Political Strategy To Paint Republicans As Terrorists Behind FBI’s Fueling Of Domestic Extremism
New investigation suggests that the FBI is abusing its program of confidential human sources
White nationalist groups like the Patriot Front and far-right groups like the Proud Boys are on the rise and represent the greatest threat to our country’s security, according to President Joe Biden, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Last August, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that investigations into domestic terrorism have “more than doubled” and that the threat comes from “those who advocate for the superiority of the white race” as well as “Anti-Government or Anti-Authority Violent Extremists.” In February, the ADL reported that white supremacist ideology catalyzed 80% of extremism-related homicides in 2022. And in May, Biden called white supremacy “the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland.”
But there’s no good evidence that domestic terrorism is increasing. Neither the FBI nor the Department of Homeland Security have submitted “comprehensive data to Congress in required reports” regarding violent extremism, found the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Last year there were only 21 homicides linked to white supremacists in the entire country. By comparison, Chicago alone saw an average of 58 homicides every month. From 2013 to 2021, the FBI’s domestic terrorism-related investigations increased by 357 percent, but there was no similar increase in terrorist attacks during that period.
Terrorism and racism are declining virtually everywhere, including in the U.S. The Global Terrorism Index reported that in 2022, deaths from terrorism fell by 9%, which is 38% lower than its peak in 2015. The number of terror attacks also decreased by 28% from 2021 to 2022. And a 2019 study found that in the United States, conscious and unconscious prejudice for “sexuality, race, and skin-tone attitudes” have decreased over the last decade.
If the number of open FBI cases reflected the actual level of extremist violence, there would be a domestic terrorist attack every day.
And now, a new investigation by Public finds that the FBI is not only exaggerating the threat of white supremacy, but is also embedding confidential human sources within white nationalist groups and encouraging members of these groups to engage in illegal activity.
Earlier this year, a white nationalist organization called Patriot Front held demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, sparking rumors online that the FBI was involved. In June, more rumors swirled when a fight broke out between American-flag-toting Proud Boys and a group of masked Rose City Nationalists at an Oregon City Pride Night Festival.
In an email to Public, FBI spokeswoman Joy Jiras denied any FBI involvement in the Oregon City rally but defended using undercover informants. “Federal courts and juries have overwhelmingly upheld the use of undercover operations in terrorism cases,” she said, “and their use has produced a lengthy public record of guilty pleas and convictions.”
But a source in a position to know has confirmed to Public that the FBI has pushed confidential informants to buy weapons so that agents can expand the scope and scale of domestic violent extremism investigations. The patterns in most FBI entrapment cases are eerily similar. The FBI pays an informant to lure people into planning and almost carrying out terrorist attacks using weapons, money, and other materials usually provided by the FBI before arresting them at the last minute.
This practice isn’t new. In the past, the FBI has entrapped Muslims and mentally impaired teenagers in terrorism plots. Previously, Public reported that the FBI was deliberately padding its Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) numbers by incentivizing field offices to inflate statistics and pursue investigations without sufficient proof.
And now, new evidence suggests that the agency is going even further and using entrapment tactics. Lucas Gage, a retired Marine veteran previously involved with a far-right white nationalist group, recently posted a video on Twitter describing how the FBI’s Domestic Terror Unit tried to recruit him to embed into extremist groups like Atomwaffen. He described his recruitment process in an email to Public. “CIs [confidential informants] are paid in cash,” Gage explained. “There is no trace of them working with the FBI.”
Added Gage, “under no circumstances could a CI expose they work for the FBI, otherwise the deal would be off.” An FBI agent who approached Gage about becoming an informant asked if he “would be comfortable buying weapons and drugs when undercover.” A former FBI source corroborated that the FBI uses the tactics Gage described. This source explained that prompting informants to buy drugs and weapons is a prevalent strategy. For instance, as Lee Fang reported for The Intercept, in 2020, the FBI asked an Iowa truck driver who had collaborated with an animal rights group if he’d be willing to buy and sell drugs as an informant for the FBI.
FBI whistleblower Garret O’Boyle said it’s typical for confidential informants to deny involvement with the FBI and that they are required to do so. “Admonishments are given numerous times per year to every single [confidential human source] the FBI runs,” O’Boyle said, “including an admonishment that specifically and deliberately states that the [source] does not work for the FBI or the U.S. government and that they cannot claim they do.”
These “admonishments” are verbal statements read to informants to ensure they understand they are not federal government employees. Creating this distinction allows the FBI to use informants without being held accountable for their actions.
Rather than dealing with credible problems and dangers like child exploitation, mission creep has turned the FBI into a domestic spying agency. In May, FBI whistleblower Stephen Friend testified before the House Judiciary Committee, stating that he was removed from child exploitation cases and was assigned to investigate domestic extremism. His testimony suggests the FBI diverts valuable resources in order to pursue a political agenda.
Entrapping suspects by encouraging them to plan and commit crimes could potentially escalate the threats that the FBI is supposed to combat. Instead of protecting the public from violence, the FBI appears to be stoking domestic extremism in ways that violate civil liberties and jeopardize safety. Why is that?
Manufacturing Domestic Terrorists
