A 43-year-old Jordanian national living in Orlando, Florida has been arrested and charged with four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count of destruction of an energy facility, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen allegedly smashed windows at local businesses in Florida, leaving behind threatening letters about their perceived support of Israel, and broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida back in June. Hnaihen allegedly spent hours smashing solar panels, cutting various wires, and destroying critical electronic equipment, according to a press release from the DOJ issued Thursday.
Hnaihen was wearing a mask when he allegedly smashed the glass front doors of businesses that he thought supported Israel in June, the DOJ says, leaving behind “warning letters” that included lines like a desire to, “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”
It’s not immediately clear why he thought the businesses supported Israel, though Middle East politics has been an especially heated point of discussion over the past year in the U.S. after Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people in terror attacks on October 7, 2023 and Israel subsequently launched a war in Gaza that has killed at least 40,000 people, with many more still unaccounted for in the rubble.
“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 B. Garland said in a press release. “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.”
Hnaihen was arrested on July 11, though news of his arrest was only made public today. Hnaihen entered a plea of not guilty and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each threat made against the Florida businesses and a maximum of 20 years for the destruction of an energy facility, according to the DOJ.
“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 press release.
“Violence and destruction of property to threaten and intimidate others will never be tolerated,” Wray continued. “The FBI and our partners will work together to pursue and hold accountable those who resort to violence.”
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