The Federal Bureau of Investigation is facing criticism for encouraging Americans to monitor “family members and peers” for “signs of mobilization to violence.”
What they said: The FBI on Monday posted a tweet, urging followers to “help prevent homegrown violent extremism” by keeping an eye on their family members and friends and educating themselves on how to recognize “suspicious behavior and report them to the FBI.”
The tweet linked to a 2019 edition of the “Homegrown Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators” report by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the FBI.
It defines Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs) as “a person of any citizenship who lives or operates primarily in the United States or its territories, and who advocates, engages in, or is preparing to engage in or support terrorist activities in furtherance of a foreign terrorist organization’s objectives, but who is acting independently of foreign terrorist direction.”
The report notes that it puts an emphasis on “individuals or groups that are inspired or enabled by foreign terrorist organizations, including but not limited to ISIS, al-Qa‘ida, [sic] and their affiliates and allies.”
Critics slammed the agency for the tweet, accusing the FBI of urging Americans to turn on each other.
“In both Cuba & China, they also ask children to spy on their parents….,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence, wrote that the FBI’s tweet “is outrageous” and that the agency “has a growing credibility problem and this type of sinister snitching is clearly unhelpful.”
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that the agency “wants you to spy on your family but isn’t at all concerned about a years worth of rioting, looting, arson & murder.”
“They target grandams taking selfie’s [sic] but not people placing bombs at the RNC,” he added.
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