Terrorism

The Hill reports: Police on Thursday charged a Pennsylvania woman for making terrorist threats after she coughed on grocery store food while claiming to be sick. Margaret Cirko, 35, allegedly “intentionally contaminated” grocery items by coughing and spitting on them, claiming to be sick while attempting to steal a pack of beer, according to the Hanover Township Police Department. The …

ABC News reports: The suspected white supremacist who plotted to bomb a hospital facing the coronavirus crisis was in touch with a then-active U.S. Army soldier who wanted to launch his own attack on a major American news network and discussed targeting a Democratic presidential candidate, according to an FBI alert summarizing the case. On Tuesday, as 36-year-old Timothy Wilson …

The BBC reports: A man accused of deadly attacks on mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch a year ago has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder. Brenton Tarrant, 29, also admitted the attempted murder of another 40 people, and one terrorism charge. He had previously denied the charges and was due to go on trial in June. …

The Associated Press reports: A man fatally injured by the FBI was planning a bomb attack on a medical facility in the Kansas City area, the agency said in a news release Wednesday. Timothy Wilson, 36, was injured Tuesday when FBI agents served a probable cause arrest warrant in Belton after a long-running domestic terrorism investigation, according to a statement …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department’s second-highest ranking official on Tuesday told federal law enforcement officials across the country that they should consider using terrorism laws to investigate and prosecute those who try to intentionally infect others with covid-19. The guidance came in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen [photo], addressing the many potential crimes prosecutors …

NBC News New York reports: New Jersey Homeland Security officials have increased the threat level for white supremacist extremists to its highest level possible, according to a new report. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness has boosted the threat level from white supremacy groups from moderate — where it was listed in 2019 — to high for …

CNN reports: A gunman suspected of shooting nine people dead at two shisha bars in Germany is believed to have a far-right background, prosecutors said Thursday. The attack took place on Wednesday night at multiple locations in Hanau, a city around 25 kilometers (16 miles) east of Frankfurt. Federal prosecutors are treating the mass shooting — one of the deadliest …

Courthouse News reports: The families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting can access the shooter’s computer, part of a deal that won court approval in their suit against gunmaker Remington. Donna Soto, whose daughter was one of the teachers killed attempting to shield her first-grade students from gunman Adam Lanza, is the lead plaintiff in the …

The BBC reports: Members of a far-right group arrested in Germany were planning attacks on mosques, politicians and asylums seekers, local media report. The 12, allegedly belonging to Der harte Kern (The Hard Core), were detained on Friday. Another man believed to be a part of the group is still on the run, according to newspaper Welt am Sonntag. Germany …

The Arizona Republic reports: A man who, motivated by his belief in the wide-ranging conspiracy theory known as QAnon, blocked the bridge near the Hoover Dam with a homemade armored vehicle, has pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat. Matthew Wright, 32, who initially faced charges that could have put him in prison for the rest of his life, pleaded …

NBC News Las Vegas reports: A self-described white supremacist pleaded guilty Monday in Las Vegas to collecting materials and planning to bomb a synagogue or office of the Anti-Defamation League, or shoot people at a fast food restaurant or a bar catering to LGBTQ customers. Conor Climo, 24, stood rigidly in yellow jail scrubs, answering, “Yes, your honor,” while U.S. …

CBS News reports: The FBI has elevated its assessment of the threat posed by racially motivated violent extremists in the U.S. to a “national threat priority” for fiscal year 2020, FBI director Christopher Wray said today. He said the FBI is placing the risk of violence from such groups “on the same footing” as threats posed to the country by …

NBC News reports: U.S. Coast Guard officer accused of stockpiling weapons and compiling a hit list of government and media figures was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison. Federal prosecutors said Lt. Christopher Hasson was inspired by racist murder cases and “intended to exact retribution on minorities and those he considered traitors.” If not for the actions of law …

Reuters reports: Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine black people at a South Carolina church in 2015, has appealed his conviction and death sentence, with lawyers arguing the mentally ill defendant never should have been allowed to represent himself at trial. “This Court should vacate Roof’s convictions and death sentence,” says his appeal, filed with the 4th U.S. …

Reuters reports: British police are to start operational use of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras in London, despite warnings over privacy from rights groups and concerns expressed by the government’s own surveillance watchdog. First used in the capital at the Notting Hill carnival in 2016, the cameras will alert police when they spot anyone on “wanted” lists. “The use of …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: A pastor at a Lutheran church in San Mateo was arrested after allegedly delivering letters full of shooting threats to a San Carlos church where he was formerly a congregation member, authorities said. In four separate instances between Jan. 7 and Jan. 16, Paul Michaelson, 79, dropped off letters to the Holy Trinity Church …

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr declared on Monday that a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., was an act of terrorism, and he asked Apple in an unusually high-profile request to provide access to two phones used by the gunman. Mr. Barr’s appeal was an escalation of an ongoing …

The Washington Post reports: A California woman has been charged with allegedly leaving voice-mail messages threatening to bomb, burn and kill people at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, after the private, Catholic all-girls high school announced plans to include information about same-sex weddings in its alumnae magazine, according to court filings. Sonia Tabizada pleaded not guilty Jan. 3 to federal charges …

The Guardian reports: Law enforcement agencies in several major US cities have issued alerts advising residents to be vigilant in the wake of the US strike against Iran’s top general as officials said they were stepping up security efforts at sensitive locations. Chad Wolf [photo], acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said his agency was working with …

Via press release from the State Department: Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict. U.S. citizens in Iraq are at high risk for violence and kidnapping. Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians. Anti-U.S. sectarian militias may also threaten U.S. citizens and Western companies …