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--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Host: The hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue is now over, but scrutiny of the FBI's handling of the case has just begun. What have we learned about the motives of the alleged terrorist? And why is the FBI under fire? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, January 18th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: The world's number one tennis player will not defend his Australian Open title. How did politics play a role in his cancelled visa? And what's next for the unvaxxed tennis star?
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--:-- Host: On Saturday, a British man stormed into a Texas synagogue, taking four people hostage while demanding the release of a convicted terrorist. The 10-hour-long standoff ended with the suspect being killed, but the FBI is now under fire for their messaging around the attack. Here with the details is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So, the hostage situation began on Saturday morning at Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. An old man burst into Sabbath services around 10.40 a.m. and immediately took four congregants hostage, including Rabbi Charlie Citron Walker.
--:-- [Audio of the hostage taker can be heard in the background]
--:-- Ian Howarth: A live stream of the service captured audio of the incident, and the hostage taker was heard saying he'd planted bombs around the synagogue, including one in his backpack, and that he was, quote, going to die. He could also be heard using anti-Semitic slurs while ranting about Israel and Judaism.
--:-- Ian Howarth: According to authorities, the man demanded the release of Afir Siddiqui, a convicted terrorist from Pakistan who is currently serving an 86-year sentence in Texas after she tried to kill U.S. service members sent to interrogate her.
--:-- Ian Howarth: At 5 p.m., the hostage taker released one victim, but it wasn't until three hours later, at 8 p.m., that the situation ended after the three remaining victims escaped through a side door.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Dramatic footage from a local news crew shows the victims running away before a man armed with a handgun and wearing a backpack appears in the doorway shortly after. At that point, the FBI hostage rescue team stormed the building and a short firefight broke out where he was killed.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Rabbi Citron Walker said he and his congregation had taken active shooter and hostage training in the past and said that it likely saved their lives. The rabbi was able to create a chance for him and his congregants to escape by throwing a chair at the gunman.
--:-- Ian Howarth: The rabbi also said that he noticed the hostage taker becoming increasingly belligerent in the final hour of the standoff and knew from their training that they needed to find a way out soon because things were likely to deteriorate shortly.
--:-- Host: So, what do we know about the hostage taker so far?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Honestly, there isn't a lot we know right now, but we do know that he was a 44-year-old British man who arrived in the country five weeks ago through JFK Airport in New York.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Authorities say he wasn't on any government watch lists and they're still not sure how he got to Texas. But they do know he spent three days at a homeless shelter in the week leading up to the attacks.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Apart from demanding the release of Siddiqui, he reportedly made no other demands. And now the question for law enforcement becomes whether this was a lone wolf attack or if he was part of a larger operation.
--:-- Ian Howarth: On that subject, British law enforcement officials did announce the arrest of two teenagers in Manchester who they say may be connected to the attack. They're currently being detained for questioning, but we don't have any information on that front yet.
--:-- Host: Now, the FBI also got a lot of heat for their initial description of the event on Saturday. Tell us a little more about that.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, in the initial hours of the incident, Matthew DeSano, the FBI special agent in charge, downplayed the role of antisemitism in the attack.
--:-- Ian Howarth: We do believe from our engagement with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community, but we're continuing to work to find motive.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Those comments were widely criticized by many who pointed out that the hostage taker could have gone anywhere, but chose a synagogue during a Sabbath service.
--:-- Ian Howarth: They also pointed out the fact that the man could be heard on the live stream repeatedly using anti-Semitic language.
--:-- Ian Howarth: To most people following the situation, it seemed pretty obvious that the attackers' motives were driven largely by anti-Semitism.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But it wasn't until Sunday that the FBI released a statement that appeared to reverse course, admitting that, quote, this is a terrorism-related matter in which the Jewish community was targeted.
--:-- Host: This is far from the first anti-Semitic attack we've seen in recent months. Is this part of a larger trend?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, this is certainly far from an isolated incident. Since 2016, anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise nationwide.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In New York City alone, for example, hate crimes skyrocketed by 100% in the last year, with anti-Semitic attacks going up a huge 50%.
--:-- Host: Ian, thanks for breaking this down for us.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Of course, thank you.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Coming up, the Novak Djokovic Australia saga comes to an end. The world's number one tennis star had his visa revoked by the Australian government over the weekend for a second time and was deported from the country on Sunday, ending his chances of defending his 2021 Australian Open title.
--:-- Host: Here to discuss is Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, look, it was quite the ordeal and it's grown into more than just a sports issue. It's really become political.
--:-- Host: Yeah, it has. As Georgia mentioned, Sunday, Djokovic, who's the world's number one tennis player, lost his appeal to remain in Australia.
--:-- Joe Morgan: His visa was canceled a second time on Friday due to his decision to remain unvaccinated.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So after the appeal was denied, he was deported from the country on Sunday.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And as we have discussed on this show before, Djokovic first had his visa revoked on Thursday, that's January 6, by Australian authorities after he, quoting here, failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Djokovic and his lawyers appealed the decision, and the Australian courts actually overruled the government decision to cancel his visa.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So at that point it seemed like he was going to stay.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, it appeared that Djokovic was all set to defend his 2021 Australian Open title.
--:-- Joe Morgan: But then on Friday the Australian Minister for Immigration Alex Haack revoked his visa a second time claiming it was, and quote, health and good order grounds on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Which, look, in layman's terms, his visa was revoked out of fear that his participation in the tournament while being unvaccinated would stir, quote, anti-vax sentiment in the country.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So you're saying it's actually more about what he represents than him posing any kind of a real health threat.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, absolutely.
--:-- Joe Morgan: In fact, Hawk, the health minister, came out and admitted exactly that.
--:-- Joe Morgan: He said, and I'm quoting here again, I consider that Mr. Djokovic's ongoing presence in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment generated in the Australian community, potentially leading to an increase in civil unrest of the kind previously experienced in Australia with rallies and protests, which may themselves be a source of community transmission.
--:-- Host: That's quite a statement. It's wild.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Now, we saw a strong reaction last week back in Serbia, the home country of Djokovic.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Has the Serbian government made any kind of response?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, they're not happy about it.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The president of Serbia called the decision political.
--:-- Joe Morgan: It was very easy for Australian authorities to say from the very beginning that, okay, only vaccinated, only inoculated people could enter Australian territory.
--:-- Joe Morgan: But they didn't say so. They were saying a completely different story, including these medical exemptions.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And after that, they forgot about it and they wanted to create alleged political principles, which were not principles at all.
--:-- Joe Morgan: He also said that Australian authorities, quote, humiliated themselves.
--:-- Joe Morgan: It's not Novak that is humiliated. I think Australian authorities humiliated themselves with this kind of procedures, pursuing against Novak Djokovic, 10 days of torturing him.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And after all, the terrible media campaign that was launched by them and by many others in the West was really something very terrible.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And we wait for our Novak here. He is the world champion, but he is our champion. And of course, he is in our hearts.
--:-- Host: Joe, thanks for breaking this down for us.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Host: Former Jeffrey Epstein confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, has decided to stop fighting to protect the names of eight men accused of having sex with underage girls that she and Epstein procured for them.
--:-- Host: Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking last month, told a federal judge through her attorney last week that she'll no longer object to revealing the identities of the eight men.
--:-- Host: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So, Mairead, this is the information that everyone's been wanting from the beginning. It's the identity of these high people who were involved directly in the sex trafficking.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And initially Maxwell refused to give up those names but now it sounds like she might talk.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yeah, it does.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Maxwell fought for years to conceal the identities of these men.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The men are referred to in a 2015 civil lawsuit brought against Maxwell by Virginia Jiffre.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Jiffre has accused Maxwell and Epstein of trafficking her to Prince Andrew.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Last week, though, Maxwell's attorney, Laura Menninger, wrote in a letter to a Manhattan federal judge that Maxwell no longer plans to object to the identities being revealed.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: That same day, a different Manhattan federal judge denied all of Prince Andrew's many attempts to have Jiffre's case against him dismissed.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So does this mean we're going to be hearing those names soon?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, it's not clear yet, but it certainly makes it much more likely that the names of those eight men will be made public.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Jiffre has publicly accused certain men of having sex with her while she was underage, including hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, attorney Alan Dershowitz, Clinton cabinet member Bill Richardson, former Senator George J. Mitchell, and several others, including a modeling agent and a late MIT scientist.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Now, it's worth noting all of these men have denied Jufri's claims.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Some commentators have suggested that Maxwell may be giving up her fight to protect the men's names because she hopes it will get her a lighter prison sentence.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Some have pointed out that she might have received an even lighter sentence if she had just cooperated with investigators initially, but she refused to do that.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Throughout her trial, Maxwell appeared to have a confident and some say even cavalier attitude believing she would be acquitted.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Right, and the trial was somewhat disappointing for some people because it very conspicuously didn't reveal those names or the more sordid details.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: No, it didn't, unfortunately.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Much of the evidence and testimony revolved around Maxwell herself and her role in Epstein's world rather than who that world included.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And that, of course, invited all kinds of speculation about why those names were protected.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Just to recap, Maxwell was found guilty on five out of the six charges against her, the most serious of which was sex trafficking.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Now, there were also reports that Epstein kept incriminating videos of these men.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Right. So during Maxwell's trial, FBI agent Kelly McGuire revealed that during the first search of Epstein's residence, they found a safe with hard drives and CDs but didn't have the authority to seize them.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: When they returned with a broader warrant, the items were missing.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, I think we'd all be interested in learning what was on those drives.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Hopefully we'll get those details soon.
--:-- Host: Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
--:-- Host: Other stories we're tracking this week. Republican Representative Jim Jordan said Republicans are definitely going to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci if they take control of the House in the midterm elections.
--:-- Host: Glenn Youngkin was sworn in as the new Republican governor of Virginia over the weekend, signing several executive orders, including an end to critical race theory in public schools, allowing parents to decide if their child wears a mask in school, and repealing the vaccine mandate for all state employees.
--:-- Host: And Greece is now imposing fines for unvaccinated people 60 years old and up. Those who don't get vaccinated could be charged 50 euros this month and then 100 euros or $114 per month afterwards.
--:-- Host: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening and give us a five-star review.
--:-- Host: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Host: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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