Terrorism

From the Justice Department: Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Robert Fehring pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to mailing more than 20 letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations and businesses. When sentenced, Fehring faces up to five years’ imprisonment. As set forth in the court filings and today’s proceeding, …

Las Vegas’s NBC News affiliate reports: A man was arrested outside of The STRAT on Wednesday after making several bomb threats. According to an arrest report, Brian Gower was wandering through the street near The STRAT threatening to blow up the building. Gower allegedly continued making threats, stating he was Joe Rogan 2.0 and that he “had a grenade in …

The Washington Post reports: D.C. police said they arrested a 16-year-old and charged him with calling in bomb threats at several high schools in the District on Wednesday, forcing the evacuations of hundreds of students and staff from buildings across the city. Dustin Sternbeck, a police spokesman, said the youth is from Southeast Washington and is being charged with making …

Via press release from the White House: Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place. Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader …

CNN reports: Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris drove within several yards of a pipe bomb lying next to a bench outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters on January 6, 2021, and remained inside the DNC for nearly two hours before the bomb was discovered. Details about Harris’ proximity to the pipe bomb and the extended period she remained inside the DNC …

The Associated Press reports: Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in massacres in Norway in 2011, appeared at a parole hearing Tuesday, seemingly more focused on spreading white supremacist propaganda than gaining an improbable early release from prison. Breivik, sporting a stubble beard and a two-piece suit, walked into a prison gymnasium-turned-courtroom with white supremacist messages …

Politico reports: Package delivery giant FedEx wants to equip some of its aircraft with military-style missile countermeasures, which could allow it to continue flying over contested areas that might otherwise be closed to air traffic, according to a filing posted by the FAA. In a notice of this “special condition” posted Friday, the FAA dryly observed that its design standards …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department is forming a new domestic terrorism unit to help combat a threat that has intensified dramatically in recent years, a top national security official said Tuesday. Matthew G. Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, announced the unit in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the …

Denver’s Fox News affiliate reports: Investigators have identified the man who killed five people during a shooting spree in Denver and Lakewood Monday night. Lyndon McLeod, 47, was killed by police at the Belmar shopping center in Lakewood after he carried out shootings in at least six locations. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said McLeod had been on law enforcement …

Deutsche Welle reports: Police in the German state of Saxony raided several locations in Dresden on Wednesday after online threats were made against state premier Michael Kretschmer and other members of the state government. In Dresden, police searched five properties, and another place was being searched in the nearby town of Heidenau. Police have reason to believe the suspects were …

Johnstown’s ABC News affiliate reports: Authorities have provided new details about the investigation into the Westmont Hilltop High School trespassing incident, which they are now calling an alleged school shooting plot. Investigators say as a result of subsequent search warrants, a total of five AR-15 style firearms, a rifle, a shotgun and additional ammunition were seized from the home of …

Long Island’s News12 reports: A 74-year-old Bayport man accused of mailing threatening letters to members of the LGBTQ community on Long Island and in New York City is facing new charges. After facing a federal judge Monday, 74-year-old Robert Fehring surrendered himself to Suffolk police today. Fehring is accused of stealing almost two dozen pride flags back in July from …

From the Department of Justice: A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging Robert Fehring with mailing letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations, and businesses. Fehring was arrested this morning and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke. “As alleged, the defendant’s …

Courthouse News reports: The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that state law grants immunity to gun makers and sellers from lawsuits pertaining to the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert. The court ruled the text of the law and the legislative history shield the gun companies from most liability, even if the guns at issue are proven …

The Associated Press reports: A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with murder, terrorism and other counts for a shooting that killed four fellow students and injured others at Michigan’s Oxford High School. Charges against Ethan Crumbley were announced Wednesday, a few hours after authorities reported the death of a fourth teen from the school in southeastern Michigan. Crumbley is charged …

From the Department of Justice: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MALIK SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Smooth Sanchez,” pled guilty to making a hoax threat to detonate a bomb at a restaurant in the Flatiron neighborhood in New York, New York, on or about February 13, 2021. SANCHEZ pled guilty before United …

CBS News reports: A possible terrorist attack may have been averted on Sunday by a heroic taxi driver in the northern England city of Liverpool. Video shows the moment a taxi pulled up to a hospital in the British city and exploded in a ball of flames. It emerged on Monday that the driver’s quick actions may have prevented a …

ABC News reports: For a month, FBI agents listened in as two members of a white supremacist group discussed their sinister plans: a plot to use a pro-gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, to engage in mass murder and attacks on critical infrastructure, which they believed would mark the start of a racial civil war. Patrik Mathews, a former Canadian …

From the Department of Justice: U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced two members of the racially motivated violent extremist group “The Base” each to nine year in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for firearms and alien-related charges arising from federal charges in Maryland and Delaware. Judge Chuang found that, based on additional evidence presented …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: His guilt was never really in question. Now it’s official. Nikolas Cruz, the man who terrorized Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School just minutes before school let out on Valentine’s Day 2018 slouched before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, flanked by his defense lawyers, and declared himself guilty, one by one, of 17 counts of murder …