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US Terror Alert Warns of Violence 01/28 06:22
The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin
Wednesday warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated
by antigovernment sentiment after President Joe Biden's election, suggesting
the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for
additional attacks.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Department of Homeland Security issued a national
terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the lingering potential for violence
from people motivated by antigovernment sentiment after President Joe Biden's
election, suggesting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and
set the stage for additional attacks.
The department did not cite any specific plots, but pointed to "a heightened
threat environment across the United States" that it believes "will persist"
for weeks after Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration.
It is not uncommon for the federal government to warn local law enforcement
through bulletins about the prospect for violence tied to a particular event or
date, such as July 4.
But this particular bulletin, issued through the department's National
Terrorism Advisory System, is notable because it effectively places the Biden
administration into the politically charged debate over how to describe or
characterize acts motivated by political ideology, and suggests it regards
violence like the kind that overwhelmed the Capitol as akin to terrorism.
The bulletin is an indication that national security officials see a
connective thread between different episodes of violence in the last year
motivated by anti-government grievances, including over COVID-19 restrictions,
the 2020 election results and police use of force. The document singles out
crimes motivated by racial or ethnic hatred, such as the 2019 rampage targeting
Hispanics in El Paso, Texas, as well as the threat posed by extremists
motivated by foreign terror groups.
A DHS statement that accompanied the bulletin noted the potential for
violence from "a broad range of ideologically-motivated actors."
"Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists
with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential
transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives,
could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence," the bulletin said.
The alert comes at a tense time following the riot at the Capitol by
supporters of then-President Donald Trump seeking to overturn the presidential
election. Authorities are concerned that extremists may attack other symbols of
government or people whose political views they oppose.
"The domestic terrorism attack on our Capitol earlier this month shined a
light on a threat that has been right in front of our faces for years," said
Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the House Homeland
Security Committee. "I am glad to see that DHS fully recognizes the threat
posed by violent, right-wing extremists and is taking efforts to communicate
that threat to the American people."
The alert was issued by acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske.
Biden's nominee for the Cabinet post, Alejandro Mayorkas, has not been
confirmed by the Senate.
Two former homeland security secretaries, Michael Chertoff and Janet
Napolitano, called on the Senate to confirm Mayorkas so he can start working
with the FBI and other agencies and deal with the threat posed by domestic
extremists, among other issues.
Chertoff, who served under President George W. Bush, said attacks by
far-right, domestic extremists are not new but that deaths attributed to them
in recent years in the U.S. have exceeded those linked to jihadists such as
al-Qaida. "We have to be candid and face what the real risk is," he said in a
conference call with reporters.
Federal authorities have charged more than 150 people in the Capitol siege,
including some with links to right-wing extremist groups such as the Three
Percenters and the Oath Keepers.
The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against 43-year Ian
Rogers, a California man found with five pipe bombs during a search of his
business this month who had a sticker associated with the Three Percenters on
his vehicle. His lawyer told his hometown newspaper, The Napa Valley Register,
that he is a "very well-respected small business owner, father, and family man"
who does not belong to any violent organizations.
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