FBI Chief Calls Threats 'Deplorable'

Online posts have called for violence since search of Trump's home
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 10, 2022 7:10 PM CDT
FBI Chief Calls Threats 'Deplorable'
FBI Director Christopher Wray holds a news conference Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The director of the FBI on Wednesday answered supporters of former President Donald Trump who have been using violent rhetoric in the aftermath of his agency's search of Trump's Florida home. Christopher Wray, who was appointed as the agency’s director in 2017 by Trump, called threats circulating online against federal agents and the Justice Department "deplorable and dangerous," the AP reports. "I'm always concerned about threats to law enforcement," Wray said. "Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you're upset with."

Wray made the remarks after a news conference during a long-planned visit to the agency's field office in Omaha, Nebraska, where he discussed the FBI's focus on cybersecurity. He declined to answer questions about the hours-long search Monday by FBI agents of Trump's Palm Beach, Florida, resort. It has been easy to find the threats and a call to arms in those corners of the internet favored by right-wing extremists since Trump himself announced the search of Mar-a-Lago. Reactions included the ubiquitous "Lock and load" and calls for federal agents and even US Attorney General Merrick Garland to be assassinated, as well as other violence.

(More Christopher Wray stories.)

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