Federal authorities are warning of a spike in threats to law enforcement following last week’s FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, according to an intelligence bulletin cited by several news outlets.
The unclassified joint intelligence bulletin dated Friday and released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security advises federal officials to remain vigilant and stay abreast of issues relating to domestic violent extremists, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
“The FBI and DHS have observed an increase in threats to federal law enforcement and to a lesser extent other law enforcement and government officials following the FBI’s recent execution of a search warrant in Palm Beach, Florida,” the bulletin reads, according to one official.
The threats are primarily occurring online, including on social media sites, web forums, video sharing platforms and image boards, according to CBS News.
The threats call for the “targeted killing of judicial, law enforcement, and government officials associated with the Palm Beach search, including the federal judge who approved the Palm Beach search warrant,” the memo states.
The memo also reportedly mentioned Thursday’s shootout at an FBI building in Cincinnati where authorities say 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer fired a nail gun at the building before fleeing in his car with an AR-15 rifle. He was later killed by police.
Shiffer appears to have expressed a desire to kill federal agents on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, just before the attack.
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FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged the rise in threats to federal agents and the Justice Department at a press conference Wednesday, calling them “deplorable and dangerous.”
“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” he said.
Trump has publicly criticized the FBI in the wake of Monday’s search, which authorities said was over classified and top secret government documents.
He’s called the federal agency corrupt and has suggested that the agents could have planted fake evidence inside his home.
Representatives with the DHS and FBI declined to comment on the memo when reached by lawyerroll Sunday, only saying in separate statements that they are working with their law enforcement partners to address the heightened threats and prevent violence.
“As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately,” the FBI said.