Latest news with #UGSolutions
Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Former US contractor for GHF says team leader not fit to oversee operation: Report
A team leader for a US contractor providing services to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund has been accused of being a member of an Islamophobic organisation, a Zeteo report said on Wednesday. Johnny 'Taz' Mulford is a team leader for UG Solutions and oversees the company's work at "aid distribution sites". UG Solutions has been contracted to provide security at GHF's sites. Employees of the company have been accused of shooting Palestinian men, women and children seeking aid from four US- and Israel-backed GHF aid sites, where, according to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinian aid seekers have been killed since GHF started operating at the end of May, while thousands have been wounded. According to two sources that Zeteo spoke to, including former US veteran and whistleblower Anthony Aguilar, Mulford is a member of the Infidels Motorcycle Club, a group that claims to be against militant groups. Recently, Aguilar made headlines when he told the world he saw Israeli forces kill a young boy named Amir and countless others while he was manning a GHF aid distribution point in southern Gaza on 28 May. According to the group's website, the club 'rejects the radical jihadist movement that threatens liberty and freedom around the world'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Their mission statement says patriotic club members, who include military members and contractors, will 'support the fight against terrorism as, and as patriotic Americans supporting our fighting forces from the homeland'. They have 15 different branches across the US near military bases and one in Germany. The Colorado Springs branch organised a pig roast 'in defiance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan', according to a flier they produced comparing Muslim men to paedophiles. Members have also been observed riding at events alongside outlaw motorcycle clubs that are known for their criminal activity, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Inexperience Aguilar believes that Mulford does not have enough experience to lead at UG Solutions, which, along with GHF, has repeatedly been in the spotlight due to its inability to deliver adequate aid to starving Palestinians. Starving child in Gaza was reportedly killed minutes after receiving aid, former US military contractor says Read More » Mulford's bio says he served in the US Army for 20 years and joined the US Marine Corps right out of high school. He has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was a team leader in the US Army parachute team called the "Golden Knights''. Aguilar, a Green Beret who said he served with Mulford in the US Army and also at UG Solutions in Gaza before resigning, told Zeteo he did not think Mulford should lead a large project like the GHF contract in Gaza, especially as he had been 'disbarred from contracting' while he was in the US Army. 'I respect anybody's service, anybody that wants to raise their right hand and serve in the army. But if I'm a parachute packer, I don't then go say that I have this exquisite combat arms experience. That's what he promotes, that he's this exquisite veteran of combat arms'. 'This is the man that's in charge of the entire security apparatus for the security element in Gaza, who has no experience to plan at this level, didn't have the experience when he was in the army, doesn't have the experience now.' Aguilar added that the right people need to be in charge of an "operation of this magnitude".
The Intercept
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Intercept
Team Leader at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Belongs to Anti-"Jihad" Motorcycle Club, Has Crusader Tattoos
A lead contractor for a company providing security at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's controversial food distribution sites is a member of a Crusader-inspired motorcycle club that touts its opposition to the 'radical jihadist movement.' Johnny 'Taz' Mulford belongs to a Florida chapter of the Infidels, a biker group for veterans of U.S. wars and private military contractors like Blackwater. In May, Mulford began recruiting among his Facebook network for an unspecified job opportunity, asking anyone who 'can still shoot, move and communicate' to contact him. Reached by phone on Friday, Mulford confirmed to The Intercept that he is currently in Israel, adding that he was 'on his way to a checkpoint,' but declined to comment further. Two sources directly familiar with the Gaza operations of UG Solutions, including former contractor Anthony Aguilar, confirmed Mulford's employment to The Intercept. Mulford's ties to the motorcycle group were first reported by Zeteo. UG Solutions is a contractor providing security at aid distribution sites run by GHF, the aid effort in Gaza backed by the Trump administration and Israel. 'They're in a primary Arab Muslim population, delivering food at the end of the gun.' Mulford's membership in the Infidels and numerous tattoos widely linked to the Crusades and contemporary far-right movements raise questions about his role as a contractor for the GHF mission. Among other posts on Facebook, Mulford nods to Christian Zionism by sharing a post calling Israel 'God's chosen nation' and a video mocking pro-Palestine protesters. 'If I went into Israel with a Nazi swastika on my arm and said 'Heil Hitler,' what would people think of me?' said Aguilar, a former Green Beret and UG Solutions contractor who has become a public critic of the GHF, raising concerns about Mulford's tattoos and Infidels affiliation in the Middle East. 'They're in a primary Arab Muslim population, delivering food at the end of the gun.' Mulford and the GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Infidels national umbrella and a local Florida chapter did not respond to requests made, respectively, to an online form and a chapter official. 'Johnny Mulford is a respected contractor in the industry, with over 30 years of cleared service supporting U.S. government and allied efforts. Any allegations suggesting otherwise are categorically false and defamatory,' Drew O'Brien, a UG Solutions spokesperson, said in a statement. 'We do not screen for personal hobbies or affiliations unrelated to job performance or security standards. Every team member undergoes comprehensive background checks, and only qualified, vetted individuals are deployed on UG Solutions operations.' O'Brien declined to comment on Mulford's tattoos. The Infidels were founded in 2006 by an American mercenary in Iraq nicknamed 'Slingshot,' according to the club's website, which says the early members were security contractors and military veterans. According to its website, 'Infidels Motorcycle Club is a veteran formed and based MC for Patriotic Americans and our supporting allies.' 'Bearing in mind that we support the war against terrorism, and many of our Club members have and are serving in Iraq and other locations worldwide as either members of the military or as civilian contractors, our political views may not be shared by everyone,' says the national umbrella group in a Facebook post. 'We neither support nor tolerate the Jihadist movement and those who support it. If on the other hand you do support the country's efforts against Islamic extremism, then support your local Infidels MC!' Read our complete coverage In 2015, the Infidels' Colorado Springs chapter threw a pig roast barbecue party 'in defiance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan,' according to an event flyer that also 'included comparisons of Muslim men to pedophiles,' a local outlet reported at the time. Mulford, who registered the local chapter in Florida, is an active member of the Infidels, according to his and others' social media postings. He is frequently shown in photos online posing with fellow club members at meet-ups. The Infidels wear matching leather vests bearing the club name and a red cross on the back. In one photo, Mulford's vest has an embroidered patch on the front that says, 'Original Infidel.' The Infidels — including Mulford — frequently employ Crusader iconography in their tattoos and apparel. Photos of Mulford show him tattooed with crosses affiliated with the Crusades and, more recently, right-wing Christian movements. A photo of Mulford on Facebook shows him without a shirt after an apparent outing to fish. On his right forearm is an American flag rendered in flames and overlain by a so-called Templar symbol — a shield emblazoned with a red cross, styled after the Christian military order of the Knights Templar. His left bicep displays another Templar shield. A tattoo on his right forearm displays the Jerusalem or Crusader cross, a squared off cross with smaller crosses in each of the corners. In another photo, Mulford can be seen wearing a vest that includes both the Infidels name and an amalgamation of several Crusader-style crosses. A photo that appears on the Facebook page of Johnny "Taz" Mulford. Screenshot: The Intercept According to Matthew Gabriele, a medieval studies professor at Virginia Tech and an expert in crusader iconography, the Jerusalem Cross and Templar shield are frequently embraced by white supremacists and the far right, — a nod to an imagined 'existential conflict between Islam and Christianity' in the Middle Age, Gabriele said. Crusader iconography of this kind doesn't reflect the historical record, but rather a sort of Christian revenge fantasy. 'It doesn't have a whole lot of specific attachment the Middle Ages themselves, but a nostalgic version in which this existential conflict between Islam and Christianity, that has gone back to Islam's founding, has always put Christianity on the defensive,' Gabriele said. Crosses and shields 'symbolize that during the Crusades, Christianity struck back in a positive way. It really is a particular stance toward Islam and the Middle East.' The Crusader aesthetic and the proud self-labeling of oneself as an 'infidel' grew in popularity during the War on Terror and have remained as gestures of anti-Muslim sentiment on the right. 'It was a way for a particular kind of American soldier,' Gabriele said, 'to kind of reflect back al Qaeda's rhetoric: 'Yeah we are the crusaders, we're going to come there and kick your ass.'' Crusader symbols have attracted scrutiny when worn by figures like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was questioned about his Jerusalem cross tattoo during Senate confirmation hearings. Hegseth defended the cross as a symbol of Christianity. In July, while the GHF's food distributions were ongoing, Mulford posted an illustration on Facebook of a kneeling Crusader knight with a glowing cross in the background and a superimposed biblical quote. Other Facebook photos shared by Mulford show him with Crusader-style crosses on his arms and the number 1095 across his chest — the year Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade. The date of 1095 has been cited as symbolically important by violent right-wing actors, Gabriele said, from Norwegian mass shooter Anders Breivik to Brenton Tarrant, perpetrator of the anti-Muslim massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand. The date 1095, Gabriele said, represents a world view in which Muslims are 'a threat to be killed' and driven from the Holy Land. In 2018, the national Infidels umbrella group shared a photo montage from what it describes as a 'Crusader ride' organized by its members. Mulford served in the Marine Corps from 1982 to 1985 before a stint in the Army from 1987 to 2007, when he saw multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an Army spokesperson. Subsequently, according to a personal website, he served overseas as a 'security agent' for a 'government agency.' His service records include numerous commendations and achievements. A report stated that Mulford was 'debarred' following 'nonjudicial punishment' under military disciplinary rules related to an alleged scheme where 'Mulford received a kickback from a contractor who provided skydiving training to Fort Bragg Soldiers.' Mulford's debarment, a designation the military uses in deciding to award contracts, was terminated in 2007, shortly before his retirement from the Army at the rank of master sergeant. The company employing Mulford is one of at least three U.S. contractors for the GHF, the nonprofit distributing food in Gaza with Israel's approval. To distribute what it says are over 108 million meals so far, the foundation has hired a pair of U.S. companies — one helmed by a former CIA official, the other by a Green Beret veteran — to provide logistics and armed private security contractors. Other aid organizations say the idea of staffing aid distribution sites with armed contractors violates basic principles of neutrality and have refused to work with the GHF. One of UG Solutions' partner organizations has already drawn scrutiny for its leader's views on Islam and Palestinians. In July, independent journalist Jack Poulson reported that Matthew Murphy, the president of a small relief organization called the Sentinel Foundation that partnered with UG Solutions to distribute aid in Gaza earlier this year, had a record of making bigoted remarks against Muslims generally and Palestinians in particular. In a podcast interview last year, Murphy referred to Palestine as 'a little shithole.' 'Killing and beheading and raping and treating, you know, Christian and Jewish women as lesser-than and slaves is not just something terrorists think, it's Islam,' Murphy said. The Sentinel Foundation was co-founded by former Green Beret Jameson Govoni, who went on to found UG Solutions. The GHF and its partners have drawn worldwide scrutiny since they began aid distributions in May. At least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since the foundation began its work in Gaza, including 859 people near distribution sites and 514 along food convoy routes, according to the United Nations. Palestinians say that many have died under gunfire from the Israeli military. In job listings, UG Solutions describes itself as a 'a fast-moving, mission-driven private security company with global reach.' The Charlotte-based company first got involved in the conflict earlier this year when its private soldiers were tasked with manning checkpoints during a ceasefire. The company has sought out former U.S. Special Forces veterans, according to job listings. Four Democratic members of Congress last week wrote to UG Solutions and another GHF contractor, warning them that the companies' employees could be held liable if war crimes have been committed. Working closely with the Israeli military, those members warned, has exposed the company's staffers to great legal risk. UG Solutions has denied mistreating Palestinians in Gaza, while acknowledging that its contractors have used pepper spray and 'warning shots' to disperse crowds.
Roya News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
US contractor says team ordered pizza to Gaza due to food distribution failure
Anthony Aguilar, a retired US Army Green Beret who served for 25 years, is speaking out about his experience as a security contractor with UG Solutions, a private firm working alongside the 'Israel'-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The foundation, which has taken a central role in managing aid distribution in Gaza, is now under intense scrutiny amid allegations of militarization, abuse, and operational failure. Aguilar worked with UG Solutions between May and June this year and describes the entire operation as deeply dysfunctional. 'Nothing was open. Nobody could figure out how to get food there,' Aguilar said in an interview with France 24's Jessica Le Masurier. 'So we had the idea of calling Domino's Pizza in Beersheba and having them make 27 pizzas and deliver them through Wolt, which is the Israeli DoorDash, to the main operations center in Karem Shalom.' The pizzas were then transported into Gaza in what Aguilar described as 'an armored convoy,' eventually reaching Distribution Site 1, where they were handed out to Palestinian local workers, referring to the difficulties in feeding local workers who were assisting GHF operations. His team resorted to a makeshift solution: ordering 27 Domino's pizzas through an 'Israeli' delivery app, picking them up at the Gaza border, and transporting them to a distribution site in an armored convoy. 'Let me get this straight,' Le Masurier asked. 'Safe Reach Solutions was able to bring Domino's Pizza in when the entire population of Gaza is starving and there are UN aid trucks that are unable to enter Gaza and not allowed to distribute aid while people are starving. But SRS was able to bring in Domino's Pizza to one of their sites?' 'It's abhorrent. If it weren't so tragic, it would be comedy. It's not comedy, because it is absolutely tragic,' Aguilar said. His account, partially published by France 24 and Mother Jones, paints a disturbing picture of the aid operation in a region ravaged by over 21 months of war and a growing famine. The United Nations has raised concerns that GHF is operating in ways that blur the line between humanitarian aid and military strategy. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 766 Palestinians were killed between May 27 and July 21 near GHF distribution sites. GHF operates just four distribution centers in southern Gaza, far fewer than the 400 sites and mobile clinics previously maintained by international humanitarian groups before the 'Israeli' blockade restricted aid access, according to Mother Jones. Aguilar's testimony includes accounts of contractors using both nonlethal and lethal force in ways he claims were unauthorized. He described one incident in which a fellow contractor threw a stun grenade that struck a woman in the head. In another, on May 29, he witnessed two contractors firing rifles 'in bursts' into a crowd near a GHF site. In footage Aguilar recorded, someone is heard shouting, 'I think you hit one,' followed by another saying, 'Hell yeah, boy!' Aguilar said the reaction from the contractors included 'catcalling and celebrating.' UG Solutions has denied firing at civilians, stating that warning shots were directed 'upwards, in the air and towards the coastline.' They also claimed that the contractor heard in the video was 'encouraging IDF fire' and has since been removed. GHF, for its part, says the gunfire heard in the video originated from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) outside the area and called Aguilar's claims 'categorically false.' The company has dismissed Aguilar as a 'disgruntled former contractor who seeks revenge.' Aguilar strongly rejects that characterization. The IOF released a statement acknowledging incidents of civilian harm near aid distribution points, adding that investigations had been launched and operational guidelines had since been updated. The 'Israeli' government recently announced limited 10-hour daily pauses in fighting to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid. Aguilar shared one particularly haunting memory with France 24: a barefoot boy at a distribution site approached him, kissed his hand, and then disappeared into the chaos of warning shots and tear gas. 'This young boy had nothing to do with what Hamas did on October 7th,' Aguilar said.
CNN
31-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Democratic lawmakers press for answers from US security firms involved in controversial Gaza aid organization
A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday pressed for answers from the heads of two private US-based security firms whose personnel have worked at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and who the lawmakers say have been accused of deadly violence against civilians seeking aid in the starving enclave. In a letter first obtained by CNN, Sens. Peter Welch and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Joaquin Castro and Sara Jacobs express concern about reports the two companies, UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions, are involved with 'deadly security operations in Gaza.' 'Reports and firsthand witnesses have indicated to us that your personnel —American veterans hired as private security contractors—were brought into Israel on tourist visas inappropriate for the intended purpose of their travel, sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians,' said the letter to the CEOs of the two companies. 'We have also learned that under Israeli orders, your personnel are conducting crowd control at food distribution sites by firing live rounds over the heads of civilians and using stun grenades and pepper spray — all in an active military zone under direct supervision by Israeli military officers,' the letter said. 'As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel — or investors — of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel,' it said. CNN has asked UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions for comment. The lawmakers are seeking answers about the rules of engagement for personnel in Gaza and the extent to which staff and investors were informed of their potential exposure to lawsuits related to alleged war crimes and torture. They requested those answers within two weeks. The letters also asked the companies to 'preserve all documents and communications related to (their) contracts and work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli backed private organization established to provide aid amid the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, has prompted an outcry and faced sharp criticism from international aid organizations over the operations of their distribution sites. Hundreds have been killed around the sites trying to get desperately needed food. US officials have defended the work of the foundation and argued it is the only organization that has been able to stop widespread looting of aid by Hamas. An internal USAID assessment did not find evidence of systemic theft by Hamas.
CNN
31-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Democratic lawmakers press for answers from US security firms involved in controversial Gaza aid organization
The Middle East National security FacebookTweetLink A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday pressed for answers from the heads of two private US-based security firms whose personnel have worked at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and who the lawmakers say have been accused of deadly violence against civilians seeking aid in the starving enclave. In a letter first obtained by CNN, Sens. Peter Welch and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Joaquin Castro and Sara Jacobs express concern about reports the two companies, UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions, are involved with 'deadly security operations in Gaza.' 'Reports and firsthand witnesses have indicated to us that your personnel —American veterans hired as private security contractors—were brought into Israel on tourist visas inappropriate for the intended purpose of their travel, sent to Gaza armed for combat, and ordered by Israeli officials to use lethal force against unarmed and starving Palestinian civilians,' said the letter to the CEOs of the two companies. 'We have also learned that under Israeli orders, your personnel are conducting crowd control at food distribution sites by firing live rounds over the heads of civilians and using stun grenades and pepper spray — all in an active military zone under direct supervision by Israeli military officers,' the letter said. 'As a result, we are deeply concerned that you may have failed to alert your personnel — or investors — of the immense legal risks they face for conducting what amounts to military operations on behalf of the Israeli government on land outside of the State of Israel,' it said. CNN has asked UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions for comment. The lawmakers are seeking answers about the rules of engagement for personnel in Gaza and the extent to which staff and investors were informed of their potential exposure to lawsuits related to alleged war crimes and torture. They requested those answers within two weeks. The letters also asked the companies to 'preserve all documents and communications related to (their) contracts and work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli backed private organization established to provide aid amid the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, has prompted an outcry and faced sharp criticism from international aid organizations over the operations of their distribution sites. Hundreds have been killed around the sites trying to get desperately needed food. US officials have defended the work of the foundation and argued it is the only organization that has been able to stop widespread looting of aid by Hamas. An internal USAID assessment did not find evidence of systemic theft by Hamas.
