After the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Jordanian citizen residing in Orlando, Florida was charged with threatening with explosives and vandalizing an energy facility due to threats directed at companies assumed to support Israel, a response came from Jordan. The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Ministry's Operations Department stated briefly to "Al Arabiya.net" that the individual named Hashim Younes Hashim Hanihan is not a Jordanian citizen.
The U.S. Justice Department clarified that Hanihan, 45 years old, is accused of attacking companies in the Orlando area since approximately June due to the assumption of their support for Israel. It also added that he would, under the cover of night, wearing a mask, smash the front glass doors of the companies and leave warning messages behind, according to what was reported by AFP. Furthermore, it indicated that he caused damages exceeding $700,000, adding that he was arrested on July 11. It explained that if convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for each of the four threatening charges, and a maximum of 20 years for the crime of vandalizing an energy facility.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a statement yesterday, "We believe the accused threatened to carry out widespread acts of violence based on hatred, motivated in part by the desire to target companies due to the assumption of their support for Israel." It is noteworthy that incidents of hate-driven violence against Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, and Israelis have increased in the United States since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, following the surprise attack launched by Hamas on Israeli settlements and military bases surrounding Gaza.
