New Pittsburgh FBI leader addresses domestic terrorism, election security

While much of the country is largely shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the FBI has continued to operate -- including its field office in Pittsburgh.

Channel 11′s Aaron Martin spoke with the new Special Agent In-Charge for the Pittsburgh office about several different issues, including domestic terrorism in western Pennsylvania and election security.

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New FBI SAC Mike Christman acknowledged that domestic terrorism in our area is a growing threat.

“The community demands us to do something with respect to those kinds of threats,” he said. “I would say domestic terrorism is a growing concern everywhere.”

In May 2019, FBI agents arrested Mustafa Alowemer, who is accused of planning to bomb a church in the Northside.

Just last month, agents arrested Kurt Cofano after finding more than 30 homemade explosives in his car. He made threats against police and a state building on social media.

“That’s one of those things that keeps you up at night. Sometimes, at least at the onset, you don’t know if this is a counter terrorism actor or is it a domestic terrorism actor?” Christman said.

Christman also spoke about election security, an issue gaining more attention with the presidential election less than three months away.

He told Channel 11 that the FBI established several task forces to deal with security and foreign influence following the 2016 election.

But new investigative resources have uncovered additional threats.

“I think it’s greater in some respects because we’re more aware of it. I think our intelligence collection far exceeds what our intelligence collection was pre-2017,” said Christman.

Christman said he has a lot of priorities, one of them to engage with the community and make community connections. That includes religious and civic leaders and involved a meeting with the NAACP president in the last several weeks.

He hopes those connections will develop as he moves forward in the new position.

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