The Federal Bureau of Investigation detailed a series of arrests, indictments and operations across the country in its Weekly Watch update, describing cases involving fraud schemes, violent gangs, cybercrime networks and national security threats handled by field offices and partner agencies.
In her weekly update, Kash Patel said she joined Acting Attorney General Blanche earlier in the week to announce 11-count grand jury indictments against the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that the organization funneled more than $3 million in donations to people associated with extremist groups, including “violent extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan” and “hate groups like those that organized the 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.” Patel said that while the group publicly vowed to dismantle such organizations, it “secretly funneled more than $3 million in donations to benefit individuals in these groups and even encourage their criminal behavior.” He added that the case “demonstrates[s] that he is not above the law.”
In Kentucky, FBI Louisville and partner agencies arrested a man accused of making online threats to assault and murder President Donald Trump and law enforcement personnel. Authorities reported recovering multiple firearms and tactical equipment from his vehicle.
Patel also highlighted the results of Operation Sweet Silence in Columbus, Georgia, led by the FBI in Atlanta. The operation targeted violent crimes and drug trafficking linked to cartels, resulting in 30 convictions, the seizure of drugs worth more than $270 million, and the confiscation of 119 firearms. Authorities said the effort dismantled the Zohannon Street Gang and its associates.
In Houston, eight people identified as members of MS-13 were sentenced to decades in prison for murders carried out at the direction of leaders in El Salvador. The same day, FBI Dallas and the bureau’s Hostage Rescue Team responded to a roadblock situation involving an armed suspect holding his ex-girlfriend hostage. The team stormed the residence early Wednesday morning, rescuing the victim and arresting the suspect.
Patel also reported that a planned mass shooting against the Jewish community in Houston was averted following public notice and coordination between FBI Charlotte and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Houston.
Actions to suppress child exploitation were detailed in Ohio, where the FBI’s Toledo Resident Agency concluded Operation Spring Break. The task force executed 16 search warrants and made seven arrests related to the distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, working alongside more than a dozen local agencies.
The FBI in Salt Lake City worked with partners from the Department of Justice to locate and return a ten-year-old boy who had been taken to Cuba by his father. The agency claimed that the child had been transported for the purpose of undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
The Cyber Division’s efforts resulted in indictments against four Venezuelan citizens involved in an ATM “jackpotting” scheme linked to the Aragua Train, bringing the total number of defendants to 116. Since 2021, the FBI has tracked more than a thousand such incidents, with losses exceeding $58 million. Last month, the alleged leader of the conspiracy was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list as the first cyber fugitive in history.
Patel claimed that more than 30 suspected members of the Mexican mafia, known as La Eme, were arrested in Southern California by the Los Angeles FBI and partner agencies.
The FBI and the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, announced the dismantling of a large-scale fraud center involving charges against two Chinese nationals. The operation included the seizure of approximately $700 million in cryptocurrency assets and the seizure of multiple Telegram channels and 503 websites allegedly used in fraud schemes.
