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Updated March 4th, 2021 at 16:09 IST

FBI Chief terms Capitol attack as 'domestic terrorism', defends US intelligence

FBI Director Christopher Wray termed the January riot at the US Capitol as “domestic terrorism”. He further warned of growing ‘homegrown violent extremism’.

Reported by: Akanksha Arora
FBI
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FBI Director Christopher Wray, on Tuesday, March 2, termed the January 6th riots at the US Capitol as “domestic terrorism”. He further warned of growing ‘homegrown violent extremism’ that the law enforcement is working on through thousands of investigations. He further defended the lawmakers of his own his own agency’s handling of an intelligence report that warned of the prospect for violence, rejecting the false claims that anti-Trump groups had organised the riot. 

'We're coming after it'

In a live-streamed testimony broadcasted across multiple television networks,  FBI director Wary said, "we're coming after it", indicating that the law enforcement was establishing any links or evidence of leftists attempting a failed coup but he categorically denied the narrative hurled by Republicans that the insurrectionists were 'fake Trump supporters'.  Last week, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh claimed that the aggressive crowd that stormed the Capitol building 2 months ago were leftist forces disguised as Donald Trump's supporters. The Wisconsin Republican, who attracted a backlash for his remarks, said that the attack did not seem like an "insurrection" as he read from an uncorroborated account.

Read:  FBI Director Debunks Conspiracy Theory, Says Capitol Rioters Not 'fake Trump Protesters'

Speaking to the lawmakers, Wray said, “Jan. 6 was not an isolated event. The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now and it’s not going away anytime soon”. He added, “At the FBI, we’ve been sounding the alarm on it for a number of years now”.

Read: Myanmar Coup Crisis Grows After Years Of US Neglect

Acting US Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, earlier in her testimony, defended the officers saying that the Capitol police became ‘overwhelmed by insurrectionists’ during the January 6 riots. In the congressional testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, Pittman acknowledged the law enforcement’s failure, stating that the department was fully liable to answer the American people. "I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Department," Pittman said.

Read: Harris Speaks With Morrison; Reaffirms Strength Of US-Aus Alliance

Also Read: 'Return To Democracy': US Secretary Of State Holds Dialogue With Venezuela's Guaido

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Published March 4th, 2021 at 15:23 IST

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