Eye on Extremism: June 16, 2026
Top Stories
JTA: Trump says he plans to talk to Hezbollah amid Iran peace efforts
President Donald Trump said Monday that he planned to speak with U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah, during his remarks on an agreement the U.S. and Iran signed virtually the night before to end months of hostilities. Israeli politicians are railing against the deal and insisting that the country will maintain its freedom of operation against Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which is funded by Iran and attacked Israel days after the U.S. and Israel launched the recent war in Iran at the end of February.
Reuters: Amateur saboteurs: the young men carrying out attacks for gangs, Russia and Iran
Shortly after midnight on May 13, 2025, Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych messaged someone he knew as 'EL Money', a mystery figure who had instructed him to commit three arson attacks on property linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "I hope I will have an opportunity to shake your hand soon ... Be in touch," he said in a text message. An hour later, counter-terrorism officers raided his London home and he was charged with committing arson with intent to endanger life.
CEP Mentions
Heist: Goebbels Villa to Become Hub in Fight Against Antisemitism
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has laid out plans to develop the villa into a hub for fighting extremism, antisemitism, and hateful propaganda in the digital sphere — only, the expert advisor to the project might raise some eyebrows. That role has been taken up by Andreas Büttner, Brandenburg's controversial antisemitism commissioner: a man who takes the battle against antisemitism so seriously that he apparently had his close friends carry it out on his behalf.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: Why Iran favors prolonged diplomacy in US preliminary deal talks – analysis
Iran and the US have signed a preliminary deal. However, the actual deal is heading for a “second phase,” the Guardian noted. In fact, most of the reports this week leave a lot of questions about the actual Memorandum that has been signed electronically. In addition, it appears that there are also questions about what the extension of a sixty-day ceasefire will mean.
United States
Fox News: FBI disrupts alleged explosive-drone plot targeting White House UFC event, officials say
The FBI and its law enforcement partners disrupted an alleged plot targeting this weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., officials told Fox News Digital. Five people were in custody as of Monday, and investigators identified 23 people as part of a potential network of plotters. The alleged plan involved using explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event, force a mass evacuation and steer crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team, officials said.
Axios: Paramount alleges that antisemitism is part of WBD merger opposition
Paramount Skydance executives believe that antisemitism is playing a role in opposition to the company's proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which still faces possible challenges from state AGs and European regulators.
A World Cup video review official said his hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign was caused by an involuntary twitch, and a FIFA committee concluded the Australian didn’t breach the sport’s disciplinary code.
A top Southern Poverty Law Center official is accused of helping funnel $1.2 million in donor money to an informant in the National Alliance white supremacist group — who was also allegedly her lover. The Department of Justice filed a superseding indictment against the SPLC accusing it of funneling donor cash to hate groups they were then telling donors they were fighting.
U.S. Senator Rick Scott has introduced the Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act, a bill to direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual threat assessments of designated terrorist organizations who are using artificial intelligence (AI) to harm Americans and plan potential attacks.
A pro-Israel pastor who inveighs against “sharia law” and preaches about the Jews worshipping the Antichrist is the favored candidate in a crowded congressional primary in Oklahoma on Tuesday. Jackson Lahmeyer, the founder of Pastors for Trump and a political activist from the Tulsa area, secured the president’s endorsement ahead of Tuesday’s primary for the state’s solidly Republican 1st District House seat. Other big GOP endorsements soon followed, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, helping to pull Lahmeyer away from the other nine candidates vying for the nomination.
On 8 June, Jewish American start-up co-founders and brothers Gabe and Aiden Einhorn received a message from a job applicant on the platform Handshake. “Not interested in working for a jew. Thanks.” [sic] read the message from Aiden Franco, a Cornell student. Gabe Einhorn posted a screenshot of the message on X/Twitter along with the caption “This kid applied to our job on Handshake, we accepted him, and then he responded this. He probably knows nothing about Jews except for what they tell him in college and on social media. Sad world.”
A bipartisan group of Florida political leaders and Jewish community members is urging the Tampa Sports Authority to cancel upcoming concerts by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, citing his history of antisemitic remarks and actions.
WINK: FGCU student charged with threat to conduct mass shooting or act of terrorism
A Florida Gulf Coast University student from Fort Myers has been arrested on a charge of making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism, according to court records. Joseph Antonio Baer, 21, was taken into custody Friday at his Fort Myers home after an investigation involving the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Fort Myers Police Department.
Fox 13: Utah man faces terrorism charges less than 6 months after similar charges
A 27-year-old man in St. George is facing terrorism and threat of violence charges after he allegedly threatened to "kill all the Mormon kids." The charges come less than 6 months after he received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges. Kevin Benjamin McDermott was arrested on Sunday and is being held without bail.
Fox 9: Prosecutors to announce charges against Antifa groups in Minnesota for ICE protests
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota and Homeland Security Investigations are set to announce charges Tuesday morning against members of Minneapolis-based Antifa groups for crimes related to apparent ICE protests.
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota on Tuesday say they plan to announce charges against multiple people for their alleged efforts "to violently oppose immigration law enforcement." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota said it will announce charges "for conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers and related charges pertaining to the efforts of a group comprised of members from two Minneapolis-based Antifa groups." The office did not say to which groups those charged belong.
Canada
CBC: RNC investigating terrorist group activity targeting N.L. kids
Police say people tied to the “764” group, a designated terrorist organization, have been in contact with at least one child in Newfoundland and Labrador, and emergency calls to the downtown involving fake reports of firearms are part of the group’s coercive activities.
Belgium
Belgium's Foreign Ministry has informed Afghanistan International that decisions on holding meetings and inviting delegations rest with European institutions. Laurens Soenen, spokesperson for Belgium's Foreign Ministry, said European institutions decide which meetings to hold and whom to invite.
Italy
Reuters: Italy arrests seven over anarchist network linked to Winter Olympics rail sabotage
Italian police have arrested seven people accused of belonging to an anarchist militant network and carrying out sabotage on a high-speed railway line during the Winter Olympics in February. In a statement on Tuesday, police said a judge had ordered five suspects to be held in prison and two placed under house arrest. The charges include terrorist association and subversion of the democratic order.
Netherlands
DutchNews: Man held over planned attack on Heemstede synagogue
Police have arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Heemstede, near Haarlem, in March. The man, who was detained on 9 June, is suspected of preparing a bombing or arson attack, acting as part of a group and with a terrorist motive, the public prosecution service (OM) said. He was remanded for a further 14 days by an Amsterdam judge on Friday.
NL Times: Two men suspected in Amsterdam explosion remain jailed; Third person released
The Dutch authorities have released one of three suspects arrested for possible involvement in an explosion at a gym in Amsterdam’s Osdorp early Friday morning, in which seven people were injured. The other two suspects, Amsterdam men aged 24 and 25, remain in custody, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) reported on Monday.
United Kingdom
BBC: Man, 21, appears in court over terror offences
A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with terror offences. Joshua Jones, of Buttercup Close, Stockton, on Teesside, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on four counts of possessing a document likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
University College London has axed its dedicated Antisemitism Programme Manager, a UCL source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. UCL's Antisemitism Programme Manager position was started in November 2022, and has been held by Anthony Orkin for that whole period. It was the first and only dedicated antisemitism role at any UK university.
The Telegraph: ‘Free Palestine’ Travelodge to roll out anti-Semitism training
Travelodge has said it will roll out anti-Semitism training to its staff after the message “Free Palestine” appeared on a screen in one of its rooms. Two visibly Jewish guests checked in to Travelodge Manor House in north London to find the words displayed on their television earlier this month.
Middle East
Associated Press: UN chief: Israel and Hezbollah must stop fighting
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Hezbollah to allow Lebanon’s government “to have the primacy of arms and authority throughout its territory,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Guterres also called on Israel to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and withdraw its troops.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban Foreign Minister Welcomes Washington-Tehran Agreement
Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said an agreement between Iran and the United States would be a positive step benefiting the region. He described its implementation as a welcome development.
Afghanistan International: Afghans & Activists Rally In 14 Cities In Support Of Herat Protesters
The protests that began in Herat’s Jebrail district following the detention of women and Taliban restrictions on women and girls have sparked a wave of international solidarity. Afghans and civil society activists in 14 cities worldwide rallied under the slogan “Education, Work and Freedom”, calling for an end to repression and restrictions in Afghanistan.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: Settlers attack Palestinians and activists near Hebron, vandalize vehicles
A group of Palestinian farmers from the Hebron-area town of Halhul in the West Bank and activists from the Bnei Avraham organization who were protecting them were attacked by a group of some 10 settlers on Monday, an activist from Bnei Avraham told The Times of Israel.
Iran
Iran International: Iran executes two January protesters as post-war crackdown continues
The Islamic Republic executed Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi, two men arrested during the January protests in Shahrud, early Tuesday, the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency reported. Mizan described the two men as “enemy foot soldiers” and “armed leaders of the January coup” in Shahrud, saying protesters had created what it called the pretext and conditions for hostile action by Iran’s enemies.
Israel
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of Gaza hospital chief Hussam Abu Safiya, a Hamas officer, against his ongoing detention, ruling that under the law for unlawful combatants Israel can continue to hold him without charges.
Lebanon
Hezbollah has received assurances from its ally Iran that it will demand a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in its next phase of talks with the United States, Hezbollah's media relations office told Reuters on Tuesday.
Naharnet: Trump says resolving conflict in Lebanon 'should not be tough'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hinted that he wants to put an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. "We do wanna see if we can straighten out the Lebanon thing, because it just seems to just never end, and it's a mini version of what we were doing, but it should not be tough ... Hezbollah -- we have to have a little talk with them," Trump said in remarks to the press at the G7 summit in France.
Naharnet: Hezbollah attacks Israeli force in south 'in response to ceasefire violation'
Hezbollah said on Monday it had repelled an Israeli force that was trying to "advance" in southern Lebanon, despite the U.S.-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts including in Lebanon. The Iran-backed group said the attack came in response to Israel's violation of the ceasefire on Monday.
Lebanon failed to contact famous Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf before sentencing her to 15 years in absentia last week for comments made five years ago, the US-based Christian-Maronite writer told The Jerusalem Post late on Monday night.
"If Israel can't do the job without killing everyone else, Syria should do the job," said US President Donald Trump in a bilateral meeting with the Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday.
Yemen
A report published by the Spanish outlet *Atalayar* has warned of mounting risks of extremist groups re‑emerging in southern Yemen, cautioning that recent Saudi policies toward forces linked to Yemen’s Islah Party the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the report could complicate the security landscape and recreate conditions that militant organizations exploited in past years.
Australia
Sydney Morning Herald: Jewish group links One Nation to neo-Nazis and antisemitism
A progressive Jewish organisation has warned that the rise of far right neo-Nazi groups is a significant driver of antisemitism in Australia and singled out One Nation supporters as the most likely group of voters to be anti-Jewish.
A man who has defended the Hitler Youth organisation and used offensive and racist language about Aboriginal people and migrants claims he is working as a policy development officer for One Nation in Queensland.
Herald Sun: ‘I was not like them’: Lawyer says ISIS bride ‘rejects Islamic State’
A lawyer for an ISIS bride accused of keeping a sex slave has declared that her client rejects Islamic extremism after suffering “11 years of hell” in Syria under a “violent, controlling and oppressive” regime. The reasons why Zeinab Ahmad, 31, wants to be freed on bail were revealed on Monday as she fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for the third day of her bail application.
J-Wire: Civic vacuum helped fuel antisemitism, researcher states
The rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023 and the Bondi terror attack last December is not simply a security or legal problem. A new research paper argues it also reflects a decades-long collapse in civic education as well as shared national identity, and calls for major reforms to Australia’s school system.
New Zealand
Iran International: New Zealand considering IRGC terrorist designation, deputy PM says
New Zealand is actively considering designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour told Iran International on Monday. Seymour said Wellington condemned the Islamic Republic’s conduct toward its neighbors, its support for militant groups in the Middle East its activities close to New Zealand as Australia.
Stay up to date on our latest news.
Get the latest news on extremism and counter-extremism delivered to your inbox.