The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI recently issued a bulletin to law enforcement across the country warning them that, in the wake of Trump’s assassination attempt, violent extremists could try to conduct “follow-on or retaliatory” attacks at events over the next few months related to the 2024 presidential election via ABC News.
The bulletin urged local, state, and federal law enforcement and their partners to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behavior.
“The FBI and DHS remain concerned … particularly given that individuals in some online communities have threatened, encouraged, or referenced acts of violence in response to the attempted assassination,” said the bulletin, issued Monday night as the Republican National Convention got underway in Milwaukee to officially nominate Trump as the Republican Party’s candidate for the White House in November.
At a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire from a nearby rooftop, with a bullet grazing Trump’s ear and leaving the former president bloodied.
Though Monday night’s bulletin stated federal authorities are still trying to determine exactly what motivated the shooter, the bulletin noted that “the resonance of divisive topics in public discourse” could contribute to the current threat environment.
It also said that “lone actors” or small groups of extremists “likely will continue to view” political rallies and campaign events as “attractive targets.”
At the same time, the bulletin noted that it can be challenging to detect such threats, especially given the “highly personal nature of radicalization and mobilization to violence.”
Even before the attempt on Trump’s life, federal authorities had observed politically inspired attacks and plots targeting government officials and candidates for office, and observed an array of “disruptive tactics” against election-related targets, including hoax bomb threats, swatting, and letters with white powder sent to election officials and offices, according to the bulletin.
Last year, several envelopes containing white powder were sent to Republican lawmakers and officials in at least three states — Kansas, Tennessee, and Montana — but the substances were deemed harmless, ABC News reported at the time.
“Domestic violent extremists across ideologies are likely to view a wide range of entities directly and indirectly associated with elections as viable targets for violence,” and they “could seek to use a range of violent or disruptive tactics against election-related targets,” Monday night’s bulletin said.
The attack targeting Trump “reinforces our assessment that election-related targets are under a heightened threat of attack or other types of disruptive incidents,” the bulletin added.
The bulletin offered some “preliminary” information about Crooks’ actions before he opened fire.It said that on the day of the attack, “prior to arriving at the campaign rally, Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from a gun and ammunition shop in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania,” and that in the months before the attack, he “received several packages, including some marked as possibly containing hazardous material.”
JUST IN: Joint FBI/DHS Intelligence bulletin claims Crooks had received multiple "hazardous" packages *months* before explosive devices were found at the Trump PA rally.
A bulletin obtained by @C__Herridge details some of Crooks' moves before the incident.
"Crooks received… pic.twitter.com/rWaHPbR8jd
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 16, 2024
