A new report from the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has identified Nevada among 29 states where incidents involving “foreign jihadist networks and homegrown violent extremists” pose a persistent terror threat to America.
The report highlights over 50 cases between April 2021 and September 2024, detailing various attempts to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, including ISIS, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda. These incidents involved military-type training, fraud, and other actions supporting these terrorist groups.
The committee findings come amid a backdrop of heightened concerns following major terrorist attacks, such as the August 2021 ISIS-K attack in Afghanistan, which claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members, and the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, which killed over 1,200 people and resulted in 200 hostages taken. These events, the report states, have contributed to a worsening terror threat landscape in the United States.
Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., linked the rising threats to what he described as policy failures by the Biden administration, citing the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and vulnerabilities along U.S. borders. Green emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) primary mission is to protect Americans from such threats, but he warned that the system is “blinking red yet again.”
According to the report, examples of jihadist-related activity in the U.S. include individuals from various states, including Nevada. Some cases involve foreign nationals and American citizens, nearly all Muslim men, convicted of providing material support to terrorist organizations or engaging in terrorist plots.
The cases cited range from a Turkish man in Kentucky receiving military training from ISIS to a Moroccan man in Minnesota who fought alongside ISIS in Syria. Several convicted individuals received prison sentences, while others were involved in plots thwarted by federal authorities.
The report’s release coincides with the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the creation of DHS. Despite the department’s formation to consolidate federal efforts against terrorism, the committee expressed concerns over ongoing security lapses. A recent report by the DHS Office of Inspector General pointed to significant deficiencies within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), noting that current practices do not fully ensure the prevention of high-risk individuals without identification from entering the country.
The committee also raised concerns about the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) ability to adequately vet noncitizens who threaten public safety, highlighting potential risks for domestic air travel.
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