Homeland Security Warns Public About 'Heightened Threat Environment' in the Coming Weeks

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Jan 27, 2021 09:25 PM EST

Enrique Tarrio (L), chairman of the alt-right group Proud Boys, speaks with a police officer during the End Domestic Terrorism rally at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on August 17, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Anti-fascism demonstrators gathered to counter-protest a rally held by far-right, extremist groups. (Photo : Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a domestic terrorism warning on Wednesday, citing lingering potential violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden won the election.

DHS warned that the Jan. 6 riot that took hold of the U.S. Capitol may encourage extremists and issue additional attacks. However, the DHS did not mention any specific plots.

Heightened threat after inauguration

The DHS noted that there is a heightened threat environment in the country, believing that it will last weeks after Biden's inauguration, according to an Associated Press report.

"Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence," the bulletin warning read, as reported by ABC News.

The bulletin cited a range of issues behind the domestic terrorism threat. These include anger over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results, and police using force have resulted in occasion carried out attacks against government facilities.

Racial and ethnic tensions have also driven attacks, including opposition to migration.

The same drivers to violence will stay through early 2021, according to the bulletin. It also said that some of the attacks might be triggered by the Capitol breach.

Domestic terrorism threats

On Tuesday, an auto repair shop owner from Napa County, California was charged with possessing five pipe bombs that were unregistered destructive devices, according to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

The bombs were found alongside 49 firearms and more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition, according to a Law and Crime report.

The suspect, Ian Benjamin Rogers, was arrested on Jan. 15 and is currently facing five counts of possessing a destructive device.

He was also charged of five other counts of possessing a destructive device at a private habitation. Rogers is also facing one count of possessing a destructive device with the device to injure.

U.S. Attorney David Anderson said that they alleged Benjamin Rogers possessed homemade pipe bombs and the materials to make more.

The U.S. Attorney added that they draw a line between lawlessness and constitutional freedoms.

"We will prosecute illegal weapons stockpiles regardless of the motivation of the offender," Anderson was quoted on a report.

FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor said that from her research and discussion with other agents and officers, the MG-42 machine gun was produced in Germany during World War II and was used by Nazi troops.

Rogers admitted to authorities that he had indeed built the pipe bombs that were recovered from his home, reasoning that they were for entertainment purposes only, according to court documents.

However, evidence suggested that Rogers may have been motivated by former President Donald Trump's false claims about winning the 2020 election and wanted to use the device for other purposes.

The charging document read that other items were found during the search, such as messages recovered from Rogers's phone, which indicated that the pipe bombs were more than just for entertainment purposes.

Manuals were recovered from Rogers' business, such as two copies of the Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare and a U.S. Army Guerilla Warfare Handbook.

Tags DHS, Domestic terrorism, threat