By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization which works closely with law enforcement in the battle against terrorism and protecting civil rights, will present its fifth annual ADL Shield Awards on Sept. 17 in D.C.
The awards are in the area of terrorism and civil rights.
The awards were created in 2010 to recognize law enforcement for major achievements in the fight against hate crimes, domestic and international terrorism, and for protecting civil rights.
“The SHIELD Awards give us an opportunity to publicly recognize and express our appreciation to law enforcement for protecting our nation and its values,” Elise Jarvis, ADL’s Associate Director for Law Enforcement Outreach and Communal Security, said in a press release. “They are a way for us to honor the individuals who guard our lives and freedoms.”
According to a press release, the 2014 ADL SHIELD Award recipients will include investigators and prosecutors from:
- The FBI Washington Field Office, New York City Police Department Intelligence Bureau, US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, and US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and Counterterrorism Section for their investigation and prosecution of the founders and leaders of Revolution Muslim, an organization which encouraged terrorist attacks and violence against non-Muslims. Zachary Chesser pled guilty to soliciting murder and attempting to support a designated terrorist group and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jesse Morton pled guilty to soliciting murder and was sentenced to nearly 12 years in jail. Yousef Al-Khattab pled guilty to using the Internet to place others in fear of serious bodily injury or death and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- The FBI Baltimore Division and the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Criminal Section for their investigation and prosecution of a Color of Law case in which corrections officers in Maryland beat an inmate over a series of shifts and then subsequently obstructed justice with other officers in an effort to cover up the assault. Fourteen corrections officers were held accountable and convicted under federal law.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond Division and Statesboro Resident Agency and the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia for their investigation and prosecution of Michael Lee Fullmore, a member of the Georgia Knight Rider’s, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, who was arrested after confiding to an FBI informant that he wanted to firebomb a local church in retaliation for the church’s support of the Latino community. He was charged with firearms and drug distribution violations and sentenced to 52 months in prison. Following his conviction, the entire Knight Riders Klan organization was disbanded.
- The Drug Enforcement Administration, US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, US Customs and Border Protection, and US Department of the Treasury for a multi-agency operation which focused on the financial activities of three Lebanese financial institutions, each of which has been implicated for its involvement with the Hezbollah terror group. As of March 2014, more than $150 million dollars had been seized under this Operation.
- The Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their investigation and prosecution of local members of the Moorish Nation, part of the sovereign citizen movement, for felonies which included First Degree Burglary, Conspiracy, and Theft over $100,000 in connection to their occupation of a home in Montgomery County, MD. Honorees received threats to themselves and their families because of their involvement in the case.
