DOJ: Illegal Alien Islamic Terrorist Used Protests as Cover To Attack NYPD Cops
The man who attacked several New York City Police Department officers earlier this year is an illegal immigrant and Islamic extremist who used the chaos of recent protests as cover for his actions, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
Back in June, during the early days of the anti-police demonstrations still roiling the country, an individual now identified as Dzenan Camovic approached two Brooklyn cops and stabbed one of them in the neck, according to the DOJ.
“After stabbing the first officer (Officer 1), Camovic chased the second officer (Officer 2), lunging at him and attempting to stab him,” the department said in a news release.
“Camovic then ran back to Officer 1, attacked him, forcibly took control of Officer 1’s firearm and fired multiple shots at Officer 2 and other officers who had responded to the scene.
“Responding officers ultimately shot Camovic and took him into custody. Several officers were wounded during Camovic’s attack and robbery, including Officer 2 who was shot in the hand.”
During the attack — which the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated — Camovic allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar” multiple times, according to the DOJ.
Camovic has been charged “with Hobbs Act robbery, using and discharging a firearm during that robbery, theft of a firearm that moved in interstate commerce and unlawful possession of a firearm as an illegal alien,” the DOJ’s statement read.
Moreover, authorities allege he was an illegal immigrant motivated by “support for violent Islamist extremism.”
“As set forth in the court filings, the defendant, a Bosnian national in the United States illegally, was motivated to attack the officers because of his interest in and support for violent Islamist extremism,” the DOJ said.
The statement above reveals a few important points.
First, authorities say Camovic was living in America illegally, meaning he should have left the country long before he allegedly attacked the police officers.
Not all illegal immigrants sneak across the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the Center for Migration Studies, for instance, of the 515,000 people who became part of the illegal immigrant population in 2016, 320,000 of them came to the U.S. legally and overstayed their visas.
As a country, we must ensure to combat all forms of illegal immigration.
After all, one of the primary duties of government is to protect its people from threats, but that is difficult — and often impossible — if the government does not even know who is in the country in the first place.
Second, Camovic is allegedly an Islamic extremist.
In the days following the attack, one of his relatives told the New York Post that Camovic is a practicing Muslim but claimed he is “absolutely not a terrorist.”
Camovic’s lawyers told CNN this week the attack had nothing to do with religion and that Camovic suffers from untreated mental health issues, stressing that this was his first arrest.
The claims made by Camovic’s family and lawyers are belied by the allegation that he shouted “Allahu akbar” — an Arabic phrase that roughly translates to “God is great” — during the attack, as well as the fact that federal prosecutors say he told a medical worker worker that his “religion made me do it,” according to WNBC-TV.
Furthermore, the DOJ said it found that Camovic “possessed a significant volume of materials that demonstrates his interest in and support for violent Islamist extremism, including materials related to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).”
Finally, Camovic allegedly utilized the ongoing protests as a cover for his crimes.
“Dzenan Camovic, an illegal alien and Bosnian national, is alleged to have used the cover of chaos during recent civil unrest in New York City to launch a premeditated and cowardly ambush against two New York City Police officers, brutally slashing one with a knife, stealing his weapon and opening fire, and injuring several responding officers,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.
The chaos occurring across the country right now is incredibly dangerous.
It has allegedly emboldened criminal actors like Camovic, which is part of the reason there has been a spate of violent and property crimes related to this summer’s protests.
The chaos simply cannot continue if America wishes to remain a civilized, prosperous society.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
