Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Law enforcement discusses Islamic State threat in Las Vegas with interfaith group

Homegrown extremists influenced by the Islamic State remain a top security concern, law enforcement officials told community members Tuesday night.

Nearly 100 people gathered inside a Metro Police conference room as part of an interfaith working group that has partnered with local public-safety agencies to combat violent extremism. Law enforcers consider the group, which meets quarterly, key in foiling terror plots on Nevada soil because community members most often notice something amiss first.

“Our success is you,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the group. “For us to be successful, we have to depend on you.”

Adam Walker, an intelligence analyst at the Southern Nevada Counter-Terrorism Center, briefed the group on the the Islamic State, which has been linked to 47 terror plots or attacks against Western nations, including 11 inside the United States.

There were 19 terror plots against the West in 2014 and 28 so far this year, according to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Of the plots analyzed since March 2014, investigators learned that in almost all cases community members had noticed something indicating an attack might occur, Walker said.

“We don’t want to go about living in suspicion of our neighbors,” he said. “That’s not what we’re advocating here by any means. We’re advocating awareness and education on this new and constantly evolving threat.”

The meeting was particularly timely given the arrest on Monday of a Florida man who allegedly was planning to bomb a public beach in Key West.

The FBI announced Tuesday that it had charged Harlem Suarez, 23, with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in an alleged plot inspired by the Islamic State.

Fifty-six supporters of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, were charged in the United States between March 2014 and June 2015, Walker said. Of those people, 81 percent were U.S. citizens and 15 percent were women, he said.

Their motivations have ranged from feeling alienated in American society to deriving pride from ISIL’s successes, Walker said. Unlike other terror organizations, the Islamic State has latched onto social media as a means of dispensing propaganda and drumming up support.

“Everyone wants to be a part of a winning team,” Walker said.

Terror acts committed by these ISIL-inspired homegrown extremists are difficult to prevent, partly because they largely remain off law enforcement’s radar until an incident occurs, Walker said, underscoring the need for vigilance.

Because the Islamic State is a relatively new group, Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies are still sorting through emerging data to predict those who might be inclined to join, he said. Police officers and military members have been recent targets of their attacks, but that could change quickly.

“I could give this briefing in three months and it would look very different,” Walker said.

To report suspicious activity to the Southern Nevada Counter-Terrorism Center, call the homeland security hotline at 702-828-7777.

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