COLLEYVILLE, Texas—A hostage situation was ongoing at a synagogue outside of Dallas on Saturday evening involving a man who ranted about Islam and made demands for the release of a notorious terrorist—all while being recorded on a Facebook livestream.

Colleyville Police said that its SWAT teams descended on the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue at 10:41 a.m. local time. The FBI was also on the scene on Saturday and was negotiating with the suspect. The man, whose name has not been released, is believed to be holding four people—including the synagogue's rabbi—hostage, according to CNN. Police said on Saturday evening that no injuries had been reported.

The synagogue's Facebook livestream kept rolling as the siege unfolded, providing a glimpse into the tense situation until Facebook removed the video at about 2 p.m. Nobody could be seen on the video but a man with a British accent could be heard making repeated demands to speak to his "sister" on the phone, and to have her released from prison.

Citing law enforcement sources, NBC News and ABC News reported that the sister is Aafia Siddiqui, 49, who was convicted in New York of trying to assassinate U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. She is serving an 86-year sentence at a federal prison in Fort Worth.

NBC reported that the suspect got the rabbi call another rabbi in New York to demand Siddiqui's release, but the New York-based rabbi called 911.

A lawyer who previously represented Siddiqui's biological brother told The Daily Beast that he is not the person inside the synagogue.

Muhammad Siddiqui, an architect, was not happy that he had been implicated in the situation, and wanted people to know that Aafia was not the suspect's biological "sister," said Annette Lamoreaux, who represented Muhammad in 2004 when the FBI questioned him over Aafia's ties to al-Qaeda.

Throughout the Facebook livestream, the man made vague, expletive-laden rants. He said he liked the synagogue's rabbi and appreciated being let into the building. But he threatened that any police officer who tried to apprehend him would be shot. He claimed to have been carrying a bag around for 16 hours containing weapons.

The man also made multiple references to his own mortality, saying he believed he was going to die and he had left "six beautiful kids." He expressed anger at England and made multiple mentions of his "sister." It's unclear who he was speaking to throughout the livestream.

At one point, the suspect asked the synagogue's occupants how many children they have, and the four people inside could be heard giving muffled responses.

A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's parent company, told The Daily Beast, "We removed the video from the synagogue's page, and will also remove content praising or supporting this incident. We are in contact with law enforcement as the situation continues to evolve."

Since Siddiqui's conviction, her family, supporters, and multiple terrorist groups have called for her release. Both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have offered to exchange American prisoners in exchange for her, garnering her the title of the "The World's Most Wanted Woman" in a 2014 Foreign Policy profile.

In September, Siddiqui filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons alleging that an inmate assaulted her with a mug full of hot liquid that left her in "excruciating pain" and unable to walk. She alleged the agency slow-walked her Freedom of Information Act request to obtain her medical records.

In Colleyville, located in the suburban region between Dallas and Fort Worth, police asked the public to avoid the area.

Just after 5 p.m. local time, as the hostage situation dragged into its sixth hour, people could be seen praying in their vehicles at a nearby parking lot, as several armored SWAT vehicles parked at a staging area at a nearby middle school.

Nearby residents were evacuated from the surrounding area as police surrounded the building, with little to no information available on what was happening inside.

The White House and Texas Sens. Ted Cruz (R) and John Cornyn (R) said they are in contact with local authorities and monitoring the situation. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also said he was monitoring the situation.

Council on American–Islamic Relations national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement that they "strongly condemn" the incident.

"This latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil," the statement said. "We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages. No cause can justify or excuse this crime. We are in contact with local community leaders to learn more and provide any assistance that we can."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hostag...facebook-lives