REUTERS
NYC Safe Zone—Earlier today the FBI and SESA released a joint statement indicating an escalation of violence from extremist group Pure Earth and detailed their involvement with the start and propagation of the Ohio River Fire.
In a statement to the press, SESA Secretary Madeline Choi outlined the government’s findings. “After considerable investigation completed through cooperation with the FBI, DHS, and local law enforcement agencies, SESA can confirm that the Ohio River Fire was not accidentally started, but was a targeted act of terrorism by Anti-Expressive extremist group Pure Earth.”
Choi went on to say, “A heavily-armed militia of Pure Earth fighters backed by autonomous war machines outlawed in the United States used the fire to obfuscate a string of killings up and down the east coast. They utilized a specialized war machine designed for spreading fire to combat fire-prevention methods and deployed guerilla tactics against anyone who uncovered their activities, masking their murderous trail by burning down all evidence of their presence.”
FBI director Lawrence Pell added additional detail. “At roughly 7:00pm eastern standard time, a militia of roughly one hundred Pure Earth insurgents descended on the New York City Safe Zone under the cover of the Ohio River Fire. They made several strategic attacks targeting power, water, and critical infrastructure but were unable to cause lasting damage. However, their use of surplus military hardware from the Civil War and advanced robotics designed by Praxis Heavy Industries has given everyone cause for concern.”
Pell went on to explain that the war machines used by Pure Earth were a combination of those developed by the Department of Evolved Affairs more than ten years ago, as well as new robots potentially stolen from the California Safe Zone during its collapse or outright purchased from Praxis Heavy Industries before the company’s dissolution.
“We do not yet know how many more insurgent groups are in the New York area or across America, but the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security will be cooperating with SESA to find these groups and bring them to justice.” Pell said to the press. “We have a commitment to protect our country, to protect its citizens, and we will continue to do so.”
Later that day, President Harding announced the mobilization of an anti-insurgent task force. The exact makeup of that group is yet to be determined, but is expected to be drawn from local and federal law enforcement agencies as well as militarized government contractor organizations like Wolfhound.
“The United States is committed to defeating extremism wherever it is found.” Harding said. “The counter-insurgent task force we are building will be the tip of the spear against such radical violence. But I want all Americans to rest assured that we will not fall back to this nation’s dark past. We will not deploy autonomous weapons of war at home or abroad. We will reach out with an olive branch to our allies, we will come to the negotiation table when appropriate, and we will brandish a very large stick when all else fails.”
In New York, the 91st Military Police Battalion, currently deployed to Staten Island, will be returning to the Safe Zone as border guards for the immediate future so as to have emergency response options in the ongoing threat of further insurgent violence.