President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum to combat domestic terrorism and organized political violence in the United States.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller presented the
document to Trump during a signing event in the Oval Office,
saying that the executive action marks "the first time in American history that there is an all-of-government effort to dismantle left-wing terrorism, to dismantle Antifa."
The move aims to build on an executive order
signed by Trump on Sept. 22 that designates Antifa a domestic terrorism organization.
Trump attributed the executive action to a rise in left-wing violence across the United States, coming after the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk.
These allegations escalated in the wake of a Sept. 24
shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that left one dead and two injured. Bullets found at the scene contain anti-ICE messaging. All three victims of the attack were detainees at the facility, and no law enforcement officers were wounded in the shooting.
In a
post on Truth Social after that attack, Trump wrote, "The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped."
Speaking to reporters during the signing event, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked whether the administration had a specific target in mind with the action.
"Any organized group who is committing these crimes," Bondi said in response. She said the Department of Justice would be investigating funding channels in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department, and state and local officials.
Thursday’s memorandum states that the United States requires a “national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts.”
“Through this comprehensive strategy, law enforcement will disband and uproot networks, entities, and organizations that promote organized violence, violent intimidation, conspiracies against rights, and other efforts to disrupt the functioning of a democratic society,” the memorandum continues.
Several Democrats have also been targeted in acts of political violence this year.
In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence was
firebombed while he was inside. Authorities arrested Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg in connection with the attack.
“Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg,” Shapiro said in a
statement on social media on April 13.
Then in June, Minnesota state Rep. and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were
fatally shot, while Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded in a series of acts described as “targeted political violence.” Hortman and Hoffman are Democrats.
The suspect, Vance Boelter, was arrested on June 15 in what Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley described as “the largest manhunt in the state’s history.”
Jack Phillips, Aldgra Fredly, and Jacob Burg contributed to this report.
