Following the terror attacks in Paris, the FBI is very closely monitoring dozens of people they think pose the highest threat of attempting to carry out a copycat attack in the U.S., according to FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, the two law-enforcement heads said that no relationship exists between the Paris attackers and anyone in the U.S..
Since 2013 more that 70 people have been charged with conduct relating to foreign fighters or homegrown extremism. And while there are around 900 open terror investigations currently, that number has been unaffected since the Paris attacks and federal law enforcement is not aware of any credible terror threats.
Over 100 Joint Terrorism Task Force investigations into ISIS sympathizers are currently open and were “taken up a notch” immediately after the Paris attack.
The job for the FBI now is trying to prioritize those who they think are the highest risk to carry out an attack, as opposed to just consume the terror propaganda.
And while the FBI has seen the trend in Americans attempting to travel to join ISIS slowing down, which could be because ISIS leadership is instructing followers to stay in the U.S. and “kill here,” according to Comey, or the fact that law enforcement is getting its message out about the terrible conditions people living in the “so-called Caliphate” face.
In regards to the refugee crisis, Comey called the recent legislation proposed by the GOP limiting Syrian refugees in America “an impractical response” and that it would be very difficult to say anyone, refugee or not, coming into this country poses zero risk. Lynch also expressed frustration at the insistence that the FBI Director would have to personally sign off on every refugee screened, should the GOP legislation become law.