The security agency and other experts warn of violent resistance by Trump supporters, white supremacists and other far-right extremists
The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden바카라s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week바카라s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.
An internal FBI bulletin warned, as of Sunday, that the nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Biden바카라s Jan. 20 inauguration, according to two law enforcement officials who read details of the memo to The Associated Press. Investigators believe some of the people are members of extremist groups, the officials said. The bulletin was first reported by ABC.
바카라Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the U.S. Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,바카라 the bulletin said, according to one official. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The FBI issued at least one other bulletin 바카라 they go out to law enforcement nationwide on the topic 바카라 before the riots last week. On Dec. 29, it warned of the potential for armed demonstrators targeting legislatures, the second official said.
바카라While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, the FBI is supporting our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners with maintaining public safety in the communities we serve,바카라 the bureau said in a statement. 바카라Our efforts are focused on identifying, investigating, and disrupting individuals that are inciting violence and engaging in criminal activity.바카라
The FBI said it wasn바카라t focused on peaceful protests but 바카라on those threatening their safety and the safety of other citizens with violence and destruction of property.바카라
Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Monday that the Guard is also looking at any issues across the country.
바카라We바카라re keeping a look across the entire country to make sure that we바카라re monitoring, and that our Guards in every state are in close coordination with their local law enforcement agencies to provide any support requested,바카라 he said.
The riots followed weeks of online calls for violence in the nation바카라s capital in the waning days of Donald Trump바카라s presidency. There have been several arrests, and at least two Capitol police officers, one who took a selfie with rioters, and another who put on a Make America Great Again hat, were suspended. At least a dozen more are under investigation, according to lawmakers.
A tweet in which Trump promised that last Wednesday바카라s event in Washington, D.C., 바카라will be wild바카라 fueled a 바카라month-long frenzy of incitements, strategizing, and embrace of violence against lawmakers,바카라 according to a research group that tracks online extremism activity, In a report issued Saturday, the SITE Intelligence Group also warned that the Capitol attack has emboldened Trump-supporting extremists.
바카라No matter how all this plays out, its only the beginning,바카라 posted a user on TheDonald message board, according to the report.
Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League바카라s Center on Extremism, said authorities in state capitals and other major cities besides Washington should prepare for the possibility of violent protests next week.
바카라A lot of people were energized by what happened last week,바카라 he said. 바카라State capitals are a natural place where people might want to show up, especially assuming that they think there might be a huge presence of police and military in D.C. because of what happened last week.바카라
Pitcavage tracks militia, white supremacists and other far-right extremists, but he said the Capitol siege demonstrated the emergence of a new movement of 바카라Trumpist extremists, so caught up in the cult of personality around Trump that they may be willing to break the law or engage in violence purely in support of Trump and whatever he wants.바카라
The talk of armed marches next week isn바카라t limited to 바카라radicalized바카라 Trump supporters. State capital events on January 17 appear to be promoted by supporters of the anti-government, pro-gun 바카라boogaloo바카라 movement. Boogaloo followers advocate for a second civil war or the collapse of society, and they don바카라t adhere to a coherent political philosophy.
Posts on social media sites also have promoted a 바카라Million Militia March바카라 on the day of Biden바카라s inauguration. Pitcavage said the event, apparently organized by a promoter of the pro-Trump 바카라QAnon바카라 conspiracy theory, appears unlikely to draw a massive crowd.
Javed Ali, a former FBI senior intelligence officer who teaches courses in counterterrorism at the University of Michigan, said it can be challenging for law enforcement to identify the line between people exercising their constitutionally protected rights to bear arms and free speech and those who pose 바카라a real operational threat.바카라
바카라The FBI just can바카라t passively sit in websites and forums and social media platforms, waiting to see who바카라s going to present a direct threat versus just someone who is being highly radicalized,바카라 he said. 바카라There has to be an investigative predicate for the FBI to then start even the lowest form of an investigation.바카라
David Deitch, an attorney who was a prosecutor in the Justice Department바카라s counterterrorism section from 2003 to 2007, said law enforcement must recognize a 바카라tenuous balance바카라 between protected free speech and speech that intends to incites violence.
바카라It바카라s a very fact-based, case-by-case determination,바카라 he said. 바카라There바카라s no one factor that바카라s going to determine all of it. It바카라s certainly going to be a judgment call on the part of law enforcement about whether and when to intervene.바카라