The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has downplayed an anti-Catholic memo leaked from one of its field offices following public outcry.
The document, released by former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin on UncoveredDC, was purportedly circulated within the FBI Richmond field office on January 23, 2023.
“FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly observed interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development,” the memo opens, as per UncoveredDC.
Claiming to make “this assessment with high confidence,” the Richmond memo admittedly “relied on the key assumption that RMVEs will continue to find RTC ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents.”
In a footnote, the document suggests that “radical-traditionalist” Catholics, “are typically characterized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) as a valid church council; disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II …; and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology.”
Continuing, however, the memo does suggest, “Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from ‘traditionalist Catholics’ who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, but without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”
Citing articles from the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, Salon, and The Atlantic, the FBI memo claimed, “Catalyzing events in which RMVEs and RTC adherents might have common cause include legislation or judicial decisions in areas such as abortion rights, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections.”
Seraphin, relying on his experience in the FBI, denounced the memo on UncoveredDC. He called the research “shoddy” and suggested, “This is what a politicized FBI looks like.”
“It should not be tolerated if Americans expect to enjoy the protections of our Bill of Rights,” he continued.
The initial release garnered national attention, prompting significant backlash from the wider public.
In a statement provided to National Review, the FBI explained, “While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product — disseminated only within the FBI — regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI.”
“Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document,” the statement continued, as per National Review.
“The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity.”
This episode comes as the U.S. House of Representatives begins its first hearings in the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
On Thursday, February 9, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) alleged, “It’s clear to me that the Justice Department and the FBI are suffering from a political infection that, if it’s not defeated, will cause the American people no longer to trust these storied institutions.”
Additionally, former FBI agent Nicole Parker testified, “Over the course of my 12-plus years of service, the FBI’s trajectory transformed.”
“The FBI became politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington trickling down to the field offices,” she claimed. “It’s as if there became two FBI’s.”
The White House, however, has denounced the subcommittee, with spokesman Ian Sams claiming, “Jim Jordan is launching the Fox News reboot of the House Un-American Activities Committee with a political stunt that weaponizes Congress.”
“These extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress are choosing to make it their top priority to go down the rabbit hole of debunked conspiracy theories about a ‘deep state’ instead of taking a deep breath and deciding to work with the President,” he continued.
The Dallas Express reached out to the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth for comment on the FBI memo. No response was received by the time of publication.
