Homeland Security says commemorations of Tulsa race massacre could be target for White supremacists, but there is no specific threat
The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning that events associated with the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre could be targets for racial violence, according to a source familiar with the warning.
These events “probably are attractive targets for some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to commit violence,” the Wednesday bulletin read, according to the source.
There are no specific or credible threats at this time that violent extremists are planning on targeting the remembrance, according to a DHS spokesperson, who confirmed that information about the concerns was shared with local and state authorities.
Earlier this week, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa, Oklahoma, next week in honor of the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which hundreds of residents from the Greenwood District were killed and the neighborhood was left in ashes.
There are several other events next week to commemorate the lives lost during the massacre, according to local reports.
The DHS warning was first reported by ABC News.
“The Department of Homeland Security is committed to sharing information with our partners to ensure the safety and security of all communities across the country. DHS encourages the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to local and state law enforcement, and the FBI,” the DHS spokesperson said.
The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis shared the information with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities, as well as private-sector security actors, as part of routine analysis ahead of potential high-profile events, according to the spokesperson.
Tulsa’s Greenwood District encompassed more than 35 city blocks of entirely Black-owned businesses. On May 31, 1921, racial tensions and violence with neighboring White residents boiled over, resulting in the massacre. The area known as Black Wall Street was burned to the ground.
During congressional testimony Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the most “urgent” terrorism threat in the homeland “is domestic violent extremism.”
Earlier in the day, Mayorkas had pointed to recent department threat bulletins when pressed by Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois on future plans to repair the department’s operations so that it can provide “essential intelligence on real threats,” such as the Capitol insurrection.
He told lawmakers that within the past two weeks, DHS had issued “information bulletins, adding, “We very well may issue an additional information bulletin based on the threat landscape today.”
It’s unclear if he was referring to the bulletin related to the Tulsa massacre anniversary.
Mayorkas has previously said that White supremacy extremists remain the most persistent lethal threat in America.
This story has been updated with the additional information from the Department of Homeland Security that there is no specific or credible threats at this time.
