Newly declassified intelligence now shows that most of the reported rise in the number of domestic terrorism cases — cited by the Biden administration as a basis for instituting a sweeping expansion in federal law enforcement — was actually tied to one single event that tipped the scales in their favor: the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.
The artificial inflation of the domestic terrorism threat was revealed in newly-declassified intelligence records from early 2022 made public by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this year.
The declassified “Special Analysis” report by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies from February 2022 revealed that “61 percent” of all alleged domestic terrorism-related cases being investigated by the FBI at the time were related to the Capitol riot, and that “78 percent” of arrests allegedly tied to domestic terrorism in 2021 in fact stemmed from the singular riot in early January 2021.
The Biden administration had long been accused by conservatives and civil libertarians of dodging reality for four years, and he and his party made as much political capital as possible out of the riot, calling it “an insurrection” and a horrific event of domestic terrorism. Thus, the administrative apparatus sought to increase its authority and police powers to pursue domestic terrorists more aggressively.
At the same time that argument was being made, neither Biden nor his subordinates told the public just how overweighted the riot was in their data.
The until-recently-classified document was put together in early 2022 by the “Joint Analytic Cell on Domestic Violent Extremism” run by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The document was declassified by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in late April.
January 6 accounted for 78% of ‘domestic terrorism’ arrests in 2021
“The FBI is investigating approximately 2,950 domestic terrorism-related cases, 61 percent of which are related to the 6 January siege of the US Capitol,” the then-classified Biden administration analysis revealed in 2022. “The size and complexity of U.S. Capitol siege-related investigations have required the Department of Justice, to include the FBI, to surge resources to investigate and prosecute Capitol siege participants, while maintaining an agile security posture to address domestic terrorism threats.”
Biden Admin uses January 6 to shape domestic terrorism policy
Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced only a few days after Biden was inaugurated as president in January 2021 that Biden had ordered a review of the allegedly rising domestic terrorism threat — citing January 6 as her sole example.
The Biden White House soon released its “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism” in June 2021. The White House “fact sheet” at the time said that “on his first full day in office, President Biden directed his national security team to lead a 100-day comprehensive review of U.S. Government efforts to address domestic terrorism, which has evolved into the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today.”
