Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has been provided with a "limited" security detail after an online threat was issued against her by the Islamic State in a new video released last week, Politico reported. The protection will continue until Bachmann's planned retirement from Congress, which is due to happen at the end of the current session this year.
Although the specific nature of the threat was not disclosed by federal law enforcement officials, the U.S. Capitol Police's Dignitary Protection Division is providing the congresswoman with temporary protection, a 24-hour protection known to be granted to members of Congress when their safety is being threatened, according to multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the situation.
However, this is different from the full-blown, around-the-clock detail that is typically provided to top congressional leaders, a source confirmed to Fox News.
"The U.S. Capitol Police does not discuss law enforcement operations or security regarding Members of Congress," spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider wrote in an email in response to media inquiries.
In the recent ISIS video, a clip features Bachmann speaking about the rise of radical Islam. Although her voice can be heard, Bachmann's image has been blurred, leading to speculations that since she was not dressed in the proper attire required by Muslim females, her picture had been distorted for the viewers, a source told Fox News.
Apart from ISIS, Bachmann has been highly critical of Islam, asking President Obama to "declare war" on the religion during a speech at the conservative Value Voters Summit at the end of September.
"And I believe if you have an evil of an order of this magnitude, you take it seriously," Bachmann said. "You declare war on it, you don't dance around it. Just like the Islamic State has declared war on the United States of America."
Along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex), she has also proposed legislation in the Senate to renounce the citizenship of Americans who join the ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
"We need to 'get a brain in the United States and wake up,'" Bachmann told Newsmax of the policy of requiring U.S. citizens only to be put on a watch list and undergo additional screening. "Because the Islamic State has been very clear about their intentions. That's why they call themselves the Islamic State. They see that the global caliphate literally goes around the world, including the United States."
