OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:28 PM – Wednesday, October 4, 2023
The FBI is allegedly discreetly targeting former President Donald Trump supporters in order to “avert violence” ahead of the 2024 elections, according to an FBI agent who spoke to the press on the condition of anonymity.
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According to press reports that were released on Wednesday, a current FBI officer stated that the bureau is attempting to avoid a repeat of the events of January 6th, 2021, but must also defend Americans’ fundamental rights to speak freely and challenge the government.
“Especially at a time when the White House is facing congressional Republican opposition claiming that the Biden administration has ‘weaponized’ the bureau against the right wing, it has to tread very carefully,” the agent said.
FBI data reviewed by Newsweek indicated that “nearly two-thirds of the FBI’s current investigations” center on Trump supporters accused of disregarding “anti-riot” laws.
More than a “dozen current or former government officials who specialize in terrorism” testified to Newsweek that the spike in targeting was caused by the FBI’s decision to include Trump supporters in its broadened definition of “domestic extremism.”
In a statement, the FBI reportedly stated that: “The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is persistent, evolving, and deadly.”
“The FBI’s goal is to detect and stop terrorist attacks, and our focus is on potential criminal violations, violence and threats of violence. Anti-government or anti-authority violent extremism is one category of domestic terrorism, as well as one of the FBI’s top threat priorities.” He continued, “We are committed to protecting the safety and constitutional rights of all Americans and will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including a person’s political beliefs or affiliations.”
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the January 6th event was “not an isolated event” and the threat is “not going away anytime soon.”
Earlier this year, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly released a joint report in which they stated that threats from “extremists” have increased in the last two years.
“Threats from…DVEs [domestic violent extremists] have increased in the last two years, and any further increases in threats likely will correspond to potential flashpoints, such as high-profile elections and campaigns or contentious current events,” it read.
In October, 2022, the FBI reportedly created a new subcategory, named AGAVE-Other, which stands for anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism, describing those who were a threat and classifies as “domestic violent extremists who cite anti-government or anti-authority motivations for violence or criminal activity not otherwise defined, such as individuals motivated by a desire to commit violence against those with a real or perceived association with a specific political party or faction of a specific political party.”
According to additional government insiders who spoke to Newsweek, the AGAAVE-Other designation refers to political violence associated with Trump supporters.
The FBI agent reportedly said that the AGAAVE threat “includes anarchist violent extremists, militia violent extremists, sovereign citizen violent extremists, and other violent extremists, some of whom are motivated by a desire to harm those with a real or perceived association with a political party or faction.”
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