۴ý

Skip to main content

FBI investigating 'unprecedented' number of threats against bureau in wake of Mar-a-Lago search

Share

The FBI is investigating an "unprecedented" number of threats against bureau personnel and property in the wake of the including some against agents listed in court records as being involved in the recent search, a law enforcement source tells CNN.

On Friday, the names of the two agents who signed the search warrant paperwork circulated online. The names had been included in a version of the search warrant that was leaked prior to the official unsealing of the documents. The version released by the court redacted the agents' names.

The heightened level of threats follows a  for the bureau in which agents executed a search warrant at Trump's Palm Beach property as part of an evidence-gathering step in a national security investigation about presidential records, including classified documents, taken to Florida. The , which was  on Friday, revealed the Justice Department is looking into possible violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records, as part of its investigation.

In the days following the search, violent threats surfaced online, with posters writing, " needs to be assassinated" – referencing Attorney General Merrick Garland, who "personally approved" the decision to seek a warrant -- and "kill all feds." Additionally, the biography and contact information of the federal magistrate judge who signed the search warrant was wiped from a Florida court's website after he too became the target of violent threats.

In a separate incident Thursday, a man who was believed to be armed with an AR-15 rifle and a nail gun . He was killed hours later after a standoff with authorities. Although the suspect's motive has not yet been identified, he had been known to the FBI because he had an unspecified connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and because he had associates within a far-right extremist group, two law enforcement sources told CNN Friday.

FBI Director Chris Wray addressed bureau employees' safety in a memo distributed this week.

"Let me also assure you that your safety and security are my primary concern right now. Security Division is working across the agency as we continue to stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly," Wray said in the statement reviewed by CNN.

The FBI declined to comment on any specific threats against bureau employees, but told CNN in a statement that the bureau "is always concerned about violence and threats of violence to law enforcement, including the men and women of the FBI."

"We work closely with our law enforcement partners to assess and respond to such threats, which are reprehensible and dangerous," the statement said. "As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.