Former President Donald Trump has reportedly dismissed the attack on an FBI building by a Jan. 6 riot attendee in the wake of the raid on his Mar-a-Lago home, even suggesting the attack may have been carried out by someone trying to make his supporters look bad.
Ricky Walter Shiffer was shot dead by police last week after he attempted to storm an FBI office in Cincinnati while armed with a nail gun and a rifle. He was killed by officers after he raised his weapon at law enforcement following unsuccessful negotiation tactics, police said. Ohio State Police spokesman Lt. Nathan Dennis said the suspect was wearing body armor and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ahead of the attack, Shiffer was seen in photos taken the day of the Capitol riot, law enforcement officials told NBC News. He also appears to have posted on such social media apps as Truth Social and Twitter. The last post on his Truth Social account looks to have been sent after the attempted breach of the FBI building.
FBI FIELD OFFICE ATTACKER TELEGRAPHED FAILED SIEGE FROM HIS TRUTH SOCIAL ACCOUNT
“Well, I thought I had a way through bullet proof glass, and I didn’t. If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it’ll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while,” the post said.
The Washington Examiner also took screenshots of some posts on a Twitter account suspected of belonging to Shiffer that has since been suspended. There, he also spoke of violence against the FBI and collecting ammunition. Posts also contained references to the American Revolution and talk of getting in touch with the far-right Proud Boys group.
According to the new report, Trump has suggested the shooter sounded “crazy” and may have been very upset about how the former president was being treated following a raid on his Florida home, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Rolling Stone.
Trump also reportedly raised the possibility with some of his associates that the shooter was a “psycho” who conducted the attack to make Trump supporters look bad.
SUSPECT IN FBI BUILDING ATTACKED KILLED IN STANDOFF, IDENTIFIED AS JAN. 6 PARTICIPANT
The attack on the building in Cincinnati came a few days after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
In response to increased threats in the wake of the raid, FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week that “violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply concerning to all Americans.”
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also sent out a joint bulletin to local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies on Friday warning of increased threats in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago raid.
“The FBI and DHS have observed an increase in threats to federal law enforcement and to a lesser extent other law enforcement and government officials following the FBI’s recent execution of a search warrant in Palm Beach, Florida,” the alert said.
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Trump is being investigated for a possible Espionage Act violation and possible obstruction of justice, according to the warrant unsealed Friday, which cited 18 U.S. Code 793 (part of the Espionage Act) related to “gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information.” Despite its name, many of the law’s provisions don’t relate specifically to espionage.
The warrant also pointed to 18 U.S. Code 2071 on “concealment, removal, or mutilation generally” and 18 U.S. Code 1519 on “destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy.” The latter relates to obstruction of justice.
