RALEIGH — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced during a press conference last week that a man who was apprehended in the town of Eure by the Gates County Sheriff’s Office on March 11 may be on the terror watch list.
Robinson said during the press conference that he sent a letter to President Joe Biden demanding answers from his administration about Awet Hagos, who was arrested following a four-hour standoff with police.
“I applaud Gates County Sheriff Ray Campbell and his team for getting this dangerous criminal off the street,” Robinson said in a statement. “Our brave law enforcement professionals are a credit to the people of North Carolina. Their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe deserves more cooperation from federal agencies that ought to be partnering with state and local law enforcement to prevent situations like this to begin with.
“I hope that the Biden Administration will act urgently to be more forthcoming regarding this potential terrorism suspect.”
In his letter, Robinson asks Biden to confirm that Hagos is on the terror watch list and, if so, why he is on that list.
Robinson also inquired whether or not the Biden administration knew Hagos was in the country, if federal officials have determined how he got into the country and if Hagos has known associates who may also be in the country. Additionally, Robinson asked Biden if the federal government is aware of any other potential terrorist suspects in North Carolina and whether they have ties to Hagos.
The lieutenant governor’s letter to Biden was also signed by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden), House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) and Gates County Sheriff Ray Campbell.
At a White House press briefing held later on the same day as the lieutenant governor’s announcement, Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she “had no information about it” when a reporter asked about Robinson’s letter.
The incident involving Hagos began following a report of gunfire made to the Gates County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were sent to U.S. 13 South and Barfield Road where a man was observed firing a gun outside of Carolina Quick Stop. The man was later identified as Hagos.
When deputies engaged Hagos to arrest him, they said he became “extremely combative” and “at one point attempted to disarm a deputy of their firearm” before he fled into his residence.
After a four-hour standoff, Hagos was arrested and charged with three counts of assault on a government official, three counts of resisting a public officer and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
According to Campbell, the processing of Hagos’ fingerprints revealed he was on the U.S. terrorist watch list. Campbell said Immigration and Customs Enforcement contacted his office to keep Hagos detained until federal agents could pick him up following his adjudication hearing. Until then, Hagos remains in the Albemarle District Jail under a $100,000 bond.
Robinson’s letter to Biden says Hagos is from an area near the Yemen border that is “a known hot-bed of anti-American terrorist activity,” and that Hagos came to the U.S. after living in Haiti. Campbell indicated Hagos was brought to the area by the Carolina Quick Stop owner and had been living nearby for around six months.
More than 6.5 million migrants are estimated to have crossed illegally over the U.S. southern border since Biden took office.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) data for Fiscal year 2023 shows 736 encounters with known or suspected terrorists at ports of entry on the U.S. northern and southern borders. CPB’s data for 2023 includes 1.7 million “gotaways,” which are individuals who crossed the border without being encountered by U.S. border officials.
On the southern border, 80 individuals with such ties were encountered at official ports of entry and another 169 between ports of entry for Fiscal Year 2023. There were 487 encounters recorded at official ports of entry on the northern border and between those official entry locations.
