There was a time when a particular point of pride for Americans is when we would proudly tell foreigners that if we wanted to, we could openly and very publicly say that we disagree with our own government.
That was then, this is now.
As it turns out, George W. Bush’s Gestapo-sounding Department of Homeland Security has just delivered to the nation and the world, a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.
Oh, this isn’t just any regular or run-of-the-mill National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin. This beast takes a very real swipe at our basic rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
As reported by Joshua Klein of Breitbart.com (emphasis mine);
Any proliferating “narratives” the Biden administration deems “false or misleading” qualifies as a “terrorism threat” according to a recent National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin released by the Biden administration’s DHS, and has received sharp backlash online after warning that Americans are expressing unwelcome beliefs on issues such as the Chinese coronavirus and election fraud pose “an ongoing threat to the nation.”
The bulletin, issued on Monday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), addressed the “Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland.”
In it, the country is described as being in a “heightened threat environment” due to factors such as online content featuring “false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors.”
The “threat actors” are accused of seeking to “exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest,” which could potentially lead to acts of violence.
Citizens are also warned of “[m]ass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted violence” by those “acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances.”
The bulletin also designates individuals and small cells “motivated by a range of foreign and/or domestic grievances often cultivated through the consumption of certain online content” as the “primary terrorism-related threat” to the country.
“The convergence of violent extremist ideologies, false or misleading narratives, and conspiracy theories have and will continue to contribute to a heightened threat of violence in the United States,” it states.
Both “unsubstantiated widespread election fraud” and the coronavirus are listed as examples of subjects in which “false or misleading narratives” are being proliferated online.
I’m pretty sure that Orwell never intended Nineteen Eighty-Four to be a DIY handbook.
THREAD: This is the most shocking thing I’ve read in a while. This document was published by DHS. Biden is weaponizing DHS to label… well, you… as a terrorist. 1/ https://t.co/Db46C752LB
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) February 9, 2022
The sociopaths who run our government have decided free speech = terrorism. https://t.co/mNZBmL7WiN
— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) February 8, 2022