US faces high risk of domestic terrorism with war on Iran and Justice Department cuts

Trump confirms he attacked Kharg Island in Iran In New York City, two men who federal authorities say were inspired by the Islamic State took powerful homemade bombs to a far-right protest in front of the mayor’s official residence. In Michigan, a naturalized American citizen, originally from Lebanon, rammed his vehicle into a synagogue, where he was shot by security before taking his own life. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp In Virginia, a man who had previously been arrested for terrorism was heard shouting “Allahu akbar” before opening fire in a university classroom, in an attack that, according to authorities, ended when the shooter was killed by students. The three acts of violence over the past week highlighted a growing terrorist threat, amid the United States’ war with Iran and as the country’s counterterrorism system faces pressure due to the departure of experienced national security professionals from the FBI and the United States Department of Justice. The layoffs and resignations, coupled with the redirection of resources and personnel over the past year to address other priorities of Donald Trump’s administration, have fueled concerns about the ability to prevent a possible increase in threats. Follow LIVE the latest developments in the war in the Middle East “So much experience has been decimated from the ranks,” said Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI official. According to him, the people best positioned to investigate and stop something serious before it happens are, in many cases, no longer in government, meaning less experienced professionals assigned to deal with the threat are “starting far behind.” The FBI said it would not comment on personnel numbers and decisions, but released a statement saying that “agents and employees are dedicated professionals who work around the clock to defend the country and combat violent crime. The FBI continually evaluates and realigns its resources to ensure the safety of the American people.” Attack on synagogue in Michigan this week AP Iran has a history of planning attacks and assassinations in the US Iran has promised revenge for the death of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, blamed on the United States and Israel. Although fighting has so far been restricted to the Middle East, the Islamic Republic has long declared its determination to carry out attacks on American soil. Iranian agents, for example, responded to the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, during the first Trump administration, with a contract assassination plan that ended up foiled and targeted former national security advisor John Bolton. A Pakistani businessman who said he followed instructions from a contact in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was convicted in New York last week of trying to hire assassins in 2024 for assassination plots against public figures, including President Donald Trump, who was then a candidate. Although much attention is focused on the use of intermediaries or executioners hired by Iran to carry out attacks, the country’s ability to organize a major attack on American soil is still uncertain, despite the concerns. The FBI warned in a recent bulletin to security forces about Iran’s aspirations to carry out a drone attack against California, but later stressed that the information was not confirmed and that there was no knowledge of a specific plan. Lone attackers are a constant concern After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States government profoundly overhauled its intelligence and national security systems to prevent similar events. Still, over the years, individuals radicalized online have carried out attacks such as the 2015 attack on two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the massacre at an Orlando nightclub the following year, in which a gunman killed 49 people while attacking what he called “the filthy ways of the West.” These attacks conducted by autonomous individuals have proven notoriously difficult to prevent and occurred even when the FBI was not facing layoffs and internal turmoil like it was in the first year of the Trump administration. “They act on their own,” said former FBI agent Edward Herbst. “That’s what makes them really lethal. You never know when they’re going to emerge or when and where they’re going to strike.” Concerns about terrorism often increase during periods of international conflict, when military operations abroad are accompanied by increased surveillance at home — including more frequent contacts by agents with their sources, greater sharing of information between federal and local law enforcement agencies, and closer coordination between FBI joint counterterrorism task forces, said Claire Moravec, a former FBI national security official. Authorities said there is no indication that the men arrested over the explosives in New York or the person responsible for Thursday’s shooting at Old Dominion University were explicitly motivated by the war with Iran. The man who rammed his car into the Temple Israel synagogue near Detroit lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon last week, according to a Lebanese official. Still, wars like the one involving Iran can act as “accelerators,” increasing the volume and intensity of resentment among already radicalized people, Moravec said. “Ultimately, the goal during these periods is not ‘surveillance’ but to maintain broad awareness of how international events can translate into homeland security risks so that threats can be identified and stopped early,” she wrote in an email. Layoffs and departures at the FBI and Justice Department The Justice Department’s National Security Division was created in 2006 to deal with threats from terrorism, espionage and other risks. Over the past year, lawyers in the division have been tasked with reviewing Jeffrey Epstein’s files to prepare them for public release, while elite sectors dedicated to prosecuting terrorists and capturing spies have experienced heavy turnover. About half of the division’s counterterrorism prosecutors have left their positions since the start of the Trump administration, with about a third of the senior leadership, according to estimates from Justice Connection, a network of former department officials. A Justice Department spokesperson said the division’s focus remains “keeping Americans safe from foreign and domestic threats” and that there are no known or credible threats to the U.S. homeland. FBI Director Kash Patel has fired dozens of agents, most recently about a dozen employees who worked on the counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. FBI Director Kash Patel AP “It’s not an exaggeration to say they’re not as capable as they were a year and a half ago,” said Matthew Olsen, who led the National Security Division during the Joe Biden administration, in an interview with the Lawfare podcast. According to him, the most experienced agents and prosecutors who worked with the Iranian threat were lost — through dismissals, forced departures or removals. In the field of national security, where expertise and source development are critical, the loss of institutional knowledge and community relations can be devastating, Montoya said. “There was no transition,” he said of the abruptly fired officers. “These people were simply escorted out of the building.” New agents might call and ask what was being done, he said, but “you’re still introducing a completely new face into the equation.” VIDEOS: The most viewed now on g1 See the videos that are trending on g1

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