DHS, FBI Warn of Increased Threats in Response to Search Warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Residence

What did the FBI take from Trump’s Florida residence? 1:07 (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI have warned of an increase in “violent threats” against federal law enforcement, courts, and federal personnel and facilities. government following the search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, according to a joint intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN. “These threats occur primarily online and across multiple platforms, including social networking sites, web forums, video-sharing platforms, and image boards. The FBI and DHS would like to ensure that law enforcement, the courts, and the government personnel are aware of the variety of criminal and violent threats and incidents,” says the bulletin, dated Aug. 12. The joint intelligence bulletins are intended to share information with authorities about the threat landscape. DHS has been warning for more than a year that people will use political ideologies to justify acts of violence and underscored in Friday’s bulletin that domestic violent extremists are motivated by perceptions of government overreach and electoral fraud.In June, for example, the branch DHS intelligence also warned law enforcement, first responders, and private sector partners throughout the country about possible domestic violence extremist activity in response to the Supreme Court decision on abortion. Friday’s joint intelligence bulletin notes an increase in violent online threats against federal officials and facilities, “including the threat to plant a suspected dirty bomb outside FBI headquarters and issuing blanket calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion’”. It also states that the FBI and DHS have identified threats against specific individuals, including the federal judge who approved the Mar-a-Lago search warrant. The bulletin also cites an incident earlier this week when a suspected gunman attempted to enter the FBI Cincinnati field office and was killed in Ohio after a car chase and hours-long standoff with police. On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland denounced “unfounded attacks on the professionalism of FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors.” CNN previously reported that the FBI is investigating an “unprecedented” number of threats against bureau staff and property, including agents listed in court records as being involved in the search. Watch Trump allies criticize FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search 2:54 Violent rhetoric has circulated on an online forum dedicated to Trump, following the FBI’s search of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort . “Lock and load” was one of the top comments, while other posts were more explicit, saying, “I’m just going to say it. [El secretario de Justicia Merrick] Garland needs to be killed. Simple as that.” Another user posted, “kill all the feds.” After the Jan. 6 attack, alternative social media platforms became more popular with Trump supporters after companies like Facebook and Twitter banned Trump and other prominent figures spreading election conspiracy theories. Those platforms, like Trump’s own Truth Social site, are touted as bastions of free speech, with looser rules and moderation. That can result in the proliferation of rhetoric But talk of violence isn’t exclusive to the most fringe platforms. There was also a spike in tweets on Monday mentioning “civil war,” at one point more than one tweet per second, according to a review of data from CNN from Dataminr, a service that tracks Twitter activity Donie O’Sullivan contributed to this report.