Federal authorities warn of a rise in online threats against law enforcement after the FBI’s search of the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump in Florida last week.
On Friday, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security sent the warning through a joint intelligence bulletin shared with state, local and tribal law enforcement officers across the country. In the bulletin, federal officials said the threats are being made “primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social media sites, web forums, video-sharing platforms and image boards.” according to CBS Newsand that they observed individuals identifying law enforcement targets and doxxing their sensitive information online.
The bulletin comes as Trump and his Republican allies personally attacked the FBI for executing a search warrant at the former president’s Florida home Monday. Trump himself has repeatedly reprimanded the FBI his social media platform Truth Socialunjustly accusing officials of planting evidence or collaborating with Democrats to “dirty” Republican opponents.
The same joint warning specifically mentioned an incident that occurred last week in Cincinnati, Ohio, in which an individual named Ricky Shiffer Jr. attempted to break into an FBI field office with an AR-style rifle and nail gun just three days after the Mar-a-Lago search. Hours before the attack, which led to a stalemate with the FBI, Shiffer reportedly used the Truth Social platform to post messages advocating violence against law enforcement officers.
“If they come for you, kill them,” Shiffer seemed to say in a message that has now been deleted. “Be an American, not an ox.”
Deceptively edited photos and videos also went viral on social media the week after the search. While guest hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News last week, Brian Kilmeade showed a fake image of Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the FBI’s search warrant, sitting next to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Kilmeade later said the show “showed a meme in jest”.
On Friday, a fake video claiming to show another fox host, Sean Hannity, discusses the definition of an FBI raid with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. But the discussion never took place. Instead, the video was merged into footage from a recent Hannity segment and footage of DeSantis filmed nearly two years ago. Hours after the video gained popularity on Twitter, the platform put a “manipulated media” label on the post.
The baseless allegations and threats peaked Monday when… Trump warned Fox News Digital that “people are so mad at what’s happening.” He continued: “Whatever we can do to help – because the temperature in the country has to come down. If it doesn’t, terrible things will happen… The people of this country will not accept another scam.”
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