The Queen of England awarded the George Medal to three individuals who confronted armed terrorists to protect others in London. Charles Guenigault and Wayne Marques, both police officers and Ignacio Echeverria, a civilian were awarded the George Medal. The George Medal was created to reward civilians for acts of bravery by King George VI in 1940 during the Blitz of London.

On June 3, 2017, three terrorists targeted pedestrians on the London Bridge ramming them with a rented Renault van. After driving off the bridge the terrorists crashed into a metal railing next to the Barrowboy and Banker pub. The three terrorists armed with ceramic knives and wearing fake suicide explosive belts passed Southwark Cathedral then moved into the Borough Market area stabbing people. Police Officer Charles Guenigault was off-duty and out with friends. Armed only with courage he charged in and tackled the terrorists. He was stabbed numerous times in the abdomen, back, head and leg. British Transport Officer Wayne Marques was armed only with a baton and yet took on all three terrorists. Marques was stabbed in the head, hand and leg. Both of the police officers were severely wounded. One of the terrorists then began to attack a woman.

Ignacio Echeverria was on his bicycle that evening pedaling with friends towards the White Chapel area when he observed the attacks. Echeverria stopped and took his skateboard from his back and struck the terrorist with the skateboard surprising him. This gave several people time to flee. Two of the other terrorists then stabbed Ignacio Echeverria, a Spanish citizen who worked in London for HSBC. They then moved on to attack others before being killed outside the Wheatsheaf pub when armed police arrived.

Ignacio Echeverria didn’t have to come to the woman’s assistance, but he did. He didn’t have a baton, a pistol or other weapon so he used his skateboard. Echeverria wasn’t trained to handle terrorists attacking people.  How many people would intervene with what appeared to be terrorists with suicide bomber belts and knives attacking people? Yet several unarmed police officers and a civilian did just that. Ignacio Echeverria ended up losing his life when the two other terrorists stabbed him. Echeverria’s parents accepted the George Medal for their son from the Queen.

After this terrorist attack occurred, and the three terrorists were identified one name was readily known even to me. In 2016, Khuram Butt had appeared in a documentary entitled “The Jihadis Next Door.” As part of Abu Haleema’s extremist group that Director Jamie Roberts followed around London filming it should have been apparent to anyone that watched Roberts’ documentary that this group of individuals needed to be under extended close surveillance. But the reality is that surveillance resources can’t stay on a target forever. After a period when the targets don’t engage in overt acts of crime or terrorism are often pulled off a target in lieu of higher priorities. At one point in the documentary the “Jihadis Next Door” were in Regent’s Park in London praying with the Black flag of ISIS. Abu Haleema, a radical cleric, and Butt were associated with Anjem Choudary. One year later Khuram was seeking to rent a larger truck to be able to kill more people but his payment was declined so Butt was forced to rent the smaller van. Besides Khuram Butt, the other two London Bridge terrorists were Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba.

In 1829, Sir Robert Peel created the London Metropolitan Police. Peel would have been proud of his modern-day London Police Officers and a member of the London community. Peel said that “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”  Peel’s words ring true even today. The acts of bravery by these three courageous men and others that day bring out the best of what Peel thought of citizens and police in London.

NVCJA and the TRC Presents

Decision Making for Law Enforcement in Low Light Conditions

October 18-19, 2018 Time 2 pm – 10:30 pm, Northern Virginia

Participants will need their vest, duty gear and flashlight

“To see a suspect without being seen is a great tactical advantage.”

Most law enforcement training takes place during daylight hours. Very little law enforcement training is conducted at night or during low light conditions. Participants will explore a number of decision-making scenarios in low light and darkness conditions. Officers will examine the tactical use of light, proper deployment of a handheld flashlight, moving in low light conditions, moving from light to darkness, traffic stops at night, burglary calls, ambushes, communications and other tactical scenarios and challenges anyone who has worked evenings and midnights faces.

Register with Kevin Fox at kfox@nvcja.org For more information on course content contact Walter Purdy at Purdy@terrorism3.com

September 11th is a day of courage and selfless bravery in the face of adversity. So many people showed an audacity and boldness that sunny day seventeen years ago.  From police and firefighters who ran into the World Trade Center Towers, to those who carried injured individuals out of the Pentagon there were hundreds of examples of courage. The best of America rises during adversity.

In the skies over Pennsylvania, America’s response to terrorism was about to begin. A group of passengers aboard a hijacked aircraft knowing what their fate might be courageously attacked Al-Qaeda terrorists seeking to regain control of Flight 93. Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, and other passengers bravely came together knowing that the terrorists were seeking to crash their flight into another American target. “Are you Ready? Okay. Let’s Roll” are the words Todd Beamer used as Americans began fighting back on September 11th. We owe them and all those who lost their lives on September 11th a greater duty. America came together in the days after September 11th but there is still so much more that needs to be accomplished. We, as Americans need to come together as those aboard Flight 93 did and rally to finish what those Al-Qaeda terrorists started. If we don’t our children’s children will be hampered by terrorism forever. Here are a few challenges that remain outstanding:

1. Capture or Kill Ayman al-Zawahiri– Today there is still a $25 million dollar reward on the current leader of Al-Qaeda. Zawahiri is just as responsible as Bin Laden for Al-Qaeda’s attacks on America. The US should give Pakistan an ultimatum-Either your government captures Al Qaeda’s leader or prepare for another Abbottabad Operation. Zawahiri is hiding in Pakistan just like Bin Laden was.

2. Capture or Kill Saif al-Adel-This Egyptian is one of a handful of Al-Qaeda’s remaining old leaders and is more effective and dangerous than Zawahiri. After Tora Bora, Saif al-Adel took members of Bin Laden’s family and numerous terrorists to Iran where they were all given sanctuary. Adel was a “guest of the Iranians” under “house arrest” until he was released totally by the Iranians.

3. Capture or Kill Hamza Bin Laden-The heir apparent to Ayman al-Zawahiri who will one day step into the shoes of his father. Zawahiri is grooming him for the future. Not long ago he put out a statement calling for attacks on the west.

4. Try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed-Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in 2003. We are still awaiting his trial and justice. KSM wired money for Ramzi Yousef’s first WTC attack and was part of the Bojinka Plot. He was the
mastermind of the 9-11 attacks which killed 2983 people 17 years ago. KSM sent Richard Reid, the Shoe bomber to blow up a plane flying from Paris to Miami. KSM beheaded Daniel Pearl and videotaped the horrific act among other terror plots.

5. Try the following terrorists still awaiting Justice at Guantanamo:

Abd al Hadi al Iraqi
Abd al Aziz Ali
Abd al Rahim al Nashiri
Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi
Ramzi Bin al Shibh
Walid Bin Attash
Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani
Haroon al-Afghani
Abdelrazak Ali Abdelrahman
Riduan Isamuddin Hambali
Abdul Malik
Abu Faraj al Libi
Ismael Ali Farag al Bakush
Mohd Farik Bin Amin Zubair
Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep Lillie
Mohammed Ahmad Ghulam Rabbani
Saifullah Paracha
Abdul Rabbani Abd al Rahim Abu Rahman
Abu Zubaydah
Mohammed al Qahtani
Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi
Gouled Hassan Dourad
Abdu Ali al Haji Sharqawi
Abdul al Salam al Hilal
Hassan Mohammed Ali Bin Attash
Sanad Yislam al Kazimi
Omar Mohammed Ali al Rammah
Said Salih Said Nashir
Zuhail Abdo Anam Said al Sharabi
Khaled Qasim
Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alwi
Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman

6.Need to take better Care of those first responders who worked the WTC, the Pentagon and Shanksville sites after the September 11th attacks. Seems every month there are individuals who because they breathed in asbestos, chemicals, pulverized steel, debris, are becoming sick with various 9/11 related cancers, diseases, respiratory problems not to mention the post-traumatic stress associated with working on the scenes. I think of individual heroes like Fire Fighter Ray Pfeifer, Arlington County Police Corporal Harvey Snook, and FBI Agent Melissa Morrow who all passed due to working a 9/11 terrorist scene. There is a long-term impact from this terrorist attack from seventeen years ago. They are all missed but not forgotten.

We must never forget those who lost their lives 17 years ago. But we must also remember that every day there are people who are fighting for their lives due to the long-term medical implications associated with those attack. We owe it to them to teach the next generation that with freedom comes responsibilities and that we still have challenges to overcome. We owe the next generation of Americans a world that we grew up in-one without fear of terrorism. The best of America will rise with courage and bravery despite these challenges. America came together after September 11th but there is still so much more that needs to be accomplished.

The importance of the so-called “Hamburg Cell” can’t be overlooked regarding Al Qaeda’s September 11^th attacks on America. The Hamburg Cell consisted of seven individuals who lived “hidden in plain sight” in Hamburg, Germany. The cell centered around Mohamed Atta, who piloted the first aircraft into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Atta’s two roommates were hijackers-pilots Ziad Samir Jarrah and Marwan Al-Shehhi. Ramzi Bin al Shibh received his paperwork to attend an aviation school in the United States but repeatedly failed to obtain a visa to travel to the United States. Unable to travel to the US to obtain his pilot’s license Bin al Shibh was made the cell’s coordinator.  Said Bahaji helped with internet expertise and fled Germany on September 4, 2001 for Pakistan. Al Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri reported Bahaji’s death in an audio message in 2017. Zakariya Essabar was supposed to come to the United States to learn to fly. But he was denied a visa when he applied for one in

Mounir Motassadeq came to Germany and attended the Technical University studying electrical engineering.  Motassadeq was a signatory to Mohamed Atta’s will and he had power of attorney for Marwan Al-Shehhi’s bank account. Motassadeq didn’t travel originally with the “four” to the Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. Instead, he stayed behind to cover for them while they traveled.  Motassadeq’s role was to provide logistical support. On May 22, 2000, Motassadeq flew from Hamburg to Karachi and returned on August 1, 2000.  During that period, he attended military training in a camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Terrorists often need individuals to conduct research and undertake logistical support for them to be successful. Besides the hijacker-pilots out of Hamburg, the 9/11 plot needed individuals to support them logistically as well as having a coordinator. Ramzi Bin al Shibh took on the role of the coordinator and Mounir Motassadeq provided logistical support. The result is that the 9/11 terrorists killed 2996 individuals and injured over 6,000 people. Terrorists whether part of the execution team or the logistics team should all be held accountable.

Germany recently announced that Mounir el-Motassadeq sentenced in 2006 to 15 years would be released early for time served. Motassadeq would then be deported back to Morocco. Motassadeq should be extradited to the United States and tried for his support to the Hamburg terrorists.

There hasn’t been much outcry over Motassadeq’s upcoming release. Congressman Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said it is “unfathomable” to free an individual who helped the 9/11terrorists. Congressman Lynch is right on point. Two of the aircraft seized by the terrorists on September 11, 2001, departed from Logan Airport. This airport in Boston, Massachusetts is located in Congressman Lynch’s 8^th District. But more than one US Government official should be outraged that Motassadeq is about to walk free.  All Americans should be outraged that an individual who provided support for the 9/11 terrorists will shortly be free.

 

Citizenship in the United States is nothing less than a priceless treasure. Recently, the US Government sought to revoke the citizenship of Iyman Faris, a convicted terrorist who was a naturalized citizen. The government was unsuccessful with the process of denaturalization in Federal Court. Judge Staci Yandle of the 7th Circuit recently held that the government did not provide sufficient evidence to convince her that Iyman Faris’ misrepresentations on his immigration papers had influenced the decision to make him a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Faris was sent to New York by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2002 to case and conduct surveillance on the Brooklyn Bridge and determine whether Al Qaeda could drop the iconic bridge by cutting the steel cables using blow torches. While in an Afghan terrorist camp Faris met Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda operatives.

Faris was born in Karachi, Pakistan on June 4, 1969. In March 1994, he entered the United States in New York using a passport and visa belonging to another person. Faris requested political asylum and filled out a “Request for Asylum with Immigration” in July 1994. While his political asylum request was pending, Faris married Geneva Bowling a U.S. citizen in 1995. Marrying a US citizen meant that Faris could then file a “Petition for Alien Relative” and be recognized as an immediate family member of a U.S. citizen. Faris also filed an “Application to Register as a Permanent Resident or Adjust Status.” Due to Faris’ application to Adjust Status because of his marriage, INS never considered Faris’ request for political asylum. In March 1996, Faris was granted permanent resident status and in 1999 became a naturalized citizen.

In 2000, during divorce proceedings from his wife, Faris asked the Court for a continuance since he stated he needed to travel to the Middle East for a family emergency. Instead, Faris traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he went to an Al Qaeda training camp and met Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Upon his return to Columbus, Ohio, Faris, the commercial truck driver was on a different mission to strike the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris and his ex-wife would both be interviewed by the FBI after the September 11th attacks. Faris conducted research on the internet of the Brooklyn Bridge before he physically traveled to the Bridge to case this iconic target in New York City.

Terrorists have used almost every way to enter and stay in a country. Faris used another person’s passport and visa to travel to the United States. Once in the United States he requested political asylum to stay in the country. This is one of the oldest ploys to be allowed to stay in a country and Faris also took advantage of this loophole just like other terrorists. Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the spiritual adviser to the first World Trade Center terrorists also used an asylum to thwart his deportation back to Egypt. Ramzi Yousef arrived at JFK International Airport in New York from Pakistan on September 1, 1992. Yousef was using an Iraqi passport and didn’t have a visa and his boarding pass was under the name of Azan Mohammed and he arrived in the US with multiple IDs in other names. The INS Inspector recommended that he be detained. But since he was seeking political asylum he was released on his own recognizance and told to show up for a political asylum hearing at a later date. Needless to say, Ramzi Yousef wasn’t interested in asylum but in conducting a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mir Aimal Kansi, who killed two CIA officers and Gazi Abu Mezer, who attempted to blow up a New York subway train are two other terrorists that used political asylum to stay in the United States.

Once allowed to stay in the country a terrorist has to find a way to extend his ability to stay or change his status. Marrying an American is one method we have seen terrorists use. Iyman Faris married Geneva Bowling in 1995. What is not known is whether he was in love with her or just using her for her status as a U.S. citizen.

What we do know is that Iyman Faris was sent to New York to conduct casing and surveillance operations on the Brooklyn Bridge after September 11th for Al-Qaeda. Whether he should retain his naturalized citizenship was the question before a Federal Judge. Just knowing that he was attempting to help Al-Qaeda after September 11th alone one might think would be grounds for denaturalization. Arriving in New York and using another person’s passport and visa one would think would be grounds as Iyman Faris did when he first arrived in the United States. Traveling to Pakistan and Afghanistan and going to an Al-Qaeda training camp and meeting with Osama Bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad one would think might be grounds. Returning to the United States and undertaking casing operations against an iconic target in New York one would think might be grounds for denaturalization.

The US Supreme Court in Costello v United States held that the Government “carries a heavy burden of proof in a proceeding to divest a naturalized citizen of his citizenship.” The US government brought a denaturalization action against Fedorenko a former armed guard at the Nazi concentration camp at Treblinka in Poland alleging he had procured his US citizenship illegally or by willfully misrepresenting a material fact. The Government charged that Fedorenko, in applying for his visa and for citizenship, had willfully concealed that he had served as an armed guard at Treblinka and had committed crimes against inmates of the camp because they were Jewish, and that therefore he had procured his naturalization illegally or by willfully misrepresenting material facts. The US Supreme Court in Fedorenko v United States held that Fedorenko illegally procured citizenship and his citizenship must be revoked.

But in Faris’ case Judge Yandle decided the government did not provide sufficient evidence to convince her that Faris’ “misrepresentations” on his immigration papers had influenced the decision to grant him citizenship, and therefore ruled in favor of the convicted terrorist. There was no mention of the fact in the Court’s opinion that Faris had used another person’s passport and visa to actually enter the US. There was no mention of “terrorist tradecraft” to enter a country includes using another person’s passport or identification. Or that terrorist tradecraft includes seeking “political asylum” since this is a loophole terrorists have utilized numerous times or marrying a citizen so that one can remain in a country where one is planning terrorist operations. Iyman Faris took the below Oath of Allegiance to the United States when he became a naturalized citizen.

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

It seems that he didn’t take this oath of allegiance seriously and instead targeted his new country for Al-Qaeda. And now he wants to retain his citizenship. The government should appeal Judge Yandle’s decision and should be able to take into account the original statements and materials from his application for asylum as well as the facts that he arrived in the country using someone else’s passport and visa as well as the fact that he had multiple identifications in other names on him. In 2003, Faris was sentenced to 20 years and thus just has a few years left on his sentence before being released. If he retains his US citizenship he will be released within the United States. Or if Judge Yandle’s decision is successfully appealed, Iyman Faris can then be deported back to Pakistan once he has served his sentence.

Northern Virginia National Capital Region     August 21-23rd

 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Law Enforcement Officers, Supervisors, SWAT, Intel Analysts, Security Officials, Special Event Planners, EOD teams, Military Personnel, and Emergency Management Personnel. Registration is limited so sign up early.

Participants will learn first hand about the operational methodology of terrorists attacking special events, airport and transportation hub attacks, conducting targeted violence, vehicle ramming attacks, Inside the Bataclan Attack, Terrorists targeting Tourists, Hotels, Museums, Shopping Malls, Religious Institutions and other targets. Participants will explore the Evolution of Suicide Bombings and Attacks, Complex Attacks with Firearms, Ramming Vehicle Attacks, Knives, Axes and Hammers, Understanding the Ideology and Mindset, and Targets in Your Jurisdiction and a Protocol for Dealing with these Challenges.

TRC has always believed in conducting field research. One can’t gain a true understanding of these attacks without having been on the ground and at the sites of these attacks. TRC staff have been on the scene of bombings, interviewed victims, witnesses and first responders at these horrific attacks. The TRC maintains one of the largest databases on suicide bombings and attacks.
Each Participant will receive a copy of the Terrorism Research Center’s “The New Age of Martyrdom: Suicide Attacks and Bombings.”

For additional information about registration, course content and the program contact the Terrorism Research Center at trc@mirrorimagetraining.com

 

 

 

It should surprise no one that Russia seeks to gain an advantage over the United States. The Special Prosecutor’s Indictment of 12 Russians from the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) Units 26165 and 74455 for cyber operations during the last election should surprise no one. Recently, Senator Gary Peters, a member of the Armed Services Committee said that Russia wants to “disrupt the normal channels of communication and create an environment of misinformation and distrust.” Misinformation and distrust are just two initial steps that Russia seems to undertake besides a host of others in various information warfare campaigns undertaken. Misinformation followed by fear are all hallmarks of what President Putin knows best.

Russia is an adversary of the United States and has been for some time. For years, New England fishermen spoke of Russian trawlers off the coast. Don’t the Russians have fish off their own coasts? It’s one thing for fishing boats to venture out to the Georges Banks from Gloucester, New Bedford or Newport but to come to the coast of the US from Russia on a fishing trawler is another thing. But these Russian trawlers were “fishing” or collecting intelligence because the Navy had ships and submarines coming in and out of Newport and Groton. Russian ships have been lurking around underwater fiber-optic cables in California. In September 2015, the Russian ship Yantar, was off the coast of Kings Bay, Georgia just where the US has a submarine base collecting intelligence.

On August 31, 2018, the United States ordered the closure of Russia’s San Francisco Consulate. The San Francisco Consulate was the hub for all of Russia’s intelligence collection on the west coast. Military and economic espionage was the forte of the majority of those so-called Russian Diplomats assigned to the San Francisco Consulate. One day in particular, a Russian “diplomat” in a business suit traveled over the Golden Gate Bridge heading north and getting off on Rt. 1. The Russian passed by Muir Beach to finally be observed at Stinson Beach by the water’s edge with a device in his hands. After a few minutes the Russian Intelligence officer in a business suit left the beach.

While the activities of Russia have increased in the cyber domain, the Chinese, Iranians and others are all seeking an advantage against America. America must confront these cyber threats with vigor. We are just at the water’s edge when it comes to information warfare. Stealing information or manipulating it are two examples from Putin’s playbook. But he also has a sinister side that favors violence. This is an area that our government and others can’t overlook. The Russian government has undertaken a targeted assassination campaign against individuals using Ricin, Polonium-210, and Novichok among other weapons.

Forty years ago, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissent who escaped to England was working for the BBC and Radio Free Europe. On September 7, 1978, as Markov was at the Waterloo Bridge bus station, an assassin injected a Ricin capsule into his thigh. The assassin used an umbrella that fired a Ricin capsule into the target. The umbrella weapon was created by the technical staff of the KGB.

In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer was poisoned in the Millennium Hotel’s Piano Bar in London. Litvinenko had received political asylum and had been providing information on Russian mafia operations and ties to President Putin. Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi were sent to poison Litvinenko using Polonium-210 which they put in his tea. In 1997, Litvinenko was ordered to coordinate the assassination of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Instead, he warned Berezovsky. In 1998, Litvinenko accused his FSB supervisors of seeking to kill Berezovsky. Berezovsky was an early supporter of President Putin but later was a fierce opponent. Putin took these actions by Litvinenko as an act of treason. Litvinenko and his family sought refuge in England.

Sir Robert Owen, who led a British inquiry into the poisoning of Litvinenko found “that the FSB operation to kill Mr. Litvinenko was probably approved by Patrushev (head of the Russian Security Service in 2006) and also by President Putin”

On March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia were exposed to the nerve agent Novichok in an assassination attempt. Novichok is a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia. Skripal and his daughter survived but there were other victims. Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were both contaminated. Dawn Sturgess died in Amesbury after coming in contact with the nerve agent. Years earlier, Skripal who acted as a double agent for MI-6 was traded for Russian spies held by England.

Russia has become emboldened with these attacks and will continue to push the envelope if nothing is done to reign them in. Russia has been an enemy of our freedom and is nothing short of an economic, military and political adversary. Whether with cyber operations against our elections, stealing economic secrets from Silicon Valley, or collecting intelligence the Russia Bear is very active on all fronts. With their targeted assassinations of so many individuals in England, Putin has shown a propensity towards violence that goes against all international laws and civilized norms. Expelling diplomats does not send the right signal or cause any discomfort to Putin or those decision makers around him. The US and the rest of the western world needs a comprehensive plan to contain the bear before it thinks this is the norm.

John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail from Philadelphia after Congress declared the Colonies independent. “The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. Church bells rang out, drums and cannons sounded, and bonfires were lit as the people of Philadelphia people celebrated their new independence. Copies of the Declaration were dispatched with riders on horseback to the 13 colonies. When the Declaration of Independence was read in New York City, a riot broke out and a statue of King George III was torn down.

On August 2, 1776, the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence took place. Fifty-six delegates signed the Declaration with John Hancock signing his name first and making his signature the largest. By putting their names on this Declaration, they were risking not only their freedom but their lives. This was an act of treason against the King. Ben Franklin said, “we must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” These men were willing to risk all for a free and independent country. Enjoy the Fourth of July and remember the sacrifices others made so that we could be free and independent. Happy Birthday America!