The FBI was cleared by a Justice Department review that found investigators did not intend to target traditional Catholics as potential “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.” Ta.
But a review by the Justice Department’s inspector general said analysts had “erroneously conflated” the religious views of those investigated with allegations of domestic terrorism.
The findings of a 120-day investigation conducted by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz and ordered by Congress are outlined in the document below. letter sent to members of parliament on Thursday.
FBI Richmond, Virginia; internal memo, The document, titled “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist Interest in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Will Almost Surely Bring New Opportunities for Mitigation,” was leaked in January 2023. It drew immediate criticism from Republicans who demanded immediate answers from authorities.
According to the inspector general’s report, the memo, dubbed the “Richmond Product,” was circulated during an investigation into a potentially violent person, identified in the report as “Defendant A,” who was subsequently arrested.
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July 3, 2023 at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Defendant A is not identified in the report, but the date and details of the incident are consistent with the report. Lawsuit against Xavier Lopezwas indicted on federal weapons charges last June.
The FBI had been monitoring the suspect since 2019 because he was an extremist. Opinions on social mediaaccording to the inspector general’s review.
The review said the suspect expressed neo-Nazi rhetoric and referred to himself as a “Catholic clerical fascist.” In a letter to his family, the FBI said, “To wage all-out war against the satanic occultist government and the Zionist satanic bankers that control it, we must use guns, explosives, and other weapons.” It was announced that the company had written that it was necessary to “manufacture”. ”
The indictment against Lopez does not mention the church he attended or that he was under surveillance prior to his arrest in November 2022, and the search of his apartment did not mention Molotov cocktails, which he was prohibited from possessing. A firearm was discovered. Lopez was on probation at the time after pleading guilty to a felony charge of criminal damage to property for slashing the tire.
Although the investigation was adequate, the inspector general’s review criticized aspects of a memo shared by the FBI’s Richmond field office that warned of potential extremism within certain Catholic churches.
” [FBI Inspection Division] The report said there was no evidence of malice or improper purpose; [memo] standards of analytical craft, including the lack of sufficient evidence or clear support for the relationship between RMVE (racially motivated violent extremism) and so-called RTC (radical traditional Catholicism) ideology; failed to comply with the rules and demonstrated an error in professional judgment. Incorrectly conflated subjects’ religious views with RMVE activities, creating the impression that the FBI was inappropriately considering religious beliefs and affiliations as a basis for conducting investigative activities. “This reflects a lack of training and awareness regarding appropriate domestic terrorism terminology,” the inspector general noted.
One of the FBI analysts involved in creating the memo said the purpose was for the Richmond FBI to conduct outreach to these “faith communities” to warn against so-called radicalization in order to protect everyone. He argued that it was about making them aware of the signs.
In his assessment, the inspector general said he and his team found “no evidence that anyone ordered or directed the ‘note takers’ to find connections between RMVE and any particular religious or political affiliation.” ” he pointed out. Fundamental policy direction regarding such connections. ”
The inspector general’s office reviewed text messages and other conversations between the people who wrote the memo at the time and found “no evidence of discriminatory or inappropriate comments were identified about the church at issue in the FBI investigation.” It was not done.” Have certain religious beliefs or have certain political beliefs. ”
The inspector general also said he and his team found no evidence that the FBI took any investigative action involving the church beyond monitoring the suspect’s interactions. Investigators said they interviewed church members about the defendant’s intentions to incite violence.
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The findings of a 120-day investigation led by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz and ordered by Congress were outlined in a letter sent to lawmakers Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“We find that the Richmond Federal Bureau of Investigation used these investigative techniques to obtain information about Defendant A, and not to prepare the Richmond DP or gather information more generally,” Horowitz said. he wrote.
Based on the FBI Inspection Division’s findings, the Inspector General said the FBI would “expand training on analytical tradecraft standards and domestic terrorism language, and strengthen review and approval requirements for intelligence products containing sensitive investigative matters.” “We have taken corrective action, including formal recommendations.” The employees involved. ”
“We have not evaluated the corrective actions taken by the FBI and therefore have no comment,” he said.
Following Mr. Horowitz’s report to Congress, the FBI issued a statement praising his work and concluding that it was consistent with his past statements regarding the case.
“We appreciate the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General’s review. The FBI has stated multiple times that this intelligence product did not meet our rigorous standards and was promptly removed from FBI systems.” “We also stated that there was no intent or action to investigate anyone based on Catholicism or religion, which was confirmed by the OIG findings.”
“The FBI’s mission is to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans while simultaneously protecting our communities from potential threats. We only engage in activities protected by the First Amendment, including religious practices. “We will not conduct an investigation based on this,” he added.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Hart Senate Office Building at the Capitol on December 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Lopez was indicted in federal court in June 2023 on one count of possession of ammunition and one count of possession of a destructive device while a convicted felon. In March this year he pleaded guilty to possessing a destructive device. His sentence is scheduled to be handed down in September.
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Horowitz said preliminary discussions were held with the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Strategies Division to draft a similar memo to send to more field offices, but “those discussions… [memo] To become public. ”
FOX News’ Thomas Phippen, Jake Gibson and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
