Ricky Shiffer was identified as the armed man who tried to storm an FBI field office August 11 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Schiffer was named by multiple news outlets, including NBC News and the Associated Press.
He was later killed by police during a standoff about 40 miles northeast of the city, according to the Associated Press.
Posts on the social media platform Truth Social in the name of Ricky Shiffer telegraphed the suspect’s intentions. Heavy obtained screenshots of some of the posts before they were taken down. In one, from a year ago, he called former President Trump his “hero.” The incident comes as tensions are heightened following the FBI’s search of former President Trump’s personal estate.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Shiffer, Who Was Armed, Tried Unsuccessfully to Enter the FBI Field Office in Cincinnati, Authorities Say
Truth SocialRicky Shiffer
The FBI’s Cincinnati office said in a press statement:
On August 11, 2022, at approximately 9:15 EST, the FBI Cincinnati Field Office had an armed subject attempt to breach the Visitor Screening Facility (VSF). Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled northbound onto Interstate 71. The FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement partners are on scene near Wilmington, Ohio, trying to resolve this critical incident.
In an initial press conference, Lt. Nathan Dennis, a spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said a “male subject tried to gain entrance” to the FBI field office in Cincinnati.
According to NBC News, Shiffer fired a nail gun into the building.
He was wearing body armor, the Associated Press reported.
“He was armed,” Dennis said. He failed to gain entrance to the field office. The FBI contacted the Highway Patrol to let them know what had occurred and the type of vehicle Shiffer was driving.
The suspect headed northbound on Interstate 71. Near a rest area, a trooper spotted the vehicle. The trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop around 9:37 a.m. A pursuit ignited, Dennis said.
The “suspect vehicle fired shots during the pursuit,” according to Dennis.
The vehicle traveled down other roadways before coming to a stop, at which point “gunfire was exchanged between officers on the scene and the suspect.”
No officers were injured in what was described as an “active standoff situation.”
He was later shot and killed by police after he raised his gun toward them, bringing the standoff to an end, the Associated Press reported.
2. Disturbing Posts Emerged on a Truth Social Account Urging People to ‘Kill the FBI on Sight’
Truth Social
On social media, Shiffer called himself a “construction electrician in Columbus. I have had accounts blocked, locked or deleted by ThemTube, Twitter, and, believe it or not, Rumble. On the fifth I tried to explain to Epps.”
Posts from an account under the name of Ricky Shiffer could be found on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, but the page is no longer available. However, Heavy and other people captured screenshots of the posts.
Truth Social
Truth Social
Truth Social
“If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it’ll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while,” one post read.
“People, this is it,” read one post. It continued,
I hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me. Leave work tomorrow as soon as the gun shop/Army-Navy store/pawn shop opens, get whatever you need to be ready for combat. We must not tolerate this one. They have been conditioning us to accept tyranny and think we can’t do anything for 2 years. This time we must respond with force. If you know of any protests or attacks, please post here.
“Very important question,” read another post. It said:
No, I am proposing war. Be ready to kill the enemy, not mass shootings where leftists go, not lighting busses (sic) on fire with transexuals in them, not finding people with leftist signs in their yards and beating them up. Violence is not (all terrorism. Kill the FBI on sight, and be ready to take down other active enemies of the people and those who try to prevent you from doing it.
3. Shiffer Was in Washington on January 6, According to Reports
Ricky Shiffer was a big fan of Donald Trump Jr, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sean Hannity, and Josh Hawley #MAGA
The Associated Press reported, through a law enforcement source, that Shiffer “is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and may have been present at the Capitol on the day of the attack.”
Authorities have not confirmed that account.
He was not charged in connection with the January 6 attack, according to the AP.
According to The New York Times, a Facebook video posted on January 5, 2021, appeared to show Shiffer “attending a pro-Trump rally at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington the night before the Capitol was stormed.”
In May, a Twitter user named Ricky Shiffer responded to a photograph of Capitol riots on January 6, The Times reported, saying, “I was there. We watched as your goons did that.” The Times reported that the post implies Trump supporters weren’t behind that attack despite all of the charges lodged against them.
4. Shiffer Had Ties to ‘Extremist Groups,’ Reports Say
@travis_view I believe this is his Twitter as well @RickyShiffer
The New York Times reported, via anonymous sources, that Shiffer “had ties to extremist groups, including one that participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.”
The AP reported that authorities are looking into whether he had connections with groups like the Proud Boys.
A Twitter post in his name read, “Save ammunition, get in touch with the Proud Boys and learn how they did it in the Revolutionary War, because submitting to tyranny while lawfully protesting was never the American way,” The Times reported.
The Twitter page has now been suspended.
Online records say that Shiffer has lived in Omaha, Nebraska.
5. The FBI Director Said ‘Violence & Threats Against Law Enforcement’ Should Concern All Americans
@g13005 @victorseyelash @RickyShiffer @RepMTG Just borrowed this.
FBI Director Christopher Wray released a statement after the incident that read,
Unfounded attacks on the integrity of the FBI erode respect for the rule of law and are a grave disservice to the men and women who sacrifice so much to protect others. Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply concerning to all Americans. Every day, I see the men and women of the FBI doing their jobs professionally and with rigor, objectivity, and a fierce commitment to our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. I am proud to serve alongside them.