FBI director says US is facing highest risk of attack in years

FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned that the United States faces the greatest risk of a terrorist attack in years in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas atrocity in Israel. Wray warned the Senate Judiciary Committee that there are “blinking red lights” everywhere when asked to assess the “threat matrix” facing the US. “The threat level has gone to a whole 'different level' since October 7,” Wray said.

His comments come at a time when US forces are being subjected to a barrage of attacks in the Middle East and with Jewish and Muslim communities being targeted at home. Since October 17, there have been at least 74 attacks on US bases and troops. The agency is “moving quickly” to stop threats against Jews and Muslims across the country, he emphasized, giving his grim analysis of the situation at the border.

He said enough fentanyl was flowing in from Mexico to kill every American and admitted he was “concerned” that migrant crossings increased terrorist risks. Wray warned that “violent extremists” in the US and abroad could take inspiration from the Hamas attack, and that the FBI is “working around the clock” to stop these potential attacks.

He said: 'What I would say is unique about the environment that we are in now, in my career, is that there may have been times over the years where individual threats here and there could have been greater than where they should be. than is the case now, I've never seen a time where all the threats, or so many threats, are all high at exactly the same time.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked him, “So, an analogy to flashing red lights about September 11th – apparently all the lights were flashing red before September 11th. 'Obviously we all missed it. Would you say there are several flashing red lights there?' Wray replied, “I see red lights flashing everywhere.”

He said the US is facing threats from a “real rogue gallery of terrorists.” Wray used the hearing to make a new pitch for the renewal of a major spy program, saying it would be “devastating” if it were allowed to lapse. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires at the end of this year. It allows the US government to collect, without a warrant, the communications of targeted foreigners outside America.

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