WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday warned that Hamas’ actions in the Middle East could inspire other terrorist attacks, including by violent extremists in the U.S.
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago,” Wray said in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee at a hearing focused on threats to America.
Wray, who testified alongside Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other U.S. officials, said multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West in just the last few weeks.
“Here in the United States, our most immediate concern is that violent extremists — individuals or small groups — will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives,” he told senators. “That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities.”
Wray said the FBI arrested a man in Houston last week who was studying how to build bombs and posted online about his support for killing Jews. The FBI director also highlighted the brutal killing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois earlier this month that his agency is investigating as a hate crime.
The FBI, he continued, has “multiple, ongoing investigations” into people affiliated with Hamas.
“Bottom line, we’re going to continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people and support our partners in Israel,” he said. “Protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism is, and remains, our No. 1 priority.”
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel, antisemitism has been rising exponentially, especially on college campuses. The FBI is involved, for example, in investigating the antisemitic threats of violence against Jewish students on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
The Biden administration unveiled new actions Monday that seek to combat antisemitism at U.S. colleges and universities. According to the plan shared with NBC News, the departments of Justice and Homeland Security are collaborating with campus law enforcement to track hate-related threats and provide resources to schools.
Wray’s testimony came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified before another Senate committee on Tuesday morning about the Israel-Hamas war and the Biden administration’s supplemental funding request to provide more aid to both Israel and Ukraine.