Mike Pence Condemns Threats Against FBI in Wake of Mar-a-Lago Search
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WASHINGTON—Former Vice President Mike Pence condemned threats against the Federal Bureau of Investigation that officials say have increased since the Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
“We can hold the attorney general accountable for the decision that he made without attacking rank-and-file law enforcement personnel at the FBI,” Mr. Pence said Wednesday at an event at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College, referring to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s approval of the action.
“The Republican Party is the party of law and order,” Mr. Pence added. “Our party stands with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line at the federal and state and local level.”
Mr. Pence, whose presence in New Hampshire underscored his consideration of a potential run for the presidency in 2024, said he was troubled to learn that the FBI had searched Mr. Trump’s personal residence, citing his previous concerns about politicization at the FBI. He said Mr. Garland should give the American public a fuller explanation why the search was necessary.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly posted on Truth Social accusing the FBI of being corrupt, saying in one post that the search was “an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country.”
Christina Bobb, a lawyer for the former president, said Mr. Trump has never supported violence, in an interview on Fox News this week. A Trump spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday
Recent threats have included an armed attacker at the bureau’s Cincinnati field office and a western Pennsylvania man charged with threatening to kill FBI agents.
The FBI’s response to the threats has included the erection of barricades around part of its Washington headquarters in anticipation of protests. The bureau also has issued a joint memo with the Department of Homeland Security warning about an increase in threats of violence against law-enforcement officials following the Mar-a-Lago search.
Law-enforcement officials said the threats are unlikely to relent soon, particularly with the November midterms approaching.
“The threats we have observed, to date, underscore that [domestic extremists] may view the 2022 midterm election as an additional flashpoint around which to escalate threats against perceived ideological opponents, including federal law-enforcement personnel,” said the memo, which was issued to state and local officials by the FBI and DHS over the weekend.
The memo, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the threats are occurring primarily online on social-media and web forums. They include a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of the FBI’s Hoover Building headquarters and issuing general calls for “civil war” and “armed rebellion,” the memo said.
“Some of these threats are specific in identifying proposed targets, tactics or weaponry,” the memo said, adding that online posters have been sharing personal information about targets including their home addresses and names of their family members.
Government officials associated with the Mar-a-Lago search, including the federal magistrate in Florida who approved the warrant, have also been receiving threats, according to the memo. Protests have taken place outside some FBI field offices in recent days.
“The FBI is always concerned about violence and threats of violence to law enforcement, including the men and women of the FBI,” the bureau said in a statement Wednesday, adding that it was working with state and local officials to address the threats “which are reprehensible and dangerous.”
Last week, a man attacked the FBI’s Cincinnati field office before being shot to death by police. Ricky Shiffer, a military veteran, attempted to break through bulletproof glass at the FBI office using a nail gun and brandished an AR-15-style rifle, officials said. He fled the scene and was later killed after a shootout with police, according to officials.
Before his death, Mr. Shiffer had posted online advocating attacking FBI agents, according to law-enforcement officials.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) condemned such threats while also criticizing the timing of the Mar-a-Largo search just months before the November midterms.
“Those who advocate for violence and engage in violent activity—for whatever reason—should face severe consequences,” Mr. Graham said on Twitter earlier this week.
A western Pennsylvania man was indicted this week for allegedly making threats of violence against FBI personnel. According to court documents, Adam Bies posted threats online against FBI officials, saying they deserved to die. “You’ve declared war on us and now it’s open season on YOU,” Mr. Bies wrote in one post, according to court documents.
Alex Leary contributed to this article.