On Friday, the names of the two agents who signed the search warrant documents were circulated online. The names were included in a version of the search warrant that expired before the documents were officially unsealed. The version released by the court redacted the names of the agents.
The heightened level of threats comes after a high-profile week 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 into presidential records, including classified documents taken to Florida. The order, which was unsealed and released by a federal judge on Friday, revealed that the Justice Department is looking into possible violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government documents as part of its investigation. In the days following the search, threats of violence appeared online, with posters saying “Garland must be killed” — referring to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who “personally approved” the decision to seek a warrant — and “kill all the feds.” In addition, the biography and contact information of the federal magistrate who signed the search warrant was deleted from the Florida court’s website after he also became the target of violent threats. In a separate incident Thursday, a man believed to be armed with an AR-15 rifle and a nail gun tried to break into the FBI’s Cincinnati field office. He was killed hours later after a standoff with authorities. Although the suspect’s motive has not yet been identified, he was known to the FBI because he had an unspecified connection to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and because he had associates in a far-right extremist group, two sources from law enforcement officials told CNN on Friday.
FBI Director Chris Wray addressed the safety of the bureau’s employees in a memo released this week.
“Let me also assure you that your safety and security is my primary concern at this time. The security department is working across the agency as we continue to be vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly,” Wray said in a statement seen by CNN.
The FBI declined to comment on any specific threats against bureau officers, but told CNN in a statement that the bureau is “always concerned about violence and threats of violence against 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 notice anything suspicious, to report it to law enforcement immediately.”
CNN’s Evan Perez and Shawna Mizell contributed to this report.
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