Homeland Security News

Ten people with links to the radical far-right have been arrested by anti-terrorist police in France over an alleged plot to attack Muslims, judical sources said Sunday.  The arrests were made late Saturday in operations across France, including the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the sources told AFP.

The suspects had an "ill-defined plan to commit a violent act targeting people of the Muslim faith," one source close to the probe said.  Another source said the gang was looking to hit "targets linked to radical Islam".

Read more: France 24

The man charged with murdering eight people on a New York City bike path and injuring many more spoke out in court Friday over a prosecutor's objection, invoking "Allah" and defending the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Sayfullo Saipov, 30, raised his hand to speak immediately after U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick set an Oct. 7, 2019 date for the Uzbek immigrant's trial.

Earlier, he had pleaded not guilty through his lawyer to the latest indictment in the Oct. 31 truck attack near the World Trade Center. A prosecutor said the Justice Department will decide by the end of the summer whether to seek the death penalty against Saipov, who lived in Paterson, New Jersey, before the attack.

Speaking through an interpreter for about 10 minutes, Saipov said the decisions of a U.S. court were unimportant to him. He said he cared about "Allah" and the holy war being waged by ISIS.

At the prompting of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Houle, Broderick interrupted Saipov to read him his rights, including that anything he said in court could be used against him.

Read more: CBS News

A federal grand jury in Minnesota has indicted three Ford County men for civil rights and hate crime violations in connection with the firebombing of a mosque in that state last August.

No court dates have been set in Minnesota, however, for Michael Hari, 47, Michael McWhorter, 29, and Joe Morris, 23, all of Clarence.

They were indicted Wednesday and the charges unsealed Thursday in Minneapolis.

The three men and Ellis Mack, 18, also of Clarence, continue to be jailed in the Central District of Illinois on charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats and violence and possession of a machine gun for crimes they allegedly committed in Illinois and Indiana last year.

Read more: The News-Gazette (Champaign/Urbana, IL)

One of Zimbabwe's vice presidents is calling Saturday's explosion at a presidential campaign rally "terrorism" and says any candidate who feels "afraid and scared" will receive security.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is telling a rally outside the capital that the blast that went off in a VIP tent seconds after President Emmerson Mnangagwa stepped into it will not stop the historic July 30 election.  The president was unscathed. Chiwenga was lightly bruised in the blast.  Police say an investigation continues.

Read more: Minneapolis Star Tribune

An attacker dressed in a police uniform tossed a grenade at a rally for Ethiopia’s new prime minister on Saturday, killing at least one person and setting off a stampede as panicked people rushed to safety, according to officials, witnesses and the state broadcaster.

On Sunday, Ethiopia’s health minister, Amir Aman, said another person had died in intensive care.

Witnesses said the attacker, dressed in a police uniform, struck shortly after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gave a speech at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa at a large public rally. More than 150 people were injured, according to a government official.

Read more: New York Times