Islamist Extremism |  | Hassan Chokr trying out weapons at a Deerborn gun shop after threatening congregants at a Jewish synogogue - US Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Michigan via Detroit Free Press screenshot | New Charges Added Against Michigan Jihadist - Hassan Yehia Chokr, 35, of Dearborn, Mich., is now facing federal weapons charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm and lying on a federal firearms form.
- Chokr 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.
- Chokr tried purchasing a shotgun, rifle and semi-automatic pistol the same day he visited the synagogue.
- Videos he posted to Instagram after the incident include statements claiming that “soldiers of Allah” are “coming for you all.” Read More
PFLP Connected Groups Stage Day of Rage in New York City The anti-Israel organizations Samidoun and Within Our Lifetime held a "day of rage" in NYC's Grand Central Station calling for the release of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmad Sa'adat, who is serving a 30-year sentence in Israel for orchestrating a 2001 assassination plot. The protestors chanted violent slogans including, "We don't want no two states, we want all of it" and "Globalize the Intifada." Samidoun is affiliated with the PFLP, a U.S.-designated foreign terror group. Read More See The Clarion Project’s special report on the PFLP’s use of groups like Samidoun to operate and raise money in America & Europe. | | | | | Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism |  | Atlanta police vehicle that was set on fire during a "Stop cop city" protest in Atlanta - Benjamin Hendren/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Atlanta Antifa Protestors Arrested - Six people were arrested on charges of domestic terrorism by Atlanta police following violent riots carried out by Antifa activists who shattered windows, destroyed a police car and vandalized walls with graffiti.
- Among the protesters arrested was Francis M. Carroll, 22, of Kennebunkport, Me.
Carroll was one of five Antifa activists arrested in December 2022 during a clash with law enforcement and was currently out on bail while facing domestic terrorism charges. Read More Three Active-Duty Marines Charged With Participating in Capitol Riot - Three active-duty U.S. Marines were arrested and charged this week with breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
- Cpl. Micah Coomer, and Sgts. Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen are each facing four misdemeanor charges including disorderly conduct in the Capitol building with the intent to impede Congress.
- According to a sworn complaint by an FBI agent, Coomer expressed support for the Boogaloo Bois militia movement. Read More
Neo-Nazis Disrupt Drag Show - Members of the neo-Nazi group NSC-131 disrupted the Taunton Public Library’s Drag Queen Story Hour in Taunton, Mass.
- Roughly two dozen masked men were also gathered outside shouting profanities and calling the drag performer a “child abuser” and “pedophile.”
- Several protesters entered the library and the drag event. Read More
House Minority Whip’s Son Arrested During Antifa Protest - Jared Riley Dowell, 23, the son of U.S. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, was arrested at an Antifa protest in Boston.
- Police allegedly witnessed Dowell spraypainting “All Cops Are Bastards” and “NO COP CITY” on a Parkman Bandstand Monument.
- Dowell is being charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon, destruction or injury of personal property, and damage of property by graffiti. Read More
Documentarian Who Was Filming Proud Boys Ahead of Jan. 6 Testifies at Trial - British documentarian Nick Quested, who was in the process of filming a documentary about the Proud Boys ahead of the January 6 riot, testified recently at the Proud Boys' trial.
- Members of the Proud Boys are accused of partaking and plotting in advance to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
- Quested testified that the Proud Boys weren't looking for violence that day. "There was violence that day, but it was sporadic," he said. He also said that he was "not aware of any plan (the Proud Boys) might have had" to storm the Capitol. Read More
| | | | | School Threats |  | A plaque at the entrance of the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the school shooting on December 14, 2022 in Newtown, Conn. - John Moore/Getty Images | Tennessee Student in Custody in Connection to School Threat - A juvenile in Hawkins County, Tenn. was placed into custody earlier this week after allegedly making threats to Volunteer High School. Authorities are now calling it an isolated threat. Read More
Pennsylvania School Remains Closed Following Threat - Schools in the Johnstown Pennsylvania School District will remain closed while police continue an investigation into an alleged shooting threat. Read More
| | |  | Hostile Foreign Influence Operations |  | Vishnya-class intelligence ship Kareliya (535) - US Coast Guard image via USNI News screenshot | Russian Spy Ship Spotted Off Hawaii Coast - A Russian spy ship has been monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard patrolling off the coast of Hawaii over the last several weeks.
- The Vishnya-class Kareliya surveillance ship has so far remained in international waters. Read More
Chinese Money Floods University That Houses Biden’s Think Tank - Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021 anonymous Chinese donors have donated millions of dollars to the University of Pennsylvania, which houses President Biden’s think tank, the Penn Biden Center. Federal investigators identified at least 10 classified documents there. Read More
| | |  | Research and Trends in Extremism |  | Pro-Trump protesters trying to enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 - Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images | Study on Radicalization Among Veterans and Active-Duty Service Members - The International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) compiled 72 cases of active and former military members involved in white supremacist and far-right violent extremist incidents committed between 2017 and 2022.
- Among the study’s key findings, Marines were disproportionately represented in extremist groups. Additionally, a small but non-negligible minority of the sample was found to have already held violent extremist beliefs before joining the military. Read More
New Rash of Attacks on Northwest Power Grid Instrastructure - Since June, 2022, there have been 15 different attacks on power grid infrastructure in the Pacific Norwest, more than in the previous six years combined.
- According to an FBI memo obtained by Oregon Public Broadcasting, the motivation for many of these attacks is ideological. “The individuals of concern believe that an attack on electrical infrastructure will contribute to their ideological goal of causing societal collapse and a subsequent race war in the United States.” Read More
| | | | | QUOTABLE
"Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of man will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint."
- Alexander Hamilton
| | | 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. | | | | |
