TAMPA (FOX 13) -
The FBI has
issued a warning about the potential for violence at the Republican National Convention.
In an
intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN and confirmed by FOX 13 News, the FBI and the Department
of Homeland Security are telling local officials that domestic terror groups
are plotting to disrupt the RNC.
The
bulletin, confirmed by FOX 13, says extremists could try to use improvised
explosive devices on Tampa
Bay bridges and tolls
roads.
"What can
they do at a strategic choke hold, like a bridge, is to disrupt traffic to
where they cause enough harm to where they shut the bridge down," explains
former FBI Agent Joe Navarro.
Navarro
says law enforcement officials have been working to stay one step ahead of who
they are calling "domestic terrorists," by watching them closely.
"Collect
intelligence, collect information, listen to what they're saying, talk to
people, recruit informants," Navarro said.
Anarchist
groups like the Black Bloc and Anonymous have left a trail of destruction
during national and international events. The report details tactics the groups may use,
such as Molotov cocktails or acid-filled eggs.
The FBI
didn't want to say much more about the threat.
"I'm not
going to talk directly about the threat. The FBI uses a lot of different means
to share the information with our local partners," said Special Agent Steve
Ibison.
Navarro says
throw in a possible hurricane, where law enforcement resources could be
stretched thin with evacuations and rescues, and the threat is even worse.
"They're
already vested, that's the danger. These individuals are already vested in the
cause and when you have individuals who are vested in the cause, they will act
out—storm or no storm," Navarro said.
