Threats to health facilities and the people who work in them are skyrocketing, with the number of high The situation is likely to continue. analysts said.
A new press note issued by the Department of Lands says a hot-button socio-medical issue that has sparked litigation both in the public sphere and in the courts is due to “the perception of the health sector as a potential target for attack” by domestic extremists. “I will raise the level.” Security on February 26th.
Confidential analysis obtained by ABC News reveals everything from patient harm caused by medical compromises, to the chilling effect of harassment and intimidation on clinicians, to ideologically motivated cyberattacks targeting healthcare providers and workers. , the various dangers that this growing threat may pose are explained. network.
“Violent extremist threats to the healthcare and public health sectors have diversified since the height of the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic and remain strong in the post-pandemic era due to growing healthcare-related ideological grievances. “This is likely to increase,” DHS said. The news bulletin said.
Recent “escalating threats of violence targeting medical facilities and staff” include “fabricated bomb threats against hospitals and attempts to incite violence through personal information recording.” [public release of personal information like addresses and phone numbers] and calls for the execution of certain doctors, civil servants, and pharmaceutical company executives,” the bulletin said.
The bulletin said the “surge” in threats coincided with an increase in public dialogue around health issues, amplified by legislation and debate.
Since the pandemic upended life, the scope of the threat is “clearly based on narratives and conspiracy theories popular with violent extremists” and “highlighted by an increase in abortion- and gender-affirming care-related threats. , and “expanded” to other ideological grievances. The bulletin said it focused on these divisive issues.
“Our society is very angry and very polarized. In the United States, people who disagree with us are our enemies, and people who believe that violence is an acceptable way to express disagreement. are on the rise,” said John Cohen. Former DHS intelligence chief and current ABC News contributor.
Experts say the “us versus them” mentality, applied to the most controversial wedge issues, provides a useful crowbar for those seeking to exploit rifts in American society.
“Violent extremists, terrorist groups, and foreign intelligence agencies are deliberately seeking to exploit the most polarizing public policy issues debated in the United States, with the hope of provoking destabilizing responses and, potentially, acts of violence. I believe that,” Cohen added.
Actual attacks have been directed at what are seen as epicenters of extremist grievances, and threats of violence are more than hypothetical.
Last week, a California man pleaded guilty to incendiary bombing a family planning clinic in March 2022. Following guilty pleas by others involved in the incendiary bombing, the clinic was temporarily closed and approximately 30 patients had to be rescheduled.
According to the Justice Department, the defendants sought to “scare pregnant women from obtaining abortions, prevent clinic physicians, staff, and employees from performing abortions, and intimidate clinic patients.” It is said that he did. In June 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, he and his co-conspirators “planned to use a second Molotov cocktail to attack another family planning clinic.” . A year later, they were arrested while planning an attack two days before LGBTQ “Pride Night” at Dodger Stadium, the Justice Department announced.
This is one of a growing list of criminal plots in recent years, ranging from taunting calls and death threats against health authorities and hospitals, to assaults on clinic attendants, vandalism and damage to facilities. be.
“If abortion is not safe,[e]In response to Roe’s ouster, graffiti read “No you, no you” on the headquarters of pregnancy resource centers and abortion alternative advocacy groups in several states. In May 2022, an “incendiary device” was used to set the “Pros” on fire. “Oregon’s Life Organization Building.”
In September 2023, a Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty to making a false bomb threat against Boston Children’s Hospital. Among its wide range of medical services, Boston Children’s Hospital has medical programs focused on gender diverse and transgender youth.
According to the Justice Department, the woman made a phone call saying, “There’s a bomb on the way to the hospital. Everyone who feels sick should evacuate,” prompting the dispatch of a bomb squad and destroying the hospital and surrounding area. It is said that they forced entry. lockdown.
“Obviously it was scary. We don’t want this to happen in our health care system,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. He added that there was. .
“Part of the problem is there’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Brownstein said. “When someone tries to take it beyond just a comment and turn an internet-based conversation into a real-world threat.”
The targeting of healthcare raises unique and alarming concerns, experts say. Healthcare directly attacks the well-being of the population and creates a ripple effect of physical harm.
These threats have “threatened patient care and health services across a wide range of health systems and other health care providers” since the pandemic era, according to a DHS bulletin. These “repeated threats” “could reduce the ability of clinicians and facilities to provide care,” the bulletin said.
The worst may yet be yet to come, breaking news suggests: In the year of the pandemic and the first presidential election since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, leading candidates are weighing in on everything from reproductive rights to social responsibility. He is running on some of the most divisive issues, including political rights. Officials say these are potential flashpoints: gender and culture wars, immigration at the southern border, and multiple wars overseas.
“Government actions in the health care sector over the coming year, including responses to public health crises, and societal debates involving controversial health issues will likely lead to threats of violence becoming more violent acts,” the DHS bulletin said. There is a possibility of escalation,” he said, adding “a court ruling regarding mail-order sales.” State laws that prohibit access to abortion pills or the provision of gender reassignment treatment to minors are particularly likely to increase the potential for violence against this sector. ”
And undermining critical infrastructure like health care becomes an attractive tool for enemies seeking to undermine the stability of American society.
“The goal of America’s adversaries is not only to destabilize our societies, but to make people lose faith in their government,” Cohen said. “In the electoral process, in critical infrastructure (power grids, financial institutions, health systems), these are the fundamental things that people rely on to live their lives every day.”
In the wake of the divisive pandemic, “the environment here in the United States has become more fertile for our adversaries,” Cohen said. “We expect this high level of threat-related activity to increase further as the election approaches.”
With the exponential power and proliferation of artificial intelligence and the internet, and as society becomes increasingly dependent on both, the threat continues to grow, even as online social media provides a platform for conspiracy theories and extremism. It’s getting more complicated.
“Ideologically motivated cyber attackers are increasingly targeting healthcare institutions at a time when sociopolitically divisive topics are prevalent in public life,” the bulletin said. .
“Even in the absence of an attack, repeated threats of violence can still have a chilling effect on health care providers” and “result in more severe or widespread barriers to patient care,” the bulletin said. Stated.
“If people who engage in these activities are successful, they can prevent people from receiving proper medical care or protecting themselves and their communities from public health risks. And when that happens, people die. ,” Cohen said.