FBI Director Christopher Wray warned lawmakers Thursday that there is a growing fear among law enforcement officials of a “coordinated attack” inside the US — weeks after an ISIS assault on a concert hall in Moscow killed 145 people and wounded hundreds more.
“Our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” Wray told a House Appropriations subcommittee.
“But now, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall a couple weeks ago.”
On March 22, four gunmen affiliated with ISIS-K, a terrorist group that largely operates out of Afghanistan and Pakistan, stormed Moscow’s Crocus City Hall ahead of a sold-out concert, killing at least 145 people and wounding 551 more.
US officials claim that Washington warned the Kremlin in advance of the attack, but Russian officials failed to take sufficient action to thwart the rampage.
Wray’s renewed warning about the threat environment came amid his testimony on the bureau’s fiscal year 2025 budget request.
“As I look back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard-pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once,” he said in his prepared remarks.
“But that is the case as I sit here today. This is not a point when we can let up.”
Wray has issued similar warnings in the past, especially in the months that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in Israel that killed some 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.
“This is by no means a time to let up or dial back,” he added. “This is a time when we need your support the most — we need all the tools, all the people, and all the resources required to tackle these threats and to keep Americans safe.”
His testimony took place against the backdrop of deep unease among some House Republicans over the bureau, with some suggesting that the FBI be defunded over purported bias against conservatives.
Additionally, Wray emphasized his call for Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is set to expire on April 19.
An effort to pass a rule advancing a renewal of that surveillance authority flamed out on the House floor Wednesday when 19 Republicans voted against it.
Wray also called FISA renewal “critical in securing our nation, and we’re in crunch time.”
