Islamist Extremism |  | Camp 5 at the US Military's Prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - THOMAS WATKINS/AFP via Getty Images | 75-Year-Old Gitmo Prisoner Released - Saifullah Paracha, 75, was released and flown to Pakistan after being held in Guantanamo Bay for 18 years.
- Paracha was allegedly an al-Qaeda “facilitator” who helped 9/11 planners Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ammar al-Baluchi with a financial transaction after the 9/11 attacks.
- The Department of Defense said Paracha's continued detention was no longer necessary to protect against a “significant threat” to the security of the United States. Read More
Boston BDS Organization Calls for Solidarity With Palestinian Terrorists BDS's Boston Mapping Project published a "solidarity statement" in support of the Palestinian terrorist group Lions' Den. The Lions’ Den claimed responsibility for several drive-by shooting attacks in the last few months, prompting Israel to launch a counter-terror offensive against the group's center of operations in Nablus. In June, the Boston Mapping Project published an interactive mapping project that highlighted people and movements they identified as pro-Israel, including Jewish community organizations, religious organizations and even Jewish schools. Read Now | | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Stephen Davis aka 'MAGA Hulk' at Pro-Trump Demonstration in West Hollywood on September 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California -fupp/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images | UC Davis Shuts Down Event Due to Leftist Violence - UC Davis abruptly scrapped a speaking event for conservative influencer Stephen Davis after nearly 100 protesters violently brawled and smashed windows outside.
- Leftist activist groups openly called for mobs to disrupt the event. They used pepper spray and smashed windows to the conference center as audience members started to gather. Read More
Three Men Convicted in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing “material support” for a terrorist act after they plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The individuals were members of a Boogaloo Boi-affiliated militia group called The Wolverine Watchmen. Read More Trans Activists Violently Shut Down Pro-Women Event - Kellie-Jay Keen of Standing For Women was forced to shut down her Tacoma, Wash. "Let Women Speak" event by violent transgender activists.
- Protestors surrounded the venue and assaulted a middle-aged woman caught in the middle. Read More
| | | | | School Shootings |  | St. Louis police stand outside an entrance of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting that left three people dead including the shooter - TIM VIZER/AFP via Getty Images | Three Dead in St. Louis School Shooting A gunman attacked Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis last week, resulting in the killing of two people, the wounding of seven others and the death of the shooter. The 19-year-old shooter, Orlando Harris, a former student, purchased a gun through a private sale, after he failed a FBI background check. Harris left a note describing his lonely life and stating, “This was the perfect storm for a mass shooter.” His family had grown concerned about his mental state. They’d contacted police and asked them to take his gun. Read More 2022 Sets New Record for Most School Shootings - There have been 40 school shootings this year that resulted in injuries or deaths, the most in a single year.
- Prior to 2022, the highest number of school shootings with injuries or deaths was 2021 when there were 35. Read More
| | | | | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Chinese Disinformation Targets US Midterm Elections - According to a report by the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a pro-China disinformation campaign known as Dragonbridge has been aggressively attempting to discredit the U.S. political system and discourage Americans from voting in the upcoming midterm elections. Read More
FBI Warns of Iranian Hackers The FBI has warned that an Iranian government-tied hacker group, which operates from an Iranian cybersecurity company called Emennet Pasargad, is engaged in operations to hack and leak material and may target American organizations. In 2020, Emennet was involved in attempts to influence that year’s U.S. elections. Read More | | | | | Research & Trends in Extremism |  | Bitcoin offices in Istanbul, Turkey - Umit Turhan Coskun/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Terrorists Prefer Crypto - A senior legal officer at the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, Svetlana Martynova, said crypto-financed terrorist attacks quadrupled over the past few years. Crypto crime accounted for a record $14 billion worth of blockchain transactions last year, almost double the 2020 figure of $7.8 billion, according to blockchain research firm Chainalysis. Read More
| | | QUOTABLE
“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
-Plato
| | | 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. | | | | |
