‘Hate-fueled mass violence’: Jordanian arrested after attacks on Florida businesses, power facility

A Jordanian national has been indicted for allegedly attacking an energy facility and other businesses, as well as threatening to destroy the U.S. for its perceived support of Israel, according to a Thursday statement from the Justice Department.

Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, a 43-year-old Jordanian living in the Orlando, Florida, area, has been charged with one count of destruction of an energy facility and four counts of threatening to use explosives, according to a Thursday press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The indictment stems from a series of threats and attacks against businesses in the Orlando area that began over the summer, resulting in damages that are estimated to top well over half a million dollars.

“Under the guise of expressing his beliefs, the defendant allegedly attacked a power facility and threatened local businesses, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “Violence and destruction of property to threaten and intimidate others will never be tolerated.”

“The FBI and our partners will work together to pursue and hold accountable those who resort to violence,” Wray continued.

Beginning around June 2023, Hnaihen allegedly began targeting businesses he believed were supportive of the State of Israel in the middle of the night while wearing a mask, according to the DOJ. He smashed the glass doors of these businesses and left “warning letters” behind addressed to the U.S. government.

In these letters, Hnaihen allegedly made demands of the U.S. government and threatened to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel,” according to prosecutors.

These attacks on local businesses intensified at the end of June when the Jordanian allegedly broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, and “spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays” and displayed two other copies of his demand letter, according to the DOJ. Altogether, he is suspected of having caused over $700,000 in damages.

“We allege that the defendant threatened to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by a desire to target businesses for their perceived support of Israel,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Such acts and threats of violence, whether they are targeting the places that Americans frequent every day or our country’s critical infrastructure, are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Justice Department.

Through a multi-agency investigation, law enforcement officials were able to identify Hnaihen and arrested him on July 11, not long after another threatening letter was found at a propane gas distribution depot in Orlando, according to the DOJ.

Prosecutors say the Jordanian faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the destruction of the solar panel facility and 10 years in prison for each threat offense.

Hnaihen’s immigration status is not immediately clear. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not immediately respond when asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation if the agency would be lodging a detainer request for him.

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