A piece from American Greatness illustrates how a family was forced out of their home and confined in a van while FBI agents searched for signs of terrorism.
However, there was no terrorism, just a vulnerable teen who was “incited” by the Washington instigators to share some objectionable memes online.
This story came to light as the father, Jeremiah Rufini, initiated a GiveSendGo campaign to gather funds for legal expenses and more.
A recent update confirmed that almost $31,000 had been raised, surpassing the $22,000 goal, and the surplus, as well as any additional funds, would be set aside for potential future legal costs.
The American Greatness report noted that a “traditional Catholic family” was the target.
The FBI raid led to family members being “forced out of their home at gunpoint, handcuffed, and trapped in a van” after the FBI “incited” a 15-year-old boy to share the memes.
The teen has since been admitted to a hospital due to mental issues, the father revealed.
The FBI’s pursuit of the family only resulted in a misdemeanor conviction for breaching the peace.
As per the report, “The FBI targeted the boy as part of a sting operation catfishing traditionalist Catholic teenagers with ‘extreme political content.’”
The situation arose when Rufini’s father fell seriously ill, leaving the teen unsupervised for extended periods.
“It was a very stressful time, compounded by several unrelated deaths in the family that happened in the same time period,” Rufini said.
The teen, with a cell phone, became a target for the FBI, he said.
“None of our children, including my son, had been raised with cell phones or unrestricted internet access. It became necessary for him to have a phone so we could communicate while he was alone at my father’s house caring for my grandmother, and so we reluctantly allowed him to have a cell phone. He spent a lot of time alone with nothing to do but wait and think and the cell phone became a welcome distraction. His interests in history and theology led him down a rabbit hole where he was recruited into group chats targeting teenage traditionalist Catholics with extreme political content. We later learned that these chats were being closely monitored, and possibly operated by, FBI agents as part of an effort to investigate Traditional Catholics that was downstream of a broader domestic investigation spurred by the events of January 6th,” the family explained.
The FBI’s decision to target “Traditional Catholics” has attracted congressional attention, with Rep. Jim Jordan repeatedly seeking information about the bureau’s document titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
Joe Biden’s administration has faced tough questions, including one to Merrick Garland: “Attorney general, are you cultivating sources and spies in Latin mass parishes and other Catholic parishes around the country?”
Rufini said his son was “drawn deeper and deeper into these chat groups and incited into doing things like take pictures of himself in public wearing ski masks and to print out memes and leave them on picnic tables.’
Ultimately, the son removed all his chat apps, causing disorder for the FBI, as Rufini alleged, over concerns that the boy had connected to a terror cell.
There was no evidence of that, the report stated.
Rufini acknowledged his son’s poor judgment but contended that the FBI’s attack was “disproportionate.”
Rufini said the FBI lost interest when there was nothing indicating a “grand conspiracy.”
The report highlighted, “Former FBI agent/whistleblower Steve Friend criticized the FBI for targeting people based on their religious beliefs.”
He stated, “Despite its absurd caveats and claims to the contrary, the FBI is clearly targeting American citizens for engaging in First Amendment protected religious activities.”
A report at HeadlineUSA affirmed that the Rufini son was “at least” the fourth teen arrested this year “after being targeted by the FBI.”
Others included 18-year-old Mateo Ventura, who supposedly intended to support ISIS, despite his father claiming the FBI entrapped his son.
Then there was 18-year-old Davin Meyer, detained as he was about to board a plane, allegedly to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS. Similar to the Ventura case, Meyer’s mother accused the FBI of entrapment.
Lastly, there was a 17-year-old boy allegedly conspiring to carry out an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on U.S. soil.