Terrorism

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: A threat posted on social media led the Carnegie Library in Oakland and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to cancel “Drag Queen Story Hour” programs this week. The threat, posted recently on the social media site Reddit, didn’t specifically name the Pittsburgh events but was “alarming enough” to cause the cancellation, said library spokeswoman Suzanne Thinnes. …

“In the past year, there have been seven assassination attempts. But I also realize, if they kill me, that’s probably the stupidest thing they could do to try to end the movement. Because that would make it even more successful in the end. Because it would invigorate us and create f—ing change. Honestly, I realize that it’s horrible that I …

The Associated Press reports: The self-avowed white supremacist who plowed his car into counter demonstrators opposing a white nationalist rally in Virginia two years ago, killing one person and injuring dozens, has asked a judge for mercy and a sentence shorter than life in prison. Lawyers for James Alex Fields Jr., 22, said in a sentencing memo submitted in court …

USA Today reports: A suburban St. Louis man accused of telling organizers of the city’s Pride parade that he would shoot and kill as many gays as possible at the LGBTQ celebration before turning the gun on himself has been charged with making a terrorist threat, according to court documents. Edward Terry, 49, of Overland, was charged Tuesday. Court documents …

From the military blog Task & Purpose: At least one Air Force base is on the lookout for a sinister new threat: angry men who can’t get laid. Personnel at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland were recently treated to a threat brief regarding an “increase in nationwide activity” by self-described “incels,” members of an online subculture of “involuntary celibacy” who …

The Associated Press reports: The father of a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre has won a defamation lawsuit against the authors of a book that claimed the shooting never happened — the latest victory for victims’ relatives who have been taking a more aggressive stance against conspiracy theorists. The book, “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook,” has also …

The Daily Beast reports: A Texas man accused of opening fire outside a Dallas courthouse uploaded right-wing memes to Facebook, including memes about Nazism and the Confederacy. Authorities said Brian Clyde, 22, attacked the Earle Cabell federal courthouse Monday morning before law enforcement killed him. No one else was reported injured. A May 4 post defended Infowars founder Alex Jones …

Reuters reports: The Australian man accused of killing 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in March pleaded not guilty to all charges in a court on Friday. In an attack broadcast live on Facebook, the lone gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons targeted Muslims attending Friday prayers in New Zealand’s worst peace time mass shooting. Brenton Tarrant, 29, appeared …

ABC News reports: An unidentified man is in federal custody after he asked about buying grenades and discussed possibly detonating them in Times Square, according to law enforcement sources. The man was intercepted by federal and local officials, and he posed no imminent threat. He was detected both inquiring about obtaining grenades and discussing using them in Times Square, the …

The Associated Press reports: A Utah man has been arrested on accusations he threatened to kill members of Congress during a three-year stretch with more than 2,000 phone calls to the U.S. Capitol and profanity-laden tirades about Democrats threatening the presidency of Donald Trump. In one call last month, Scott Brian Haven dialed the office of an unnamed U.S. representative …

Just in from Pew Research: Many Americans say the creation and spread of made-up news and information is causing significant harm to the nation and needs to be stopped, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 6,127 U.S. adults conducted between Feb. 19 and March 4, 2019, on the Center’s American Trends Panel. Indeed, more Americans view made-up …

Radio New Zealand reports: The Australian teenager who smashed an egg onto the head of Fraser Anning says he has donated more than $100,000 [$70K USD] to the survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attack. Will Connolly, whose act gained him the nickname Egg Boy on social media, said the money was raised through crowdfunding to cover his legal fees after …

The Washington Post reports: The White House will not sign an international call to combat online extremism brokered between French and New Zealand officials and top social media companies, amid U.S. concerns that it clashes with constitutional protections for free speech. The decision comes as world leaders prepare to announce the so-called “Christchurch call to action” on Wednesday, an effort …

CNN reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she does “not understand” why the United States has not passed stronger gun laws in the aftermath of mass shooting events. Ahead of a summit on online extremism, Ardern was responding to a question by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour asking whether countries can learn from New Zealand. The Prime Minister said guns …

CNN reports: Accused domestic terror plotter Christopher Hasson will not be released from jail ahead of his trial, a Maryland federal judge ruled Monday, vacating the order of another judge who had said last month that Hasson’s continued detention was inappropriate. Hasson, a Coast Guard lieutenant who prosecutors say was a white supremacist that planned to commit a “mass casualty …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: The suspected gunman behind a shooting at the University of North Carolina Charlotte allegedly researched the Sandy Hook school shooting, sources tell a local CBS affiliate. Trystan Terrell, 22, is accused of killing two students and wounding four others on Tuesday. The sources told the television station that Terrell made a full confession to police and …

The Charlotte Observer reports: The 22-year-old Charlotte man accused of shooting six people Tuesday on the Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina is facing two counts of murder, according to the Mecklenburg County jail. Trystan Andrew Terrell was arrested on the campus by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Tuesday after six people were shot on the north Charlotte campus, creating widespread …

The Spokesman-Review reports: The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee unanimously passed a resolution Thursday urging the federal government to reinstate travel privileges for a leader of an Austrian nationalist movement who planned to marry his fiancée, an alt-right YouTube pundit, in Idaho this summer. Martin Sellner, a leader of Generation Identity who campaigns against Islam and mass immigration, said last …

Statement from the family of the San Diego shooter: We are shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue. But our sadness pales in comparison to the grief and anguish our son has caused for so many innocent people. He has killed and injured the faithful who were gathered in a sacred place on …

The BBC reports: Sri Lanka has banned face coverings in public, following a spate of suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 250 people and injured hundreds. President Maithripala Sirisena [photo] said he was using an emergency law to impose the restriction from Monday. Any face garment which “hinders identification” will be banned to ensure security, his office …