Today, the House Judiciary Committee released an interim staff report titled "Report: How the Biden-Wray FBI Manufactured a False Narrative of Catholic Americans as Violent Extremists." The report reveals that, contrary to former FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony, the 2023 Richmond memorandum, which labeled traditional Catholics as "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists," was not an isolated incident. Under new Director Kash Patel, the FBI has provided over 1,300 pages of documents related to the Richmond memorandum that were previously undisclosed by the Biden-Wray FBI.
The newly obtained documents show that more federal law-enforcement resources were allocated to surveilling Catholics than previously known. The Richmond Field Office's activities included coordinating with other field offices and surveilling a priest. Several internal FBI documents from 2009 to 2023 used terms like "radical traditionalist catholic" and cited sources such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Key findings include:
- The FBI's Richmond Field Office interviewed a priest affiliated with a local Catholic church regarding an investigation subject linked to the Richmond memorandum.
- After the priest declined to provide information, he was surveilled and subjected to an investigative assessment.
- The Richmond memorandum relied on open-source material, including SPLC information, focusing on "radical traditionalist Catholics" and "racially motivated violent extremists."
- Coordination occurred between the Richmond Field Office, Louisville Field Office, and FBI's London Office for evidence gathering about the priest.
- There was an attempt to breach priest-penitent privilege based on flawed reasoning regarding baptism and catechism completion.
These findings suggest that key information was withheld from the Committee since the start of Congress. The Committee remains focused on oversight of alleged misuse of federal law enforcement against Catholic Americans. With Director Patel’s transparency commitment, oversight will continue to inform legislative reforms for protecting religious liberties from government overreach.
Read the full interim staff report here.
