DHS updates terrorism bulletin in the wake of recent violent events and Russia-Ukraine tensions

By Geneva Sands, CNN

The spread of conspiracy theories and disinformation is fueling the “heightened threat” environment in the United States, warns the latest national bulletin issued Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.

The terrorism bulletin is in part a response to recent events, including a hostage attack on a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, and threats directed at historically black colleges and universities, as well as a shift in Russian influence campaigns related to Ukraine.

This bulletin “outlines the key factors that have increased the volatility, unpredictability, and complexity of the current threat environment, and highlights resources for individuals and communities to stay safe,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

The National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin is the principal way DHS informs the public about any changes to the terrorism landscape in the US. The last one, issued in November, was set to expire this week.

Threats against the United States are increasingly unpredictable and complex amid a host of conspiracy theories, foreign interference and calls for violence, the new DHS bulletin says.

Although Russia is not named in the bulletin, a senior DHS official said it is “one of those foreign hostile powers that has engaged in a sustained level of information influence operations targeting the US.”

Russia has promoted a variety of narrative content through various means to US populations, particularly focusing on government response to Covid-19 and issues of race and immigration, as well as the 2020 election, according to the official.

The synagogue attack highlights the continuing threat of violence based on racial or religious motivations, as well as threats against faith-based organizations, the bulletin says.

During and after Colleyville, DHS began seeing content posted online pointing to the attack “as an example of the types of activities that lone offenders or others should be taking … in support of ISIS or al Qaeda,” the senior DHS official said.

There was also an increase in calls for attacks among those who are supportive of Aafia Siddiqui, an al Qaeda operative who is in custody in Texas, and the hostage taker referenced, according to the official.

“Ironically,” the official said, there have also been calls on White supremacist platforms “noting the events in Colleyville.”

The primary terrorism threat to the US continues to be from lone offenders or small groups who are motivated by a range of foreign and domestic grievances “often cultivated through the consumption of certain online content,” the bulletin says.

Both the Colleyville incident and the threats against universities and colleges are examples of continued calls for violence directed at US critical infrastructure, mass gatherings, faith-based institutions, institutions of higher education, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, and perceived ideological opponents, according to the bulletin.

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