Anti-Islam Activist Gaffney: Bombs May Be Effort To ‘Deflect Attention’ From ‘Left’s Mobs’

Frank Gaffney
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A leading anti-Islam activist with close ties to the Trump administration suggested Wednesday that a string of bombs sent to high-profile Democratic figures and newsrooms was an effort “to deflect attention from the Left’s mobs.”

“None of the leftists ostensibly targeted for pipe-bombs were actually at serious risk, since security details would be screening their mail,” Frank Gaffney, executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy, wrote on Twitter. “So let’s determine not only who is responsible for these bombs, but whether they were trying to deflect attention from the Left’s mobs.”

That message comes as law enforcement reports that “functional” explosive devices were sent to philanthropist George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and the newsrooms at CNN’s New York headquarters and the San Diego Tribune.

Pipe bombs sent through the mail are considered a terrorism-related crime under federal law, regardless of the motive.

Gaffney has made a career out of trying to drum up concern over the threat he believes Islam poses to America, baselessly fomenting fear of “creeping Sharia” law taking hold in certain states and cities. Along with Pamela Geller, Gaffney is an ally of many figures in the GOP, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and President Trump.

Trump cited data from the Center for Security Policy when he called for Muslims to be banned from entering the U.S. during the 2016 campaign, and Gaffney provided advice on national security issues to Trump’s presidential transition team.

Gaffney’s recently-named replacement as President and CEO is Fred Fleitz, who most recently worked as National Security Advisor John Bolton’s chief of staff in the Trump White House.

In a statement announcing his appointment, the center said that Fleitz will remain an “advocate for the sorts of robust defense and foreign policies that CSP has long championed and that have featured prominently in President Trump’s National Security Strategy.”

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