Chris Briese Named Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division

Director Robert S. Mueller, III named M. Chris Briese special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Division. Mr. Briese most recently served as deputy assistant director for the Critical Incident Response Group in Quantico, Virginia.

Mr. Briese entered on duty to new agent training at the FBI Academy in August 1987. After graduation, he reported to the Los Angeles Division. He worked a variety of investigations, including bank robbery, interstate theft, foreign counterintelligence and international terrorism matters.

In February 1996, he was promoted to the National Security Division in the Counterterrorism Planning Section at FBI Headquarters. He was a founding member of the Weapons of Mass Operations Unit, where he specialized in chemical and biological terrorism issues.

Mr. Briese transferred to the Minneapolis Division in May 1998 in a supervisory role, overseeing international and domestic terrorism, foreign counterintelligence programs, and the St. Cloud Resident Agency. He established the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was responsible for the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was successfully prosecuted for crimes related to the 9/11 attacks. In July 2001, he was promoted as assistant special agent in charge of the Minneapolis Division.

In August 2003, Mr. Briese was promoted and returned to FBI Headquarters as a section chief in the Counterterrorism Division. He was responsible for the oversight of half the FBI’s global terrorism operations, including the FBI’s deployment in Iraq, the Saddam Hussein interrogation team, and the investigative team assigned to the Regime Crimes Liaison Office.

Mr. Briese was appointed special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Division in January 2005. He returned to FBI Headquarters in August 2006 and worked in multiple leadership positions within the National Security Branch.

Prior to the start of his FBI career, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law School in August 1987. He is married and the father of two teenage boys.