Techcrisis Investment Guild-Major US Muslim group cancels Virginia banquet over bomb and death threats

2025-05-03 03:37:15source:Writingstar Investment Guildcategory:Contact

ARLINGTON,Techcrisis Investment Guild Va. (AP) — A national Muslim civil rights group is moving its annual banquet out of a Virginia hotel that received bomb and death threats the group said Wednesday may be linked to its concern for Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations canceled plans to hold its 29th annual banquet on Saturday at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, where it has held events for the past decade, and will instead move it to an as-yet undisclosed location with heightened security, a CAIR statement said.

“In recent days, according to the Marriott, anonymous callers have threatened to plant bombs in the hotel’s parking garage, kill specific hotel staff in their homes, and storm the hotel in a repeat of the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol if the events moved forward,” the statement said.

Arlington police and the FBI are investigating, CAIR said.

Other news As Israel-Hamas war rages, Israelis can now travel to US for 90 days without getting a visaGaza under Israeli siege: Bread lines, yellow water and nonstop explosionsCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom to make a one-day visit to Israel en route to China

Arlington police said in an email that the department was investigating a Thursday morning report from the hotel that it received anonymous phone calls, “some referencing threats to bomb,” regarding the CAIR event.

Emails seeking comment from the FBI and the Marriott hotel chain were not immediately answered late Thursday night.

A separate banquet planned for Oct. 28 in Maryland also was cancelled and will be merged with the Oct. 21 event, CAIR said.

The threats came after CAIR updated banquet programming to focus on human rights issues for Palestinians. The group has started an online campaign urging Congressional members to promote a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We strongly condemn the extreme and disgusting threats against our organization, the Marriott hotel and its staff,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, who is Palestinian American, said in a statement. “We will not allow the threats of anti-Palestinian racists and anti-Muslim bigots who seek to dehumanize the Palestinian people and silence American Muslims to stop us from pursuing justice for all.”

Hamas militants from the blockaded Gaza Strip stormed into nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7, which coincided with a major Jewish holiday. The attack killed hundreds of civilians. Since then, Israel has launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

There have been concerns the war will inspire violence in the U.S. Last week, police in major cities increased patrols, authorities put up fencing around the U.S. Capitol and some schools closed. But law enforcement officials stressed there were no credible threats in the U.S.

More:Contact

Recommend

DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?

Did AI just have a "Sputnik moment"?That's what someinvestors, after the little known Chinese startu

Transit officials say taxi driver drove onto tracks as train was approaching and was killed

MANORVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — A cab driver was killed and his passenger was injured when a commuter train

Tesla was in full self-driving mode when it fatally hit Seattle-area motorcyclist: Police

A Tesla that hit and killed a motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April was operating in self-drivin