Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2019 21:40:53 GMT
www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-01/fbi-conspiracy-theories-are-domestic-terrorism-threat
Do you believe in an elite cabal of untouchable oligarchs guiding the course of history via false flags, perpetual war, and covertly funded militant groups? Do you share these beliefs online?
You might just be engaging in domestic terrorism according to the FBI.
A May 30 intelligence bulletin posted by the bureau's Phoenix field office describes "conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists" as a growing threat, reports Yahoo News.
Does the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory peddled by leading Democrats and amplified by the MSM for over two straight years count?
Apparently not, as the document singles out QAnon - "a shadowy network that believes in a deep state conspiracy against President Trump, and Pizzagate, the theory that a pedophile ring including Clinton associates was being run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant (which didn’t actually have a basement)," according to the report.
(Except they do according to a quote from the owner, James Alefantis, in this 2015 Metro Weekly article)
The report points to the case of Edgar Maddison Welch, who opened fire in the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant at the center of Pizzagate. Welch, who worked for his father's film company - "Forever Young Productions" - walked through the door with an AR-15, "shot off the lock to an inside door, sending a bullet into a computer tower," and told authorities he was there to 'rescue children' (by shooting at a door they might be behind) according to the Washington Post.
"The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts," reads the FBI document, which adds that conspiracy theory-driven extremism is likely to increase during the 2020 presidential election cycle.
The FBI said another factor driving the intensity of this threat is “the uncovering of real conspiracies or cover-ups involving illegal, harmful, or unconstitutional activities by government officials or leading political figures.” The FBI does not specify which political leaders or which cover-ups it was referring to.
President Trump is mentioned by name briefly in the latest FBI document, which notes that the origins of QAnon is the conspiratorial belief that “Q,” allegedly a government official, “posts classified information online to reveal a covert effort, led by President Trump, to dismantle a conspiracy involving ‘deep state’ actors and global elites allegedly engaged in an international child sex trafficking ring.” -Yahoo News
Nevermind that 'global elite' hobnobber Jeffrey Epstein is currently sitting in a jail cell, accused of literal child sex trafficking, and may have been the subject of an attempted hit last week.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has addressed domestic terrorism on multiple occasions over the past several weeks - though he hasn't mentioned conspiracy theories.
In a contentious hearing last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray faced criticism from Democrats who said the bureau was not focusing enough on white supremacist violence. “The term ‘white supremacist,’ ‘white nationalist’ is not included in your statement to the committee when you talk about threats to America,” Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said. “There is a reference to racism, which I think probably was meant to include that, but nothing more specific.” -Yahoo News
After coming under fire for identifying "black identity extremists," Wray told lawmakers that the FBI eliminated separate categories for black identity extremists and white supremacists - saying that the agency is instead focusing on "racially motivated" violence in general.
"I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we've investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence," he added.
In May, Michael C. McGarrity, the FBI’s assistant director of the counterterrorism division, told Congress the bureau now “classifies domestic terrorism threats into four main categories: racially motivated violent extremism, anti-government/anti-authority extremism, animal rights/environmental extremism, and abortion extremism,” a term the bureau uses to classify both pro-choice and anti-abortion extremists.
The new focus on conspiracy theorists appears to fall under the broader category of anti-government extremism. “This is the first FBI product examining the threat from conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists and provides a baseline for future intelligence products,” the document states. -Yahoo News
The FBI says that while conspiracy theory-driven violence is not new, it's gotten worse as the world has become more connected in an "increasingly partisan political landscape in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election," according to the report.
"The advent of the Internet and social media has enabled promoters of conspiracy theories to produce and share greater volumes of material via online platforms that larger audiences of consumers can quickly and easily access," reads the FBI document, which says it's intent is to "inform discussions within law enforcement as they relate to potentially harmful conspiracy theories and domestic extremism."
What about conspiracy theories that turn out to be true?
Between the looming threats posed by 'deepfakes', Russians, Saudis, and conspiracy theories, is anyone safe from anything anymore?
Do you believe in an elite cabal of untouchable oligarchs guiding the course of history via false flags, perpetual war, and covertly funded militant groups? Do you share these beliefs online?
You might just be engaging in domestic terrorism according to the FBI.
A May 30 intelligence bulletin posted by the bureau's Phoenix field office describes "conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists" as a growing threat, reports Yahoo News.
Does the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory peddled by leading Democrats and amplified by the MSM for over two straight years count?
Apparently not, as the document singles out QAnon - "a shadowy network that believes in a deep state conspiracy against President Trump, and Pizzagate, the theory that a pedophile ring including Clinton associates was being run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant (which didn’t actually have a basement)," according to the report.
(Except they do according to a quote from the owner, James Alefantis, in this 2015 Metro Weekly article)
The report points to the case of Edgar Maddison Welch, who opened fire in the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant at the center of Pizzagate. Welch, who worked for his father's film company - "Forever Young Productions" - walked through the door with an AR-15, "shot off the lock to an inside door, sending a bullet into a computer tower," and told authorities he was there to 'rescue children' (by shooting at a door they might be behind) according to the Washington Post.
"The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts," reads the FBI document, which adds that conspiracy theory-driven extremism is likely to increase during the 2020 presidential election cycle.
The FBI said another factor driving the intensity of this threat is “the uncovering of real conspiracies or cover-ups involving illegal, harmful, or unconstitutional activities by government officials or leading political figures.” The FBI does not specify which political leaders or which cover-ups it was referring to.
President Trump is mentioned by name briefly in the latest FBI document, which notes that the origins of QAnon is the conspiratorial belief that “Q,” allegedly a government official, “posts classified information online to reveal a covert effort, led by President Trump, to dismantle a conspiracy involving ‘deep state’ actors and global elites allegedly engaged in an international child sex trafficking ring.” -Yahoo News
Nevermind that 'global elite' hobnobber Jeffrey Epstein is currently sitting in a jail cell, accused of literal child sex trafficking, and may have been the subject of an attempted hit last week.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has addressed domestic terrorism on multiple occasions over the past several weeks - though he hasn't mentioned conspiracy theories.
In a contentious hearing last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray faced criticism from Democrats who said the bureau was not focusing enough on white supremacist violence. “The term ‘white supremacist,’ ‘white nationalist’ is not included in your statement to the committee when you talk about threats to America,” Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said. “There is a reference to racism, which I think probably was meant to include that, but nothing more specific.” -Yahoo News
After coming under fire for identifying "black identity extremists," Wray told lawmakers that the FBI eliminated separate categories for black identity extremists and white supremacists - saying that the agency is instead focusing on "racially motivated" violence in general.
"I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we've investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence," he added.
In May, Michael C. McGarrity, the FBI’s assistant director of the counterterrorism division, told Congress the bureau now “classifies domestic terrorism threats into four main categories: racially motivated violent extremism, anti-government/anti-authority extremism, animal rights/environmental extremism, and abortion extremism,” a term the bureau uses to classify both pro-choice and anti-abortion extremists.
The new focus on conspiracy theorists appears to fall under the broader category of anti-government extremism. “This is the first FBI product examining the threat from conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists and provides a baseline for future intelligence products,” the document states. -Yahoo News
The FBI says that while conspiracy theory-driven violence is not new, it's gotten worse as the world has become more connected in an "increasingly partisan political landscape in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election," according to the report.
"The advent of the Internet and social media has enabled promoters of conspiracy theories to produce and share greater volumes of material via online platforms that larger audiences of consumers can quickly and easily access," reads the FBI document, which says it's intent is to "inform discussions within law enforcement as they relate to potentially harmful conspiracy theories and domestic extremism."
What about conspiracy theories that turn out to be true?
Between the looming threats posed by 'deepfakes', Russians, Saudis, and conspiracy theories, is anyone safe from anything anymore?
