The carnage in Paris on Friday came a day after the Justice Department warned of the potential for random ISIS-inspired attacks on service members in the U.S.
Assistant Attorney General John Carlin warned Thursday after the arrest of an Ohio man that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was seeking to use Internet propaganda to goad sympathizers into attacking members of the military in the U.S.
"ISIL and its followers continue to use social media in an attempt to incite violence around the world, including in the United States," Carlin said in a statement, using another term for ISIS.
"The National Security Division's highest priority is counterterrorism and we will use all of our tools to disrupt threats and acts of violence against our military members and their families," he said.
Carlin issued the warning after the arrest of Terence McNeil, 25, of Akron, Ohio, an alleged supporter of ISIS, on charges that he circulated the personal information of service members and called for their murder. McNeil was charged with one count of solicitation of a crime of violence.
"ISIL and its followers continue to use social media in an attempt to incite violence around the world, including in the United States," Carlin said.
"Terrence McNeil solicited the murder of members of our military by disseminating ISIL’s violent rhetoric, circulating detailed U.S. military personnel information and explicitly calling for the killing of American service members in their homes and communities," he said.
At the Pentagon Thursday, Press secretary Peter Cook took note of McNeil’s arrest and said "we want to reiterate that we take seriously any threats against our service members, and we will use every tool at our disposal, partnering with other agencies, to protect our men and women in uniform."
The Paris attacks appeared to sum up the worst fears of U.S. counter-terror officials -- attacks on so-called "soft" targets in Western countries by ISIS-inspired radicals recycling back into states where they hold citizenship from Syria.
The initial reports from French officials were that more than 100 may have been killed in at least three separate attacks in Paris.
--Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@military.com.
