by Eric Lendrum
Jordanian national who currently lives in Orlando, Florida has been arrested and charged with destroying an energy facility and threatening the use of explosives to destroy multiple other businesses.
According to the Daily Caller, the charges were filed against 43-year-old Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The charges were announced in a DOJ press release on Thursday, detailing his campaign of violence against multiple businesses in the Orlando area that resulted in over $700,000 in damage.
Hnaihen’s attacks began in June of 2023, targeting businesses that he claimed, without evidence, were pro-Israel. He would carry out his attacks late at night and would wear a mask to conceal his face on security cameras. He smashed windows and glass doors and left behind “warning letters” that were addressed to the federal government. In the letters, he threatened to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”
One of his victims was a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, where he “spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays.”
Hnaihen was ultimately arrested on July 11th after a multi-agency investigation. He faces five charges: One count of destruction of an energy facility, and four counts of threatening to use explosives. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the destruction of the energy facility, and an additional ten years for each of the threats, thus reaching a potential total of 60 years in prison.
“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,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray 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 added.
“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,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in his own 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.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not yet confirmed what Hnaihen’s immigration status is; this unusually silent response appears to suggest that he could be an illegal alien.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen” by Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Background Photo “Courtroom” by Carol Highsmith.
