US government officials have revealed new information on the military background of 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, a pro-Trump fascist who attempted last Thursday to break into an FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Police claim that after Shiffer, clad in body armor and armed with an AR-15 rifle and nail gun, failed to break into the office, he led police on a multi-hour chase, shootout and stand-off that ended with police and FBI agents shooting him shortly before 4:00 p.m.
On Friday the Washington Post, citing a US government official, reported that Shiffer had served two different stints in the US military. Shiffer, a native of Columbus, Ohio, enlisted in the US Navy in 1998 as a “fire-control technician,” the Post reported. After completing a 10-month training course, along with being granted a TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance, he was assigned to the USS Columbia.
The USS Columbia is a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine. The US Navy currently operates 26 of these submarines. Each submarine costs roughly $1 billion and is capable of launching torpedoes, mines, Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon missiles.
Shiffer left the Navy in 2003 as a non-commissioned officer. Last Friday, a National Guard spokesperson confirmed that Shiffer rejoined the military in 2008. At that time, he enlisted in the Florida Army National Guard as an infantryman.
In 2010, after completing training, he deployed as an infantryman to Iraq. The Guard spokesperson said that after returning to the United States in 2011, Shiffer left the military and received an “honorable discharge.”
While it has not been confirmed by Truth Social, the Trump-owned Twitter knock-off, it appears Shiffer maintained an active profile on the social network under his name. An online post written earlier this year on a Truth Social media account that had Shiffer’s name, photo and general location seemingly confirmed his military record. It stated: “I was on submarines 5 years and in the Army National Guard 3 years. You may call me FT2 Shiffer or Spec. Shiffer (or the joke could be TF2 Sh*thead, or something.”
The Washington Post and several other media outlets have reported that the same Truth Social account linked to Shiffer was vociferous in its support of Trump. A day after the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound, the account called for “patriots” to go to Florida and kill FBI agents.
Prior to the raid, the account bearing Shiffer’s name repeated Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen and that President Joe Biden was an illegitimate usurper.
Shiffer not only believed Trump’s lies surrounding the election, photos have proven that he traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in a January 5, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally at Black Lives Matter Plaza and marched on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
While Shiffer was never charged for crimes in relation to Trump’s failed coup, the New York Times reported Friday, citing two “law enforcement officials,” that he had been under investigation by the FBI for months. The Times noted that a neighbor of Shiffer who wished to remain anonymous confirmed that FBI agents had visited him “a few weeks ago.”
Trump and his Republican allies have continued their incitement of violence against the FBI and Justice Department, which, according to Trump, are under the “stranglehold” of the “radical left Democrats.” This has prompted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI to issue a joint intelligence bulletin, which was leaked to major news outlets on Saturday. It warns that violent threats against government officials have been appearing on “social media sites, web forums, video sharing platforms and image boards” since the search of Trump’s property.
Some of the threats mentioned in the joint FBI/DHS memo include “a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters and issuing general calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion.’”
CNN reported that the intelligence document included specific threats made against judges, FBI agents and government officials involved in the issuing and execution of the search warrant.
Outside the Phoenix, Arizona FBI field office on Saturday a few dozen pro-Trump elements, some of them armed and wearing body armor, protested in support of the would-be dictator and against the FBI.
On Sunday, a few hundred Trump supporters in Long Island, New York, gathered in support of the ex-president. Speakers denounced the “disgusting” FBI search and claimed that Trump was the rightful president.