Friday, July 8, 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 Extremism

Order of the Nine Angles Symbol

Kristopher Sean Matthews, aka Ali Jibreel - Kirshaw County Detenion Center via San Antonio Express News

Two More ISIS Supporters Convicted and Sentenced

  • Kristopher Sean Matthews, aka Ali Jibreel, 36, of South Carolina, and Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim, 24, of Cost, Texas,  were convicted of providing services to ISIS by administering an encrypted, members-only chat group for ISIS supporters.

  • Jibreel was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Rahim was sentenced to 18 years.  Read More

US/Iranian Citizen Convicted of Providing Technology to Iran

  • A dual citizen of the United States and Iran pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods, technology and services to the Government of Iran.

  • According to court documents, Kashani and his co-conspirators used two United Arab Emirates companies to evade U.S. export laws.

  • Kashani faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and he has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine. Read More

Alt-Right & Alt-Left Extremism

Boogaloo Boi Steven Carrillo

A fight breaks out as white supremacist group The Patriot Front marches thru Boston on July 2, 2022 - Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Patriot Front Marches Through Boston

  • About 100 members of the group Patriot Front marched through downtown Boston carrying police shields and flags bearing the group's emblem.
  • One individual claimed to have been assaulted by members of the group, several of whom have been charged with assault.
  • Thirty-one members of Patriot Front were recently arrested after being caught planning to riot at a Pride event in Idaho.  Read More

Far-Left Riots in Akron, Ohio

  • On July 3, far-left rioters gathered in downtown Akron, Ohio following the shooting death of Jayland Walker by Akron police.
  • Rioters caused “significant property damage,” setting fires and using bats to smash out windows across the downtown area.
  • The Mayor of Akron, Dan Horrigan, declared a state of emergency and canceled the city's Fourth of July celebration in response to the violence.
  • Roughly 50 people were arrested.  Read More


More News From the Alt-Right

  • Thomas Develin, 24, of Columbus, Ohio, a former member of the Ohio National Guard, was arrested on charges related to making and selling 3D printed “ghost guns.” According to an affidavit, Develin’s social media activity included a large quantity of antisemitic, white nationalist and misogynistic content.  Read More
  • See article below on the growing problem of 3D-printed guns in the hands of extremists.

More News From the Alt-Left

  • A group of rioters in Portland, Ore., smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on downtown businesses as part of protests across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade.  Read More

Hate Crime

BDS Map - Massachusetts Jewish Institutions

Islamic crescent sign at N.Y. mosque being firebombed - ABC7 NY

  • An Islamic sign in front of the Fatima Al-Zahra mosque in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. was firebombed. No injuries were reported and only the sign was damaged. Police are investigating it as a hate crime.  Read More

  • Dylan J. Kesterson, 34, of Portland, Ore. has been charged after attacking a man and his 5-year-old daughter because he thought they were of Japanese descent.  Read More

Hostile Foreign Influence Operations

Russian Academy of Sciences

TikTok App in the IOS App Store - Katja Knupper/Die Fotowerft/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

FCC Commissioner Wants TikTok Removed

  • Brendan Carr, one of the FCC’s commissioners, sent a letter to Apple and Google’s CEOs calling on them to remove the popular video app TikTok from their app stores over China-related data security concerns.
  • In his letter, Carr describes TikTok as a “sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.”  Read More

Two US Homeland Security Workers Charged With Spying for China

  • US prosecutors charged two men tied to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of what federal law enforcement officials called a "transnational repression scheme" on behalf of the Chinese government to spy on and harass dissidents living in the United States.  Read More

National Security Concerns Arise From Chinese Farmland Purchase

  • Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group bought 300 acres of land in North Dakota to set up a milling plant. National security concerns were raised because the property is located 20 minutes away from Grand Forks Air Force Base — home to some of the nation’s most sensitive military drone technology.  Read More

Research & Trends in Extremism

Haiitian migrants crossing Mexico-US border

Cover page of CYTREC investigative report via Resolve Network

How ISIS Exploits the Use of File-Sharing Platforms

  • A report from the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) at Swansea University investigated ISIS supporters’ use of file-sharing sites to share their propaganda, and how to combat the sites’ exploitation by extremists.  Read More

The Use of 3D-Printed Guns by Terrorists and Extremists

  • Over the past three years, the threat of extremists and terrorists making 3D-printed guns has changed from hypothetical to real.  
  • Since 2019, there have been at least nine examples of mostly right-wing extremists or paramilitaries making, or attempting to make, 3D-printed guns.  Read More

QUOTABLE
“Freedom of speech is not just another freedom or right among many.  Nor is it just viewpoint diversity... It's the mechanism that allows us to organize our experience of the world.”


--Jordan Peterson

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment