Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 7 January 2025

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

What is the Current State of Domestic Terrorism in the United States?

Since the January 6 insurrection four years ago, domestic terrorism continues to be one of the most pressing threats facing the United States. With President-elect Trump preparing to come back into office in a few weeks, there are growing concerns that the U.S. could experience a spike in domestic terrorism. With threats emanating from across the ideological spectrum, U.S. intelligence agencies are entering 2025 with a complex terror threat landscape.

Analyst Comments:

In mid-December, the FBI arrested an individual in Virginia, who was in possession of what the Bureau calls the largest cache of homemade explosives that it has ever seized. Writings discovered from the Cybertruck bomber in Las Vegas indicated his belief that Democrats should be removed from government and the military; “Try peaceful means first, but be prepared to fight to get the Dems out of the fed government and military by any means necessary. They all must go and a hard reset must occur for our country to avoid collapse.” The hard reset language may allude to the Hard Reset terrorgram publication from 2022, of which FB-ISAO participated in a cross-sector analysis of.

We have seen houses of worship and the faith-based community tragically targeted by domestic terrorists in the past, and with so many lightning rod issues present within society, and the devastating impacts that a lone offender can have, we encourage members of the faith-based community to double down on preparedness and resilience efforts. For those who have not seen it, CISA’s Protecting Houses of Worship Resource Page offers a good resource.