The report, originally due in June, has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to FBI Director, Christopher Wray. The FBI told The Daily Beast part of the report is being reviewed by other agencies, while another part is simply incomplete.
In accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act, the FBI is legally required to report to Congress current domestic terror threats and include counter measures the agency and the Department of Homeland Security are taking against the threats.
Director Wray told Congress in September that white supremacy threats are the “biggest chunk” of domestic terrorism threats and detailed how the agency is combating it.
Currently, the FBI places white supremacy in a category called “racially motivated violent extremism.” This makes allocating resources to handle the threat more difficult because it is a broader category.
Without this report, concerns about the upcoming Election Day are growing while some, including Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, believe the report could incite violence from far-right groups.
Representative Thompson told The Daily Beast he thinks the FBI director is delaying the report because “it would not be viewed favorably” by President Donald Trump. Just recently, the FBI foiled a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, proving the reality of the threat of politically motivated white domestic terrorism.
The threat of violence as a result of the report coming out adds to concerns about Election Day security and is part of the reason behind record turnout in the early voting period across the nation.
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