Biden admin labeled those who opposed Covid vax mandates 'domestic violent extremists'

Newly declassified intelligence documents reveal that the Biden administration labeled Americans opposing COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates as “domestic violent extremists,” according to journalist Catherine Herridge.

The records, declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, indicate that the designation of these individuals created an “articulable purpose” for agencies such as the FBI to open an “assessment” of individuals, the first formal step toward a formal investigation.

The 2021 intelligence report, coauthored by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), was titled “DVEs and Foreign Analogues May React Violently to COVID-19 Mitigation Mandates.” It categorized individuals critical of vaccine and mask mandates as “anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists,” claiming that militias “characterize COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates as evidence of government overreach.” It further claimed that a range of COVID-19 narratives “have resonated” with these individuals, “motivated by QAnon.” 

The report cited criticism of mandates as “prominent narratives” associated with violent extremism, such as narratives that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe, especially for children. It also included the belief that the vaccines were part of a conspiracy to “deprive individuals of their civil liberties and livelihoods, or are designed to start a new social or political order.”

“It’s a way they could go to social media companies and say, ‘You don’t want to propagate domestic terrorism so you should take down this content,’” explained former FBI agent Steve Friend, per Public.

A separate report from February 2022, titled “Special Analysis: Joint Analytic Cell,” explored the broader “sociopolitical factors amplifying persistent domestic violent extremist threat.” While it also connected opposition to COVID-19 mandates to increased extremist activity, the data showed that the majority of domestic terrorism cases handled by the FBI were actually related to the events that took place on January 6. These cases included instances of “parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building.”