The Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, an advisory board to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has classified supporters of former President Donald Trump as a potential terror threat in internal documents obtained by AFL. The board, formed in September 2023, is tasked with analyzing terrorist threats and fentanyl trafficking. Among its members are anti-Trump figures like former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former CIA Operations Officer Paul Kolbe. These same individuals had previously signed a statement claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop was likely Russian propaganda before it was proven to be legitimate.
The internal documents obtained by AFL show the board characterizing “supporters of the former president” as constituting “most of the Domestic Terrorism threat” in the United States. Furthermore, traits such as having served “in the military” and being “religious” are classified as “indicators of extremists and terrorism,” citing unnamed research. Military personnel have been less likely to be supporters of radical political causes than other Americans, according to a 2023 RAND Corporation study.
However, suspicions of extremism in the military were popular among Democrats after the Jan. 6 riots, with 15 Democrat lawmakers signing a letter urging Inspector General Sean O’Donnell to “take action on this wave of violent extremism” in the military. AFL released the first collection of documents detailing the committee’s desire to increase information collection on Americans, including getting “mothers” and “teachers” to report on children suspected of extremism under the pretext of “public health.” The committee cited the model of the “See Something, Say Something” campaign after 9/11, which was an initiative by the DHS to encourage American citizens to report potential terror threats.
AFL and former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell filed a lawsuit that ultimately led to the advisory panel being closed. AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “These inflammatory records reveal the interworkings of the illegal partisan committee that we proudly stopped.” He added, “All efforts to weaponize the federal government against political opponents of the ruling regime should be stopped.
While DHS was focused on supporters of former President Donald Trump, a group of individuals with ties to ISIS managed to enter the United States via the southern border. According to a report from NBC News, eight illegal immigrant terrorists arrested have suspected connections to ISIS and had crossed into the US over the southern border. At least one of the men used the CBP One app to get into the US in the spring of 2023, with another crossing at the same time. A senior government official told NBC News that the FBI was monitoring the group for several months to keep tabs on their activities. The CBP One app is used by illegal immigrants to obtain permission from the federal government to travel to the US and obtain an appointment to apply for asylum at the border and obtain a court date. No official papers or identification are needed to set up a profile on the CBP One app.
Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities,” the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI said in a joint statement. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
The eight suspected terrorists have not been charged with a terror plot, but the FBI told ICE they needed to be arrested due to their connection with the terrorist group.
