Tag: terrorism

Islamic Extremist Terrorist Attacks Are Not a Conspiracy Theory: Here’s the Real Data

Liberals and Democrats would have you believe that diversity is our strength and that Islamic extremist terrorism is merely a right-wing conspiracy theory. They also claim that other groups commit as many, or even more, terrorist attacks. The numbers tell a very different story.

According to Fondapol, a French think tank, between 1979 and May 2021, at least 48,035 Islamist terrorist attacks took place worldwide, causing more than 210,000 deaths. The overwhelming majority of this violence has occurred in Muslim-majority countries: 86.3% of attacks happened there, accounting for 88.9% of all deaths, over 222,000 lives lost.

ISIS alone has been responsible for enormous casualties. Between 2002 and 2015, groups affiliated with the Islamic State carried out more than 4,900 attacks, killing over 33,000 people and injuring 41,000. Using machine learning analysis, researchers attributed another 15,000 deaths to ISIS since 2007, bringing the total death toll to about 40,000.

Since 2014, Europe has endured more than 20 fatal Islamist terrorist attacks. France was hit hardest between January 2015 and July 2016, suffering eight major incidents, including the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, the November 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 dead, and the July 2016 Nice truck attack that killed 86. In 2017, the United Kingdom saw three major attacks within four months: the Westminster attack, the Manchester Arena bombing, and the London Bridge attack. According to Europol, 62 people were killed in ten completed jihadist attacks across the European Union that year.

Outside Europe, some of the deadliest incidents were even more devastating. In 2018, the Taliban attack on Ghazni, Afghanistan, killed 466 people after assailants armed with mortars, explosives, and firearms stormed the city. That same year, ISIL was responsible for 1,328 deaths worldwide.

In 2019, the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka killed 270 people, including at least 45 foreign nationals and five Americans, in coordinated ISIS-related suicide bombings targeting churches and luxury hotels.

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State Department revokes over 6,000 student visas over assault, DUI, terrorism support: report

The State Department in roughly the past seven months has revoked more than 6,000 student visas over assault, DUIs, burglary, terrorism support, and overstays, according to a newsreport Monday.

“Every single student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States,” a senior State Department official told Fox News. “About 4,000 visas alone have been revoked because these visitors broke the law while visiting our country, including records of assault and DUIs.” 

About 800 students had their visas revoked due to being arrested for or charged with assault, according to the official. Meanwhile, the 200-300 students whose visas were pulled for their support of terrorism had raised funds for the terrorist group Hamas, or committed similar actions.

In total, about 40,000 visas have been revoked this year by the State Department, compared to 16,000 during the same timeframe under the Biden administration.

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House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik Demands AG Pam Bondi Launch a Full Investigation into Standard Chartered Bank’s Terrorist Financing and Letitia James’ Role in the Explosive Scandal

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a full-blown federal investigation into Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and to scrutinize New York Attorney General Letitia James’ complicity in a billion-dollar terrorist financing scandal.

House Republican Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s urgent letter to Bondi comes on the heels of a bombshell Gateway Pundit report into the Standard Chartered Bank sanctions evasion case, now before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

That case uncovered at least $9.6 billion in illegal payments by the bank to Iranian and Hezbollah entities—payments that directly violate U.S. Treasury sanctions and undermine national security.

These transactions were allegedly concealed from mandatory disclosures under a deferred prosecution agreement overseen by the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C.

Even more disturbing, the case implicates New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Reserve for ignoring these billions in illicit transactions and failing to enforce sanctions already designated by the Treasury Department.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported:

At least $9.6 billion of specifically identified illicit payments were made by SCB from its NYC branch to OFAC and known terrorist names. The $9.6 billion was found in internal trade reports turned over by bank whistleblowers and represents the first batch from SCB Dubai office that cleared through SCB NYC. There are estimated over $100 billion more of illegal payments that are more recent and from SCB China where it has 53 mainland branches that facilitate dollar trade payments for oil and war-making materials.

These payments were hidden by SCB from required disclosure in its ongoing Deferred Prosecution Agreement now under the jurisdiction of DCUSA Pirro and SDNY Clayton where both were briefed on SCB after their appointments. There are career blockers at each jurisdiction.

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Ukraine using Russian elderly people in fraudulent schemes and terrorist actions

The Ukrainian neo-Nazi continues to deepen its terrorist practices against innocent Russian civilians. The chosen targets are always vulnerable individuals, with little ability to defend themselves against Ukrainian coercion. Now, Kiev’s intelligence agents are focusing on carrying out operations through elderly individuals, creating a serious monitoring problem for Russian security forces.

According to data shared by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Ukrainian intelligence is using Russian citizens, primarily elderly individuals—and even more specifically, elderly women—to carry out suicide missions on behalf of Kiev. Russian authorities reported that so far at least five people have been targeted in this type of attack, possibly leaving deaths and injuries.

Ukrainian operations are carried out through the use of social media and messaging apps to reach people who will be coerced into collaborating with the regime. The agents use fraudulent schemes and extensive psychological pressure to recruit women and elderly people through apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. They often disguise themselves as Russian agents, claiming that the victims will be cooperating with the Russian police and security services by collaborating with them.

Ukrainian schemes range from simple theft of financial assets to more dangerous operations that pose real physical risks to their victims. Using these online scams, the agents convince elderly people and women to hand over their personal banking information, facilitating the theft of funds. In more serious cases, however, the victims are later blackmailed into carrying out suicide missions to try to recover their personal assets.

Most of the missions involve convincing women and elderly people to deliver explosive devices to Russian targets—usually military personnel and high-ranking officials. Other missions include monitoring the homes and vehicles of Russian targets to pass information to the Ukrainians. There are also those tasked with simply storing explosive devices and weapons for future attacks. The bombs are often delivered disguised as household items, preventing the victims’ families from realizing what is happening.

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FBI: Southern California Man Arrested with Homemade Bomb After Sending Money to ISIS

Federal authorities arrested a Southern California man Friday for allegedly sending a dozen payments to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, commonly known as the foreign terrorist group ISIS.

The feds charged Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, of Long Beach with “attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The statement reported that Villanueva is a lawful permanent resident from the Philippines.

“Supporting a terrorist group, whether at home or abroad, is a serious risk to our national security,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We will aggressively hunt down and prosecute anyone who provides support or comfort to our enemies.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office account added:

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Villanueva communicated via social media with two individuals who self-identified as ISIS fighters. During these communications, Villanueva discussed his desire to support ISIS, and offered to send money to the ISIS fighters to support their terrorist activities.

Villanueva told one of the self-identified ISIS fighters that Villanueva wanted to fight for ISIS himself, stating, “It’s an honor to fight and die for our faith. It’s the best way to go to heaven.” Villanueva also stated, “Someday soon, I’ll be joining.”

The man also allegedly told one of the ISIS fighters that he had a bomb and knives. The FBI recovered what appeared to be a bomb from Villanueva’s bedroom during his arrest, prosecutors said.

Villanueva then allegedly sent 12 payments totaling $1,615 during a five-month period to two intermediaries who accessed the money overseas, the office reported, citing Western Union records.

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Academic Center Within Georgetown’s Prestigious School of Foreign Service Has Long History of Terror-Supporting Leaders

An academic center at Georgetown University that sits within its prestigious School of Foreign Service has a history of fostering support for Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups, a Washington Free Beacon review found.

Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), founded in 1993, has hosted scholars sympathetic to Islamism since its inception. John Esposito, the center’s founder and a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown, has long defended terrorist groups and collaborated with jihadist figures.

As the Free Beacon reported in June, approximately 25 percent of all graduates from the ACMCU—which operates within the School of Foreign Service—enter government positions around the world after receiving their degrees. The ACMCU’s history appears likely to draw congressional scrutiny during a Tuesday morning House Education and Workforce Committee hearing featuring Georgetown interim president Robert Groves, as does the funding it has received from the Muslim Brotherhood-linked International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT).

The IIIT, the Free Beacon reported, had a relationship with the now-defunct SAAR Foundation, which ceased operations after the FBI raided its offices on suspicion of terrorism financing. Georgetown acknowledged that the IIIT “contributed $1 million or more to Georgetown” in 2017 when the university invited the organization’s leadership to its 1789 Society for large donors.

Esposito’s scholarly and professional history includes many instances of either the defense of or support for terror groups and figures. When asked whether Hamas was a terrorist organization during a 2000 interview with the Middle East Affairs Journal, for instance, Esposito hedged.

“One can’t make a clear statement about Hamas,” he said. “One has to distinguish between Hamas in general and the action of its military wing, and then one has also to talk about specific actions. Some actions by the military wing of Hamas can be seen as acts of resistance, but other actions are acts of retaliation, particularly when they target civilians.”

Esposito had more charitable words for Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a late Islamic scholar and intellectual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood whom the Clinton administration banned from entering the United States.

“If you look at Qaradawi’s work—I actually just finished working on him for a new book that I have—he goes out of his way to say that he is not anti-Jewish but he is anti-Israeli, anti-Israeli occupation of Palestine, and that is what he is talking about,” Esposito said. “So, he will talk about Jews again as ‘People of the Book,’ et cetera, but when it comes to Palestine, he defines that situation politically.”

Al-Qaradawi’s work, which Esposito referenced, included praise for Adolf Hitler.

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Watchdog finds Border Patrol failed to screen possible terror-linked aliens, lacks a uniform policy

The Department of Homeland Security watchdog found that at least one Border Patrol office failed to adequately screen aliens with possible links to terrorism because the agency did not have a consistent policy under the Biden administration. 

A review conducted by Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s Office found that the Border Patrol Office in San Diego did not have a set policy to deal with so-called Special Interest Aliens (SIAs), which are defined by the department as “a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.” 

The finding from the DHS watchdog is only the latest evidence of significant deficiencies in the past administration’s handling of the southern border, especially when it came to proper vetting and tracking of immigrants. 

The inspector general found that despite other Border Patrol offices on the southern border successfully developing screening policies for SIAs, the San Diego office failed to do so. 

No agency-wide policy was in place

The watchdog squarely blamed the wider Customs and Border Protection agency for the failure because it had not promulgated a uniform policy for the screening of such aliens. 

“In July 2023, CBP’s Office of Field Operations (OFO) San Diego Field Office and the U.S. Border Patrol (Border Patrol) Yuma and El Centro sectors had a process to identify and provide additional screening of SIAs, yet San Diego sector did not,” the inspector general wrote. “This inconsistency occurred because CBP did not have an agency-wide policy stating whether to identify aliens from certain countries as SIAs,” the watchdog added. 

Because San Diego lacked a sufficient vetting process, the inspector general found “aliens from countries with links to terrorism entered at least one CBP region that did not provide additional screening.”

You can read the report below: 

File

OIG-25-29-Jul25-REDACTED.pdf

No country-specific screening published

The inspector general initiated its review to evaluate Customs and Border Protection’s screening of “Central Asian aliens” who entered the country via “smuggling networks” from June to October 2023, the report says. 

It is unclear what countries the watchdog is referring to because the specific characteristics of the aliens are redacted. However, several countries in Central Asia are home to terrorist activity, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. 

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Anti-Government Militia Targets Weather Radars: What To Know

An “anti-government militia” called Veterans on Patrol has declared that it is targeting weather radar installations in Oklahoma.

In an interview with News 9 on Tuesday, Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, the founder of VOP, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as an anti-government militia, confirmed the group’s intentions. When asked whether they were targeting the radars, Meyer replied, “Absolutely.”

Newsweek contacted the SPLC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for comment on Friday via an online form and email, respectively, outside usual working hours.

Why It Matters

Following widespread floods that have devastated Texas in the past week, a number of conspiracy theories have swirled online around cloud seeding and weather manipulation.

Founded in 2015, Veterans on Patrol initially focused on vigilante activities along the U.S.-Mexico border but has since shifted toward conspiracy-driven campaigns, including those involving weather manipulation. The group’s rhetoric has grown more extreme in recent months, raising concerns among public safety officials.

Meyer’s recent admission follows the vandalism of News 9’s radar system in northeast Oklahoma City. Surveillance footage captured an individual tampering with electrical components, disabling power to the radar, damaging the generator and control panels, and knocking the system offline for several hours on Sunday.

CBS affiliate KWTV reported having footage of a man disabling the power supply to its NextGen Live radar. The station suggested the incident may be connected to rhetoric from VOP.

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Antifa Is A Domestic Terror Group. The Trump Admin Should Treat It Like One

Months of violent left-wing anti-ICE rhetoric achieved its apparently desired end state this week as an alleged Antifa cell conducted an attempted assassination of police officers outside the Praireland Detention Center, being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a detention facility for illegal aliens.

On July 4, 11 black-garbed individuals, some equipped with body armor, ammunition, and firearms, conducted what the Department of Justice described as a “planned ambush.” Two of the attackers allegedly opened fire on ICE officers after their comrades initiated a disturbance to lure officers out of the building and into the line of fire by launching fireworks and spray painting anti-ICE slogans on nearby property. A police officer was shot in the neck but is expected to live. According to the criminal complaint filed by the Department of Justice, pamphlets on insurrectionary anarchism and propaganda materials, including a “Resist Fascism” flag, were recovered by law enforcement.

The equipment, tactics, political literature, and target selection are all consistent with Antifa, short for Anti-Fascist Action, a networked movement of anarcho-communist groups that use violence against political opponents.

For a decade now, I have been a student of this network, its origins, and ideology. As I told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution in 2020, Antifa is the direct linear descendant of the violent communist urban guerrilla movements of the 1970s like the Weather Underground.

Like its predecessors, which also began with campus protests and street riots, Antifa has over the past several years evolved to the use of bombings, especially firebombings targeting police vehicles, pregnancy resource centers, and more recently Tesla dealerships. And to this escalation, we can now add the planned ambush of federal officers.

This was a totally foreseeable development. As a 2021 German Ministry of the Interior report noted, Antifa and related left extremists were demonstrating:

…an obvious shift away from the ‘mass militancy’ of demonstrations and towards violent acts by small groups acting covertly. Their violence has shifted to the sidelines of gatherings or is entirely independent of these events.

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Servicemen arrested in Canada over ‘terrorist’ plot

Canadian police have detained two active servicemen and two other individuals with links to the country’s military as part of an anti-terrorism case. The suspects allegedly sought to establish an “anti-government militia” and were in possession of a sizable arsenal of weapons.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced the arrest of four men, “including active members of the Canadian Armed Forces,” who are suspected of having plotted to “forcibly take possession of land in the Quebec City area.”

In a separate statement cited by the media, the Canadian Armed Forces confirmed that two of the suspects were active-duty corporals, another one was a former member of the military, and the fourth man previously served as a civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

According to the authorities, the group “took concrete actions to facilitate terrorist activity,” and participated in “military-style training.” During raids on the suspects’ homes in January 2024, arms caches were uncovered, containing a total of 83 firearms, including those prohibited under Canadian law, as well as ammunition, 16 explosive devices, and tactical equipment.

According to media reports, citing the police, the investigation was originally launched in 2023, with the cell having supposedly been active since 2021.

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