Jordanian Charged With Destroying Florida Solar Farm and Attacking Local Businesses!
A Jordanian man in Orlando faces explosive charges after a violent spree targeting businesses and a solar farm for their support of Israel. 🌐 #News #OrlandoFL #Florida #Crime
ORLANDO, FL – A Jordanian national living in Orlando has been indicted for allegedly destroying solar panel arrays and threatening multiple businesses for their support for the State of Israel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said Thursday.
Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 43, is charged with four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count of destruction of an energy facility. At a hearing on Thursday, he was ordered detained pending trial. The indictment also specifies that the U.S. intends to forfeit assets connected to the offense.
“We allege that the defendant threatened to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by a desire to target businesses for their perceived support of Israel,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
“Such acts and threats of violence, whether they are targeting the places that Americans frequent every day or our country’s critical infrastructure, are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Justice Department.”
According to court documents, in June 2024, Hnaihen allegedly began a spree of targeted attacks on businesses in the Orlando area for their perceived support for Israel.
In nighttime attacks, Hnaihen allegedly smashed glass front doors and left behind “Warning Letters” addressed to the U.S. government listing political demands and concluding with a threat to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”
As law enforcement worked to identify the masked attacker, Hnaihen allegedly escalated his activity. At the end of June, he allegedly broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield and “spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays.”
Photos shared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office show an aerial view of the large solar farm with numerous targeted panels outlined in red, along with close-ups of shattered solar panels.
Hnaihen also allegedly cut wires and targeted critical electronic equipment at the facility, causing more than $700,000 in damage. He also allegedly left behind two more copies of the “Warning Letter.”
Hnaihen was arrested on July 11, shortly after another “Warning Letter” threatening to “destroy or explode everything” was found at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando.
“Targeting and attacking businesses for perceived beliefs is unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and federally prosecute those who make violent or hate-based threats and who seek to act on these threats.”
If convicted, Hnaihen faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each threat offense and up to 20 years in prison for the destruction of an energy facility offense.
Reminder: All parties are considered innocent before proven guilty. Written by TMX staff, with additional reporting by Jack and Kitty Norton.
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