill. Read More - James Purcell, 34, was charged with assault as a hate crime for allegedly attacking a Jewish man in Far Rockaway, N.Y. Purcell allegedly shouted antisemitic remarks while punching the victim several times. Read More
| | | | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | A hacker participates in an offline hacking competition in Kolkata, India - Sankhadeep Banerjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Iranian Nationals Charged for Attempting to Hack US Infrastructure - Three Iranian nationals, Mansour Ahmadi, 34, Ahmad Khatibi Aghda, 45, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, 30, engaged in a scheme to gain unauthorized access to the computer systems of hundreds of victims in a broad range of organizations and critical infrastructure sectors, causing damage and losses. Read More
Russian Spies Turning to Industrial Espionage - Experts warn that due to problems throughout Russia’s technology industry, Western companies should be on “full alert” for attacks from Moscow’s intelligence services.
- Russian efforts to steal technology secrets from the West are nothing new, but recent sanctions have given those efforts greater urgency. Read More
| | | | | Research & Trends in Extremism |  | DOJ, FBI and DHS directors are sworn-in to testify before a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on "Hate Crimes and the Threat of Domestic Extremism" - Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images | DOJ Launches Initiative to Combat Hate - Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced that in 2023 the Department of Justice will host a new nationwide initiative to combat unlawful acts of hate.
- The United Against Hate program will convene local forums that connect community groups to federal, state and local law enforcement to increase community understanding and reporting of hate crimes. Read More
DHS Provides Grant to Research Extremism in Gaming | | | QUOTABLE
“Liberty does not exist in the absence of morality.”
--Edmund Burke
| | | 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. | | | | |
