CTEC

Rev. Jesse Jackson has died. And, U.S. and Iran set for high-stakes nuclear talks Longtime civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at age 84. And, the U.S. and Iran are set for high-stakes negotiations today in Geneva about Iran's nuclear program.

CTEC Exec Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social joined @npr.org on the Texas “#antifa” case tied to the July 4 protest outside the Prairieland ICE facility near Alvarado. Takeaway: serious incident, but the “antifa cell” framing is a stretch. Listen in: www.npr.org/transcripts/...

Extremist rhetoric is often found in government messaging. Who's the target? In a rare move, the White House recently took down a racist post from one of President Trump's social media accounts. Extremism researchers say it fits a pattern of mainstreaming extremist ideas.

CTEC shoutout: @npr.org / @oyousef.bsky.social referenced J.M. Berger’s “lawful extremism” work—how extremist-coded rhetoric can migrate into state messaging with plausible deniability. www.npr.org/2026/02/16/n...

Thrilled to announce Noor Almusahwi as our next Michael Donnelly Fellow (Spring 2026). Noor brings deep experience on human rights and digital security—paired with rigorous research on terrorism, political violence, and rule of law. Congrats, Noor! www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

Terrorist Financing in the Age of Large Language Models — Project CRAAFT The research briefing by Jason Blazakis examines how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) could be exploited to support terrorist financing activity. The report ar...

New @rusi.bsky.social research briefing by CTEC’s @jason-blazakis.bsky.social on #LLM enabled #terrorist #financing: risks, real-world pathways, and practical mitigations. www.projectcraaft.eu/research-bri...

Recently, CTEC Exec Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social published w/ @universitypress.cambridge.org Terror Disrupted. A book that examines how terrorist financing is countered. www.cambridge.org/core/books/t...

An American Hostage the Taliban Won’t Admit Exists | The New York Sun There is growing evidence the Taliban may be capturing and hiding more hostages.

Full story at: www.nysun.com/article/an-a...

In a recent NYSun piece on Mahmood Habibi, CTEC Exec Director Jason Blazakis explains why public pressure can matter more with a de facto government like the Taliban than with ISIS—and outlines U.S. leverage: frozen assets, recognition, and UN sanctions, incl. Qatar as a key intermediary.

CTEC just released a new report, Seeds of Extremism, by Isabela Bernardo. It examines how ecofascist ideas can intersect with accelerationist culture—and what that means for prevention and policy. Thanks to the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative for support. www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

CTEC Senior Research Fellow Tammy Palacios joined Sham TV regarding recent attacks in Australia and at Brown U. She explained that recent attacks aren't coordinated—they're symptoms of de-prioritized counterterrorism. We need renewed focus on P/CVE. www.youtube.com/watch?v=He_N...

Late last week, CTEC Executive Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social chatted with @ms.now about the recent attack in Washington DC. He explained that it was way too early to call it an act of terrorism and that reflexive policy responses by the Trump Administration would be unhelpful.

Trump recasts foreign terror list to focus on ‘Antifa,’ cartels The administration is making an unprecedented expansion, designating entities in Europe and Latin America not typically a focus of U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

BLUF: The Trump admin will add 4 European “violent Antifa” groups US FTO list on 20 November. CTEC Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social notes, for @washingtonpost.com, the groups “don’t have one fatality associated with their activity.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

How will Trump’s DOJ prosecute ‘antifa?’ The Prairieland ICE shooting trial could be the playbook “Antifa” is now at the center of the Justice Department's case against two people charged for their alleged roles in a North Texas ICE detention center shooting. How it plays out in court could be ind...

CTEC Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social joined @npr.org Texas outlet, KERA News, to discuss the federal prosecution of the Prairieland ICE shooting and what it means for future “Antifa” terrorism cases.

🔗 www.keranews.org/criminal-jus...

As Trump talks of designating antifa a foreign terrorist group, experts see danger The designation would have, as one domestic terrorism expert told NPR, a "cascading effect across civil society, including social media organizations, civic organizations and everything in between."

New from CTEC, our Director, @jason-blazakis.bsky.social , is featured on NPR discussing the controversial topic of whether #antifa should be designated as a terrorist organization. His expertise adds critical context to this evolving discussion. Listen to the segment:

www.npr.org/2025/10/28/n...

Trump's 'Terrorism' Narrative Puts Dissent in the Crosshairs Donald Trump's administration is accusing its opponents of supporting terrorism, but cities around the US are fighting back.

CTEC Executive Director and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Prof. @jason-blazakis.bsky.social recently chatted with @inkstickmedia.com about Trump's recent executive action against domestic terrorism. Check out the full article at: inkstickmedia.com/trumps-terro...

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English Why is Trump targeting antifa under terrorism laws? | The Take

CTEC Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social joined @ajepodcasts.bsky.social The Take to discuss the recent #Trump Admin focus on #Antifa. You can find the discussion at:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYE...
Apple pods: podcasts.apple.com/.../why-is......
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5RRk...

Recently, CTEC Executive Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social wrote for the @latimes.com an op-ed that points to the dangers of Trump's recent "domestic terrorism" order- it is more about politics than it is about national security. www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Dallas ICE shooting: Politics and ideology — or notoriety and fame? Shooting at Dallas ICE field office that killed detainees follows pattern for political assassins whose motives are less about ideology and more about notoriety.

Recently, CTEC Exec Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social spoke with @keranews.org @npr.org about the recent attack against an ICE facility in Texas. TLDR of it is this, pinning the attack on ideology misses the mark: www.keranews.org/news/2025-10...

Recently, Exec Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social joined the @bunkerpod.bsky.social to discuss Trump's crackdown on progressives under the guise of counter-terrorism. Listen in:

There are many things wrong with Trump calling antifa a terror group. Here are a few of them. | Opinion Antifa does not meet an important legal criterion for terrorist designation, namely, it's more a way of thinking than it is an organized group.

OPINION: "The president’s new executive order, frankly, does very little new to combat anarchist-motivated violence." — Jason Blazakis

🚨 New Op-Ed in the @inquirer.com Inquirer 🚨by CTEC Exec. Director @jason-blazakis.bsky.social . Trump’s new order labeling #Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” isn’t about public safety — it’s about political power. Read Here:

www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

The Right​’s Baseless​ Project to ​Link Trans People​ With Extremism A campaign for the FBI to adopt a new designation of “transgender ideology–inspired violence and extremism” is less about law enforcement than politics.

Recently, @jmberger.com, a senior research fellow at CTEC, spoke w/ the @newrepublic.com about the rise of nihilistic violent extremism (NVE). Check out the article and the implications of the FBI's use of NVE to shape its investigations: newrepublic.com/article/2008...

The internet culture behind the Kirk shooting suspect’s ‘big meme’ The Charlie Kirk shooter’s engravings have been mined for clues of a motive. For those steeped in meme culture, they show only that he was “terminally online.”

Recently, CTEC Senior Research Fellow @jmberger.com spoke with @washingtonpost.com about online radicalization and meme culture in the wake of multiple acts of violent extremist violence in the United States. Check out the full article at: www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Can Trump label antifa a 'domestic terror group'? Legally, there's no such thing Current law provides for the designation of some groups as "foreign terrorist organizations," but no similar process exists for domestic groups.

President #Trump recently said he will designate #Antifa as a terrorist group. @npr.org ran a great article on this topic with words from our Executive Director, @jason-blazakis.bsky.social , on why this is not an easy task. Read why: www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...

We are thrilled to announce that Olivia Kilborn is CTEC’s Michael Donnelly Fellow for Fall 2025. She’ll study the rhetoric connecting eco-fascist subcultures and far-right European parties—work with real implications for counter-extremism practice. Read more: www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

What counterterrorism looks like in the U.S. 24 years after 9/11 The Sept. 11 attacks of 24 years ago led to unprecedented investment in counterterrorism resources. Today, the terrorism landscape is more complex than ever, and some say the country is less prepared.

CTEC Exec Director, @jason-blazakis.bsky.social, joined @npr.org on All Things Considered to reflect on the 24th Anniversary of #9/11 and how the counterterrorism mission of the USG has evolved. He joined @colinpclarke.bsky.social & @oyousef.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/09/11/n...

New CTEC publication: "Hermetic Hatred" demonstrates how antisemitism survives by adapting its narrative architecture—from theology to politics to today’s platforms. Maps key tropes, transmission routes, and practical takeaways for policy & T&S.
www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

New from CTEC: Binary Breeding Grounds: How the Manosphere Manufactures Modern Antisemitism. A review on how misogynist online ecosystems braid antisemitic frames via recommender systems & influencer escalation—and what platforms, researchers, and educators can do. www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

CTEC's founding Executive Director, @jason-blazakis.bsky.social, has a forthcoming book coming out that examines counterterrorist financing. Terror Disrupted, published by@universitypress.cambridge.org, will hit bookshelves and online market places in early 2026.

Crowdsourced Political Violence: A Literature Review on How the Internet Embodies Leaderless Resistance and Empowers Lone Actors One of the most significant challenges and changes in political violence in modern times is not necessarily ideological but structural. The DHS and FBI identify lone offenders and small groups—particu...

New from CTEC: Paula Granger’s “Crowdsourced Political Violence.” Online spaces lower barriers to mobilization—fostering leaderless resistance. Literature review with practical takeaways for researchers, platforms and policymakers: methods, gaps, next steps. Read: www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...

Where the Olives and Sunflowers Grow: Strategic Reconciliation in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict This article argues that achieving lasting peace in the Israel-Palestinian conflict necessitates moving beyond purely political solutions to embrace reconciliation, which is generally neglected. While...

Today @ctecmiis.bsky.social published a guest author essay by @djrosenthal.bsky.social that examines the importance of strategic reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Check out this must read at: www.middlebury.edu/institute/ac...