Uncategorized
A Florida sheriff is on the warpath against neo-Nazi ‘scumbags’ who want him dead
(JTA) – After hate groups in his county on Florida’s East coast projected antisemitic messages onto the Daytona International Speedway, the local sheriff delivered a press conference with one simple message: He’d had enough.
“We put up their photos, talked about their arrest records, and let everybody know what a bunch of reprehensible thugs were in our community, and what they were up to,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the February press conference. Standing with local Jewish, interfaith and minority group representatives, the sheriff had announced he would be coming after the “scumbags” who did this.
“And after that,” he recalled, “all hell broke loose.”
The group that had made its presence known in Volusia County was the Goyim Defense League, one of the country’s most prominent antisemitic organizations, known for harassing worshippers at synagogues and papering neighborhoods with fliers hawking anti-Jewish conspiracies.
The movement’s leaders recently relocated to the area from California, and they had chosen the Daytona 500, a major NASCAR race that draws more than 100,000 people to the speedway, to make their antisemitic presence known. They didn’t like that the sheriff was now effectively declaring war on them.
Online after the press conference, several men started making death threats against Chitwood, even harassing his daughter and sending SWAT teams to his parents’ house. Antisemitic groups began planning to hold a public demonstration to oppose him specifically, which Chitwood’s intelligence determined was set for this past weekend in Ormond Beach.
So Chitwood fought back. Last week, thanks in part to his corralling, three men in three different states — California, Connecticut and New Jersey — were arrested and charged with making online death threats against him. Two of the three have already been extradited to Volusia County.
Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood (right) thanks residents who turned up to counter-protest a canceled demonstration by a neo-Nazi group in Ormond Beach, Florida, April 22, 2023. (Nadia Zomorodian, courtesy of Volusia County Sheriff)
On Saturday the sheriff went to the airport to personally “welcome” one of the men. He hopes to send a message to hate groups more generally that he intends to “keep up the heat” so that they know they will face resistance from law enforcement if they attempt any public demonstrations: “I think that makes it a little bit harder to peddle your wares.”
Amid a national climate of rising antisemitism, one vexing question has been how to tackle antisemitic activity that is trollish but not violent. While European authorities have prosecuted Holocaust denial and other antisemitic sentiments expressed in social media posts, U.S. law is less expansive about what kind of online posts represent criminal activity. Meanwhile, the Goyim Defense League’s most frequent activities — flier drops, banner displays and public demonstrations — make up the fastest-growing type of antisemitic incidents in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, but they do not always violate the law. A citation for littering in Wisconsin last year was the first known charge in the United States related to the Goyim Defense League’s distribution of antisemitic materials.
The issue is especially acute in Florida, where the populations of Jews and avowed antisemites are both growing. Chitwood suspects the state’s rising Jewish population is one of the reasons why white supremacists have also flocked to the area, along with Florida’s relaxed gun laws.
In this environment, Chitwood’s outspokenness and forceful commitment to eradicating antisemitism — in a county with a relatively small number of Jews — has set a new tone. Raised in a law-enforcement family in Philadelphia — his father was a prominent police officer whose biography chronicles his own battle against “scumbags” — Chitwood speaks in a tough clip peppered with colorful insults directed at his white supremacist opponents (“these clowns,” “little sissies,” “ugly faces”). His passion on the issue is evident when he talks about his desire to be “standing in for John Q. Citizen,” or “some poor son-of-a-gun that’s going to synagogue.” He’s still green enough on the issue that he frequently confuses the Anti-Defamation League with the “JDL,” or Jewish Defense League — a radical violent splinter group of Jewish extremists.
Chitwood has garnered national attention for his actions, as well as the respect of the Jewish community.
“This sheriff is not like all the others, in a sense,” said Oren Segal, vice president of the ADL’s Center on Extremism. “He’s taking different methods and putting himself out there and showing what one type of response can be.”
Rob Lennick, director of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, is one of Chitwood’s local allies. The federation is known locally for running several charitable programs, including food pantries, meant to reach people in need across the entire community, and Chitwood has a good relationship with them.
Lennick praised Chitwood for taking “a very strong forward position against these neo-Nazis, against these white supremacist groups coming to our community.” (Lennick arrived in Volusia County last year after leaving the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, which collapsed after employees accused him of misconduct.)
Counter-protesters at a planned neo-Nazi demonstration in Ormond Beach, Florida, thank Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood “for standing against antisemitism,” April 22, 2023. Chitwood has had white supremacists who have threatened him online arrested and extradited to his county. (Nadia Zomorodian, courtesy of Volusia County Sheriff)
In the end, the planned neo-Nazi demonstration against Chitwood on Saturday never took place — though a large group of what the sheriff described as “professional counter-protesters” did show up, flying joint American and Israeli flags and thanking him for standing up to antisemitism. Walking among that interfaith crowd, many of whom had traveled from outside the county to be there, was profound for Chitwood. The experience “was very, very humbling,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve wrapped my brain around it yet.”
Segal declined to comment on the degree to which Chitwood’s office has liaised with the ADL. But he praised Chitwood’s outspokenness, and said he considered it a form of “allyship.”
“It’s easy to speak out against something that breaks the law. It’s not always easy to speak out against something that breaks the value of our communities because it’s hateful, because it scares people, because it makes people feel unsafe,” Segal said. He mused that the fact that so many neo-Nazis now have Chitwood in their crosshairs “creates an inadvertent bond between law enforcement and the Jewish community, that they’re both being harassed by antisemites.”
Lennick had advised local Jews not to attend the site of the protests, not even to participate in the counter-protests. “You’re walking a fine line,” he said. “You don’t want to fuel the bad guys.”
Chitwood, though, has made a point out of naming and shaming the antisemites in his midst, believing that the increased media attention will expose further misdeeds and make it harder for them to hold down employment.
“There is now a national spotlight on these GDL punks,” Chitwood said. “Sooner or later, they’re going to stub their toe. And you have all these entities looking at you.”
The sheriff wants to go further in his crusade. He has pushed for a bill in the Florida legislature that would allow him and other law enforcement in the state to charge people with felonies for distributing fliers and broadcasting messages of “ethnic intimidation” on private property.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shows off after signing a bill making “ethnic intimidation” displays a felony in his state, during a ceremony at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. Randy Fine, a Jewish Republican lawmaker from Florida who authored the bill, stands at left. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
On Thursday, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the bill into law during a ceremony in Jerusalem after Randy Fine, the Jewish Republican state representative who authored it, delivered it to him there. (DeSantis last year called Nazis rallying in his state “jackasses” but drew criticism for not condemning them more forcefully.) The law was written specifically to address the kinds of activities the Goyim Defense League regularly engages in, including the Daytona message that spurred Chitwood to address the problem head-on, and enjoyed unanimous support from legislators of both parties.
“I guess we need to thank our scumbag Neo-Nazi invaders for uniting our community and the entire state of Florida against hate,” Chitwood tweeted after the signing.
“I see it as another tool in the toolbox,” Chitwood told JTA about his support of the bill. “You go onto private property and drop these leaflets on somebody’s doorstep or in their driveway, that’s now a felony trespass.”
Chitwood acknowledges that law enforcement can often be slow to respond to crimes of ethnic intimidation, and particularly online harassment, which hinders their ability to organize against a common threat. “We are very reactive,” he said. “No matter what it is, even a car break trend, sometimes you have to break into 20 or 30 cars before we detect a trend to go and do what needs to be done.”
He’s frank about the police’s shortcomings when it comes to dealing with such behavior. The fact that he is a sheriff, he said, meant that it was easier to bring the perpetrators of out-of-state online death threats to justice. And, he said, broad coordination across different law enforcement entities for the specific addressing of antisemitism in the state does not yet exist: Apart from communication with some neighboring county sheriffs and the FBI, efforts to collaborate with the broader law enforcement community have been slow.
But, he said, he remains committed to trying to fight antisemitism in his own backyard at the very least. “It is personal,” Chitwood said. “This is my community.”
—
The post A Florida sheriff is on the warpath against neo-Nazi ‘scumbags’ who want him dead appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Students for Justice in Palestine Surrenders Occidental College Encampment as Trustees Review Divestment Proposal
Member of Occidental College’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine addressing social media while occupying a section of the campus in April 2026. Photo: Screenshot.
Occidental College in Los Angeles informed the public earlier this week that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) took down an encampment it established during the final weeks of the semester to protest the school’s financial ties to Israel, a grievance manufactured by the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement to promote its goal of eliminating the Jewish state.
By all accounts, the short-lived demonstration generated none of the widespread interest and enthusiasm that infused anti-Israel encampments of the 2023-2024 academic year, when many activists on campus vowed not to abandon their tents unless administrators acceded to the demands of the “global intifada.”
In contrast, SJP’s chapter at Occidental left the section of campus it occupied without permission “peacefully,” the college told The Algemeiner on Tuesday.
“Students involved in the encampment cited a recently submitted divestment proposal as their key issue,” it continued in a statement to The Algemeiner. “That proposal is currently under review by the College’s Board of Trustees through the college’s established process, which is designed to gather input from across our community.”
Further evidence of this encampment’s wilted spirit is the college’s confirming that it has successfully identified and initiated disciplinary proceedings against several protesters who engaged in “some actions” which violated the code of conduct as well as policies regulating peaceful assembly.
“These policies exist to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our entire community and to minimize disruption to campus operation,” the college said. “Occidental is committed to upholding these standards. We have been enforcing our policies in a way that prioritizes deescalation and our community’s safety.”
On Tuesday, SJP said it “will be back” in a post which proclaimed, “Long live the liberated zone!! Long live the intifada!! Long live the resistance!!” The statement hints at the possibility of a second encampment should Occidental College ultimately reject the divestment proposal that the school’s communications official said is already being review by the board of trustees.
Historically, Occidental College has opposed SJP’s call for adopting the BDS movement, arguing that doing so “would potentially chill the expression of diverse opinions” and be “divisive and damaging to the college community.” It has also welcomed working with Jewish advocacy groups to improve relations between DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) officials and Jewish students, the latter of whom continue to report that DEI officials across the country block antisemitism investigations or refuse to punish those found guilty of discriminatory conduct.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a federal civil rights complaint against Occidental which alleged that it had failed to correct a “pervasive and hostile environment” in which Jewish students were subject to “severe antisemitic bullying, intimidation, and physical threats.” To settle the case, the college agreed in November 2024 to “sweeping reforms” which included adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as a reference guide for investigations of anti-Jewish hatred and adding a section on antisemitism to training courses on compliance with federal civil rights laws.
“As I believe this resolution demonstrates, antisemitism is antithetical to the college’s values,” Occidental president Tom Stritikus said after the resolution was announced. “Discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students should be unequivocally rejected in our community. As we continue campus discussions around inclusivity, Jewish and Israel identities should be recognized alongside other groups that have historically faced discrimination due to their religious, ancestral, or national identities.”
Occidental College is not the only higher education institution that SJP targeted for the establishment of an encampment this month.
On April 18, SJP at Smith College in Massachusetts occupied the Chapin Lawn section of campus and renamed it “The People’s University.” Armed with a litany of demands calling for “restructuring” Smith’s governance of its endowment, transferring power over the institution from administrators to faculty and students, and a “required course on race” informed by the divisive critical race theory discipline, the students initially vowed to dwell in the encampment indefinitely.
However, the mounting presence of public safety officers around the encampment site and little indication that the demonstration held the drawing power of encampments of previous academic years prompted SJP to consider settling for less than it wanted.
Additionally, the college had notified the group of being in violation of campus policies on peaceful assembly and threatened SJP with disciplinary sanctions, which the group described as “fear tactics.” Tamra Bates, director of student engagement, personally told the students they would be punished as “individuals” and, the group added, public safety officers addressed “at least one student” by their “full name.” After three days, paranoia took hold of the organizers, and they issued a prohibition on photography “at any time … especially of people’s faces.”
SJP ultimately agreed to enter negotiations with the college over email, a process which concluded with Smith College agreeing to hold a meeting with the group and college trustees “before the end of the semester.”
The students decamped the following Saturday.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
Uncategorized
US Lawmakers Warn of Aid Cuts if Nigeria Fails to Counter Islamist Attacks Against Christians
A Nigerian police truck stands at the deserted Maiduguri Monday Market the morning after multiple explosions struck the northeastern city of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, March 17, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
The US House Appropriations Committee has advanced a State Department funding bill which will restrict aid to Nigeria if the current government cannot stop what one lawmaker labeled a genocide against Christians.
“The Tinubu administration is spending millions lobbying Congress while failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face daily,” Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) posted on X on Wednesday. He said the appropriations panel, on which he serves, “just passed our annual State Department funding bill which takes serious steps to address this crisis.”
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who assumed office in May 2023, is a member of the All Progressives Caucus (APC), one of Nigeria’s two dominant political parties, the other being the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The US legislation sets three conditions for Nigeria to receive full funding of aid: “taking effective steps to prevent and respond to violence and hold perpetrators accountable; prioritizing resources to support victims of such violence, including internally displaced persons”; and “actively facilitating the safe return, resettlement, and reconstruction of communities impacted by the violence.”
The bill limits US support for Nigeria to 50 percent unless the American secretary of state can certify the government adheres to all three conditions.
Moore posted on X that the bill requires Nigeria to focus on preventing atrocities, advancing religious freedom, prosecuting Fulani ethnic militia groups, and targeting jihadists. The congressman described how, if signed into law, the measure would insist on the government “bolstering faith-based organizations’ response in areas impacted by violence.”
According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), “between October 2019 and September 2024, ORFA documented 66,656 deaths across Nigeria, of these, 36,056 were civilians. The Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) were responsible for a staggering 47 percent of all civilian killings — more than five times the combined death toll of Boko Haram and ISWAP [Islamic State – West Africa Province], which together accounted for just 11 percent of civilian deaths.”
These killings heavily targeted Christians. ORFA notes that “the data reveals that 2.4 Christians were killed for every Muslim during this period, with proportional losses to Christian communities reaching exceptional levels. In states where attacks occur, Christians were murdered at a rate 5.2 times higher than Muslims relative to their population size.”
Following this terrorism, Nigeria has seen a surge in the number of orphans, with data from SOS Children’s Villages showing 17.5 million now in the country, the second highest globally after India.
The violence against Christians is part of a surge of Islamist terrorist attacks across the Sahel region of West Africa, concentrated in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Northern Nigeria. A report released last year from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point revealed that in 2024, 86 percent of all terrorism-related deaths occurred in just 10 countries, with seven in Africa and five in the Sahel.
Over the weekend, Mali saw terrorist attacks in multiple locations which left Defense Minister Sadio Camara dead and the northeastern town Kidal seized. The strikes came following an alliance between Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM,) and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist group seeking to establish its own state.
Nigeria released a statement of support for Mali.
“Nigeria stands in solidarity with Mali and reaffirms the enduring ties of brotherhood, shared destiny, and collective resilience that define the African spirit,” said the ministry of foreign affairs’ spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa. “The Federal Government of Nigeria condemns the cowardly acts perpetrated by terrorist groups in different parts of the country in recent days which have resulted in the loss of lives and properties.”
Moore explained that the US bill also appropriates millions to fund International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to counter FEM violence. “That provision also bolsters support for the establishment of state level police forces so Christians in Plateau and Benue aren’t sitting ducks waiting for help from Abuja,” Moore wrote on X.
Under the legislation, Moore said the secretary of state must “submit a plan for every dollar appropriated to Nigeria, and every dollar spent will have direct congressional oversight.” He added that “in my view, the Tinubu administration has failed to live up to the conditions the appropriations committee placed on security assistance.”
On March 16, three simultaneous explosions hit Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s northeast state Borno, resulting in 25 deaths.
The Nigerian government has previously defended itself against claims of failing to fight terrorism against Christians.
“Recent external claims suggesting systemic religious persecution in Nigeria are unfounded,” Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Dunoma Umar Ahmed said in November 2025, in response to warnings from President Donald Trump that the US military might need to intervene. “The state continues to wage a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign against groups that target Nigerians of all faiths.”
Polling from Pew in 2020 found that 56 percent of Nigerians embraced Islam while 43 percent practice Christianity. However, traditional African religious beliefs also maintain broad influence, with approximately 70 percent of adults believing that spells, curses, and magic can impact people’s lives.
Both Christian and Muslim communities saw substantial growth in Nigeria during the last decade. The Muslim population rose 32 percent from 2010 to 2020, while the Christian population increased 25 percent. Nigeria contains the fifth largest Muslim population and sixth largest Christian population.
Overall, Nigeria has a current total population of 241 million people, making it the most populous country in Africa and sixth highest globally after Indonesia and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) released a statement from its leader in response to attacks and kidnappings at a church in Eda Oniyo Ekiti (that left one pastor dead) and at the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
“We condemn this heinous act in the strongest possible terms. People had gathered peacefully to worship God, and they were met with violence. This is not just an attack on a church; it is a brutal assault on our shared humanity and the sanctity of life,” Archbishop Daniel Okoh said. “We mourn with the family of the slain Pastor and stand in full solidarity with the victims and the entire Christian community in Ekiti State. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been taken, and we call for their immediate and safe release.”
The fight to defend Nigerian Christians cuts across the aisle.
“Cracking down on the crisis Christians face in Nigeria has been supported in two appropriations bills by both Republicans and Democrats,” Moore wrote on X, concluding the announcement of the bill. “The United States will not turn a blind eye to the brutal persecution of our Nigerian brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Ebienfa said that “terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, remains a common adversary that demands unified resolve, sustained cooperation and reaffirmation of our shared humanity to tackle.”
Uncategorized
Janet Mills Drops Out of Maine Senate Democratic Primary, Clearing Path for Anti-Israel Candidate Graham Platner
Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Ogunquit, Maine, US, Oct. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday announced that she is ending her campaign in the Democratic primary for US Senate, a move that effectively clears the path for progressive challenger Graham Platner to secure the nomination in a high-stakes race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
In a statement, Mills cited the financial demands of a competitive statewide campaign, acknowledging she lacked the resources to continue. Her withdrawal came after weeks of trailing Platner in grassroots fundraising and momentum, despite support from establishment Democrats.
“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else — the fight — to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said.
“That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate,” she continued.
The development represents a sharp ideological shift in the Democratic field. Mills, a two-term governor, had been viewed by party leaders as a pragmatic candidate with broad appeal and a traditionally strong stance on US alliances, including support for Israel. Mills’s candidacy failed to gain traction in the state, with observers pointing to a Democratic primary electorate that is both incensed and deeply desirous for a shakeup from the status quo.
Platner, in contrast to Mills, has built his campaign on an anti-establishment message and drawn increasing scrutiny in part for his rhetoric on the Middle East. Some of his past statements criticizing Israel have alarmed more centrist Democrats and foreign policy observers, who argue his framing downplays Israel’s security concerns and risks alienating key constituencies in a general election.
Platner has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and vowed to vote against further military assistance to the Jewish state. Earlier this month, Platner accused Israel of “exterminating” people in Gaza and refused to clarify his stance on whether Israel should remain a Jewish state. Most of his criticisms of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza omit any mention of the Hamas terrorist organization, framing Israel as an aggressor with intent of wiping out the Palestinian population.
Further, Platner came under scrutiny last year after it was revealed that the Democratic insurgent possesses a tattoo of a Totemkopf — a symbol historically used by Nazi military units. Though Platner has emphatically denied any knowledge of the tattoo’s connections to Nazism, skeptics have pointed out that the oyster farmer identifies as a military historian, raising serious doubts about his claims.
Concerns about Platner’s conduct and Totemkompf tattoo are already emerging as a potential liability in a race Democrats had hoped to make competitive. Collins, a moderate Republican with a long record of electoral success in Maine, has historically attracted independents and crossover voters, groups that could be wary of candidates perceived as ideologically extreme.
Mills’s exit also highlights a broader dynamic within the Democratic Party, as insurgent candidates in several primaries continue to gain traction over more traditional figures. While that energy has reshaped races across the country, it has also raised questions about general election viability in closely divided states.
Many observers have argued that Platner’s ascendance in the Democratic Party serves as another signal that the party is shifting further away from Israel and becoming more tolerant of antisemitism. Across the country, support for Israel has emerged as a litmus test within Democratic primary competitions, with candidates vowing to curtail support for Israel and being pressured to condemn the Jewish state as a perpetrator of “genocide.”
Despite Platner’s vulnerabilities and personal baggage, he has racked up a bevy of endorsements from Democratic power-players such as Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA). On Thursday, the Democratic Party officially endorsed Platner as the nominee to take on Collins.
As of now, polling indicates a close race in the Maine general election, with several polls showing Platner with a narrow lead over Collins. However, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has not yet aired ads against Platner, and the Republicans are expected to weaponize Platner’s history of controversial commentary in the lead-up to Election Day in November.