The FBI recently sought to develop sources inside Christian churches and Catholic dioceses as part of an effort to combat domestic terrorism, according to internal documents released by House Judiciary Committee on Monday.

The internal documents — obtained last month by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., who are also members of the so-called Weaponization Subcommittee — showed the FBI planned to use churches as “new avenues for tripwire and source development.” The federal law enforcement agency also aimed to specifically target “mainline Catholic parishes” as part of its efforts.

In addition, according to Jordan, the FBI expressed interest in “leverag[ing] existing sources and/or initiat[ing] Type 5 Assessments to develop new sources with the placement and access.” And, in another example, the agency cited a desire to to sensitize religious congregations “to the warning signs of radicalization and enlist their assistance to serve as suspicious activity tripwires.”

[This had been reported earlier as an abortive effort out of the Richmond field office. It’s coming up again now because the FBI is apparently dragging their heels on providing documents and the committee wants to hold their feet to the fire. FBI director Christopher Wray denounced these efforts in congressional testimony last month, so maybe he’d better get on the stick and produce the documentation subpoenaed by the committee. One has to wonder whether the effort was broader than in just the one office, right?? — Ed]