FBI Director Christopher Wray, via FBI.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

About a week ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the Senate that white supremacy is responsible for most domestic terrorism cases so far in 2019.

Then came Saturday, when a gunman who pledged to attack “as many Mexicans as possible” opened fire at an El Paso Walmart, killing 20 people and wounding 26 others. Early Sunday morning, another gunman killed 9 people and injured 26 others in just 30 seconds in Dayton, Ohio. The motive of that shooting remains unclear.

The bureau is worried the attacks will inspire more acts of violence.

“The FBI remains concerned that U.S.-based domestic violent extremists could become inspired by these and previous high-profile attacks to engage in similar acts of violence,” the bureau said in a news release. “The FBI asks the American public to report to law enforcement any suspicious activity that is observed either in person or online.”

So what’s the FBI doing about the threat of domestic terrorism? According to CNN, Wray has ordered a new threat assessment at the bureau’s offices nationwide in an attempt to stave off future attacks.

A command group at the FBI’s Washington headquarters will lead an effort to get field offices to identify threats of mass shootings.

The bureau also is assisting in the investigations of the shootings in Texas and Ohio.

“On behalf of the FBI, I offer sincere condolences to the victims, families, and communities affected by this weekend’s violence, and we stand by them during this difficult time. We will bring the full resources of the FBI to bear in the pursuit of justice for the victims of these crimes.” Wray said in a statement. “I am proud of our state and local law enforcement partners and the immediate response of FBI agents, analysts, and professional staff, working in close coordination to assist them. I have been in contact with the president and the attorney general, and they both have expressed their support for the FBI’s work in the wake of these tragedies.”

Washington Field Office, via FBI.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

Timothy M. Dunham, a 17-year veteran of the FBI, has been named special agent in charge of the Criminal Division at the Washington Field Office.

Dunham most recently served as special agent in charge of the office’s Counterintelligence Division.

In 2002, Dunham became a special agent and was first assigned to the Chicago Field Office, working counterintelligence cases. He was promoted in 2007 to supervisory special agent in the Counterintelligence Division at FBI Headquarters.

In 2009, Dunham became program manager in the Counterterrorism Division for the FBI’s extraterritorial counterterrorism investigations.

In 2011, he became an FBI detailee to the CIA, coordinating FBI human intelligence operations overseas with U.S. Intelligence Community partners.

In 2012, Dunham joined the FBI’s Albany Field Office in New York as the supervisor of a Joint Terrorism Task Force squad, overseeing international and domestic terrorism investigations. Later that year, he became the acting assistant legal attaché in the FBI’s newly established office in Stockholm, Sweden.

In 2015, Dunham became assistant special agent in charge of the Albany Field Office’s Criminal and Administrative branches before returning to FBI headquarters in 2017 to serve as the section chief of the Leadership Development Program. In 2018, he began leading the Counterintelligence Division of the Washington Field Office.

Before joining the FBI, Dunham practiced law in Richmond, Va. He received a degree in accounting from the University of Richmond before earning Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from the College of William and Mary. He also has a master’s degree in security studies from Georgetown University.