WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned Sunday Americans should be "particularly careful" mall shopping this weekend following a specific terrorist threat.
Terrorist group Al-Shabaab released a video calling for attacks on shopping malls in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, which included mention and images of the Mall of America in Minnesota.
"I would say that if anyone is planning to go to the Mall of America today, they've got to be particularly careful," Johnson said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The al Qaeda-linked group was responsible for the deadly Nairobi, Kenya mall attack in 2013. The Mall of America has responded by beefing up security.
Johnson said federal authorities are taking the threat "seriously" and asked Americans to be more "vigilant. If they see something suspicious, Johnson said, they should say something.
The threat, much like the social media calls from ISIS, represents "the new phase" in the war on terror where foreign terrorists call for domestic sympathizers to carry out attacks in their hometowns. "We're beyond the phase now where these groups would send foreign operatives into countries after being trained some place," Johnson said.
Armed members of the militant group al-Shabab attend a rally on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia.Photo: AP
The video surfaced just as the White House wrapped up its three-day summit on combating violent extremism and radicalization of young people.
President Obama took heat for not calling such terrorists "Islamic extremists" and therefore not fully acknowledging the threat.
Johnson defended the language choice.
No matter what you call them, ISIS is "a dangerous terrorist organization that has to be dealt with," Johnson said on "Fox News Sunday." The concern is Muslim Americans say they "resent" ISIS for tying to "hijack" their peaceful religion, Johnson said.
Calling the terrorists Islamic "gives the group more dignity than it deserves," he said.
Johnson made the rounds on Sunday talk shows to put pressure on Congress to pass a budget for his department which will run out of funding this week over a GOP-led effort to de-fund President Obama's immigration actions which they exceed his executive authority. Democrats in the Senate are filibustering that provision and calling for a "clean" funding bill without such riders.
The immigration fight is now caught up in federal courts after a Texas judge put the deferred deportations programs on hold. Johnson said they'll head to appeals court as early as Monday to seek reversal of the decision.
Al-Shabaab was responsible for the 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.Photo: AP
If a funding bill isn't passed by Friday, 30,000 workers will be furloughed and the vast majority border security and homeland security workers would have to go work without a paycheck.
"It's absurd that we're even having this conversation about Congress's inability to fund Homeland Security in these challenging times," Johnson said.
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