As Americans are rightfully frustrated with the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago, the Biden administration is warning federal and local law enforcement about the possibility of “domestic terrorism.”
The Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Customs and Border Protection also issued warnings using very similar language, Just the News reported.
“Last night, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice issued a Joint Intelligence Bulletin, accessible via the Homeland Security Information Network, providing information on the potential for domestic violent extremists to carry out attacks on federal, state and local law enforcement and government personnel or facilities,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus wrote in a memo to employees this weekend.
He said the warnings were necessary “in light of an increase in threats and acts of violence, including armed encounters, against law enforcement, judiciary and government personnel, in reaction to the FBI’s recent execution of a court authorized search warrant in Palm Beach, Florida.”
There have been legitimate attempts at violence against the FBI since the raid, and this is completely unacceptable.
According to the New York Post, Ricky Shiffer attempted to attack an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday carrying an AR-15 style rifle. He was eventually killed in a standoff.
Attempts at violent attacks like this one should not be tolerated, even though the frustration with the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago is merited.
The Biden administration was justified in warning about potential violent attacks, and if they had left it at that, it would have been great. Sadly, they had to take another step — which is one step too far.
Following this attempted attack in Cincinnati, some federal police agencies “were asked last week to monitor social media accounts of known political influencers for signs of agitation and FBI officials reached out to some social media platforms frequented by conservatives,” a senior law enforcement official told Just the News.
Does the idea of the FBI monitoring social media accounts concern you?
While warning about potential attacks is one thing, monitoring conservatives on social media is another. Given the federal government’s history of villainizing conservatives, it is hard to trust these agencies to determine what constitutes “domestic terrorism.”
After all, these are the same people who classified parents as “domestic terrorists” for wanting to have a say in their children’s education. This precedent certainly casts doubt on the federal government’s ability to determine what is or is not a threat from conservative influencers on social media.
In addition to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, Magnus said some Americans have been pushed towards violence because of their anger about the crisis at the southern border. Even in his description of this problem, he showed how out of touch he is.
“As described in the June 7 National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, some domestic violent extremists have expressed grievances related to the false perception that the U.S. government is not working to maintain security along the U.S.-Mexico border,” Magnus wrote.
“And there remains increased risk of domestic violent extremists relying on these grievances to justify violence against law enforcement officials involved in the enforcement of border security.”
You see, the southern border crisis is not as bad as it looks. Americans’ concerns are simply “false perceptions.”
Sure, U.S. Border Patrol said it processed over 222,000 this May, an all-time monthly high according to CBS News. But Magnus believes if he just lies about, he can minimize the concerns of a large swath of Americans.
By belittling the legitimate concerns Americans hold, the federal government is not helping tamp down domestic violence threats. In fact, it is simply adding more fuel to the fire.
