In a letter, Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said they were concerned about threats from terrorists during the outbreak and cited a Missouri man's plot to bomb a hospital treating coronavirus patients last month and a recent ISIS newsletter calling coronavirus "a soldier of Allah."
They also noted that government counterterrorism officials may have been forced to work from home while some front-line police forces have been hobbled as they fight the virus themselves.
"The continuation of existing terrorism threats combined with the prospect of groups like ISIS attempting to exploit the Covid-19 crisis therefore puts a high priority on the federal government maintaining an uninterrupted counterterrorism posture during our response to the pandemic," the senators wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
National security officials have warned in recent weeks that extremist groups are exploiting the pandemic to incite violence and bolster racist and anti-government narratives.
Law enforcement have already responded to a number of plots. In Missouri, a man who was accused of attempting to detonate a car bomb at a hospital treating coronavirus patients was killed in a shootout with authorities, and in Florida, police arrested a man for allegedly threatening to blow up the Orlando Police Department's headquarters and other buildings because people were being "put ... out of work" due to the pandemic.
In the letter, the senators probe the agencies on how the pandemic has disrupted workflow among counterterrorism divisions, asking what percentage of counterterrorism officials are teleworking and inquiring about any changes to the ways that information about the threat from terrorists is being shared both inside the government and with the public.
They also ask about broader strategy changes to the country's counterterrorism efforts, including any potential changes to the latest National Strategy for Counterterrorism.
"impact" - Google News
April 28, 2020 at 07:54PM
https://ift.tt/2VNKwDD
Senators seek details on coronavirus impact on counterterrorism efforts - CNN
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Senators seek details on coronavirus impact on counterterrorism efforts - CNN"
Post a Comment