In all three of these sewer blowback cases, the homes were below the grade of the road or downstream from the main sewer line itself.

How sewage floods at home turned into nightmares for Raleigh families

Sewage floods inside Raleigh homes

The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to ban anyone from wearing masks in public for health reasons, following an emotional debate about the wisdom of the proposal.


NC Senate votes to ban people from wearing masks in public for health reasons

Protestors gather in Graham 

All assets associated with the tag: online extremism

Online extremism Coverage

Online communities are becoming the first platforms where people are expressing their intentions to cause harm. And those ideas often come in the form of provocative jokes, expressed in graphical memes.

Extremist memes spread hate, are hard to track

right-wing, extremist memes

The patch worn by the mass shooter who took eight lives at a Texas mall last week meant nothing to most people. But the acronym R wds for right wing death squad has for years been a popular meme in far right circles. It's the latest example of how experts say violent extremists are using memes to fuel radicalization. It's like grassroots organizing and that you feel like you're really involved, but it's also at scale and that's what a meme can do and they spread like wildfire. The US National Counterterrorism Center recently warned in an intelligence bulletin that memes are full of coded language that makes it harder for social media platforms to flag them as extremist content. The intent is to hide these provocative and extremist messaging under a veil of to avert detection. Memes have been a feature of hate motivated violence for years. The man sentenced to life in prison for killing 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket last year plastered his gun with racist slogans. In the winter of 2020 Aaron Swenson posted these crude anti police memes on Facebook. A few months later, Swenson, a self described member of the Far right extremist group. The booga boys started a Facebook live stream capturing what he said was a mission to hunt and kill a police officer. Prosecutors say this is the moment he tried to ambush a Texas patrolman. He ultimately was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison for attempted murder. We can see how these things that appear innocuous as phony sequel jokes as mean cartoons. They can really rapidly and dangerously convert into real world violence after both Facebook and Twitter cracked down on extremist users following the January 6th attack. Experts say many groups have flocked to more loosely moderated platforms such as Gab Telegram and Discord where Airman Jack Tahera is accused of posting classified documents. I think these gaming sites have really come into the fore in public notice as a way for people to be radicalized and then organized unfortunately, but law enforcement faces the twin challenges of anonymity and free speech protections. A lot of extremist content is posted under pseudonyms and the FBI has been reluctant to monitor public social media posts by Americans. I don't think we've taken this homegrown extremism seriously enough and we've been very hesitant and of course, we need to protect the First Amendment, respect the first Amendment, but we also have to take extremism seriously.

How hateful memes are a threat to national security

Killian M. Ryan was arrested August 26 and charged with one count of knowingly making a false statement on his application for a secret security clearance, according to court records. On the same day, he was discharged from the Army for "serious misconduct," said Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, an Army spokesman.

<p>AFTERNOON TO YOU. I'M JEFF HOGAN. &gt;&gt; AND I'M RENEE CHOU. BREAKING NEWS RIGHT NOW OUT OF FORT BRAGG WHERE THE FBI SAYS A SOLDIER WITH UPPER LEVEL SECURITY CLEARANCE AS HE ONLY JOINED THE ARMY TO BECOME BETTER AT KILLING BLACK PEOPLE. AFTER LEARNING ABOUT THE FBI'S FINDINGS, THE SOLDIER WAS KICKED OUT OF THE SERVICE. FEDERAL COURT DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY WRAL SHOW KILIAN RYAN IS CHARGED WITH FALSIFYING SECURITY DOCUMENTS AS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION, FEDERAL AGENTS FOUND POST SUNSET SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA WEB SITES AND WHICH RYAN MADE RACIST AND EXTREMIST COMMENTS. ONE OF RYAN'S EMAIL ADDRESSES USED TO CREATE AN INSTAGRAM PAGE WAS NOT SEE ACE WHILE AT BRAGG. RYAN WAS IN A UNIT OF THE 82ND AIRBORNE RACISM IN THE RANKS OF SOMETHING FORT BRAGG HAS BATTLED FOR DECADES TONIGHT. IN OUR EVENING NEWS, WRAL INVESTIGATES WILL EXPLORE THE POST ISSUES WITH RACISM THAT</p>

Soldier discharged from Fort Bragg was in touch with extremist groups

Killian M. Ryan

A bulletin outlining the possible threats to safety in the U.S. was released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on June 7.


DHS warns of uptick in extremist violence prior to midterm elections 

Voting in Raleigh

Right-wing extremism in America is becoming more mainstream, according to a 2021 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The nonprofit that tracks hate groups in the U.S. says that the number of people participating in hate groups continues to fall. 



SPLC report: Right-wing extremism becoming more mainstream as participation in hate groups fall 

No More Apologies: Inside Facebook’s Push to Defend Its Image

It was shortly after federal agents confronted him in May outside a boutique hotel in Lubbock, Texas, seizing his cellphone with a warrant, that Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers militia, made a bold decision: Even though he had just gotten undeniable proof that he was under investigation, he agreed to be questioned about his -- and his militia's -- role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Oath Keepers Leader Sits for FBI Questioning Against Legal Advice

Far-Right Groups Are Splintering in Wake of the Capitol Riot

An Elon University professor was assaulted during an anti-racism protest outside of the Alamance County Courthouse in downtown Graham Saturday night.

Elon professor who researches right-wing extremist groups assaulted in Alamance County

Confederate protesters rally in downtown Graham, near the Confederate monument outside the Alamance County Courthouse. 

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are taking a deeper look at the spread of hate online -- examining how Twitter, Google and Facebook identify and remove extremist voices.