To thwart domestic terror threat, Walz wants to increase funding for little-known investigative unit

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Walz seeks to bolster BCA team that targets domestic threats 

When reports came in about a shooting and bombing in a medical clinic in Buffalo, a team of investigators in a St. Paul office began scouring the internet for signs of a coordinated attack.

They work out of cubicles in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension headquarters, with TVs mounted on the walls broadcasting network news — often the first to alert them to a national emergency. A stack of six monitors in the front of the room displays the locations of planes in the state’s airspace, ships sailing in and out of ports and COVID-19 dashboard data.

On the morning of the Feb. 9 assault, they found no evidence of other attackers. But they found the suspect, a disgruntled former patient, had criticized other nearby medical facilities in the past. The analysts called local law enforcement to inform them he may be targeting more than just Allina. Continue reading.