What to Expect in This Edition
The 9/11 anniversary and Rosh Hashanah fall on the same weekend, creating an elevated security period for churches near synagogues or Jewish community events.
Federal guidance again identifies houses of worship, clergy, staff, and congregants as potential targets.
DHS released updated mobilization indicators that show where families, churches, and communities may have the best chance to intervene before violence occurs.
Online radicalization remains a major thread, with cases involving teens, livestreamed attacks, Telegram, TikTok, Discord, Roblox, and extremist propaganda.
International plots and arrests in France, Israel, Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Mozambique, and other locations show how connected these threat networks have become.
This week’s suspicious activity reports include filming inside a Messianic congregation, an abandoned vehicle outside camera coverage, attempted cyber intrusions traced to Iran, and an online shooting threat.
Violent crime, sex crime, arson, kidnapping, and armed assault cases involving churches are included near the end of the report.
TERROR UPDATE
Week of 6 to 12 September 2026
9/11 Anniversary and Rosh Hashanah Fall on the Same Weekend
The 9/11 anniversary lands on Friday, 11 September. Rosh Hashanah begins that evening and runs through Sunday, 13 September, which puts Sunday morning services two days after the anniversary and inside the Jewish High Holidays. The US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) lists all three dates on its September events calendar, which it publishes because those dates carry historic significance for terrorist groups or current threat activity. Yom Kippur follows on 20 and 21 September and Sukkot on 25 through 27 September, so the elevated period runs through the month. New York State has begun increasing State Police patrols at synagogues and is distributing $70 million through its Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has arranged expanded security at roughly 30 locations. Churches that share a block, a neighborhood, or a parking area with a synagogue should expect visible police presence over the next three weeks and should know why it is there.
Source: NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 3 to 9 September 2026
🛡️ My thoughts: We are going to have a busy few weeks. I suggest that you prepare your guardians/safety ministry by briefing them as often as possible and monitor the news for any new threats. I am going to be delayed in my reporting. I’m still out of the country, but I am trying to keep up with what is happening and I have some talented people at CWT keeping me updated on any emerging threats.
Teen Indicted for Murder Over Livestream Deal With San Diego Mosque Shooters
On 31 August, 17-year-old Sarah Santiago of North Carolina was indicted on charges of murder by aiding and abetting for her role in the May shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Santiago was not at the scene. Prosecutors allege she maintained contact with the two shooters, purchased a Sonnenrad patch for Caleb Vasquez, and then distributed the livestreamed video of the attack and the perpetrator’s manifesto under an agreement she made with the assailants beforehand, so that the attackers would be, in the district attorney’s words, famous forever. Vasquez and his accomplice Cain Clark communicated only through online platforms. The indictment states that Clark and Vasquez planned to attack a synagogue and a majority-Black high school the same day. Santiago is being charged as an adult and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Sources: The Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS News, via NYPD Open Source Intelligence Reporting, 6 September 2026
🛡️ My thoughts: So they planned on hitting a mosque and an all black high school after their initial attack. They also communicated solely online with others, which we have been warning you about. This should make every one of you realize how vulnerable our churches are.
Three Arrested in France Over Plot to Attack Jewish Community
On 6 September, France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) announced the arrest of three Islamic State supporters suspected of plotting an attack against a Jewish community in France. The three coordinated through a WhatsApp group called Soldiers of Allah and intended to travel to Africa to join the Islamic State. PNAT transferred the investigation to the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) and asked that the men be held in custody. One of the three has a reported connection to a United States suspect in an alleged Islamic State inspired plot to bomb the New York State Capitol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and PNAT are both working that transatlantic thread.
🛡️ My thoughts: All of these actors are connected, no matter what continent they are on. People are actively plotting against our nation and the Body of Christ. We have to keep abreast of what is happening elsewhere so that we can protect our congregation.
Federal Assessment Names Houses of Worship as Targets
The Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT), the working group that translates intelligence into guidance for state, local, and private sector responders, attached commentary to the France arrests in this week’s NCTC digest. JCAT states that terrorists may consider faith-based institutions and communities as targets for four reasons: their symbolism, a perceived lack of security, direct encouragement from terrorists overseas, and violent extremist messaging that glorifies recent attacks. It states plainly that religious structures and events, along with the clergy, staff, and congregants who occupy them, are potentially at risk, and it encourages first responders to build working relationships with religious leaders so local threats and suspicious activity get reported, vetted, and investigated. JCAT points to three publicly available First Responder’s Toolboxes on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) website: Threats Against Religious Facilities and Adherents (28 June 2019), Threats Against Houses of Worship (22 June 2019), and Threat of Terrorism and Hate Crimes Against Jewish Communities in the United States (4 August 2020).
Source: NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 3 to 9 September 2026
🛡️ My thoughts: We already knew this. Some people need to see it in a federal document before they will act on it, and now they can. Read what JCAT actually wrote: it tells first responders to go build relationships with religious leaders and get local threats reported. The government put in writing that your church needs to hear this, then filed it where your pastor will never see it. Somebody has to close that gap, and in your church that somebody is you. Take this to your pastor and read Nehemiah 4 with him.
Nehemiah prayed and posted a guard day and night. The builders kept working with a weapon at hand. He did both, and the wall went up.
DHS Publishes Updated Mobilization Indicators
On 8 September, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis released an updated graphic mapping how a person moves from belief to violence, built on the public DHS, FBI, and NCTC Mobilization Indicators Booklet and its 42 indicators. The motivation stage has no fixed timeline and shows as a hardened violent worldview, violent rhetoric, fixation on past attackers, and withdrawal from family and friends, and DHS notes these behaviors are largely constitutionally protected, which means family, peers, and community are the ones positioned to intervene rather than law enforcement. The preparation stage runs weeks to years and is what DHS calls the greatest operational window: surveillance of targets, research on targets and tactics, attempts to gain access, weapons and explosives acquisition, tactical training, suspicious travel and financial transfers, and a shift into concealment and smaller groups. The mobilization stage runs hours to days and shows as final movement, a dry run or access attempt, sharing attack details, a final statement, and putting affairs in order. Two preparation indicators, surveillance of potential targets and attempts to gain access, describe what comes through our Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) submissions every week, which puts the man filming your entrances or pulling on a locked side door inside the stage the federal government calls the best opportunity to stop an attack. A case from 31 August shows the targeting indicator in its plainest form: 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay shot two people to death outside a bar in Tucson, Arizona and then killed himself, and he was carrying a written list of several similar businesses across the region.
Sources: DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis product DHS-IA-IV-2026-23720, 8 September 2026; CNN and The Associated Press for the Tucson case
🛡️ My thoughts: I’m including the document from DHS so you can share it with your team. They marked it FOUO, or “For Official Use Only” which is absolutely silly. This should be distributed to the public, not restricted to just law enforcement and fed agencies. I know some current and former Federal LEO’s are upset at my continual bashing of the federal system, but it is broken and needs fixing and we all know it. Don’t take it personally. It is not an attack against you. Think of it more as a plea that we need to be doing better at communicating with houses of worship
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Israel Reports 25 Killed in Lone Actor Attacks Since Iran Conflict Began
On 6 September, Israel’s National Security Council published a threat assessment for Israelis abroad ahead of the High Holidays, attributing elevated worldwide risk to the ongoing conflict with Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and HAMAS, and to continued promotion of attacks by Palestinian groups, the Islamic State, al-Qa’ida, and the Huthis. The assessment reports an increase in lone-wolf attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide, with 25 Israelis and Jews killed since the Iran conflict began. It advises avoiding overt Jewish or Israeli symbols in certain countries, paying heightened attention to anything unusual near Jewish institutions, and not publishing social media content that indicates Israeli affiliation.
Source: Government of Israel, via NCTC Counterterrorism Digest
🛡️ My thoughts: Pay attention to these warning signs. Lone wolf actor attacks are growing exponentially across the globe. They are being radicalized by Jihadis online and they have become very successful at it.
Islamic State Recruiting Children Through Gaming and Short Video Platforms
Researchers at the Global Network on Extremism and Technology, along with Europol and Spain’s counter-extremism agency, have documented a recruitment pipeline running from TikTok to Discord to Roblox, in which Islamic State affiliated accounts normalize jihadist identity among minors using gamified content, official group anasheed, and flag imagery embedded in game assets before moving contacts to encrypted messaging, with material reaching children as young as 13. Three cases landed in the past two weeks. A 16-year-old male in Sydney, Australia, radicalized on TikTok and Telegram, pleaded guilty on 1 September to a 2024 plot to detonate an improvised explosive device at the Sydney Marathon finish line at the Sydney Opera House, drawing on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and he told online contacts he was picking a location where lots of people and tourists are out. Mohammed Khalil Nadir, 19, was sentenced in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom to nine and a half years for building a mock suicide vest modeled on the 2025 Manchester synagogue attack and posting it to Telegram. Italian authorities arrested a 16-year-old on 2 September whose devices held propaganda blending Islamic State, neo-Nazi, and accelerationist material, along with instructions for building homemade explosive devices, guidance on vehicle-ramming attacks, and searches for how to obtain a firearm and ammunition. In Nigeria, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province and Boko Haram have moved to TikTok for recruitment and for fundraising through TikTok gifting.
Research · Sydney · Middlesbrough · Italy: Polizia di Stato
🛡️ My thoughts: Please share this with your youth minister. They are successfully reaching American kids through this same route. Most church attackers have a current or past affiliation in some way with the church they are attacking. Your youth minister should be familiar with these tools and monitor their children for signs of radicalization.
United States and Iran Exchange Strikes; IRGC Support Cell Arrested in Italy
United States forces struck Iranian air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, and mine-laying capability along the Strait of Hormuz between 30 August and 2 September, the first confirmed kinetic action against Iran since 29 July, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly prepared to launch rockets and lay sea mines in the Strait. Iran answered with missiles and drones against United States assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with no casualties reported, and an IRGC spokesman promised severe punishment against the United States. On 3 September, Akram al-Kaabi, leader of the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba, threatened to kill any American servicemember still in Iraq after the 30 September withdrawal deadline. Separately, on 8 September, Italy’s Polizia di Stato announced that the Digos counterterrorism unit in Florence had arrested a 41-year-old Jordanian national on 31 August on terrorism charges involving support to multiple organizations including the IRGC and Lebanese Hizballah, alleging he conspired with others in 2025 to establish a terrorist cell in Jordan. On 1 September, an Iranian regime-aligned media outlet circulated an artificial intelligence generated video depicting the Iranian president entering the White House and shooting the President of the United States in the Oval Office.
Sources: Reuters, NBC News, AP News, BBC, Rudaw, Polizia di Stato, via NYPD Open Source Intelligence Reporting, 6 September 2026, and NCTC Counterterrorism Digest
🛡️ My thoughts: We have thousands of IRGC loyalists here in the United States. Re watch my interview with an agent assigned to hezbollah in the US and see what we are facing.
Al-Qa’ida Publishes 9/11 Editorial Five Days Before the Anniversary
On 6 September, the pro-al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula media group al-Yaqin published issue 7 of its weekly al-Bayan newsletter, leading with an editorial on the 11 September 2001 attacks that frames them as an Islamic awakening and a turning point in what the group calls a clash of civilizations, and asserts that al-Qa’ida will lead that awakening. Messaging of this kind carries no specific plot information, and its function is to reach people the organization has never met and will never direct. The JCAT assessment above names direct encouragement from terrorists overseas and messaging that glorifies past attacks as two of the four reasons faith-based institutions get selected as targets.
Source: al-Bayan No. 7, cited in NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 3 to 9 September 2026
Propaganda Tracking
NCTC lists five official terrorist publications released this period, and analysts on church intelligence teams should be able to identify each by name. The Global Islamic Media Front released issues 11 and 12 of Sada al-Thughur, with issue 12 listing Abu Muslim al-Tamimi as editor, contacts at sadathughur@proton.me and talk.gnews.to/direct/sadathughur, and affiliate brands al-Kata’ib, al-Andalus, and az-Zallaqa; that issue also runs an open recruitment ad for what the group calls Media Front Cells, soliciting anyone already running a channel to redistribute jihadist releases, listing @GIMF on GNews and @khalayaaljabha1 on Telegram. Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula released al-Bayan issue 7 through al-Yaqin Media Group. The Islamic State released al-Naba issue 563 through its Central Media Diwan, and Islamic State Khorasan’s al-Azaim Media Foundation released The Emirate of Fools, a Pashto attack on the Taliban arguing that any authority governing by human reason rather than revelation is illegitimate, the same argument the group applies to Western democracies. Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan released an infographic claiming 406 operations in August 2026 with 294 killed and 352 wounded. A separate pro-Islamic State poster released on 30 August featured four foreign fighters, including former senior official Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, with text encouraging attacks, which NYPD analysts assess was aimed at global audiences including in the West.
Source: NCTC Counterterrorism Digest, 3 to 9 September 2026, Terrorist Publications section; NYPD Open Source Intelligence Reporting, 6 September 2026
Watch Items
A joint Saudi coalition and Yemeni operation killed Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, the Islamic State’s global spokesman since August 2023, in Seiyun, Yemen on 1 September. Supporters posted condolences online afterward, some questioned whether he actually died, and at least one called for the group to avenge him by targeting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, so analysts should watch al-Naba and official group channels for a named successor and for further retaliatory messaging, since a retaliation call is what lone actors in the West respond to. Turkey moved 184 citizens with suspected Islamic State ties from Baghdad to Ankara on 7 September, including Savas Yildiz, a fugitive suspect in the 2015 Ankara train station bombing that killed 104 people. Four Islamic State related indictments were filed in northern Israel in under two weeks, including a former Israel Defense Forces soldier and a 16-year-old accused of planning an attack at the Temple Mount. Istanbul authorities killed Islamic State member Berkan Cil, 21, in a shootout at a bus terminal on 3 September after he evaded raids at two residences, recovering a handgun, 200 rounds, and a large volume of digital material; a 49-year-old bystander was struck and later died. Suspected Islamic State Mozambique fighters burned a hunting camp in Niassa Province on 3 September, three United States nationals were airlifted out, and the United States Embassy has warned Americans away from the Niassa and Cabo Delgado border area.
Yemen · Turkey repatriation · Israel · Istanbul · Mozambique
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS
Reader-submitted suspicious activity at U.S. churches. If you see something similar in your area, submit your own report at alert.christianwarriortraining.com.
Newcastle, Washington — Man Filmed Interior and Exterior of Messianic Congregation During Services On Saturday, September 5, 2026, a security director at a Messianic Jewish congregation in Newcastle, Washington reported that a man entered the fellowship hall around 8:30 a.m. while congregants were praying, walked through every room, and recorded video of the building inside and out. When the sanctuary opened at about 9:00 a.m. for worship team practice, he repeated the same pattern there. The security director found him outside the sanctuary talking to an elderly female congregant about having been raped as a child, told him to stop, and the man left on foot without a vehicle. The subject was described as a black male in his late 20s, approximately 6 feet 5 inches tall, very dark skin, wearing an ankle-length Muslim thobe with no skull cap, a beard about an inch and a half long, and speaking with an American accent. CWT case 20260907-51E913EFBEC6
Chehalis, Washington — Vehicle Left Overnight in Church Lot Outside Camera Coverage On Saturday, September 5, 2026, a safety team member at a church in Chehalis, Washington reported a pickup truck parked alongside the church building and apparently abandoned. The vehicle was locked, parked at an angle roughly six feet off the curb, and partially blocking traffic through the lot. It was described as a late 1990s blue Chevrolet Silverado 1500, heavily soiled with algae growth consistent with sitting unused for a long period. The truck remained overnight, and its entry onto the property was not captured on the church’s cameras. CWT case 20260906-44E729042C5C
Old Bridge, New Jersey — Two Brute-Force Intrusion Attempts on Church Radio Station Server Traced to Iran On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at approximately 6:59 a.m., and again on Sunday, August 30, 2026, at approximately 11:09 p.m., a Christian radio station operated by a church in Old Bridge, New Jersey recorded attempts to break into its server. Both attempts were brute-force password attacks and both were unsuccessful. The station traced both originating internet protocol (IP) addresses to Tehran, Iran. The station reported the activity to its local police department, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP), the Faith-Based Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (FB-ISAO), the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) InfraGard, and added additional security controls. CWT case 20260904-0A133B1C9104 · agency case CCASE0216668
Saint John’s, Arizona — Online Shooting Threat Reported to Sheriff, Subject Released on Bond A safety team member at a church in Saint John’s, Arizona reported an online post made Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in which the writer stated he was going into town to shoot people and stand on their dead bodies. The report was based on a police report the reporter reviewed online covering the subject’s detention and subsequent release on bond. The matter was handled by the Apache County Sheriff’s Office. The reporter rated his own confidence as medium and did not observe the post directly. CWT case 20260903-39A1C33168EF
VIOLENT CRIME
Man Charged With Threatening Church and Congregation — Knoxville, Tennessee
A Knoxville man was charged in early September after allegedly making threats against a church and the people who attend it. According to a warrant reported by WVLT, the threats included a statement that the entire congregation would meet God. The church canceled scheduled events and added security in response to the threat. The case was filed in Knox County court records on Thursday, September 4, 2026. The suspect’s name and the name of the church have not been carried consistently across reporting.
🛡️ My thoughts: Take these threats seriously. Make sure you get a restraining order protecting the church and all employees of the church and issue a no trespass order. These are just pieces of paper, but they mean a lot for your defense in court if you have a deadly force incident with someone doing the same at your church. All of that will be brought up in a decision as to whether or not to charge you with a crime.
SEX CRIMES
Registered Sex Offender Remains Senior Pastor After Denomination Blocks Promotion — St. Louis, Missouri
Timothy D. Price III, senior pastor of First Baptist Church City of St. Louis, was scheduled to be installed as Missouri State Overseer of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship on September 16, 2026. International Presiding Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III canceled the installation the weekend of September 6 after learning Price was convicted in 2008 of second-degree rape of a 12-year-old girl and is a registered sex offender. Walker said the denomination did not know about the conviction when it made the appointment, confronted Price at noon on Saturday, and issued a public statement three hours later. Price resigned from all Fellowship leadership positions and will not be permitted to serve in any jurisdictional or auxiliary role in the denomination. Walker said the Fellowship has no authority over Price’s job as senior pastor because each member church is autonomous, and Price remains in the pulpit at First Baptist Church City of St. Louis.
ARSON AND SUSPICIOUS FIRES
August Church Fire Ruled Arson, Federal Reward Offered — Federalsburg, Maryland
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced on Friday, September 4, 2026, that the fire that destroyed the Church of the Nazarene on Houston Branch Road was intentionally set. The fire was reported by a passerby at 11:46 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, and took 62 firefighters just over an hour to control. Damage to the building and contents was estimated at $350,000. Fire alarms were installed in the building but were not operational at the time of the fire. ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to identification, arrest, and conviction.
🛡️ My thoughts
INTERNATIONAL
Three Kidnap Victims Die in Captivity, Held With 37 Taken From Worship Service — Nigeria
Three people abducted in separate incidents died while being held in the same bush camp as 37 worshippers taken during Easter Sunday church raids. The 37 captives were seized during services and have been held for months. Kaduna State accounts for the largest share of both civilian abductions and Christian civilian abductions reported in Nigeria this year, at 26 percent and 42 percent respectively. Reporting on the deaths came from released captives and family members negotiating ransom. No security force rescue operation has been reported.
Armed Assault on Church Leaves at Least 12 Dead — Nzangula, Adamawa State, Nigeria
Armed men attacked a church in Nzangula in Adamawa State in early September 2026, killing at least twelve people, wounding others, and kidnapping one person. Adamawa State sits in Nigeria’s northeast, a region with sustained Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province activity. The attack follows a pattern of assaults on rural congregations with limited security presence and long law enforcement response times. Casualty figures in the initial reporting are preliminary.
Volunteer Stabbed Nine Times Guarding Church Against Cable Thieves — Daleview, Eastern Cape, South Africa
A member of a community police forum was stabbed nine times during a night patrol while protecting his Daleview church from cable thieves. The attack occurred in an area where residents have complained that street lighting has been out for an extended period. Cable theft at church properties has drawn volunteers into overnight guarding roles they are not trained or equipped for. The victim survived. The reporting was published Monday, September 7, 2026.