Islamist Extremism
FBI Foils Plot to Assassinate George W. Bush
- The FBI alleges Shihab Ahmed Shihab, of Columbus, Ohio plotted to smuggle four former Iraqi Baath party members into the U.S. by crossing the Mexico border to kill the former president.
- Shihab made claims to a confidential FBI source that he drove a transport vehicle with bombs in Iraq and had an association with former ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Bahgdadi.
- Shihab was formally charged with two felonies: assisting an alien entering the U.S. for financial gain, and aiding and abetting the attempted murder of Bush. Read More
New York Man Found Guilty of Supporting ISIS
- Mirsad Kandic, 40, of Brooklyn, N.Y. was found guilty by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, and five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS.
- Kandic was a high-ranking member of ISIS and had multiple responsibilities within the global terrorist organization, including recruiting foreign fighters, and obtaining weapons, military equipment, maps, money, and false identifications for ISIS fighters.
- He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the two counts resulting in death, and 20 years imprisonment on each of the other four charges. Read More
US Sanctions Hamas Investment Network
- The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned several people and entities connected to a secretive Hamas investment network with $500 million in assets.
- The sanctions target a senior Hamas official, three Hamas financial facilitators and six companies that have generated revenue for Hamas. Read More
Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism
Men Dressed as Nazis Harass Beverly Hills Hotel Patrons
- Members of the Goyim Defense League (GDL) dressed in Nazi-like uniforms and harassed guests of the Beverly Hilton in California.
- The GDL, founded by Jon Minadeo of Petaluma, Calif., frequently engage in antisemitic stunts to troll and harass Jews, including showing up at Jewish events in a van marked with swastikas and shouting profanities. Read More
Leftist Activists Set Fire to Youth Center
- Leftist activists have claimed credit for setting fire to a police-supported youth center in Atlanta, Ga.
- The Atlanta Police Foundation funds the Westside At-Promise Center, which provides crime-prevention, education and workforce training programs to area youth. Read More
More News From the Alt-Right
- Jarl Judson Rockhill, 35, from West Linn, Ore. is facing bias crime charges for allegedly putting a neo-Nazi propaganda sticker on a fence outside a refugee assistance facility in Northeast Portland. Read More
More News From the Alt-Left
- Members of the far-left extremist pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge vandalized the Dove Medical Pregnancy Center in Eugene, Ore. This was one in a long string of attacks perpetrated by the group and their adherents. Read More
Hostile Foreign Influence Operations
China Seeking to Expand Its Influence in the Pacific
- China’s foreign minister arrived in the Pacific island region seeking a sweeping 10-nation deal covering policing, security and data communication cooperation. Read More
Qatar Calls on West to Engage With Taliban
- Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani urged the west to step up its engagement with the Taliban and criticized the failure to do so in the past. Qatar has a long relationship with the Taliban and has hosted a Taliban office in Doha since 2013. Read More
Research & Trends in Extremism
Only 3% of Anti-Asian Hate Attacks in NYC Led to Convictions
- The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) released its second report on anti-Asian hate and violence in New York City. The report states that despite political promises, growing sympathies and increased efforts to combat anti-Asian hate, the problem is only increasing.
- Among the findings was that only 7 of the 233 reported hate crimes led to convictions. Read More
US Has Averaged More Than One Mass Shooting Per Day Since 2014
- Since 2014 the U.S. has averaged more than one mass shooting a day, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
- There is no official definition of “mass shooting,” but this database, which the Guardian has translated into an infographic, tracks incidents in which at least four people were shot or killed, not including the shooter. Read More
