FBI director warns of jihadist attack in the US, similar to the one in a Russian concert hall: “Increased terrorist threat”

US News

By Greg Wehner, Fox News

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that concerns are growing about a possible coordinated attack in the United States, similar to the attack by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) on a concert hall in Russia in March.

Wray met with the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to make his case for the department’s request for $11.3 billion for fiscal year 2025, $661 million more than last year.

He told the subcommittee members that he had explained to them at his meeting last year that the threat level in the United States had already increased before and that the threat from foreign terrorists had since reached new levels.

“In my time as FBI director alone, we prevented several terrorist attacks in cities and communities across the country. We need money to continue to protect America from terrorism,” he said.

Wray went on to say that since October 7, the FBI has been monitoring a whole “criminal gallery” of foreign terrorist organizations calling for attacks on the United States and its allies.

“In light of these calls to action, our greatest concern is that individuals or small groups could perversely use events in the Middle East to inspire attacks here at home,” he said.

“But now there is also growing concern that there could be a coordinated attack here at home, not unlike the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russian concert hall in March.”

On March 22, the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow was attacked by terrorists, leaving 137 people dead and over 180 injured.

The perpetrators of the attack were identified by Russian media as Tajik citizens. The terrorists entered the hall with automatic weapons and opened indiscriminate fire on the venue, which can accommodate 6,200 people.

Wray also spoke of an increased threat to the Jewish community in the United States, which existed before October 7 but has intensified since then.

He said hate crimes increased significantly by 60 percent in the first four months after October 7.

Although not all hate crimes were directed against the Jewish community – some were against Muslim Americans, Arab Americans and others – the vast majority of crimes were against Jews, Wray said.

“They are the target of foreign jihadist-inspired terrorists, be it ISIS, al-Qaeda or others,” the FBI director said.

“They are the target of Shiite terrorists, of Iran and its proxies. They are the target of domestic violent extremists, you know, white supremacists and others, and anarchists and some people who are, you know, pro-Palestinian and so on.”

“So they have the tragic honor of being in the crosshairs of, quite literally, almost every type of terrorist organization there is, domestic and foreign, across the spectrum,” Wray continued. “So they desperately need our help, and we’re going to give it to them.”

But when it comes to the budget, Wray told the subcommittee that if Congress’s budget cuts come to fruition, the consequences would be “very serious.”

He told lawmakers that the FBI would not be able to fill about 1,000 positions, meaning the agency’s work to protect the public from terrorism would not be sufficient.

“This means fewer tips and leads are followed up and fewer terrorist attacks are detected. Given the increased terrorist threat, this is a big problem,” Wray said.

“It helps the terrorists, the cartels, the violent gangs, the Chinese government, the hackers, the child molesters. I could go on forever.”

When asked how the FBI prioritizes its resources to protect the public from various threats, Wray identified a key concern behind each prioritization.

“Terrorism, which includes both foreign and domestic terrorism, remains our top priority,” Wray said.