In February, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were under scrutiny for weaponizing law enforcement against conservatives and Catholics after an FBI memo was leaked to the public which labeled conservative Catholics “potential terrorists.” Now, it has been discovered that the FBI has sent undercover agents into Catholic churches to investigate domestic extremism.

The Weaponization of Government Committee recently discovered that the FBI has sent undercover agents into Catholic churches in order to spy on Americans who are practicing their Catholic faith.

On Monday, Chairman Jim Jordan of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray informing him of the committee’s investigation into the FBI’s targeting of Catholic parishes.

Jordan wrote, “The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) handling of domestic violent extremism investigations against the Catholic Americans and its effect on protected First Amendment activity.”

He added that the Committee knows “that the FBI relied on at least one undercover agent to produce its analysis, and that the FBI proposed that its agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to develop sources among the clergy and church leadership to inform on Americans practicing their faith.”

Jordan also informed Wray of a subpoena ordering the FBI to turn over documents pertaining to its infiltration of Catholic churches.

“This shocking information reinforces our need for all responsive documents, and the Committee is issuing a subpoena to you to compel your full cooperation,” wrote Jordan.

The letter also references part of a document previously sent to them by the FBI which discussed their investigations targeting Catholics. The partially redacted FBI document said:

“In addition to [redaction], engage in outreach to the leadership of other [Society of Saint Pius X] chapels in the FBI Richmond [area of responsibility] to sensitize these congregations to the warning signs of radicalization and to enlist their assistance to serve as suspicious activity tripwires.“

Jordan insists that the Committee requires that the FBI send them unredacted documents pertaining to their investigations.

“The limited information that was provided to the Committee makes clear that we must possess all responsive material without redactions,” Jordan said. “From this selective production, we know that the FBI, relying on information derived from at least one undercover employee, sought to use local religious organizations as ‘new avenues for tripwire and source development.'”

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