undefined on Instagram: "commondreamsA top FBI official struggled on Thursday to answer basic questions about antifa, a loosely organized collective of anti…"
commondreamsA top FBI official struggled on Thursday to answer basic questions about antifa, a loosely organized collective of anti-fascist activists that he labeled the top terrorist threat facing the US.Michael Glasheen, operations director of the FBI’s National Security Branch, testified before the US House Committee on Homeland Security that antifa was “the most immediate violent threat” facing Americans today when it comes to domestic terrorism.But when Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, asked Glasheen for specifics about this purportedly dire threat, he mostly came up empty.“So where is antifa headquarters?” Thompson asked him.Glasheen paused for several seconds and then said, “What we’re doing right now with the organization...” before Thompson interrupted him.“Where in the United States does antifa exist?” asked Thompson.“We are building out the infrastructure right now,” Glasheen replied.“So what does that mean?” asked a bewildered Thompson. “I’m just, we’re trying to get information. You said antifa is a terrorist organization. Tell us, as a committee, how did you come to that? Whether they exist, how many members do they have in the United States as of right now?”“Well, that’s very fluid,” Glasheen said. “It’s ongoing for us to understand that... no different from al-Qaeda and ISIS.”Thompson again interrupted and tried to make Glasheen answer his original question.“If you said antifa is the No. 1 domestic terrorist organization operating in the United States,” he said, “I just need to know where they are, how many people. I don’t want a name, I don’t want anything like that. Just, how many people have you identified, with the FBI, that antifa is made of?”“Well, the investigations are active...” Glasheen said.Thompson then became incredulous.“Sir, you wouldn’t come to this committee and say something you can’t prove,” he said. “I know you wouldn’t do that. But you did.”Read more at the link in our bio.Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images