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Last week, an Islamic extremist opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia, reportedly targeting military personnel as he shouted “Allahu akbar.” Tragically, the terrorist managed to murder Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a professor of military science, a decorated combat veteran, and the leader of the school’s ROTC program.
The suspect, who was killed by fast-acting and courageous cadets, was an extremely likely perpetrator. His deadly spree could and should have been prevented. The attacker was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone who had previously been convicted of trying to join the Islamic State group. To call this a “big clue” would be too flippant. The judge in the case declined to mete out a sentence that even approached the maximum allowable under the law. Prosecutors asked for 20 years — the judge decided just over half of that would suffice.
The aspiring ISIS butcher was then released years early. He proceeded to illegally buy himself a gun, more on that later, and did precisely what a convicted ISIS terrorist would presumably want to do: rob an American hero of his life.
Indeed, it was exactly what he said he wanted to do, which our government knew. Consider some of these details about the extremist’s past, per CNN (emphasis mine):
The case has drawn renewed scrutiny to [the terrorist’s] past, including a terrorism conviction nearly a decade ago that followed an investigation officials said kept them “up at night,” as well as the circumstances surrounding his early release from prison. During the earlier investigation before his stint in prison, investigators were made aware that [he] had expressed admiration for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage, when Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded dozens at a Texas military base. During a 2016 investigation, authorities learned he had begun consuming online lectures from a deceased Al-Qaeda leader and ultimately decided not to reenlist after leaving the Guard.
He was fixated on a similar terrorist attack and wanted to try to replicate it.
That same year, federal prosecutors said [he] attempted to assist ISIS. He sought to obtain weapons he believed would be used in an attack carried out in the group’s name and also tried to send money to the terrorist organization, according to the Department of Justice. In 2016, [he] initially attempted to purchase an AR-15-style rifle from a gun shop in Virginia but was denied because he did not have the required documentation, according to the affidavit. Authorities say he came back later the same day and purchased a different rifle, but the weapon had been disabled before he left the store. He was taken into custody the next day.
He sought to purchase a gun with which to carry out such an attack and tried to send money to ISIS.
In conversations with the source, court documents say [he] had discussed potential timelines for an attack on US soil and “expressed that it was better to plan an operation for Ramadan,” according to a FBI affidavit filed in his criminal case…several factors made [him] particularly concerning to investigators at the time. Among them were his military training, his travel to Sierra Leone after leaving the Guard where he attempted to make contact with ISIS-linked militants in Nigeria, and his communication with an ISIS “virtual plotter.”
He said out loud that he wanted to conduct an attack during Ramadan. He did all of this and was found guilty, then our system let him out of prison and let him stay in the country, giving him the opportunity to finally fulfill his evil vision. He obtained a gun, picked a military-adjacent target in his orbit, and committed an atrocity during Ramadan. His case was littered with red flags. The dots couldn’t have been any easier to connect. But policy choices allowed this to happen anyway.
Some questions arise:
First, why was this person ever allowed back on the streets of the United States, allowing him to follow through on his terrorist dreams? Because, as mentioned above, the judge in his case decided that a relatively lenient punishment was in order. The extremist repaid the leniency by murdering one of our nation’s best. He was also loose in our communities because he was able to naturalize as an American citizen — for reference, all four Islamist terrorist attacks within the last few weeks, with Democrats’ Department of Homeland Security shutdown underway, were committed by naturalized citizens or the children of naturalized citizens. While we should all have qualms about approaching the question of denaturalizing Americans who’ve earned citizenship lightly, our generosity and laws should not be suicidal. Congress should introduce and pass narrow legislation that states simply and clearly that a naturalized citizen is subject to denaturalization if convicted of a terrorism offense. This should be neither difficult nor controversial.
Next, how was a convicted ISIS aspirant able to acquire a firearm, given the restrictions that exist to prevent such things? As noted earlier, the terrorist did so illegally. What’s especially interesting is who helped him break this law, resulting in bloodshed. Bill Melugin of Fox News reported that “the man charged by DOJ for selling the gun used by the ODU terrorist was caught straw purchasing three guns in 2021 (all of which were later recovered at crime scenes, including a homicide), but the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute. He got a warning and signed an apology letter.” Democrats often scapegoat guns and law-abiding gun owners in the wake of shootings, yet their pro-criminal “justice” zeal often preempts the priority of tough and consistent enforcement of gun laws already on the books. They routinely demand new gun control laws, often regardless of whether the proposal would have affected the incident in question, yet continue to prioritize lax enforcement of existing gun laws.
In this case, the person who is said to have illegally sold this terrorist his gun was let off the hook for similar crimes under the “progressive” Biden administration. Having learned the lesson of impunity and disrespect for the rule of law, he seems to have quickly returned to his old ways. And now a man is dead.
Second Amendment expert Amy Swearer also underscores that “Virginia passed universal background checks on all private gun sales in 2020. Where were local prosecutors on this for illegal gun sale charges? Didn’t [Democrats] promise us stuff like this was literally why we ‘needed’ that law?” Good question. Will any of them answer it?
Finally, why was a convicted terrorist enabler and terrorism plotter able to enroll in classes at Old Dominion University? Odds are that school officials didn’t know because they literally weren’t allowed to know, under Virginia law. A news article shared by Virginia’s recently defeated Republican attorney general, Jason Miyares — he was replaced by a leftist who fantasized about assassinating Republican colleagues, along with their children — reveals that “per Virginia law, public colleges are barred from questioning prospective applicants on their criminal histories or denying them admission on the basis of criminal history.”
Miyares added, “despite this felony” of aiding and trying to join ISIS, the terrorist “applied and enrolled at ODU with the school having no idea his criminal history because of the 2019 ‘social justice’ law” signed by former Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat. (Miyares calls this Northam’s “legacy,” though the former governor’s most famous legacy is probably wearing blackface on multiple occasions). Old Dominion accepted a convicted ISIS fanatic into its community because “progressives” decided that asking applicants about their criminal records is a crime against equity. And now an extraordinary military veteran who worked in that community is dead.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) evinced outrage over this terrorist attack, posting on social media that “Virginians deserve to know how a man who was convicted on terrorism charges and spent time in federal prison could carry out the horrific attack at Old Dominion University.” She expressed her “serious concerns” and demanded a “vitally important” investigation.
WOKENESS IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AT THE INSUFFERABLE OSCARS
Well, Governor, here’s what Virginians deserve to know: The attack happened because we let a naturalized citizen Islamist radical off with a short prison sentence after attempting to abet and join ISIS while plotting an attack, then permitted him to remain a citizen even after that conviction. He then managed to buy a gun from an illegal gun dealer whose prior related crimes were effectively excused by the Biden DOJ’s “compassionate” pro-criminal policies. Then he was accepted into the university he targeted because the school wasn’t allowed to know about his terrorism conviction, thanks to a “social justice” policy implemented by the last Democratic governor of the commonwealth.
The full investigation Spanberger demands should start with the beliefs, policies, and actions of her own political party.
