The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has secretly developed a new category of “extremists” that targets Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters of former President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to classified information obtained by Newsweek.
Newsweek reported that the FBI is currently working to investigate and prevent what the agency considers domestic terrorism without referencing individual political affiliations in the United States. However, the information obtained by Newsweek indicates that an overwhelming majority of the FBI’s current “anti-government” investigations are related to MAGA Republicans.
“The FBI is in an almost impossible position,” a current FBI official told Newsweek.
The anonymous official, one of over a dozen current or former government officials specializing in terrorism interviewed by Newsweek, claimed that the FBI is attempting to prevent any domestic terrorism that could lead to an incident like the January 6 Capitol storming.
At the same time, the FBI official told Newsweek that the bureau could unintentionally provoke anti-government activists if the agency fails to allow Americans to exercise their Constitutional rights of free speech and protest.
“Especially at a time when the White House is facing Congressional Republican opposition claiming that the Biden administration has ‘weaponized’ the Bureau against the right wing, it has to tread very carefully,” the official stated.
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Another anonymous senior intelligence official told Newsweek that the country has “crossed the Rubicon.”
The official claimed, “Trump’s army constitutes the greatest threat of violence domestically…politically…that’s the reality and the problem set. That’s what the FBI, as a law enforcement agency, has to deal with.”
In a statement to Newsweek, the FBI said: “The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is persistent, evolving, and deadly. The FBI’s goal is to detect and stop terrorist attacks, and our focus is on potential criminal violations, violence, and threats of violence.”
The FBI told Newsweek that the threat of “domestic violent extremists” in the United States remains ongoing, is continuing to expand and is “deadly.” The agency noted that its goal is to detect potential “terrorist attacks” and prevent them before they happen by focusing on illegal activity, violence and threats of potential violence.
“Anti-government or anti-authority violent extremism is one category of domestic terrorism, as well as one of the FBI’s top threat priorities,” the FBI said.
The FBI also claimed that the agency’s investigations are not based on political affiliations.
“We are committed to protecting the safety and constitutional rights of all Americans and will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including a person’s political beliefs or affiliations,” the bureau said.
While the FBI claimed that its investigations are not political in nature, Newsweek reported that a recent Department of Homeland Security and FBI joint report to Congress highlighted what the agency views as potential threats of domestic terrorism.
“Sociopolitical developments — such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence — will almost certainly spur some domestic terrorists to try to engage in violence,” the report stated.
Newsweek noted that each of the threats listed by federal authorities is closely associated with the MAGA Republicans who support Trump.
Moreover, the news outlet reported that the FBI released a report titled “Domestic Violent Extremists Emboldened in Aftermath of Capitol Breach, Elevated Domestic Terrorism Threat of Violence Likely Amid Political Transitions and Beyond” in the aftermath of the Capitol riot.
In the FBI’s report, the agency changed the definition of “anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism” (AGAAVE) from “furtherance of ideological agendas” to “furtherance of political and/or social agendas.”
As a result of the definition change, Newsweek reported that Americans could be labeled a potential threat as a result of their political affiliation despite assurances by the FBI.
Additionally, in 2022, the FBI unveiled a new domestic threat subcategory labeled “AGAAVE-Other,” which is used to describe individuals the FBI believes could pose a threat but cannot be classified into militia, Sovereign Citizen or anarchist categories.
According to Newsweek, the classification defines “AGAAVE-Other” individuals as “domestic violent extremists who cite anti-government or anti-authority motivations for violence or criminal activity not otherwise defined, such as individuals motivated by a desire to commit violence against those with a real or perceived association with a specific political party or faction of a specific political party.”
When an anonymous FBI officer was asked by Newsweek about the new subcategory, the officer answered, “What other name could we use?”
The FBI officer defended the agency’s change and claimed that the change was meant to help the agency keep better track of domestic threats in response to Congress pressuring the bureau.
“Obviously, if Democratic Party supporters resort to violence, it [AGAAVE-Other] would apply to them as well,” the FBI officer said. “It doesn’t matter that there is a low likelihood of that. So yes, in practical terms, it refers to MAGA, though the carefully constructed language is wholly nonpartisan.”
