I'm Frank Figuzy, former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence.

Join me on a journey to explore our nation's security, the forces that threaten it, and the people who preserve it.

Let's talk with insiders in and around the intelligence community, law enforcement, and the

military, including, of course, the FBI. They'll take us deep into their stories, their

mission, and their lives as we go behind and beyond the Bureau.

This is Frank Figuzy, and you're listening to a special edition of the Bureau podcast.

We decided to forego our regular episode scheduled for this week so that you and I can talk about the latest details in the Beth Israel Synagogue hostage taking situation in Colliesville, Texas, the successful resolution of that hostage taking by the FBI and law enforcement.

And where we go from here in that investigation. So let's dig right in to some of the issues that are on the front burner of this discussion and some on the back burner. First, what do we know about the hostage taker well the short

answer is not as much as we should at this point in time we know he was malik faisal akram we know he's

from the united kingdom he lives in england um and we we know that he came here sometime just prior to New Year's Day and decided a

couple of weeks later to take over Beth Israel Synagogue and demand the release of a female

prisoner who's doing time in a federal prison nearby in Fort Worth, Texas.

We've heard that at least two individuals are in custody in the UK.

We've heard they may be teenagers, and there is some indication they may be family members of Akram.

Now, the Brits have a different concept of arrest versus detention for questioning,

but they're using the word arrest. It might be something more like detained in our vernacular,

but nonetheless, it's clear that both U.S. authorities and British authorities are doing everything

they can to reconstruct Akram's life, determine that if he was radicalized,

how that may have happened.

They'll be asking questions of people he attended mosque with, asking questions of friends

and family members.

There's been some statements by family members that he has a mental health issue.

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