A man identified by two law enforcement sources as Ricky Shiffer, who died in a confrontation with police after firing a nail gun at an FBI building in Cincinnati, appeared to be posting online in recent days about his desire to kill FBI agents. shortly after former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was searched.
Two law enforcement officers confirmed Shiffer’s name. Shiffer was at the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, according to three people who helped police and saw him in photos taken the day of the attack; however, it is unclear whether he entered the building. Shiffer posted regularly on social media about his presence in the Capitol.
On Truth Social, a social media platform founded by Trump’s media companyTrump Media & Technology Group, Shiffer appeared to have posted a message detailing his failed attempt to gain access to the FBI building.
“Well, I thought I could go through bulletproof glass, but I couldn’t. If you don’t hear from me, it’s true that I tried to attack the FBI, and it will mean that I was either taken off the Internet, the FBI got me, or they sent the regular police while, ‘ wrote the account @RickyWShifferJr. at 9:29 a.m. ET, shortly after police claimed the shooting happened.
Shiffer posted multiple times on Truth Social in the days after the FBI searched Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home, about wanting to commit violence. One message called for people to arm themselves and be ready for “fight.”
“We must not tolerate this,” he wrote.
Shiffer’s Truth Social account, which was seen by NBC News Thursday night, has been unavailable since.
After another user replied that his photo and information had been forwarded to the FBI, Shiffer’s account replied, “Bring them on.”
In response to another user asking if Shiffer was advocating terrorism, Shiffer’s account replied that users should kill FBI agents “on the spot” and also target a vague list of enemies trying to stop the killings.
In response to another user Tuesday, the account replied, “You are a fool if you think there is a nonviolent solution.”
On May 7, Shiffer’s account responded to a message from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., on Twitter, writing, “I know they’re trying 1984, but I’m feeling 2016 vibes.”
“Congressman Greene, they got away with keeping elections in sight,” wrote Shiffer’s report. “It’s over. The next step is the one we used in 1775.”
On the same day, they responded to a message from Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter begging users to “Get ready” because “the interim variant (of COVID-19) is coming and it’s going to get really scary,” citing conspiracy theories that Covid-19 is fabricated or not dangerous, the account replied: “Do not comply.”
Pro-Trump internet forums erupted with violent threats and calls for civil war in the hours and days following the Mar-a-Lago search, at least one of them storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Many Republican lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for the search.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday called Trump allies’ criticism of the Justice Department “unfounded,” as did FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said on Thursday that threats against the FBI “should be of great concern to all Americans.”
Trump posted repeatedly on Truth Social after the search, including insinuating that the FBI had planted evidence.