Joint Law Enforcement Memo Warns of Violence
According to an internal intelligence memo that was distributed to state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement officials nationwide late Friday night, the FBI and DHS are warning of an increase in threats to law enforcement officials. The new safety concerns follow the recent FBI's search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home last Monday.
According to the joint bulletin, the recent threats are "occurring primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social media sites, web forums, video sharing platforms, and image boards." The memo states that the FBI and DHS have “observed the personal identifying information of possible targets of violence, such as home addresses and identification of family members, disseminated online as additional targets.”
The safety bulletin specifies: “Since August 8, 2022, the FBI and DHS have identified multiple articulated threats and calls for the targeted killing of judicial, law enforcement, and government officials associated with the Palm Beach search, including the federal judge who approved the Palm Beach search warrant.”
Trump supporters on social media platforms and far-right message boards recently threatened the Florida Magistrate Judge who issued the search warrant for Trump’s private residence at his Mar-a-Lago Resort. The judge's biography page was taken offline this week after users on far-right platforms "doxxed" the judge by posting his personal contact information alongside the threatening messages.
The judge's home address, phone numbers, and names and photos of possible family members were all published online. Included in these intimidation tactics were an onslaught of antisemitic attacks and threats online, some of which targeted the synagogue the judge attends. While the synagogue in question has confirmed that additional security has been put in place, they had to cancel an outdoor service due to concerns of violence.
The threats, which were also shared on the social media channels of the far-right militia group the Proud Boys and militia group the Three Percenters, were first uncovered by the non-profit investigative group Advance Democracy Inc.
Aryeh Tuchman, a senior associate director for the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Extremism, said his organization is “monitoring the increased level of threat language generally, and also towards the specific judge.” Tuchman continued, “I think it’s fair to say certainly where the judge is concerned, reports of vitriol directed at him and the synagogue have increased.”
"The FBI and DHS have observed an increase in violent threats posted on social media against federal officials and facilities, including a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters and issuing general calls for 'civil war' and 'armed rebellion,'" warns the memo. The bulletin also makes a point to state that the threats are "specific in identifying proposed targets, tactics, or weaponry."
The nationwide law enforcement warning also discussed the attack on the Cincinnati FBI Field Office last week. The FBI and DHS described the standoff with FBI and law enforcement officers that ultimately resulted in a man’s death. "Ricky Shiffer, Jr., wearing a technical vest and armed with an AR-style rifle and a nail gun, attempted to forcibly enter the FBI's Cincinnati Field Office," said the report.
Shiffer had previously posted on Truth Social — the social media platform backed by former President Donald Trump's media and technology company — that he wanted to kill federal agents. Shiffer appeared to post on his failed attempt to get into the FBI building last Thursday morning. Between the time that the FBI conducted their search of Mar-a-Lago on Monday and Thursday afternoon when Shiffer was shot and killed by FBI agents, he posted numerous times about his anger at the FBI, urging people to prepare for “combat.”
While the FBI and DHS have currently limited their warnings to law enforcement officials at all levels, last week Attorney General Merrick Garland gave a press conference in an attempt to dispel the inflammatory notions of a “raid” that Donald Trump had purposely planted in his supporters’ heads.
Direct attacks have been limited in scope and fairly well contained thus far, but the increase of threats on social media combined with a busy election season do not bode well for the prospect of future violence. Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of this latest surge in threats of violence is how close the political races in November will be and how blurred the line gets that separates fact from fiction for Trump supporters.
The level of hostility is only increasing and these latest threats confirm what we already know: the fires that Trump is intentionally stoking will only grow higher before they are ultimately extinguished. Let’s just hope the body count remains low while the rational among us work toward that solution.
For more on this issue, read: Trump Search Yields Massive Fundraising.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Wait, do you mean to suggest that all of the railing against law enforcement by the "back the blue" crowd, including/especially those in the House (looking at YOU, MTG, Boebert, Gosar, Biggs, etc.) and Senate (looking at YOU, Cruz, Rubio and Blackburn, etc.), Fox News/OANN/Newsmax, etc., not to mention TFG and his spawn, might have real world consequences?????
I'm shocked. SHOCKED!!!!!!!!!!
The most dispiriting part of this is that even though the right, and it's a misnomer to even call it the 'far-right' any longer, has to offer is hatred and violence, the races this year and 2024 will be tight. America is in free-fall.