Feds Ask Residents to Be on Alert for Terror Threats
CHANNEL 5 NEWS reported how an al Shabab terrorist tried to cross into the Rio Grande Valley. Four years ago, Hezbollah had safe houses all along the border on the Mexican side, and they are doing businesses with the cartels.
Terrorists trekking through the region don’t don the typical battle garb. They tend to blend in with other immigrants, officials said.
Federal officials said they rely on the public for help.
“The FBI can’t do this on their own. We can’t monitor Twitter and Facebook and all entities. What we need are individuals in the community to reach to us if they see or hear anything that could be terrorism. Threats against individuals or entities in the name of terrorism,” FBI Special Agent Shane Utter said.
Utter is part of a joint terrorism task force.
Utter said terrorists use postings on Facebook, Youtube and other social media sites to intimidate.
He said the feds use their own videos to reach out to the public. Still, most of those videos get little attention.
“We’ve prevented multiple terrorist actions from occurring … in the United States,” Utter said.
“The point is that terrorism can occur anywhere. We’ve seen recently with online radicalization of individuals, anywhere is where terrorism can occur at this time,” Utter said.
FBI agents suggest people monitor Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Any threat should be reported to 956-984-6300.
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