FBI Raids Home of Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter

The FBI and State Police raided the New York home of former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter on Wednesday.

The Details: Officers were reportedly at Ritter’s residence for five hours and left with over two dozen boxes.

For Context: In June, Ritter claimed the FBI seized his passport when he tried to fly to Russia for a conference. After resigning from his UN position in 1998, Ritter became a vocal critic of the war in Iraq, and more recently has been critical of U.S. involvement in Ukraine. In 2011, Ritter was convicted of sex offenses, including unlawful contact with a minor. 

Key Quote: Speaking to reporters, Ritter said the raid “related to concerns apparently the U.S. government has about violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.” He added, “I’m being targeted because I have made an effort to try and improve relations between the United States and Russia to bring about arms control to bring about peace.” The FBI confirmed “law enforcement activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation,” but declined to comment further.

How The Media Covered It: The story was not widely covered, but some of the biggest outlets on the right like Fox News (Right bias), The New York Post (Lean Right bias), and ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) and several regional outlets like Spectrum News NY1 (Center bias) and Times Union (Center bias) covered it. As of Thursday morning, AllSides did not find coverage from the left.