Rep. Nunes: US Facing the 'Highest Threat Level We Have Ever Faced'

The United States is facing the "highest threat level we have ever faced" because of the growing number of foreign fighters entering and leaving Iraq and Syria and online radicalization of young people, House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes said Sunday, pointing out that federal officials do not know how many have traveled to the Middle East to fight with the Islamic State.

"They're very good at communicating through separate avenues, where it's very difficult to track," the California Republican told CBS' "Face the Nation."

"That's why when you get a young person who is willing to get into these chat rooms, go on the Internet and get radicalized, it's something we are not only unprepared [for], we are also not used to it in this country."

FBI Director James Comey has already said there are cases open all over the country concerning ISIS, and Nunes said Sunday the warnings are especially vital with the July 4 holiday nearing and large ceremonies planned across the country.

FBI officials told ABC News last week that several arrests are expected to be made before July Fourth, and that the agency is engaged in hundreds of investigations into alleged ISIS supporters across all 50 states.

The investigation has already led to the arrest of New York college student Munther Omar Saleh, who is being accused of being an alleged “fervent supporter” of ISIS, and that he had offered to translate the group's propaganda into English.

Nunes said Sunday he is concerned that it will not be easy to protect Americans during the nation's Independence Day ceremonies.

"It's just tough to secure those types of areas if you have someone who wants to blow themselves up or open fire or other threats of that nature and we just don't know or can track all of the bad guys that are out there today," he told CBS.

Meanwhile, Nunes also spoke about last week's shootings at Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, saying that when viewed as a layman "you could easily call it domestic terrorism," but that it definitely was a hate crime.

"Clearly it was a hate crime from my book and clearly racism," he commented. "You have to leave it up to the prosecutors for the legal definition of how this guy [accused shooter Dylann Storm Roof] will be charged. At a minimum, he's going to serve life in prison and possibly receive the death penalty."


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