[IsraelTimes] A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of plotting to attack the Texas Capitol, authorities say.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says in a statement that it received โcredible information about an individual planning a violent attackโ for Thursday in Austin.
The tip came in Tuesday evening, and SWAT officers made the arrest about 3 a.m. Wednesday at a residence in Converse, near San Antonio.
Benny Caldera Jr. could face charges including felony terroristic threat against a public servant, the DPS statement says. He was jailed and then released on a $75,000 bond, according to the online case docket.
Messages were left seeking comment from John Bunk, an attorney listed for Caldera.
Officials donโt provide details about the alleged plot, citing the ongoing investigation, though an arrest warrant affidavit cited by NBC News quotes a friend of Caldera who said he was angry at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby group, and that โthese people have to be exterminated.โ
He also reportedly said: โI am going to the Capitol and I am going to shoot it up.โ
DPS notified state lawmakers about the threat and arrest early Wednesday. The Capitol remained open during regular operating hours.
Texas Senate Secretary Patsy Spaw says in a notice that there will be increased security at the Capitol during the investigation.
Governor Greg Abbott says the state DPS was assisted by the FBI in making the arrest.
โTexas will NOT tolerate threats of violence against our Capitol,โ the governor says in a statement on social media.
Texas authorities and the FBI on Thursday stated that they had thwarted a plan to attack the State Capitol in Austin.
Benny Caldera, 40, was arrested in his home in connection with the matter, Fox News reported. Authorities reportedly received a tip on Tuesday about a possible attack on the Capitol.
Caldera was reportedly angry with the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel organization that has become a lightning rod for opposition to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
M.A. Rothman @MichaelARothman
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Texas DPS SWAT officers arrested 40-year-old Benny Caldera Jr. at 3 a.m. Wednesday at his home in Converse, outside San Antonio, after a tip that he planned to attack the Texas State Capitol in Austin, authorities said Thursday.
The tip came from a friend who got a farewell message from him. According to arrest documents, Caldera wrote: "๐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ... ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ดโ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ."
The same documents say he told that friend he was angry at AIPAC and that "๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ," NBCDFW reported. ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ-๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ.
He was first charged with a felony terroristic threat against a public servant and held on a $75,000 bond. By Wednesday evening he was in federal custody. Records show he was arrested in 2023 for carrying an unlicensed firearm. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐กโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐.
The Daily Wire notes the arrest comes amid a steady stream of political attacks on AIPAC, and cites federal filings that rank the group 191st in lobbying spend in 2024 at $3.3 million. Rhetoric about a group of Americans has consequences, and this time the police got there first.
A San Antonio man accused of threatening to "shoot up" the Texas Capitol told a friend he was angry with a pro-Israel lobbying group amid the Israel-Hamas war, according to Bexar County court records.
Benny Caldera Jr., 40, was arrested Wednesday and charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony. Court records also indicate he faces a federal charge, though details of that charge were not immediately available.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said it received "credible information" Tuesday that Caldera was planning a "violent attack" at the Capitol Thursday. Authorities "worked through the night" to arrest him, DPS said.
An arrest affidavit indicates the FBI had learned about the alleged threat months earlier.
On June 29, a friend who had known Caldera for six years contacted the FBI after a concerning conversation, according to the arrest affidavit. The friend recounted the conversation to FBI Special Agent Matthew Alves.
According to the affidavit, Alves reported the alleged threat Tuesday to Fred Medina Jr., a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper assigned to a joint FBI task force. The affidavit does not explain why the information was not shared with Medina until nearly three months after the conversation was reported to the FBI.
DPS said Caldera was arrested Wednesday morning at his home in Converse. Court records, however, list a North Side address near U.S. 281 and Loop 1604.
If convicted of making a terroristic threat, he faces a prison sentence of two to 10 years.
Outstanding work by @TxDPS. Proud of our @FBISanAntonio team for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners.
Within HOURS of the tip, @TxDPS had the main suspect in custody โ with @FBISanAntonio and local law enforcement assisting
[ToloNews] The Nuristan police chief told TOLOnews that more than 300 armed individuals had entered Afghanistan from Chitral through Kamdesh district after crossing the hypothetical Durand Line.
Mawlawi Akhtar Mohammad Muzammil said the individuals had entered the country with the support of Pak forces and with the aim of destabilizing parts of Nuristan.
Mawlawi Akhtar Mohammad Muzammil, Nuristan police chief, said: "The festivities with them began about 100 to 500 meters from the barbed-wire fence. A number of them were killed, while others fled."
According to Muzammil, 40 armed opponents were killed and more than 60 others were detained in the festivities.
He said the area is now under the control of security forces, the fighting has ended, and clearance operations are continuing.
Muzammil said: "They encountered resistance from the mujahideen, who had already set up ambushes for them. According to the latest information, around 40 of the armed individuals were killed."
The Nuristan police chief added that a number of Pak forces had also entered Afghanistan alongside the armed individuals, but returned to the other side of the hypothetical Durand Line following festivities with Islamic Emirate forces.
Sarwar Niazi, a military affairs analyst, said: "The Pak government and military are trying to organize forces opposed to the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... and send them to Afghanistan for war and insecurity. I think war is no longer a solution. It would be better for these individuals not to be deceived by Pakistain and instead pursue dialogue and understanding."
The festivities in Kamdesh ended after four days, but security forcesโ clearance operations are continuing in parts of the district. Local officials say security measures in areas near the hypothetical Durand Line will be increased if necessary.
[GaroweOnline] Pirates have killed five crew members on board a Palau-flagged oil tanker off the coast of Somalia before security forces rescued the ship, according to Somali authorities.
The deaths on the tanker, the MT Honour 25, were announced on Tuesday.
They appear to be the first deaths at โ the hands of Somali pirates in more than a decade and come amid a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed in part to the effects of the United States and Israelโs war on Iran.
The MT Honour 25, which authorities said was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil, was seized by pirates off Somalia on April 21.
The Information Ministry of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... , a Federal State in northeastern Somalia, said in a statement that a rescue mission had freed the ship and captured 16 suspected pirates.
"Before the operation began, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew," the statement said. "Among those killed were three from Pakistain, one from Myanmar and one from India."
Four other crew members, three Paks and one Indian, were maimed, it said.
In a post on social media, the Puntland Maritime Police Force said the vessel was "safe" and under the governmentโs control. It said efforts were continuing to find others involved in the hijacking.
The rescue follows another operation last week in which the maritime police freed the Sibu 1, a tanker sanctioned by the US that Somali pirates had hijacked in August.
But 28 of the 41 pirates arrested in that operation later escaped while being transferred to jail, and several Puntland security officials accused local police of complicity.
At least 15 attacks have been reported off Somalia since April, according to officials.
A previous wave of piracy, from 2008 to 2014, disrupted one of the worldโs busiest shipping routes, cost the global economy billions of dollars and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
#3
/\ What has anyone "accomplished" anywhere in Africa in the modern era? What "accomplishments" can be credited to the export of the African culture or migration of the people during the same period ?
Six family members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists have surrendered to troops of the Nigerian Army in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
The family members surrendered at about 8:49 a.m. on Sept. 28 to troops of Operation HADIN KAI in Pulka.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the individuals escaped from a terrorist enclave in Bulakambula, Bama Local Government Area.
The victims were subsequently handed over to representatives of the Grassroots Initiative for Strengthening Community Resilience (GISCOR) at its Pulka office for further assistance and processing.
Our armed forces have carried out 468 targeting operations against elements and equipment of the terrorist Houthi militia across the eastern front, the White Front, and the Mansoura front in Al-Wadi'ah, resulting in the killing and wounding of hundreds of militia elements, as well as the destruction of their equipment and military vehicles.
Theyโre Arabs. Yemeni Arabs. I wonder how much theyโre exaggerating the numbersโฆ
Meanwhile, the militia continues to target civilians and civilian facilities, including educational institutions, in a desperate attempt to break the will of the Yemeni people to restore the state and reject its extremist and destructive project. These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law and the principles of civilian protection.
[Dawn] Security forces killed three faceless myrmidons in an intelligence-based operation in the Mir Ali area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwaโs North Wazoo district, state broadcaster PTV reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.
The sources added that hideouts of the Fitna al Khawarij were targeted in Mir Ali and surrounding areas. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for faceless myrmidons belonging to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... Pakistain (TTP).
A large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the faceless myrmidons killed during the operation, security sources said.
According to PTV, security forces also thwarted an attempt by the faceless myrmidons to intercept a ration truck near the Mir Ali Bazaar.
It added that security forces were committed to the complete elimination of terrorism under the counter-terrorism campaign โAzm-e-Istehkamโ.
KP has been witnessing terrorist attacks and security challenges for a long time. The province, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August compared with 36 in July, representing an increase of 50 per cent, according to data compiled by the Pakistain Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
A day earlier, in an IBO in KPโs Bara area, security forces killed five terrorists. On Monday, four bad boyz were potted during an IBO in Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... Last week, a dozen people bit the dust while 35 others were maimed in a suicide kaboom that targeted the Aman Mela police checkpost in DI Khanโs Darazinda tehsil.
On Sept 18, a major attack in the old Police Lines in KPโs Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight bad boyz were potted during an overnight clearance operation.
On Sept 17, security forces killed 10 faceless myrmidons in separate operations in KP between Sept 15 and 17. Earlier in the month, over 20 bad boyz were potted during multiple engagements in KP between Sept 3 and 5.
[IsraelTimes] A Hamas commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City yesterday, the military says.
The strike killed Ammar Mahmoud Muhammad al-Sharafi, identified by the military as a company commander in Hamas’s military wing.
The IDF says Sharafi was advancing attacks on Israeli troops and civilians, and working to restore Hamas capabilities, “while systematically violating the ceasefire agreement.”
He was killed to “remove the threat he posed,” the army adds.
Palestinian media reported yesterday that a strike in Gaza City killed four.
[North Press] Hezbollah denied on Wednesday any connection to a three-member cell Syrian authorities said they detained in Daraa governorate, rejecting claims that the group was affiliated with it.
In a statement, Hezbollahโs media relations office said the group had no presence in Syria and was not involved in any security or military activity there.
The statement came a day after Syriaโs General Intelligence Directorate and Internal Security Forces announced the arrest of three people in the Yarmouk Basin in western Daraa.
Syrian authorities said the operation followed surveillance of an alleged attempt by the cell to prepare rocket-launch platforms for attacks. They identified the detainees by their initials as F.K., Z.M. and L.A., and said the launch platforms had been dismantled.
Hezbollah said it categorically rejected any relationship or connection with the cell.
The Yarmuk basin area, where Syrian state media has previously reported Israeli incursions and shelling, borders the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981, as well as Jordan.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
