The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a terrorism advisory bulletin Wednesday warning of a “heightened threat environment,” referencing the recent assault on Paul Pelosi assault and the Colorado Club Q shooting.
The DHS bulletin, a summary of the “terrorism threat” in the U.S., suggested that there is an increased potential for “threat actors” to exploit events over the holiday through violence. The advisory pointed to the recent shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, in which five people were fatally shot, and the home invasion and assault on Paul Pelosi as events that received praise from online hate communities and contributed to the heightened threat environment.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, the suspected Club Q shooter, was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated crime, and Pelosi’s attacker, David DePape, was charged with assaulting and attempting to kidnap a U.S. official’s immediate family member. (RELATED: Congressional Republicans Urge FBI And DHS To Designate Jane’s Revenge Attacks As Domestic Terrorism)
“Following the late November shooting at an LGBTQI+ bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado—which remains under investigation—we have observed actors on forums known to post racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist content praising the alleged attacker,” the bulletin reads.
Today, @SecMayorkas issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin regarding the continued heightened threat environment across the United States.
Read the full #NTAS Bulletin here: https://t.co/F5WyQ5OSdt pic.twitter.com/3Lb28EAv1R
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 30, 2022
Aldrich identifies as “non-binary” and used “they/them” pronouns, attorneys said in a court filing; following the shooting, his “non-binary” identity quelled popular narratives that the shooting was inspired by animosity toward individuals who identify as LGBTQ. The DHS release does not mention Aldrich’s sexual identity and only references online discussions regarding the attack as potentially inspiring “threat actors.”
In October, Paul Pelosi was allegedly attacked by DePape in his and House Speaker Nancy Pelosis’s San Francisco home, and the DHS advisory noted that the suspect in the Pelosi attack was “allegedly inspired by partisan grievances and conspiracy theories.”
However, multiple individuals close to DePape reportedly characterized him as “mentally ill” and a drug user who frequently struggled with homelessness, which DHS did not mention when assessing his alleged inspirations.
The DHS listed potential targets in the advisory bulletin as public gatherings, faith-based institutions, the LGBTQ community, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media and perceived ideological opponents. The DHS also suggested that the attackers could be motivated by grievances based on “perceptions that the government is overstepping its Constitutional authorities or failing to perform its duties.”
The DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment.
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