According to the Department of Justice, a 43-year-old Jordanian man from Orlando, Florida, was arrested and charged with four counts of making explosive threatening reckless attacks and one count of vandalizing an energy facility.
Hashem Yunis Hashem Funaihen is accused of smashing windows at a local Florida business in June, leaving threatening notes claiming to support Israel, and breaking into a solar power facility in Wedgefield, Florida. According to a press release issued by the Department of Justice on Thursday, Funaihen is accused of spending hours destroying solar panels, cutting various wiring, and destroying critical electronic equipment.
According to the Justice Department, Funaihen was wearing a mask when he allegedly smashed the glass front door of a business believed to support Israel in June, leaving behind a “warning note” in which he said he wanted to “destroy or blow up everything across America, especially businesses and factories that support the racist nation of Israel.”
It was not immediately clear why he thought the companies were supporting Israel, but Middle East politics have been a particularly heated topic of debate in the U.S. over the past year in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people and Israel’s subsequent destruction of at least 40,000 people in Gaza, with many still missing in the rubble.
“We allege that the defendants, driven in part by a desire to target businesses perceived to be pro-Israel, threatened to carry out hateful, mob violence in our country,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a press release. “Whether targeting places Americans visit every day or our nation’s critical infrastructure, these actions and threats of violence are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice.”
Nichen was arrested on July 11, but news of his arrest was only made public today. According to the Department of Justice, Nichen has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of threatening a Florida business and up to 20 years in prison for vandalizing an energy facility.
“The defendants allegedly attacked a power plant, threatened local businesses and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages under the pretext of expressing their beliefs,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a press release.
“Violence and destruction of property to intimidate or threaten 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.”
