A Jordanian national, Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, has been sentenced to a six-year term in prison following a spree of vandalism and threats in Orlando, Florida, which targeted energy facilities and businesses with perceived ties to Israel. The announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida came with a note that restitution for the damages, exceeding $450,000, will be addressed subsequently, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
With law enforcement detailing Hnaihen's offenses beginning around June 2024, his actions included smashing business fronts and leaving warning letters with threats of wide-scale destruction—each step of his calculated onslaught escalating tensions, it culminated in extensive damage to a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, where solar panels were systematically destroyed, wires cut, and overall havoc wreaked. "Threatening to commit mass violence against American citizens and targeting businesses or institutions for destruction will not be tolerated," said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe as communities in Orlando found themselves at the center of Hnaihen's malicious campaign.
A multiagency effort eventually led to Hnaihen's apprehension on July 11, 2024, as the FBI and local authorities pieced together evidence linking him to the disturbances.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan, alongside Trial Attorneys Ryan White and George Kraehe from the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division, prosecuted the case with assistance from several local law enforcement agencies.
