Rep. Nunes: America At ‘Highest Threat Level We Have Ever Faced’

Speaking to CBS’Face the Nation, Republican Representative Devin Nunes claimed that America is currently at the “highest threat level we have ever faced.” The Congressman pointed to the increased number of foreign fighters pledging allegiance to ISIS and even entering Syria and Iraq to fight. Many of them are young people radicalized over the Internet.

“They’re very good at communicating through separate avenues where it’s very difficult to track. That’s why when you get a young person who is willing to get into these chat rooms, go on the Internet and get radicalized, it’s something we are not only unprepared [for], we are also not used to it in this country.”

Rep. Nunes says that the U.S. has a difficult time tracking potential terrorists in encrypted chat rooms and Americans need to be diligent about reporting suspicious behavior.

The FBI told ABC News that they are responding to the high threat level and have hundreds of investigations underway of suspected ISIS supporters in all 50 American states. Their latest bust was of a college student who was allegedly preparing a bomb and thought Al Qaeda was “getting soft.”

One of Rep. Nunes’ biggest fears is that radicalized Americans will return after fighting in Syria or Iraq to carry out plots in U.S. territory. A recent global terror report supported some of Deven Nunes’ fears.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the report from the U.S. Senate estimated that 16,000 fighters went to Syria to fight for Islamist causes in 2014. How many were American isn’t clear, but Nunes believes there are enough to be a serious threat, especially in large gatherings.

“It’s just tough to secure those types of areas if you have someone who wants to blow themselves up or open fire or other threats of that nature and we just don’t know or can track all of the bad guys that are out there today.”

Aside from the increased threat level from foreign terrorists, Rep. Nunes also commented on the South Carolina shooting, saying it could easily be called domestic terrorism.

“Clearly it was a hate crime from my book and clearly racism. You have to leave it up to the prosecutors for the legal definition of how this guy will be charged. At a minimum, he’s going to serve life in prison and possibly receive the death penalty.”

Rep. Nunes noted that Americans should consider the heightened threat level at 4th of July gatherings this year.

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