No, your cautions are not baseless. PC and muslims in these agencies are an inherant danger. To be honest, anything suspicious and I would rather report it to my local sheriff than a fed agency.
1. because sheriffs have a lot more power than people realize, and 2. most people tend to know their sheriff.
I left my former job out of fear for my own life...and don’t ask.
That sounds like good advice to me.