The Trump Administration is facing mounting criticism over a sweeping directive that expands the government’s definition of domestic terrorism indicators to include certain political beliefs, with lawmakers and civil liberties groups warning it could be used to criminalize dissent.
The order, which directs the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to investigate “networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence,” identifies ideological markers such as anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christianity as potential red flags. Rights groups say that language is so broad it risks sweeping in protest movements, advocacy organizations, and critics of the administration.
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“The goal is to silence people and groups by threatening retaliation,” Rep. Ro Khanna of California told TIME. “These are McCarthy-era tactics. The rise in political violence is real, but attacking free speech is not the answer.”
The White House has rejected claims that the order targets free speech.
“As someone who actually knows what it’s like to be censored, President Trump is a strong supporter of free speech and Democrat allegations to the contrary are so false, they’re laughable,” spokesperson Abigail Jackson told TIME.
“The Trump Administration will get to the bottom of this vast network inciting violence in American communities, and the President’s executive actions to address left-wing violence will start to put an end to any illegal activities.”
Here’s what to know.
What does the order say?
The order, named NSPM-7, directs the JTTF and its offices to create a national strategy to “investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation” that suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law.
It highlights “common threads animating this violent conduct,” which it says include “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
The order also requires the task force to coordinate investigations of “Antifa,” though experts note the group is an ideology rather than a formal organization, raising questions about how investigations will proceed.
Political violence is described broadly as “sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society.”
The order specifically cites organized doxing, rioting, property destruction, threats of violence, and civil disorder.
Who will be affected?
Experts warn that the directive could significantly expand the number of Americans under federal scrutiny.
The order “directs law enforcement resources to target a range of activities which it often characterizes as violent, but also covers many aspects of First Amendment protected activity,” explains Faiza Patel, Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center.
“It’s not an order that is directed at criminal activity or terrorism, even though it uses those words frequently.”
Nonprofits, their employees, and donors could face investigation if deemed to “aid or abet” those engaged in certain conduct. The Secretary of the Treasury is tasked with disrupting financial networks funding political violence and ensuring organizations that support such activities lose their tax-exempt status.
Civil liberties organizations, including the ACLU, say the order could be used to intimidate critics and target nonprofits and activists.
D.C.-based law firm Arnold & Porter, a regulatory specialist firm, note that investigations “based on a particular subset of beliefs” could implicate organizations engaged in civil rights work, protest support, or politically sensitive initiatives.
What is behind the order?
The order comes amid a widespread crackdown on leftwing groups and organizations in the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk and a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility.
But while many have claimed that there is a rise in violence from the left, research shows that right-wing extremists are behind more political violence.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has spearheaded that effort, called the order “historical and significant” at the signing at in the Oval Office last week.
“This is the first time in American history that there is an all-of-government effort to dismantle leftwing terrorism, to dismantle antifa, to dismantle the organizations that have been carrying out these acts of political violence and terrorism,” Miller said.
The most recent memo builds upon the Administration’s efforts to crack down on left-wing ideology. Last week, the President designated “Antifa,” short for anti-fascist, as a domestic terror organization. Antifa, however, is an ideology, rather than a unified group.
Patel, of the Brennan Center, says the memo derives from the idea that there’s a rise of political violence on the left, “which includes everything from anti-immigration protests to racial justice protests to actual assassinations like that of Charlie Kirk.” The concerns with the order, she says, have to do with its conflation of actual criminal activity with Americans’ right to free speech and protest.
What is the Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF?
The Joint Terrorism Task Force is a federal law enforcement organization that combats both domestic and international terrorism. The unit collaborates with various federal, state, tribal, and local partners, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, to combat terrorism.
The force grew in scope following the 9/11 terrorist attack, though some cities, such as Portland, have withdrawn their police officers from the JTTF. The task force has a record of controversy given its history of targeting protestors, dissenters, and people of color, according to the ACLU.