MRC Free Speech America update summary: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has declassified several documents that reveal how the Biden administration implemented this censorship practice. She has pledged to both release additional documents and shut down the targeting of Americans as domestic terrorists.
The following article is a supplement to the MRC Report: The Biden Administration Waged War on Free Speech with 57 Censorship Initiatives.
Initiative #36: The Fake Domestic Terror Threat
Type of Censorship: Policy or rulemaking
Agencies Involved:
- Department of Justice
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Department of Homeland Security
- Homeland Intelligence Experts Group
- Department of the Treasury
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
Summary:
Several of the aforementioned censorship initiatives, such as the NSBA School Board Memo (Initiative #27) and the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (Initiative #16), were predicated on the existence of a domestic terror threat. The Biden administration used the spectre of right-wing terror to justify mass surveillance, censorship and targeting of protected speech.
An MRC report reveals how the right-wing terror threat was an illusion. It had been manufactured by the administration, with fake investigations precipitating fake expert reports precipitating very real enforcement actions.
Such a deception required absolute secrecy. When brave individuals blew the whistle on the scheme, they were punished harshly. This unlawful retaliation likely chilled other prospective dissidents from speaking out.
Key Individuals:
- John Brennan, DHS Homeland Intelligence Expert (also former Director of the CIA)
- Kenneth Blanco, FinCEN Director
- James Clapper, DHS Homeland Intelligence Expert (also former Director of National Intelligence)
- Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
- Michael Mosier, Acting FinCEN Director
- Christopher Wray, FBI Director
