Jim Hoft, founder of the far-right news blog The Gateway Pundit, called the Federal Bureau of Investigation a “disgrace” after it sent a memo warning that white supremacists posed the biggest threat of deadly violence at nationwide protests following a white Minneapolis Police officer killing George Floyd, a black man.
ABC News reports that the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center issued an intelligence bulletin to local law enforcement warning that white supremacists and other right-wing extremists posed the “greatest threat of lethal violence” at protests across the country. The memo, ABC News reported, “makes only a limited mention of the left-leaning, loosely affiliated antifa movement, and appears to undercut recent criticisms of the movement by President Trump and top administration officials.” Anarchist extremists are mentioned in the memo, however, as the “most significant threat” against police officers and government property.
“WHAT A JOKE,” Hoft’s headline declared.
In the accompanying article, Hoft repeatedly attacked the FBI and its director Christopher Wray, whom right-wing activists have publicly and privately pressured Trump to fire over the agency’s conduct during its investigation into Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Hoft only attacked Wray and the FBI, ignoring the other two agencies involved in the issuance of the bulletin.
“Despite the mass looting and violence by the left Chris Wray’s FBI sent out a memo warning white supremacists pose the greatest risk of violence,” Hoft wrote. “What a disgrace.”
“Maybe it’s time to disband the FBI,” Hoft stated. “It’s become a joke.”
The FBI’s findings are consistent with that of other law enforcement agencies. Federal investigators have found little evidence to support claims from Trump and his supporters that anti-fascist activists have organized violent action at protests for George Floyd. That hasn’t stopped right-wing media outlets and politicians from circulating dangerous disinformation about the protests, resulting in proliferation of antifa scare hoaxes and the targeting of innocent civilians. The Daily Beast reported last week the first 22 criminal complaints related to protests charges did not mention anti-fascism in any way.
