Boston, MA — A 25-year-old pro-Palestinian Muslim activist and UMass Dartmouth graduate, Jermaiah Yusuf Sawaqed, has been arrested and charged after a spree of vandalism and the placement of hoax devices resembling IEDs at multiple Boston landmarks, including the Massachusetts State House. The case is raising alarm over escalating radical left-wing and Islamic activism spilling into criminal tactics inside the United States.
State House Attack and Security Scare
In the early morning hours of July 23, 2025, the iconic Bulfinch entrance of the Massachusetts State House was found splattered with white paint. Steps, gates, and granite pillars were covered, while black spray-painted slogans—partially spelling words like “Divest” or “Divert”—were scrawled across the stone.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect fleeing toward Boston Common, where police discovered an abandoned item that prompted a bomb squad response. While the initial object proved harmless, the incident escalated when two devices resembling improvised explosive devices were later found on the Common.
Authorities immediately cordoned off the area with crime tape, deploying a joint investigation team of Boston Police, Massachusetts State Police, and FBI personnel.
Governor Maura Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano, and Senate President Karen Spilka issued swift condemnations, calling the act a “disturbing attack on our state’s most historic and symbolic civic site.”
Pattern of Attacks
The State House vandalism was not an isolated event. Investigators quickly tied the same suspect to paint attacks on the George Washington Monument in the Public Garden and two facilities at MIT, establishing a pattern of escalating radical acts aimed at highly visible public institutions.
According to the criminal complaint, Sawaqed’s actions were “deliberate, calculated, and in furtherance of an ideology that advocates disruption through violence and criminal activity.”
Arrest of Jermaiah Yusuf Sawaqed
Authorities identified the suspect as Jermaiah Yusuf Sawaqed, of Everett, Massachusetts. A 2022 bioengineering graduate of UMass Dartmouth, Sawaqed is reportedly affiliated with the controversial Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL), a militant anti-Jewish group formed earlier this year.
On his LinkedIn profile, Sawaqed described himself as a “dedicated bioengineer.” He attended high school in Colorado before moving to Massachusetts for college. After graduating in 2022, he worked in biotech and lived with his mother in Everett.
Federal officials disclosed that they first became aware of Sawaqed in May 2025, after a video and related social media post urging attacks on government buildings drew the attention of authorities in Canada, New York, and Boston. This prior intelligence raised questions about why he was not intercepted earlier.
Investigators say forensic evidence, including white paint footprints leading from the crime scene, and materials recovered from a car registered to his mother, tied him directly to the attacks. Inside the vehicle, officers found:
- Paint containers and residues matching those used at the State House.
- A device consistent with the hoax bombs left on Boston Common.
- Two empty gasoline cans.
- DAMPL pamphlets and propaganda flyers.
According to investigators, surveillance also tracked Sawaqed’s movements through license plate readers. He was placed on a “hot list” of individuals actively threatening law enforcement and government targets, underscoring the seriousness with which officials viewed his activities.
These findings pointed to both ideological motivation and preparation for escalation.
Family Confrontation and Defense
During the search of the vehicle, Sawaqed’s radical mother, Naila Dahabrah, allegedly spat in the face of a detective, leading to her arrest on charges of assault and battery on a police officer.
Dahabrah has publicly defended her son, insisting he is being punished for his political views on Gaza. “He does not belong to any group. They have no evidence,” she told local media.
Formal Charges and Court Proceedings
At his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court, Sawaqed was charged with:
- Defacement of public property
- Damaging a veteran’s or war memorial
- Possession, transportation, or use of a hoax device or substance
Prosecutors argued successfully to block his release under the Lavallee Protocol, which usually allows release after seven days without legal counsel, because his family is retaining a private attorney.
A judge set bail at $30,000, with a follow-up hearing scheduled next week.
DAMPL: A Rising Threat
The Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL), with which Sawaqed is associated, has been monitored by the left-wing Anti-Defamation League (ADL) since its founding in spring 2025.
The ADL warns that DAMPL “endorses an extreme approach to anti-Israel activity, openly promoting and justifying violence and criminal activity.”
DAMPL members call themselves “DAMPL Action Comrades.” They coordinate activities through social media and encrypted apps, part of a broader ecosystem of radical technology platforms designed to shield extremist organizing. This isn’t happening in a vacuum — RAIR Foundation journalist Donna Fodor has already documented how a growing digital infrastructure is being built to enable militant Islamic and far-left groups to coordinate across borders.
RAIR’s investigations exposed Silicon Valley executive Paul Biggar, whose company Tech for Palestine is powering Hamas-linked platforms like UpScrolled (a censorship-free social media hub for radicals) and JayWalk (a “Waze for protests” app). These tools allow activists to coordinate smear campaigns, block streets, and organize flash mobs under the guise of political protest, while normalizing antisemitism and justifying terrorism. DAMPL’s reliance on encrypted apps shows how this infrastructure is already bleeding into New England, enabling groups like Sawaqed’s to escalate from online agitation to real-world attacks.
Silicon Valley isn’t just woke — it’s weaponized.
The Red-Green Axis — communists & Islamic supremacists — are building AI apps to silence you, smear patriots, and power Hamas’s digital war on the West.
One of the architects? Paul Biggar. CEO of Tech for Palestine.
He… pic.twitter.com/EVTR4TIv0k
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) August 6, 2025
The ADL’s New England chapter released a statement praising law enforcement, warning: “Once they started taking credit for real-world vandalisms, we put a lot of effort into investigating them and providing information to law enforcement.”
Larger Implications
While the final repair costs are still being tallied, officials emphasize that the damage goes far beyond paint and broken stone — it represents a direct assault on public security and civic order.
The attack has fueled urgent calls for stronger protections at Massachusetts’ most iconic landmarks. Analysts warn that as the Hamas–Israel conflict rages abroad, local jihadi and Islamic cells are gaining momentum, using America’s streets as an extension of their war. What many dismiss as mere ‘political protest’ is in fact the open advance of Islam, with leftist allies providing cover, leaving U.S. cities increasingly vulnerable to ideological violence.
Key Takeaway
The arrest of Jermaiah Yusuf Sawaqed highlights a disturbing trend: radical left-wing and Islamic activism crossing into domestic extremism. What began as campus slogans of “divestment” has now escalated into attacks on monuments, government institutions, and even the placement of hoax devices resembling IEDs.
This case demonstrates the global threat that Islam’s political movement poses: Islamic-inspired extremism is being imported onto American streets, and militant groups like DAMPL are exploiting U.S. soil to wage symbolic and disruptive campaigns.
For Massachusetts, the warning is stark: our most iconic civic institutions are now targets. What happened at the State House should not be dismissed as isolated vandalism, but recognized as part of a broader pattern of ideologically driven Islamic extremism that demands a stronger response.
The post Boston Terror Threat: Pro-Palestinian Jihadi Arrested After State House Attack and Hoax Bomb Plot (Video) appeared first on RAIR.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: RAIR Foundation
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://rairfoundation.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
