Merrick Garland addresses Texas synagogue hostage situation
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday addressed the Texas synagogue hostage situation for the first time, saying 'violence or threats of violence fueled by anti-Semitism, hatred, racism, or bigotry of any kind' will not be tolerated.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday addressed the Jan. 15 synagogue hostage incident in Texas, saying the Justice Department will not tolerate "violence or threats of violence fueled by antisemitism."
British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44, took Jewish worshippers hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville last weekend during a nearly 11-hour standoff. SWAT teams eventually entered the building, and the suspect died during a shootout.
"We will not tolerate this. We will not tolerate attacks on synagogues or other houses of worship. We will not tolerate violence or threats of violence fueled by antisemitism, hatred, racism, or bigotry of any kind," Garland said during the 2022 Conference of Mayors.
Merrick Garland speaks at Jan. 21 U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Garland added that an "important part of keeping the American people safe is protecting those who serve the public from violence and unlawful threats of violence."
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"We have all seen that Americans who serve and interact with the public at every level — many of whom make our democracy work every day — have been targeted with violence and threats of violence," he said. "These are our fellow citizens who administer our elections, ensure our safe travel, teach our children, report the news, represent their constituencies and keep our communities safe."
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told reporters that Akram knocked on the glass door of the synagogue on the morning of Jan. 15 and he let him in and made him tea. Then, during morning prayer, the rabbi said he heard a click that turned out to be a gun.
An aerial view of police standing in front of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
The suspect initiated a nearly 11-hour standoff and could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist known in counterterrorism circles as "Lady Al-Qaeda," who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. Akram used his phone during the course of negotiations to communicate with people other than law enforcement, The Associated Press reported.
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Cytron-Walker said he drew from his past hostage training during the incident, deciding in the last hour to first make sure the other hostages were ready to run before the rabbi suddenly hurled a chair at the suspect.
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Investigators continue to determine how Akram – who had a criminal record stretching back decades, including theft and harassment convictions, and who was on the U.K.’s terror watch list for his extreme beliefs – managed to travel to the U.S., reportedly landing at New York’s JFK airport late last year.
This Jan. 2, 2022 photo shows Malik Faisal Akram at a Dallas homeless shelter. (OurCalling, LLC via AP)
The FBI is expected to give an update in the case on Friday afternoon.
Two teenagers have been arrested in Manchester, England, as the FBI has extended investigations to London and Tel Aviv to determine whether Akram acted alone or as part of a larger terror cell.
DOJ will continue to hold those who "target public servants with violence or illegal threats of violence" accountable, Garland continued.
"Peacefully expressing a view or ideology, no matter how most vociferously or how extreme is protected by the First Amendment but illegally threatening to harm or kill another person is not," Garland said Friday. "There is no First Amendment right to unlawfully threaten to harm or kill someone."
The attorney general's remarks also seemingly referenced a memo put out by DOJ in the fall addressing a federal response to violence and intimidation of school board officials, which caused blowback on the department after it was discovered a letter by the National School Boards Association had inspired it.
Garland didn’t specifically mention the school board controversy on Friday, but he doubled down on his prior language, saying threatening to harm or kill a public servant is not protected by the First Amendment.
Fox News' David Spunt, Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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