The Israel-Hamas conflict has created a “sobering” and “unique moment” in confronting an escalated domestic threat landscape in the U.S., Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
The FBI has followed up on more than 1,800 reports of “threats or other types of tips or leads” related to the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Monaco said. More than 100 FBI investigations are currently active.
The biggest threat appears to be lone wolves or small groups, she said.
“I think we’re in a unique moment where what we’re most worried about — those of us in the national security and law enforcement community — are individuals or small groups who are often radicalized online and who are motivated by and influenced by a range of ideologies, from foreign terrorism and foreign terrorist organizations to domestic grievances,” Monaco told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an exclusive sit-down that will air Sunday on “This Week.”
“Oftentimes what we’re seeing in the most lethal form is from racially or ethnically-motivated ideologies,” the deputy attorney general said.
As a result of the threats, federal law enforcement has been stretched thin, causing “a lot of strain” on agencies.
“These are threats, they’re hoaxes, they can involve claims of terrorist financing,” Monaco said, describing the range of what authorities are reviewing. “So that is the volume — the significant uptick in the volume and frequency of the types of reports we’re getting.”
Separately, the Justice Department is also dealing with an increasing number of threats against political and government officials, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice, FBI agents and three presidential candidates.
