"Regarding The Continued Heightened Threat Environment Across The United States"

On CNN this morning, Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen said the Select Committee's work is going to show us just "how much Trump was involved. Trump ran this show. He ran it from the time he lost the election in November and he did it with his son, or sons, and all of his henchmen up there." And by henchmen, he included "involvement of Republican legislators that denied that they met with President Trump on Jan. 6 and soon before. But we have proof through Mark Meadows’s emails and other evidence that they did in fact meet and that they worked with them. And there were several legislators who have denied being involved, but they are involved and it went to the highest powers. They were all close to Meadows, they all encouraged Meadows, I think we’re going to see that." He was certainly talking about Scott Perry (R-PA), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to name just a few of the coup plotters.

When Cohen was asked if he's worried about this kind of violence spilling over into the midterms he said, "We all should be concerned about the midterms being harmed, and all public officials should be concerned about their own safety, I fear. I had no doubt on Jan. 6, I felt my life was in danger when I was in the gallery. And when I was there I hollered down the floor and said, 'Call Trump and ask him to call off his revolutionary guard.' It was clear to me what had occurred that day, and it’s still going on, and it continues, because the man is intent to get power and Republicans helped him and Republicans continue to help him."

Today, the Department of Homeland Security issued a Terrorism Advisory System Bullet "regarding the  continued  heightened  threat environment across the United States."

[S]everal recent attacks have highlighted the dynamic and complex nature of the threat environment. In the coming months, we expect the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets. These targets could include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents. Threat actors have recently mobilized to violence due to factors such as personal grievances, reactions to current events, and adherence to violent extremist ideologies, including racially or ethnically motivated or anti-government/anti-authority violent extremism. Foreign adversaries-- including terrorist organizations and nation state adversaries-- also remain intent on exploiting the threat environment to promote or inspire violence, sow discord, or undermine U.S. democratic institutions. We continue to assess that the primary threat of mass casualty violence in the United States stems from lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances."

Key aspects of the evolving threat environment include:

Several recent violent attacks by lone offenders against minority communities, schools, houses of worship, and mass transit have demonstrated the dynamic and complex nature of the threat environment facing the United States:

• Individuals in online forums that routinely promulgate domestic violent extremist and conspiracy theory-related content have praised the May 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and encouraged copycat attacks. Others have seized on the event to attempt to spread disinformation and incite grievances, including claims it was a government-staged event meant to advance gun control measures.

• The suspect in the grocery store attack in Buffalo, New York in May 2022 claimed he was motivated by racist, anti-Black, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, often referred to as the “great replacement” or “white genocide.” These theories claim that minorities, multiculturalists, and a ruling elite are deliberately threatening the existence of the white race. The alleged 2019 attacker at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas cited similar grievances and inspiration for the attack, and both the Buffalo and El Paso attackers indicated they were inspired by the 2019 attacker of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

• A violent attack in May 2022 in Laguna Woods, California targeted congregants of a church that serves the Taiwanese community. The attack killed one individual and wounded five others. According to the lead investigative agency, the suspect also placed Molotov cocktail-like devices around the church and secured the doors with chains and super glue.

• In April 2022, an individual wearing a gas mask threw two smoke canisters and opened fire on a New York City subway during morning rush hour, resulting in injuries to dozens of individuals. Following the shooting, a number of pro-al-Qa‘ida and ISIS users celebrated the attack, which remains under investigation.

The continued proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding current events could reinforce existing personal grievances or ideologies, and in combination with other factors, could inspire individuals to mobilize to violence.

• Some domestic violent extremists have expressed grievances related to their perception that the U.S. government is unwilling or unable to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and have called for violence to stem the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States. We assess that there is increased risk of domestic violent extremists using changes in border security-related policies and/or enforcement mechanisms to justify violence against individuals, such as minorities and law enforcement officials involved in the enforcement of border security.

• Given a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court case about abortion rights, individuals who advocate both for and against abortion have, on public forums, encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies.

• As the United States enters mid-term election season this year, we assess that calls for violence by domestic violent extremists directed at democratic institutions, political candidates, party offices, election events, and election workers will likely increase.