Illinois
Teen accused of plotting mass shooting at Chicago-area Hindu temple
PALATINE, Ill. (AP) — Police in a Chicago suburb announced Wednesday that they had thwarted a potential mass shooting, arresting a 19-year-old man who they said may have planned to target a Hindu place of worship.
Alexandros Paporakis, a Taco Bell cashier from Palatine, Illinois, faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing weapons. Investigators believe he planned to target the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, but the exact intended location remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear if Paporakis has legal representation.
The defendant’s co-workers told police they had received concerning digital communications from Paporakis, including a document outlining an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting and photos of tactical gear. They said Paporakis openly identified as a white supremacist at work and told them he couldn’t wait to kill Indian people, according to prosecutors from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Mount Prospect and Palatine police departments coordinated to locate and arrest Paporakis while he was leaving his home on Sunday afternoon, the same day detectives believe he may have been planning to carry out an attack, Palatine police said.
He had allegedly told his Taco Bell co-workers that Sunday was going to be “a special day.”
Prosecutors said Paporakis called one coworker earlier in the day Sunday, saying that his gun had jammed and he left “super fast” without being seen.
Prosecutors allege Paporakis sent the coworker an eight-page document titled, “Why I fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto),” which described Indian, Jewish and African American people as “subhumans” and outlined a plot to kill as many of them as possible, according to a court document obtained by The Associated Press.
In a search of his home, detectives recovered an AR style rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines and ammunition, a gas canister labeled with a slur aimed at South Asians, and a several items depicting Nazi symbolism, police and prosecutors said.
Paporakis allegedly described himself in the manifesto as “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day.”
A judge ruled Wednesday that Paporakis will remain in jail pretrial. He is next scheduled to appear in court Oct. 30.
Washington
Ilhan Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities investigating Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar seized the Democratic lawmaker’s phone and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, according to a person briefed on the probe.
The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities probe potential fraud in Omar’s immigration paperwork, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The
investigation led to federal agents searching Omar’s Washington, D.C. home on Monday just weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection.
The scope of the investigation into Omar is unclear, though Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested that authorities were examining potential crimes related to her family’s immigration paperwork.
On Tuesday, Washington D.C. U.S Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a Fox News interview that “there are several investigations going on” related to Omar and that her office is also probing issues concerning the lawmaker’s financial disclosures.
The search of Omar’s home so close to next month’s midterm contests that will determine control of the House and the Senate was swiftly condemned by Democrats, who accused the administration of targeting the Democrat for political purposes. Omar, in a statement on X, called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
“For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.”
Though the Republican focus on Omar’s background dates back years, the search notably took place three weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election.
Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She is part of The Squad of progressive lawmakers who are a vibrant political force on the left wing of Congress but have also endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term. She was one of the first two Muslim-American women in the House and the first African refugee to be elected to Congress.
Washington
Authorities investigate letters with ‘suspicious substances’ sent to election offices
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that have been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide.
Authorities are urging recipients to treat the letters as “potentially hazardous.”
The Senate was informed of the investigation by a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms that was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
The mailings come just three weeks before Election Day and are reminiscent of a similar threat in 2023, when several election offices received envelopes containing the powerful opioid fentanyl.
In Congress, the situation appeared isolated to the Senate, but the House was monitoring, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Mailed packages containing a powdery substance led to the evacuation this week of election offices in at least two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The Ohio secretary of state said the Postal Service intercepted a package containing a white powder intended for its office and noted that similar mailings had been sent to election officials in multiple states.
The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning what they said were threats against election staff.
“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said in their statement.
Teen accused of plotting mass shooting at Chicago-area Hindu temple
PALATINE, Ill. (AP) — Police in a Chicago suburb announced Wednesday that they had thwarted a potential mass shooting, arresting a 19-year-old man who they said may have planned to target a Hindu place of worship.
Alexandros Paporakis, a Taco Bell cashier from Palatine, Illinois, faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing weapons. Investigators believe he planned to target the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, but the exact intended location remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear if Paporakis has legal representation.
The defendant’s co-workers told police they had received concerning digital communications from Paporakis, including a document outlining an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting and photos of tactical gear. They said Paporakis openly identified as a white supremacist at work and told them he couldn’t wait to kill Indian people, according to prosecutors from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Mount Prospect and Palatine police departments coordinated to locate and arrest Paporakis while he was leaving his home on Sunday afternoon, the same day detectives believe he may have been planning to carry out an attack, Palatine police said.
He had allegedly told his Taco Bell co-workers that Sunday was going to be “a special day.”
Prosecutors said Paporakis called one coworker earlier in the day Sunday, saying that his gun had jammed and he left “super fast” without being seen.
Prosecutors allege Paporakis sent the coworker an eight-page document titled, “Why I fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto),” which described Indian, Jewish and African American people as “subhumans” and outlined a plot to kill as many of them as possible, according to a court document obtained by The Associated Press.
In a search of his home, detectives recovered an AR style rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines and ammunition, a gas canister labeled with a slur aimed at South Asians, and a several items depicting Nazi symbolism, police and prosecutors said.
Paporakis allegedly described himself in the manifesto as “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day.”
A judge ruled Wednesday that Paporakis will remain in jail pretrial. He is next scheduled to appear in court Oct. 30.
Washington
Ilhan Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities investigating Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar seized the Democratic lawmaker’s phone and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, according to a person briefed on the probe.
The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities probe potential fraud in Omar’s immigration paperwork, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The
investigation led to federal agents searching Omar’s Washington, D.C. home on Monday just weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection.
The scope of the investigation into Omar is unclear, though Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested that authorities were examining potential crimes related to her family’s immigration paperwork.
On Tuesday, Washington D.C. U.S Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a Fox News interview that “there are several investigations going on” related to Omar and that her office is also probing issues concerning the lawmaker’s financial disclosures.
The search of Omar’s home so close to next month’s midterm contests that will determine control of the House and the Senate was swiftly condemned by Democrats, who accused the administration of targeting the Democrat for political purposes. Omar, in a statement on X, called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”
“For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.”
Though the Republican focus on Omar’s background dates back years, the search notably took place three weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election.
Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis. She is part of The Squad of progressive lawmakers who are a vibrant political force on the left wing of Congress but have also endured repeated attacks from Trump, dating back to his first term. She was one of the first two Muslim-American women in the House and the first African refugee to be elected to Congress.
Washington
Authorities investigate letters with ‘suspicious substances’ sent to election offices
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that have been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide.
Authorities are urging recipients to treat the letters as “potentially hazardous.”
The Senate was informed of the investigation by a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms that was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
The mailings come just three weeks before Election Day and are reminiscent of a similar threat in 2023, when several election offices received envelopes containing the powerful opioid fentanyl.
In Congress, the situation appeared isolated to the Senate, but the House was monitoring, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Mailed packages containing a powdery substance led to the evacuation this week of election offices in at least two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The Ohio secretary of state said the Postal Service intercepted a package containing a white powder intended for its office and noted that similar mailings had been sent to election officials in multiple states.
The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning what they said were threats against election staff.
“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said in their statement.
