Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), the chairmen of two subcommittees, sent a letter this week to Andrea Gacki, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, asking the agency to utilize its authority to “detect terrorist acts and financing through the USA Patriot Act.”
The congressmen are requesting that FinCEN provide a briefing to the committee staff by no later than Oct. 15 on how the agency is tracking the funding sources of anti-Israel student organizations and protests.
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“The ability of the protestors to organize quickly, disrupt critical infrastructure, and the apparent ties to Hamas, pose a serious threat to our national security,” Huizenga and Luetkemeyer wrote in the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. “FinCEN not only has the tools to detect terrorist financing within the United States, but also the duty ensure that Foreign Terrorist Organizations do not infiltrate and provide funding to domestic groups.”
Huizenga chaired two hearings in October and December 2023, looking into Iran’s access to money and how they use it to support terrorism. He also sponsored a bill that would cut off the Iranian government from the U.S. financial system by preventing the Export-Import Bank and the International Monetary Fund from financing projects associated with the Iranian government. The bill passed the House 294-105 but has not passed the Senate.
“It is critical that we protect the American financial system, especially when there are those who wish to exploit it,” Huizenga told the Washington Examiner. “Since the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, my subcommittee has continued to push Treasury for answers on how Iran-backed terror groups like Hamas or Hezbollah, receive their funding. If individuals or groups in Michigan are coordinating their protests with foreign adversaries, we should know about it.”
There have been numerous warnings about Iranian influence in encouraging American protests over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned that Iran was seeking to interfere in the U.S. election and was stoking protests against Israel, including through funding demonstrations.
Haines made it clear that U.S. groups linked to Tehran have posed as online activists and encouraged protests, even providing financial support to some protest groups.
“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” Haines said in a comment posted to the DNI website in July. “We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
While there was a decrease in the number of protests over the summer, the lawmakers expressed concerns that the anti-Israel encampments and activities have already picked up again.
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“Some universities have already seen protests resume just weeks into the school year,” they wrote. “In September, four protesters were arrested at the University of Michigan after disrupting a campus event; none were students.”
The Treasury Department did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
