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Federal Authorities Warn of Lone-Wolf Terror Threats Ahead of July 4 Festivities
Law enforcement officers work at the scene after an attack that injured multiple people in Boulder, Colorado, June 1, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
Federal authorities have warned that lone-actor attacks pose the greatest terrorism threat to Fourth of July celebrations, amid a rise in violent incidents and extremist threats across the country.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are closely monitoring potential threats ahead of July 4 festivities, raising concerns about lone-wolf attacks similar to the New Year’s car-ramming incident in New Orleans that killed 14 people.
“We are concerned about the potential threat of copycat attacks inspired by the 2025 New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans and continued [foreign terrorist organizations] messaging calling for attacks against Western targets,” a threat assessment bulletin obtained by ABC News said.
The bulletin warned that “special events with high attendance and media coverage … remain attractive targets” for both domestic and foreign terrorists, as well as violent extremists seeking to “cause mass casualties or draw attention to their causes.”
Although no specific or credible threats have been identified, authorities warn that US-based extremists and lone actors pose the greatest risk to Independence Day gatherings.
According to the bulletin, authorities are concerned about the potential use of chemicals in attacks on crowds, similar to the Boulder incident where a man threw Molotov cocktails into a group of Jewish demonstrators raising awareness about hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, killing one person and injuring 13 others.
“The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with the FBI and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to ensure a safe and secure Independence Day across the nation,” a spokesperson for DHS told Newsweek.
“We are enhancing security measures and coordinating intelligence-sharing to proactively address potential risks, including those from lone wolf actors. At this time, DHS is not aware of any specific, credible threats to Fourth of July celebrations,” the agency said.
With escalating tensions in the Middle East — including the war in Gaza and Israel’s conflict with Iran — the United States has seen a rise in antisemitic attacks and terrorist threats, prompting concerns that similar violence could erupt on July 4.
“Most attackers motivated at least in part by the Israel-HAMAS conflict have selected targets with a symbolic link to Israel, houses of worship, or locations associated with houses of worship,” the threat assessment said.
“Individuals with grievances linked to the conflict could also perceive large gatherings, such as Independence Day celebrations, as opportunistic targets symbolic of the West in general,” it continued.
Two weeks before the firebombing of a march for Israeli hostages in Colorado, a gunman murdered two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC, as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
The suspect charged for the double murder, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, also yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by local police after the shooting, according to video of the incident.
Last week, the US Department of Justice said it is closely tracking potential threats to the Jewish community nationwide amid growing concerns over Iranian sleeper cells launching attacks and the fallout from recent American and Israeli military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the Trump administration’s recent warnings about potential Iran-linked sleeper cells and domestic radicalization, following escalating tensions in the Middle East during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Following the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, law enforcement agencies across the country have ramped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives amid growing fears of retaliation.
Although no specific or credible threats have yet emerged, US Customs and Border Protection says the threat of sleeper cells has “never been higher.”
The post Federal Authorities Warn of Lone-Wolf Terror Threats Ahead of July 4 Festivities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.