SITREP and Orange is the Color of the Day for Friday. September 12th, 2025

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NEWLY LISTED EVENTS

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COLOR OF THE DAY

Orange

AIR QUALITY INDEX As of 6am (AQI)
Value of Index = 51
OZONE = 26
Daily AQI Color = Yellow
Reference: AirNow.gov

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Sunny, with a high near 78.

SIGNIFICANT NEWS EVENTS

FBI Releases Photos ofPerson ofInterest in Charlie Kirk's Killing on a Utah University Campus

The Associated Press (09/11, Tucker, Richer, et al.) and Reuters (09/11, Hay, Brooks) reported that the shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University remains at large more than 24 hours after the attack, as authorities released security images, video footage, and details about physical evidence in hopes the public could help identify the suspect. According to the articles, Director Patel and Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed that the killer fired a single shot from a rooftop before fleeing into nearby woods, leaving behind a high-powered Mouser .30-caliber bolt-action rifle, a palm print, a shoe impression, and other forensic evidence that is now being analyzed at a federal lab. The articles said law enforcement has received more than 7,000 tips and conducted over 200 interviews while offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's capture, with Cox stressing, "We cannot do our job without the public's help right now." Officials noted that Kirk, a prominent ally ofPresident Donald Trump and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was answering a questionabout mass shootings when the sniper struck, killing him in front of 3,000 attendees. "I can tell you this was a targeted event" said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City. The articles noted that Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff, announced Kirk would posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and said the attack marked part of the most sustained wave of political violence in the United States since the 1970s. Additional reporting on the story was provided by ABC News (09/11, Hutchinson), Associated Press (09/11, Binkley) (2), Axios (09/11, Alberty) (2), BBC (09/11, King, Morris), Bloomberg (09/11, Miller, Hall), Business Insider (09/11, Griffiths, Bharade), CBS News (09/12, Czachor), CNBC (09/11, BreunInger), Courthouse News (09/11, Riquelmy), Deadline (09/11, Johnson), Fox News (09/11, Norman) (2) (3), The Hill (09/11, Basch) (2), The Independent (09/11, Woodward) (2), The Lawfare Project (09/11, Wines), Los Angeles Times (09/11,Toohie, Jarvey,et aL), The New York Times (09/11, Browing, Healy, Bogel-Burroughs) (2) (3) (4) (5), Newsweek (09/11, Mordowanec, Lemon), NPR (09/11, Siegler), The New York Post (09/11, Nesi, McCormack), People (09/11, Quinn), Reuters (09/11, Soares), Rolling Stone (09/11, Bort, Madarang), Time (09/11, Greene), USA Today (09/11, Cann, Chambers) (2), The Wall Street Journal (09/11, Gurman, Fanelli, Morphet), The Washington Examiner (09/11, Brest) (2) (3) (4), The Washington Post (09/11, Brulliard, Hill, et aL) (2) (3) (4) (5), The Washington Times (09/11, Ferrechlo) (2) (3).

Director Patel Comes Under Scrutiny as an FBI in Turmoil Hunts for Charlie Kirk's Killer

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Politico (09/11, Orden) reported that Director Patel came under heavy scrutiny after he prematurely suggested on social media that a suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk had been taken into custody, only to later correct the statement when the person was released. According to the article, Director Patel was already facing backlash from across the political spectrum over allegations of politically motivated FBI firings, the bureau's handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, and internal turmoil following senior agents' resignations and reassignments. The article said critics—including far•rlght commentators and former FBI officials—condemned Director Patel's public misstep during the high•profile investigation, while some lawmakers planned to question him in upcoming Senate and House judiciary Committee hearings about both the firings and the FBI's refusal to release further Epstein documents. The article noted that Director Patel's defenders, such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R•Ohio), praised his leadership and the bureau's record under his tenure, even as former agents advised him to avoid posting updates on social media until investigations were complete. The Daily Mail (09/11, Potter) reported that Director Patel fired Mehtab Syed, the special agent in charge of Utah's FBI division,Just a month before she would have led the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's assassin. According to the article, Syed was a highly respected and experienced agent who had held significant roles in the FBI, including head of cyberterrorism and counterterrorism in the Los Angeles field office. Syed was fired just six months after she was appointed inFebruary, with sources telling NBC that the reasons for her sacking were not clear. Associate Deputy Director j. William Rivers reportedly told Syed that she wasn't a good fit for the office. Additional reporting on the story was provided by HuflPost (09/11, Buchman, Delaney), Reuters (09/11, Winter, Lynch), The Daily Beast (09/11, Gardner), and The New York Times (09/11, Thrush, Barrett, Goldman).

Authorities Say Student Who Had Been Radicalized Fired Revolver at Colorado School, Wounding Two

The Associated Press (09/11. Slevin, Brown) reported that a 16•year•old student, Desmond Holly, opened fire with a revolver at Evergreen High School in Colorado, wounding two students before shooting himselfand later dying from his injuries. According to the article, authorities said Holly had been "radicalized by some extremist network," though they have not yet released details about the group or how the radicalization occurred. The article said Holly fired repeatedly while reloading multiple times as students sheltered in place or fled the building, but secured doors prevented him from entering certain areas, limiting further casualties. Investigators are searching Holly's home, backpack, and locker, reviewing surveillance footage, and considering whether his parents could face charges for allowing him access to the firearm. The article noted that both shooting victims remain in critical condition and that officials praised the rapid police response while acknowledging the ongoing toll of school shootings on communities. The Denver Post (09/11, Bradbury, Hernandez) added that Holly appeared to support white supremacist views online and showed an interest in mass shootings in the days before the attack. The article stated that the social media accounts include references to Holocaust denial, and the name on the TikTok account appeared to end with a reference to a prominent white supremacist slogan. That account reposted several videos showing school shooting scenes from movies, as well as another video that appeared to show the two Columbine shooters taking target shots at bowling pins. Other videos the account reposted were explicitly antisemitic or depicted people in Nazi uniforms. Director Patel posted a statement on X: Our @FBIDenver team continues to work with our partners regarding the investigation of the shooting at Evergreen High School yesterday afternoon in Colorado. We have deployed our evidence response team and other specialty resources as part of our response to this incident The suspect is deceased from his self•infiicted injuries and has been identified as a student at the school, 16.year. old Desmond Holly. Most importantly, our thoughts continue to be with the two victims injured in the shooting and all those who have been impacted by this horrific attack. We will share more as we are able. Additional reporting on the story was provided by Axios (09/11, Alvarez), CBS News (09/11, McRae), Colorado Newsline (09/11, Toomer), The Colorado Sun (09/11, Breunlin), Coloradoan (09/11, Troia), CPR News (09/11, Cruse), Daily Mail (09/11, Parnaby), The Denver Post (09/11, Bradbury, Klamann, et al.), NBC News (09/11, Hampton), New York Post (09/11, Propper), The New York Times (09/11, Hassan), and People (09/11, Pelisek).

Suspectin Trump Assassination Attempt Veers off Topic and Forfeits Opening Statement at Trial

The Associated Press (09/11, Fischer) reported that Ryan Routh, the man accused ofattempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a golf outing in South Florida, forfeited his right to continue his opening statement after veering off topic to discuss Adolf Hitler and wars in Ukraine and Gaza. U.S. District judge Aileen Cannon twice removed jurors from the courtroom before ending Routh's statement when he refused to stay on the case's subject matter. According to the article, prosecutors told jurors that Routh had methodically plotted the attack for weeks, aiming his rifle from the bushes before a Secret Service agent spotted him and opened fire, forcing him to flee without shooting. Five witnesses testified Thursday, including two Secret Service agents, two FBI agents, and a bystander who followed Routh's car after the shooting to record his license plate number. The article noted that Routh, representing himself, asked only a few questions on cross•examination—referring to himselfin the third person—and that the trial is expected to last two to three weeks. ABC News (09/11, Charalambous), Al lazeera (09/11, Staff Writer), BBC (09/11, Epstein), CNN (09/11, Kaye, Valle), Fox News (09/11, Joseph) (2), NBC News (09/11, Arcodia,Pinero, Siemaszko), NewsNation (09/11, All),Newsweek (09/11, Gooding, Whisnant), New York Times (09/11, Adams, Mazzei), NPR (09/11, Allen), Reuters (09/11, Goudsward), Spectrum News 13 (09/11, Winkelmann), Washington Examiner (09/11, Bide).

Bipartisan House Panel to Revisit 9/11 Intelligence Failures as Declassified FBI Files Point to Saudi Advance Team' Role

The Hill (09/11, Rego) reported that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R•NY) will chair a bipartisan House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence review of the 9/11Commission Report to evaluate progress on the report's recommendations for the intelligence community. The 2004 report concluded that agencies responsible for national security had failed to grasp the seriousness of the threat prior to the attacks and cited bureaucratic rivalries, outdated structures, and insufficient resources across the intelligence community, including the CIA and FBI. According to the article, the report also called for a National Counterterrorism Center, a director ofnational intelligence, and stronger congressional oversight, as well as strengthened capabilities for the FBI and homeland defenders. Stefanik will lead the working group alongside Rep. josh Gottheimer (D•NJ) and under the chairmanship ofRep. Rick Crawford (RalC), with public and private hearings planned ahead of final recommendations on Sept 11, 2026. The article noted that Crawford emphasized the need to ensure the intelligence community stays ahead of modern threats and avoids failures like those preceding 9/11. The New York Post (09/11,Christenson) reported that newly declassified FBI documents suggest Saudi Arabian government employees may have acted as an "advance team" for the 9/11hijackers, helping prepare logistics years before the attacks. An FBI investigation from the New York Field Office linked Riyadh officials Mutaib al Sudairy and Adel Mohammad al Sadhan to two hijackers, Nawaf al•Hazmi and Khalld al•Mihdhar, as well as others who supported them in California. According to the article, the FBI files cite phone records, financial transactions, interviews, and even videos showing the Saudis visiting Washington, D.C., filming landmarks, and attending a February 2000 "welcome party" for hijackers, with one FBI source estimating a "50/50 chance" that a Saudi contact had prior knowledge ofthe plot Bill Evanina, former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said the records provide "new investigative leads" for the FBI

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and CIA and should have been shared with the 9/11Commission. The article noted that Saudi officials have denied any involvement and plan to appeal a recent court ruling allowing 9/11victims' families to proceed with a lawsuit against the kingdom. The Daily Mail (09/11, Caralle) also reported on the story.

ODNI Expected to Shrink Counterintelligence, Counterterror Centers

Defense One (09/11, Tucker) reported that the Office of the Director ofNational Intelligence (ODNI) is considering significant cuts to both the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), pan ofa broader restructuring affecting agencies including the FBI, NSA, and CIA. Multiple current and former officials warned that these moves are already harming intelligence sharing with partner agencies and leaving the U.S. more vulnerable to espionage, terrorism, and cyberattacks. According to the article, former officials specifically criticized a recent FBI decision to reassign agents specializing in foreign election interference and money laundering, saying this would greatly reduce the government's ability to counter such threats. The article also noted that coordination between the FBI, the Counterintelligence Center, and the now•disbanded Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center had been critical in uncoveringmajor campaigns such as China's Salt Typhoon cyberespionage attack, and that its loss, alongside the cuts, has alarmed U.S. and foreign intelligence partners. Additional former officials described cases where individuals attempting to contact the FBI about counterintelligence matters were told entire offices were unavailable, further underscoring how these changes are degrading the U.S. intelligence community's overall security posture and international leverage.

Nadine Menendez, Wife ofFormer Sen. Bob Menendez, Sentenced to More ThanFour Years in Federal Bribery Case New York Post (09/11, Kochman, DeGregory) reported that Nadine Menendez, the wife of disgraced New jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for her role in a corruption scheme. According to the article, during her sentencing, Nadine sobbed and claimed she was a victim ofher husband's manipulations, saying, "I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet" The article noted that despite her comments, Nadine stated that she would not be divorcing her husband and requested to visit him in prison before she begins her own sentence. During a 2022 FBI raid on the couple's New jersey home, investigators found $480,000 in cash, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000, and a luxury convertible in the garage. Additional reporting was provided by Associated Press (09/11, Sisak & Neumeister), The New York Times (09/11, Tully, Latson, et al.), Politico (09/11, Rivard), CBS News (09/11, Anderson & Rozner), BBC News (09/11, Upadhyay), The Hill (09/11, Lee), The Washington Post (09/11, Jacobs), Reuters (09/11, Cohen), and Bloomberg (09/11, Hurtado & Dolmetsch).

Former Sports Complex Executives From Arizona Sentenced to Prison for Multi•Million Dollar Municipal Bond Fraud in New York Hoodline New York City (09/11, Carlisle) reported that Randy Miller, 70, and his son Chad Miller,41, were sentenced to 6 and 5 years in prison, respectively, for a multi-million dollar municipal bond fraud scheme. According to the article, the duo pleaded guilty to securities fraud and aggravated identity theft and were ordered to pay money judgments of $7,289,134.89 and $4,798,980.19, respectively. The article noted that the scheme orchestrated by the Millers siphoned nearly $300 million from Investors, and the sentencing aims to serve as a deterrent to preserve trust in the over $4 trillion municipal bond market. The significant sentences imposed for this municipal bond fraud, along with the parallel civil fraud action by the SEC, reflect the commitment ofour Office, the FBI, and the SEC to hold accountable those who exploit the trust ofinvestors: said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in a Department of justice press release. "Randy and Chad Miller orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that cost bondholders nearly $300 million. Their scheme undermined confidence in the $4 trillion+ municipal bond market that communities across America depend on to finance essential projects. We will continue to fight for the integrity and efficiency of the municipal bond market:

New York Man Wanted for Child Sex Crimes Believed to Have Fled to Saudi Arabia

Daily Voice (09/11, Crnic) reported that Saidul Hasan Chowdhury, a 39•year•old New York man, is wanted by the FBI for child sex crimes, including first•degree course of sexual conduct against a child and second-degree rape. According to the article, Chowdhury was arrested in May 2024, released on bond, and is now believed to have fled to Saudi Arabia to avoid prosecution. The article noted that a federalarrest warrant was issued in March 2025, and the FBI is seeking the public's help in locating Chowdhury, who is considered a flight risk.

FBI Warns 'Scams Targeting Americans Are Surging'

Forbes (09/11, Doffman) reported that the FBI, working with the American Bankers Association, warned that scams targeting Americans have surged, with losses exceeding $50 billion since 2020 and deepfake technology driving a growing share of the fraud. The FBI said Al•generated images, video, and audio are increasingly being used to impersonate loved ones, officials, or celebrities to pressure victims into sending money or sharing sensitive information. According to the article, the FBI highlighted three "red flags" to watch for: unexpected requests for money or personal data, emotional manipulation involving fear or urgency, and uncharacteristic communication from someone you know over text, phone, or video. The bureau warned that deepfakes are becoming harder to detect as scammers exploit social media images and videos to improve realism,making even private, direct messages from familiar faces potentially dangerous. The article noted that the FBI urged the public to "stop and think" and verify an communications before assuming they are real.

'BillionDollar' Hack — All Smartphone Users Warned 'Do Not Call' These Numbers

Forbes (09/11, Doffman) reported that the FBI and New York State Attorney General Letitia James have issued multiple warnings about the rapidly growing "Phantom Hacker" scam, which has already stolen over $1 billion from victims across the U.S. The attack begins when victims receive a call, text, email, or popup urging them to contact a fake customer support number, leading to instructions to download software that secretly gives hackers remote access to their devices. According to the article,scammers then impersonate banks to convince victims to transfer money to supposed "safe" accounts, which are actually controlled by the criminals, with some victims later contacted by fake government officials to make the scheme seem legitimate. Authorities stressed that legitimate banks and agencies will never request remote access or ask customers to move money to a different account. The article noted that people, especially seniors, should never call numbers received in unsolicited messages and should only use official, publicly available contact information to verify accounts or report suspicious activity.

RCMP Assists FBI in Twitter Fraud Case

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The Winnipeg Sun (09/11,Staff Writer) reported that Cameron Albert Redman, a 22•year•old Canadian man from Mississauga, Ontario, was sentenced in the US for his role in a Twitter fraud case. According to the article, the RCMP's Cybercrime Investigative Team and the FBI collaborated on the investigation, which involved Redman unlawfully accessing Twitter's Partner Support Portal and selling access to co• conspirators. The article noted that Redman was extradited to the US from Portugal and will serve his prison term, payingrestitution to over 200 victims who lost approximately $794,000, mostly located in the United States.

Jounalist Says Trump May Get Deposed Because ofDirector Patel

Raw Story (09/11, Chapman) reported that a lawsuit filed by former FBI agents Brian Driscoll, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans alleges that Director Patel made repeated statements implicating both himselfand senior Trump administration officials in the firings of agents who had Investigated former President Donald Trump. The suit claims Director Patel told Driscoll on August 5, 2025, that his superiors — understood to include the DOJ and the White House — ordered him to fire any FBI employees tied to criminal investigations involving Trump, saying he had to comply because "the FBI tried to put the President in Jail and he hasn't forgotten it. According to the article,Journalist Marcy Wheeler noted that Director Patel also admitted he knew the firings were likely illegal and could expose him to lawsuits and depositions. Normally,it is difficult to depose high•level officials such as FBI Directors or former presidents, but Director Patel's comments may make It easier for plaintiffs to demand testimony from Trump himself. The article noted that this lawsuit echoes prior First Amendment and Due Process claims from other former FBI officials, including Peter Strsok, whose legal efforts to depose Trump faced significant hurdles.

TRAFFIC ALERT

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