Oklahoma City FBI office responds to rise in national threats, following Ohio attack

Following an attack Thursday on a Cincinnati FBI field office and a national rise in threatening language against agents after the recent execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, Oklahoma City's FBI field office is "monitoring the situation very closely," according to a public affairs official.

"We're always concerned with threats of violence to law enforcement, including the FBI, ourselves, and we're working very closely with our partners locally to assess any threats that may come in," said Kayla McCleery, public affairs officer with the FBI in Oklahoma City.

The entire agency has been on alert after increased incidences of threats against agents and offices, attributed at least partially to the execution of a search warrant on former President Donald Trump's home in Florida.

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“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, during a Wednesday visit to the Omaha, Nebraska, field office.

According to the Associated Press, users on a social media site "popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites," called Gab, "have warned they are preparing for an armed revolution." Additional "concerning chatter" on Gab and other platforms is being tracked for "threatening violence against federal agents."

An armed man decked out in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio on Thursday, then fled and was killed in an exchange of gunfire in a standoff with police, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” he said, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”

Even before the search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago, Wray held concerns about rising threats, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Aug. 4 that the "breadth, depth and complexity of the threats" facing the FBI and country was "immense."

"The range of criminal and national security threats that we face as a nation has never been greater or more diverse and the demands and expectations on the FBI have never been higher," he said. "I worry about our folks every day."

The Oklahoma City FBI field office experienced a threat in June when a man "appeared to throw two items over the security fence" before setting the office's sign on fire, according to a police affidavit. The man later was arrested by police and charged with arson and possession of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty and is still detained at the Oklahoma County jail.

"Our ask right now is that the public, if they observe anything suspicious, report it to local law enforcement immediately so that can be addressed," McCleery said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City FBI office responds to national rise in threats