U.S. counterterrorism agencies are monitoring sleeper cell risks amid the U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran and the Austin shooting.
Following the strikes, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that the agency’s personnel are “fully engaged on the situation overseas” and ensured that he has “instructed our Counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed.” He added that task forces are “working 24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland.”
Meanwhile, former Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino warned that the risk of sleeper cells is great. “We are facing a wide variety of threats here, and the problem is, they’re all located within our own borders right now,” he said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends First.”
“There’s no doubt that law enforcement and intelligence agencies are operating at an elevated threat level here in the United States,” Marino said. “That’s based on the correct operating assumption that the United States has been allowed to be infiltrated with a myriad of threats from around the globe, thanks in large part to the policies of the Biden administration, which turned our borders into a sieve.”
Following a shooting in Austin over the weekend, which left three dead and fourteen injured, Texas Governor Greg Abbott also voiced concerns of sleeper cells. Abbott told Maria Bartiromo of “Mornings with Maria” that “you could have either sleeper cells or lone wolves acting,” which prompted the state of Texas to increase the number of law enforcement officers on patrol.
