House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed FBI Director Christopher Wray to send over all documents associated with an operation that targeted Catholics.The operation took place at the Richmond, VA, field office. Documents revealed the agency placed sources and at least one undercover employee at “mainline Catholic parishes” because if you’re a traditional Catholic, then you’re a white supremacist:
Ultimately, there may be limits to the level of engagement between RTCs and other far-right white nationalists. For example, many RTCs consider other forms of Christianity to be heretical and an over-emphasis on white nationalism may be off-putting to RTCs of different ethnicities and countries of origin. Conversely, deep-seated anti-Catholicism remains a characteristic of many far-right white nationalists. Nonetheless, the current trend of RMVE [racially/ethnically motivated violent extremist] interest in RTC ideology provides new opportunities to mitigate the RMVE threat through outreach to traditionalist parishes and the development of sources with the placement and access to report on RMVEs seeking to use RTC on social media sites or places of worship as facilitation platforms to promote violence.
You like the Latin Mass? You’re a white supremacist. You like the old traditions of the Catholic Church? You’re a radical.
FBI headquarters revoked the documents from the Richmond office.
The House Judiciary Committee has been demanding all documents about the operation since February:
On February 16, 2023, Chairman Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) sought information from the FBI relating to a January 23, 2023 “domain perspective” document generated by the Richmond Field Office entitled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.” After receiving no response, the Committee reiterated its request in a subsequent letter dated March 20, 2023. On March 23, 2023, the FBI produced a substandard and partial response consisting of only 18 pages—many with significant redactions of “personally identifiable information” or “specific non-public information about [FBI] investigations, sources, and methods” that prevents the Committee from fully assessing the content and context of the documents and obtaining information requested from the Bureau.
In the subpoena cover letter, Jordan told Wray the committee needs “all responsive material without redactions.” Jordan provided a few examples from the latest batch of documents:
The limited information that was provided to the Committee makes clear that we must possess all responsive material without redactions. From this selective production, we know that the FBI, relying on information derived from at least one undercover employee, sought to use local religious organizations as “new avenues for tripwire and source development.” For example, in a section of the document entitled “Opportunities,” the FBI wrote:
In addition to [redaction], engage in outreach to the leadership of other [Society of Saint Pius X] chapels in the FBI Richmond [area of responsibility] to sensitize these congregations to the warning signs of radicalization and to enlist their assistance to serve as suspicious activity tripwires.
The FBI similarly noted two other opportunities to engage in outreach with religious institutions in the Richmond area, citing a desire “to sensitize the congregation to the warning signs of radicalization and enlist their assistance to serve as suspicious activity tripwires.” This outreach plan even included contacting so-called “mainline Catholic parishes” and the local “diocesan leadership[].” The FBI also expressed an interest in “leverag[ing] existing sources and/or initiat[ing] Type 5 Assessments to develop new sources with the placement and access” to report on suspicious activity.
“The documents produced to date show how the FBI sought to enlist Catholic houses of worship as potential sources to monitor and report on their parishioners,” wrote Jordan. “Americans attend church to worship and congregate for their spiritual and personal betterment. They must be free to exercise their fundamental First Amendment rights without worrying that the FBI may have planted so-called ‘tripwire’ sources or other informants in their houses of worship.”
A church in Oklahoma City has Mass in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Is that also extreme?
It makes you wonder where else they spied. I doubt the Richmond office is the only one.
Catholics and Catholic churches have been under attack since someone leaked Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. The attacks escalated when SCOTUS officially overturned Roe v. Wade.
But hey, we’re the radicals. The FBI trusted the Southern Poverty Law Center and cited articles from Salon and The Atlantic. Such trustworthy places!
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