FBI chief to share concerns of organized attack in US after Russia massacre

FBI Director Christopher Wray plans to warn Congress on Thursday that intelligence officials are increasingly concerned about the possibility of an ISIS-K attack on U.S. soil, similar to the massacre carried out last month at a Russia concert hall.

“Looking back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once. But that is the case as I sit here today. This is not a point when we can let up,” Wray is set to tell a House budget panel on Thursday, according to his prepared remarks.

U.S. officials for months have been warning about the potential for Hamas-inspired attacks on U.S. soil, since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel and amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

The March 23 attack on a Moscow concert hall by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate, however, has recently raised concerns about the likelihood that the group could carry out similar attacks in the United States and Europe sooner than officials previously expected. That massacre left at least 143 people dead and injured more than 100 others.

“[Our] most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home. But now increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple weeks ago,” Wray will say, arguing against any budget cuts for the department as officials work to fend off threats.

“Every day, FBI agents, analysts and professional staff are working shoulder to shoulder with thousands of task force officers from hundreds of different police departments and sheriffs’ offices all over the country on our FBI-led task forces. On top of that, we provide technology and expertise, valuable investigative leads like DNA matches, and cutting-edge training to law enforcement nationwide to help them keep our communities safe,” Wray will say, according to the remarks. “So cuts to us are cuts to our partners—state and local law enforcement agencies and officers who are on the ground, putting themselves in the line of fire—often quite literally.”

“This is by no means a time to let up or dial back. This is a time when we need your support the most—we need all the tools, all the people, and all the resources required to tackle these threats and to keep Americans safe.”