Tag:

Terrorism

Hamas Releases Harrowing Video Of Bergen County Hostage Edan Alexander Pleading For Freedom Hamas Releases Harrowing Video Of Bergen County Hostage Edan Alexander Pleading For Freedom
Hamas Releases Harrowing Video Of Bergen County Hostage Edan Alexander Pleading For Freedom For the first time since his abduction by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, New Jersey's Edan Alexander has appeared in a video released by the terrorist group. The harrowing footage, shared on Saturday, Nov. 30, shows the 20-year-old Israeli-American, who hails from Tenafly, crying and pleading for his life in a message directed to Israeli and American leaders. Speaking in both Hebrew and English, Alexander states he has been held hostage for more than 420 days. “It’s time to put an end to this nightmare,” he says in an emotional appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Click here to wat…
Somerset County Man Tried Donating To Hamas, Threatened To Kill Israelis: Feds Somerset County Man Tried Donating To Hamas, Threatened To Kill Israelis: Feds
Somerset County Man Tried Donating To Hamas, Threatened To Kill Israelis: Feds A 25-year-old Somerset County man was sentenced on Monday, Sept. 30, to 64 months in prison, time served, after he pleaded guilty to concealing his attempts to provide support to Hamas, authorities said. Jonathan Xie, a Basking Ridge resident, admitted to sending money to Hamas to fund violent acts against Israeli civilians while brandishing a gun and holding a Hamas flag on an Instagram Live stream, US Attorney Phillip Sellinger said. He had pleaded guilty in 2020 and was being held without bail. In December 2018, Xie sent $100 via Moneygram to an individual in Gaza he believed was a membe…
NJ Teen Recruited Undercover Agent To Blow Up PSE&G Facilities, Nabbed At Newark Airport: Feds NJ Teen Recruited Undercover Agent To Blow Up PSE&G Facilities, Nabbed At Newark Airport: Feds
NJ Teen Recruited Undercover Agent To Blow Up PSE&G Facilities, Nabbed At Newark Airport: Feds A teenager from Middlesex County is facing federal charges for asking an undercover agent to destroy PSE&G electrical facilities in New Jersey, officials announced this week. Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, was arrested Wednesday, July 10 at Newark Liberty International Airport where he was planning to travel to Paris on his way to Ukraine, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Takhistov is charged with one count of soliciting another individual to engage in criminal conduct that involved destroying a public service enterprise group circuit breaker and substation, fede…
Antisemitic Carjacker Pleads Guilty To 2022 Jersey Shore Rampage: Prosecutors Antisemitic Carjacker Pleads Guilty To 2022 Jersey Shore Rampage: Prosecutors
Antisemitic Carjacker Pleads Guilty To 2022 Jersey Shore Rampage: Prosecutors A Manchester Township man admitted to a series of antisemitic attacks in Ocean County that hospitalized three people, including an Orthodox Jewish man who was stabbed, authorities said. Dion Marsh, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of terrorism on Wednesday, Jan. 24, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billheimer announced. Prosecutors will seek a 30-year state prison sentence without parole for Marsh. Billhimer praised police for potentially saving lives and reiterated that hate does not belong in Ocean County. "The evidence marshaled through the course of this investigation led us to the unmis…
FBI: New Jersey Man Seized Overseas After Threatening American Jihad FBI: New Jersey Man Seized Overseas After Threatening American Jihad
FBI: New Jersey Man Seized Overseas After Threatening American Jihad A New Jersey man motivated by the Hamas attack on Israel was captured in Kenya after he aspired to be "a martyr for the jihadist cause" and dedicated himself to joining a terrorist group tied to al-Qaida, federal authorities charged. Karrem Nasr, 23, moved from the Trenton suburb of Lawrenceville to Egypt in July hoping to connect with the Somali-based al-Shabab, they said. He intended to "receive military training and engage in jihad" against the United States and its allies and was "prepared to kill and be killed" for the cause, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in Brooklyn on Friday, De…
Ex-Stockbroker Who Left Wife, Child To Become ISIS Sniper Sentenced To Life Plus 70 Years Ex-Stockbroker Who Left Wife, Child To Become ISIS Sniper Sentenced To Life Plus 70 Years
Ex-Stockbroker Who Left Wife, Child To Become ISIS Sniper Sentenced To Life Plus 70 Years UPDATE: A former stockbroker who abandoned Wall Street and his loved ones to become a sniper and instructor for ISIS was sentenced to life plus 70 years in federal prison on Tuesday, the government announced. Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, 47, reportedly grinned, stroked what is now a thick beard and flashed a thumbs-up sign during the sentencing in U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn on Oct. 17. There was no surprise there: To the end, Asainov proclaimed his pride in fighting with ISIS and teaching young student militants in Syria to kill for their beliefs. “He chose t…
19-Year-Old Israeli Soldier From Bergen County Missing After Attacks: Gov. Murphy 19-Year-Old Israeli Soldier From Bergen County Missing After Attacks: Gov. Murphy
19-Year-Old Israeli Soldier From Bergen County Missing After Attacks: Gov. Murphy A 19-year-old man from Bergen County is among the Americans reported missing in Israel among the Hamas attacks, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. Edan Alexander, a graduate of Tenafly High School, was serving in the Israeli Defense Forces' Golani Brigade near the Gaza Strip and has not been heard from since the attacks on Saturday, Oct. 7, Murphy said at a vigil in Hoboken on Tuesday, Oct. 10. "To every New Jerseyan with friends or loved ones in Israel and the Mideast region, please know that your neighbors—here, and across the nation—stand with you," Murphy said. "We will do everything we …
'Frightened Faces': Sen. Cory Booker In Israel Describes Horror During Surprise Hamas Attacks 'Frightened Faces': Sen. Cory Booker In Israel Describes Horror During Surprise Hamas Attacks
'Frightened Faces': Sen. Cory Booker In Israel Describes Horror During Surprise Hamas Attacks US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey is safe, but he'll never be able to shake the horror he saw this weekend. The Harrington Park, New Jersey native posted a YouTube video, his backdrop the Old City in Jerusalem, on Sunday, Oct. 8.  Booker said he was jogging in Jerusalem on Saturday, Oct. 7, when he got an urgent call from his chief of staff, telling him to get back to the hotel immediately: Israel was under attack. Hamas, which controls Gaza, launched a surprise attack on Israel, wounding thousands and killing hundreds in the longtime conflict. “Citizens of Israel," Israeli P…
NYC 'Prophet Of Doom' Subway Shooter Sentenced To 10 Life Terms Plus 10 Years NYC 'Prophet Of Doom' Subway Shooter Sentenced To 10 Life Terms Plus 10 Years
NYC 'Prophet Of Doom' Subway Shooter Sentenced To 10 Life Terms Plus 10 Years UPDATE: A man who admitted that he intended to cause mass harm when he opened fire on a packed New York City subway train last year was sentenced to 10 life sentences -- one for each victim -- plus 10 years in prison. No one was killed in the horrific attack by Frank James, 62, which left the victims strewn across a smoky 36th Street platform in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn while igniting underground terror at the height of the morning rush on April 12, 2022. James took a deal from federal prosecutors rather than risk the consequences of a guilty verdict at a jury trial. The heavyse…
'Welcome To The Jungle' Blasts From Vehicle Plowed Through NJ Police Station (VIDEO) 'Welcome To The Jungle' Blasts From Vehicle Plowed Through NJ Police Station (VIDEO)
'Welcome To The Jungle' Blasts From Vehicle Plowed Through NJ Police Station (Video) A New Jersey man was arrested and charged with terrorism after authorities say he intentionally crashed a car into a home and the Independence Township Police Department, authorities said. Video released by the Warren County Prosecutor's Office shows John Hargreaves slamming his vehicle through the exterior of the ITPD station. The vehicle comes to a rest inside the squad room, where Hargreaves emerges proudly from his gold Toyota SUV with his hands in the air on Wednesday evening, Sept. 20. Officers can be seen walking Hargreaves across the squad room and placing him in handcuff…
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury A college student from Saudi Arabia who stole a school bus in Livingston, NJ, and drove it nearly 60 miles to Stroudsburg, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury, authorities said. Bader Alzahrani, a 22-year-old divorced sophomore who attends an undisclosed college, broke into a vacant home across the street from a Livingston Board of Education parking lot on Hill Side Avenue where the bus was parked on Jan. 15, the indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark says. The district reported the bus stolen two days later. Police found a backpack with a Saudi Arabian passport bea…
'I Am The Attacker': Former High School Student Admits Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ 'I Am The Attacker': Former High School Student Admits Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ
'I Am The Attacker': Former High School Student Admits Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ A 19-year-old New Jersey man faces up to five years in federal prison after admitting that he posted threats to a synagogue and Jewish people. Omar Alkattoul of Sayreville posted a manifesto last Nov. 1 in a forum frequented by extremists that included a claim of an attack that he said had already occurred. This triggered instant alarms because active shooters in certain instances have done the same just before carrying out fatal missions across the U.S. Alkattoul frightened Jews statewide, sparked a surge of law enforcement tactical protection at their houses of worship and prompted the F…
NJ Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Federal Prison NJ Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Federal Prison
NJ Man Who Scouted Landmarks As Terror Targets Gets 12 Years In Federal Prison UPDATE: A convicted New Jersey “sleeper agent” for Hezbollah who scoped out potential terrorism targets in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Alexei Saab, a 45-year-old software developer who lived in Morristown, must serve just about all of the sentence delivered in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, May 23, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Saab kept up appearances as an ordinary American citizen while working for Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) from 2000 to 2005, federal prosecutors said. Dur…
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Kept Anti-Semitic Journals: Feds Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Kept Anti-Semitic Journals: Feds
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Kept Anti-Semitic Journals: Feds A college student from Saudi Arabia who stole a school bus in Livingston, NJ, and drove it nearly 60 miles to Stroudsburg, PA, kept anti-Semitic journals, federal authorities said. Bader Alzahrani, a 22-year-old divorced sophomore who attends an undisclosed college, is accused of first breaking into a vacant home across the street from a Livingston Board of Education parking lot on Hill Side Avenue where the bus was parked. The district reported the bus stolen on Jan. 17, two days after the residential break-in, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Police found a backpack…
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison A U.S. Army veteran from Sussex County must spend more than three years in federal prison for deliberately concealing money and guidance she gave to a Syrian terrorist she'd fallen in love with. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Maria Bell, 55, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained 36-month sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Tuesday, Jan. 24, Bell, of Hopatcong, offered not only money and military intelligence but the benefit of her experience in specialized weapons training to Syria-based factions fighting the Assad regime, a complaint on…
Daughter Of Fair Lawn Rabbi Victim Of Jerusalem Bombing Daughter Of Fair Lawn Rabbi Victim Of Jerusalem Bombing
Daughter Of Fair Lawn Rabbi Victim Of Jerusalem Bombing The 18-year-old daughter of a New Jersey rabbi was injured in a bus stop bombing this week in Jerusalem, while a second killed a 16-year-old student from Canada. Naomi Pilichowski — whose father Uri Pilichowski is from Fair Lawn — was walking her usual commute in Jerusalem on her way to a national service job in Beit Shemesh when a Palestinian terrorist detonated a bomb packed with nails and shrapnel on Wednesday, Nov. 23, her father said on Twitter. "One of the pieces flew at Naomi, hitting her, but not seriously," the rabbi said. "She felt ringing in her ears but wasn’t hurt."  I am …
Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion
Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion UPDATE: A Clifton man admitted that he sent Paterson’s first Muslim police chief threatening texts because of his race, religion and nationality, authorities said. Stefan Keco, 29, told a Superior Court judge in Paterson on Monday that he sent the texts to Chief Ibrahim Baycora on Feb. 26 “with the purpose to terrorize him and in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Baycora had been sworn to the position only a few weeks before receiving the threats. The threats “caused a disruption to the day-to-day operations of the poli…
NYC Subway Bomber Sentenced To Life Plus 30 Years NYC Subway Bomber Sentenced To Life Plus 30 Years
NYC Subway Bomber Sentenced To Life Plus 30 Years A would-be suicide bomber who detonated a device strapped to his chest in a crowded subway station near the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus 30 years. Judge Richard J. Sullivan said the punishment fit the “heinous crime” when he sentenced Akayed Ullah for the December 2017 attack in subway tunnels beneath Times Square and the bus terminal. Ullah, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, began researching how to build a bomb about a year before the attack, federal authorities said. That morning, packed a homemade device with metal screws bef…
NJ Resident Details Being Kidnapped, Tortured By Peruvian Intelligence Service In New Memoir NJ Resident Details Being Kidnapped, Tortured By Peruvian Intelligence Service In New Memoir
NJ Resident Details Being Kidnapped, Tortured By Peruvian Intelligence Service In New Memoir A New Jersey resident and former National Police lieutenant has penned a memoir detailing how he survived being kidnapped and tortured by the Peruvian National Intelligence Service. “The Unknown Basement: Based on a Real-Life Story,” details Saloman H. Soria's painful experience of being kidnapped, interrogated, tortured and imprisoned in the basement of the National Intelligence Service of Peru.  His story begins with the events that led up to his kidnapping, chronicles his false imprisonment and concludes with where he nearly 30 years later. In his role as Lieutenant of the National…
NJ Neo-Nazi Admits Masterminding Nationwide ‘Kristallnacht’ Attack On Blacks, Jews NJ Neo-Nazi Admits Masterminding Nationwide ‘Kristallnacht’ Attack On Blacks, Jews
NJ Neo-Nazi Admits Masterminding Nationwide ‘Kristallnacht’ Attack On Blacks, Jews A New Jersey member of a hardcore neo-Nazi group admitted Friday that he convinced two fellow white supremacists to vandalize property owned by Blacks and Jews. Richard Tobin, 19, of Brooklawn, dubbed the nationwide campaign “Operation Kristallnacht,” after a 1938 pogrom in which German Nazis slaughtered more than 90 Jews and burned their homes, synagogues, stores and schools, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Tobin told a federal judge via video conference Friday that he “implored” two other members of “The Base” to break windows and slash tires, among other destru…
FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists
FBI Nabs Ex-Soldier From Sussex County Charged With Supporting Syrian Terrorists FBI agents arrested a Sussex County woman Wednesday and charged her with supporting a Syrian terrorist group. Maria Bell, a 53-year-old former U.S. Army solider and member of the National Guard, provided money and advice to “fighters based in Syria who were members of various factions fighting the Assad regime,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Bell cited her professional experience in specialized weapons training, offering to provide guidance on operational security issues, weapons purchases and military intelligence, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Accord…
Jersey Shore Bomber Gets 3rd Life Sentence For Trying To Kill Linden Officers Who Caught Him Jersey Shore Bomber Gets 3rd Life Sentence For Trying To Kill Linden Officers Who Caught Him
Jersey Shore Bomber Gets 3rd Life Sentence For Trying To Kill Linden Officers Who Caught Him A wannabe terrorist from Elizabeth who’s already serving double-life in federal prison received yet another lifetime sentence for trying to kill five Linden police officers who captured him after he detonated bombs at the Jersey Shore and in New York City in 2016. Superior Court jurors in Elizabeth last October convicted Ahmad K. Rahami, 31, of five counts of attempted murder -- one for each of the officers -- as well as aggravated assault and weapons offenses. On Friday, State Superior Court Judge John M. Deitch sentenced Rahami (also known as Ahmad K. Rahimi) for those convictions. Raham…
Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say
Morris County Hezbollah Scout Was Looking For Terror Attack Spots In NYC, Feds Say A longtime Hezbollah member from Morristown man has spent the past 22 years scouting terror-attack locations in NYC for the organization, according to new federal indictments against him. Alexei Saab, 42, on Thursday was charged in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to supporting the organization, the U.S. Justice Department announced. A Hezbollah member since 1996, Saab provided the organization with photos and intelligence on landmarks across New York City including the Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building, New York Stock Exchange, New York City…
EXCLUSIVE: Package That Closed GWB Was Phony Pipe Bomb, Investigators Say EXCLUSIVE: Package That Closed GWB Was Phony Pipe Bomb, Investigators Say
Exclusive: Package That Closed GWB Was Phony Pipe Bomb, Investigators Say A suspicious package that closed the George Washington Bridge for more than two hours during Thursday night's rainstorm was actually a phony pipe bomb, Daily Voice has learned. The "inert device" found in the upper level's eastbound lane next to the median on the New Jersey side had a pipe bomb casing -- a symmetrical cylinder with two tied caps at either end -- but not all of the other components necessary to make it explosive, investigators said. Whoever called in the report may have been the person responsible for placing it there, investigators suspect. It was the only call police rece…
Neo-Nazi Website To Pay Paramus Comic $4.1M After Ariana Grande Bombing, ISIS Smear Neo-Nazi Website To Pay Paramus Comic $4.1M After Ariana Grande Bombing, ISIS Smear
Neo-Nazi Website To Pay Paramus Comic $4.1M After Ariana Grande Bombing, ISIS Smear A Neo-Nazi website is being forced to pay a Paramus comedian $4.1 million after falsely claiming he was behind the 2017 terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert. Dean Obeidallah, a political comedian and host of his own SiriusXM Progress show, filed a the defamation suit against The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin, after the website smeared him as a terrorist behind the 2017 concert bombing in England -- inciting death threats, he said on Twitter. Obeidallah, a Daily Beast writer, vowed to donate any money he collects to hate-fighting organizations. "The goal of this lawsuit is to…
Times Square Bombing Plot: Suspect Seized By Joint Terrorism Task Force Times Square Bombing Plot: Suspect Seized By Joint Terrorism Task Force
Times Square Bombing Plot: Suspect Seized By Joint Terrorism Task Force A joint terrorism task force seized a Queens man whom they accused of planning to bomb Times Square. Investigators arranged a sting after discovering that Ashiqul Alam, 22, was looking to buy guns, grenades and ammo to kill police and civilians, authorities said. Alam, who lives with his parents in Jackson Heights, apparently was acting alone, they said. The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes federal agents and members of the NYPD, among others, took Alam him into custody after he arranged to buy weapons, authorities said Friday. They said they currently had no evidence to support…
Jersey Shore Man Who Planned To Detonate NYC Pressure-Cooker Bomb For Isis Gets 16 Years Jersey Shore Man Who Planned To Detonate NYC Pressure-Cooker Bomb For Isis Gets 16 Years
Jersey Shore Man Who Planned To Detonate NYC Pressure-Cooker Bomb For Isis Gets 16 Years A would-be jihadist from the Jersey Shore who planned to build and detonate a "Boston Marathon-style" pressure-cooker bomb in Manhattan for ISIS was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison on Friday. Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, will have to serve all of the sentence: There's no parole in the federal prison system. Lepsky cut a deal with the government, pleading guilty last March to "attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization" in exchange for a sentence more lenient than if he'd been convicted at a trial. Originally insisting his name wa…
Hackensack Born ISIS Bride Suing Trump Administration, Report Says Hackensack Born ISIS Bride Suing Trump Administration, Report Says
Hackensack Born ISIS Bride Suing Trump Administration, Report Says The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit from a Hackensack-born ISIS bride who feels she and her toddler son are wrongfully being kept out of the U.S. Hoda Muthana, 24, has since renounced the terrorist group that she left for in 2014, her lawyer Hassan Shibly said, adding she had a valid passport at the time. Shibly said Muthana was "brainwashed" by the Islamic State when she fled her family in Alabama -- "just a stupid, naive young dumb woman, he said. After her third marriage to an IS fighter, Muthana wanted to get out. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Muthana does not have any …
Mastermind Behind USS Cole Bombing Reportedly Killed In Airstrike Mastermind Behind USS Cole Bombing Reportedly Killed In Airstrike
Mastermind Behind USS Cole Bombing Reportedly Killed In Airstrike The terrorist behind the 2000 attack on the USS Cole was believed killed in an American airstrike in Yemen on New Year’s Day, the government said Friday. The State Department had offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi for helping organize the attack, which killed 17 American sailors on Oct. 12, 2000. Although the government hadn’t officially confirmed his death Friday afternoon, administration officials said Al-Badawi, an al-Qaueda operative who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list, was alone in a vehicle in Yemen's Ma'rib Governorate durin…
FBI: Suspicious Package For Cory Booker Intercepted In Florida FBI: Suspicious Package For Cory Booker Intercepted In Florida
FBI: Suspicious Package For Cory Booker Intercepted In Florida A suspicious package addressed to New Jersey Senator Cory Booker was recovered at a mail processing facility in Florida Friday morning, the FBI said. The package marks the 11th recovered this week "similar in appearance to the others" addressed to Trump critics, including Alec Baldwin. A 12th package intended for former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was later intercepted in Manhattan, the FBI said. The package addressed to Booker's Camden office and apparently contained a pipe-bomb, NJ.com reports. Booker on Wednesday tweeted: "These targeted acts of terr…
Ex-Fort Lee Alt-Rocker Dimed Out By Mom Gets 8 Years For Supporting ISIS Ex-Fort Lee Alt-Rocker Dimed Out By Mom Gets 8 Years For Supporting ISIS
Ex-Fort Lee Alt-Rocker Dimed Out By Mom Gets 8 Years For Supporting ISIS FORT LEE, N.J. -- A 24-year-old former alt-rock singer from Fort Lee who was turned in by his mother for conspiring to support foreign terrorism in Iraq was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Federal agents seized Samuel Rahamin Topaz at his home in June 2015 and quickly followed with the arrests of three co-conspirators who they said planned to travel to Syria to join the foreign terrorist organization. All three took deals from the government in exchange for leniency.Nader Saadeh, a Jordanian national who previously lived in Rutherford, got 10 years in federal prison on Monday. …