Justice Department Announces Murder-For-Hire Charges Against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brigadier General And Former Intelligence Officer And Members Of An Iranian Intelligence Network

The Justice Department released the below information yesterday:

The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of a superseding indictment containing murder-for-hire, money-laundering, and sanctions evasion charges against Ruhollah Bazghandi, also known as Roohollah Azimi; Fnu Lnu, also known as Haj Taher, Haj Taher; Hossein Sedighi; and Seyed Mohammad Forouzan, all of Iran.

“The Justice Department has now charged eight individuals, including an Iranian military official, for their efforts to silence and kill a U.S. citizen because of her criticism of the Iranian regime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will not tolerate efforts by an authoritarian regime like Iran to undermine the fundamental rights guaranteed to every American. Three of the defendants charged in this horrific plot are now in U.S. custody, and we will never stop working to identify, find, and bring to justice all those who endanger the safety of the American people.”

“Today’s indictment exposes the full extent of Iran’s plot to silence an American journalist for criticizing the Iranian regime,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “According to the charges, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a former Iranian intelligence officer, working with a network of conspirators, planned to kill a dissident living in New York City. The FBI’s investigation led to the disruption of this plot as one of the conspirators was allegedly on their way to murder the victim in New York. As these charges show, the FBI will work with our partners here and abroad to hold accountable those who target Americans.”

“Today’s indictment makes plain that the Iranian regime for years has been behind a violent campaign to stalk, intimidate, and arrange the killing of an American dissident on U.S. soil for bravely speaking up for the rights of the Iranian people,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department is committed to exposing and holding accountable those in Tehran who believe they can hide their hand in carrying out such reprehensible activities.”

“As alleged, for years, the Government of Iran has attempted to assassinate, on U.S. soil, a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who is a prominent critic of the Iranian regime,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “In January 2023, we unsealed charges alleging that members of an Eastern European crime group engaged in a plot to murder this victim. As we allege, that group was not acting alone. Today, we hold their Iranian masters to account, and allege that these Iran-based co-conspirators, including a Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, directed the murder plot. By charging these Iran-based defendants, we seek to strike another public blow at the heart of the Government of Iran’s efforts to execute the victim — as well as its lethal targeting, intimidation, and repression of other Iranian dissidents critical of the regime in the U.S. and abroad.”

As detailed in the superseding indictment, Bazghandi, Haj Taher, Sedighi, and Forouzan contracted members of an Eastern European criminal organization, including Rafat Amirov, also known as Farkhaddin Mirzoev, Pᴎᴍ,  and Rome; Polad Omarov, also known as Araz Aliyev, Polad Qaqa, and Haci Qaqa; and Zialat Mamedov, also known as Ziko, to murder a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York City who has publicly opposed the Iranian government and who has previously been the target of similar plots by the Iranian government. Amirov, Omarov, and Mamedov previously were arrested on charges contained in underlying indictments. Amirov and Omarov are in custody in the United States, pending trial; Mamedov was extradited from the Czech Republic to the Republic of Georgia to face charges there. Bazghandi, Haj Taher, Sedighi, and Forouzan, all of whom are based in Iran, remain at large. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon for the Southern District of New York.

According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings, Bazghandi, who resides in Iran, is an IRGC Brigadier General and has previously served as chief of an IRGC Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO) counterintelligence office. In April 2023, the U.S. Secretary of State designated IRGC-IO as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 14078, for hostage-taking and the wrongful detention of U.S. nationals abroad. On the same date, the Treasury Department sanctioned Bazghandi in connection with his involvement with the detention of foreign prisoners held in Iran. Bazghandi was designated by the Treasury Department a second time in June 2023, this time under Executive Order 13224, for his participation in IRGC-IO’s lethal targeting operations. Haj Taher, Sedighi, and Forouzan (collectively with Bazghandi, the Bazghandi Network), each of whom resides in Iran, also have connections to the Government of Iran.   

The Bazghandi Network contracted Amirov, Omarov, Mamedov, and Khalid Mehdiyev to murder, on U.S. soil, a victim residing in New York City. The victim is a journalist, author, and human rights activist who has publicized the Government of Iran’s human rights abuses and suppression of political expression, including in connection with continuing protests against the regime across Iran. As recently as 2020 and 2021, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap the victim from within the United States for rendition to Iran in an effort to silence the victim’s criticism of the regime. That plot was disrupted and exposed by the FBI and led to the filing of federal kidnapping conspiracy and other charges in the Southern District of New York against several participants in the plot in United States v. Farahani, et al.

Since at least July 2022, the Bazghandi Network tasked members of the organization with assassinating the victim. The organization’s participation in the murder-for-hire plot was directed by Amirov, who resided in Iran and who was tasked with targeting the victim by individuals in Iran. On approximately July 13, 2022, Amirov forwarded targeting information — which Amirov had received from individuals in Iran — about the victim and the victim’s residence to Omarov. Omarov, in turn, together with Mamedov, directed and collaborated with Mehdiyev, who was residing in Yonkers, New York, to carry out the plot against the victim. Mehdiyev’s participation in the plot was disrupted when he was arrested near the victim’s home on or about July 28, 2022, while in possession of the assault rifle, along with 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask.

In January 2023, Amirov, Omarov, and Mamedov were arrested overseas. On Jan. 27, 2023, they were charged publicly for their roles in the plot to assassinate the victim. Nevertheless, in the months that followed, members of the Bazghandi Network continued to target the victim. For example, in or about March 2023, Haj Taher searched for information about the victim’s family members and Sedighi saved an image of the victim’s residence. As recently as on or about May 1, 2023, Bazghandi conducted an internet search, in Farsi, for, “a person in the house of [the victim] movie,” and, on the same date, watched a video with the title, “A video of the arrested gunman in front of [the victim]’s home in New York received by [the victim’s employer].”

Bazghandi, Haj Taher, Sedighi, and Forouzan, have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Amirov, Omarov, and Mamedov  have also been charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition, Amirov, Omarov, and Mamedov were charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and possession and use of a firearm in connection with the attempted murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition of Mamedov.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Jacob H. Gutwillig, and Matthew J.C. Hellman for the Southern District of New York, Trial Attorneys Christopher Rigali and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On The Wide Array Of National Security Threats Coming From The Porous Southern Border

The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International published my piece on the national security threats coming from the Southern Border.

You can read the piece via the below or the below text:

The Wide Array of National Security Threats Coming

From the Porous Southern Border 

By Paul Davis

Border security is one of the hot topics during this year’s contentious presidential election. Among the illegal aliens crossing the border illegally looking for a better life, there are drug smugglers, gang members, and other criminals. There are also suspected terrorists crossing the border illegally.

Eight people from Tajikistan with suspected ties to ISIS were arrested by ICE agents in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York City on and before June 11^th. The suspects crossed into the United States from the southern border in 2023.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security released a statement on the arrests: "Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security." 

Back on March 11^th, FBI Director Christopher Wray and other intelligence leaders testified at the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing. 

The other intelligence leaders testifying about worldwide threats were Avril D. Haines from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, William J. Burns, the director of the CIA, Brett M. Holmgren, the State Department assistant secretary for intelligence and research, Timothy D. Haugh, the director of the NSA/CSS, and Jeffrey A. Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. 

In FBI Director Wray’s testimony, he spoke of border security threats such as drug trafficking.:59

"We have had dangerous individuals entering the United States," Wray told the U.S. Senators. "We are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border. The FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people."

The FBI Wray stated there is no doubt that criminals have entered the United States at the southern border but knew of no specific plot.

"Some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ties with ISIS that we're very concerned about, and we've been spending an enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating," Wray said.

He noted that there are threats from a variety of dangerous groups.

"Even before October 7, I would have told this committee that we were at a heightened threat level from a terrorism perspective that I've not seen in a long, long time," he said. "The threats from homegrown violent extremists that is jihadist-inspired, extremists, domestic violent extremists, foreign terrorist organizations, and state-sponsored terrorist organizations all being elevated at one time since October 7, though, that threat has gone to a whole other level. And so, this is a time I think for much greater vigilance, maybe been called upon us," he said.

FBI Director Wray was questioned by the Vice Chairman, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing.

 

RUBIO: Director Wray, we know that over the last three years, millions of people have crossed the U.S. border illegally, and many have been released into the country. Have people with ties to dangerous gangs – like, for example, the prison gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela – were they among the people that came into this country?

 

WRAY: I don’t know that I can speak to the specific gang, but certainly we’ve had dangerous individuals enter the United States of a variety of sorts.

 

RUBIO: Are we seeing crimes from people that entered the country over the last three years, some of them with ties to gangs or other criminal organizations?

 

WRAY: I would say this from an FBI perspective: we are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border, and that includes drug trafficking. The FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people. That’s just on the fentanyl side. An awful lot of the violent crime in the United States is at the hands of gangs, who are themselves involved in the distribution of that fentanyl.

 

RUBIO: But we’re also seeing local law enforcement tracking members of Tren de Aragua in particular. For example, the assault on the police officers in New York. All the reporting said they had ties to this gang in particular. There’s no doubt that people that were criminals in their country of origin have crossed that border and are now in the U.S. committing crimes. 

 

WRAY: Correct. 

 

RUBIO: Is there now a black market emerging to sell fake Social Security cards, fake green cards. Have you seen reporting on that?

 

WRAY: On the darknet, for example, there is a significant marketplace for different kinds of stolen identities. 

 

RUBIO: What about in the street?

 

WRAY: I think so.

 

RUBIO: There are smuggling networks all over the world that specialize in moving people from all over the world, including from the Middle East, Central Asia, and so forth. Are we aware that any of these smuggling organizations are run or conducted by people that have ties, for example, to ISIS or other terrorist organizations?

 

WRAY: I want to be a little bit careful about how far I can go in an open session. But there is a particular network where some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties that we’re very concerned about, and that we’ve been spending an enormous amount of effort with our partners to investigate. Exactly what that network is up to is something that is, again, the subject of our current investigation.

 

RUBIO: There is a network we’re concerned about that has facilitators involved in it that have ties to ISIS and other terrorist organizations. 

 

WRAY: Correct. 

According to the 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are the dominant producers and suppliers of illicit drugs to the U.S. market.

“Illicit fentanyl will continue to pose a major threat to the health of Americans. In 2023, a majority of the more than 100,000 annual drug overdose deaths in the United States are attributed to illicit fentanyl mostly supplied by Mexican-based TCOs, even as U.S. law enforcement seized record amounts of illicit fentanyl, precursor chemicals, and pill pressing equipment,” the Threat assessment noted. 

“Mexico-based TCOs are the dominant producers of illicit fentanyl for the U.S. market, although there also are independent illicit fentanyl producers, and the fragmentation of fentanyl operations has made disruption efforts challenging. Some aspects of fentanyl production are spilling over into the United States with drug traffickers conducting the finishing stages of fentanyl pill packing or pressing in the United States. China remains the primary source for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment. 

“Brokers circumvent international controls through mislabeled shipments and the purchase of unregulated dual-use chemicals. However, Mexico-based TCOs also are sourcing precursor chemicals to a lesser extent from other nations such as India. Money Laundering and Financial Crimes TCOs are defrauding individuals, businesses, and government programs, while laundering billions. Human Trafficking TCOs and criminal actors view human trafficking, including sex trafficking and forced labor, as low risk crimes of opportunity. Multiple criminal actors engage in operations that seek to exploit vulnerable individuals and groups to bolster illicit revenue streams. The TCOs that engage in human trafficking may also engage in drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human smuggling, and money laundering. 

The assessment also stated that human traffickers typically coerce or defraud their victims into sex trafficking or forced labor, confiscating identification documents and requiring the payment of debts. 

“In 2023, U.S. law enforcement officials noted multiple incidents where unaccompanied minors were exploited in forced labor operations in U.S. food processing plants to pay off debts. TCOs based in the Western Hemisphere and Asia are most likely to engage in human trafficking activity with ties to the United States. Migrants transiting the Western Hemisphere to the United States are exploited by criminal actors through kidnapping for ransom, targets of forced labor, or victims of sex trafficking operations. TCOs, human smugglers, gangs, and lone criminal actors are all taking advantage of elevated levels of U.S.-bound migration, and vulnerable migrants are at risk of being trafficked. Some migrants, who voluntarily use human smuggling networks to facilitate their travel to the United States, are trafficked during their journey.”

 

While elected government officials and those seeking office differ on how best to secure the southern border, all agree that there are major dangerous criminals and terrorists crossing the border. 

Paul Davis, who writes the online Threatcon column, is a longtime Journal contributor.

China's Hackers Have Entire Nation In Their Crosshairs, FBI Director Warns

 The FBI released the below:

Chinese government hacking efforts now target the entire American populace, and the escalating urgency of the overall threat that China poses to U.S. national security requires more investment in the FBI’s capabilities, FBI Director Wray warned lawmakers during a January 31 appearance before the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. 

“I do not want those watching today to think we can’t protect ourselves,” he told legislators. “But I do want the American people to know that we cannot afford to sleep on this danger.” 

China’s quest to steal American intellectual property to gain an economic and militaristic edge over the United States—through nefarious cyber means and traditional espionage, alike—hasn’t let up. But the scope of its malicious cyber activities has expanded to target our nation’s critical infrastructure, Wray told lawmakers during the hearing, which looked to gauge the risks that CCP cyber efforts poses to U.S. national security. 

“There has been far too little public focus on the fact that PRC [People’s Republic of China] hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure—our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems,” Wray told the committee during his opening remarks. “And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now.” 

China's state-sponsored hackers are posturing themselves to be able to take down these vital resources at a moment’s notice. That way, if conflict breaks out between the U.S. and China, they can cripple those resources and do direct harm to U.S. citizens, Wray explained. “Low blows against civilians are part of China’s plan,” he said. 

And, Wray stressed, this threat isn’t theoretical. On January 31, it was announced that the Bureau had worked with partners to identify Wi-Fi routers that had been infected with malware originating from a Chinese government-sponsored hacking group. 

“The Volt Typhoon malware enabled China to hide, among other things, pre-operational reconnaissance and network exploitation against critical infrastructure like our communications, energy, transportation, and water sectors—steps China was taking, in other words, to find and prepare to destroy or degrade the civilian critical infrastructure that keeps us safe and prosperous,” Wray said. “So working with our partners, the FBI ran a court-authorized, on-network operation to shut down Volt Typhoon and the access it enabled.” 

This disruption was significant, but it’s not the end of the story when it comes to countering malicious cyber efforts by the Chinese government.  

The FBI is leveraging its expertise in the areas of cybersecurity, criminal investigation, and weapons of mass destruction, as well as private and public sector partnerships and relationships with international allies to tackle this multifaceted threat, he said. And investment is central to sustaining our battle rhythm against this threat. 

The President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request would help the FBI bolster its 56 field offices’ ability to investigate cyber threats, Wray’s written testimony to the committee stated. 

“The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request includes an additional $63 million for more agents, enhanced response capabilities, and strengthened intelligence collection and analysis capabilities,” he wrote. “These investments reflect the National Cybersecurity Strategy’s emphasis on a whole-of-nation approach to addressing the ongoing cyber threat.” 
Cuts to the Bureau’s budget would hinder the FBI computer intrusion program’s ability to combat CCP threats to U.S. economic and national security “before they can do significant harm,” the written testimony noted. 

“The budgets that emerge from the discussions underway now will dictate what kind of resources we have ready in 2027—a year that, as this committee knows all too well, the CCP has circled on its calendar,” Wray told the committee. 

Wray testified beside witnesses from across the U.S. government’s highest levels of cyber leadership at the hearing about CCP threats to American cybersecurity. Fellow panelists included National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul M. Nakasone (who appeared in his capacity as commander of U.S. Cyber Command); Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly; and Harry Coker, Jr., who leads the Office of the National Cyber Director. 

“The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is committed to working on a bipartisan basis to build consensus on the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and develop a plan of action to defend the American people, our economy, and our values,” the committee’s website states. 

FBI Director Wray's Statement On Charges Announced Stemming From Investigations In Washington And New York Field Offices

On April 17^th, FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a statement regarding the discovery of Chinese operatives in the U.S.

You can read the statement below:

For years, the FBI has been sounding the alarm about the threat posed by the Chinese government. The charges announced today reveal a series of brazen and aggressive criminal schemes directed by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. In all three cases, Chinese officials working for, and at the direction of, the Chinese government were targeting people here, on U.S. soil—through threats, harassment, intimidation, and malign influence. 

All of these individuals are operatives supporting the Chinese government’s campaign to export repression and to undermine the rule of law around the world—including right here in America. The Chinese government will stop at nothing to lie, steal, and cheat its way to wealth and power, to silence those who oppose it, and to project its authoritarian view around the world—and within our own borders. 

People might think of these as two separate dangers—one that threatens corporations and our workers’ livelihoods, and another that threatens individuals and their freedoms. But it’s all part of the same, single danger—the danger that a large country unconstrained by laws grinds down anyone who resists it. Today's announcement highlights the FBI's commitment to combating the threat posed by the government of China and protecting the rights of all who call the U.S. home. 

You can read the Justice Department release via the below link:

40 Officers of China’s National Police Charged in Transnational Repression Schemes Targeting U.S. Residents | OPA | Department of Justice

FBI Director Christopher Wray On The Cops Who Didn’t Come Home

The below op-ed by FBI Director Wray was published in the Wall Street Journal on January 13^th.

While many Americans celebrated the holidays with their families in the final week of 2021, law enforcement kept working. And, tragically, four officers didn’t make it home to their loved ones that week. They were murdered while doing their job keeping others safe.  

Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley, ambushed while alone in her car, died on Christmas Eve. Five days later in Illinois, Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Riley was killed during a call for assistance. On Dec. 30, also in Illinois, Bradley Police Department Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic was shot while attempting to locate the owner of dogs left in a car. And on New Year’s Eve, Cleveland Police Officer Shane Bartek was killed in an attempted carjacking. 

These four murders brought the total number of officers feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2021 to 73, the highest annual number since the 9/11 attacks. That’s the equivalent of one officer murdered every five days. In a year when homicides and violent crime reached distressing levels, this 20-year high hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

Especially troubling is that a record number of officers killed—nearly half—had no engagement with their assailant before the attack. Each story is heartbreaking: A 30-year Florida deputy murdered one shift shy of retirement; an officer ambushed on his first day on the job, leaving behind a wife and 6-month-old son; a combat veteran and his police dog killed while serving together.  

At the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we experienced loss in 2021, too. Special Agents Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin were murdered while doing the difficult job investigating crimes against children. FBI Task Force Officer Greg Ferency of the Terre Haute, Ind., Police Department was ambushed and killed outside an FBI office.  

When I started as FBI director, I made it my practice to call the chief or sheriff of every officer intentionally killed in the line of duty. I have now made more than 200 such calls. Each conversation reminds me that behind the uniform, the badge, and, yes, sometimes the flashing lights in your rearview mirror, there are real people. With each call, I think about the families and friends who lost someone they loved, the children who will grow up without a parent, and the communities deprived of a public servant.  

We owe it to them to redouble our efforts to take the most violent offenders off the streets and to make sure officers have the resources, equipment and training they need to do their jobs safely. Even more, we need to ensure the brave men and women know that the communities they serve have their backs. 

Every day, officers willingly put themselves at risk not knowing what dangerous situation or traumatic event they might encounter. I won’t pretend every person who carries a badge is beyond reproach, but the overwhelming majority do the job with the professionalism and commitment to equal justice citizens rightly expect.  

I meet frequently with chiefs and sheriffs across the country, and they are concerned about morale and the challenges of recruiting the next generation of officers. They understand that trust and transparency are vital to safety, and they are committed to finding ways to improve interactions. And while respect must be earned, if we are going to recruit and retain the kind of people willing to put their lives on the line to protect others, we have to show that we value their sacrifices. 

Civic and business leaders, government officials and responsible citizens need to consider how we talk about engaging with law enforcement. When police are miscast as lacking humanity—devoid of empathy and compassion—everyone suffers. Departments lose good officers who are hard to replace, and communities are less safe.  

As we reflect on 2021, let’s honor the memories of those who lost their lives protecting others. Let’s commit to making communities safer, finding ways to improve interactions between law enforcement and those they serve, holding everyone to the high standards befitting men and women in uniform, and valuing those who do their jobs with honor.  

National Police Week: FBI Director Wray Draws Attention To Dangers Facing Law Enforcement

The FBI offers an interview with FBI Director Christopher Wray on Police Week events last week. The director reflected on the sacrifices of the Bureau’s law enforcement partners, who risk their safety to protect the public. 

You can read the piece, watch a video of the interview and view photos via the below link: 

FBI Honors Fallen During 2021 Police Week Events — FBI 

Killed in The Line Of Duty: Remembering Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger

 The FBI released Director Christopher Wray’s remarks at the Memorial Service for Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 6, 2021.

You can read the remarks below:.

Good afternoon. On behalf of the entire FBI, it’s an honor to be here today to remember Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger.

There are no good words to make sense of a loss like this. No good words for a day like Tuesday, or like today. There is a heaviness in our hearts—a burden unlike any other—because there is nothing more devastating to the FBI Family than the loss of an agent in the line of duty.

It is the news we pray will never come—and when it does, every FBI employee feels it deep down in their souls, whether they had the privilege of knowing Laura or not. Because we all know the risks our agents take, every day, to uphold an oath taken long ago, knowing that life can change forever in a mere moment.

On Tuesday, we lost not one of our own, but two. Two warriors who took on one of the hardest jobs in the FBI, crimes against children. Two best friends who shared the same passion, the same determination, and—in spite of all they had witnessed in their extraordinary careers—the same sense of optimism and hope that comes from work that matters. Two of the very best the FBI had to offer.

It’s heartbreaking. There’s no other word for it. It’s heartbreaking for the law enforcement community, for the American people they served, and—most of all—it’s heartbreaking for Laura’s family.

But, looking around this stadium, at all the people who have come to honor Laura—some from every corner of the country—we see the warmth, the support, and the sheer strength of the greater law enforcement family when it’s needed most.

And I recognize that far too many of you have felt the pain personally, within your own police departments, when your own officers have been killed in the line of duty. So from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of every member of the FBI Family, I say thank you to everyone who is here, and all who are watching, for paying tribute to Laura today—a true American hero. And for the unconditional support that so many of you continue to provide for Laura’s family.

Being an FBI special agent is one of the most coveted and prestigious jobs that one could ever dream of having. It demands the highest levels of academic fortitude, sound judgment, and—above all—bravery and integrity.

Just before new special agents walk across the graduation stage at the FBI Academy in Quantico, they swear an oath confirming who they want to be and the kind of life they want to lead—one of service over self. To protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution of the United States.

I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Laura the way many of you here did, but in learning about her life over the past few days, it’s clear to me that she honored that oath, well above and beyond the call of duty. She led a life of sheer determination, dedication, and courage. Of someone who really loved her work and the people she worked with. And of a woman who loved her family even more.

Laura joined the Bureau in 2005. After graduating from Quantico, she landed in Albuquerque—her first field office. Laura quickly made an impression. Her supervisors said she was exactly the kind of new agent you wanted. She volunteered for any assignment that came up and offered to help anyone who needed it.

In 2007, she applied and became the first ever—and still the only ever—female FBI SWAT team member in Albuquerque. To qualify, among other things, all potential SWAT team members must do two pull-ups while wearing a 25-pound weighted vest. Laura did five.

But her athleticism and grit were only part of the reason Laura got picked. The SWAT team also had to consider her personality. Was this someone they could spent hours, days, or even weeks with, in extremely close contact, during a crisis? Could they count on her in the most dangerous situations with their lives? The answer was a resounding yes.

While in Albuquerque, Laura became pregnant with her first son, Gavin. She continued to work as hard as ever, but as one of her former colleagues said, it was wonderful to watch Laura become a mom. The ferocious go-getter softened, but in the best way. And no matter what was going on in Laura’s life, she did what she set out to do: she made a positive difference.

In 2010, Laura transferred to Miami where she joined the Violent Crimes Against Children Squad. It was here, in Miami, that she found her true calling—keeping kids safe. Laura chose to be part of a team that spends their days in darkness, confronting the very worst parts of humanity. It’s a job with high stress, high emotional toll, and high burnout. But Laura never stopped.

She talked to anybody and everybody about protecting children from predators online. She gave presentations on sextortion and internet safety in middle school auditoriums, neighborhood backyards—even a living room packed with a girls’ softball team.

In one of her biggest cases, Laura helped put away an evil criminal who exploited hundreds of teenage boys by tricking them into sharing private images of themselves. Because of Laura’s work, that man was sent to prison for the rest of his life and will never harm another child.

Laura had such a profound impact on the parents of some of the victims that when they found out that Laura had been killed in the line of duty, they immediately sent their condolences to the Bureau. And they asked how they could help Laura’s two boys. That speaks volumes about what Laura meant to this community.

Laura was solid and dependable—the hallmarks of what makes a great special agent. She was like a mom to some of the younger agents. She exuded a quiet confidence, and she instilled that confidence in everyone who worked on her cases. And I know that Laura and Dan’s squad, Squad C-18, will make her proud in carrying on her cases with the same tenacity and care that she did, every day.

Laura and Dan were also on the Miami dive team together. She loved it—even when it meant searching for evidence with zero visibility in South Florida’s muckiest swamps and canals. I think it’s pretty safe to say, that’s not something a lot of us here would be signing up to do.

She was an athlete in body and mind. Obstacle course races, CrossFit sessions—Laura was always moving. But she was an athlete in spirit, too. She had a sharp mental focus, stamina, and sense of teamwork and camaraderie that allowed her to keep moving forward, case after case and victim after victim.

But as seriously as she took her work, friends and co-workers remark that Laura was just fun to be around. Her laugh was infectious. When you heard it—and you couldn’t mistake it for anyone else’s—you couldn’t help but join in, even if you had no idea what it was she was laughing about.

Laura was easygoing, and she brought to Miami a sort of New Mexico laid-back vibe. There was no empty small talk with Laura. She wasn’t afraid to open up, let folks in, and really get to know people.

She was humble. And for a person so accomplished, that’s pretty rare. She never talked about those many accomplishments, never bragged about them, never adorned her office with evidence of them.

For Laura, it was all about the work. And there was always more work to be done, always more children to save. But there was so much more to Laura than her work.

Her priority was her family—her husband Jason and their sons, Gavin and Damon, affectionately known as “Tank.” She shepherded them to lacrosse games, where you could see her running between fields, beaming with pride, hoping not to miss her boys in action.

She was a great photographer too. Camera in hand, she’d run up and down the sidelines capturing shots of the kids and sharing those pictures with other families on the team.

She knew the importance of family, and she understood the need to take advantage of every opportunity to find joy. Because the flip side of working the kinds of cases she did, all day, every day, is that you learn to find joy in the smallest things. You can create joy in everyone around you. And Laura knew how to do just that.

I understand that Laura was a woman of faith—a devout Catholic who attended Mary Help of Christians church. It was an important part of her life and part of who she was in everything she did.

No matter how hard Laura’s days were, no matter how difficult protecting children from evil became, Laura kept that faith. Just as she kept her faith in the rule of law, in justice, and in doing what was right. A call to service isn’t designed for comfort and convenience. True service is a test. It’s an act of faith. And Laura had faith. She had faith in people. She had faith in the work she was called to do. She nurtured that faith. She shared it. And she lived it, every day.

In the FBI Family, we talk about courage and bravery and selflessness. We talk about the heroism of law enforcement. But heroism comes in many forms. There’s the heroism of those who rush headlong into danger without a second thought for their own well-being. Because every special agent recognizes that making the choice to be an agent might one day require the ultimate sacrifice for complete strangers.

But there’s also a quiet heroism that cannot be discounted. The heroism of the individual who simply does their job with dignity and dedication, with a devotion to service. Laura was both. She was brave in pursuit of criminals seeking to harm the most innocent and vulnerable among us, no matter how dangerous. And she relied on her heart and compassion in smaller moments, when it was needed the most.

Back at FBI Headquarters and in every field office, there is a Wall of Honor, where the names of fallen agents are inscribed. And in time, we will add Laura’s name to that wall. And when we look up and see it, we’ll remember Laura, in ways big and small.

We’ll remember her love of life, and her bright smile that could light up a room and warm your heart. We’ll remember her work ethic, her unshakeable integrity, her confidence, her empathy, and her devotion to justice. And we’ll remember her as a dedicated agent, a committed public servant, and a courageous leader. Most importantly, we’ll remember how good it felt to call her a colleague and a friend.

I thought it would be fitting to close with a familiar prayer—one that may bring comfort on such a dark day.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

I know there is much sadness today. And that sadness will never fully disappear. But we can find joy knowing that Laura brought hope where there was only despair. We can find joy knowing that she brought light into some of the darkest places, and that she died as she lived—making a difference, serving her community, and keeping kids safe. We can find joy in her strength, her laughter, and her legacy. And in the fact that the FBI today is better and stronger because of what Laura gave to all of us.

Jason, Gavin, and Damon: We know you’ll remember her better than anyone. And you’ll miss her more than anyone. Thank you for sharing Laura with us for so many years. Please know that you will always be part of our FBI Family, that we’ll always honor her ultimate sacrifice and that we’ll always be here for you for anything you need.

So today, we remember selfless women and men, like Laura, like Dan. And we take inspiration from their example and the sacrifices they heroically made for all of us. We are saying goodbye to a beloved member of the FBI Family taken much too soon. But we are so fortunate that Laura chose us, and we will forever remember her as the shining light that she was.

May the love of friends give you comfort, and may God grant you peace. Thank you.