In yet another shocking display of the extent the Biden White House weaponized the federal government, officials were ordered to search for words such as “Trump” and “MAGA” in financial transactions.
These would be considered signs of possible domestic extremism.
Documents revealed by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government showed that banks sifted through records for such clues.
We now know the federal government flagged terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP,” to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms.
What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop. pic.twitter.com/jjRaVNItWz
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 17, 2024
This led House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) to request an interview with Noah Bishoff of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The agency reportedly asked that banks assist federal agents to identify persons using such terms.
The Republican reported that a document was provided to institutions regarding words such as “Trump” and “MAGA.” They were also supplied with an analysis of “Lone Actor/Homegrown Violent Extremism Indicators.”
Jordan acknowledged these terms were flagged and asked what else was searched for. “If you bought a religious text, like a Bible, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop?”
The chairman’s words were hardly an exaggeration. For example, FinCEN cautioned financial firms to search for indicators of “extremism” that included traveling to “areas with no apparent purpose.”
They included “the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views.”
Jordan declared evidence clearly showed “FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression.”
Incredibly, other keywords contained in the warning included “Cabela’s” and “Dick’s Sporting Goods.”
Jordan rightly noted that these clearly relate to law-abiding U.S. citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. He called such invasiveness “alarming” and said it “raises serious doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental civil liberties.”
Bishoff was asked to be ready to address legislators about safeguards, if any, FinCEN deployed to protect constitutional freedoms.
Jordan also wants to delve into Washington’s access to personal financial data and how FinCEN worked with the private sector.
The committee saw a slide presentation developed by a financial institution supposedly to educate on potential homegrown terrorists. Firms were instructed to probe transactions involving purchase codes indicating “small arms,” “pawn shops” or “sporting and recreational goods and supplies.”
