Ricky Walter Shiffer, 42, was shot dead by Ohio police after he attempted to raid an FBI field office in Cincinnati. He is pictured at the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. Photo / Daily Mail
Ricky Walter Shiffer, 42, was shot dead by Ohio police after he attempted to raid an FBI field office in Cincinnati. He is pictured at the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. Photo / Daily Mail
An armed man clad in body armour who tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati office this morning was shot and killed by police after he fled the scene and engaged in an hours-long standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The confrontation came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following a search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The man is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the January 6, 2021, insurrection and may have been present at the Capitol on the day of the attack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A message on Ricky Shiffer's TruthSocial account.
The suspect was identified as Ricky Shiffer, 42, according to the law enforcement official. He was not charged with any crimes in connection with the January 6 attack, the official said. Federal investigators are examining whether Shiffer may have had ties to far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer "attempted to breach" the visitor screening area at the FBI office at around 9.15am and fled when agents confronted him, according to federal authorities' account of the incident. After fleeing onto Interstate 71, he was spotted by a trooper and fired shots as the trooper pursued him, said Lt. Nathan Dennis, a Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman, at a press conference.
In this image taken from FOX19 Cincinnati video, FBI officials gather outside the FBI building in Cincinnati. Photo / AP
Shiffer left the interstate north of Cincinnati and abandoned his car on rural roads, where he exchanged gunfire with police and sustained injuries, although no one else was hurt, Dennis said.
Shiffer was shot after he raised a gun toward police at around 3pm, Dennis said. The fatal encounter with police happened after negotiations failed and police tried unsuccessfully to use "less lethal tactics", Dennis said, without providing details.
The Daily Mail reported that just two days before Shiffer attempted to breach the FBI facility, an account on Trump's Truth Social platform linked to his name foreshadowed the attack.
"People, this is it," the account posted. "I hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me.
A Clinton County employee helps direct traffic at the scene where an armed man was shot and killed by police after breaching the FBI's Cincinnati field office. Photo / AP
"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."
He added, "If you know of any protests or attacks, please post here."
Former President Donald Trump gestures as he departs Trump Tower in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general's office for a deposition in a civil investigation. Photo / AP
At about 9.29am, around the same time the FBI office was breached, Shiffer's account posted: "Well, I thought I had a way through bullet proof glass, and I didn't.
"If you don't hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the FBI, and it'll mean either I was taken off the internet, the FBI got me, or they sent the regular cops while."
State highway workers blocked off roads leading to the scene as a helicopter flew over the area. Officials locked down a mile radius near the interstate and urged residents and business owners to lock doors and stay inside. The interstate has been reopened.
There have been growing threats in recent days against FBI agents and offices across the country since federal agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. On Gab, a social media site popular with white supremacists and antisemites, users have warned they are preparing for an armed revolution.
An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo / AP
Federal officials have also been tracking an array of other concerning chatter on Gab and other platforms threatening violence against federal agents. FBI director Christopher Wray denounced the threats as he visited another FBI office in Nebraska on Wednesday.
"Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you're upset with," Wray said during Wednesday's visit in Omaha.
The FBI on Wednesday also warned its agents to avoid protesters and ensure their security key cards are "not visible outside FBI space", citing an increase in social media threats to bureau personnel and facilities. It also warned agents to be aware of their surroundings and potential protesters.
The warning did not specifically mention this week's search of Mar-a-Lago but attributed the online threats to "recent media reporting on FBI investigative activity".
