
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Using a federal system designed to warn all Americans about terrorist threats to the U.S. homeland, the Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning that anger “fueled by false narratives,” especially unfounded claims about the 2020 presidential election, could lead some inside the country to launch attacks in the coming weeks.
The system was last used to issue a public warning a year ago, when DHS issued a bulletin over potential retaliation by Iran for the U.S. assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq days earlier. A year before that, DHS issued a bulletin through the same system to highlight the threat from foreign terrorist groups like ISIS or al-Qaida.
But over the past year, domestic terrorists “motivated by a range of issues, including anger over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results, and police use of force have plotted and on occasion carried out attacks against government facilities,” the bulletin issued Wednesday said.
Violent supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol three weeks ago, many believing the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Wednesday’s public warning echoes what intelligence bulletins sent privately to law enforcement officials in recent weeks have said, underscoring a continued threat from violence-prone individuals who still believe President Joe Biden’s election was illegitimate.