Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki, the current leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has issued a chilling call to action, urging his followers to assassinate President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other high-ranking American officials.
This message, released as part of a propaganda video titled “Inciting the Believers,” reportedly calls on Muslims in the U.S. to exact revenge for America’s support of Israel.
Al-Awlaki, who assumed leadership of AQAP in March 2024, made alarming statements encouraging attacks on figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and even Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “Go after them, their families, and anyone connected to the White House,” he said, citing the conflict in Gaza as justification. “There are no red lines,” he declared.
In the same 34-minute video, al-Awlaki also made disturbing threats against Jews, stating, “Do not leave a single safe place for Jews, just as they have not left homes or shelters for Palestinians,” referencing attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure. He closed with a grim message: “Take revenge.”
AQAP has a well-documented history of violence and has claimed responsibility for several major global attacks, including the 2009 attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day and the deadly 2015 assault on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, which left 130 people dead and over 350 injured.
Al-Awlaki is currently one of the most wanted terrorists, with a $6 million bounty on his head. The group continues to direct its hostility toward the U.S., Israel, and Western culture as a whole, maintaining advanced technical and operational capabilities, especially in bomb-making and orchestrating public attacks without remorse.
