House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has written a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray expressing surprise over new revelations about the agency’s investigation into “Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology.”
A document from the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, office stoked outrage earlier in 2023 when it suggested there was a possible threat from individuals that adhere to the purported ideology, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The FBI allegedly advised agents to develop sources inside the church, calling them “Mitigation Opportunities.” It recommended that agents engage with certain churches in an attempt to persuade their leadership to work as “tripwire[s]” for the FBI.
In July testimony before Congress, Wray claimed the effort was limited to the Richmond office.
New documents indicate the effort extended to FBI offices in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregan, the Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday.
“This new information suggests that the FBI’s use of its law enforcement capabilities to intrude on American’s First Amendment rights is more widespread than initially suspected and reveals inconsistencies with your previous testimony before the Committee,” Jordan wrote in a letter dated August 9.
Wray called the original Richmond document “appalling” in his July testimony. He claimed the document had been retracted and that an investigation was ongoing.
“[It was] a single product by a single field office, which as soon as I found out about it I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems,” Wray testified, per the Washington Examiner.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, dozens of Catholic churches have faced threats, according to Catholic nonprofit CatholicVote.
The FBI told Fox News Digital back in January that the bureau is “continuing to investigate a series of attacks and threats targeting pregnancy resource centers, faith-based organizations, and reproductive health clinics across the country, as well as to judicial buildings, including the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“The incidents are being investigated as potential acts of domestic violent extremism, FACE Act violations, or violent crime matters, depending on the facts of each case,” the FBI said. “The FBI takes all violence and threats of violence very seriously, and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners at the national, state, and local levels to investigate these incidents.”
