CLARION PROJECT 06/25/2021

 

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  ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images   INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Scandals, Failures Plague Islamist Lobby in America The Islamist lobby in the U.S., including the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, failed to turn the National March for Palestine in Washington D.C. into a major event. Although the event was hosted by over 130 Muslim organizations, participation was so low that the organizations only managed to “bring an average of no more than eight people each.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), identified by the Justice Department as an “entity” of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, continues to have more scandals. CAIR’s Florida chapter is in particular turmoil, with two former leaders being accused of sexual harassment and abuse.  One former CAIR-Florida official who remains involved in the organization is a Deputy Sheriff in the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro debated him on Newsmax TV. You can watch the debate here. LAW ENFORCEMENT & INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Latest Islamist Attacks & Investigations In San Antonio, Texas the FBI arrested an Islamist who plotted with a man in Colombia to funnel money from his food export business to an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. A network of Pakistan-linked groups in the U.S. allegedly scammed donors by claiming to raise money for humanitarian assistance for India’s Covid crisis. The network has ties to Islamist extremists in Pakistan and Kashmir, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. In Europe, a man in Germany was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife for cheating on him. He said he was justified by Islamic Sharia Law. Also in Germany, a new intelligence report estimated that there are over 11,000 members of the Turkish Islamist extremist movement known as Grey Wolves in the country. Other government sources put the figure as high as 18,000.   LAW ENFORCEMENT Three Muslims Assaulted in NYC by Anti-Muslim Bigot The police are looking for a man who violently assaulted three Muslims in two separate attacks.  In the first attack, the attacker made bigoted comments about Muslims to a man and woman, then punched both of them and grabbed the woman’s hijab. He then harassed another Muslim couple and punched the woman in the face, breaking her nose, before running away. LAW ENFORCEMENT & INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Canada: Two Muslim Women Attacked by Knife-Wielding Racist In St. Albert, a man with a knife attacked two Muslim sisters while making hateful remarks about their faith. One victim lost consciousness when he grabbed her hijab and threw her to the ground. The second victim was also knocked down, and he held his knife to her throat before fleeing. The police have not yet found the attacker.  The attack follows a vehicular attack on a Muslim family in Ontario that killed four and injured a 9-year-old boy.  Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism Nathan Howard/Getty Images LAW ENFORCEMENT Portland Police Rapid Response Team Quits The Portland Police Rapid Response Team has disbanded itself after a grand jury indicted one of its police officers for allegedly using excessive force by striking an Antifa rioter with his baton. The officers continue working for the Portland Police Department, but are ending their volunteer service with the Rapid Response Team. The police union responded by blasting Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and city officials for “using RRT [Rapid Response Team] members as political pawns.” The union leader said, “Our RRT members do not volunteer to have Molotov cocktails, fireworks, explosives, rocks, bottles, urine, feces and other dangerous objects thrown at them. Nor do they volunteer to have threats of rape, murder and assaults on their families hurled at them. They do not volunteer to suffer serious injuries, to be subjected to warrantless criticism and face allegations by elected officials, or to suffer through baseless complaints and lengthy investigations devoid of due process.” LAW ENFORCEMENT & INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Other Alt-Left Attacks & Investigations In New York City, hundreds of accused rioters and looters have had their charges dropped or reduced.   In Seattle, 10 activists have been arrested for their involvement in trying to prevent an Israeli cargo ship from being unloaded. A coalition of anti-Israel and Antifa activists used physical force, including smashing the window of a car used by a security officer at the port. In Portland, a rioter has been sentenced to five years in prison for lighting a police station on fire during an attack by anti-police extremists who acted in the name of Antifa and Black Lives Matter.  CONGRESS U.S. Security Services Criticized for Failures Related to Jan. 6 Riot Members of Congress say the Capitol Police, FBI and Pentagon are responsible for a "shocking failure" to adequately prepare for the January 6 rally that turned into a riot that targeted the Capitol Building.  An internal Capitol Police document shows that its Civil Disturbance Unit believed that “mass arrests” (arrests of more than 20 people) were not expected, even though the Capitol Police were given intelligence that extremists were preparing to violently target Congress.  A bi-partisan congressional report outlined multiple failures to prepare for the violence and in responding to the riot. LAW ENFORCEMENT & INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Other Alt-Right Attacks & Investigations In New York, a Jewish member of the state legislature received an antisemitic letter with white supremacist rhetoric.  Two members of the neo-Nazi terrorist group “The Base” from Delaware and Maryland pled guilty to committing firearms-related crimes. The Base is linked to Russian intelligence. In Colorado, a racist has pled guilty to stabbing a black man at a fast-food restaurant without provocation because of his skin color.  In Indiana, a white supremacist was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making threats against his black neighbor and illegally possessing firearms. The extremist’s harassment included displaying a swastika, burning a cross, and displaying a machete alongside a sign with racial slurs. In Maine, a neo-Nazi and neo-Confederate who is trying to build a white enclave in the state previously recommended that his fellow extremists shoot truck drivers with sniper rifles in order to bring America “to its knees.”  He previously served in the Marines for four years. In Florida, a white supremacist pled guilty to firearms-related charges. Prosecutors believe he was “on the precipice” of acting violently in the hopes of sparking a war on Jews, blacks and Antifa. A known white supremacist continues to serve in the U.S. Air Force two months after his radicalism was publicly reported. Hostile Foreign Influence Operations SAUL LOEB via Getty Images LAW ENFORCEMENT & INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING Latest Investigations into Hostile Foreign Influence Operations Russia’s propaganda television broadcasted an interview with a self-declared white nationalist who participated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol and who was notoriously pictured in Nancy Pelosi's office.  The interview described him as an “American patriot”. Federal authorities have seized dozens of U.S. websites involved in the Iranian regime’s propaganda efforts, including the state-controlled PressTV. The Justice Department stated that the websites were part of Iran’s efforts to “subvert U.S. democratic processes.”  Professors at the Qatar-based campuses of Northwestern University and Georgetown University issued statements condemning Israel. Uncoincidentally, these campuses are funded by the Qatari regime. QUOTABLE “Today’s right and left wing violent radicals are from the same mold … Both these contemporary extremist movements rely on each other to provide conflict, spectacle and of course nonstop publicity … The root cause of this instability is the idea that the political system itself is illegitimate. “The proper response is not to condemn one group of radicals over another but to see all of them as a direct threat to constitutional government. The real contest is between the vast, law-abiding majority of democratic citizens and these small groups of twisted violent losers parading in the streets with weapons, wearing masks, throwing cement-filled soda cans.” -James S. Robbins, conservative columnist, USA Today       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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