The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) purged an intelligence document from its system after a whistleblower leak revealed the file targeted traditional Catholics.
First reported by UncoverDC, FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin said that the document pointed to “extremists” within “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology.”
A spokesperson for the FBI told The Daily Wire that the agency began removing the document from its system after learning about it.
“While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product — disseminated only within the FBI — regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI,” the spokesperson said. “Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document.”
“The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity,” the spokesperson added.
READ MORE: Video: Rep Jim Jordan says FBI ‘played’ Twitter on Hunter Biden story
The document unearthed the connection between the FBI’s attempts to blur the lines between Catholicism and white supremacy, according to Seraphin. The former FBI employee spent six years in the bureau, leaving in June of 2022 after questioning agency activity and not complying with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The FBI’s work was also related to the labeling of the Catholic members of The Society of Saint Pius as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The organization traditionally tracked hate acts by racially-motivated groups like the Klu Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. In recent years, the non-profit has come under scrutiny for including pro-life groups and Christian organizations that support traditional marriage as “anti-LGBT hate groups.”
Among the organizations listed as hate groups by the SPLC include the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Family Research Council, two well-known conservative organizations.
Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, responded that “ADF is one of the nation’s most respected and successful Supreme Court advocates, and has won 11 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court since 2011.”
“We work to preserve fundamental freedoms of speech, religion, and conscience for all Americans,” Tedesco told the Catholic News Agency. “Once a respected civil rights organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center has destroyed its own credibility because of its blatant partisan agenda and discredited fundraising scheme. It has devolved into a group that attacks and spreads lies about organizations and people who do not agree with its far-left agenda.”
