Individual acts of terrorism in the U.S. are mounting into one big problem, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday.
A hatchet attack on police officers in New York, a shooting on Parliament Hill in Canada, the Boston Marathon bombings, the beheading of a woman by a disgruntled worker in Oklahoma — all of it represents a growing threat of "lone-wolf" terrorism, she said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"One of the problems is that the Internet, as well as certain specific Muslim extremists, are really firing up this lone-wolf phenomenon," said the California Democrat, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. "These attacks and the multiplicity of attacks in 2014 show that their propaganda is having some effect."
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But the FBI is on top of the problem, she said.
"I've been briefed by Director [James] Comey," Feinstein said. "And I believe the FBI is making every effort to stay on top of this lone-wolf phenomenon. I think the White House is cognizant of it and is working very hard to see that we have the ability to be able to find them and stop them."
Police and soldiers in uniform are at a greater risk of terror attacks, and it's important that they remain on guard, she said. But the federal government must also work in new and existing ways to protect these individuals, she said.
"This is very difficult," Feinstein said. "Halls of government have to be on guard, the way the parliament in Canada was penetrated. In Canada, you had an armed sergeant at arms who took action and killed the perpetrator. And I think we need to think in some new ways."
"I don't particularly want to discuss it on television," she added. "But one thing is for sure, we are going to protect our institutions of government."
Read more about: Dianne Feinstein, Terrorism, FBI, Senate Intelligence Committee, Terrorists, Federal Bureau Of Investigation, James Comey, ISIL