The U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) issued a national terrorism alert on Friday warning that violent extremists may take advantage of the easing of pandemic restrictions to attack.
The Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin does not cite any specific threats, but it does warn of potential danger from an increasingly complex and volatile mix that includes domestic terrorists inspired by various grievances, racial or ethnic hatred, and influences from abroad.
The Chicago Tribune notes that the threats have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which spawned conspiracy theories and deepened anger toward the government already seen in some quarters over the shutdown of the economy.
“Violent extremists may seek to exploit the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions across the United States to conduct attacks against a broader range of targets after previous public capacity limits reduced opportunities for lethal attacks,” the bulletin said.
Today’s alert is an extension of one issued earlier this year in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That alert was due to expire Saturday. The alert also reflects the anxiety over domestic extremists, particularly those motivated by racial and ethnic hatred, that has been building for months, even under the Trump Administration.
The alert warns the public that extremists routinely make use of social media and online platforms to make claims of “a race war” capitalizing on civil disorder “to engage in violence in furtherance of ideological objectives.”
“Ideologically-motivated violent extremists fueled by perceived grievances, false narratives, and conspiracy theories continue to share information online with the intent to incite violence,” the bulletin reads, according to CBS News.
“Today’s terrorism-related threat landscape is more complex, more dynamic, and more diversified than it was several years ago,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in releasing the new bulletin.
