GOP alleges FBI infiltrated parishes to set up traps for Catholics

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government has again asked FBI Director Christopher Wray, for information on the controversial methods the agency has been using to investigate alleged Catholic radicals. In the notification, the Chairman of the Commission, Jim Jordan, accuses Wray of providing Congress with scant and highly ambiguous documentation, despite repeated requests, and of authorizing the infiltration of undercover agents in parishes to set traps for parishioners and other initiatives that could violate the First Amendment.

Possible domestic terrorists

In the missive, Jordan again asked the FBI for explanations regarding the document released in January in which the agency purported to categorize Catholic Americans based on theological distinctions. In addition, it suggested, following the Southern Poverty Law Center, that some Catholic Americans might be domestic terrorists. Jordan called reports that the agency used at least one undercover agent to conduct analysis and recommendations that investigators infiltrate parishes to "develop sources" and traps "outrageous."

Jordan demands to know how many FBI agents followed recommendations

The GOP stressed that "Americans attend church to worship and congregate for their spiritual and personal betterment. They must be free to exercise their fundamental First Amendment rights without worrying that the FBI may have planted so-called tripwire sources or other informants in their houses of worship." Something the agency is seriously violating, in light of the information provided by the agency. In this regard, Jordan demanded that Wray provide the committee with information on how many agents have followed the document's recommendations.