The Justice Department released a report Thursday detailing how the FBI linked traditional Catholic beliefs to domestic extremism and investigated two priests under the Biden administration.
The report, released by the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, centers on a 2023 internal document prepared by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office known as the “Richmond Domain Perspective.”
According to the DOJ, the assessment associated beliefs held by many conservative Catholics with violent extremism. FBI materials cited the Traditional Latin Mass, opposition to abortion, conservative family values, and a “rejection of modernity” as possible indicators.
The DOJ said FBI agents investigated two priests and monitored their travel and communications. The bureau ultimately found no connection between the priests and criminal activity or violent extremism.
The report also found that the FBI relied on biased and unverified sources, including publications from the Southern Poverty Law Center and foreign intelligence materials, without properly reviewing their credibility.
Internal FBI reviews later determined that the Richmond assessment wrongly mixed Catholic doctrine with violent extremism and failed to consider First Amendment protections, according to the DOJ.
Despite those findings, the department said FBI leaders took little corrective action. Employees involved in producing the document received positive performance reviews, and officials in the Richmond office continued defending and refining the assessment, even after it was removed from FBI systems.
President Donald Trump ordered a review of the weaponization of federal agencies shortly after returning to office in January 2025. The DOJ said it reviewed more than 1,800 pages of internal emails, assessments, and investigative records while preparing the report.
The department has since removed key FBI employees responsible for the Richmond document.
“This Department of Justice will not tolerate a weaponized bureaucracy that chills First Amendment activity,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The individuals who developed the Richmond Domain Perspective are no longer with the Department.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the employees behind the Richmond Catholic memo have been held accountable and vowed to prevent similar abuses, “Weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI. Even while those who developed the unacceptable Richmond Catholic memo under the previous administration have been held accountable, releasing information to the public about what occurred under the prior regime is an important part of the process. I want to thank the Weaponization Working Group for their partnership as well as Attorney General Todd Blanche for his leadership addressing these abuses and making sure they never happen again.”
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