Violent Threats Against FBI Soar as Trump Lies About Mar-a-Lago Search

Menacing messages posted online “include a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters” and “general calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion,'” officials warned.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into an “unprecedented” number of threats against its staff and facilities in the wake of last week’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago palace, including some against the pair of agents identified in an unredacted version of the warrant that was leaked before the court officially unsealed redacted records, CNN reported Saturday, citing an unnamed law enforcement source.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on Friday issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning that violent threats against federal law enforcement, judicial, and government personnel and property “are occurring primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social media sites, web forums, video sharing platforms, and image boards.”

The menacing messages “include a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters” and “general calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion,'” the agencies warned.

On Friday, the names of the two FBI agents who signed the warrant used to search Trump’s resort circulated online after far-right outlet Breitbart published a copy of the document leaked to them before federal magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart publicly shared paperwork that protected the agents’ identities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Friday afternoon that Trump would not oppose its motion to release the search warrant and inventory of collected materials, but at that point the unredacted version had already begun to spread online, leading many to accuse the ex-president of leaking the document—and endangering the lives of police officers he claims to support.

“Officials at the FBI headquarters division responsible for the security of personnel also have observed efforts by online actors to publicly post—also known as ‘doxxing’—the personal information of other bureau employees, including those involved in the search of Trump’s residence,” CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source.

“Unlike other officers in the U.S. intelligence community who operate undercover, the overwhelming majority of FBI employees operate in true name, the source noted, which makes those named in court filings pertaining to the search particularly vulnerable to nefarious online actors,” the news outlet added.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said Thursday that he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter,” has been the subject of death threats, with internet users writing that he “needs to be assassinated” and “kill all feds.” According to CNN, the biography and contact information of Reinhart, who signed the warrant on August 5, “was wiped from a Florida court’s website after he too became the target of violent threats.”

Violent Threats Against FBI Soar as Trump Lies About Mar-a-Lago Search (commondreams.org)