Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
The United States remains in a “higher threat environment” regarding the terrorismas demonstrated by a series of racially and ethnically motivated attacks or plots in recent months, warned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a public notice released Wednesday.
Wednesday’s National Terrorism Alert System bulletin will run through November 24 and was issued on the same day as the one-year anniversary of the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers. .
Among those recent events was the May 6 mass shooting in Allen, Texas, in which the shooter “had views consistent with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism.”
White supremacists and other extremists have been implicated in multiple attacks on power substations and other critical US infrastructure in the past year. Two white supremacists were arrested in February for an alleged racist plot to attack the power grid in Baltimore.
United States is in an “increased threat environment” as domestic violent extremists and foreign terrorist organizations unite to win supporters and launch attacks, the Department of Homeland Security warned in its advisory.
The notice added that “perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle” and court decisions and sociopolitical issues they can inspire people to commit acts of violence in the coming months.
DHS specifically named “religious institutions, individuals, or events associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, schools, racial and ethnic minorities, and government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement” as potential targets of violence.
The new DHS bulletin issued Wednesday also warns that lforeign terrorists continue to call for lone wolf attacks. DHS pointed to an attack by a Maine man on New York police officers on New Year’s Eve.
DHS officials told reporters that the recent charges and sentences of people involved in the January 6 riots “may be serving to deter similar violence in the future” by leading would-be attackers to fear prosecution, according to NBC. News.
“Recent tragic events highlight the growing threat environment facing our nation, and these threats are driven by violent extremists seeking to further their ideological beliefs and personal grievances,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the statement. announced by the DHS bulletin.
DHS officials said they remain concerned about threats from actors in other states, such as Iran, as well as the potential threat from terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al-QaedaAlthough some officials in recent months have downplayed the likelihood of an attack carried out by foreign terrorists inside the United States.
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