FBI, Homeland Security agents facing more threats

Two federal agencies warned Friday of an increased threat to law enforcement agents—as well as judicial and governmental officials—after the FBI executed a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In a joint bulletin reported Sunday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security also warned other law enforcement of a “dirty bomb” threat directed at the FBI headquarters, as well as threats of “armed rebellion” and “civil war.” The bulletin said certain personal information of agents and their family members had been leaked online.

What attacks have happened? Last week, authorities shot and killed an armed man who attacked the FBI Field Office in Cincinnati. An account believed to belong to the shooter, Ricky Shiffer, had posted on the social media site Truth Social that he was ready to join in a civil war if it broke out. On the day of the Mar-a-Lago search, he wrote, “People, this is it. … This is your call to arms from me.” On Sunday, a 29-year-old man crashed his car into a barricade at the U.S. Capitol, fired a handgun, and then committed suicide as officers approached. But the man’s family said he struggled with mental illness, and authorities have not yet linked his actions to any existing threats stemming from the Mar-a-Lago search.

Dig deeper: Read Emily Belz’s report from the WORLD archives on law enforcement concerns about a possible repeat of the domestic terrorism of the 1990s.