All posts tagged: extremists

Far-Right Extremists Are LARPing as Emergency Workers in Los Angeles

Far-Right Extremists Are LARPing as Emergency Workers in Los Angeles

Published by skeptic

Extremists including white supremacists and border livestreamers have descended on Los Angeles in the midst of the wildfires there to gain followers, juice social media engagement, solicit donations and, experts claim, recruit new members, while in some cases LARPing as emergency workers. This past weekend Ryan Sánchez and three other members of his Nationalist Network group set up shop at the entrance to Santa Monica Pier. Sánchez, who was caught on video giving a Nazi salute during last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and his crew had driven overnight from Arizona, where they live. Sánchez, who was a member of the now-defunct white supremacist fight club known as the Rise Above Movement, is an ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes and is sometimes known by his online moniker “Culture War Criminal.” Sánchez, who did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment, claims on his social media accounts that his group “got much more support than anticipated” and said that all of the donations were given to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a building said to …

Hindu extremists taking a different approach to force Christians to recant their faith – OpentheWord.org

Hindu extremists taking a different approach to force Christians to recant their faith – OpentheWord.org

Published by skeptic

Credit: Piviso/Flickr/Public Domain Hindu extremists are taking a different approach in India’s Chhattisgarh state to pressure Christians to recant, Morning Star News reports. Those organizing an Ammajugani festival in Kapanar village, which includes festivities and making sacrifices to Hindu gods, said any families with even one Christian member would not be allowed to participate in the festival. This ruling resulted in the murder of Kosa Kawasi, 22, by his uncle and cousin, after 20 villagers confronted Kosa and his wife at their home on May 4, telling them to recant their Christian faith. They were initially kicked and hit with sticks. However, when Kosa refused to renounce his faith, he was stabbed several times by his uncle and cousin. Kosa’s wife and brother, who is also a Christian, were initially able to drag the stricken man away from the mob. However, the uncle and cousin returned with an axe and attacked again, hitting Kosa in the head, and killing him instantly. In the bedlam following the murder, Kosa’s wife and brother were able to escape. …

Young Jewish extremists dream of colonizing Gaza

Young Jewish extremists dream of colonizing Gaza

Published by skeptic

In the hidden parking lot behind the Ashkelon railway station, on the northern coast of the Gaza Strip, a few tired cars turned off their lights. The place was dirty, dark and almost empty. There should have been dozens of vehicles there with people on board who, whether in the West Bank settlers community or the religious Zionist movement, had asserted in the days prior – on far-right WhatsApp groups – that they intended to join an attempt to enter Gaza by force. It was an operation designed to demonstrate their desire to recolonize the enclave that has been devastated by war for over 200 days. Young Israelis near Ashkelon, Israel, April 24, 2024. LUCIEN LUNG/RIVA PRESS FOR LE MONDE In the background, the lights of Ashkelon, Israel, April 24, 2024. LUCIEN LUNG/RIVA PRESS FOR LE MONDE One of the meeting points was set here, in Ashkelon on the night of Wednesday, April 24, in this parking lot, before moving to another gathering place closer to Gaza. From there, the crowd of aspiring recolonizers hoped …

Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church

Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church

Published by Sam

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation. The seven, aged 15 to 17, were part of a network that included a 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church on April 15, police said. Clips of the stabbing were taken from the church service’s livestream and subsequently made the rounds on X. An Australian regulator on Monday ordered the platform to take down the videos, an action the platform is fighting. Other social media companies including Google, Microsoft, Snapchat and TikTok have complied with similar orders. Five other teenagers were still being questioned late Wednesday by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes federal and state police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and the New South Wales Crime Commission, which specializes in extremists and organized …

Ex-minister urges UK to ‘flush out extremists’ in government who back Israeli settlements – POLITICO

Ex-minister urges UK to ‘flush out extremists’ in government who back Israeli settlements – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

Such attacks have spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and its taking of more than 200 hostages. But Duncan, who stepped down as an MP in 2019, claimed Tom Tugendhat, the U.K.’s security minister, disagrees with criticism of Israel’s settlement building — and urged his ouster. “How can you have a security minister in the British government, who does not believe in international law, when all this is going on? I think he should be sacked,” Duncan told LBC. Tugendhat has been contacted by POLITICO for comment. His portfolio as security minister does not cover foreign policy, and he has not publicly spoken out against the U.K. government’s current policy on Israel, which is to condemn illegal settlement building. Duncan also turned his fire on several other prominent Conservative figures in the CFI grouping, urging the House of Lords to remove two Tory peers — Stuart Polak and Eric Pickles — for “exercising the interests of another country, not that of the parliament in which [they] sit.” The ex-minister meanwhile launched a broadside …

Families are pleading for answers after mass kidnapping by extremists

Families are pleading for answers after mass kidnapping by extremists

Published by skeptic

GAMBORU NGALA, Nigeria — One month after suspected Islamist militants abducted more than 100 people in this remote area of northern Nigeria, their families are pressing local authorities for news of the missing — mostly girls and young women — and pleading with foreign governments for help with their rescue. In a dilapidated camp for displaced people, Alkhali Adam, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was kidnapped, said that families are passing sleepless nights and spending their days asking God to return those who were abducted, many of them while collecting firewood. He said government authorities have barred the families of those who were kidnapped from talking about what happened, saying that community leaders should speak for them. “How can you keep quiet if your only son has been kidnapped?” Adam, 40, said in an interview. “I ask the international communities not to forget us … our state is doing nothing, and so their help is important.” A woman named Bintou Mohamed, whose only daughter — 14-year-old Falmata — was among those abducted, said …

Seven soldiers in Chad are killed in an explosion blamed on Boko Haram extremists

Seven soldiers in Chad are killed in an explosion blamed on Boko Haram extremists

Published by skeptic

N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — An explosive device detonated and killed seven soldiers in Chad during a patrol in the country’s west near Lake Chad, the government says. The interim president, Mahamat Deby Itno, announced the deaths Monday on social media. Chadian authorities said they suspected Boko Haram extremists from Nigeria were behind the attack, renewing concerns about an escalation of violence near the border. Boko Haram launched an insurgency more than a decade ago against Western education and seeks to establish Islamic law in Nigeria’s northeast. The insurgency has spread to West African neighbors including Cameroon, Niger and Chad. More than 36,000 people have been killed, mainly in Nigeria, according to the United Nations. Violence has returned to the Lake Chad area after a period of peace following a successful operation launched in 2020 by the Chadian army to destroy the extremist group’s bases there. Schools, mosques and churches have reopened and humanitarian organizations have returned. But there are concerns that a Boko Haram resurgence in Chad could affect the presidential election in May. Deby …

Italy Raises Security After IS-Claimed Russian Concert Hall Attack

Italy Raises Security After IS-Claimed Russian Concert Hall Attack

Published by skeptic

BERLIN —  Italy followed France on Monday in stepping up security following the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall and the claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. The attack renewed attention in Europe on the risk from extremists, and particularly the Central Asian affiliate, as the continent gears up for big events such as the Paris Olympics and the European Championship in Germany. France on Sunday increased its security alert posture to the highest level. In Italy, a national security council meeting Monday resulted in a decision to increase security around Holy Week observances leading up to Easter this weekend. Both surveillance and checks will be increased, “paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets,’’ the Italian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. In Germany, Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke said the threat from Islamic extremists …

Russia adds ‘LGBT movement’ to ‘terrorists and extremists’ blacklist

Russia adds ‘LGBT movement’ to ‘terrorists and extremists’ blacklist

Published by Sam

Russia’s financial watchdog said Friday it had added what it calls the “international LGBT movement” to its list of terrorists and extremists. Issued on: 22/03/2024 – 14:56 1 min The implication of its listing was not immediately clear.  The Rosfinmonitoring watchdog has the power to freeze bank accounts of specific entities named on the list, but did not name any person or organisation on its website. Russia’s Supreme Court declared the movement as “extremist” last November, without saying to whom it referred but effectively banning LGBTQ activism across the country. The Kremlin has taken a conservative turn since launching its offensive in Ukraine two years ago, casting the conflict as a battleground against the West and its ideas. Russia banned what it calls “gay propaganda” among adults in 2022, extending an earlier law that forbade it among minors. That effectively outlawed any representation of “non-traditional sexual relations” in public and in the media. A Russian court on Wednesday ordered two employees of a gay bar to be held in pre-trial detention, accusing them of organising …

Fears government will use new lists of extremists to embarrass Labour | Politics News

Fears government will use new lists of extremists to embarrass Labour | Politics News

Published by Sam

Michael Gove is poised to unveil a new definition of extremism amid jitters in government at his plan. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast discusses the big announcement by Rishi Sunak‘s government this week – designed to update and increase the number of organisations that are classed as “extremist” and put new limits on their activities. Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once ???? Listen above then tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts ???? The plan, …