“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,” according to a bulletin issued Wednesday through the DHS National Terrorist Advisory System (NTAS).
The NTAS was last used to issue a public warning last year, when DHS issued a bulletin over potential retaliation by Iran for the U.S. assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. A year before that, the DHS used the system to issue a bulletin to highlight the threat from foreign terrorist groups like ISIS or al-Qaida.
The system will now be used to identify and track “domestic terrorists motivated by a range of issues, including anger over COVID-19 restrictions and the 2020 election results.”
The bulletin focused on a wide range of motivating issues which are impacting the nation at present, insisting there were an increase in plots to carry out attacks against government facilities. Motivating factors went so far as to include “increased racial and ethnic tensions” and “excessive use of police force.”
