Blaze News original: Secret Service investigated elementary school teacher's reply to assassination post after Trump won election: Superintendent



The superintendent of a Michigan public school district told Blaze News that the United States Secret Service launched an investigation after one of the district's elementary school teachers replied inappropriately to a social media post referencing an assassination — the day after Donald Trump won back the White House earlier this month.

The assassination post — and the teacher's reply to it — got fast attention after Libs of TikTok published a screenshot of the post Tuesday, along with the teacher's apology.

'If the teacher is charged with a felony, she will be dismissed.'

The initial post — which was not from the teacher in question — reads "nothing an assasination [sic] can't take care of."

The reply from Ashley Parker — who teaches elementary art for Farwell Area Schools — reads as follows: "Normally I would never wish this on anyone, but now... and let's hope for a 2fer... We have ALL lost. Just many of us don't realize it yet..."

Parker on Nov. 14 posted an apology on the school district's Facebook page. It reads as follows:

Dear FAS Community,

I am deeply sorry for the comment that I posted the morning after the election. As the parent of a young child and as an educator, I know that my words and actions are closely watched by those around me, and I am fastidious about my behavior at all times because of this fact. I am ashamed that I let my emotions get the better of me in that moment. I am not that person. I understand that my actions may have broken your trust, and for that, I am truly sorry.

Those who know me, know my strength of character, and know the kind of person that I aspire to be in this world. I made an egregious error, one that will not happen again. I take full responsibility for my words and I am willing to reflect on this experience and learn from it, so that I can become a better person. I am committed to upholding the values and standards that I strive to live by.

I hope that you can find it within yourself to forgive me and my actions.

Thank you.

— Ashley Parker, K-5 Art

While the district's Facebook post indicated on Wednesday afternoon that more than 230 comments have come in, only a handful are visible.

Parker's apology also was posted on the district's website last week.

District superintendent speaks out

Steve Scoville, superintendent of Farwell Area Schools, told Blaze News on Wednesday that the issue was brought to the school's attention the day after the election, and he believes the screenshot of the social media exchange is accurate.

"An investigation by the Clare County Sheriff's Department and the United States Secret Service was conducted, and to my knowledge, no charges have been filed," Scoville told Blaze News. "If the teacher is charged with a felony, she will be dismissed. At this point, it doesn't appear that she will be charged with a felony, but I have to wait for the process to run its course. I do believe that all U.S. Citizens are innocent until proven guilty."

Scoville added to Blaze News that he performed a risk assessment — which is used whenever staff, students, or community members make a threat — and that "the staff member in question has no credible plan or means to carry the threat out."

He noted to Blaze News that the risk assessment finding doesn't mean the teacher's post was acceptable: "Neither the original post [nor] Ashley's response were appropriate."

However, Scoville told Blaze News he's hoping to turn this negative into a positive.

"Mrs. Parker has been doing a great job with our students, and it is truly unfortunate that her actions have clouded her otherwise outstanding performance. Dismissing Mrs. Parker would very likely discontinue our K-5 Art Program for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year, as we had zero highly qualified applicants. The teacher shortage in central Michigan area is very real!" he told Blaze News. "My fear is that dismissal may punish our students more than the individual that made the post. Although dismissal would be the easiest course of action, I am not sure it is the correct or best action for our students."

Scoville added to Blaze News that while the district has taken disciplinary action against Parker, she "has not been terminated. Doing the right thing is not always doing the easy thing." He also told Blaze News on a Wednesday phone call that despite Parker having "threatened [the] candidate I voted for," it "wouldn't matter" if the threat was against another candidate; it's unacceptable either way.

Scoville also told Blaze News that after he made it clear to Parker that the district doesn't condone her comment, he hopes Parker has a "chance to recover and move forward."

He also told Blaze News that Parker has received threats after her comment began getting attention, and her address has been doxxed. In addition, Scoville said, "The amount of hate that has been directed at our staff is incredible and terribly sad. I find it ironic that so many people upset by Mrs. Parker's inappropriate post have chosen to share their own version of hate and direct it at the staff member who answered their [phone] call."

On the subject of hatred, Scoville emphasized the following to Blaze News:

I served with U.S. Army for 18 months in the Balkans. An interesting fact is that Serbians and Albanians have hated each other 1,300 years. (This led up to the Balkans War where neighbor butchered neighbor.) Although when you asked either side, they knew that they were supposed to hate the other side but really couldn't give you a reason. It is my hope and prayer that this nation steps back from the level of hate that we are at. We can agree to disagree with each other. We have to stop looking at the other side as bad people with bad ideas and start looking at them as people with bad ideas (or at least ideas we disagree with).

Anything else?

Blaze News has been covering the ever-growing subject of teachers reacting badly to Trump's presidential win:

  • A teacher allegedly departed from class at Cerritos High School in Southern California because a student was wearing "Make America Great Again" attire.
  • An English teacher from Chino High School in Southern California was placed on administrative leave after freaking out in class over a student wearing a Trump hat.
  • An Advanced Placement world history teacher from Valley View High School in Southern California was placed on administrative leave after going on a profane rant in class against Trump.
  • A woman who reportedly began a monthlong stint as a substitute teacher at Beverly Hills High School on Nov. 4 — the day before the presidential election — said last week she was fired for her "private FB posts criticizing [Make America Great Again] & the behavior of students at their MAGA rally on campus."
  • Outside the Golden State, a Connecticut elementary special-ed teacher threatened Trump voters in a viral video and then tried to explain herself in a tearful, on-camera interview after resigning from her position.

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Special-ed teacher who threatened Trump voters resigns — and tries to explain herself in tearful on-camera interview



The Connecticut special-education teacher who threatened people who voted for President-elect Donald Trump in a viral video has resigned — and she tried to explain herself in a tearful on-camera interview.

Annie Dunleavy of Chapman Elementary School in Cheshire spoke in person with WTNH-TV, tearfully at times trying to explain herself. Her interview demeanor certainly was a stark contrast to what was seen in her viral video in which she threatened Trump voters.

'The message I was trying to get across, and it came off very wrong was ... if this is going to give people the almost permission in their minds to enact violence against women or anybody, I wanted to basically just say, like, I’m not going to go down without a fight.'

In that video, she claims that "people of color and poor people and gay people and all the people that I care about aren't gonna be safe in America — neither the f*** are you guys. Just because you won doesn't mean we don't remember who the f*** you voted for. You're not in the clear."

She added, "Please don't test your gangster on me because you will end on a stretcher. Gone. Forever. So serious. Nobody f***in' talk to me unless you wanna swing. If you wanna fight, text me, call me, whatever. Anybody else stay the f*** outta my face."

The threatening clip ends with her saying, "And if you voted for Trump, literally please delete me, block me, get rid of everything of me — or step to me, so that I know what’s up, and I can handle you how I see fit. Please, just come forward, we f***in' know. Just tell me. Or leave."

In her interview with WTNH, however — which included the interviewer reading some of her threatening words aloud to her — Dunleavy acknowledged, "It sounds very extreme, and again, I was in a moment of high emotions, and I shouldn’t have ever posted the video. But ... the message I was trying to get across, and it came off very wrong was ... if this is going to give people the almost permission in their minds to enact violence against women or anybody, I wanted to basically just say, like, I’m not going to go down without a fight."

The station said Dunleavy also declared that "I will fight for myself, and if someone was to try to hurt me, I would protect myself.”

Another clip of the interview shows Dunleavy in tears: "I mean, you know, it's my life's dream to be a teacher. I consider those kids my kids because I don't have any of my own. And they fill that for me, and it's so fulfilling, it's so rewarding. ... I know that what people see right now, I don't look like that person, but I truly would do anything to help any child and any family in need."

WTNH added that Dunleavy said she's been getting threats and has moved out of her home. She added to the station that Cheshire police — which had launched an investigation into her viral video — told her Wednesday she won't face any charges.

You can view the interview snippet with Dunleavy here. WTNH prefaced the snippet by indicating she "apologized to her students," and the station noted in its story that Dunleavy "is sorry" — but there is no apology from her in the station's video snippet. Perhaps an apology will be part of the full interview with Dunleavy, which WTNH said will air 10 a.m. Sunday.

'I can't unsee the video ... and I can't walk into that school. ... I’m literally shaking, I can't walk into that school and hand my kid off to that person.'

Samantha Rosenberg, chair of the Cheshire Board of Education, said in a written statement that the board recognizes “the intense emotions this situation has stirred," the station reported.

“The Board of Education is united in finding the teacher’s behavior reprehensible and unacceptable, and we are horrified and deeply offended by statements made in the video,” the statement reads in part, WTNH reported.

Prior to Dunleavy resigning, Cheshire Public Schools' Superintendent Jeff Solan said she was placed on leave until the outcome of an investigation, WFSB-TV reported. Solan added that once the video went viral, the district received a large number of calls — mostly from people outside the Cheshire community — and that business couldn't be conducted as usual with the teacher on campus.

WTIC-TV reported that the Cheshire Town Council held a meeting Tuesday night, and some parents said they weren't happy with what was expressed in the video.

WTIC reported that Amy Bourdon — a Cheshire mom whose son with special needs attends school in the district — said, "I saw a woman in crisis, and then when I replayed it a couple of times, I got up from my table and went and locked my front door."

Bourdon — who is a Republican, WTIC said — added that "we are the targets. Our lives have been targeted by an individual that cashes a paycheck from the town of Cheshire every week."

Lorie Barnes told WTIC that “I'm tired of being a Trump supporter and whispering."

Barnes, who's lived in Cheshire all her life, added to WTIC that her grandson will be moving from England and entering the Cheshire school district — and now that terrifies her.

"I can't unsee the video ... and I can't walk into that school. ... I’m literally shaking, I can't walk into that school and hand my kid off to that person," Barnes told WTIC.

You can view a news station video report here about the controversy.

Other outbursts from anti-Trump teachers

As Blaze News has previously reported this week, a Southern California high school teacher on the day after the election lashed out in a classroom at a student who was wearing a Trump hat.

Blaze News this week also noted that a teacher at a different Southern California public high school went on a profane rant in his Advanced Placement world history class against Trump the day after the election and was placed on administrative leave.

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Special-ed teacher threatens Trump voters on video: 'Don't test your gangster on me because you will end on a stretcher'



A Connecticut teacher — who reportedly is assigned to special education at a public elementary school — has been placed on leave after a video circulated showing her threatening people who voted for President-elect Donald Trump.

In the video, she claims that "people of color and poor people and gay people and all the people that I care about aren't gonna be safe in America — neither the f*** are you guys. Just because you won doesn't mean we don't remember who the f*** you voted for. You're not in the clear."

'I can't unsee the video ... and I can't walk into that school. ... I’m literally shaking, I can't walk into that school and hand my kid off to that person.'

She adds, "Please don't test your gangster on me because you will end on a stretcher. Gone. Forever. So serious. Nobody f***in' talk to me unless you wanna swing. If you wanna fight, text me, call me, whatever. Anybody else stay the f*** outta my face."

The clip ends with her saying, "And if you voted for Trump, literally please delete me, block me, get rid of everything of me — or step to me, so that I know what’s up, and I can handle you how I see fit. Please, just come forward, we f***in' know. Just tell me. Or leave."

Cheshire Public School’s Superintendent Jeff Solan said he was made aware of the Snapchat video over the weekend and that the teacher — whom the district has not identified — was placed on leave until the outcome of an investigation, WFSB-TV reported.

Solan told the station that the district received a large number of calls — mostly from people outside the Cheshire community — and that business couldn't be conducted as usual with the teacher on campus.

A police presence was put in place out of an abundance of caution, WFSB said, adding Cheshire police stated that they've launched their own investigation.

WTIC-TV reported that it learned the teacher is assigned to special education at Chapman Elementary School in Cheshire.

Solan told WFSB the teacher intended the video as a private message to her Snapchat group and that she expressed her personal opinion, not the opinion of Cheshire Public Schools.

WFSB added that Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, released a statement about the teacher’s video in regard to respecting free speech:

CEA values the right to free speech and respects the diverse opinions of our members. We know that emotions can run high after an election, and we encourage everyone to engage in respectful conversations as part of our democratic process. Keeping our discussions civil and focused is important in maintaining a positive environment in our schools. We must continue to share our views constructively while prioritizing respect, unity, and our shared commitment to educating and caring for our students.

WTIC said the Cheshire Town Council held a meeting Tuesday night, and some parents said they weren't happy with what was expressed in the video.

WTIC reported that Amy Bourdon — a Cheshire mom whose son with special needs attends school in the district — said, "I saw a woman in crisis, and then when I replayed it a couple of times, I got up from my table and went and locked my front door."

Bourdon — who is a Republican, WTIC said — added that "we are the targets. Our lives have been targeted by an individual that cashes a paycheck from the town of Cheshire every week."

Lorie Barnes told WTIC that “I'm tired of being a Trump supporter and whispering."

Barnes, who's lived in Cheshire all her life, added to WTIC that her grandson will be moving from England and entering the Cheshire school district — and now that terrifies her.

"I can't unsee the video ... and I can't walk into that school. ... I’m literally shaking, I can't walk into that school and hand my kid off to that person," Barnes told WTIC.

You can view a news station video report here about the controversy.

The hits just keep on coming

As Blaze News has previously reported this week, a Southern California high school teacher on the day after the election lashed out in a classroom at a student who was wearing a Trump hat.

Blaze News this week also noted that a teacher at a different Southern California public high school went on a profane rant in his Advanced Placement world history class against Trump the day after the election and was placed on administrative leave.

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FACT CHECK: Are There Armed Militias ‘Hunting’ FEMA Employees In North Carolina?

A post on Threads claims that “armed militias are hunting” employees with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).   Post by @musicforkids123 View on Threads   Verdict: False There is no evidence that FEMA employees were being “hunted” by an “armed militia.” Fact Check: On Oct. 15, FEMA workers in North Carolina resumed their door-to-door […]

14-year-old boy punches drug-pushing male in head after he lunges at teen. Male falls, hits head on street, dies weeks later.



A 14-year-old boy punched a drug-pushing male in the head after the male lunged at the teen last month in Pueblo, Colorado.

With that, the male fell and hit his head on the street — and died weeks later. Pueblo police said they believe the teen was acting in self-defense, KOAA-TV reported.

The station said the Pueblo County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the male in question at a later time.

Around 5 p.m. Sept. 27, police arrived in the 1100 block of York Street — which is located near the East 4th Street and Highway 50 interchange — and said the boy was providing aid to a male "experiencing homelessness," the station reported.

Police told KOAA they learned the male approached the boy and asked him if he wanted to "smoke drugs."

Police told the station the boy declined and tried to leave, but the male continued to try to talk to the boy.

With that, the male lunged at the boy, and the boy punched the male in the head, KOAA said.

Police said the male fell and hit his head on the street, the station reported, adding that he was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries Oct. 12.

Police told KOAA they believe the teenager acted in self-defense, and at the moment, no charges have been filed against the boy.

The station said the Pueblo County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the male in question at a later time.

Police added to KOAA that they're still investigating the case, and if you have any information about the incident to call Det. Shay at 719-553-2445. The station also said if you want to remain anonymous, you can call Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-7867.

- YouTube youtu.be

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Leftist Activist Suggests ‘Criminal Charges’ For Refusing To Certify Election Results

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-5.31.00 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-5.31.00%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]The activist dismissed hesitation to certify results as 'based on lies and conspiracy theories and unreliable sources of data about our elections.'

Ezra Klein reveals Democrats never really believed what they were saying about a certain 'existential threat'



Democrats, media personalities, and other individuals with uneasy relationships with the truth have spent years suggesting that President Donald Trump is "an existential threat to our democracy."

The suggestion that the majority decision by American voters to elect a candidate disliked by the political establishment would mean the end of the very system by which they elected him has also been repeated on numerous occasions by the very man most likely to benefit from this narrative: President Joe Biden.

Shortly after a Biden official's group successfully got the Democratic incumbent's top rival temporarily removed from the primary ballot in Colorado late last year, Biden tweeted, "Trump poses many threats to our country: The right to choose, civil rights, voting rights, and America's standing in the world. But the greatest threat he poses is to our democracy."

'All these, you know, kind of phrases that are thrown about ... on the op-ed pages of the New York Times and on MSNBC.'

All this work to paint Trump as a threat to democracy has effectively been undone.

Ezra Klein, the leftist founder of Vox, revealed to a fellow traveler at another leftist blog Wednesday that Biden was not the only Democrat who appears not to have really believed in the existential threat narrative.

Tim Miller of the Bulwark told Klein on his podcast that he frequently encounters "this 'democracy is at threat,' 'it's an existential threat,' all these, you know, kind of phrases that are thrown about ... on the op-ed pages of the New York Times and on MSNBC where I frequent."

Klein later explained how top Democrats, cognizant of the likelihood Biden will suffer a humiliating defeat in November, can justify not asking him to exit the race despite their peers having floated this existential threat as a likely consequence.

'Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system.'

"Top Democrats believe that if Joe Biden is on top of the ticket, he will lose, but are also not coming out and calling on him to resign. I think there are a lot of ways to say it, but I think one thing that is being revealed is that ... whatever they believe intellectually, they certainly do not believe Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy," said Klein.

Klein suggested he respected Democratic Maine Rep. Jared Golden's recent op-ed in the Bangor Daily News, which signaled this understanding among Democrats that Trump does not pose a risk to democracy.

Golden wrote, "While I don't plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I'm OK with that."

"Democrats' post-debate hand-wringing is based on the idea that a Trump victory is not just a political loss, but a unique threat to our democracy. I reject the premise. Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system," continued Golden. "I urge everyone — voters, elected officials, the media, and all citizens — to ignore the chattering class' scare tactics and political pipe dreams. We don't need party insiders in smoke-filled back rooms to save us. We can defend our democracy without them."

"Golden was unusual in saying that, but I think that if you look at how a lot of these Democrats are acting, that is sort of what they believe," Klein told Miller. "People are, like, weighing this set of things, like, 'It would be quite unpleasant for me personally to come out against the president as an elected official in a Democratic Party' and weighing what will happen if Donald Trump wins and saying ... 'I can live with Donald Trump winning.' And I've had people say that to me off the record, to be fair."

"Really?" asked Miller.

"I've had top Democrats say to me basically something like, 'I don't know why all these Democrats who think Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy are acting the way they are. But the reason I'm acting the way I am is because I don't think that,'" said Klein.

"Who the f*** is this?" responded Miller. "Out your sources, Ezra! I'm about to be in leaking-text mode over here myself. Like, that is crazy."

"I find it maddening," said Klein. "But I do find it consistent. Look, you can say this is true in a lot of things, right. It's a charge Republicans always throw at liberals, which is that if they really believe climate change is a problem, they wouldn't fly on planes."

While Klein's admissions helped kill the existential threat narrative, it was already on life support thanks to Biden's recent interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.

Stephanopoulos asked Biden, "If you stay in [the race] and Trump is elected, and everything you're warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in January?"

Biden answered, "I'll feel, as long as I gave it my all and I did as goodest as I know I can do, that's what this is about."

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Rep. Hunt explains how Trump made an adversary think twice about messing with America



Republican Reps. Wesley Hunt (Texas) and Byron Donalds (Fla.) detailed some of President Joe Biden's domestic and international failings on the Tuesday episode of the "Sage Steele Podcast."

Donalds noted, for instance, that under Biden's watch, "we have had to evacuate seven United States embassies. That has never happened in American history. Never. That is how weak we are on the world stage. That's how bad it is."

According to the Daily Signal's accounting, the reality is far worse.

The Signal indicated that as of March, the Biden administration had overseen the evacuation of 11 embassies, more than any other administration to date. President Barack Obama reportedly presided over the second-most embassy evacuations with a total of eight.

The Biden State Department has, however, come up with a different set of numbers concerning ordered or authorized evacuations under both the current and previous administrations.

"When you're weak and our adversaries know you're weak, they push you," continued Donalds. "It's no different than the bully in the school yard. If you're timid and the bully knows he can get away with it, what happens? He comes for your lunch money every single week, every single day ... until you punch back."

After the congressmen emphasized that America's adversaries perceive the U.S. as weak under Biden, Rep. Hunt shared a tale illustrating a better way of doing things — a tale that has ostensibly morphed slightly with each retelling.

'If you harm a hair on a single American, I'm going to kill you.'

"I'm going to give you my favorite President Trump story," said Hunt. "It's my number one favorite of all time."

"When we were negotiating with the Taliban while President Trump was still the president, President Trump wanted to get out of Afghanistan but he wanted a conditions-based withdrawal meaning that you [the Taliban] do what we tell you to do and then we start pulling troops back slowly as long as you abide by our rules," said Hunt.

The congressman suggested that Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the Taliban leadership to discuss the withdrawal with a single translator in the room.

"President Trump looked at the Taliban leader and said this: 'I want to leave Afghanistan. But it's going to be a conditions-based withdrawal,' and the translator translated," said Hunt. "And [Trump] said, 'If you harm a hair on a single American, I'm going to kill you.'"

Hunt claimed that the translator sat back in silence, reluctant to communicate Trump's death threat.

"And Trump goes, 'Tell him. Tell him what I said.' [He] reached in his pocket, pulled out a satellite photo of the leader of the Taliban's home, and handed it to him," said Hunt.

Steele interjected with "shut up!"

"Got up and walked out the room," continued Hunt.

Trump told Fox News in 2022 that he had sent Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a photo of his house, and said, "'If you do anything, we're going to hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.'"

A year earlier, Trump told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that he had threatened Baradar along these lines:

If you do anything bad to the United States of America, if you do anything bad to any of our civilians, to any American citizen, or if you do anything out of the normal, you know, they’ve been fighting for a thousand years, but out of the normal, because you’ve had your wars, and if you do anything out of the normal, but anything bad to America or any American citizens, I will hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history. You will be hit harder than any country and any person has ever been hit in world history. And we will start with the exact location and the exact town, and it’s right here. And I believe I repeated the name of his town. That will be the first place that we start.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly noted in his book "The Chief's Chief" that Trump vowed in a phone call to flatten Baradar's village in early 2020 if the Islamist group threatened Americans or American interests.

According to Meadows, Trump said, "And your village, Mullah? We know where it is. We know it's the Weetmak village. If you dare lay hands on a single American, that will be the first thing that I destroy. I will not hesitate."

While Hunt's favorite Trump story appears to have morphed over time, the core suggestion that has gone unchanged is that Trump was willing to back American safety with the threat of American vengeance.

"That's the definition of strength," continued Hunt. "That's what I'm talking about. And so you can imagine that kind of sentiment being around the world. If we have an embassy in another country, no one's going to touch it because they're going to be fearful that they're going to get a MOAB on their head. That's how President Trump rolls."

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Biden Threatens Supreme Court Justices For Upholding The Constitution

Biden’s public threat is not the first time Democrats have tried to browbeat the highest court in the land.

The 'threat is grave': House Intel chairman sparks panic with cryptic warning about a 'serious national security threat'



House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) is warning Americans about a "serious national security threat."

In a cryptic statement on Wednesday, Turner said he shared sensitive intelligence about the threat with all members of Congress and called on President Joe Biden to declassify information about the threat.

The statement said:

Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat. I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.

Turner did not provide any further details.

But it is important to note that, according to Turner, the House Intelligence Committee agreed in bipartisan fashion to notify Congress of the threat.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed the existence of the threat, telling reporters he plans to brief the Gang of Eight on Thursday. He declined, however, to elaborate on the nature of the threat.

"I reached out earlier this week to the Gang of Eight to offer myself for up for a personal briefing to the Gang of Eight, and in fact, we scheduled a briefing for the four House members of the Gang of Eight tomorrow. That's been on the books," he said. "So I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books for me to go sit with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow.

"I'm not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time," Sullivan added.

Sullivan, moreover, declined to reassure the American people they are not at risk, telling reporters, "That question is impossible to answer with a straight 'yes.'"

— (@)

The letter that Turner sent members of Congress said the urgent threat is about "a destabilizing foreign military capability," CNN reported.

Meanwhile, sources who have seen the intelligence told CNN that the threat "is, in fact, a highly concerning and destabilizing" Russian capability the U.S. only recently learned about.

Fox News corroborated CNN's reporting about a Russian capability, saying that the "the potential seriousness of the threat is grave" — though not immediately urgent.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Intel Committee, said people "should not panic," but praised Turner, saying he "is right to highlight this issue," which Himes described as "so sensitive."

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