CHICAGO (WLS) — A sold-out concert on Chicago's Northwest Side was canceled last week after a woman was arrested in a fake plot to detonate a bomb at the theater, though the concert promoter told the ABC7 I-Team he tried to warn law enforcement about the threats. Received it weeks ago. .
The case is now focusing attention on what the concert promoter says is a long social media threat campaign against Middle Eastern businesses throughout the Chicago area and the country.
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At the Patio Theater on West Irving Park Road on Dec. 6, fans were anticipating a performance by Syrian pop singer Al-Shami. But the offer did not last.
Hours before the concert began, Chicago police were called after a theater employee said a woman “walked into the courtyard theater with a box in her hands, approached (the employee), and said, not literally, 'This is a bomb,'” according to a copy of the police report that was released. Obtained by the I-Team That woman was later identified by theater staff to police as 35-year-old Joanna Aguilar.
After the theater was evacuated and the concert was cancelled, Chicago police determined that the suspicious package was not a bomb.
Aguilar was arrested and now faces several charges including a felony charge of making a false bomb threat.
The bogus bomb threat comes after the owner of one of the event's promoters, Thaer Jabbara of Al-Kif Entertainment, said the event had been threatened online for at least six weeks.
“We can't move the party somewhere else, so (threat actors) know what they're doing,” Jabara told the I-Team. “They don't want anyone in the Middle East to have any concerts or weddings or celebrate anything.”
Jabara said that many accounts on TikTok and YouTube posted videos urging followers to boycott the concert, and in some cases, the videos included threats of violence, including blowing up the venue.
Jbara said the motive behind the threats is to target successful American business owners of Middle Eastern descent, who the threat makers claim do not follow a strict religious faith.
In one TikTok video that Jbara shared with the I-Team, someone referring to Al-Shami's December 6 concert said in Arabic: “They need someone to burn down the hall, I swear this is the best thing.” As the party continues to set them all on fire. “
While some TikTok accounts that posted previous threats have been removed, Jabbara said new accounts have emerged.
In the weeks leading up to Al-Shami's concert, Jebara said he contacted law enforcement, including the FBI, hoping agents or police would intervene and address the threats, but he said no action was taken.
According to a complaint filed with the FBI on November 11, Jabbara wrote: “(TikTok’s) threats include intentions to bomb the venue, kill attendees, burn cars, and vandalize or destroy property.”
The I-Team contacted the FBI's Chicago office, and in a statement, a spokesman reiterated what Jabara said an FBI agent told him: that after reviewing online videos, they found no evidence of a credible threat.
“The FBI is aware of reports of the alleged threats,” a spokesperson for the FBI's Chicago office told the I-Team on Wednesday. “While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific, reliable information about an attack at this time. However, we have sent appropriate notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to safeguard our community.” security.”
Jabara, an American citizen for 17 years after moving to Chicago from Jordan, said that he lost $150,000 after Al-Shami’s offer was cancelled.
He fears for other Chicago businesses owned by Middle Eastern Americans that were also mentioned in recent threats, some using similarly violent language, and hopes law enforcement will take their concerns and reports seriously.
“We need help, especially (business owners) in the Middle East, they need help,” Jabbara said. “These people think we are traitors… This will not stop,” he added.
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