CLARION PROJECT 05/11/2021

 

The Extremism Roundup Promoting Civil Discourse and Marginalizing the Extremes A weekly compilation of the most important developments in the struggle against radical ideologies

Islamist & Anti-Muslim Extremism  Federal Bureau of Investigations     LAW ENFORCEMENT Texas: Honor Killing Perpetrator’s Son Sentenced for Hiding Him A man in Irving, Texas has been sentenced to 10 years for helping hide his father from the law after he shot and murdered his two daughters in an “honor killing” in 2008. The father successfully evaded arrest for 12 years. The perpetrator’s brother was also convicted earlier this year for helping to hide him. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Miami Imam Caught Advocating Violent Jihad An imam in Miami, Fla. recently preached that Muslims should make Israelis “run away like mice” by waging a violent jihad until Israel is destroyed.  Fadi Yousef Kablawi, who leads the North Miami Islamic Center, told congregants that “every true Muslim should talk to himself about dying as a martyr for the sake of Allah.” Kablawi characterized “the disbelievers, the West, the Jews and the Christians” as the enemy of Islam, preaching that “they fought us in every single thing, they took away from us every single thing.” FRENCH MILITARY France Headed Toward Civil War Due to Islamism, Generals Warn Twenty retired French generals have written a letter warning that the country is headed toward civil war unless the spread of Islamism is stopped. Other high-level French officials including the Interior Minister and director of the Internal Security Agency have also warned of civil war. Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro appeared on the Seth Leibsohn Show with guest host Muslim reformer Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, and said, “If you want to see the future of America, look at Europe. That’s the trend.” However, Mauro cautioned, there’s a risk in warnings about civil war becoming a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” LAW ENFORCEMENT Houston-Area Neo-Nazi Sentenced for Making Bomb Threats to Mosque A leader of neo-Nazi terrorist group Atomwaffen Division has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for anonymously calling a mosque in Arlington, Texas and claiming that a pipe bomb was about to be detonated. He and his conspirators in the Nazi terrorist group also targeted 134 other locations in the country, including black churches, journalists, U.S. officials, and sites associated with the Jewish and LGBT communities. Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Antifa Group Caught Plotting to Murder Police Officers A Trump supporter infiltrated the private chats of an “Anti-Fascist” (Antifa) group in California and caught them stating their intention to “kill cops” during an upcoming protest. The Antifa-associated group, called the SoCo (Sonoma County) Radical Action, posted a manifesto online that promotes violence. It says, “Do not hesitate, do not wait ... the brick in the street is meant to be thrown! The paint in the can is meant to be sprayed! The cop in your head is meant to be killed!"   The chats show that the group made a strategic decision to change its name from “SoCo Antifa” and that the leader has been arrested for assaulting a police officer. The group also made a list of adversaries who they would “dox” by publishing their private information like their home address and target with vandalism. LAW ENFORCEMENT Latest Alt-Left Prosecutions An Alt-Left extremist in Brainerd, Minn. was sentenced to four years in prison and to pay $12 million in restitution for his involvement in an attack with Molotov cocktails on a police station in Minneapolis. The FBI has launched an investigation into a death threat against Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler from an anonymous self-proclaimed Antifa activist. The death threat appeared in a video on Twitter where the author mentioned Wheeler’s home address and pledged, “The destruction to your precious way of life is going to escalate” unless he resigns.   LAW ENFORCEMENT Georgia Cop Arrested for Involvement in White Supremacist Militia A police officer in Georgia has been arrested for illegally possessing and manufacturing firearms. The defendant was found to be part of an extremist militia known as “Shadow Moses” or “ShadMo.” The federal indictment states that he made “frequent positive references to the Nazi holocaust” and repeatedly used slurs against homosexuals and racial minorities. The militiamen were preparing for civil war and expressed their desire to violently target liberals and Black Lives Matter protestors. The defendant also suggested framing Muslims for killing liberal politicians. He also boasted about beating a black man who allegedly tried to steal a firearm from a gun store and stated that he was going to charge black people with felonies whenever possible in order to prevent them from voting. LAW ENFORCEMENT Other Alt-Right Prosecutions A state representative in Oregon has been indicted for facilitating rioters in the state capitol by opening a door so they could enter the building. Five rioters were arrested, including one who attacked the police with an unidentified chemical spray. Four additional charges have been filed by the Justice Department against a former West Virginia state legislator for his involvement in the January 6 attack on the Capitol building in Washington D.C.  New court filings against a participant in the January 6 attack show that an extremist from Canton, Ohio decided to commit violence before the rally took place. He communicated that he would fight the police and indicated there was a plan to trap members of Congress in underground tunnels so they could be targeted. He also appears to have planned to return to D.C. in order to commit additional acts of violence. Unsealed documents reveal that a participant in the January 6 attack posed as an Antifa member when he fought police and later bragged that he “got away with things that others were shot or arrested for.” Alt-Right extremists including white supremacists have previously posed as their Alt-Left counterparts and engaged in rioting and online incitement in hopes of fomenting conflict. Hostile Foreign Influence Operations Ali Mirshafi/TEDxTehran, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Ohio Professor Accused of Involvement in Iranian Regime Crimes Professor Mohammad Jafar Mahallati of Oberlin College in Ohio, who teaches classes about religion and the Middle East and North Africa, is being accused of having helped the Iranian regime cover up a massacre of 5,000 political prisoners in 1988. The professor was Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations at the time. The former Iranian official was listed as a visiting fellow on the website for Columbia University’s Middle East Institute until February. Columbia University claims his name appeared there in error. THINK TANK Study: Major Companies Including Google Complicit in Funding Russian Disinformation A new study concluded that Google, EBay, Expedia, Booking.com and other major Western companies are funding Russian disinformation operations by paying to have their ads appear on known propaganda websites. The narratives promoted by the Putin-linked websites focused on justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine, blaming NATO for tensions with Russia and spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19.   Other Ideological Extremism Andy Wong-Pool/Getty Images NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH Alarm Over CCP Ties to Hundreds of University Scientists Senior U.S. officials testified that there are over 500 “scientists of concern” who are suspected of having received funding from Communist China while being awarded with federal grants for research at the same time. A researcher at Southern Illinois University was recently charged for allegedly lying about his Communist Chinese funding in order to be awarded over $150,000 from the U.S. government.   A chemist from Lansing, Michigan has been convicted for engaging in economic espionage with Communist China. He transferred trade secrets related to beverage cans while working for Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia and the Eastman Chemical Company in Tennessee. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Analysis Finds Antisemitic Themes in “Q-Drops” A counter-extremism specialist has compiled a long list of “Q-Drops” with antisemitic themes. QAnon adherents believe that the “Q-Drops” were written by a high-level national security official to convey President Trump’s secret plans for thwarting a Satanic plot by liberals, Satan-worshippers and pedophiles who drink the blood of sacrificed children. For example, in Q-Drop 142, the poster suggests that Hitler was a “puppet” of a Jewish conspiracy.  A recent study determined that China, Russia and Iran played a significant role in proliferating the QAnon conspiracy theories.  At least 34 QAnon believers were involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol building.  QUOTABLE "You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as left or right. There is only an up or down.” -Ronald Reagan, "A Time for Choosing" speech (1964) 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.

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