Friday, February 25, 2022

CLARION PROJECT

 

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

Iran Nuclear Deal

STR/AFP via Getty Images

U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal Imminent

  • An agreement between Iran and the US could be finalized in Vienna soon to revive the 2015 Iran Deal.

  • President Biden has made restoring the Iran Deal a top foreign-policy goal.

  • Iran’s “breakout time”—the duration needed to amass enough nuclear fuel for a bomb—could fall to as low as six months, down from about a year in the original deal.

  • As part of the deal, Iran is pushing for the removal of the Foreign Terrorist Organizations listing for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mexican Drug Cartel Learning Terror Techniques From Jihadist “Technical Advisors”

  • The powerful Mexican drug cartel Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by its Spanish-language acronym CJNG, is using Middle Eastern “technical advisors” to help them copy al Qaeda-style terrorist tactics.

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism

Oathkeepers Rally

Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Judge Orders Oath Keeper Leader to Remain in Jail

  • A federal judge ordered Oath Keepers founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, to remain in prison until trial, finding there were no conditions of release that could protect public safety.
  • Federal prosecutors revealed Signal app messages from Rhodes in which he allegedly called the January 6 Capitol riot "the final nail in the coffin of our republic" and instructed his followers to prepare for violence.
  • Prosecutors used the messages to successfully convince the judge that Rhodes is too dangerous to be let out of jail while awaiting trial.
  • Rhodes has been in jail since his arrest in mid-January on seditious conspiracy charges relating to his involvement in the January 6 riot.

Black Lives Matter Activist Attempts to Assasinate Jewish Mayoral Candiate

  • Quintez Brown, 21, was arrested after he fired a gun at mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg’s campaign office in Louisville, Ky.
  • The Louisville Community Bail Fund, which is an arm of Black Lives Matter Louisville, posted Brown’s $100,000 bond.
  • Brown, who is a self-proclaimed “Pan-African socialist,” was a rising star in the Black Lives Matter movement, and was honored by Barack Obama in 2019.
  • Brown is being charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment, and is currently on home incarceration.

More Alt-Right Developments

  • Washington D.C. police lieutenant Shane Lamond has been put on leave after allegations that he engaged in improper communications with Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio. The alleged communications in question include Lamond informing Tarrio of the location of counter demonstrators.

More Alt-Left Developments

  • Two suspects are reportedly in custody after a mass shooting at a Portland Antifa gathering in solidarity with Amir Locke, which left one dead and five injured. Police said shooting occurred between an armed protester and an armed neighbor.

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Kenny Holston/Getty Images

Russia Ramps Up Disinformation Campaign Against Ukraine Prior to Invasion

  • Just prior to their invasion, Russian media ramped up disinformation stories depicting the Ukrainian government as being on a genocidal campaign against ethnic Russians in the country, who Moscow has no choice but to swoop in and protect.

Wife of Nuclear Engineer Pleads Guilty to Espionage-Related Charges

  • A Maryland woman, Diana Toebbe, pled guilty to conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships to an undisclosed foreign nation. Toebbe acted as a lookout while her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, left information at a "dead drop" spot.

Research and Analysis

  • The Combat Antisemitism Movement reports that there was a 90 percent increase in antisemitic attacks in America from the same time period last year.
    Read More

  • A recent report from Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism says anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339 percent in 2021, with New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities surpassing their record numbers in 2020.
    Read More
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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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