Santa Clara County Readies For Right-Wing Terror Threats

Los Gatos CA

13 January, 2021

11:50 AM

Description

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday it is assembling a special task force to "investigate any right-wing terrorists or terrorist groups that have any intention on harming public officials, destroying government facilities or putting our community at-risk." The move follows the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by rioters in support of Present Trump's baseless claims of election fraud. Five people were killed in the insurrection including a Capitol Police officer. Trump had given a speech earlier Wednesday, falsely claiming he won the election and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol as Congress was holding hearings on the certification of the Electoral College vote following November's election of former Vice President Joe Biden as president. "We have zero tolerance for violence and terrorism in our community and value our partnership with the community to achieve this goal," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. State and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation are on high alert amid an FBI warning that armed protests are being planned at state capitols in all 50 states according to an internal bulletin obtained by ABC News. Additionally, the FBI is warning that in the event that the president is removed from office before Inauguration Day, a group is calling for the "storming" of state, local and federal government courthouses and administrative buildings, the report said. The task force of Sheriff's deputies, detectives and other law enforcement personnel will be charged with investigating any information it gathers with the intent of keeping the county safe, officials said. The public is asked to call the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431 or the public line at (408) 808-4400 to report "information related to radical right-wing terrorists who pose a threat or intend to pose a threat to public safety in Santa Clara County." The task force also will be working with the FBI and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center regarding information that may require a collaborative investigation. Information can also be forwarded directly to our federal partners by emailing www.fbi.gov/tips or contact us at [email protected]. — Bay City News and Patch staffer Gideon Rubin contributed to this report