© ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty ImagesThe US Department of Homeland Security building building is seen in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP) (Photo by ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images)
Violent extremists could take advantage of the easing of coronavirus restrictions to attack higher-capacity targets, the Department of Homeland Security said in a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin Friday.
"Violent extremists may seek to exploit the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions across the United States to conduct attacks against a broader range of targets after previous public capacity limits reduced opportunities for lethal attacks," the bulletin said.
Domestic extremists motivated by racial or ethnic biases have in the past targeted houses of worship or crowded commercial facilities or gatherings, the bulletin said. Coronavirus-related capacity limits on such locations are being lifted across the country as vaccination rates increase and virus cases decline.
Authorities are not aware, however, of any specific plot, and the warning was a part of a summary of the current terrorism threats facing the country. The bulletin reinforced the dangers of domestic extremists and homegrown threats - the second time the department has done so since President Joe Biden took office. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said repeatedly that domestic terrorists, including those motivated by hate, currently pose one of the biggest terrorism threats to the U.S.
"The Homeland is facing threats that have evolved significantly and become increasingly complex and volatile in 2021," the bulletin says. "These threats include those posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or influenced by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences. Social media and online forums are increasingly exploited by these actors to influence and spread violent extremist narratives and activity. Such threats also are exacerbated by the impacts from the ongoing global pandemic."
The bulletin builds on one issued in January shortly after the Jan. 6 insurrection and Biden's inaugural warning of threats from extremists, including those fueled by "false narratives."
Mayorkas in a statement Friday that the terrorism-related threat landscape has grown "more complex, more dynamic, and more diversified than it was several years ago."
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