Terrorism

FBI paid professional hackers to help unlock San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

The FBI managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter by paying professional hackers who discovered a security flaw, sources say. The unidentified sources told the Washington Post that the information was used to create hardware to unlock the phone without triggering a feature that erases phone data…

Apr 13, 2016 7:06 AM CDT

Trial judge asks how grenade-like device works: Police officer pulls pin, and it explodes

A trial in an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan was dramatically halted on Monday after the judge asked a police officer how an explosive—that authorities say they took from the defendant—worked. Assuring the court that it had been defused, the officer pulled the pin on the grenade-like device. It went off,…

Apr 12, 2016 4:35 PM CDT

Judge considers booting adviser and lawyers from case due to allegation of jihad preaching

Federal prosecutors claim a law grad advising defense lawyers in an ISIS recruitment case may have preached about jihad. The claim by the prosecutors of Mohamed Farah, who is accused of providing material support to ISIS, has led the judge to order a hearing into whether any members of the…

Mar 29, 2016 8:24 AM CDT

Justice Department says it may be able to hack San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone without Apple’s help

The Justice Department said in court papers on Monday that it may be able to hack the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone without assistance from Apple. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of Riverside, California, agreed to the government’s request to cancel a hearing scheduled for Tuesday on the FBI request to…

Mar 22, 2016 7:27 AM CDT

Man accused of threatening lives of federal judge and FBI on Twitter gets probation

After being held nearly three months behind bars without bail, a Minnesota man accused of threatening the lives of a federal judge and FBI agents on Twitter took a plea Tuesday morning as his case was about to go to trial. Originally charged with felonies that could have put him…

Mar 8, 2016 2:30 PM CST

Terrorism defendants ordered by judge to face evaluation for deradicalization program

Four men who pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists will be evaluated for a deradicalization program as a result of a federal judge’s order. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis ordered the evaluation to determine the potential for rehabilitation, which will influence his sentencing decision, the…

Mar 4, 2016 7:30 AM CST

Apple moves to vacate court order requiring it to develop software to access encrypted iPhone

Responding in a Thursday filing to a controversial magistrate’s order requiring Apple Inc. to help the feds access the contents of an encrypted iPhone, the company has asked a federal district court to vacate the order. Used by a now-deceased California man responsible for San Bernardino attack that killed 14…

Feb 25, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Efforts to fight terrorism are undermining the human rights movement, says prominent advocate

Human rights advocate Aryeh Neier is not feeling very optimistic these days. The reason, he said in a speech at the annual luncheon sponsored by the ABA Center for Human Rights during the ABA Midyear Meeting, is that the human rights movement is losing hard-gained ground as the United States…

Feb 8, 2016 8:25 PM CST

Feb. 26, 1993: The World Trade Center is bombed

Long before they became a symbol of national grief and anger, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in south Manhattan were tourist landmarks in New York City's skyline—the most conspicuous two buildings of seven that composed a colossal hive of capitalism dwarfing the surrounding neighborhood.

Feb 1, 2016 12:30 AM CST

Judge threatens to jail lawyer who keeps arguing his client is victim of anti-Muslim hysteria

A federal magistrate judge deciding whether to release a Sudanese man charged with aiding and abetting another man’s attempt to join the Islamic State warned the defendant’s lawyer to stop arguing that he’s the victim of anti-Muslim hysteria–or else join his client in jail, the Washington Post reports. In an…

Jan 28, 2016 10:55 AM CST

Defense Department wants group to lift ban on psychologists’ participation in interrogations

The Department of Defense is asking the American Psychological Association to lift its blanket ban on psychologists participating in national security interrogations for the military and intelligence agencies. A Defense Department official says in a letter to the association that the policy, adopted last summer, “could adversely affect the recruitment…

Jan 26, 2016 6:15 AM CST

Spelling error sparks police terrorism investigation of schoolboy, 10

A 10-year-old British schoolboy meant to say in an English class exercise that he lived in a “terraced” house. But he misspelled the word as “terrorist,” and teachers, not realizing that it was a simple spelling mistake, notified authorities under the 2015 Counter-Terrorism and Security Act. It requires educators to…

Jan 20, 2016 12:00 PM CST

Supreme Court appears to side with terrorism victims in arguments on Iran reparations law

The U.S. Supreme Court considered on Wednesday whether Congress violated the separation of powers when it passed a law allowing victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism to seize nearly $2 billion in assets held in the United States by Iran’s central bank. A lawyer for Bank Markazi, Jeffrey Lamken, said the law…

Jan 14, 2016 11:19 AM CST

White House asks tech companies for help with online counterterrorism measures

Much like it’s done with child pornography, the technology industry could help the federal government blunt the spread of online terrorist communications, the White House maintains. According to The Hill, government officials met with leading technology groups on Friday in San Jose. The meeting was to ask technology groups for…

Jan 8, 2016 5:30 PM CST

Armed protesters occupy federal building in Oregon, calling ranchers’ arson sentences unjust

A group of armed protesters that occupied a federal building over the weekend in Oregon have vowed not to leave until their demands are met. The armed occupation, which entered its third day on Monday, began after a Saturday rally in Burns protesting five-year sentences handed down to two local…

Jan 4, 2016 4:15 PM CST