Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 6 February 2026

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Anti-Muslim attacker busted for punching girl, 12, two other Muslim women in daylight NYC rampage

A 34-year-old Staten Island woman, identified as Megan Horne, was arrested in Brooklyn after allegedly carrying out a series of anti-Muslim attacks in broad daylight on Jan. 30, assaulting three visibly Muslim individuals, including a 12-year-old girl. In three incidents within about ten minutes in the Bay Ridge neighborhood, Horne reportedly pushed and kicked a 33-year-old woman, shoved a 39-year-old woman as she boarded a bus, and punched the young girl in the face while making anti-Muslim remarks such as “get out of this country.” Police charged her with assault and aggravated harassment (as hate crimes), as well as additional counts, including acting in a manner injurious to a child. The attacks drew strong condemnation from New York City and state officials, who denounced the violence against Muslim New Yorkers and pointed to rising anti-Muslim hate incidents in 2026.

Analyst Comments: The incident underscores the persistent risk of ideologically motivated, low-level violence targeting visibly identifiable communities in dense urban environments. The rapid succession of attacks suggests opportunistic behavior rather than premeditated planning, highlighting how bias-driven assaults can unfold quickly with little warning and limited deterrence.

More broadly, the case reflects a wider threat environment in which hate incidents fluctuate independently of overall crime trends, reinforcing the need for targeted prevention, rapid reporting mechanisms, and visible protective measures for communities facing elevated bias-related risks.

Jewish leaders escalate concerns about unclear political conditions on federal security grants

Jewish leaders and advocates are raising alarms about a lack of clarity around new political or ideological conditions attached to federal security grants meant to protect houses of worship from violent attacks. The Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars to help synagogues, churches and other nonprofits strengthen their security, has historically been bipartisan and widely used in the Jewish community. But under the current administration, revised “terms and conditions” tied to the grants have sparked confusion.

Critics say the unclear guidance appears to politicize what should be a safety-focused program, forcing communities to choose between their values and essential security support. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, as well as Jewish federations and caucus members, have sent letters urging the Department of Homeland Security to clarify or remove any conditions not directly tied to security so that communities can access the funds without sacrificing their principles.

Analyst Comments: This issue is best understood as a context-specific risk driven by the current political environment. The Nonprofit Security Grant Program has historically functioned predictably and with bipartisan support, suggesting the present uncertainty stems from broader policy signaling and administrative ambiguity rather than systemic weakness. In this climate, unclear or ideologically adjacent conditions introduce short-term risk by delaying applications, complicating compliance decisions, and injecting political calculation into what is intended to be an apolitical security mechanism. The primary concern is not long-term program reliability, but the near-term impact of policy uncertainty on threat mitigation for high-risk communities, where hesitation or delay can translate directly into unaddressed security vulnerabilities.

FB-ISAO Education Series | Building an Intelligence Team for your House of Worship

The recording of Wednesday’s session on the Mission and Purpose of a House of Worship-centric Intelligence Team and Program is posted in the #fb-isao_recordings for members to review!

As a reminder the next session will be held March 4^th at 12:00 PM E.T. on the roles and skill sets needed to be effective, whether you have a team or an army of one, and the organizational structure and workflow.