Tipsheet

FBI Dramatically Changes Tune on Synagogue Hostage Situation

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  January 17, 2022 8:30 AM

The FBI has changed its tune on the hostage situation at a Texas synagogue over the weekend. 

As Rebecca covered, the FBI initially claimed the suspect wasn’t specifically targeting the Jewish community.

But as she reported, "Not only did the man take a rabbi and others hostage during shabbat services, but he demanded the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda and was convicted of trying to kill U.S. military officers while in custody in Afghanistan."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said on Saturday they believed the suspect was "singularly focused on one issue" which "was not specifically related to the Jewish community."

He added: “But we’re continuing to work to find motive and we will continue on that path. In terms of the resolution of the incident, the hostage taker is deceased.” 

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As media outlets parroted the FBI’s claim, Townhall’s Guy Benson and many others pointed out that “nobody believes this.”

By late Sunday, the FBI caught up to reality.

“This is a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted, and is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” the FBI said in a new statement. “We never lose sight of the threat extremists pose to the Jewish community and to other religious, racial, and ethnic groups.”