Christopher A.

Wray
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Questions for the Record
Submitted July 30, 2019

QUESTIONS FROM SENATOR BOOKER

1. During your hearing, I asked you a number of questions regarding the number of violent
attacks and fatalities categorized as domestic terrorism, and you were unable to provide
that data.

a. How many violent attacks have been attributed to white supremacists since 2000?

b. How many fatalities have been attributed to white supremacists since 2000?

2. During your testimony, you indicated that the FBI no longer uses the designation “black
identity extremist.”

a. When did the FBI stop using the designation “black identity extremist”?

b. Has the FBI issued an intelligence assessment to state and local law enforcement
agencies to update and correct the August 2017 assessment creating the “black
identity extremist” designation? If so, will you please provide a copy of the
assessment to the Senate Judiciary Committee?

c. If the FBI has not already done so, will you commit to updating the assessment
and circulate it to state and local law enforcement agencies, and share a copy with
the Senate Judiciary Committee?

d. Has the FBI created another designation to replace the “black identity extremist”
designation? Please provide any documentation outlining or explaining the new
designation and detail how it has been disseminated to other law enforcement
agencies.

3. For an extensive period of time, the FBI used 11 different categories to classify domestic
terrorist threats. Now, the Bureau has replaced a number of those designations with a
broader classification system that only has four categories. One of those categories is
called “racially motivated violent extremism.” Notably, the FBI eliminated the “white
supremacy” category and placed it under that broader designation.

a. When did the FBI officially eliminate the specific “white supremacist” category
in favor of the “racially-motivated violent extremist” category?

b. Why did the FBI eliminate “white supremacy” from the list of categories used to
describe and track violent extremism?

1
 c. Did anyone at the Department of Justice (DOJ) direct or request that the FBI
eliminate the “white supremacy” category?

d. Did anyone at the White House direct or request that the FBI eliminate the “white
supremacy” category?

e. If the DOJ and White House did not direct or request that the FBI eliminate the
“white supremacy” category, who directed the FBI to reorganize its domestic
terrorism threat categorization?

f. Please specify what subcategories fall under the “racially motivated violent
extremism” category aside from the white supremacist ideology.

4. If the FBI receives information indicating that an individual may be planning a mass
shooting, how can the Bureau determine whether that person has recently purchased a
firearm if an appropriations rider requires the destruction of records of a background
check within 24 hours after a person is approved to purchase a firearm?

5. In February 2017, the DOJ decided to remove all records of people with outstanding
arrest warrants from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. This was
based on a change in the longstanding interpretation of the term "fugitive from justice."

a. Before removing these records, did the FBI or DOJ inform states that it was
changing its interpretation so that states would have an opportunity to identify the
records that should have remained in the system?

6. The FBI manages the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is
used to conduct background checks on people who are purchasing firearms. Does the FBI
have the authority to deny a gun sale to a person based on information that the person has
threatened to commit a mass shooting, if that person has not been convicted of a crime or
otherwise falls within the prohibited categories for purchase of a gun under federal or
state law?

7. Does the FBI have the authority to require state or local law enforcement to provide
information about threats of mass shootings, including the identities of particular
shooters?

8. If a person's family member informs the FBI that the person is planning a mass shooting,
and the person tries to buy a gun at a gun store, does the FBI have the authority to deny
the gun sale?

9. If a state or local law enforcement officer provides information about a threat of a mass
shooting, and mentions a particular person, can the FBI put a hold on gun purchases by
that person?

2
10. In the past several years, several states have enacted extreme risk protection order laws,
which allow a court to issue an order temporarily prohibiting a person from possessing or
purchasing guns based on evidence that the person has made threats or is violent or
suicidal. These state laws require the reporting of these orders to the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System.

a. If a person who is subject to such an order tries to buy a gun from a federally
licensed firearms dealer, would the FBI approve or deny the sale?

b. In the absence of an applicable state law, is there a way for an FBI agent to seek
such an order under federal law?