(TotalConservative.com) – The Richmond FBI office has come under scrutiny after an analysis done by the House Judiciary Committee revealed they had sent at least one informant into Catholic churches to look for signs of extreme radicalization. This follows on the heels of an FBI memo being leaked that suggested the FBI was attempting to recruit individuals to snoop on congregations they suspect are engaging in “radical-traditionalist” Catholicism.
If that sounds like a contradiction of terms, that’s because it is. Radicals and traditionalists have little in common, the prior seeks dramatic societal changes facilitated by government intervention, and the prior tends to prefer limited government and traditional family values. The FBI seems to believe that there exists a minority of Catholics who could be racial or ethnic extremists, willing to deploy violence. Curiously, they aren’t sending informants in to spy on LGBTQ or radical leftist organizations, or if they are, they aren’t leaking documentation announcing it to the public.
The leaked memo defined ‘radical traditionalist catholicism’ as rejecting the authority of the pope and possessing a blend of antisemitism, racist or anti-LGBTQ beliefs. Their new initiative was a part of their “tripwire program.” That’s the idea that an informant will passively observe a target group and alert authorities if they detect movement toward violence or extreme rhetoric. An FBI whistleblower leaked the memo on Feb 8th, and its authenticity was later verified.
Conveniently, the FBI responded claiming that the memo had already been withdrawn as it did not meet internal standards, and they were reviewing the situation. They also gave the Judiciary Committee an 18-page response which showed that they did review and approve the proposal by two senior analysts, and the memo was sent out to field offices across the country. Was it only withdrawn after the program was exposed?
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was incensed by the disclosure, suggesting that the FBI “regard churches… as the enemy and church-going Americans as akin to terrorists,” during an exchange on “Hannity.”
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