German Police Arrest Man for Planning Attack on Muslims

FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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German Police Arrest Man for Planning Attack on Muslims

FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German police officers search neighboring property around the house of District President of Kassel Walter Luebcke, who was found dead in Wolfhagen-Istha near Kassel, Germany, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Police in Germany have detained a man on suspicion of planning to kill Muslims in an attack inspired by the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, prosecutors said Monday.

The 21-year-old from the northern city of Hildesheim had announced his attack plans "in an anonymous internet chat", the state prosecutor's office in the town of Celle said.

Initial investigations show the suspect "has for some time been considering the idea of committing an attack in which he wanted to kill numerous people in order to attract worldwide media attention," Agence France Presse quoted prosecutors as saying.

The suspect referenced the attacker who killed 51 people in two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, and said he wanted to carry out a similar attack.

"His aim was to kill Muslims," prosecutors said.

Police found weapons in the suspect's home, as well as electronic files containing right-wing extremist content.

He was detained on Saturday and faces charges of threatening to commit criminal offences and financing terrorism through the purchase of weapons.

Germany has been rocked by a string of extreme-right attacks over the past 12 months.

A gunman with apparent far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, in February, while two people were killed in an attack targeting a synagogue in Halle, near Leipzig, in October.

In June 2019, pro-immigration politician Walter Luebcke was found shot dead at his home in the central state of Hesse, and a far-right sympathizer has been charged with his murder.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer proclaimed in March that right-wing extremism and right-wing terrorism were "the biggest danger for democracy in Germany", promising a beefed up security response.



Palestinian Activist Expecting US Citizenship Interview Is Arrested Instead by ICE in Vermont 

Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
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Palestinian Activist Expecting US Citizenship Interview Is Arrested Instead by ICE in Vermont 

Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)

A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalizing his US citizenship, his attorneys said.

Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said.

The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.

"The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional," attorney Luna Droubi said in an email.

According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master's degree program there in the fall.

The petition describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in "non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion."

As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US and graduate student who recently was detained by ICE.

Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza. On Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk.

Christopher Helali, a friend of Mahdawi who lives near him in Vermont, was present outside the immigration office when Mahdawi was detained and recorded a video of Mahdawi being led away by authorities. In the video, which Helali released on social media Monday, Mahdawi is shown giving a peace sign with his hands and being led away to a car.

Helali described Mahdawi as a peaceful demonstrator who has worked to foster dialogue about the struggle of Palestinians in his homeland. Helali said he and Mahdawi were aware that Mahdawi could be detained today and that his friend went forward with the appointment anyway.

"And rightfully so, he was nervous for what was going on around him. But he was very much resolute in coming to this interview and coming today because he didn’t do anything wrong and was a law-abiding citizen, or soon-to-be citizen," Helali said.

Vermont's congressional delegation issued a statement condemning Mahdawi's arrest, saying that instead of taking one of the final steps in his citizenship process, he was handcuffed by armed officers with their faces covered.

"This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention," said the statement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint.