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China Committed to Spreading COVID-19 Disinformation

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China Committed to Spreading COVID-19 Disinformation

As distribution of COVID-19 vaccines begins in the United Kingdom and United States, China continues to shift blame for concealing the virus’ severity by disseminating new falsehoods about its origins and misrepresenting scientific and medical experts. These attempts to discredit verified facts can be replicated to target the reliability of vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Such efforts could dissuade segments of the population from receiving inoculations, increasing infections and mortality rates in the United States.

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Al-Qa’ida Suffers Leadership Losses in Iran and Mali

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Al-Qa’ida Suffers Leadership Losses in Iran and Mali

Recent losses in al-Qa’ida’s leadership will not hinder the overall operational tempo of the terrorist organization due to its formal structure and the increasing independence of its affiliates. Al-Qa’ida anticipates losing leaders and usually chooses successors far in advance. NJOHSP assesses these deaths will not impact the group’s long-term capabilities, owing to its decentralized leadership structure and ability to encourage followers to conduct external attacks in the West.

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Anti-Government Extremists Target Law Enforcement

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Anti-Government Extremists Target Law Enforcement

Anti-government and militia extremists will likely continue targeting law enforcement officers due to the perception that they are enforcing unconstitutional laws and regulations. Since the beginning of 2020, these extremists have targeted law enforcement officers at least five times, resulting in two deaths and two injuries.

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Domestic Extremists Respond to Ongoing Electoral Process

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Domestic Extremists Respond to Ongoing Electoral Process

Domestic extremists have continued to push divisive rhetoric, incite calls for violence, and attempt to mobilize supporters through protests or demonstrations following the Presidential election. Until election results are formally certified, uncertainties surrounding the electoral process will fuel conspiracies and motivate violent action from far-left and far-right extremist groups. Extremists will capitalize on election civil unrest to heighten their visibility and promote polarization among the American public.

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ISIS Supporter Conducts Mass Casualty Attack in Vienna

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ISIS Supporter Conducts Mass Casualty Attack in Vienna

On November 2, Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20-year-old man with dual citizenship from Austria and North Macedonia, killed four people and injured at least 22 in an attack that began outside of a closed synagogue in Vienna, Austria. The attack occurred at six locations in the city center of Vienna starting at about 8 p.m. local time. Initially, law enforcement believed the gunman, known to Austrian authorities as an ISIS sympathizer, was part of a coordinated attack with additional shooters still at large; however, authorities now believe he was a lone offender.

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Jihadists Target French Citizens in Retaliation for Satirical Cartoon

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Jihadists Target French Citizens in Retaliation for Satirical Cartoon

On October 29, an attacker killed three French citizens, including a woman who was beheaded, at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in the southern French city of Nice. This is the fourth incident where Salafi-jihadists targeted and killed French civilians since September and follows President Emmanuel Macron’s defense of a satirical cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed. On the same day as the attack at the basilica, a man was arrested after stabbing a security guard with a knife at the French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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Opposition to COVID Restrictions Motivates Militia Extremists

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Opposition to COVID Restrictions Motivates Militia Extremists

Militia extremists arrested between October 7 and 15 for violent plots targeting government officials were primarily motivated by their opposition to government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions. The FBI charged six individuals with plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The state’s attorney general charged seven others with threatening public officials and supporting plans for terrorist acts, while an eighth individual faces only the latter charge.

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Seized Iranian Websites Reveal Online Threat Tactics

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Seized Iranian Websites Reveal Online Threat Tactics

The US Department of Justice’s seizure of websites belonging to Iranian supporters and foreign terrorist organizations reveals tactics that include covertly managing Internet domain names to spread disinformation about US domestic and foreign policies. In October, the US Department of Homeland Security assessed that Iran continues to present a cyber espionage threat and its supporters are employing inauthentic social media networks, proxy news websites, and state media outlets.

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White Racially Motivated Extremists Remain Resilient

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White Racially Motivated Extremists Remain Resilient

Despite setbacks, white racially motivated extremists (WRMEs) will likely continue to operate internationally due to social media platform migration, exploitation of high-profile events, and online anonymity. Since 2017, WRMEs have conducted and plotted attacks while suffering mass arrests, infighting, group disbandments, and social media profile removals that should have hindered operational capabilities.

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Knife Attack in Reading, England, a Possible Terrorist Incident

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Knife Attack in Reading, England, a Possible Terrorist Incident

On June 20, Khairi Saadallah fatally stabbed three individuals, including an American citizen, and wounded three others at a park in Reading, England. Saadallah, 25, entered the park around 7 p.m. (local time), a few hours after a Black Lives Matter protest ended, and approached a group of people, allegedly shouted unintelligible words, and then attacked them with a knife. He was arrested on scene following the attack.

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Boogaloo Movement Gains Traction Amid Civil Unrest

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Boogaloo Movement Gains Traction Amid Civil Unrest

Boogaloo-affiliated anti-government extremists are likely leveraging the current civil unrest across the United States to expand their movement beyond the Internet, recruit new members, and conduct real-world action. Similar to the rise of the alt-right in 2017, the Boogaloo movement originated and primarily functioned online. Recently, members have started operating nationwide, resulting in several deaths, injuries, and arrests.

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Al-Qa’ida’s Online Magazine Vilifies US Values

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Al-Qa’ida’s Online Magazine Vilifies US Values

In the June edition of al-Qa’ida’s English-language online extremist magazine, One Ummah, the group devotes three sections to disparaging US society, economic policies, and treatment of the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. While al-Qa’ida seeks to recruit supporters by criticizing US culture and mentions how a New Jersey nursing home failed to protect the elderly, the group does not supply supporters with any lone offender tactics to conduct an attack.

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Anarchist Extremists Among ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Seattle

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Anarchist Extremists Among ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Seattle

A collective of protesters, including self-identified anarchist extremists and those affiliated with Antifa, continue to demonstrate against the Seattle Police Department through the occupation of a six-block area of the Capitol Hill neighborhood known as the “Autonomous Zone.” In an effort to de-escalate tensions after days of violent clashes between police and protesters, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan ordered officers to leave the East Precinct and reduce their presence in the area to avoid further heated confrontations. Historically, the Pacific Northwest region has a range of domestic extremist groups that promote violence and destruction in order to further their ideologies.

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HVEs to Continue Targeting Uniformed Officers

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HVEs to Continue Targeting Uniformed Officers

Homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) continue to act in support of foreign terrorist organizations as government officials respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide protests attended by the public, and the 2020 elections. Since January, six HVEs have been identified, including two arrested for providing material support, one for plotting an attack, and three for targeting and injuring law enforcement and military personnel amid recent events.

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Violent Islamist Extremists Promote US Social Tensions

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Violent Islamist Extremists Promote US Social Tensions

International Islamist extremists and terrorist groups continue to publish propaganda about US racial and political tensions to proliferate their deception that America is a corrupt state. While US domestic policies are not a focus of these groups’ ideologies, their propaganda is part of a larger campaign to discredit the United States and motivate residents to accept their violent extremism and encourage supporters to conduct terrorist attacks.

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Anarchist Extremists Support Violent Tactics

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Anarchist Extremists Support Violent Tactics

In 2020, anarchist extremists will continue to attack government institutions; use violent counter-protest tactics against adversarial groups, including law enforcement; and target political figures representing disparate views. Due to the current COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in many states, anarchist extremists have lacked a significant opportunity to participate in direct action. The nationwide protests resulting from the death of George Floyd have given Antifa-affiliated anarchist extremists the opportunity to infiltrate protests in order to further their violent ideology.

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Iranian Hackers Committed to Exploiting US Servers

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Iranian Hackers Committed to Exploiting US Servers

Iranian hackers are using vulnerable US and private-sector computer servers and networks to conceal cyber attacks, steal proprietary information, and disrupt critical infrastructure. In January, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence affirmed that Iran continues to present a cyber espionage threat using increasingly sophisticated techniques.

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Attack on Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi

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Attack on Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi

On May 21, Adam Alsahli, a 20-year-old from Corpus Christi, Texas, tried to speed through security gates at 6:15 a.m. (local time) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas. Alsahli opened fire and wounded a member of base security who was wearing a bulletproof vest. She rolled over and hit a switch that raised a security barrier, preventing Alsahli from getting onto the base. Other security personnel shot and killed him.