The Extremism Roundup

Islamist Extremism

 Judge Regina Thomas speaks during court hearing of Hassan Chokr - Wayne County Curciut Court via Detroit Free Press screenshot

Michigan Jihadist Charged for Synagogue Threats

• Hassan Yehia Chokr, 35, of Dearborn, Mich., was charged with two counts of ethnic intimidation after he made antisemitic and racist threats to parents, young children and security at a synagogue in Michigan.
• A video posted by Chokr to a now-deleted Instagram account titled "freedomfighter1212" shows Chokr harassing individuals outside Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills.
• Chokr has a second Instagram account, "freedomfighterhassan," which still exists. The account features videos of Chokr stating that the “soldiers of Allah” are “coming for you all.”  Read More

Iranian Pleads Guilty for Plan to Blow Up High School With Suicide Vest

• Erfan Salmanzadeh, a 33-year-old naturalized citizen of the U.S. born in Iran, pleaded guilty to use and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

• Salmanzadeh, who lives in Amarillo, Texas, set off a bomb in his backyard, stashed a suicide vest in his alleyway, and privately plotted to blow up a local high school.

• Salmanzadeh now faces up to life in federal prison. Read Now

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism

Organized white supremacist groups in Texas prisons include the Aryan Nation, the Aryan Circle and several spin off groups - Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Aryan Brotherhood Gang Member Sentenced

• William Glenn Chunn, aka Big Head, 40, of Conroe, Texas, was sentenced to life imprisonment for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) violations stemming from his leadership in the Aryan Circle, a white supremacy prison gang.
• Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Chunn is one of the highest-ranking Aryan Circle leaders in the nation and used his leadership role to order violent stabbings against rival gang members and other victims. Read More

Five Aryan Brotherhood Members Charged With Murder in Aid of Racketeering

• A federal grand jury added four counts of murder to racketeering charges against five Aryan Brotherhood prison gang defendants.
• According to court documents, the defendants oversaw a significant heroin and methamphetamine trafficking operation and used smuggled-in cellphones to direct their drug trafficking activity, order murders, and oversee other criminal activities.
• If convicted on the murder in aid of racketeering charges, each of the five defendants faces a mandatory life sentence or the possibility of the death penalty. Read More

School Threats

St. Mary High School and Middle School where threats occurred, via WPSD Local 6 screenshot

Two 11-Year-Olds Responsible for Kentucky School Threat

• Two 11-year-olds were determined to be the source of a threat made against the St. Mary School System in Paducah, Ky.
• The callers' parents have been notified and police are continuing to investigate. Read More

Multiple Schools Receive Swatting Threats

• Nearly a dozen New Hampshire schools and several in Montana experienced a rash of hoax active shooter calls. 
• The hoax threats, also known as “swatting,” involve the making of a prank call to emergency services so a large number of police officers or the SWAT team will be dispatched to a particular location. Read More

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

Viktor Bout deplanes after arriving at Westchester County Airport in 2010 to face terrorism charges - U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

Russian Arms Dealer Released

• Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was released as part of a prisoner swap with American basketball player Brittney Griner.
• Bout was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. in late 2010. A federal indictment charged him with conspiracy to kill Americans by selling weapons to Colombian guerrillas.
• Bout went to trial in 2011 in New York City and was convicted on terrorism charges. He was slated to remain in prison until 2029.
• The 2005 film “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage, is a glamorized retelling of his notorious exploits. Read More

North Korea Tricks Experts Into Writing Research for Them

• North Korean cyber spies are targeting policy-makers, think-tank researchers and foreign policy experts to better understand where Western policy is headed on North Korea.
• The hacking group, which researchers dubbed Thallium or Kimsuky, has a long history of using “spear-phishing” emails that trick targets into giving up passwords or clicking attachments or links that load malware.
• The new tactic, which has reportedly been quite successful, is to contact the experts and ask them questions directly, posing as legitimate researchers.
• Among the other issues raised were China’s reaction in the event of a new nuclear test, and whether a "quieter" approach to North Korean "aggression" might be warranted. Read More

Research and Trends in Extremism

Men belonging to the Oath Keepers attend a rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC - Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Hundreds of Oath Keepers Worked for DHS

• An investigation by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that more than 300 individuals on a leaked membership list of the right-wing militia group the Oath Keepers described themselves as current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
• Several individuals on the membership list described themselves as having training roles inside their agencies. However, most of the 306 said they had retired. Read More

FBI Slammed for Faulty 2021 Hate Crimes Statistics

• The FBI released the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) 2021 Hate Crimes Statistics, which found there were more than 7,000 hate crimes in 2021, which is 15 percent lower than 2020. According to the FBI data, there were 324 antisemitic hate crimes reported in 2021, less than half the number in 2020.
• The FBI has been widely criticized for the inaccuracy of the report, since hate crime, particularly antisemitism, has elsewhere been reported to be surging.
• The reporting from local agencies is voluntary, and the inaccuracy of the data is attributed to the decline in reporting. While 93 percent of agencies participated in 2020, only 65 percent participated in 2021, and several of the nation's largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles, did not provide data, while Chicago reported zero. Read More

QUOTABLE
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power."

-Abraham Lincoln

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.