FBI memo targeting pro-life Catholics more widely circulated than first assumed

An FBI memo targeting pro-life Catholics during the Biden administration was distributed to thousands of field agents — far more than were originally disclosed when news of the memo became public.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• A leaked FBI memo labeling certain traditional Catholics as ‘far-right’ and even ‘violent’ was distributed to over 1,000 field agents in the U.S., with similar language found in other FBI documents.

• The FBI took its cues from the Southern Poverty Law Center, known for labeling conservative and/or Christian groups as “hate groups.”

THE DETAILS:

In 2023, an FBI memo was leaked, revealing that people labeled as “radical traditionalist” Catholics were under investigation for possible ties to the “far-right white nationalist movement” — allegedly including those holding “violent” pro-life views.

It has since come to light that the FBI memo was used not in just one field office, but was also distributed to over 1,000 field agents around the country. The anti-Catholic language was also found in multiple FBI documents. Field offices in Louisville, Portland, Buffalo, Phoenix, and Milwaukee were known to have been consulted or given the memo, and not all agents were receptive.

On June 3, Senator Chuck Grassley issued a press release calling for the FBI to release any other information related to the Richmond memo, and also sent a letter to current FBI Director Kash Patel demanding action.

“I’m determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo,” Grassley said, “and of the FBI’s contempt for oversight in the last administration.”

THE BACKSTORY:

It was the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) who labeled the so-called “Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Groups.” FBI agents sent e-mails regarding the memo, asking questions like, “Is anyone really asking for a product like this?” along with complaints unhappy that “apparently we are at the behest of the SPLC.”

Another agent replied, “Yeah, our overreliance on the SPLC hate designations is … problematic.”

The SPLC has become controversial for its overt left-wing bias, with a former employee describing it as “a highly profitable scam.” A federal judge pointed out that their hate-group label does not “depend upon objective data or evidence” and is “entirely subjective.” Though the group had prestigious and laudable beginnings, it has since become little more than a liberal smear machine.

GO DEEPER:

A similar controversy was discovered in the Army during the Biden administration, in which training slides labeled pro-life Americans as terrorists; in this case and that of the memo, even after the scandals became public, it took years to reveal the true extent of the damage.