Posted on Aug 18, 2022
Anti-government threats are up, but it's tough to assess them
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https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/ [login to see] /anti-government-threats-are-up-but-its-tough-to-assess-them
Shortly after news broke that federal agents had executed a court-authorized search for documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Rita Katz said she and her team jumped online.
Katz, the founder and executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist communities online, said they were primarily interested in what discussions looked like in spaces frequented by the far right, such as Telegram, Gab and Truth Social.
"What we saw were calls for civil war," said Katz. "Calls such as, 'This is what the Second Amendment stands for,' and asking then, 'When does the shooting start?'"
In the days after, a man was killed in a standoff with the FBI after he attempted to attack the agency's field office in Cincinnati. The U.S. Department of Justice has also charged a man in Pennsylvania with threatening federal law enforcement officers after he allegedly posted violent statements online.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint intelligence bulletin highlighting the escalation in violent rhetoric against their agencies and employees.
Shortly after news broke that federal agents had executed a court-authorized search for documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Rita Katz said she and her team jumped online.
Katz, the founder and executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist communities online, said they were primarily interested in what discussions looked like in spaces frequented by the far right, such as Telegram, Gab and Truth Social.
"What we saw were calls for civil war," said Katz. "Calls such as, 'This is what the Second Amendment stands for,' and asking then, 'When does the shooting start?'"
In the days after, a man was killed in a standoff with the FBI after he attempted to attack the agency's field office in Cincinnati. The U.S. Department of Justice has also charged a man in Pennsylvania with threatening federal law enforcement officers after he allegedly posted violent statements online.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint intelligence bulletin highlighting the escalation in violent rhetoric against their agencies and employees.
Anti-government threats are up, but it's tough to assess them
Posted from npr.org
Government
Threat
National Security
FBI
DOJ
Posted >1 y ago
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The post on the White Nationalist forum stormfront.org are getting more and more extreme.
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Well Truth Social is turning over any account information on accounts that make threats to the FBI...I guess they lost their safe space??? *shrug*
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SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
SP5 Renee Reif - ok and? I never said it was ok to threaten violence. I was simply making fun of the far right and their use of Truth Social as a "safe space" to be their belligerent violent selves but now that's gone and they're being given up.
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Social media has made people's voices heard easier -- there's always been the rhetoric
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SGT (Join to see)
I don't doubt that but social media has lower these folks to reach critical mass and endanger this country. Before they were just background noise now its a concert at 200db
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CSM Chuck Stafford
Yep, the concert is loud, but if they're standing next to the speakers without protection, they're special kind of special - unlike the majority of the rest of the concert goers. Don't let them ruin your concert.
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