president Donald Trump On Thursday, his administration directed supporters of what it described as “left terrorism,” and named the two Democrat donors without evidence claiming a vast conspiracy to fund violent protests against the government.
Trump’s executive order led the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, saying the efforts would extend to agencies across the administration. Ministry of Finance“Identifying and disrupting financial networks that fund terrorism and political violence in the country.”
The pursuit of what the president said was a “agitator and anarchist” funder is the latest example of using the power of his office to persecute his political rivals. When pushed by reporters to name possible targets, he proposed two of the top Democrat donors, a billionaire George Soros and Reed Hoffman.
“If they’re funding these things, they’re going to have some issues,” Trump said.
Trump has since threatened such an order. assassination Earlier this month with conservative activist Charlie Kirk shooting Outside of the Immigration Customs Enforcement Facility in Dallas, one detainee was killed and two others injured. Authorities have identified suspicious gunman In each casehowever, so far, no information has been released to suggest that it is supported by a wider network. Authorities said a memo found at the home. Ice shooting gunman “Yes, it was me.”
In a statement Thursday, before Trump’s announcement, Soros’ Open Society Foundation referred to previous accusations by the Republican president, saying its activities were peaceful and legal.
“These accusations are politically motivated attacks on civil society and are intended to silence speeches that oppose and undermine the right to initial revision to freedom of speech,” the organization said.
Hoffman, who helped launch PayPal and networking site LinkedIn, could not be immediately contacted for comment.
The executive order is The latest amazing action From Trump he tries to exercise the Justice Department Retribution tools With the campaign Punish his recognized enemy It takes away the Democratic Party’s capabilities To organize and raise funds. Last spring he ordered the Attorney General. Investigate ActBlueallowing conservative counterparts to escape scrutiny, while still being the leading Democrat fundraising platform.
It was also the second time this week that Trump has officially called a terrorism label. On Monday, he signed the designated order. Distributed movement known as Antifa – Short for “anti-fascist” – as a domestic terrorist organization, despite former FBI officials saying it was more ideological than a cohesive group.
Trump has condemned the country’s recent surge in political violence on the left alone, despite Democrats and conservatives being the victims of the attacks. A Democrat Minnesota Sen. and her husband were killed in his home in June, and the official home of the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania was bombed earlier this year, and in 2022, the husband of then-house speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked by a Hammer-minded man who hit a home in San Francisco.
However, the order only cites cases of violence targeting conservatives, including last year’s attempt to assassinate Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooters had little visible political opinions and scouted President Joe Biden as a possible target.
In his signature on Thursday in his Oval Office, Trump signed the story behind examples of row-extension of civil disobedience directed at his administration, including the occupation of Portland federal buildings and attacks by groups of black-masked Antifa activists during his first term.
“These are professional agitators and anarchists, and they are hired by the wealthy people I know,” Trump said.
This was an allegation reflected by Vice President JD Vance and other top management personnel, but none provided evidence of such a network. The order directs the Internal Revenue Service to extract tax-free status from any organization identified as funding political violence.
Trump has appointed one of the world’s most prolific funders to one of the possible suspects’ donors.
“Soros is certainly the name I hear. I don’t know,” Trump said when asked for an example of a possible funder. “I hear the names of the rather wealthy people, the radical left people.
Hoffman is a regular funder of progressive, mainstream democratic causes, including author E. Jean Carroll. Lawsuit against Trump It allegedly sexually assaulted him and then slandered her.
Soros has long been a conservative target for his progressive advocacy and spending on liberal causes.
The Hungarian Jew who survived the Nazi occupation has made billions as an investor. He donated to anti-communist causes in the 1980s, assisted in the liberation of Eastern Europe, and funded major universities in his Hungarian homeland. But like him Open Society Foundation Soros has been increasingly moving into the field of social justice, from poverty countermeasure initiatives to LGBTQ and immigrant rights, drawing right rage in the US and worldwide.
In 2004, he first jumped into partisan politics, donating to a group opposed to Republican George W. Bush’s reelection campaign. Soros continues to give to Democrats and has become the nation’s top donor in the recent election cycle.
It was not immediately clear what authority the administration would use to designate terrorism. The State Department maintains a list of foreign terrorist organizations; There are no domestic equivalentsin part for the first corrected protection in the US
Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, called the Democrats a “domestic extremist organization” on Fox News last month. In his oval office on Thursday, he noted the historical nature of Trump’s actions.
“This is the first time in American history that there has been an entire government effort to dismantle left-wing terrorism,” Miller said.
