The memo originated in the FBI’s Richmond field office and said that communities of “radical traditionalist Catholics,” groups of Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin mass, provided opportunities for “mitigation” and the FBI should explore investigating such communities. The existence of the memo was revealed by an FBI whistleblower and was later withdrawn. The FBI said the memo did not meet the agency’s “exacting standards.”

“In the wake of the backlash against the FBI’s anti-Catholic document, the FBI withdrew the document and blamed the local level field office for its creation and dissemination,” Jordan and Johnson wrote in the letter to Wray. “However, there remain many questions about the genesis, review, and approval of this document, as well as the FBI’s commitment to upholding First Amendment protected activity.” …

“The SPLC routine[ly] maligns several mainstream conservative and religious organizations as ‘hate’ groups, simply because the SPLC disagrees with their views,” the representatives wrote. “The fact that the FBI would blindly accept and regurgitate the SPLC’s spin is highly concerning and undercuts the FBI’s assertion that it is unbiased and politically neutral.”

[Indeed. The SPLC is a blatantly political organization and has been for a long time. It’s the law-enforcement equivalent of the Global Disinformation Index now, and just as partisan/ideological. — Ed]