DHS – Lone-wolf terror attack could come at any moment

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A lone-wolf terrorist could attack the United States at any time, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned earlier this week.

“We’re very definitely in a new phase in the global terrorist threat, where the so-called lone wolf could strike at any moment,” Johnson told ABC.

He added that ” “It is a new environment, but we are not discouraging Americans from doing the things they do on a daily basis.”

Johnson praised the FBI for stopping more than 50 Americans who tried to join the Islamic State terror group in the past two years and alerting law enforcement agencies about ISIS’s reach.

But he said one of the challenges has been rebuffing ISIS’s “slick” and “effective” Internet recruitment efforts.

“We need to get the message out, and that’s not necessarily … a government mission,” he said. “It has to come from within the community. It has to come from Islamic leaders, who frankly can talk the language better than the federal government can.”

FBI Director James Comey told reporters Thursday that he estimated ISIS has amassed thousands of online followers inside the United States.

Both agencies have been working to monitor online threats to carry out attacks within the United States, and corralling Americans who attempt to fly to Syria to join terrorists.

Federal authorities increased security conditions at military bases, according to a CNN report on Friday.

Johnson said the government would increase security at federal buildings as well, and called the move “self-evident.”

The announcements came after two gunmen opened fire at a Texas event honoring artists who drew the Muslim Prophet Muhammad