The FBI is encouraging Americans to look for indications of “homegrown violent extremism” in their own families and report them.
The FBI is turning its monitoring capabilities on ordinary Americans, prompting the demand for snitches.
“Family members and peers are often best positioned to witness signs of mobilization to violence,” reads a tweet posted on Sunday from the FBI. In order to help prevent “homegrown violent extremism,” the agency advises Americans “to learn how to spot suspicious behaviors and report them to the FBI” by visiting its website.
A link provided by the FBI brings users to a PDF document titled, “Homegrown Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators.” The document outlines a list of 46 “observable behaviors” that could help determine whether friends or family members “are preparing to engage in violent extremist activities.”
The top three indicators listed are:
- “Preparing and disseminating a martyrdom video/statement, last will”
- “Seeking religious or political justification for a planned violent act”
- “Attempting to mobilize others to violence, especially family members and peers.”
Moreover, the document at one point seems to blur the line between a citizen’s “constitutionally protected rights” and “mobilizing to violence.”
“Law enforcement action should not be taken solely based on the exercise of constitutionally protected rights, or on the apparent or actual race, ethnicity, national origin or religion of the subject, or on any combination of these factors. Individuals are encouraged to contact law enforcement if, based on these indicators and the situational context, they suspect an individual is mobilizing to violence,” the document reads.
The Orwellian nature of the FBI document prompted Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) to tweet that “In both Cuba & China, they also ask children to spy on their parents….”
As pointed out by RT News, the indicators and imagery used in the document suggest that its focus is to combat radical Islamic terrorism. But the FBI, along with the rest of the U.S. security apparatus, has turned its surveillance powers on specifically white, conservative America in recent months.
For example, since the unrest on Capitol Hill in January, FBI Director Christopher Wray has testified before Congress that the anti-government sentiment responsible for the trouble had been “metastasizing” in the U.S. for years. Wray insisted that “the problem of domestic terrorism … is not going away anytime soon.” And former Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi last month even called for the arrest of high-level Republicans in order to “really tackle terrorism, this time domestically.”
Moreover, Joe Biden has connected the Capitol mob to “white supremacism,” which he called “the most lethal terrorist threat to our homeland today” during his first speech to Congress in April. Against this supposed “threat,” the Department of Justice has requested new powers of prosecution, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asserted that right-wingers and conservatives, “inspired by foreign terrorist groups” and “emboldened by the breach of the U.S. Capitol Building,” are “plotting attacks against government facilities” and “threatening violence against critical infrastructure.”
Other indicators of extremism listed on the FBI document include: encouraging or advocating violence toward individuals, military or government officials, law enforcement, or civilian targets; unusual purchase of military-style tactical equipment other than weapons (such as personal protective equipment, body armor); dehumanizing people who are not in the identity group; and researching or discussing ways to evade law enforcement and lying to law enforcement officers/obstructing investigations.
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence for the Trump administration Richard Grenell also took to Twitter to ask “Why hasn’t the @fbi made more progress finding the BLM rioters from last summer?”
And others pointed out that real “homegrown” extremists such as those belonging to Antifa or preaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) are being ignored:
The FBI’s tweet comes after Facebook encouraged similarly draconian spy tactics on its platform.
Jon Fleetwood is Managing Editor for American Faith.
