CRIMES DU JOUR BY US-BORN WHITE CRIMINALS

THIS IS BUT A SMALL RANDOM SAMPLE OF CRIMES COMMITTED ON US SOIL BY US-BORN WHITE CRIMINALS. No reports were encountered of crimes committed by migrants or immigrants.

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KENFUCKY

Kentucky Teacher Mary Mattingly Sexually Assaulted a Student and Sent Them Partially Nude PhotoS 

High school teacher Mary "Hanna" Mattingly was arrested in Kentucky for allegedly sexually assaulting a student and sending them partially nude photographs. Mattingly is a teacher at Bardstown High School, police said.

Police allegedly received a report that Mattingly – a biology teacher at Louisiana All-Girls Catholic School. In addition to sexually assaulting the student, Mattingly also sent them partially nude photographs.

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OHIO

Ohio Dance Instructor Opened Fire at Party After Her Husband and Boyfriend Learned About Her Affair

A dance instructor in Ohio has learned her sentence after she opened fire at a New Year’s Day party, which happened after her husband and boyfriend learned about each other. Olivia Clendenin, 29, was sentenced to serve between 16 to 20 years in prison during a hearing that was held on Thursday, March 26. She was found guilty in January of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of illegal discharge at or into a habitation.

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WEST VIRGINIA

Morgantown man charged after allegedly sexually assaulting juvenile ‘more than 10 times’

A man has been charged after allegedly sexually assaulting a juvenile “more than 10 times” in Morgantown.

Throughout January of 2023, a juvenile under the age of 10 claimed that a man had performed multiple sexual acts at a household in Morgantown, according the West Virginia State Police. Kenneth Davis, 55, of Morgantown, had performed those acts “more than 10 times” while in the house, troopers said. Davis coerced the victim into secrecy by telling the juvenile that if they said “No,” he would keep things from them, according to the complaint. Davis has been charged with first-degree sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse.

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WISCONSIN

North High School teacher charged with sexual assault of a child

The North High School teacher who was arrested for sexual assault after an inappropriate relationship was reported to a school resource officer, has been charged. Nadia Horn was been charged in Eau Claire County Court with second degree sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age, two counts of child enticement, and two counts of sexual assault of a child by a person who works with or volunteers with children. All five courts are felonies.

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NEW YORK

Man Charged With Kidnapping After Allegedly Luring 4-Year-Old Girl From Long Island Laundromat

A Long Island, New York, man is behind bars after police claim he lured a toddler from a laundromat while her mother was distracted. Suffolk County Police say that a stranger, Carlos Corte, led a 4-year-old girl straight out the back exit of The Laundry Kingdom of Patchogue before leaving the area with the child. The mom was in the laundromat with another of her children when she realized that the girl was missing. The kidnapped 11-Year-old girl was found naked in his bed.

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TEXAS

Three North Texas firemen arrested on child sex crime charges, affidavit says they 'victimized' 16-year-old junior firefighter

Three North Texas firefighters were arrested on child sex crime charges after victimizing a 16-year-old junior firefighter in 2022 at the Howe Volunteer Fire Department, with one firefighter assaulting her more than two dozen times while she was underage. The three firefighters were arrested last week. The girl, who is not identified in redacted documents came forward to police in May 2025 with allegations against multiple members of the department dating back to her time as a junior firefighter in 2022. The girl said Howe Firefighter David Perez-Glass, 33, assaulted her more than two dozen times while she was underage between January 2022 and January 2023. She details sexual assaults while the pair were alone at the fire station and in a storage facility in Van Alstyne, according to the arrest documents. According to the documents, she "said that Perez-Glass would use force to coerce her" into sex acts and she "consented to the sexual activity due to fear."

She told investigators Perez-Glass told her "he would kill her if she ever told anyone" and that he likely believed they were in a relationship.

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CALIFORNIA

Vacation rental near Yosemite allegedly used to secretly record guests, 4,000 illegal files found

Vacation rental near Yosemite allegedly used to secretly record guests, 4,000 illegal files found

A man was arrested in California after authorities found thousands of files of alleged child sexual abuse material and a lifelike child doll at a vacation rental near Yosemite National Park.

A vacation rental near Yosemite National Park is at the center of a disturbing investigation in California after authorities uncovered thousands of files of alleged child sexual abuse material, along with a "lifelike child doll" intended for sexual use.

Christian Parmalee Edwards, 44, was arrested on March 19 after detectives executed a search warrant at a home on Granite Butte Way in Oakhurst — roughly 15 miles south of Yosemite National Park, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators allege the property was being used as a short-term rental where guests may have been secretly recorded during private moments without their knowledge. During the search, detectives said they discovered more than 4,000 files of suspected child sexual abuse material. "Detectives also found Mr. Edwards to be in possession of a lifelike child doll designed for sexual use," a spokesperson for the Madera County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital. "The dolls hands were bound." Authorities also reported finding new children’s clothing. "This showcases the escalation in behaviors from viewing digital images to filming to physical behaviors," the spokesperson said.

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COLORADO

Teacher of the Year finalist gets 14 years for sexual relationship with student she kept contacting

Former Colorado Teacher of the Year finalist sentenced to 14 years in prison for engaging in a sexual relationship with a student and continuing contact after being criminally charged.

Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old writer and former STEM School Highlands Ranch educator, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of cybercrime, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 19. Officials indicated that the cybercrime charge stemmed from her continued contact with the student. The former teacher was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old, which was discovered around January 2025 when the student’s parents found texts containing sexually explicit content, according to The Denver Post. Johnson-Swartz, who had been recognized as one of seven finalists for Colorado’s Teacher of the Year just five months before the investigation, was ultimately charged in two separate cases. The first stemmed from a grand jury probe into the relationship in early 2025 and the second tied to her continued contact with the student.

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TEXAS

Student shoots a teacher at Texas high school before fatally shooting self, authorities say

A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself Monday, according to authorities, who were still investigating what led to the early morning attack. No other injuries were reported at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde, a small but growing city near San Antonio.

The teacher was taken to a nearby hospital. The student shot the teacher before turning the gun on himself. Reynolds said investigators were working to understand the relationship between the student and the teacher and looking into how the firearm was obtained.

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CALIFORNIA

US Marine corporal accused of stealing and selling weapons from California's Camp Pendleton

A U.S. Marine who was an ammunition specialist at California's Camp Pendleton is charged with stealing ammo and weapons, including a shoulder-fired missile system, and conspiring to sell them in Arizona, where they are slated to be smuggled into Mexico to the benefit of the Mexican drug cartels. Cpl. Andrew Paul Amarillas was charged with conspiracy to commit theft and embezzlement of government property, and possession and sale of stolen ammunition. Federal prosecutors said Amarillas used his position as a technical specialist at the School of Infantry West to steal at least one Javelin missile system, thousands of rounds of military-grade ammunition and other weapons-related material between February 2022 and November 2025.

He's accused of transporting the stolen material to his home state of Arizona, where he sold them to unnamed co-conspirators believed to be smugglers across the US-Mexico border.

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ARKANSAS

Rogers doctor accused of Medicaid fraud arrested by US Marshals

Former Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist and accused fraudster Brian Hyatt was arrested again over the weekend, this time by U.S. Marshals (USMS). 53-year-old Hyatt was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on March 28, 2026. Federal law enforcement has been investigating Hyatt since the onset of fraud and abuse allegations against him. The Drug Enforcement Administration searched his office in 2022, and in 2025, the FBI asked for help identifying potential victims amid an investigation into whether Hyatt held patients against their will.

Hyatt, the former head of the state medical board, is facing charges of Medicaid fraud in Pulaski County.

Court documents say that while Hyatt was the director of the Behavioral Health Unit at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, a confidential informant reported significant growth in the unit despite the doctor reportedly never visiting patients. In addition to his fraud allegations, Hyatt was arrested twice in 2025 for alleged public intoxication and driving while intoxicated. He also has over 200 outstanding lawsuits, many claiming abuse and coercion.

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MISSOURI

 

The leader of a “cult-like” Amish community in Missouri by the name of Sam Shetler has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse and forced labor at a rural retreat, after a search warrant was issued at the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat. Prosecutors filed charges against Shelter, 42, of two counts of trafficking for forced labor and one count of sodomy.

Three witnesses told authorities in early 2026 about their experiences at the retreat, which was described as being run under abusive and controlling conditions. The sheriff's office received numerous tips between 2022 to 2026 regarding "cult-like" behavior at the retreat in rural Cooper County, according to court documents viewed by the outlet. Witnesses said they were expedited to work on property without pay, and children would be "leased out" for work in town with all of the pay going directly to Shetler. Some people were forced to sleep in the cold or had pepper put in their eyes as a form of punishment. 

One witness claimed that Shetler rubbed oil on them in order to "heal” them before sexual abuse, adding that Shetler allegedly touched them inappropriately during one encounter and gave them pills one night before they woke up to someone holding their legs and arms down. At least three women were told by Shetler they were possessed by demons and that they could only be healed by his massages.

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Pro-Trump Jan. 6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump is caught possessing 'enormous child pornography collection'

Daniel Tocci has been sentenced for possessing more than 100,000 child sexual abuse images and videos discovered in connection with his Capitol riot case. He was sentenced to four years in prison by U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the District of Massachusetts after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Tocci was set to go to trial for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 seditious attack on the US Congress early last year, but Trump granted him clemency along with roughly 1,500 criminals who pariticipated in the attack on the Capitol .

Tocci's laptop "contained extremely disturbing images of violent acts, such as a cat being killed by being put in a blender, a male shooting a female in the head, a dog being beaten to death, and severed heads and limbs, as well as images and videos of bestiality.”

Tocci's attorney said in July that "President Trump recognized the ongoing nature of the injustice against Mr. Tocci, as the investigation took place over the course of four years, and the instant case is still being prosecuted."

Another former Jan. 6 criminal, Andrew Paul Johnson, was recently sentenced this month to life in prison after he was convicted of child sex crimes.

American Evangelical Morons Excuse Israel's Persecution of Palestine's Christians

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, the evangelical moron from the backward state of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, and his imbecile Texan alter ego, Senator Ted Cruz, are both staunch supporters of Israel. They've been catering to Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian people, ignoring the tens of thousands killed by US weapons gifted to the Zionist barbarians to complete their 100-year-running rape of Palestine. In doing so, they enabled the Zionists to cross every line in humanity's civilized norms and justified their barbarity with religious bullshit from the Bronze Age.

When the Zionist police prohibited the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to hold Palm Sunday mass, the Latin Patriarchate wrote in a statement that Israeli police barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the patriarch of Jerusalem, and Rev. Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the official guardian of the church, from entering the church on Sunday, thus undermining the entire celebration. It is easy for Zionists to mistreat and speak ill of Muslims, but when it comes to Christians (Palestinian, Armenian, Maronite, Catholics, Greek Orthodox...) the Zionists do it subtly, under the radar, so as not to raise alarms worldwide. That is, in fact, how they are ethnically cleansing Palestine: one family at a time, one home at a time, one village at a time.... Mathematically, the formula is HOW MANY CAN YOU ELIMINATE x TIME: Kill 100 Palestinians every day for 50 years and you rid yourself of 2 million Palestinians and no one notices. That is what is happening as we write these lines. But kill 2 million Palestinians in, say, three months of a brutal genocide and the world will be upset. But the Zionists are banking on the time factor to slowly and gradually make Palestine a purely Jewish entity. 

In its statement, the Latin Catholic Patriarchate in Palestine said that the Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Rev. Fr. Francesco Ielpo, “were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back.” Which means that the Zionists wanted to prevent the celebration from taking place.

The patriarchate noted that this Sunday's incident was the “first time in centuries” that Catholic Church officials were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday mass at the church, which holds the tomb where Christians believe Jesus rose on Easter.

For the moron from Arkansas, the Evangelical huckster Huckabee, this was an “unfortunate overreach”, just like the genocide of hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians was an "overeach" of the Zionists' fight against terrorism. Huckabee is struggling with words to defend the indefensible, “For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify”. Of course, for an Evangelical moron whose Secretary of Whore is none else but Jesus-freak Pete Hegseth, it is difficult to understand barbarity when he himself is up to his eyeballs in it.

Ted Cruz, the idiot from the backward state of Texas, went further by saying, “This was a mistake by the Israeli police ... The security concerns are real", the asshole said in reference to the hyped up fear of terrorism used as a pretext for more ethnic cleansing," but they should not have prevented the Patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to conduct the Palm Sunday blessing." To be honest, Cruz and Huckabee and their Evangelical herds of radical morons hate Catholics. It's in their DNA.

The Zionist War Criminal Netanyahu meanwhile was adding fuel to the fire by pretending that he was protecting all three faiths by preventing Catholic and Orthodox Christians from holding their rituals. One would have wished the criminal Zionist would be as strict in protecting innocent Palestinian villagers from attacks (burning, killing, raping, uprooting trees, demolishing homes, stealing land...) by his ultra-extermist terrorist settlers.

Netanyahu issued a statement to that effect, “As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshippers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City to protect them,” the prime minister’s office added. “Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa from holding mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Again, there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party.”

World leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, expressed outrage over the Zionist "overreach". Carney, who is Catholic, said on X that the Israeli move violates the “longstanding status quo of Jerusalem’s Holy Sites.” 

It is clear that world leaders know how far the Zionists are planning to go to purify Israel of any non-Jewish elements. The Zionists have, in particular, been targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque for demolition in order to replace it with a Third Jewish Temple to be built in lieu of the First Temple (destroyed by the Bayblonians in 586 BC) and the Second Temple (destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD). 

Bigot & Drunkard Womanizer Hegseth's HOLY WAR: Shoves Jesus in US Military

They speak of Jesus but they don't abide by his teachings. That's BIGOTRY. And racist alcoholic fornicator Pete Hegseth is the Bigot-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces.

Make sure to read the last paragraph - and I quote: ‘President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.’ - to understand how sick this administration is. It's no different from Islamist governments who shove God and Mohammed and the Quran in everything they do.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS IMPLEMENTING A CHRISTIAN SHARIA LAW IN THE LAND. WELCOME TO THE US, THE AFGHANISTAN-ON-THE-POTOMAC.

Not to forget that the bulk of deployed US troops will consist of HISPANICS, BLACKS, ASIANS, etc.... the White racist morons will not send their sons to be killed in war. Just like Trump who evaded the Vietnam draft because he considers himself a member of "the New York elite". Only low class riffraff immigrant stock "pseudo-Americans" should die at war to prove their Americanity. Whites don't have to. Their skin color proves it.
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Pentagon Pete’s Jesus War Talk Freaks Out Troops
Daysia Tolentino
Sun, March 29, 2026

The defense secretary raised alarm bells among troops after disrupting the military’s long-standing practice of separating church and state.

Pentagon staffers, current officers, former high-ranking military officials, chaplain corps, and veterans groups revealed the “unprecedented” monthly worship services led by Pete Hegseth in a Washington Post report published Sunday. They expressed concerns that the Defense Secretary was flouting the Constitution by pushing his evangelical beliefs onto service members.

“I don’t approve of cramming your religious faith down people’s throats, and when the top of the chain couches these operations in this hyper-Christian tone, it flies in the face of the freedom of religion that the Constitution enshrines and that our men and women in uniform sign up to defend,” one source told the Post.

Trump sleeping while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hurls remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 26, 2026. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Others said they felt that 45-year-old Hegseth, a former Fox News host who reportedly banned press photographers from briefings because they were taking unflattering photos of him, was becoming exclusionary toward troops who disagreed with him. These reported concerns follow

The military has historically approached faith in a more nondenominational way. Hegseth’s faith leader, evangelical minister Brooks Potteiger—a former model and woodworker who is due to relocate to Washington, D.C., to lead a new congregation Hegseth has attended—was in hot water this month for calling for the death of a Democrat candidate on a right-wing podcast.

Hegseth’s approach may be bad for overall morale, according to critics.

U.S. military officials have drawn up detailed plans for deploying ground forces - CANNON FODDER - into Iran, including involving elite rapid-response units such as the 82nd Airborne Division. / US ARMY / via REUTERS

“The idea behind faith in the military and in combat—whatever your faith is, even if it’s atheistic—the idea of having a greater mission is really, really useful in the military," Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America spokesperson Lou Elliott-Cysewski told the Post.

“However, being weaponized is the opposite of what the original intention is,” Elliott-Cysewski said. “People tune out and I think that’s really, really dangerous.”

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told the outlet that Hegseth’s services “are 100 percent voluntary and are not mandated whatsoever.”

“The Secretary’s prayer services undoubtedly improve morale for those who choose to attend and are constitutionally protected,” Wilson continued. “No special treatment or punishment is given as a result of one’s choice to attend these prayer services.”

Trump, who has repeatedly worried about whether he will get into Heaven, pretending to pray with his submissive puppets Rubio and Hegseth. / Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images

The Daily Beast reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Hegseth used his most recent worship service to call for “overwhelming violence” against Iran. More than 2,500 people across Iran and Lebanon have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched their offensive in the Middle East on Feb. 28, including hundreds of children. At least 13 U.S. service members have died since the war began.

Hegseth announced this month that he was downsizing the number of faith codes used in the military from 200 to 31. He said the move was an effort to address “political correctness and secular humanism,” which he believed afflicted the Chaplain Corps, or the ordained, interfaith clergy supporting service members.

U.S. Secretary of [Whore] Pete Hegseth provides updates on military operations in Iran during a press briefing at the Pentagon on March 19, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. The U.S. and Israel continue their joint attack on Iran that began on February 28. / Win McNamee / Win McNamee/Getty Images

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner told the Post that “dozens and dozens” of active-duty chaplains who don’t identify with Hegseth “are being marginalized” and some are “not included in staff meetings.”

Throughout the month of attacks on Iran, service members have reported concerning rhetoric from their commanders invoking the idea of a holy war.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates for service members’ constitutional right to religious freedom, said it received over 200 calls from active-duty personnel in the days following the U.S. and Israel’s initial strikes on Feb. 28. Military leaders spoke of Armageddon to encourage troops to fight.

“He urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ,” one active-duty military member who identified as a Christian told the MRFF.

“He said that ‘President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.’”

Israel's Low-key Persecution of Catholic and Orthodox Christians in Palestine

Easter in the "Democracy for Jews only"

Israeli police prevent Catholic leaders from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at Jerusalem church

MELANIE LIDMAN and NICOLE WINFIELD

Sun, March 29, 2026 

Catholic faithfuls attend a Palm Sunday mass at the Monastery of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem's Old City Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)


People visit the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem's Old City Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass on the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday for the first time in centuries, the Latin Patriarchate said Sunday.

Jerusalem's major holy sites are closed because of the ongoing Iran war, including the church, as the city has come under frequent fire from Iranian missiles.

The Catholic Church called the police decision “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” It prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the head of the Custos in the Holy Land, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and launches the Holy Week commemorations for Christians who follow the Latin calendar, which culminates in Easter next Sunday.

The Israeli police said it had notified the Catholic Church on Saturday that no Mass could take place on Palm Sunday because of safety considerations, the lack of access for emergency vehicles in narrow alleys of the Old City and lack of adequate shelter.

However, the Latin Patriarchate said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been hosting Masses that aren't open to the public since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, and it was unclear why Sunday’s Mass and access by the two priests was any different.

“It’s a very, very sacred day for Christians and in our opinion there was no justification for such a decision or such an action,” said Farid Jubran, the spokesperson for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Jubran said that the church had requested permission from the police for a few religious leaders to enter the church for a private Mass on Sunday — not one that was open to the public. The Patriarchate said that the decision impeded freedom of worship and the status quo in Jerusalem.

The traditional Palm Sunday procession normally sees tens of thousands of Christians from around the world walk from the Mount of Olives down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.

The Patriarchate canceled the traditional processional last week because of safety concerns, and has held Masses limited to fewer than 50 worshippers in compliance with the Israeli military’s guidelines for civilians.

Pizzaballa celebrated Mass in the nearby St. Savior’s Monastery, a soaring marble church which is located next to an underground music school that the Israeli military has deemed a safe shelter space. Later on Sunday, Pizzaballa held a prayer for peace at the Dominus Flevit Shrine on the Mount of Olives, but kept his homily concentrated on Jesus and didn't mention the morning’s incident.

Pope Leo XIV, at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, prayed for all Christians in the Middle East who he said were living through an “atrocious” conflict. He said that “in many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days,” though he didn’t elaborate.

The Vatican spokesman didn’t immediately respond when asked to comment on the Jerusalem incident.
Italy condemns decision

Italy formally protested the incident to Israeli authorities. Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the police action “constitutes an offense not only against believers but against every community that recognizes religious freedom.”

“The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a sacred site of Christianity, and as such must be preserved and protected for the celebration of sacred rites,” Meloni said. “Preventing the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land from entering, especially on a solemnity central to the faith such as Palm Sunday, constitutes an offense not only against believers but against every community that recognizes religious freedom.”

Meloni’s conservative government tried to keep a balanced position with Israel during the war in Gaza, supporting Israel’s right to defense but condemning the toll on Palestinians.

The Italian leader has also said that Italy won't participate in the Iran war, while affirming that the Islamic Republic can't be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s ambassador to Israel to convey the protest “and to reaffirm Italy’s commitment to protecting religious freedom at all times and under all circumstances.”

In addition, Tajani summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy for talks on Monday at the Italian Foreign Ministry to seek clarification about the decision.
Israeli leader explains closure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening that there was no “malicious intent” and that the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church because of safety concerns, but that Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days.

“Given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

When Incompetent Decadence Meets War: US's Delicate Islamist Arab Gulf Protégés

  

Comments on the Islamist Arab Gulf states:

* Their protection by the US and the UK is extortion: Open up your backward ways, let us in to take over your economies and your culture, buy up our humongous cars and eat our disgusting fast food, grow up diabetic and cancerous, give us your oil and gas.... and we'll protect you against enemies we invented especially for you.

* When westerners who live and work there are asked, "how is it living in the Gulf?", the facial gesture is a bored snicker with an eye roll. They tell us that the "locals" are dumber than anyone they've met, and the shine-and glitter of their gold-laced high rises is but a match with the intrinsic decadence and opulence of easy money. Islamist Arab Gulf citizens have never really worked hard, they're rich because their otherwise languishing deserts have oil and gas underneath their soil.

* The Islamist Arab Gulf states are the ones who, freshly rich from oil in the 1970s, launched their massive campaigns of islamization of the west (mosque building, training violent radical preachers, funding fake "charities" to funnel money to destabilizing and often terrorist groups...). They were behind the 9-11 attacks on the US. Now suddenly they are the West's best friend and have coldly welcomed their "normalization" with the Zionists, which they did reluctantly and coercively under pressure from the US. Deep down they are by far the worst antisemites that there is.

* With foreign workers (from white collar to blue collar and below) doing all the work and the heavy lifting, the smell of war smells of major disasters looming. The Islamist oil-and-gas-orgy of fake development will disintegrate if Trump's war lasts. Already, investments and foreigners are fleeing in droves and going home. Some of the Gulf states citizens might themselves re-locate under "asylum" laws to the US and Britain...

* When you prostitute yourself to the anglo-saxons, your destiny is doomed. They might have to rername several of their geographies after their savior, the dumb idiot Donald Trump. The Strait of Trump. The Trumpian Gulf. Etc. 

* Finally, they spent trillions of dollars buying sophisticated weapons from the West. What for? The Islamist sissies don't even dare use them, they may not even know how to use them. Like dainty virgins, they let Israel do their dirty jobs, and American soldiers do the fighting for them and die on their behalf. They seem suprised that Iran is bombing them. Should they be when they are western creations (first by British colonialism, then by American imperialism), carved out of the desert with synthetic artificial borders, and house some of the largest western military bases of the world? 

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 War has sent Qatar reeling. It spells danger for Britain 

Hans van Leeuwen

Sun, March 29, 2026

When Iranian missiles pounded into Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas plant, it wasn’t just the energy infrastructure that went up in flames.

The attack also blew up the global gas market and incinerated Qatar’s own economic prospects. If Donald Trump and the Tehran regime don’t strike a peace deal soon, the tiny Gulf monarchy may tumble into an economic crater.

On a map, Qatar appears as little more than a 4,500-sq-mile thumb of desert sand jutting into the Gulf.

But if economic malaise takes hold there, it could send shock waves through Britain.

Qatar’s deep entanglements in the UK – ranging from luxury hotels and trophy towers to energy supplies, household-name retailers and extensive arms dealing – could all feel the impact.

The emirate has at least £40bn invested in Britain, with some estimates putting the figure closer to £100bn if property owned by wealthy Qataris is included.

With war raging in the Middle East, questions are mounting about Qatar’s plans for its mountain of cash locked up in Britain – and the potential fallout for the UK’s businesses and economy.

Dire straits

The emirate of 3.1 million people, of whom only about 360,000 are native Qataris, has experienced tough times before.

Between 2017 and 2020, its neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blockaded the country as diplomatic relations soured, and a tough Covid lockdown came straight after.

But throughout all that, Qatar kept pumping out the liquefied natural gas (LNG) that fuels its economy and fills the public coffers.

This time it’s different.

“This is conspicuously worse than anything that any of the Gulf monarchies have experienced since 1990. The blockade was not good, but it wasn’t this bad,” says David Roberts, a Middle East expert at King’s College London.

Qatar has been left reeling from Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The narrow waterway is the only means for the country, the world’s third largest gas exporter, to get its product to the outside world. One fifth of the planet’s gas is shipped out that way.

Hydrocarbons account for about two thirds of the Qatari economy and up to 80pc of government revenue. All this is in limbo until Tehran loosens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, or Trump prises it open.

On top of this came the Iranian attack on Ras Laffan. Iran and Qatar have a relatively cordial relationship, and Qatar has been spared the kind of missile and drone barrage inflicted on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

But Tehran needed a like-for-like retaliation for Israel’s bombing of Iran’s huge South Pars gas field. So it hit the global gas industry where it hurts.

The attacks took out 17pc of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, and also dented production of condensate, liquefied petroleum gas, helium, naphtha and ​sulphur.

In an unusual but probably tactical display of transparency and candour, QatarEnergy boss Saad al-Kaabi put the damage at $20bn (£15bn) in lost annual revenue.

Repairing the damage could take three to five years, he said, and Qatar’s plan to double its gas output in the next five years has been delayed by at least a year.

Kaabi said the scale of the damage had set the region back by a decade or more.

“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be ... ⁠in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan,” he told Reuters.

In the past week, QatarEnergy ​declared force majeure on long-term contracts for up to five years for LNG shipments bound for Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China.

Farouk Soussa, a Goldman Sachs economist, has forecast that if Hormuz reopens soon, the hit to Qatar’s economy this year may be no more than 5pc.

But if the conflict drags on, Qatar faces a much worse fate. Its gross domestic product could shrivel by 14pc this year.

“For many Gulf economies, the war could have a bigger near-term impact than Covid,” Soussa wrote.

“When the dust settles they will rebuild and they will recover, but the scars this conflict leaves on confidence remain to be seen.”

Kaabi could only agree. His country had a reputation as “a safe ⁠haven for a lot of people”, he said. “That image, I think, has been shaken.”

Taking a battering

Schoolchildren will be back in the class in Qatar on Sunday as schools reopen, a move ministers hope will signal a return to normality.

The country is desperate to maintain its business-as-usual image – of an economy and society sitting safely under state-of-the-art missile defences.

“The threat has been eliminated and the situation has returned to normal,” the interior ministry said in a statement on Friday.

But take a look at the Facebook groups for British expats in Doha, the Qatari capital, and Kaabi’s concerns of Qatar’s fading reputation as a safe haven are becoming a reality.

Qatar has only received a fraction of the Iranian attacks endured by its neighbours. Whereas the UAE has suffered 2,213 missiles and drones, the Saudis 816, and Kuwait and Bahrain 500-plus, Qatar has seen just 276. Most of these attacks were repelled.

Yet with schools and airspace largely closed until this week, expats have been debating whether to stay or go.

“I’m choosing not to bury my head in the sand, and using the means I have to leave,” said one forum participant, who, like most, posted anonymously.

Another responded: “Everyone from Europe is leaving ... When missiles explode, it is frightening, to be honest.”

Others were adamant that nothing had really changed. “It is worrying at times, but the Qatar government are doing a brilliant job at keeping us safe,” said one.

Dania Thafer, of the Gulf International Forum and who is based in Doha, says most expats leaving the country see their relocation as temporary.

“Most people are planning to return, most are holding on to their jobs. I don’t think the disruption has been to the extent that people are going to flee the Gulf states at this point,” she says.

For those who have stayed, “everyone is just living a normal life, though it does have a little bit of a Covid feeling”.

The economy may also get that Covid feeling. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, GDP shrank by more than 4pc.

But this crisis may outpace that one. Even in the depths of the pandemic, for example, Qatar Airways kept flying. Now, it has parked 20 of its largest aircraft in Spain.

For Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a US-based Middle East expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute, this is symptomatic of how wide-ranging the economic hit to Qatar could be.

He says the billions of lost gas revenue and the cost of repairing the infrastructure at Ras Laffan are only part of the story. The crisis could metastasise across Qatar’s economy.

The pain could extend into sectors that the ruling family has built up expressly to mitigate the country’s dangerous hydrocarbon dependence.

One of these is aviation. Qatar Airways is a state flagship carrier and its extensive network has turned Doha into the world’s 10th busiest international airport, chiefly serving as a transit hub.

The government leveraged this status to become a destination for events and conferences, especially since hosting the men’s football World Cup in 2022. Now that is in danger too, along with the burgeoning Gulf cruise industry.

“Flights are beginning to operate again, but the transit traffic is very badly damaged. That had been the business model that Qatar Airways had followed. That model is being very badly hit at the moment, with no end in sight,” Coates Ulrichsen says.

“There are a lot of different points of cost all mounting up. If this does escalate and turns into a grinding conflict, it could last for months, and the damage will just continue to increase.”

As the economic clouds close over Qatar, one shaft of sunlight remains. Unlike the debt-strapped West, the country’s gas riches have ensured it is in reasonable financial shape to handle the crisis.

According to the most recently available data, in 2024 the government ran a budget surplus and its debt-to-GDP ratio was under 50pc.

Moving money

One ace up Qatar’s sleeve is the country’s $580bn sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which could be used to bail out the country.

QIA is the Gulf’s fourth-largest sovereign wealth fund, although it’s half the size of peers from Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

“Qatar has deep pockets. The QIA is a huge fund, and it’s a small country, so there’s a certain amount of resilience just through the scale of the fund,” says Daniel Brett, of the data analysis firm Global SWF.

The fund’s mandate is to invest petrodollars in building up Qatari businesses and infrastructure, and to earn a return from billions parked offshore.

But Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has the option to draw on QIA cash to repair Ras Laffan, prop up the domestic financial system, replenish the military or bankroll government spending.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani could use a $580bn sovereign wealth fund to bail out the country - Qatar News Agency/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

He may be preparing to do just that. On Wednesday he restructured QIA’s board, drafting in senior government ministers and business figures.

The government offered no explanation for the reshuffle. But the Doha News said the reshuffle came as Gulf sovereign wealth funds sought to “strengthen investment resilience and reposition portfolios”.

If the QIA is drafted in to bolster the economy, it will have to sell offshore assets. And if it needs to do so quickly, it will reach for the portfolio’s lowest-hanging fruit: liquid assets such as bonds and publicly traded shares.

This is where Qatar’s scramble to cushion the blow from its lost gas revenues could start to hit Britain, on London’s capital markets.

Brett says the most likely sell-down would come from the QIA’s stock of bonds, which Global SWF estimates at about one fifth of the portfolio, or $116bn.

The fund won’t sell down its domestic equity holdings, which include Qatar’s bank, the airline, and the electricity and water utilities.

That means any further heavy lifting would have to come from QIA’s international investments – which could bring the crisis to Britain’s door.

Qatar is one of central London’s biggest property owners. Its trophy cabinet includes The Shard, Canary Wharf Group, 8 Canada Square, 99 Bishopsgate and Harrods; and hotels including Grosvenor House, Claridges, the Berkeley, the Savoy and the Connaught. Most of these are under the auspices of the QIA.

The fund has a stake in publicly listed Sainsbury’s and private-equity investments in Heathrow Airport, the water utility Severn Trent and the Rolls-Royce unit that will make modular nuclear reactors.

QatarEnergy, which is largely QIA-owned, is the majority shareholder in the South Hook LNG terminal in Wales. Qatar Airways holds more than a quarter of the shares in IAG, which owns British Airways.

Official data are opaque on Qatar, but the British Government has estimated that Qatari investment in the UK at more than £40bn.

The Times put the figure at £100bn last year, rolling QIA together with Qatar’s banks, various members of its ruling family and a clutch of wealthy entrepreneurs. This tally extended the list of assets into Marylebone, Belgravia, Park Lane and the Ritz.

Brett reckons it’s unlikely that the Qataris will pull back from their British property portfolio.

“They can’t easily liquidate real estate, certainly not at a significant profit. Who’s going to buy the Shard tomorrow? They just can’t sell these assets fast enough in order to help stabilise the economy,” he says.

Stakes in publicly listed companies could be liquidated. QIA has been slowly selling Sainsbury’s shares since the end of the Saudi-UAE blockade. From a high of 25pc, its holding is now down to 6.8pc.

But even if QIA holds on to its current assets, it might need to delay new deals.

With no fresh gas revenue coming in and spare cash needed at home, the pipeline could thin out.

Bloomberg has reported in recent weeks that QIA will help bankroll private credit firm 5C Investment Partners, run by two former Goldman Sachs high-flyers. In another deal, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said the fund would spend up to €250m (£216m) on a 10pc stake in shoe-maker Golden Goose.

“There will be a pipeline of deals that have advanced quite far, and they’re not going to reverse now. But I would imagine there’s going to be a slowdown in these kinds of deals, if only to see what the situation is in the coming weeks,” Brett says.

“I would expect more emphasis on liquidity, resilience and optionality. They’re likely to have a more cautious pace of any fresh illiquid deployment in private markets until the regional picture becomes clearer.”

The biggest question mark may be over QIA’s pledge to Trump last year that it would plough $500bn into the US in the next decade.

If that risk plays out, then an unintended consequence of Trump’s attack on Iran in 2026 could be the torpedoing of the trillions in Gulf investment pledges that he solicited in 2025.

Military spending spree

If QIA pulls away from new offshore deals and investments, one fresh focus will probably be on Qatar’s ability to defend itself. On this front, Britain may stand to benefit.

After the Saudi-UAE blockade of 2017-2020, Qatar’s military went shopping. According to Swedish think tank Sipri, Qatar became the top arms importer in the Middle East over the next four years.

The Americans supplied missiles and air defence systems, as well as aircraft. But after Trump seemed to back the Saudis against Qatar during the blockade in his first term, diversification became a Qatari watchword.

They tapped up Britain and France for fighter jets, Germany for tanks and howitzers, and Italy for frigates.

In 2021 the Qataris ordered £6bn worth of Typhoon fighter jets and Hawk T2 Mk167 jet trainers, which were built at BAE Systems’ sites in Lancashire. At the end of 2024, Qatar signalled it was in the market for another dozen Typhoons.


Qatar ordered £6bn worth of Typhoon fighter jets in 2021 - Sgt Nicholas Egan RAF/UK MOD Crown

Sipri valued Britain’s contribution at about 15pc of Qatar’s total weapons imports. These have also included missile systems, guided munitions and naval patrol boats.

The Qatari defence ministry has set up its own defence-tech firm, Barzan Holdings. This, says Brett, will help Qatar “capture more of its own defence spending and recycle it domestically, by building up domestic defence industries”.

Barzan signed a memorandum of understanding with BAE in January to collaborate on cutting-edge military tech such as anti-drone systems.

What Britain misses out on in forgone property or private-equity investments from Qatar, it may recoup in new defence deals.

Out of gas

Building up an indigenous defence industry will not only help Qatar ward off its enemies, but also bolster the emir’s attempt to reduce the war-hit economy’s overweening reliance on oil and gas.

“Energy dependence is Qatar’s Achilles’ heel. The extent to which it relies on its gas industry would certainly give cause for worry for long-term planning,” says Christopher Davidson, author of eight books on the Middle East.

But there are limits to the emir’s diversification strategy, he suggests. “Qatar’s geography is not really favourable to any other industries. Plus most of the other diversification activities have already been established in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and now Saudi Arabia is copying that playbook.”

Yet even as it tries to diversify, Qatar has increased its reliance on gas. It plans to double its LNG output capacity by 2031. The first tranche of this expansion was supposed to come on-stream this year, yet now faces delays of up to a year.

But the gas picture is uncertain. Even restarting the existing operation will take time. Qatar’s bespoke LNG ships have to be marshalled from afar; upstream gas has to be switched on; liquefaction plants must be carefully cooled; trains have to be restarted one by one.

Tom Marzec-Manser, of energy analysis firm Wood Mackenzie, reckons that once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, Ras Laffan’s undamaged northern site could be fully operational again in about 40 days.

 

Gas production at Ras Laffan could come back relatively quickly, but the damaged area will not be operational for years - REUTERS

The undamaged part of the southern site would take three to four months to restore, while the damaged section is out for at least three years.

The US will ramp up its LNG supply by 2028, but in the meantime there just won’t be enough gas to go around.

“Finding imports is going to be very difficult,” says Laura Page, of analysis firm Kpler.

Poorer countries will be priced out, and will have to cut usage or switch to coal. Richer countries in Europe will be competing with China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to buy American supplies.

Britain is in that boat. The UK’s net zero ambitions mean that, unlike China or South Korea, it hasn’t committed to a 20 or 25-year gas supply deal with Qatar.

This leaves Britain reliant on the spot market for gas. That used to come from Qatar, but this is increasingly gobbled up by the countries with long-term contracts.

The alternative is the US, where China or Japan might outbid the Brits. “Cargoes that were going to Europe are now diverting and going to Asia,” Page says.

Qatar might not be selling Britain much gas any more, but it does own most of the South Hook terminal in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. This is likely to take in American LNG from a part-Qatari-owned plant in Texas, if and when Britain can get hold of it.

Once Qatar doubles production in the 2030s, South Hook may yet become a major hub for Qatari gas.

“Qatar was, and will remain, the lowest cost producer of LNG worldwide ... and will remain a competitive supplier for years to come,” says Marzec-Manser.

But other analysts wonder whether Qatar’s reputation as a reliable partner has taken a telling blow.

“If you’re a buyer, are you going to prioritise going to Qatar for your supply? That’s a big question mark,” says Page.

Most Qatar-watchers expect the country to bounce back from this economic shock, as it did from the blockade.

“Qatar is going to be hit hard economically, but it’s not going to fall apart if this war goes on for a couple of months. It can withstand disruption for quite a while from a financial perspective,” says Thafer.

Coates Ulrichsen, though, says its durability isn’t infinite. “There’s resilience for months, obviously; but I think if this conflict goes on for a long period of time, then that begins to lessen, perhaps.”

Even if the economy and society hold together, something may have broken: Qatar’s model for achieving security in a dangerous, unstable region.

Qatar’s security was based on its relationship with the US, its booming gas industry, its military build-up, and its ability to play both sides of the street. On all counts, says KCL’s Roberts, the country has been let down.

“They are just sitting there getting smacked in the face time and time again. They have good military capability, but they can’t retaliate or they might lose a desalination plant,” he says.

The biggest question is whether Qatar, which hosts a major US base, can still rely on Washington to provide security, rather than jeopardise it.

Most analysts say there is no alternative to reliance on the US. “I think Qatar is going to double down on its relations with the United States, but diversify in terms of its defence procurement,” says Thafer.

If there is a major strategic shift, it could come from the Gulf monarchies’ discovery that they have a common enemy in Iran.

“In the past, they’ve all often turned on each other, rather than actually had a unified bloc. To what extent does the shock of what has happened create that space for a more genuinely integrated Gulf Cooperation Council?” says Coates Ulrichsen.

Qatar may also question whether it can hang on to its fundamental geopolitical identity as a mediator and broker, hosting not just US military bases but also Taliban and Hamas political leaders.

It was a balancing act that was supposed to keep Qatar safe from everyone. Yet, as with the big bets on gas exports and US military power, it doesn’t seem to have paid off.

Roberts reckons that for a tiny, exposed state like Qatar, ultimately the economic and strategic choices it has made in recent decades might still be the only ones available.

“Will there be a grand reset? There’ll be a grand conversation, for sure. But I’m not sure they will come up with a vastly different set of answers to the core question.”

MAGA Officials Scared Shitless of 2028 Defeat: They Know They Broke the Law

Todd Blanche is Trump's corrupt lackey at DOJ. He and all the MAGA goons know they are breaking every law in the books. But like Cosmo Kramer, they didn't think ahead. And now they are shitting potatoes at the prospect of being investigated and convicted after the monumental defeat awaiting them in 2026 and 2028.

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The entire Trump administration is worried about being prosecuted for unspecified offenses if Democrats take back the White House in 2028.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed these fears to the audience at one of the nation’s largest gatherings of right-wing figures and influencers.

“Even in this administration, everybody’s afraid that the next administration, if we don’t win, we’re going to all be investigated and indicted,” Blanche said Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “And why are they afraid? Because that’s exactly what happened during the last administration.”

“All of Trump’s Cabinet, everybody that worked at the White House… had to go to the grand jury,” continued Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney before taking over the number two spot at the Department of Justice.

He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “go to the grand jury,” or give any examples of officials who have been targeted.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

In a grand jury proceeding, the prosecution can call witnesses, but there’s no defendant, defense attorney, or judge present. That would mean any officials appearing before a grand jury would have been called as witnesses, not as the subject of an investigation.

None of Trump’s Cabinet from his first term was the subject of criminal investigations, but the specter of prison did help convince some of the president’s allies to turn on him when he was prosecuted in Georgia for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Attorney Sidney Powell pled guilty to trying to help President Trump overturn the 2020 election. / The Washington Post / Getty Images

Four co-defendants in the Georgia case—including campaign lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesbro—took plea deals and agreed to testify against the other defendants to avoid jail time, while Trump and two others pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors dropped the case in 2025 after Trump won re-election on the grounds that it wasn’t “realistic” to try to prosecute a sitting president.

Also during the Biden administration, two Trump associates, MAGA strategist Steve Bannon and trade adviser Peter Navarro, served several months in prison for refusing to respond to congressional subpoenas.

Other associates—such as attorney Michael Cohen, former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and longtime Trump associate Roger Stone— were convicted of various crimes during Trump’s first term in office.

President Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts for paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. / Julia Nikhinson-Pool / Getty Images

Cohen later implicated Trump in his 2024 New York criminal trial over hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, but avoided any jail time thanks to his re-election victory.

Cohen's $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels is tied to Trump's 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. / Michael M. Santiago / Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

After he returned to office in January 2025, he instructed the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.

Blanche’s deputies oversee a “weaponization” task force that was formed for that express purpose.

The deputy attorney general told CPAC he had also purged the DOJ of more than 200 attorneys who worked on the criminal investigations into Trump.

Blanche's deputies oversee a task force at the DOJ that investigates President Trump's perceived enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey. / Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

In addition to the state prosecutions, special prosecutor Jack Smith brought two criminal cases against Trump, accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and retaining classified records.

“There is not a single man or woman at the Department of Justice who had anything to do with those prosecutions,” Blanche bragged.

Trump’s allies don’t appear to be safe from scrutiny even with the current administration in charge.

Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her de facto chief of staff Corey Lewandowski are facing scrutiny over warehouse contracts, a no-bid $220 million ad campaign, and plans to purchase luxury jets for the department.

Pro-Israel US Terrorist Planned to Bomb a Palestinian in NY and Flee to Israel

NYPD and FBI say they disrupted a plot to firebomb the home of a Palestinian activist in New York
Associated Press
Fri, March 27, 2026 


Organizer Nerdeen Kiswani from Within Our Lifetime speaks at a rally for Palestinian Prisoners' Day on April 17, 2025, in New York. - David Dee Delgado/Reuters

A man accused of planning to firebomb the home of a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested following a weekslong undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, officials said Friday.

The target of the plot was Nerdeen Kiswani, who frequently leads protests in New York against Israel and the war in Gaza through the organization Within Our Lifetime.

Kiswani, 31, said law enforcement officials informed her late Thursday that they had disrupted “a threat on my life that was about to take place.”

Federal authorities said they arrested Alexander Heifler on Thursday at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he was assembling Molotov cocktails that he planned to throw at Kiswani’s home. For weeks, he had discussed the plot with an undercover NYPD detective who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heifler, according to a police department spokesperson.

An official who was briefed on the investigation said Heifler, 26, identified as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as “Jewish warriors” fighting back against rising antisemitism.

A website for the group says they are inspired by the original Jewish Defense League, a group linked to numerous bombings and attempted assassinations of Arab American political activists in the 1970s and 1980s.

Heifler planned to flee to Israel following the attack, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of an ongoing investigation.

An email inquiry sent to the JDL 613 was not returned.

Kiswani, who lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband, said the plot would not deter her continued activism.

“I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it’s something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine,” she said.

Heifler was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A message left with his attorney was not returned. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court on Friday afternoon.

“Let me be clear: We will not tolerate violent extremism in our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “No one should face violence for their political beliefs or their advocacy. I am relieved that Nerdeen is safe.”

According to a court filing written by an FBI agent, Heifler spoke on a video call in February with a group that included an undercover detective about his interest in training for “self-defense” and wanting space where he could throw Molotov cocktails.

The next day, he met with the undercover detective in person and discussed his plan to use them against Kiswani and flee the country, according to the complaint. “We have (Kiswani’s) address,” Heifler allegedly told the undercover. “So it’s like that, that would be easier if you’d be more comfortable with that.”

Heifler and the undercover detective drove to Kiswani’s residence on March 4 to “conduct surveillance” and discussed making a dozen Molotov cocktails to throw at her home and two cars parked outside, complaint said.

On Thursday, the undercover detective and Heifler met at Heifler’s Hoboken residence, where he had assembled components to make the Molotov cocktails, including a large bottle of Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol, the complaint said. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the eight Molotov cocktails, the complaint said.

Kiswani co-founded the group Within Our Lifetime, which frequently organizes protests against Israel that draw hundreds of participants and often end in arrests. The group’s calls to “abolish Zionism” and support for “all forms of struggle,” including violence, has drawn fierce criticism. Kiswani denies that her criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism.

Kiswani has been a frequent target of online vitriol. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, sparked backlash after writing in a social media post that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” The post was a response to a message Kiswani shared about dog owners, which she said was a light joke.

“That hate against Palestinians has been bolstered by public officials, by Zionist organizations, who are never held accountable,” she said. “This is the inevitable result of that.”

The operation was carried out by the Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit within the NYPD’s counterterrorism bureau, a police spokesperson said.

“This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work — a sophisticated apparatus built to detect danger early and prevent violence before it reaches our streets,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.