New Threat of Terror Attack in New York City
NEW YORK -- CBS News learned Monday of new threats of a possible terror attack in New York City as a direct result of the escalating violence in the Middle East.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is already taking action to beef up security and increase staffing of the Joint Terrorism Task Force following a new threat assessment by the New York State Intelligence Center that violence in Gaza is driving chatter about targets in New York.
"I am working hard at the state level. With the control I have, I'll be talking about this tomorrow, about exactly what we're doing, on how many online threats we've uncovered, how many have been investigated, what the outcome is," said Hochul.
The governor spoke about new steps she'll be taking to deal with online threats and radicalization, even as CBS News obtained a new threat assessment which points to "an increasing terror threat to NYS."
The intelligence center warned that the spread of antisemitic and anti-Palestinian rhetoric on social media is fueling an increase in hate crimes targeting Jews, Muslims and Arabs.
"The primary concern at the moment is that the events unfolding in the Middle East may serve as inspiration for violent extremists or small groups to carry out attacks against ordinary Americans in their daily lives," expressed FBI Director Christopher Wray. "This includes not only homegrown violent extremists who are influenced by foreign terrorist organizations, but also domestic extremists who target Jewish or Muslim communities. We have already witnessed such incidents with the arrest of an individual."
Last week, Hochul allocated $42.5 million to deploy additional State Police investigators to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City, Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester.
"We are collaborating with all law enforcement agencies, be it federal, state, or local, across the state of New York, not just limited to New York City," Hochul stated.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force reported a 24% increase in the number of bias incidents investigated in October, with anti-Jewish incidents witnessing a staggering 214% surge.
