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Media identify Capitol ramming suspect as black male, follower of radical
Nation of Islam as his FB page promptly gets wiped
2 Apr, 2021 21:41
© REUTERS/Al Drago; Twitter / @ANTHONYBLOGAN
The suspect shot dead after ramming his car into barriers outside the US Capitol has been identified by NBC News and other media outlets as Noah Green, a 25-year-old black man and reportedly a follower of the Nation of Islam.
Green allegedly drove a car into security barriers outside the US Capitol on Friday afternoon, injuring two Capitol Police officers, one fatally. Police say he was shot by the officers as he left his vehicle and lunged at them with a knife.
Despite their investigation being in its early stages, police say they have so far ruled out terrorism as a motive.
President Joe Biden has called the incident an “attack,” while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has dubbed the deceased officer a “martyr for our democracy.”
While police have not released any details about the suspect in the immediate aftermath of the attack, information obtained by NBC News identified him as 25-year-old Noah Green of Indiana. The African-American man was earlier seen being carried away from the scene of the attack on a stretcher by paramedics, and died shortly afterwards.
Facebook deleted Green’s account immediately after the NBC story broke, but screenshots purportedly showing some of Green’s posts have circulated online.
According to Green’s Facebook page, he was a follower of the Nation of Islam, a black nationalist interpretation of Islam that once counted Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali as members. Its current leader, Louis Farrakhan, often draws media attention with his anti-Semitic speeches.
Last month, Green reportedly wrote on Facebook that “these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher,” and that he had left his job to embark on a “spiritual journey.”
I don't think he is going to like his destination!
Police have identified the deceased officer as William Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force. He was hospitalized following the Friday incident, but succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
5 women arrested in France on suspicion of plotting terrorist attack
on religious site during Easter holidays
4 Apr, 2021 14:13
FILE PHOTO: A French gendarme, November 2020. © Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
French counter-terrorism police have arrested a family of five women after one of them was suspected of planning to attack a religious site. A sword and dangerous chemicals were reportedly found in their home.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed the operation in a tweet, thanking counter-terrorism agents for their work.
Several French news outlets reported earlier that authorities had learned a woman – who has not been publicly identified – was planning a terrorist attack on a religious site in the southern city of Montpellier during the Easter holidays. She was said to have been radicalized by watching videos from Islamic State.
The woman was apprehended on Saturday night in the city of Beziers, 70km from Montpellier, and taken into custody along with her mother and three sisters, one of whom is a minor.
During a search of the women’s home, police reportedly found a sharp sword and chemicals that could be used for explosives. At the same time, Le Point magazine cited a source which said the chemicals may have been bought for household use. A probe has been launched into whether the woman had ties to terrorist groups.
Beziers Mayor Robert Menard told Le Figaro newspaper that the detained family were “Islamists.” He added that the city’s La Deveze neighborhood, where the family lives, is “a difficult district affected by massive immigration.”
Jordanian FM confirms accusations against ex-Crown Prince Hamzah,
alleges foreign government involvement
4 Apr, 2021 15:38
Prince Hamzah bin Hussein of Jordan has been officially accused of plotting to undermine the country’s “security and stability.” Foreign parties participated in the plot, the Jordanian foreign minister claimed.
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a brief press conference on Sunday to confirm the arrest on Saturday of Prince Hamzah, among around 16 others. The royal scion held the position of crown prince under his half-brother King Abdullah II before the monarch revoked the title in 2004, making his son Hussein the new heir-apparent.
The foreign minister confirmed that Prince Hamzah and others were arrested for allegedly plotting with outside forces against the royal family. The statement did not specify what the exact goal of the prince’s allegedly seditious activities was, stopping just short of accusing him of an attempt to overthrow the king.
Jordanian authorities have long monitored the plot’s development and arrested the suspects after it progressed from the planning stage to the scheduling of concrete action, the official said. Few details were revealed, but Safadi said a foreign intelligence service communicated with Hamzah’s wife, offering the family a plane ride out of Jordan. The official didn’t name the country which is suspected of being involved in the plot.
The royal Hashemite dynasty intends to resolve the situation internally in accordance with the law and guided by mercy, the minister said.
On Sunday, Queen Noor, the mother of Prince Hamzah, called the accused individuals “innocent victims of… wicked slander” and expressed hope that justice will prevail.
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