自从总统暴民唐纳德·特朗普的支持者攻击美国官员上周在美国国会大厦一再警告说，志同道合的国内恐怖分子可能会在当选总统后再次发动袭击乔·拜登下周宣誓就任总司令。

但几个联邦和地方机构周四发布的一份范围广泛的威胁评估清楚地表明，美国机构正在为拜登的就职可能会对美国本土造成更多威胁做准备，包括外国影响行动，甚至极端分子的无人机攻击。

威胁评估指出:“自美国国会大厦事件以来，俄罗斯、伊朗和中国的影响力行为者抓住机会扩大叙述，以促进他们在总统过渡期间的政策利益。”威胁评估援引了至少一次俄罗斯“代理人”宣传上周国会大厦暴乱者实际上是激进左翼反法西斯运动成员的说法，这些人“伪装成”特朗普支持者。

不过，评估称，美国政府尚未发现任何“具体、可信”的信息，表明外国可能会将支持就职的关键基础设施或美国人员作为目标。

“鉴于1月6日的重大安全失败，华盛顿特区和联邦执法机构这次将准备好让极端分子和坏人返回，”国土安全部基础设施保护负责人布莱恩·哈勒尔(Brian Harrell)说，他最近刚刚离开。

每一次总统就职典礼，尤其是在后911时代，都会引发更多的安全措施以及联邦和地方官员对恐怖主义的一系列担忧，但下周的就职典礼将是国内恐怖分子首次成为这种全国性担忧的焦点。

根据威胁评估，受种族主义、反政府或无政府主义意识形态启发的国内恐怖分子“最有可能对第59届总统就职典礼构成威胁。”

托马斯·科斯特洛/今日美国通过路透社

2021年1月6日，唐纳德·特朗普总统的支持者占领华盛顿国会大厦。

联邦警告总结说:“鉴于美国国会大厦遭到袭击，华盛顿特区计划在就职日之前和当天举行的活动为针对公职人员、政府大楼以及联邦和地方执法机构的暴力提供了持续的机会。”

这份13页的威胁评估是许多警告联邦政府最近几天发布的警告和公告，美国反恐官员深感担忧的是，未来几天可能会带来更多暴力和潜在的致命冲突。

威胁评估指出，公众在就职典礼前“呼吁采取暴力行动”，并警告称，上周暴徒和执法人员之间的冲突“可能会加剧(国内恐怖分子)的不满，特别是民兵极端分子”，并表示，周三就职典礼前的这段时间“为(国内恐怖分子)提供了更多时间来计划暴力行为”。

评估包括由联邦调查局、DHS、美国国会警察、大都会警察局和三个当地情报融合中心收集的信息。除了来自国内恐怖分子的威胁之外，它还为首都内外的执法合作伙伴提供了周三可能面临的一系列威胁。

评估清楚地表明，尽管美国政府成功阻止了美国人加入海外恐怖组织，但美国官员仍然担心，被ISIS或其他外国恐怖组织激进化的美国人可能会在就职日寻求攻击。

评估警告称，这些恐怖分子“仍然令人担忧，因为他们能够在几乎没有警告的情况下采取行动，愿意攻击平民和软目标，并且能够使用不需要专业知识、接触或培训的武器造成重大伤亡”。

约书亚·罗伯茨/路透社

2021年1月15日，华盛顿，国民警卫队成员走在国会大厦。

“我们评估认为，在线暴力极端主义媒体的消费仍然是美国暴力极端主义者激进化和动员过程中的几个重要影响之一，这种信息可能被ISIS或基地组织支持者解释为鼓励针对华盛顿的大规模集会或高调事件，”评估补充说。

评估还警告说，即使可能性不大，美国的激进分子也可能受到据报道在海外发动的暴力无人机袭击的启发。

“我们评估称，未经授权的无人驾驶飞机系统(UAS)行动可能会扰乱第59届总统就职典礼上的执法行动，给活动周围的平民带来危险，或者推迟活动的进行，尽管我们没有具体、可信的信息表明恶意行为者计划利用UAS袭击第59届总统就职典礼，”评估称。

前国土安全部官员哈勒尔说，他特别担心本周末全国各地计划的抗议活动可能引发的暴力。

据报道，2007年，抗议活动正在州议会进行所有50个州“大多数州很快就会被大量的人群淹没，他们缺乏资源来保持国会大厦的安全，”他说。

最后，哈勒尔说，“国内恐怖主义，无论其政治起源如何，都必须根除。”

“政治极端分子和有针对性的暴力的肇事者旨在削弱我们的民主结构，”他说。“无论其起源是边缘阴谋、反犹太主义、种族至上主义还是其他什么，任何形式的国内恐怖主义都不能也不会在祖国得到容忍。”

Beyond domestic terrorists, officials eye foreign influence, drones as threats to Biden inauguration

Since a violent mob of PresidentDonald Trump'ssupportersattackedthe U.S. Capitol last week, U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that like-minded domestic terrorists could strike again when President-electJoe Bidenis sworn in as commander-in-chief next week.

But a wide-ranging threat assessment issued Thursday by several federal and local agencies makes it clear that U.S. agencies are preparing for the possibility that Biden's inauguration could inspire additional threats to the U.S. homeland, including foreign influence operations and even drone attacks from extremists.

"Since the incident at the U.S. Capitol, Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence actors have seized the opportunity to amplify narratives in furtherance of their policy interest amid the presidential transition," the threat assessment noted, citing at least once instance in which a Russian "proxy" promoted claims the rioters at the Capitol last week were actually members of the radical left-wing antifa movement who "disguised themselves" as Trump supporters.

Still, the assessment said the U.S. government has not identified any "specific, credible" information that suggests foreign nations might target critical infrastructure or U.S. personnel supporting the inauguration.

"Given the significant security failures of Jan. 6, D.C. and federal law enforcement will be ready this time for extremists and bad actors to return," said Brian Harrell, the recently-departed head of infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security.

Every presidential inauguration, especially in the post-9/11 era, prompts increased security measures and an array of terrorism concerns from federal and local officials -- but next week's inauguration will be the first in which domestic terrorists are the focus of such nationwide concerns.

According to the threat assessment, domestic terrorists -- inspired by racist, anti-government or anarchist ideologies -- "pose the most likely threat to the 59th Presidential Inauguration."

"In light of the storming of the U.S. Capitol, planned events in Washington, D.C., in the lead-up to and day of Inauguration Day offer continued opportunities for violence targeting public officials, government buildings, and federal and local law enforcement," the federal warning concluded.

The 13-page threat assessment was one ofmany warnings, alerts and bulletins that the federal government has issued in recent days, with U.S. counterterrorism officials deeply worried that the next several days could bring even more violent -- and potentially fatal -- clashes.

Noting public "calls to violent action" that have been made ahead of the inauguration, the threat assessment warned that last week's clashes between rioters and law enforcement officers "will likely exacerbate [domestic terrorist] grievances, particularly militia extremists," and said that the time leading up to the inauguration on Wednesday "offers [domestic terrorists] more time to plan acts of violence."

The assessment included information gathered by the FBI, DHS, U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department, and three local intelligence fusion centers. It offered law enforcement partners in and around the nation's capital a look at the array of threats they could face on Wednesday, beyond threats from domestic terrorists.

The assessment made it clear that -- despite U.S. government successes in stemming the flow of Americans joining terrorist groups overseas -- U.S. officials remain concerned that Americans radicalized by ISIS or other foreign terrorist groups could seek to attack on Inauguration Day.

Such terrorists "remain a concern due to their ability to act with little to no warning, willingness to attack civilians and soft targets, and ability to inflict significant casualties with weapons that do not require specialized knowledge, access, or training," the assessment cautioned.

"We assess that the consumption of online violent extremist media remains one of several significant influences … in the radicalization and mobilization process of U.S.-based violent extremists, and such messaging may be interpreted by ISIS or al-Qa'ida supporters as encouragement to target mass gatherings or high-profile events" in Washington, the assessment added.

The assessment also warned that -- even if unlikely -- U.S.-based radicals could be inspired by violent drone attacks reportedly launched overseas.

"[W]e assess that unauthorized unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations can disrupt law enforcement operations at the 59th Presidential Inauguration, present a hazard to civilians around the event, or delay the event's proceedings, though we possess no specific, credible information indicating malicious actors have plans to use UAS to target the 59th Presidential Inauguration," the assessment said.

Harrell, the former Homeland Security official, said he is particularly concerned about the violence that could come out of protests planned around the country this weekend.

With protests reportedly being planned at state capitols inall 50 states, "most states can quickly be overwhelmed by significant crowds, and they lack the resources to keep the Capitol grounds secure," he said.

Ultimately, Harrell said, "domestic terrorism, regardless of the political genesis, must be eradicated."

"Political extremists and perpetrators of targeted violence aim to weaken the very fabric of our democracy," he said. "Whether its origins are fringe conspiracies, anti-Semitism, ethnic supremacism, or something else, domestic terrorism of any form cannot and will not be tolerated in the homeland."