FBI chief Christopher Wray says US facing multiple elevated threats ‘all at once’

The United States is facing heightened threats from many corners at a time when law enforcement agencies are struggling, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in an exclusive interview, adding that he is “hard pressed to think of a time in my career where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once”.

Wray spoke on Wednesday while visiting the Minneapolis field office to talk about partnerships between law enforcement agencies and also with other entities. His remarks come as the FBI confronts heightened concerns over terrorism, both domestic and international, as well as Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft and foreign election interference.

“I worry about the combination of that many threats being elevated at once, with the challenges facing the men and women in law enforcement more generally,” Wray said at the office in the suburb of Brooklyn Centre. “And the one thing that I think helps bridge those two challenges is partnerships. That’s how we get through. It is by all working together.”

Wray’s assessment of an elevated threat landscape is consistent with alarm bells he has sounded for months. Soon after the October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, Wray began warning that the rampage could serve as an inspiration to militants, “the likes of which we haven’t seen since Isis launched its so-called caliphate years ago”.

The FBI has also scrambled to deal with security concerns related to the US’ southern border, with officials revealing in June that eight people from Tajikistan with suspected ties to the Islamic State group were arrested and were being held on immigration violations.

Wray declined to talk about any specific investigation or threat but said investigations into cyberattacks, including against election infrastructure, candidates or campaigns, require help from the private sector.