DENVER (KDVR) — A day after the Department of Homeland Security issued a rare terrorism bulletin warning of potential violence from homegrown extremists, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said the department is taking the warning seriously and is being proactive.
The bulletin said the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 may embolden some domestic violent extremists. It also said information suggests that “some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.”
“It’s something that we’re very aware of,” Pazen said Thursday. “We’re concerned about multiple threats with regards to domestic terrorism.”
The bulletin did not mention a specific threat. Still, Denver police are acting on it now.
“We are proactively reaching out to faith leaders, communities of color, organizations that could potentially be targeted by folks and working on strategies to help keep them safe,” Pazen said.
Federal investigators have said extremists and members of militia groups were involved in the deadly attack at the Capitol.
This includes a man from Woodland Park, Colorado.
Robert Gieswein faces multiple federal charges. In an affidavit, investigators said he appears to be affiliated with the radical militia group known as the Three Percenters, which is loosely allied with another anti-government militia, the Oath Keepers.
Scott Levin, Anti-Defamation League Mountain States’ regional director, said both groups, along with the Proud Boys, are in Colorado.
“It was a refreshing change to see the Department of Homeland Security issue this bulletin at this time,” Levin said. “We’ve been talking about homegrown terrorism for quite some time and it is really beyond comprehension that this has not been the focus, given that so much of the terrorism, harassment, vandalism have been coming from homegrown terrorists.”
The bulletin is set to expire on April 30, 2021.