Frank Figliuzzi, a top FBI official during Obama’s first term and current NBC News analyst, suggested in a recent panel segment that some members of Congress should be arrested in order to prevent another Capitol riot from occurring.
Figliuzzi shared his thoughts with Chuck Todd during an appearance on MSNBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’
In discussing the Capitol protests, he likened some Republican lawmakers to the “command-and-control element” of a terrorist group, referencing the events of that day.
“Arresting low-level operatives is merely a speed bump, not a roadblock. In order to really tackle terrorism — and this time domestically — you’ve got to attack and dismantle the command-and-control element of a terrorist group. And unfortunately, and I know this is painful to hear, that may mean people sitting in Congress right now, people in and around the former president. That’s how you do this. Otherwise recruitment, inciting, and cult-like leadership continues to recruit people to violence.”
Figliuzzi served as assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division between 2011 and 2012, appointed by Robert Mueller.
WATCH: “Arresting low-level operatives is merely a speed bump not a road block,” @FrankFigliuzzi1 says.
“In order to really tackle terrorism … you’ve got to attack and dismantle the command and control element.”
“That may mean people sitting in Congress right now.” pic.twitter.com/Cn6HlTS9Zq
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 8, 2021
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Frank Figliuzzi Wants Political Opponents In Congress Arrested For Domestic Terrorism
Just to reiterate here: A national security contributor for a major network, a former top dog at the FBI, is advocating to have political opponents in Congress arrested on domestic terrorism charges.
It would be amusing if it weren’t so outrageous.
Progressive journalist Glenn Greenwald expressed shock that someone of Frank Figliuzzi’s stature could “casually argu(e) for the arrest and imprisonment of sitting members of Congress” without receiving any pushback from the host or other contributors on the network.
An exasperated Greenwald tweeted that Meet the Press promotes the wild suggestion “as if it’s normal.”
“This. Is. Not. Normal,” he wrote.
One of the most popular MSNBC stars is (needless to say) a former FBI Assistant Director: @FrankFigliuzzi1. Here he is casually arguing for the arrest and imprisonment of sitting members of Congress, something @MeetThePress promotes as if it’s normal.
This. Is. Not. Normal. https://t.co/pY0e0AJcNy
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 9, 2021
Greenwald went on to suggest “American liberals love the CIA and FBI” and that “it’s an authoritarian political faction.”
“That’s the reason their cable outlets are filled with operatives from those agencies,” he claimed.
And Chuck Todd probably sat there like an absolute clown after Figliuzzi rattled off that jibberish. https://t.co/Z8qzF98vaH
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) June 9, 2021
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Conspiracy Theorist
While Frank Figliuzzi is suggesting members of Congress be arrested for domestic terrorism, this is far from the first time he’s been promoting conspiracy theories that would make Qanon blush.
.@glennkirschner2.@B52Malmet
Former FBI Assistant Director for CounterIntelligence Frank Figliuzzi issues a stark warning about Domestic Terrorists. He calls for the dismantling of their leadership to include sitting members of congress and Trump himself. pic.twitter.com/VqMBZxMP2y— ChattJazz (@ChattJazz) June 2, 2021
In 2019, he compared former President Donald Trump’s relationship with his supporters to a radical Islamic cleric who plays beheading videos as a means to radicalize jihadists.
“What I see is uncanny parallels between the radicalization you see in Islamic, violent extremism, radicalization to commit jihad, to go to jihad, and then what we’re seeing in the white hate movement,” he said in an interview on MSNBC.
In another more recent interview for Salon, he reiterated the comparison between terrorists and Trump supporters.
“There are eerie similarities to the radicalization process that we saw happen internationally,” he claimed, referencing the speed that a person can go “watching violent beheading videos and listening to violent inspiring sermons from a cleric and then moving to violent action.”
Figliuzzi added, “It is very similar on the domestic side here in the United States with social media.”
In August of 2019, Figliuzzi launched an absolutely wild conspiracy theory that suggested Trump’s order to lower flags at half-staff to honor victims of shootings in El Paso and Dayton were a secret shoutout to white supremacists and Nazis.
“The president says that we will fly our flags at half-mast until August 8, that’s 8/8,” he fretted. “Now I’m not going to imply that he did this deliberately, but I am using it as an example of the ignorance of the adversary that’s being demonstrated by the White House.”
“The numbers 8/8 are very significant in the neo-Nazi and the white supremacy movement,” Figliuzzi continued. “Why? Because the letter ‘H’ is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and to them, the numbers 8/8 stand for ‘Heil Hitler.”
MSNBC this week on the El Paso tragedy:
Nicolle Wallace: Trump “talking about exterminating Latinos”
Frank Figliuzzi: Trump raising flag on 8/8 signals “Heil Hitler” to Nazis
Malcolm Nance: “Trump giving [Nazis] subliminal orders”
Mika Brzezinski: “This is what [Trump] wants” pic.twitter.com/KfhdTJTMuj
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 8, 2019
Yes, he actually said that. On national television. In his role as a national security contributor for a major network.
And he is still employed, given the opportunity to suggest political opponents be arrested for terrorism.
It is truly unhinged.
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