A man was arrested in New Jersey for allegedly attempting to firebomb a synagogue.

According to the Department of Justice, Nicholas Malindretos, 26, is charged with attempted use of fire to damage and destroy a building used in interstate commerce.

“The defendant is alleged to have gone to a synagogue in the middle of the night and maliciously attempted to damage and destroy it using a firebomb," said U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

Prosecutors allege Malindretos was captured on surveillance camera at the Temple Ner Tamid Jewish Congregation in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on Jan. 29. He allegedly ignited a wick on a bottle and then threw it at the front glass door of the temple before leaving the area.

Despite wearing a ski mask, authorities said Malindretos was identified by a license plate reading device that picked up his vehicle leaving the area. Officers said they found several items consistent with the firebombing.

Malindretos faces a minimum of five years in prison if convicted.

This is the second high-profile incident targeting the Jewish community in the past few months. Federal authorities say 18-year-old Omar Alkattoul used social media to send a manifesto with threats to the Jewish community. He was arrested in November.

President Joe Biden on Thursday said that ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was killed during a counterterrorism raid by U.S. special operations forces in northwest Syria, noting that the mission "removed a major terrorism threat from the world."

According to the Pentagon, the forces conducted a "successful" large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria.

"Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place," Biden said in a White House statement. "Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation. I will deliver remarks to the American people later this morning. May God protect our troops."

Residents and activists reported multiple deaths — including civilians — from the attack overnight Thursday. Both CNN and The Associated Press report that 13 people were killed — including six children and four women.

In brief remarks at the White House on Thursday, Biden said that he directed a special operations mission rather than a drone strike. Though the decision put U.S. troops at higher risk, he said military leaders were prioritizing civilian lives, as al-Hashimi had surrounded himself with family members.

Biden added that in a "final act of desperate cowardice," the ISIS leader detonated a bomb as U.S. forces closed in, killing several members of his family.

No U.S. servicemembers were killed in the raid.

"Our forces carried out the operation with their signature precision and preparation," Biden said.

Several residents told The Associated Press they saw body parts scattered near the house that was raided in the village of Atmeh, in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province near the border with Turkey.

They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

CNN spoke to witnesses and rescue workers who said the operation targeted a house in Atmeh, near the Turkish-Syrian border. The area reportedly contains a heavy presence of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham fighters, who were formerly affiliated with al Qaeda.

Thursday's raid took place in the same region where U.S. forces killed former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a raid ordered by then-President Donald Trump.

The death of the ISIS leader comes just a week after ISIS prisoners led a high-profile, days-long siege of a jail in the northwest Syrian city of Hasakah. The raid prompted worldwide concerns of ISIS' return of influence in the region.

Video above: State Capitols step up security amid threats

U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn't flagged any issues that they were aware of.

”We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said in an interview after he and other military leaders went through an exhaustive, three-hour security drill in preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration. He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats.

About 25,000 members of the National Guard are streaming into Washington from across the country — at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals. And while the military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI screening is in addition to any previous monitoring.

Multiple officials said the process began as the first Guard troops began deploying to D.C. more than a week ago. And they said it is slated to be complete by Wednesday. Several officials discussed military planning on condition of anonymity.

“The question is, is that all of them? Are there others?” said McCarthy. “We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this.”

In a situation like this one, FBI vetting would involve running peoples’ names through databases and watchlists maintained by the bureau to see if anything alarming comes up. That could include involvement in prior investigations or terrorism-related concerns, said David Gomez, a former FBI national security supervisor in Seattle.

Insider threats have been a persistent law enforcement priority in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But in most cases, the threats are from homegrown insurgents radicalized by al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or similar groups. In contrast, the threats against Biden’s inauguration have been fueled by supporters of President Donald Trump, far-right militants, white supremacists and other radical groups. Many believe Trump’s baseless accusations that the election was stolen from him, a claim that has been refuted by many courts, the Justice Department and Republican officials in key battleground states.

The insurrection at the Capitol began after Trump made incendiary remarks at the Jan. 6 rally. According to McCarthy, service members from across the military were at that rally, but it’s not clear how many were there or who may have participated in the breach at the Capitol. So far only a couple of current active-duty or National Guard members have been arrested in connection with the Capitol assault, which left five people dead. The dead included a Capitol Police officer and a woman shot by police as she climbed through a window in a door near the House chamber.

Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, has been meeting with Guard troops as they arrive in D.C. and as they gather downtown. He said he believes there are good processes in place to identify any potential threats.

“If there’s any indication that any of our soldiers or airmen are expressing things that are extremist views, it’s either handed over to law enforcement or dealt with the chain of command immediately,” he said.

The insider threat, however, was just one of the security concerns voiced by officials on Sunday, as dozens of military, National Guard, law enforcement and Washington, D.C., officials and commanders went through a security rehearsal in northern Virginia. As many as three dozen leaders lined tables that ringed a massive color-coded map of D.C. reflected onto the floor. Behind them were dozens more National Guard officers and staff, with their eyes trained on additional maps and charts displayed on the wall.

The Secret Service is in charge of event security, but there is a wide variety of military and law enforcement personnel involved, ranging from the National Guard and the FBI to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Park Police.

Commanders went over every aspect of the city’s complicated security lockdown, with McCarthy and others peppering them with questions about how the troops will respond in any scenario and how well they can communicate with the other enforcement agencies scattered around the city.

Hokanson said he believes his troops have been adequately equipped and prepared, and that they are rehearsing as much as they can to be prepared for any contingency.

The major security concern is an attack by armed groups of individuals, as well as planted explosives and other devices. McCarthy said intelligence reports suggest that groups are organizing armed rallies leading up to Inauguration Day, and possibly after that.

The bulk of the Guard members will be armed. And McCarthy said units are going through repeated drills to practice when and how to use force and how to work quickly with law enforcement partners. Law enforcement officers would make any arrests.

He said Guard units are going through “constant mental repetitions of looking at the map and talking through scenarios with leaders so they understand their task and purpose, they know their routes, they know where they’re friendly, adjacent units are, they have the appropriate frequencies to communicate with their law enforcement partners.”

The key goal, he said, is for America’s transfer of power to happen without incident.

“This is a national priority. We have to be successful as an institution,” said McCarthy. “We want to send the message to everyone in the United States and for the rest of the world that we can do this safely and peacefully.”

___

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

For John Wesley, no day has a greater significance than Sept. 11, 2001. His reasons are deeply personal, powerful and inspiring.

Images of his fiancée are indelibly etched in Wesley's mind, heart and soul. Sarah Clark died when terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and deliberately crashed into the Pentagon.

"She saw the same old world each day with new eyes, and her compassion never blinks," Wesley said.

Authorities allowed Wesley to watch the boarding gate video. He saw two of the hijackers looking at a child playing with an Elmo toy, seniors being pushed onboard in wheelchairs and students securing their backpacks.

"For me, how could you look at that and still do what was on your mind?" Wesley said.

Wesley decided at the last minute not to go on the trip with Clark because it was his first day on the job as an actor on HBO'S "The Wire."

"Growing up in Mississippi, I just believe I would have fought," Wesley said.

Every year on the 9/11 anniversary, Wesley visits the Pentagon crash site. He will be there this year, as well. In 2018, former Vice President Mike Pence mentioned Clark in his remarks. Wesley said her positive influence has made him a better man. He said she helped lead him back to his faith.

"People need help. People need compassion. And I wanted people to know that I had no malice, that I never asked God why. I just thanked him for the time that I had with her and all the things that happened with her," Wesley said.

Clark taught sixth grade at Backus Middle School in Washington, D.C. She was on Flight 77 to chaperone students to an ecology conference sponsored by National Geographic.

Days before the flight, Wesley and Clark decided to bump up their wedding date to December. They picked a place to hold their wedding reception and shopped for wedding bands.

Wesley had the grim task of identifying Clark's remains.

"I was looking for this ring because this is the ring she would have had on," Wesley said.

Wesley said that over the years, he has focused on writing music and books inspired by Clark.

"If we are going to stop this hatred, we are going to have to start with the children," Wesley said. "That's the real lesson, and that will be our saving grace if we learn to love each other."

Wesley has since found a new love, which he said has helped him emotionally. His work in the Baltimore City Office of Civil Rights is his passion.

"It seems I am where I'm supposed to be," Wesley said.

Wesley has advice for anyone who has suddenly lost a loved one, saying life is short, to honor them by doing a simple act of kindness and use that depth of pain to lift others up.

Two California men have been charged with plotting to blow up the Democratic Party's headquarters in the state capital, a bombing they hoped would be the first in a series of politically-motivated attacks, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The pair used multiple messaging apps to plan to attack targets they associated with Democrats after the November 2020 presidential election, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Their first intended target was the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in Sacramento, prosecutors said."According to the indictment, the defendants planned to use incendiary devices to attack their targets and hoped their attacks would prompt a movement," the statement said. Ian Benjamin Rogers, 45, and Jarrod Copeland, 37, each face multiple charges including conspiracy to destroy by fire or explosive a building used or in affecting interstate commerce, prosecutors said. Rogers, of Napa, is charged with additional weapons violations, including one count of possession of unregistered destructive devices, and three counts of possession of machine guns. Copeland, of Vallejo, is charged with an additional count of destruction of records.It wasn't known Thursday evening if the men have attorneys who could speak on their behalf. "I want to blow up a democrat building bad," Rogers wrote, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday in San Francisco federal court. Copeland responded, "I agree" and "Plan attack," the indictment says. In late December 2020, Copeland told Rogers he contacted an anti-government militia group to gather support for their movement, according to court documents. In one exchange, Rogers wrote to Copeland, "after the 20th we go to war," meaning that they would initiate acts of violence after Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, the court papers say.On Jan. 15, law enforcement officers searched Rogers's home and seized a cache of weapons, including 45 to 50 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and five pipe bombs, prosecutors said. Copeland is accused of attempting to destroy evidence of the plan after Rogers' Jan. 15 arrest. Copeland was arrested Wednesday and made an initial court appearance Thursday. He's scheduled to appear in court again on July 20 for a detention hearing. Rogers is scheduled to appear in court July 30 for a status conference.If convicted on all charges, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, officials said.

Video above: GOP blocks bipartisan probe of deadly Jan. 6 riot

Former President Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 election united right-wing supporters, conspiracy theorists and militants on Jan. 6, but the aftermath of the insurrection is roiling two of the most prominent far-right extremist groups at the U.S. Capitol that day.

More than three dozen members and associates across both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes. Some local chapters cut ties with national leadership in the weeks after the deadly siege. The Proud Boys' chairman called for a pause in the rallies that often have led to clashes with anti-fascist activists. And one Oath Keeper has agreed to cooperate against others charged in the riot.

Some extremism experts see parallels between the fallout from the Capitol riot and the schisms that divided far-right figures and groups after their violent clashes with counter-protesters at the "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. The white supremacist "alt-right" movement fractured and ultimately faded from public view after the violence erupted that weekend.

"I think something kind of like that is happening right now in the broader far-right movement, where the cohesive tissue that brought them all together — being the 2020 election — it’s kind of dissolved," said Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab.

"Like ‘Unite the Right,' there is a huge disaster, a P.R. disaster, and now they’ve got the attention of the feds. And it’s even more intense now because they have the national security apparatus breathing down their necks," he added.

But others believe President Joe Biden's victory and the Jan. 6 investigation, the largest federal prosecution in history, might animate the militia movement — fueled by an anti-government anger.

"We’re already seeing a lot of this rhetoric being spewed in an effort to pull in people," said Freddy Cruz, a Southern Poverty Law Center research analyst who studies anti-government groups. "It’s very possible that people will become energized and try to coordinate more activity given that we have a Democratic president in office."

The insurrectionists who descended on the nation’s capital briefly disrupted the certification of Biden's presidential win and sent terrified lawmakers running for their lives.

The mob marched to the Capitol and broke through police barricades and overwhelmed officers, violently shoving their way into the building to chants of "Hang Mike Pence" and "Stop the Steal." Some rioters came prepared with pepper spray, baseball bats and other weapons.

Related video — Pence: I'll likely never see eye to eye with Trump

Members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers make up just a small fraction of the more than 400 people charged so far. Prosecutors have narrowed in on the two extremist groups as they try to determine how much planning went into the attack, but authorities have said they're intent on arresting anyone involved in the riot.

More than two dozen Proud Boys leaders, members or associates are among those arrested. The group of self-described "Western chauvinists" emerged from far-right fringes during the Trump administration to mainstream GOP circles, with allies like longtime Trump backer Roger Stone. The group claims it has more than 30,000 members nationwide.

In the sustained protests last summer over police brutality, their counter demonstrations often devolved into violence. Law enforcement stepped in during a protest in Michigan. Members were accused of vandalizing property in Washington, D.C. Then, during a presidential debate with Biden, the group gained greater notoriety after Trump refused to condemn white supremacist groups and told the Proud Boys directly to "stand back and stand by."

Chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio hasn't been charged in the riot. He wasn't there on Jan. 6. He'd been arrested in an unrelated vandalism case as he arrived in Washington two days before the insurrection and was ordered out of the area by a judge. Law enforcement later said Tarrio was picked up in part to help quell potential violence.

Tarrio insists the criminal charges haven’t weakened or divided the group. He says he has met with leaders of chapters that declared their independence and patched up their differences.

"We’ve been through the wringer," Tarrio said in an interview. "Any other group after January 6th would fall apart."

But leaders of several local Proud Boys chapters, including in Seattle, Las Vegas, Indiana and Alabama, said after Jan. 6 that their members were cutting ties with the organization’s national leadership. Four leaders, including national Elders Council member Ethan Nordean, have been charged by federal officials with planning and leading an attack on the Capitol. One of Nordean’s attorneys said he wasn’t responsible for any crimes committed by other people.

The Las Vegas chapter’s statement on the instant messaging platform Telegram in February didn’t mention Jan. 6 directly, but it claimed the "overall direction of the organization" was endangering its members.

The Alabama group expressed concern about reports that Tarrio had previously been a federal informant. It was revealed in court records recently that Tarrio had worked undercover and cooperated with investigators after he was accused of fraud in 2012.

"We reject and disavow the proven federal informant, Enrique Tarrio, and any and all chapters that choose to associate with him," the Alabama group posted online in February.

Tarrio said he suspended national Proud Boy rallies shortly after Jan. 6 in part to focus on helping members facing criminal charges. Tarrio described Jan. 6 as "horrible" but said authorities overcharged his jailed lieutenants and are politically persecuting them.

Meanwhile, 16 members and associates of the Oath Keepers — a militia group founded in 2009 that recruits current and former military, police and first responders — have been charged with conspiring to block the certification of the vote. The group's founder and leader, Stewart Rhodes, has said there were as many as 40,000 Oath Keepers at its peak, but one extremism expert estimates the group's membership stands around 3,000 nationally.

Rhodes has not been charged, and it’s unclear if he will be. But he has repeatedly come up in court documents as "Person One," suggesting he’s a central focus of investigators.

Days after the election, Rhodes instructed his followers during a GoToMeeting call to go to Washington to let Trump know "that the people are behind him," and he expressed hope that Trump would call up the militia to help the president stay in power, authorities say. Rhodes warned they could be headed for a "bloody, bloody civil war, and a bloody — you can call it an insurrection or you can call it a war or fight," according to court documents.

On Jan. 6, several Oath Keepers, wearing helmets and reinforced vests, were seen on camera shouldering their way up the Capitol steps in a military-style stack formation. Rhodes was communicating that day with some Oath Keepers who entered the Capitol and was seen standing with several of the defendants outside the building after the riot, prosecutors say.

Rhodes has sought to distance himself from those who've been arrested, insisting the members went rogue and there was never a plan to enter the Capitol. But he has continued in interviews with right-wing hosts since Jan. 6 to push the lie that the election was stolen, while the Oath Keepers website remains active with posts painting the group as the victim of political persecution.

Messages left at numbers listed for Rhodes weren't immediately returned.

Court documents show discord among the group as early as the night of the attack. Someone identified in the records only as "Person Eleven" blasted the Oath Keepers in a Signal chat with Rhodes and others as "a huge f—n joke" and called Rhodes "the dumbass I heard you were," court documents say.

Two months later, Rhodes lamented in a message to another Oath Keeper that the national team had gotten "too lax" and "too complacent." He pledged to "tighten up the command and control" in the group — "even if it means losing some people," according to court documents.

After the riot, the North Carolina Oath Keepers branch said it was splitting from Rhodes' group. Its president, who didn't return messages from the AP, told The News Reporter newspaper it wouldn't be "a part of anything that terrorizes anybody or goes against law enforcement."

A leader of an Arizona chapter also slammed Rhodes and those facing charges, saying on CBS' "60 Minutes" that the attack "goes against everything we’ve ever taught, everything we believe in."

The Oath Keepers’ leader has also suggested the group may be facing financial pressures. In an interview posted on the Oath Keepers’ website, Rhodes said it has been difficult for the group to raise money as it's been kicked off certain websites.

The group also lost the ability to process credit card payments online after the company demanded that Rhodes disavow the arrested members and he refused, Rhodes said in a March interview for far-right website Gateway Pundit. The Oath Keepers website now says it cannot accept new memberships online because of "malicious leftist attacks" and instructs people to mail in applications and dues.

A member of the Oath Keepers was the first defendant to plead guilty in the riot. Jon Ryan Schaffer has also agreed to cooperate with the government's investigation. The Justice Department has promised to consider putting him in the witness security program, suggesting it sees him as a valuable cooperator in the Jan. 6 probe.