FIRST ON FOX: The FBI interviewed a priest and a church choir director as a part of its investigation into conventional Catholics, a Home Weaponization Committee report obtained by Fox Information Digital revealed, whereas figuring out that subpoenaed paperwork present that there “was no legitimate basis for the memorandum to insert federal law enforcement into Catholic houses of worship.”
The Home Judiciary Committee and the Choose Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Authorities have been investigating the FBI’s categorization of sure Catholic Individuals as potential home terrorists after an FBI Richmond inside memo, titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
SEVERAL FBI OFFICES CONTRIBUTED TO ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO, REFUTING WRAY’S TESTIMONY, GOP SAYS
That memo, which was leaked in January, recognized “radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]” as potential “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” and stated that “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.”
However in keeping with the report, first obtained by Fox Information Digital Monday, the committee discovered that the FBI “abused its counterterrorism tools to target Catholic Americans as potential domestic terrorists.”
“The Committee and Select Subcommittee discovered that the FBI relied on at least one undercover agent to develop its assessment and the FBI even proposed developing sources among the Catholic clergy and church leadership,” the report states. “Not only did the FBI propose to develop sources, but it already interviewed a priest and choir director affiliated with a Catholic church in Richmond, Virginia for the memorandum.”
The committee stated that whistleblower disclosures reveal that the FBI interview of a priest and choir director affiliated with a Catholic church in Richmond, Virginia was used to “inform on the parishioner under investigation.”
The committee additionally stated that with out whistleblower disclosures, the memo “would still be operative in FBI systems, violating the religious liberties of millions of Catholic Americans.”
FBI UNDER PRESSURE AS SENATE, HOUSE MEMBERS SEEK ANSWERS FOR ’DISCRIMINATORY’ ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO
The committee discovered that there have been “errors” made “at every step of the drafting, review, approval, and removal process of the memorandum.”
The report additionally states that the premise of the Richmond memo “relied on a single investigation within the Richmond Area Workplace’s space of duty during which the topic ‘self-described’ as a ‘radical-traditionalist Catholic.'” But the committee found that FBI employees “could not define the meaning of an RTC when preparing, editing, or reviewing the memorandum.”
“Even so, this single investigation became the basis for an FBI-wide memorandum warning about the dangers of ‘radical’ Catholics,” the report states.
UNITED STATES – JULY 12: FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies throughout the Home Judiciary Committee listening to titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” in Rayburn Constructing on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Pictures) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Pictures)
“While the FBI claims it ‘does not categorize investigations as domestic terrorism based on the religious beliefs—to include Catholicism—of the subject involved,’ an FBI-wide memorandum originating from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office did just that,” the report states. “Under the guise of tackling the threat of domestic terrorism, the memorandum painted certain ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics’ (RTCs) as violent extremists and proposed opportunities for the FBI to infiltrate Catholic churches as a form of ‘threat mitigation.’”
However the FBI has denied conducting an investigation based mostly on faith and has maintained that upon the invention of the memo, it was faraway from FBI programs.
The FBI stated that it “investigates violence, threats of violence, and violations of federal law.”
“We do not conduct investigations based solely on religious affiliations or practices, or any other First Amendment protected activity,” the FBI stated in an announcement.
“To be clear,” the FBI stated, “the document was a domain perspective which is an intelligence product designed to address potential threats in a particular area—in this case, the Richmond Field Office’s area of responsibility. Because the product failed to meet FBI standards, it was quickly removed from all FBI systems and a review was launched to determine how it was produced in the first place.”
Consultant Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio and chairman of the Home Judiciary Committee, heart, throughout a listening to in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. FBI Director Wray is testifying earlier than the committee amid calls by some hardline conservatives for his ouster. (Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)
On July 25, the FBI produced a model of the Richmond doc with fewer redactions than the 2 earlier variations it offered. That model revealed that investigations into Catholic organizations in Los Angeles and Portland fed into the Richmond workplace memo. The report states that FBI Milwaukee was additionally concerned.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In the meantime, the report stated that the paperwork obtained by the committee’s subpoena present that “the FBI singled out Americans who are pro-life, pro-family, and support the biological basis for sex and gender distinction as potential domestic terrorists.”
