Category: Jordan

Jordan Launches Probe Into DOJ’s ‘National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center’

Jordan Launches Probe Into DOJ’s National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center

US Republican Representative of Ohio Jim Jordan. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:42 PM – Thursday, March 28, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/jordan-launches-probe-into-dojs-national-extreme-risk-protection-order-resource-center/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, which was just announced by the Biden administration, is the subject of an investigation that was prompted on Thursday morning by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

On Saturday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced its opening and the $750 million in funding allocated for the center.

Attorney General Merrick Garland highly applauded the center’s launch.

“The launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center will provide our partners across the country with valuable resources to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others. "The establishment of the Center is the latest example of the Justice Department’s work to use every tool provided by the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to protect communities from gun violence,” Merrick said.

However, the co-founders of the John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, Cassandra Crifasi and Joshua Horwitz, received a letter from Representative Jordan on Thursday.

“The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) grant programs and operations, including the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). "We are aware that BJA has awarded you a taxpayer funded grant to operate the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, which will support the effective implementation of state red flag laws. "The Committee has serious concerns about the infringement on due process and Second Amendment rights that red flag or extreme risk protection order laws enable,” Jordan’s letter read.

Jordan went on to stress in the letter the numerous issues with red flag laws, including the dangers they represent in due process.

“These laws are ripe for abuse as the list of individuals who can petition a court for an extreme risk protection is expansive. For example, in Hawaii, a former roommate or even a disgruntled employee can file for an extreme risk protection order. In California, a former roommate, employee, a former girlfriend, or even someone in a ‘dating relationship’ with an individual is able to file a petition for an extreme risk protection order. Additionally, many jurisdictions merely require that a showing of probable cause be met in order to seize an individual’s firearms and ammunition and to prohibit that individual from purchasing or possessing any firearms or ammunition. Probable cause is an astonishingly low standard to deprive an individual of his or her constitutional rights without an allegation of criminal activity or an opportunity for the individual to be heard. Currently, fifteen states have laws that will grant an extreme risk protection order using this low standard,” the letter continued.

Jordan then listed questions for which he must have responses by April 11th, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.:

  1. Explanations of how they are ensuring that funds that have already been distributed to jurisdictions “are following the constitutional and due process safeguards [set forward in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act].”
  2. Explanation of how Crifasi and Horowitz’s office are “adhering to the provision of the law that requires penalties for abuse of the program.’”
  3. “All documents and communications from June 25th, 2022 to present between Executive Office of the President employees and Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions employees referring or relating to the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center.”
  4. “All documents and communications from June 25th, 2022 to present between DOJ employees and Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions employees referring to or relating to the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center.”

Jordan also clarified that the materials that Crifasi and Horowtiz turn in must contain records pertaining to the grant proposal for John Hopkins FY 2022, which seeks funding for an Extreme Risk Protective Order and Firearm Crisis Intervention Training and Technical Assistance Institute.

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Turkey: Man responsible for shaping Erdogan’s Middle East policy says ‘there is no such state called Israel’

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/02/turkey-man-responsible-for-shaping-erdogans-middle-east-policy-says-there-is-no-such-state-called-israel; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

Erdogan’s Turkey, which wants to destroy Israel, is an ally of the U.S., and Israel itself is an ally of the U.S. One of these alliances is in serious danger, and the worries are not in Istanbul.

“‘Israel must be destroyed,’ said chief Middle East advisor to Turkey’s President Erdogan,” by Abdullah Bozkurt, Nordic Monitor, February 15, 2024:

The person responsible for shaping Turkey’s foreign policy in the Middle East in the office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been revealed to have called for the destruction of Israel, as uncovered by a Nordic Monitor investigation.

Sefer Turan, a 62-year-old pro-Iranian Islamist and a chief advisor to the Turkish president, has openly denied Israel’s right to exist, stating, “We must consistently and at every opportunity inform the public that there is no such state called Israel.”

Turan’s remarks were made in June 1997 during a panel discussion concerning the closure of the Palestine Solidarity and Friendship Association (Filistin Dayanışma ve Dostluk Derneği, FDD) by Turkish authorities. The FDD was identified as a front organization sponsored by the Iranian mullah regime in Turkey, aimed at channeling funds to armed Palestinian jihadist groups, organizing rallies against Israel and promoting antisemitism in Turkey.

Turan, one of the architects of the FDD, vehemently criticized the government’s decision to shut down the organization. He also condemned the peace initiatives launched in Madrid in 1991 that aimed to foster peace between Israel and Palestine, along with several Arab nations. The Madrid conference, co-sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union, eventually resulted in the signing of the Oslo I Accord in 1993 and the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994.

“We must openly reveal our identity and, if necessary, endure the risks,” Turan emphasized, further stating, “Nothing ends with the closure of the FDD.”

The driving force behind the creation of the FDD was a propaganda magazine named Yörünge, which received funding from the Iranian regime and was operated by pro-Iranian Turkish Islamists. Some members of this group had undergone training by Iranian intelligence in handling arms and explosives. Turkish authorities took action against the magazine, shutting it down and initiating criminal investigations and indictments against its staff.

The application for the establishment of the FDD was initially approved on July 1, 1995, during a preliminary process and later endorsed by the Interior Ministry in November 1995. However, a month after approval, the ministry requested that the FDD halt its operations until the Cabinet reviewed the application, citing concerns regarding the mention of international operations in the founding charter, which fell under the discretion of the Cabinet. On May 7, 1997 the government officially notified the FDD of its closure.

The FDD board members included Ahmet Varol, Remzi Çayır, Rıdvan Kaya, Nurettin Şirin, Fikret Özdemir and Ahmet Ağırakça, several of whom had longstanding ties with the Iranian Islamist Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force.

In fact, both Turan, working as chief aide to Erdogan at the time, and Şirin were suspects in a confidential investigation into the Quds Force network between 2011 and 2014. During this period their phones were tapped under court order as investigators sought to uncover an Iranian intelligence network in Turkey. The investigation aimed to determine any plots targeting Israeli, Jewish and Western interests in Turkey….

Three US soldiers killed, over 30 service members injured in drone attack on small US outpost in Jordan

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SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2024/01/three-us-soldiers-killed-over-30-service-members-injured-in-drone-attack-on-small-us-outpost-in-jordan#; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

There shouldn’t be a US outpost in Jordan.

Iran and its proxies are stepping up attacks, knowing that the Biden regime is weak, America-last, and appeasement-minded.

“First on CNN: Three US troops killed in drone attack in Jordan, more than 30 injured,” by Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann, CNN, January 28, 2024:

Three US Army soldiers were killed and more than 30 service members were injured in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials told CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.

The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria. It is still being determined which militia group specifically is responsible.

US Central Command confirmed in a statement on Sunday that three service members were killed and 25 injured in a one-way drone attack that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.” Two US officials told CNN the drone hit in the vicinity of living quarters on base, and that three the injured service members were medically evacuated from the area.

The number of wounded is expected to rise.

President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to hold those responsible for the attack “to account,” saying that while facts are still being gathered, “We know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”

“These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country — risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism. … [H]ave no doubt – we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”

As of Friday, there had been more than 158 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, though officials have described the constant volley of drones, rockets, and missiles as unsuccessful as they have frequently not caused serious injury or damage to infrastructure….

Jordanian in Houston Accused of Plotting Attack on Jewish People

Sohaib Abuayyash, 20. (Photo via: United States District Court Southern District of Texas)

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:44 PM – Friday, November 3, 2023

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/jordanian-national-residing-in-houston-accused-of-planning-attack-on-jewish-people/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said that a Jordanian national who resides in Houston, Texas, has openly expressed his support for the extermination of Jewish people.

The federal count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person is now being brought against 20-year-old Sohaib Abuayyash.

Wray referenced Abuayyash when testifying on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security, however, he did not use his name. Wray spoke about risks facing the nation in terms of possible copycat terrorists, and also mentioned a rise in anti-Semitism.

“We have seen that with an individual we arrested last week in Houston had studied how to build bombs and posted online about his support for killing Jews,” Wray said during the testimony.

Wray also said that the biggest concern facing the U.S. was violent religious extremists who drew inspiration from Middle Eastern terrorist attacks in order to study them further and later plan attacks on Americans, referring to Abuayyash.

Abuayyash is a Jordanian national who travels with a Palestinian passport, according to the criminal complaint that was filed. In 2020, he filed an asylum application in the United States, which is currently pending.

The lawsuit states that the 20-year-old is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to his present legal status in the United States.

The document included screenshots from his social media posts on Instagram and TikTok that show Abuayyash was utilizing several different firearms at local shooting ranges in Houston.

“Abuayyash has been in direct contact with others who share a radical mindset, has been conducting physical training, and has trained with weapons possibly to commit an attack,” the criminal complaint states.

A judge signed documents expressing that since there are no conditions to ensure that the community or anyone else is safe, Abuayyash should be kept in custody until his trial date, just to be safe.

The FBI released the following statement but also said that they were unable to comment on the case at this time due to its pending status.

The statement reads: “The FBI is continuing to monitor threats associated with the Israel-HAMAS conflict in the United States and overseas. As the conflict continues, the FBI has seen an increase in reports of threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions, raising our concern that violent extremists and lone offenders motivated by or reacting to ongoing events could target these communities. We take all potential threats seriously and are working closely with our law enforcement partners to determine their credibility, share information, and take appropriate investigative action. As we are communicating with our law enforcement partners, faith communities, and others, the Public Service Announcement linked below is being released by the FBI and DHS to the American public to help protect our communities. We ask members of the public to immediately report anything or anyone they consider suspicious to law enforcement or contact their local FBI Office: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices. Tips can also be submitted to tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL FBI.”

“Lone actors” who keep their extremist ideas to themselves also worry the FBI, according to the agency. They often aim to assault “soft, familiar targets” using weapons that are easy to acquire, a spokeswoman warned. Additionally, it is much more difficult to locate, look into, and dissuade those individuals before they execute their schemes.

The Anti-Defamation League’s southwest regional director, Mark Toubin, stated that his organization has seen a major rise in anti-Semitic events following the October 7th Hamas attacks. The group reportedly received 312 complaints of incidents from October 7th to October 23rd, compared to 64 nationally during the same time last year.

“Unfortunately, there are those who have said that those kinds of heinous crimes are justified because of the conflict, and when you start from there, you can only imagine what kind of green light it provides other people,” Toubin asserted.

Lizzie Fletcher, a Congresswoman and member of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, posted the following statement highlighting the arrest of the Jordanian national.  

“I am deeply concerned by reports of a possible terrorist plot to attack the Jewish community in Houston. As antisemitic threats against Jews in the United States have reached historic levels in recent weeks, it is critical that we ensure the safety of Jewish families in Texas’s Seventh Congressional District and across our country. I am grateful and relieved that the FBI acted swiftly to thwart any planned attack, and I am requesting an immediate briefing from the FBI to discuss efforts to keep our community’s Jewish families safe,” Fletcher said.

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