Foreign actors hacked two Colorado water utilities’ computer systems last month, changing pumping cycles, disabling alarms and altering equipment settings before operators regained control, state officials said Thursday.

The intrusions did not affect drinking water quality or treatment processes, according to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ office. But the incidents add Colorado to a widening series of breaches in U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure.

High-profile cyberattacks have targeted more than 100 drinking water and wastewater systems across 12 states this year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, expanding the footprint of a threat that federal authorities warned this summer was disrupting water operations across the country.

WATER CYBERATTACK HITS AT LEAST 7 STATES

Colorado officials have not identified the actors behind the intrusions of the two small systems or said whether they are connected to the broader activity reported elsewhere in the country.

“These were brief incidents, and the risks were quickly addressed by the providers themselves, who subsequently alerted the state,” Polis spokeswoman Eric Maruyama said in a statement.

The hackers altered equipment settings, disabled remote access and alarms and changed pumping cycles, according to the governor’s office.

The incidents demonstrate how hackers can reach beyond traditional computer networks and gain access to operational technology used to control physical equipment at water plants, including pumps, valves and other machinery.

The water utility systems that were impacted provide drinking water to approximately 400 people.

IRANIAN HACKERS ATTACKED OUR WATER SYSTEMS. HERE ARE 5 THINGS OUR LEADERS NEED TO DO NOW

Federal authorities warned in July that malicious cyber actors were targeting internet-connected operational technology at water and wastewater utilities. At the time, the FBI and EPA said utilities in at least seven states had reported incidents, some of which degraded water operations.

The agencies said attackers had remotely accessed internet-facing programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, and tampered with device configurations, in some cases causing utilities to lose monitoring or control capabilities. Reported operational effects included loss of water pressure and flooding.

The Colorado breaches follow a series of attacks on water systems across the country this summer, including cyber activity affecting more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota.

Federal investigators have examined whether Iranian actors or hackers affiliated with Iran were responsible for the Minnesota attacks, though officials had not publicly attributed the activity at the time.

President Donald Trump disputed suggestions that Iran was behind the Minnesota attacks, saying during a Cabinet meeting, “They blame it on Iran. I don’t think so.”

He instead blamed Minnesota officials.

IRAN’S CYBERWAR TARGETS ORDINARY AMERICANS. WE NEED TO DISMANTLE THE HACKER NETWORK

The recent incidents have renewed attention to longstanding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within America’s water infrastructure, particularly among small and rural utilities that can have limited cybersecurity staff and resources.

Many utilities use internet-connected industrial control systems to remotely monitor and operate pumps, valves, water pressure and other equipment. Federal officials have urged operators to remove programmable logic controllers from direct exposure to the internet and strengthen authentication and access controls.

The EPA, which serves as the federal government’s sector risk management agency for water and wastewater systems, told Fox News Digital it is working with utilities, states and federal partners to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen cybersecurity.

Since fiscal year 2025, the agency has identified more than 900 vulnerabilities in over 650 water systems and helped eliminate about 700 at more than 500 utilities.

The EPA has also conducted more than 710 cybersecurity risk assessments and provided direct technical assistance to approximately 15,900 utilities.

The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

A New York City socialist seeking to replace a retiring Democrat drew criticism Thursday after pledging to carry the “fight” inspired by Mexico’s struggle for independence into Congress. And critics pointed to her disclosure that she met with members of Mexico’s ruling left-wing party.

Claire Valdez, who is seeking Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat in a district that includes Bushwick and Ridgewood, is facing calls for the State Department to investigate her under the Logan Act. It’s a rarely enforced 1799 law that criminalizes certain unauthorized efforts by private citizens to influence foreign governments in disputes involving the U.S. Democrats have also invoked the law in connection with President Donald Trump.

In response to her post, immigration attorney and columnist Alicia Nieves tweeted at Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a former ambassador to Mexico, calling for an investigation of Valdez after the candidate disclosed that she had met with members of Morena, Mexico’s ruling left-wing party.

“Given that she is currently a congressional nominee, not a member of Congress, and appears to have discussed facilitating support contrary to current U.S. policy as well as describing our country an ‘empire’ that has ‘stolen from us’ … I hope the administration will review whether these communications warrant investigation under the Logan Act.”

COLORADO’S SOCIALIST CANDIDATE CALLS FOR ‘MORE IMMIGRANTS INTO OFFICE’ TO STOP AMERICA’S ‘EXPLOITATIVE’ NATURE

The act, enacted in 1799, came after the John Adams administration and congressional Federalists objected to Pennsylvania politician George Logan’s unauthorized trip to France, where he sought to ease tensions during what was called the “Quasi-War.” Federalists feared private diplomacy could undermine the U.S. government’s foreign policy.

Adams and his Federalist allies also viewed Logan’s actions through the partisan tensions surrounding the 1800 presidential race against Thomas Jefferson.

In her tweet, Valdez wrote, “215 years ago, Mexicans fought an empire that demanded our land and our labor. And we won.

“I’ll carry that fight with me to Congress as New York’s first Mexican-American representative,” Valdez pledged. “And I’m strengthened not just by Mexico’s history but its present.”

She said she met “comrades” in the Morena party who are “standing up to the empires and corporations that have always taken from us — and building a government for the working class. Viva la Independencia, Viva México!”

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST PREVAILS IN CROWDED PRIMARY TO REPLACE RETIRING REP

Fox News Digital reached out to Valdez and the Mexican government for comment. Morena could not immediately be reached.

Critics also pointed out that Valdez’s father, Larry, is linked to a company that helped construct a Texas immigration center during the Obama administration. They contended that the connection conflicts with her opposition to immigration enforcement.

“This would be a great campaign for Congress in Mexico,” added Christina Pushaw, a top communications official for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Fox News Digital also reached out to community organizer Melvin Rivera, the Republican opponent facing Valdez, for comment.

Democrats cited the Logan Act in connection with Trump after he publicly remarked, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing” in reference to his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton.

Then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada suggested that Trump had violated the Logan Act. The law has also been invoked against other public figures, including former Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, but no prosecution under the statute has resulted in a conviction.

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Two men faced proceedings under the Logan Act but were never convicted. A grand jury indicted Kentucky farmer Francis Flournoy in 1803 after he advocated a separate Western United States allied with France. Jonas P. Levy was arrested and held to bail under the law in 1853 after writing to Mexico’s president.

Valdez, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 7th Congressional District, will face  Rivera and other candidates in the November general election. 

This post appeared first on https://www.foxnews.com

A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges the city of Dearborn spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on public displays celebrating Muslim holidays while ignoring a Christian resident’s repeated requests for Easter and Passover recognition.

Margot Cleveland, a journalist with The Federalist, filed a civil rights lawsuit with the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) against the city of Dearborn and Democratic Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, alleging the city violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including protections involving religious establishment, free speech and equal protection.

“The City of Dearborn spent taxpayer money to light up its streets and parks for Ramadan while stonewalling a resident who simply asked that Easter, Passover, and other Christian and Jewish holy days be treated the same way,” Robert J. Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, said in a statement. “That is a straightforward Establishment Clause violation, and the retaliation our client faced for speaking up about it only compounds the constitutional harm.”

PASTOR UNLEASHES ON DEARBORN AS RELIGIOUS TENSIONS ERUPT AT CITY COUNCIL MEETING: ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’

Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country. The city had 109,976 residents in the 2020 Census, and 54.5% reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. Michigan Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, is lined with businesses featuring Arabic-script signs and Middle Eastern cuisine. There are ten mosques within the city limits, according to an online directory.

Hammoud was first elected mayor in November 2021, becoming the first Muslim and Arab American to lead the city of Dearborn.

“What makes this case especially troubling is that City officials, up to and including the Mayor, responded to a citizen’s respectful request for equal treatment with silence, stonewalling, and outright hostility — including the Mayor’s own words telling a Christian resident he is ‘not welcome’ in his own city,” David Yerushalmi, an attorney on the case, said. “Our client is simply asking the City to treat Christians and Jews as equal citizens.”

Lawyers for Cleveland pointed to a September exchange between Hammoud and Christian pastor Ted Barham as evidence of what they allege is the city’s hostility toward Christians. Barham had raised concerns during a City Council meeting over the city’s decision to rename a street after Usama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who has made statements expressing support for Hezbollah.

TRUMP INAUGURATION PASTOR SAYS DEARBORN CHRISTIANS ‘AFRAID’ TO SPEAK OUT IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY CITY

In the exchange, Hammoud called Barham a “bigot” and an “Islamophobe.”

“And although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here,” Hammoud told the Christian pastor. “And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city… because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence.”

But Cleveland’s lawsuit alleges that city leaders ignored her requests for the city to also recognize Christian and Jewish holidays after she began seeing “Ramadan Kareem” banners and large crescent moons displayed across the city in spring 2025. A FOIA request revealed that the city had spent $1,500 on Ramadan banners and $5,000 on the crescent-moon display. The Dearborn Police Department was also selling Ramadan-themed T-shirts.

In emails to the city, Cleveland said she did not want the city to stop celebrating Muslim holidays but wanted equal recognition for Christian and Jewish holy days.

“I much prefer to ensure equality of faith traditions, as opposed to a challenge to the display,” Cleveland wrote in an email.

MASSACHUSETTS HIGH COURT BLOCKS CITY FROM DISPLAYING CATHOLIC SAINT STATUES HONORING FIRST RESPONDERS

Not only did the city allegedly ignore Cleveland’s requests, but in February 2026, it expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights that were displayed on municipal streetlights across the city.

“This initiative reflects who we are as a city,” Hammoud said in a statement.

Tensions between Cleveland and city officials continued in April, when Cleveland alleges she was told she could attend a community meeting as a resident but not as a journalist. The lawsuit also alleges Hammoud made what it describes as a “snide comment” about residents who criticize the city on social media to monetize their posts.

The lawsuit also alleges that in February 2026, the city expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights for municipal streetlights across the city.

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Cleveland pushed back, according to the lawsuit, saying she was simply “a concerned resident who was ignored when I asked for the City to treat Christians and Jews equally.”

“Despite the repeated requests, they treated her as if she were an outsider and not a full member of the political community,” Muise told Fox News Digital.

The lawsuit comes during Michigan’s closely watched 2026 U.S. Senate race, with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim and the son of Egyptian immigrants, facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the state’s open Senate seat. Religion and antisemitism have become points of dispute in the race, with Republicans and some Democrats criticizing El-Sayed over his association with streamer Hasan Piker, who said the U.S. was worse than al Qaeda “pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths,” while arguing that U.S. military actions that kill civilians can amount to acts of terror.

At the same time, El-Sayed and his supporters have accused opponents of targeting him with anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hammoud’s office and Cleveland’s attorneys for comment.