FBI looking into report of threat against Seattle-area mosques

SEATTLE -- The FBI in Seattle said Thursday it is looking into reports of a threat being made against local mosques and trying to "assess the veracity of the threat."

The Seattle Times reported the post was made Wednesday on a community Facebook page called Last Patriots of America. The post appears to have been deleted, but the Times said commenters took screenshots and reposted it on Facebook and Twitter. According to the Times, the post reads:

"There are 18 Mosques in the Greater Seattle area where I live. I've got the addresses of each. Do You know where the next attack will come from? I at last know where to strike back! The only way that we can be completely free of the threat of terror is to eradicate the Death Cult masquerading as a religion from our streets!"

The FBI issued the following statement Thursday:

"The FBI is aware of comments posted on online social media in the past few days regarding local mosques. We are taking appropriate actions to assess the veracity of the threat and are coordinating with our community and law enforcement partners to provide guidance on maintaining a routine but vigilant security posture.

"The FBI’s Seattle Division is committed to protecting the civil rights of all members of our Washington state community.

"Members of the public are critically important partners in our efforts to detect threats to public safety. If anyone has information on threats of violence or civil rights violations, please contact the FBI at 206-622-0460. If you are in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1."

According to the Seattle Times, in a Thursday post, a page administrator denied making any threats “to ‘shoot up’ local mosques,” writing: “Again you people lie to suit your own agendas.”