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GOP Senator Ernst: Daesh exists in all 50 US states

Tuesday, 19 July 2016 9:04 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 19 July 2016 12:52 PM ]

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst

US Senator Joni Ernst says the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group has a presence in all 50 American states.

Ernst made the remarks on Monday while speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where speakers slammed President Barack Obama’s and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s record on fighting the Takfiri group.

“This administration has called [Daesh] junior varsity adversaries, ignoring some of the best advice they were given,” Ernst said. “They represent a threat that is not limited to the Middle East, and which is spreading rapidly.”

“In fact, according to the FBI, ISIS is present in all 50 states,” she added. “Terrorists from ISIS are in every one of our 50 states. They will use whatever weapons they have: guns, trucks, knives, poisons, and bombs to kill innocent people.”

Ernst's comments appeared to be based on a statement made by FBI Director James Comey last year when he said that his agency was investigating suspected supporters of the ISIL terrorist group in all 50 states.

"We have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states," Comey said on February 25, 2015.

"This isn't a New York phenomenon or a Washington phenomenon. This is all 50 states and in ways that are very hard to see," he said.

The ISIL terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control large parts of Iraq and Syria. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

They have been carrying out horrific acts of violence such as public decapitations and crucifixions against all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

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