At a congressional hearing Thursday, a senior FBI official called the anti-fascist movement Antifa the greatest domestic terrorism threat to the United States. However, he had difficulty answering detailed questions about this unstructured far-left movement.
Published at
Michael Glasheen, director of operations for the FBI’s National Security Branch, said Antifa was the agency’s “primary concern” and “the most immediate violent threat we face.”
Mr. Glasheen did not respond to a question from the leading Democrat at the hearing, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, about the group’s whereabouts. Asked about the number of members, Mr Glasheen replied that it was “very variable” and that “investigations were ongoing”.
PHOTO MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson
“Sir, you would not come before this commission to say something that you cannot prove,” Mr. Thompson told Mr. Glasheen. “I know you wouldn’t do that. But you did it. »
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In September, Republican President Donald Trump designated Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, although some extremism experts have argued that Antifa should rather be viewed as an anti-fascist and anti-white supremacy ideology than a hierarchical entity.
The exchange highlighted the partisan divide during the annual hearing on “global threats” before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Mr. Glasheen testified alongside Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security.
The FBI director usually testifies at the annual hearing, but Director Kash Patel did not attend.
Glasheen said later in the hearing that the FBI has 70 active investigations into the Antifa movement and that Antifa-related arrests have increased 171 percent this year.
