On Wednesday, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog about a recent National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin. The article includes a scribd of the bulletin. I will post some of the highlights, but please follow the link above to read the entire article.

The bulletin states:

The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors.

…These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence.

…Key factors contributing to the current heightened threat environment include:

1. The proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions:

* For example, there is widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19. Grievances associated with these themes inspired violent extremist attacks during 2021.

…Some domestic violent extremists have continued to advocate for violence in response to false or misleading narratives about unsubstantiated election fraud. The months preceding the upcoming 2022 midterm elections could provide additional opportunities for these extremists and other individuals to call for violence directed at democratic institutions, political candidates, party offices, election events, and election workers.

Maybe my memory is going in old age, but I seem to remember that the violence in 2020 and 2021 was the work of  Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other anarchist groups. I remember what happened to the people who left the Republican convention meeting at the White House. There was a riot on January 6th in Washington, but the damage and loss of live on that day was  minuscule compared to what happened the summer before. When you compare the sentences of the January 6th rioters to the sentences of the rioters from the summer of 2020 (article here), you really begin to wonder about the priorities and values of our Justice and Homeland Security Departments.