The Department of Homeland Security said in a terrorism alert issued Friday that the upcoming 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, as well as approaching religious holidays, could inspire extremist attacks.
In the National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, the Department of Homeland Security did not mention any specific threats. However, it stated that the United States is in a “heightened threat environment,” which is fueled by factors such as violent extremists motivated by racial and ethnic hatred, as well as resentment of pandemic-era restrictions.
The warnings are issued by the Department of Homeland Security to alert the general public as well as state and local authorities. They are based on information obtained from other law enforcement agencies.
The bulletin is an extension of one that was issued in May and expired on the same day as the new one. Domestic extremists are still a top priority for US law enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security, and will be for the rest of the year.
The agency noted that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula recently published the first English-language edition of its Inspire magazine in four years, ostensibly to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The anniversary and upcoming holidays “could serve as a catalyst for targeted violence,” according to the report.
Domestic extremists motivated by religious and ethnic hatred have attacked houses of worship and other gatherings in the past, but the Department of Homeland Security claims there are no “credible or imminent threats identified to these locations.”
DHS expressed concern about both domestic extremists motivated by “personal grievances and extremist ideological beliefs,” as well as foreign influences, as it had in previous bulletins.
Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government-linked media outlets, according to the agency, have helped spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19’s origins and effectiveness.
