{"id":16971,"date":"2023-02-28T11:32:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=16971"},"modified":"2023-03-15T14:46:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T18:46:30","slug":"leaked-document-indicates-fbi-is-going-after-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/02\/leaked-document-indicates-fbi-is-going-after-christians","title":{"rendered":"Leaked Document Indicates FBI is Going After Christians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2023\/02\/fbi-catholic_credit-none-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16974\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2023\/02\/fbi-catholic_credit-none-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A recently leaked FBI <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uncoverdc.com\/2023\/02\/08\/the-fbi-doubles-down-on-christians-and-white-supremacy-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">memo<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0seems to indicate the FBI has turned its attention to conservative Catholics as potentially being connected to white supremacists. The memo, released by the FBI\u2019s Richmond Division in Virginia, stated it believed that white supremacists were turning to Radical-Traditionalist Catholics (RTC) for support. The memo defined RTCs as \u201ctypically characterized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council,\u201d which, among other things, pulled the church away from a strictly Latin mass. The traditional Latin Mass has been strongly discouraged by Pope Francis, who recently\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/world\/articles\/2023-02-21\/pope-francis-again-turns-screws-on-use-of-traditional-latin-mass#:~:text=Feb.%2021%2C%202023%2C%20at%2010%3A13%20a.m.&amp;text=VATICAN%20CITY%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Pope,previous%20permission%20from%20the%20Vatican.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">released a decree<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0which highlighted\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a document he released in 2021 that set limitations for when and how the Latin Mass can be used. The memo also stated RTCs would be characterized by \u201cadherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology.\u201d The memo did not provide specific examples or sources from its conclusions, other than referencing a list from the Southern Poverty Law Center\u2019s \u201chate groups\u201d watchlist, which has been criticized as being politicized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A whistleblower discussed the memo with <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/fbi-found-gateway-declare-christians-criminals-federal-whistleblower\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Tucker Carlson<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, alleging that the document was just the beginning of the FBI going after Christians in general. \u201cThey have found a gateway in what they think is fringe Catholicism in order to move into Christians in general and declare them to be the actual criminals in this country or the potential terrorists,\u201d said Kyle Seraphin, whistleblower and former FBI agent. Seraphin pointed out how the memo singled out conservative beliefs, such as traditional marriage and pro-life stances, as being signs of \u201cradicalism.\u201d Speaking on behalf of the whistleblower who brought the document to his attention, Seraphin said, \u201cHe or she stated the very simple statement, which is that if they\u2019re going to go after radical, traditional Catholics, then radical, traditional Baptists are next and radical, traditional evangelicalism and anybody else that espouses essentially what is radical, which is just a Christian faith and that is dangerous apparently in this country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The FBI has been criticized for what some claim to be its targeting of religious pro-life groups and advocates. On September 22, 2022, twenty-five heavily armed federal agents <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/thomasmoresociety.org\/highlight-cases\/mark-houck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">stormed the house<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0of Catholic pro-life advocate Mark Houck for allegedly\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/pro-life-activist-mark-houck-shocking-planned-parenthood-encounter-acquittal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">pushing a Planned Parenthood escort<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in October 2021. The Biden administration alleged that Houck had violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which prohibits any use of force against clinic workers. When he was arrested, Houck was facing up to 11 years in prison. According to Houck, he pushed the worker away from his son after the man tried to attack him. The Thomas Moore Society, which represented Houck, stated the altercation took place 100 feet from the clinic entrance and was across the street. It took a jury 1 hour to find Houck not guilty of the charges this past January. After Houck\u2019s acquittal, Republicans in the House of Representatives\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/253555\/investigation-into-fbi-fed-agencies-targeting-of-pro-lifers-parents-to-begin-next-week\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">authorized the creation<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0of the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Representative Jim Jordan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The FBI has tried to distance itself from the memo discussed by Seraphin, stating it was <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/253600\/fbi-retracts-leaked-document-orchestrating-investigation-of-catholics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">retracting<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the memo because \u201cit does not meet our exacting standards.\u201d The FBI did confirm that the memo did come from the Richmond office. \u201cWhile our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product \u2014 disseminated only within the FBI \u2014 regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI,\u201d the FBI said in a statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recently leaked FBI memo\u00a0seems to indicate the FBI has turned its attention to conservative Catholics as potentially being connected to white supremacists. The memo, released by the FBI\u2019s Richmond Division in Virginia, stated it believed that white supremacists were turning to Radical-Traditionalist Catholics (RTC) for support. The memo defined RTCs as \u201ctypically characterized by&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":16974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leaked Document Indicates FBI is Going After Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An FBI whistleblower has indicated that they are now going after conservative Catholics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaked Document Indicates FBI is 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