President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum to intensify government-wide efforts to identify organizations his administration suspects of supporting political violence. The directive aims to intensify efforts to identify groups backing “domestic terrorism and organized political violence being perpetrated by radical, politically motivated groups” in the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. From the Oval Office, Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that there are “wealthy people” funding political violence. The memorandum follows the White House’s earlier designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, despite the fact that it lacks a centralized organizational structure.
Targets and Allegations
When asked which specific groups the administration might target under the new memo, Attorney General Pam Bondi said their targets would be “any organized group who is committing these crimes.” However, Trump later singled out prominent liberal donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman as people he was “hearing” about, remarks that will likely intensify fears that the memorandum will be used to investigate his political opponents. Bondi, when asked about a report of a Justice Department push to investigate Soros’ foundation, said she would not comment on a pending investigation but that “everything’s on the table right now.” Trump added, “I don’t think anybody has to ask. If you look at Soros, he’s at the top of everything.”
A spokesperson for Soros’ Open Society Foundations rejected the accusations, calling the administration’s moves “politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.”
A Warning of Further Retaliation
The memorandum comes as Trump has blamed the “radical left” for Kirk’s killing and a fatal shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. Trump had also accused the “radical left” of provoking violence, suggesting it could spark a right-wing backlash that “will not be good” for them. “The right is not doing this, they’re not doing it and they better not get them energized, because it won’t be good for the left,” Trump said.
An FBI review of the evidence from the Dallas shooting indicates the shooter was ideologically motivated by a “hatred for the federal government,” but did not appear to have affiliations with specific groups. The shooter, who was found dead at the scene, left behind handwritten notes that led investigators to believe he intended to target ICE personnel and property.
Author’s Opinion
This memorandum represents a dangerous conflation of political dissent and domestic terrorism. While the goal of stopping political violence is noble, the administration’s rhetoric and its targeting of specific political opponents risks using the levers of government to stifle free speech. By creating a vague category of “organized political violence” and blaming it on a specific political ideology, the administration is creating a powerful new tool for political persecution. This approach, particularly the suggestion that people who celebrate a death should be “fired,” sets a dangerous precedent that conflates unpopular speech with a physical act, which could have a chilling effect on public discourse.
Featured image credit: Trump White House Archived via Flickr
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