The FBI is investigating “recent credible threats” made by Islamic State followers against UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy, the Army Times reported on Wednesday.
Kennedy, a decorated Green Beret in the US Army’s 7th Special Forces Group, with multiple combat deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, acknowledged the probe in a post on his official Facebook page.
“Just spoke to the FBI regarding some recent credible threats towards me by #ISIS,” Kennedy wrote on Wednesday night. “They were not overly thrilled with my response ... ‘Let those cowards come.’”
Kennedy, currently No6 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings, has served in the Texas National Guard since transitioning from active duty. He first joined the Army in 2004 and earned the Bronze Star for valor under fire in 2006.
Inactive since a controversial September 2014 loss to Yoel Romero, the California native has been non-committal regarding his return to the octagon. However, the 36-year-old has remained in the organization’s rankings and called out Vitor Belfort as recently as November.
Kennedy told the Army Times that the FBI reached out to him on Wednesday regarding a series of threats he had received on social media.
“Apparently a couple of them were legitimate in trying to, from what the FBI said, plan stuff,” Kennedy said. “They said, ‘Are you aware of this stuff?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘We think this is somewhat credible.’”
Despite the bureau’s concerns, Kennedy remains unbowed.
“They can send whoever they want,” he wrote on Wednesday, “as long as they don’t want them back.”
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