Latest news with #BenWilliamson
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Videos show aftermath of attack on Jewish community in Boulder
Authorities said a male suspect had been taken in custody. Police identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45. The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that works to fight antisemitism and bias, said the 53-second video was shot after the June 1 attack in which multiple people were set on fire on a pedestrian mall in what the FBI described as a "targeted terrorist attack." The ADL said, based on its analysis, the shirtless man appears to be saying, "How many children have you killed?" and "'We need to end Zionists." The organization said the man also gestured toward what appeared to be victims of the attack and proclaimed: "They are killers." FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said on X that the suspect "shouted 'Free Palestine' while throwing fire bombs at a crowd of Jewish people." Six people ranging in ages 67 to 88 were injured and were transported to local hospitals. In the video, someone off camera shouts "stay away, stay away" as the shirtless man continues to pace back and forth and shout. At one point, the man raises his hands and then lies down on the grass as a police officer, gun drawn, approaches. The officer appears to handcuff the man as another officer approaches. The video ends with the man still on the ground and the police officers standing over him. Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and chief executive officer of the ADL, noted that the attack is the second on the Jewish community in the United States in just two weeks. "First, a young couple slaughtered in DC. And now, a firebomb thrown at a group in Boulder, Colorado, as they gathered to express solidarity with the 58 hostages still being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists," he said. Greenblatt said the attacks are part of "a global campaign of intimidation and terror deliberately directed against the Jewish people." In the past few days, he said, Jewish youth in London were assaulted, public spaces in Brisbane, Australia, were defaced with antisemitic graffiti, and synagogues, a Holocaust memorial and a kosher restaurant in Paris were vandalized. "Sadly, none of this is surprising," he said. "In fact, it's entirely predictable. This is precisely where anti-Jewish incitement leads. This is exactly what vicious anti-Zionism enables." Follow Michael Collins on X @mcollinsNEWS.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Many Injured After Man Throws Fire Bomb, Shouts 'Free Palestine' In US
Washington: Police said a male suspect was taken into custody on Sunday after an attack that left multiple people with burns in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a "targeted" act of terror. FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said on X, a social media site, that the suspect "shouted 'Free Palestine' while throwing fire bombs at a crowd of Jewish people." FBI Director Kash Patel described the incident as a "targeted terror attack," and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be "a hate crime given the group that was targeted." The FBI has identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Solima. But Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said earlier in the day that information on the attack, which occurred near a demonstration to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza, was "very preliminary." "This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable," he said. "I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy." Pro-Hamas supporters should be categorized as domestic terrorists!! — Jammles (@jammles9) June 1, 2025 The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crime as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by President Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the Boulder incident, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. "Everybody is yelling, 'get water, get water,'" Coffman said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said he was closely monitoring the situation. "This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism." The attack follows last month's arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fueled polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on social media that it was "unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder." Redfearn said he was not able to identify the suspect yet, noting that he had been taken to hospital. He added there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging "from very serious to more minor." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Man in custody following Colorado attack that FBI says was targeted, World News
WASHINGTON — Police said a male suspect was taken into custody on Sunday (June 1) after an attack that left multiple people with burns in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a "targeted" act of terror. FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said on X, a social media site, that the suspect "shouted 'Free Palestine' while throwing fire bombs at a crowd of Jewish people". The guy shouted 'Free Palestine' while throwing fire bombs at a crowd of Jewish people. We correctly referred to an investigation of terrorism, will continue to do so, and we have zero interest in what either these CNN guests have to say. Kick rocks. — Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) June 1, 2025 FBI Director Kash Patel described the incident as a "targeted terror attack", and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be "a hate crime given the group that was targeted". But Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said earlier in the day that information on the attack, which occurred near a demonstration to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza, was "very preliminary". "This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable," he said. "I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy." The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the US over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crime as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel led by President Donald Trump to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted such demonstrations. Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the Boulder incident, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. "Everybody is yelling, 'get water, get water'," Coffman said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said he was closely monitoring the situation. "This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism." The attack follows last month's arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fuelled polarisation in the US over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on social media that it was "unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder". As the American Jewish community continues to reel from the horrific antisemitic murders in Washington, D.C., it is unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder, on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot no less. Several individuals were… — Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) June 1, 2025 Redfearn said he was not able to identify the suspect yet, noting that he had been taken to hospital. He added there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging "from very serious to more minor". [[nid:718613]]
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
White House pressure for increased immigration arrests strains law enforcement agencies
The Trump administration is building up federal manpower and resources to meet the White House's desire to triple the number of daily immigration arrests – signaling a renewed push to go well beyond efforts from previous administrations. The White House is putting intense pressure on law enforcement agencies across the government to meet a goal of a million deportations a year. That's led to a surge of agents and officers across the federal government focusing their attention on arrests and deportation efforts – and in some cases straining resources. At the FBI, hundreds of agents have been reassigned to immigration-related duties, raising concerns among agents that the shift could hinder important national security investigations, including into terror threats and espionage by China and Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. Top FBI officials have provided little guidance to field offices on how agents are expected to increase immigration arrest numbers while also working their top priority cases, the sources said. FBI agents have been told by supervisors not to document moving resources away from high-priority cases toward immigration-related work, according to one person familiar with the matter. FBI agents typically log hours toward specific threats or assignments, but officials appear to be trying to avoid creating a paper trail that would show that the FBI is pulling resources away from national security threats to immigration, the source said. As a result, some field offices are declining to take on new investigations of certain threats. There are also incentive efforts underway. Senior FBI officials in New York this week sent an email to its workforce of more than 1,000 agents promising overtime pay if they helped with 'enforcement and removal operations,' according to an email obtained by CNN. FBI agents who work on the enforcement and removal 'surge' through the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30, could earn a transfer 'to the division of their choosing,' the email said. Some FBI offices in border states have already diverted resources from countering cybercrime toward immigration issues, said a former FBI agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve their relationship with former colleagues. 'While the FBI does not comment on specific personnel decisions, our agents and support staff are dedicated professionals working around the clock to defend the homeland and crush violent crime — a mission which certainly overlaps with the consequences of the previous administration's four-year open border policies,' FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said in a statement to CNN. 'We are proud to work with our interagency partners to keep the American people safe.' Trump officials initially said arrests of immigrants would focus on those who pose public safety or national security threats. And while people who fall under that category are still being detained, the aperture has widened as people without criminal records have been picked up and deported. The all-hands-on-deck-for-immigration approach is raising critical questions inside the FBI and other law enforcement agencies about how they use limited resources to execute their mission. 'Should we have highly trained FBI agents going to support DHS priorities?' the former FBI agent said. 'Is this just a surge that's going to be temporary?' This isn't the first time that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have shifted resources dramatically to address an administration's priorities. After 9/11, for example, the FBI invested heavily in counterterrorism. Previous administrations have had to navigate limited resources and personnel to arrest people inside the US and deport them. Other law enforcement agencies have felt the pressure of the immigration crackdown, too. The US Marshals Service – an agency already stretched thin by increased protection for federal officials and judges in recent years – has diverted personnel to help with ICE deportations, further straining the agency, a law enforcement official told CNN. Immigration arrests have hovered around 1,000 a day, but Trump officials are pushing for that to be tripled as they also seek to accelerate the pace of deportations. White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters last week he was 'happy' with the number of arrests, which, he argued, outpaced former President Joe Biden's administration, but 'not satisfied.' 'We need to arrest three times the amount of people we're arresting right now and more money to allow us to,' he said. Homan reiterated that message on Thursday, saying: 'We've increased the teams a lot. We've increased targeting a lot, so we expect a vast increased number of arrests every day.' Last week, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller took that message to senior ICE officials in a tense meeting, first reported by Axios, where he pushed agents to significantly increase arrests, according to a source familiar with the meeting. 'We are committed to aggressively and efficiently removing illegal aliens from the United States, and ensuring our law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to do so,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to CNN. The administration has bolstered its force of 6,000 ICE agents – all under tremendous pressure to meet quotas that Miller previously called the 'floor, not a ceiling' – by supplementing it with outside agencies, offering overtime and re-assignment incentives to federal agents. Amid the pressure, there's been another shakeup in ICE senior leadership. Ken Genalo, the official leading the branch charged with carrying out arrests and deportations, is retiring, while Robert Hammer, who helms ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is being reassigned, ICE announced Thursday. In its announcement, ICE said 'organizational realignments will help ICE achieve President Trump and the American people's mandate of arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens and making American communities safe.' But the administration is still limited, without additional funding, in how much it can increase detentions and acquire more planes for deportations. Trump's massive reconciliation bill, which is still winding through Congress, includes billions of dollars for immigration enforcement. In the meantime, the administration is relying on resources available: around 500 Customs and Border Protection officers have been asked to fan out across the country to arrest undocumented immigrants – a responsibility typically handled by ICE. The immigration effort is also expected to include 600 personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration, 300 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and 300 from the US Marshals Service, according to two sources familiar with planning. CNN requested comment from these agencies. CNN previously reported that DHS also requested 20,000 National Guard members to help with immigration enforcement.
Fox News
6 days ago
- General
- Fox News
FBI email instructs employees not to promote Pride Month on bureau time: 'Focused only on our core mission'
FIRST ON FOX: Agents and directors at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received an email from leadership on Thursday instructing them not to participate in Pride Month in their professional capacity, a departure from the tone of the Biden administration's bureau. "I've received several questions about the FBI's stance on Pride Month and what related activities FBI divisions and employees should or should not participate in," FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said in an email obtained by Fox News Digital addressed to assistant directors in charge and special agents in charge on Thursday morning. "So, I want to take the opportunity to make FBI leadership's expectations clear: There should be no official FBI actions, events, or messaging regarding Pride Month." The email explains that employees are "free to do as you like" in their "personal capacity" or "on your own time." "But on FBI time, using FBI resources and your Bureau affiliation, you and your divisions are expected to take no official actions or issue any specific messaging," Williamson said, adding that the "stance in no way lessens the FBI's commitment to serve and protect every American in our country or welcoming colleagues from all walks of life." "What it does mean is ensuring that the American people see we are focused only on our core mission." The FBI did not respond to a request for comment. Shifting away from official celebrations of Pride Month represents a shift from messaging during the Biden administration, which saw several examples of the bureau promoting the month, including taking part in a Kansas City Pridefest and mentioning Pride Month in press releases. The Biden administration faced criticism from conservatives in recent years after the White House and departments vocally supported Pride Month, which is observed for the month of June, with formal celebrations. Then-President Joe Biden hosted a "Pride Month 2023" event on the White House lawn, decorating the area with rainbow motifs and the "Progress Pride flag." "Today, the #FBI raised the #pride flag at our headquarters in support of our #LGBTQ colleagues," the FBI posted on social media in June 2021. "We thank them for their contributions to the FBI and the country. #PrideMonth." The email comes after the Trump administration has shifted away from diversity, equity and inclusion messaging and programs in federal government, instead focusing on meritocracy and the individual missions of departments. "Let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI," FBI Director Kash Patel said in his first statement after being sworn in to lead the bureau.
