CatholicVote Civic Action has joined Judicial Watch in suing the FBI and Justice Department to obtain records behind the “Radical Catholics” document prepared by the bureau’s Richmond, Virginia, field office.

That intelligence report, posted online in February by a whistleblower, said “violent extremists” adhered to “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” and cited a list of nine “RTC hate groups” identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center, saying the groups present opportunities for “threat mitigation.”

The report drew immediate fire from Catholic leaders and Republicans in the House and Senate. The FBI disavowed the document, even though it has not publicly explained how or why it came into being.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal District Court in Washington, seeks messages from top FBI officials, including Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate, Assistant Director George P. Beach II, General Counsel Jason Jones, Chief of Staff Jonathan Lenzner, Executive Assistant Director Larissa Knapp and Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan, referencing terms such as radical-traditionalist Catholics.

A similar demand is made for messages from officials at the Richmond field office, referencing the same terms.

The plaintiffs claim the FBI has not promptly fulfilled legitimate Freedom of Information Act requests filed by CatholicVote Civil Action and Judicial Watch seeking these records.

Speaking by phone with The Washington Times, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, “We have an FBI that’s just too big and out of control. … They’re not working on the sorts of crimes that the American people expect them to. It becomes a political operation; they’re trying to create race cases. And in the case of this modern FBI, the cases they try to create are the kind of cases that they think will be well received by … their political masters.”

Mr. Fitton added, “I suspect we’ll get documents as a result of this lawsuit” and that those would arrive “over the next few months.”

In a statement, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote Civic Action, said, “Weaponized and corrupt government agencies” are showing “a pattern of contempt for justice and the rule of law” by refusing to disclose this information.

He said, “We are demanding transparency from our government and are determined to uncover just how high up the anti-Catholic bigotry goes.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.