Les prochaines élections présidentielles font face à une évaluation continue des menaces, selon un récent rapport du DHS.
Le rapport annuel publié mercredi met en garde contre les menaces potentielles d'une violence extrémiste alimentée par le climat politique intense aux États-Unis, ainsi que les dangers étrangers et domestiques posés par les groupes terroristes et ceux inspirés par les conflits internationaux. Cette annonce coïncide avec un conflit en cours au Moyen-Orient suite à l'assassinat par Israël du leader de Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, et au lancement d'opérations terrestres au Liban. En réponse, l'Iran a riposté en lançant environ 200 missiles contre Israël mardi.
Un représentant senior du département de la Sécurité intérieure a informé les reporters mercredi qu'ils étaient encore en train de démêler les répercussions de l'action agressive de l'Iran contre Israël sur la sécurité aux États-Unis.
L'officiel a déclaré : "Évidemment, les récents développements au Moyen-Orient au cours de l'année dernière ont exacerbé cet environnement de menace accru et continuent de le faire. Nous travaillons constamment pour évaluer et surveiller les événements internationaux afin d'évaluer leur influence sur le sol national."
L'officiel a également suggéré que l'attaque iranienne, combinée à l'anniversaire de l'assaut de Hamas contre Israël l'an dernier, pourrait inciter certains extrémistes violents aux États-Unis à accélérer ou à initier des actions qui n'auraient peut-être pas été anticipées auparavant.
"We're still in the initial stages of understanding Iran's true motives," the official admitted.
According to officials and the report itself, the objectives of Iran and other nations include sowing dissent and turmoil in the US 2024 presidential election.
The report maintains, "China, Iran, and Russia will employ a blend of covert, clandestine, criminal, and coercive tactics to exploit fresh opportunities to undermine trust in US democratic institutions and domestic unity."
Sabotage in elections takes numerous forms, according to the department's report, including voter misinformation disseminated by foreign actors aiming to mislead voters regarding voter locations and times.
In terms of cybersecurity, US officials anticipate that Chinese government-backed hackers will persist in infiltrating vital US computer systems in preparation for potential hostilities against the U.S., according to the report, highlighting this as a major concern. FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Congress in January that these hackers are readying to inflict widespread damage and real-world harm should China decide to assault US critical infrastructure.
Potential threats, however, might originate internally within the US, as they did in 2020.
"We've documented threats against election workers, we've seen white powder letters dispatched to election workers to intimidate them," the official divulged. "And we're worried that election workers, on Election Day, may be subjected to threats."
The report instilled the apprehension that during the election, domestic violent extremists "will pose the most substantial physical risk to government officials, voters, and elections-related personnel and infrastructure, including polling stations, ballot box locations, voter registration sites, campaign events, political party offices, and vote counting sites."
The report warns that anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists, motivated by "partisan political grievances or conspiracy theories," pose the most substantial risk.
"Recently, we've observed a surge in disruptive tactics focused on harassing election officials and offices—similar to those seen in past election cycles—including fake bomb threats, swatting, doxxing, and mailing white powder letters, aimed at creating fear and hindering campaign and election operations," the report asserts.
CNN's Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.
Given the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the Iranian retaliation against Israel, the ongoing political climate in the United States could potentially serve as a recruitment tool for extremist groups within the country.
Given the heightened threat environment resulting from international conflicts and political discord, it's crucial for officials to monitor potential threats to domestic election security, including cyber attacks and disruptive tactics aimed at election workers and offices.
