Latest news with #domesticterror
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Report: The two networks that ignored attack on ICE facility
MSNBC and CNN did not devote any on-air coverage to a domestic terror attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, on the Fourth of July, according to a report from Mediate. The lack of coverage was revealed in a scathing opinion piece that took the networks to task for the lack of coverage. 'This glaring omission is particularly notable given the two news organizations' relentlessly critical coverage of ICE and persistent warnings about right-wing extremism and violence,' the piece read. The attack saw 11 suspects dressed in all-black military fatigues shoot fireworks at the facility 'as part of an organized attack,' the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said on Tuesday. When an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene, one alleged defendant in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area, officials added. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who stepped outside. The suspects left behind pointed graffiti that read 'ICE pig' and '[Expletive] you pigs' on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility. The injured officer was treated and released following the shooting. The FBI has since arrested 10 of the 11 suspects, with a final suspect still at large. MSNBC did not cover the ambush at all, while CNN only devoted a single sentence to the attack, Mediaite said, highlighting the networks' anti-ICE coverage. 'Searches for mentions of ICE on air may not turn up any coverage at all of the attempted murder of innocent law enforcement officers,' the piece said, 'but they do yield plenty of segments about other protests of the organization, MSNBC's Catherine Rampell ranting about its employees 'potentially like beating people, and committing violence,' and a CNN interview of a Latino man lamenting that his 'own people' were being 'arrested and harassed by the ICE agents.' 'Nothing about bullets flying by heads, though.' Both networks extensively covered news of the deadly floods in central Texas, which began the same day as the Alvarado attack.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The two major news channels that completely IGNORED domestic terror attack on ICE detention facility
MSNBC and CNN did not devote any on-air coverage to a domestic terror attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, on the Fourth of July, according to a report from Mediate. The lack of coverage was revealed in a scathing opinion piece that took the networks to task for the lack of coverage. 'This glaring omission is particularly notable given the two news organizations' relentlessly critical coverage of ICE and persistent warnings about right-wing extremism and violence,' the piece read. The attack saw 11 suspects dressed in all-black military fatigues shoot fireworks at the facility 'as part of an organized attack,' the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said on Tuesday. When an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene, one alleged defendant in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area, officials added. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who stepped outside. The suspects left behind pointed graffiti that read 'ICE pig' and 'F*** you pigs' on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility. The injured officer was treated and released following the shooting. The FBI has since arrested 10 of the 11 suspects, with a final suspect still at large. In the Alvarado ambush, suspects left behind pointed graffiti that read 'ICE pig' and 'F*** you pigs' on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility Meanwhile, MSNBC's Catherine Rampell ranted about its employees 'potentially like beating people, and committing violence,' and a CNN interview of a Latino man lamenting that his 'own people' were being 'arrested and harassed by the ICE agents' MSNBC did not cover the ambush at all, while CNN only devoted a single sentence to the attack, Mediaite said, highlighting the networks' anti-ICE coverage. 'Searches for mentions of ICE on air may not turn up any coverage at all of the attempted murder of innocent law enforcement officers,' the piece said, 'but they do yield plenty of segments about other protests of the organization, MSNBC's Catherine Rampell ranting about its employees 'potentially like beating people, and committing violence,' and a CNN interview of a Latino man lamenting that his 'own people' were being 'arrested and harassed by the ICE agents.' 'Nothing about bullets flying by heads, though.' Both networks extensively covered news of the deadly floods in central Texas, which began the same day as the Alvarado attack. Three days later, a gunman was shot and killed by federal agents at a US border patrol facility in McAllen, Texas in an incident covered by both CNN and MSNBC.
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
California mayor on Trump's immigration raids: ‘It is a campaign of domestic terror'
As a United States marine, Arturo Flores served in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he worked as a military police officer and trained dogs to find roadside bombs. It's his experience in the military that has made what he's seen on the streets of southern California in recent weeks all the more disturbing to him, Flores said. Flores is the mayor of Huntington Park, in south LA county. Like in other parts of LA, many Huntington residents have been terrified amid reports of masked federal agents detaining immigrants, or those that look like immigrants, on the street, in parking lots, at swap meets or large stores and soldiers deployed into the city against the wishes of local officials and the governor. 'It is a campaign of domestic terror that is being imposed on our residents on a daily basis,' Flores said. 'It is a level of psychological warfare that I've only seen in theaters of war. It's terrifying seeing it being displayed here in my city.' A third of all LA residents were born outside of the United States, and nearly half of the region's residents are Latino. An estimated 1 million of LA county's 10 million residents are undocumented. About 97% of residents in Huntington Park are Latino, and the city has been the site of numerous raids by US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (Ice) in recent weeks. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, attended an operation in the city on 12 June. The Trump administration's crackdown has sent fear through immigrant and Latino communities in the city, for citizens and non-citizens alike, Flores said. Video captured of federal operations in the region this week showed apparent immigration agents arresting a US citizen while her family cried for help nearby, and officers surrounding a street vendor as she clung to a tree. In Huntington Park, Flores said, federal officers are not communicating with local agencies and driving through neighborhoods at high speed, jumping curbs and chasing people. Residents report people seemingly being targeted based on their skin color or perceived ethnicity, he said. 'Any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically false,' the DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 'These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave Ice law enforcement.' McLaughlin also said 'this kind of garbage has led to a 500% increase in the assaults on Ice officers', though she did not explain the underlying data or what period the rise was documented in. 'DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence,' she said. 'We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.' The operations have had a dramatic impact on the community. Businesses have closed, Flores said, as people who would normally be out shopping stay indoors. Only four families came to a recent city-organized movie night in the park. 'It's a very real fear of being physically assaulted when you're just walking on the street, trying to grocery shop or trying to pick up your granddaughter,' Flores said. Flores has said the way federal officials are conducting operations, with agents in masks and unmarked vehicles, is dangerous. This week, Huntington Park police arrested someone they believed was impersonating a federal agent. He has been outspoken about his opposition to the operations in the city, and to the deployment of national guard soldiers and marines to Los Angeles in recent weeks. During a press conference with LA area mayors ahead of the arrival of soldiers in the city earlier this month, Flores urged servicemembers to defend the constitution. 'When we lifted our hands and we swore the oath to defend the constitution and to defend the country, that oath was to the American people,' he said at the time. 'It was not to a dictator. It was not to a tyrant. It was not to a president. It was to the American people.' The events that have unfolded in the area in recent weeks have been surreal, he said. 'You never imagine seeing this domestically in areas and streets that you grew up on … but we're seeing as some of these streets are being transformed into battlegrounds.' Huntington Park is having conversations about joining a class-action lawsuit with other cities against the Trump administration, Flores said, and is looking to start emergency funds for constitutional rights education, legal aid and emergency food delivery. As operations continue to unfold, he is urging residents to stay united. 'It is very dangerous time,' he said. '[But] there's gonna come a time where Donald Trump will not be president and the individuals that were perpetrating these injustices are going to be held accountable.'
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
California mayor on Trump's immigration raids: ‘It is a campaign of domestic terror'
As a United States marine, Arturo Flores served in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he worked as a military police officer and trained dogs to find roadside bombs. It's his experience in the military that has made what he's seen on the streets of southern California in recent weeks all the more disturbing to him, Flores said. Flores is the mayor of Huntington Park, in south LA county. Like in other parts of LA, many Huntington residents have been terrified amid reports of masked federal agents detaining immigrants, or those that look like immigrants, on the street, in parking lots, at swap meets or large stores and soldiers deployed into the city against the wishes of local officials and the governor. 'It is a campaign of domestic terror that is being imposed on our residents on a daily basis,' Flores said. 'It is a level of psychological warfare that I've only seen in theaters of war. It's terrifying seeing it being displayed here in my city.' A third of all LA residents was born outside of the United States, and nearly half of the region's residents are Latino. An estimated 1 million of LA county's 10 million residents are undocumented. About 97% of residents in Huntington Park are Latino, and the city has been the site of numerous raids by US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (Ice) in recent weeks. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, attended an operation in the city on 12 June. The Trump administration's crackdown has sent fear through immigrant and Latino communities in the city, for citizens and non-citizens alike, Flores said. Video captured of federal operations in the region this week showed apparent immigration agents arresting a US citizen while her family cried for help nearby, and officers surrounding a street vendor as she clung to a tree. In Huntington Park, Flores said, federal officers are not communicating with local agencies and driving through neighborhoods at high rates of speed, jumping curbs, and chasing people. Residents report people seemingly being targeted based on their skin color or perceived ethnicity, he said. 'Any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically false,' the DHS assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said. 'These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave Ice law enforcement.' McLaughlin also said 'this kind of garbage has led to a 500% increase in the assaults on Ice officers', though she did not explain the underlying data or what period the rise was documented in. 'DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' she said. 'We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.' The operations have had a dramatic impact on the community. Businesses have closed, Flores said, as people who would normally be out shopping stay indoors. Only four families came to a recent city-organized movie night in the park. 'It's a very real fear of being physically assaulted when you're just walking on the street, trying to grocery shop or trying to pick up your granddaughter,' Flores said. Flores has said the way federal officials are conducting operations, with agents in masks and unmarked vehicles, is dangerous. This week, Huntington Park police arrested someone they believed was impersonating a federal agent. He has been outspoken about his opposition to the operations in the city, and to the deployment of national guard soldiers and marines to Los Angeles in recent weeks. During a press conference with LA area mayors ahead of the arrival of soldiers in the city earlier this month, Flores urged servicemembers to defend the constitution. 'When we lifted our hands and we swore the oath to defend the constitution and to defend the country, that oath was to the American people,' he said at the time. 'It was not to a dictator. It was not to a tyrant. It was not to a president. It was to the American people.' The events that have unfolded in the area in recent weeks have been surreal, he said. 'You never imagine seeing this domestically in areas and streets that you grew up on … but we're seeing as some of these streets are being transformed into battlegrounds.' Huntington Park is having conversations about joining a class-action lawsuit with other cities against the Trump administration, Flores said, and is looking to start emergency funds for constitutional rights education, legal aid and emergency food delivery. As operations continue to unfold, he's urging residents to stay united. 'It is very dangerous time,' he said. '[But] there's gonna come a time where Donald Trump will not be president and the individuals that were perpetrating these injustices are going to be held accountable.'
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
College campuses could be ground zero for Iranian sleeper cells plotting to harm Americans, experts warn
As the threat of Iranian retaliation looms, the potential for terror proxies to leverage new-age methods remains front of mind for experts pointing to antisemitic campus protests and social media propaganda as possible methods of creating chaos within the United States. After strikes on Iran's key nuclear sites by U.S. forces Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warning of the heightened risk of domestic terrorism from Iranian-backed or domestic attackers. "The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland," the bulletin says. Sleeper cells are groups planted within a country by a foreign government to live and work among citizens with the ultimate goal of eventually carrying out a terror attack or politically motivated act of violence. Due to depleted funding and resources, terror organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas have been forced to "sit this one out" when it comes to aiding Iran in its attacks, significantly depleting the regime's show of force when looking to retaliate against the U.S. and Israel, according to Barak Seener, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. "Iran's ability to react militarily is increasingly minimalized," Seener told Fox News Digital. "We have to remember that Iran's terrorist proxies have been severely degraded." In response to the loss of Iran's usual terrorist proxies, Seener points to the government utilizing sleeper cells to carry out its agenda on the soil of its adversaries. "Iran will be seeking to flex by activating sleeper cells in the U.S., Britain, Europe or even Asia," Seener said. "[It's] about conducting surveillance and then targeting either community centers or policy officials. So, Iran is not new to this game." The threat to Americans' safety has U.S. officials on high alert, and DHS and the FBI are ramping up security measures throughout the country. Since the bombing of Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 11 Iranian nationals in the country illegally, including an alleged sniper in the Iranian army, according to DHS. "It is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threat to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence and antisemitic hate crimes." The FBI declined Fox News Digital's request for comment. "A number of Lebanese, Iranian, South American operatives with Iranian connections have come through the borders," Seener said, referencing the Biden administration's previous open border policies. "[There's] just no way of tracking." However, Seener also raised the possibility of Iranian operatives commandeering anti-Israel campus protests throughout the U.S. while using cyber warfare to launch disinformation campaigns on social media. "Much of the opposition to U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and Gaza has been people that have been coming to the [country] on student visas," Seener said. "They're not U.S. nationals. And, yet, they're able to create a disturbance and contribute to an enormous disruption." In response to the ongoing anti-Israel protests on college campuses, President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to revoke hundreds of student visas belonging to known activists. However, the risk of Iranian sleeper cells pales in comparison to the possibility of an individual radicalized by the regime choosing to carry out an attack on U.S. soil, according to Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD executive officer with the Intelligence Operations and Analysis Bureau. "If [Iran] was looking to insert an asset into America, why would you not go through a porous southern border," Mauro told Fox News Digital. "Insert foreign agents here and embed them in these campus protests." The campus protests provide the Iranian government an attractive target to embed with, with the primary goal of creating disruption and dissent on American soil, according to Mauro. "They can be the recipient of funds," Mauro said. "They can contextualize what is going on for you. They can tell you who the big players are, how the disruption could go. And it just saps our blood and treasure here on the home front and creates chaos." Like Seener, Mauro pointed to the possibility of the Iranian regime using social media and online platforms to radicalize Americans in an attempt to build homegrown terrorists from the ground up. "That is a real low-rent, easy-to-run operation," Mauro said. "You get somebody who is leading a slipping down life [who] doesn't have much of an identity, somebody who is looking for a persona, and you give them one. It's subtle, and it's a seduction process." While the use of propaganda and targeted social media is historically aligned with ISIS, Mauro pointed out changing digital times affecting how attacks can be waged. "Traditionally, that's not the Iranian MO," Mauro said. "That's not the Hezbollah MO. But we're in a new world." However, the possibility for terror groups to come together with new strategies to use against a common enemy remains front of mind. "Right now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Mauro said. "You could have the kind of elements that previously, people in remnants of Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Syria, Iraq could [be] figuring right now that America is going to be a soft target because you have all this unrest among the progressives." While the bulletin released by DHS does not cite any specific threats to the American people, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the country are on high alert as they encourage people to remain vigilant with tensions between the U.S. and Iran continuing to rise. "There are no rules of engagement to a rogue regime like Iran," Seener said. "Everything is fair game. Western democracies don't operate in that manner, and it's alien to us, but that is how Iran operates."
