[9] Eventually, the Swedish government would declare ADO a terrorist organization, and the party's leadership faced challenges with the ADP's pro-Ba'ath stance and candidates.

[15] Gawrieh had previously been one of the leading secular figures of the Damascus Declaration, he however refused to join the leftist National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change.

However, in its course, the ADO began to take a stand against the Syrian regime and a routine of neighborhood watches, arming young Assyrians with weapons for protection.

[17] [18] The Assyrian Democratic Organization has been in opposition to the Sutoro police force during the fight against ISIS, as it is affiliated with the Asayish and the Syriac Union Party.

[20][21] Hadi al-Bahra, then president of the coalition, condemned his arrest, stating that it would prevent any long-lasting political solutions to the Syrian Civil War.

On 12 April, an official in the governing Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) met with Gabriel Moushe Gawrieh, head of the ADO, and discussed the incident and the "need to respect the laws of the administration".

[23][24] Basheer al Saady, a member of the party, had previously discussed how continuous persecution had pressured Assyrians to leave Syria, stating how they had lost hope for a brighter future, especially after ISIS.

[26][27] In December of that year, ADO condemned a speech made by Bashar al-Assad at Al-Othman Mosque that espoused Arab nationalist sentiments.

The ADO accused Assad of aiming to cause discord amongst Syria's ethnic and religious components, and put Assyrians at risk of further violence.

[34] Gawrieh had previously indicated fears that Turkish airstrikes could permanently alter demographics in the northeastern part of the country, and could create greater issues regarding property rights post-conflict.