Extremism researcher says death of gunman who tried to breach Ohio FBI office is 'a really good example' of how far-right conspiracies can get followers killed

Far-right groups and rhetoric that push conspiracy theories are what inspired the man who tried to break into the FBI office.

Jon Lewis is a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

"They're picking up guns and they're going to FBI field offices and that should be a huge concern," he said.

Ricky Shiffer had been following and engaging with right-wing online platforms which encouraged him to act violently when he tried to break into the FBI Cincinnati office.

According to Lewis, Shiffer's actions are an example of terrorism that is statistically predictable but unpredictable. The GOP called for the destruction of the FBI.

Shiffer was shot and killed by law enforcement after he tried to attack the field office.

"Well, I thought I had a way through bullet proof glass, and I didn't," Shiffer posted on Donald Trump's Truth Social network during the attack. If you don't hear from me, it's true that I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it's possible that they took me off the internet, or they sent the regular cops. According to NBC News, it's at 8 pm. There is no account on the platform anymore.

One of Shiffer's posts encouraged people to "kill the FBI on sight and be ready to take down other active enemies of the people and those who try to prevent you from doing it."

"You can't connect rhetoric online, in the halls of Congress, on cable news, from individuals who are willing to engage in violence on behalf of that rhetoric," Lewis told Insider. This is a good example of a person who died as a result of these conspiracy theories. I need to make that point clear.

These attacks are likely to come from individuals like Shiffer, according to Lewis.

Authorities are looking into Shiffer's ties to the Proud Boys, but it's not clear if he was connected to any extremists.

According to The New York Times, the ex- Navy man was known to the FBI after they learned he was at the Capitol riot. The information they gathered did not contain a specific and credible threat, despite officers trying to locate him.

Since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, calls for a civil war have increased.

There is a small group of people in the US who want to see violence happen regardless of the outcome of a civil war.