![]() ![]() “This is a divisive political message in an election year, trying to create an enemy.” Breaking windows and burning cars doesn’t fit,” said Ali Soufan, a retired FBI counterterrorism agent and JTTF veteran. There is no domestic terrorism statute, but the JTTFs can also target violent domestic groups like white-supremacist militias, but those organizations typically have a record of extreme violence, to include murder. JTTFs targets are designated terrorist groups – typically foreign terrorist organizations, as certified by the State and Treasury departments. Late on Monday, it announced it was creating a tip line for people to inform on “violent instigators who are exploiting legitimate, peaceful protests and engaging in violations of federal law.” It assured in a press release, “The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.” It did not specify any federal laws citizens might notice protesters violating. Before the call moved on, President Trump stepped in and suggested that governors, too, share intelligence they have gathered on violent protestors with the Department of Justice.įor the second day in a row, the FBI declined to comment. And soon thereafter the police began pushing the protesters far back from the fencing.īarr said all of the relevant intelligence would be shared through the JTTF. He seemed to be studying the crowd ahead of him, occasionally pointing at them while talking to those beside him. Barr, in a suit but no tie, stood among what appeared to be advisers. He stayed roughly one block away from the gathering crowd of protesters who were stationed behind a barricade of fences and layers of armed policemen. Hours later, Barr left the White House premises and walked on to the square of Lafayette Park just to the north. And it’s a sign that the ever-expanding war on terror is jumping yet another guardrail. According to a JTTF veteran, it’s a flagrant misuse of the task forces. It’s an early glimpse of how the Justice Department plans to make President Trump’s legally dubious threat to treat protesters as terrorists a reality. Attorney General Bill Barr told state governors on Monday that the Department of Justice was prepared to use the FBI’s regional counterterrorism hubs to share information with local law enforcement about “extremists” and “agitators” in the protests sweeping the country.īarr said the Justice Department would tap Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)-regional groups that ordinarily unite area FBI agents with state, local and federal law enforcement to monitor and pursue suspected terrorists-to “identify people in the crowd, pull them out and prosecute them.”
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