National Security

DHS Warns Some Of Those Opposed To COVID-19 Restrictions Could Be Terrorists

(Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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The U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a warning Friday that individuals who are opposed to COVID-19 related restrictions could be a terrorist threat.

The National Terrorism Advisory System issued a bulletin warning of possible terrorist threats ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The bulletin warns that domestic terrorists and “individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence” could strike. However, the bulletin then warns that threats of attacks are “exacerbated by impacts of the ongoing global pandemic, including grievances over public health safety measures and perceived government restrictions.”

The bulletin warns of “anti-government/anti-authority violent extremists” who “may seek to exploit the emergence of COVID-19 variants by viewing the potential re-establishment of public health restrictions across the United States as a rationale to conduct attacks.”

Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson criticized the bulletin Monday night. “For example, the governor of Michigan said it was dangerous to buy paint, but not to get an abortion. If you got questions about that, you’re a terrorist,” he said during the broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” (RELATED: Michigan AG Sought To Arrest Bistro Owner Defying Lockdowns Before Appearance On ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’)

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer deemed several home improvement items, including fruit and vegetable seeds as “non-essential” during the pandemic in April of 2020. Areas in the store where these “non-essential” items were sold were closed off.  Whitmer, along with several other governors, also issued “stay-at-home” orders banning large public gatherings and banned people from traveling within the state to see their friends and family.

Whitmer’s orders sparked lockdown protests, with hundreds of Michiganders storming their capitol in April of 2020, demanding that the state end its restrictions.