A law enforcement official says a gunman who died in a shootout after trying to get inside the FBI’s Cincinnati office appeared to have posted calls on social media for FBI agents to be killed.
— A gunman who died in a shootout after trying to get inside the FBI’s Cincinnati office appeared to have posted calls on social media for FBI agents to be killed and for people to take up arms and “be ready for combat” in the wake of the search at Donald Trump’s home, a law enforcement official said.
Federal investigators are examining social media accounts they believe are tied to the gunman, 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, and posts that urged violence after the FBI entered Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
At least one of the messages on Trump’s Truth Social media platform appeared to have been posted after Shiffer tried to breach the FBI office. It said: “If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I.”
Another posted on the same site earlier this week from @rickywshifferjr included a “call to arms” and urged people to “be ready for combat” after the search.
Authorities also are looking into whether Shiffer had ties to far-right extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer was armed with a nail gun and an AR-15-style rifle when he tried to breach the visitor screening area at the FBI office Thursday, according to the official. Shiffer fled when agents confronted him.
He was later spotted by a state trooper along Interstate 71 and got into a gun battle that ended in his death, state police said.
The burst of violence unfolded amid FBI warnings that federal agents could face attacks following the search in Florida.
