A 22-year-old Department of Homeland Security official who has raised eyebrows for leading a top counterterrorism group has shocked critics once again, this time with a ‘teenage spat.’
Thomas Fugate, a former gardener and Trump campaign staffer who graduated college last year, is reportedly overseeing a main U.S. counterterrorism hub.
He now holds the title of special assistant, effectively running the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs Partnerships, commonly referred to as CP3, ProPublica reported last month.
‘It sounds like putting the intern in charge,’ a counterterrorism researcher with years of experience at CP3 told the outlet of the 22-year-old’s growing influence.
He was hired by the Department of Homeland Security in February, according to his LinkedIn page. And critics have since attacked Fugate for being inexperienced in a role that was typically occupied by former law enforcement officials.
Scrutiny over Fugate’s position rose as federal officials warn about the increased likelihood of a terror attack on the U.S. homeland after American strikes in Iran.
Adding more kindling to the flame of controversy surrounding Fugate, the Daily Beast reported Thursday that when he was 18 years old and in high school, police in his hometown of Cedar Park, Texas, responded to a call about his alleged involvement dispute with a 16-year-old love rival.
According to the report, local authorities investigated allegations that Fugate sent threatening messages to a 16-year-old boy regarding a girl. Neither of the teenagers were named in the report.
Thomas Fugate – recently appointed as special assistant at DHS. He reportedly has vast control over DHS’ CP3 counterterrorism program
Fugate was a Trump campaign staffer before joining the administration
Fugate after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio
‘You are not a [sic.] man, you are a pathetic spoiled child who needs a beating,’ messages allegedly from Fugate to the boy read, according to screenshots reported by the outlet.
‘Accept how she feels like a man. Be a good human being and go your own ways respectfully, instead of [sic.] and moaning to hurt her. She didn’t cheat, she tried everything with you, but you were less than me and continue to prove that daily.’
Local authorities told the outlet that they responded to a call from the 16-year-old boy’s mother.
The spat began after the girl left the boy for Fugate, friends of the DHS official shared.
The matter was eventually resolved without incident after police called the fathers of Fugate and the other boy. The official was a senior in high school at the time.
‘How desperate and embarrassing for the Daily Beast that they are trying to warp a silly high-school spat into something newsworthy,’ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Mail in a statement.
‘There was no investigation by the police—the teenage drama was handled by the parents who all agreed this was a misunderstanding. Teenagers are allowed to be teenagers.’
Fugate previously caught flak from critics over his abilities to lead CP3 amid heightened threats on the homeland in the wake of U.S. military operations in Iran.
Fugate posing in front of Trump’s campaign plane
Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy raised the Trump official’s sparse resume in terrorism prevention last month.
’22 years old. Recent work experience: landscaping/grocery clerk. Never worked a day in counter-terrorism. But he’s a BIG Trump fan. So he got the job,’ the senator noted.
Steven Hassan, CEO of Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc., similarly posted: ‘Trump didn’t appoint Thomas Fugate to protect Americans from terrorism. He appointed him to ensure loyalty to him.’
‘This 22-year-old has no qualifications. No expertise. But he does have one thing Trump prizes above all else: obedience.’
A spokesperson for DHS previously told the Daily Mail that Fugate’s his hiring is part of broader personnel reforms within the department’s counterterrorism program.
‘Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, CP3 was weaponized against political opponents and its main purpose was to funnel money to progressive groups,’ the spokesperson said.
DHS has put out warnings that the U.S. homeland could be targeted in return for the American stealth bomber strike on Iran.
Although there are ‘no specific credible threats,’ the department warned that low-level cyber attacks against U.S. networks are likely, as well as the possibility of ‘sleeper cell’ attacks.
