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FBI reportedly monitoring border activist groups as ‘extremists’

It is investigating the activists’ social media activity.

 

Samira Sadeque

IRL

Posted on Sep 5, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 4:41 am CDT

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reportedly investigating the social media activity of groups protesting U.S. border policy and tracking them as “extremist organizations,” a Yahoo News investigation has revealed. 

According to an “External Intelligence Note” reviewed by Yahoo, the FBI is working with insider sources who have “direct access” to the groups.

The eight-page document, titled “Anarchist Extremists Very Likely Increasing Targeting of US Government Entities in Arizona, Increasing Risks of Armed Conflict,” refers to members of the groups as “anarchist extremists (AEs).” FBI Phoenix has reportedly determined the “extremists” are armed and capable of using deadly force.  

The report references the activists’ online activity. One reportedly posted about “disruptive actions” against Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in April. And a posting on an “anarchist extremist” website was intended to inspire a “trajectory of rebellion” and “attacks” against the U.S. government.

At an alleged antifa training in Flagstaff, Arizona, in April of 2018, members received “firearms familiarization training” and trainers had rifles and handguns on display. 

Nearly all the evidence noted in the document were non-violent protests and other activities, according to Yahoo News.

The FBI states that as long as border security programs remain “firm,” the activists’ “threat to Arizonia” will intensify and become more frequent.

“In Arizona, border issues likely will remain central to AEs’ opposition to the federal government and continue to influence target selection for operations,” the report reads. 

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H/T Yahoo News

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*First Published: Sep 5, 2019, 7:20 pm CDT