A Clinton County Sheriff’s vehicle is parked in a lot in Wilmington, Ohio, during a standoff with a suspect who earlier attempted to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office before fleeing up Interstate 71 toward Wilmington on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (Sam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
Federal investigators are examining social media accounts they believe are tied to the gunman, 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, and posts that urged violence after the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
In this image taken from FOX19 Cincinnati video, FBI officials gather outside the FBI building in Cincinnati, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. An armed man decked out in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at the FBI field office in Ohio on Thursday, then fled and exchanged gunfire in a standoff with law enforcement, authorities said. (FOX19 Cincinnati via AP)
At least one of the messages on Trump’s Truth Social media platform appeared to have been posted after Shiffer tried to breach the FBI office. It said: “If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I.”
A Clinton County employee helps direct traffic as an Ohio State Highway Patrol vehicle leaves the scene where an armed man was shot and killed by police after breaching the FBI’s Cincinnati field office Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Wilmington, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Another posted on the same site earlier this week from @rickywshifferjr included a “call to arms” and urged people to “be ready for combat” after the search.
In this still image taken from WKEF/WRGT video, an FBI agent stands guard as members of the FBI Evidence Response Team work outside the FBI building in Kenwood, Ohio, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. An armed man decked out in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio on Thursday, then fled and was injured in an exchange of gunfire in a standoff with law enforcement, authorities said. (Courtesy WKEF/WRGT via AP)
Authorities also are looking into whether Shiffer, a Navy veteran, had ties to far-right extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer was armed with a nail gun and an AR-15-style rifle when he tried to breach the visitor screening area at the FBI office Thursday, according to the official. Shiffer fled when agents confronted him.
In this still image taken from WKEF/WRGT video, members of the FBI Evidence Response Team work outside the FBI building in Kenwood, Ohio, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. An armed man decked out in body armor tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office in Ohio on Thursday, then fled and was injured in an exchange of gunfire in a standoff with law enforcement, authorities said. (Courtesy WKEF/WRGT via AP)
He was later spotted by a state trooper along a highway and got into a gunbattle that ended with police killing him, authorities said.
The burst of violence unfolded amid FBI warnings that federal agents could face attacks following the search in Florida.
Interstate 71 in Clinton County, Ohio, was closed and the area on lockdown during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, with an armed man wearing body armor who tried to breach security at the FBI Cincinnati Field Office before he fled north on I-71. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
The FBI is investigating what happened in Cincinnati as an act of domestic extremism, according to the law enforcement official.
Shiffer is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and may have been at the Capitol that day but was not charged with any crimes in connection with the riot, the official said.
Interstate 71 and state Route 73 were among roads closed during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, involving an armed man who tried to breach security at the Cincinnati FBI Field Office before fleeing north on I-71 to Clinton County, Ohio. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
Officials have warned of a rise in right-wing threats against federal agents since the FBI entered Trump’s estate in what authorities said was part of an investigation into whether he took classified documents with him after leaving the White House. Supporters of the former president have railed against the search, accusing the FBI and the Justice Department of using the legal system as a political weapon.
The area near Center and Smith roads was closed for hours during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Clinton County, Ohio, after an armed man tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office and fled north on the highway. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
FBI Director Christopher Wray denounced the threats as he visited an FBI office in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, saying, “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.”
The area near Center and Smith roads was closed for hours during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Clinton County, Ohio, after an armed man tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office and fled north on te highway. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
The FBI on Wednesday also warned its agents to avoid protesters and ensure their security key cards are “not visible outside FBI space,” citing an increase in social media threats against bureau personnel and offices.
Two small airplanes and an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter are circling the area during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, involving an armed man who tried to breach security at the Cincinnati FBI Field Office before fleeing north on I-71 to Clinton County, Ohio. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
A now-suspended Twitter account, @rickyshiffer, shared the same profile picture as the Truth Social account and similar opinions, including a call for armed conflict in the U.S. this past spring.
Waves of heat radiate off Interstate 71 in Clinton County near Cincinnati, Ohio, which was closed during a standoff Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, with an armed man wearing body armor who tried to breach security at the FBI Cincinnati Field Office before he fled north on I-71. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP)
It included posts saying that “elections are rigged” against conservatives and that the country faces “tyranny.”
Shiffer worked as an electrician, according to one of his social media profiles. He was a registered Republican who voted in the 2020 primary from Columbus, Ohio, and in the 2020 general election from Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to public records.
The intersection of Smith Road and Van Tress Road in Chester Township, Ohio, seen Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, near where the Ohio State Highway Patrol says a standoff took place the day before. Authorities are investigating the motives 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, an armed man who they say tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office, fled and died hours later in a rural standoff with law enforcement. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Court records show the Ohio Department of Taxation filed suit against him in June, seeking a $553 tax lien judgment, according to court records listing him at an address in St. Petersburg, Florida. He also previously lived at several addresses in Columbus and in Omaha, Nebraska.
Clinton County employees sit in their vehicles blocking the road that leads to the scene where an armed man was shot and killed by police after breaching the FBI’s Cincinnati field office Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Wilmington, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
He enlisted in the Navy in 1998 and served on the USS Columbia submarine from 1999 to 2003, according to military records. He later was an infantry soldier in the Florida Army National Guard from 2008 to 2011, when he was honorably discharged.
The Caesar Creek Flea Market in Wilmington, Ohio, stands near the place where law enforcement officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect who earlier attempted to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office before fleeing up Interstate 71 toward Wilmington on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (Sam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, John Seewer in Toledo, and Jim Mustian and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
