FBI Director Kash Patel revealed in an interview with The Epoch Times that the Federal Bureau of Investigation thwarted 715 planned terrorist attacks across the United States over the last year. This previously undisclosed figure highlights the extensive and ongoing counterterrorism operations by the bureau, which Patel credited to the support and resources furnished by the Trump administration.
"Every terrorist attack stopped is a family that gets to go home." — Kash Patel, FBI Director
The Director elaborated on the bureau's recent successes, noting that the FBI disrupted four separate terror plots within a 30-day period during December. These specific plots, according to Patel, targeted communities in Southern California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The alleged targets included schools, places of worship, businesses, and other public gathering areas. FBI agents successfully arrested the suspects involved before any of these alleged attacks could be carried out, preventing what investigators believed could have resulted in large-scale civilian casualties.
Patel emphasized that terrorist organizations, notably ISIS, continue to actively seek opportunities to conduct attacks within the United States. He stated that investigators are consistently observing terrorist groups attempting to recruit individuals already residing in the U.S., as well as foreign nationals and others deemed vulnerable to extremist ideologies.
The FBI's counterterrorism strategy involves a delicate balance, Patel explained, between acting swiftly to prevent immediate violence and allowing sufficient time to identify and dismantle entire terrorist networks rather than merely apprehending a few individuals. This approach combines sophisticated intelligence analysis with legal investigative tools and robust cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies to identify and neutralize threats before they escalate into attacks. Those arrested in connection with the December plots, Patel confirmed, are now facing lengthy federal prison sentences.
Beyond the 715 thwarted plots, the FBI has publicly announced several other significant counterterrorism investigations recently. In June, Patel detailed the disruption of an alleged plot targeting a White House UFC event, which was scheduled to coincide with America’s 250th birthday. According to reports from Newsmax, investigators allege the suspects planned to detonate explosives before using snipers to target President Donald Trump, Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, and West Virginia Representative Carol Miller. Court records suggest that one of the suspects viewed the planned attack as a catalyst for a broader uprising within the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the alleged organizer of this particular plot as an illegal alien from Mexico who had remained in the country through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Other notable cases mentioned by the FBI include the disruption of an alleged ISIS-inspired New Year’s Eve plot in North Carolina and a separate investigation involving an alleged ISIS-linked scheme that targeted multiple states during last year’s Halloween celebrations.
In a post on X following his interview, Director Patel underscored the human impact of these operations, writing, "Every terrorist attack stopped is a family that gets to go home." He further commended the bureau's agents, adding that the FBI is "finding terrorists before they strike—not after." Patel concluded by affirming the bureau's unwavering focus on identifying emerging threats and collaborating with partner agencies to prevent attacks, citing the hundreds of disrupted plots as clear evidence of the extensive scope and critical nature of the FBI’s ongoing counterterrorism operations.
