House Judiciary Committee subpoenas FBI director over extremism investigations into Catholics – By Brady Knox (Washington Examiner) / Apr 10 2023
The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed FBI Director Christopher Wray over the agency’s investigation into Catholic parishes in the United States.
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) demanded that Wray testify regarding a Jan. 23 document from the Richmond Field Office. It was titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
The document outlined efforts from the FBI to investigate extremism among Catholics, categorizing them by theological beliefs and relying on research from the Southern Poverty Law Center. It included the notion that some kinds of Catholics were domestic terrorists, according to Jordan. It also revealed efforts to use undercover agents to infiltrate Catholic parishes.
“The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the [FBI’s] handling of domestic violent extremism investigations against Catholic Americans and its effect on protected First Amendment activity,” Jordan wrote.
