FBI Tracks Trump Supporters as New Domestic Terrorist Threat
Federal Agency Quietly Creates New Category of Extremists to Track and Counter
The federal government believes that the threat of violence and major civil disturbances around the 2024 U.S. presidential election is so great that it has quietly created a new category of extremists that it seeks to track and counter: Donald Trump’s army of MAGA followers.
The challenge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the primary federal agency charged with law enforcement, is to pursue and prevent what it calls domestic terrorism without direct reference to political parties or affiliations—even though the vast majority of its current “anti-government” investigations are of Trump supporters, according to classified data obtained by Newsweek.
In October 2022, the FBI created a new subcategory of domestic terrorists designated “AGAAVE-Other,” which applies to individuals motivated by a desire to commit violence against those with a real or perceived association with a specific political party or faction of a specific political party. This new classification is widely seen as applying to Trump supporters.
The FBI’s decision to create a new category of domestic terrorists specific to Trump supporters is controversial, with some experts arguing that it could exacerbate political polarization and lead to further violence. Others argue that the FBI is simply responding to a real and growing threat.
The 2024 presidential election is expected to be one of the most contentious in American history, and the FBI is concerned that the political climate could lead to an increase in violence. The FBI is taking steps to prepare for this possibility, but it is unclear whether it will be able to prevent future violence.
Source: Newsweek