Trump broadens crackdown on ‘organized’ political violence

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By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday broadened a crackdown on what he has characterized since Charlie Kirk’s assassination as organized left-wing efforts to stoke political violence.

Trump signed a presidential memo that directs administration officials to “detect, prevent and protect” radical groups from performing acts of violence and shut off the groups’ funding.

Among other steps, Trump is pushing his attorney general to prioritize countering “organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder.”

He is also asking the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service to weed out any philanthropic groups funding political violence.

In the aftermath of Kirk’s killing on September 10 and a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas on Wednesday, the Trump administration has repeatedly blamed left-wing groups, without evidence, of being part of a coordinated campaign of political violence.

At the same time, Trump has downplayed violence from right-wing groups, insisting political violence is a problem rooted in the left.

Trump’s memo on Thursday called political violence “a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation,” backed by “structures, networks, entities, organizations, (and) funding sources,” which it did not name.

It spotlights “common threads animating this violent conduct,” which it says includes “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 memo did not mention prominent examples of violence targeting left-wing figures or promoted by Trump sympathizers.

Domestic terrorism experts say political violence is bipartisan and that historically more attacks have been inspired by right-wing ideology.

Officials have found no evidence that the suspect in Kirk’s shooting or the Dallas shooting acted in concert with any group.

‘A LOT OF DIFFERENT NAMES’ FLOATED FOR INVESTIGATION

Pressed for examples on Thursday of who could be targeted in a domestic terrorism probe, Trump said, “I hear a lot of different names.”

He specifically mentioned two prominent Democratic donors, Reid Hoffman and George Soros, without presenting evidence of any wrongdoing by them.

“If they are funding these things, they’re gonna have some problems,” the Republican president said.

Asked specifically whether Soros was the target of a Justice Department probe, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “I don’t have any comment on whether there is or is not a pending investigation, but everything is on table right now.”

Neither Hoffman nor Soros could immediately be reached for comment.

Soros’ Open Society Foundations, a charity, said it condemns terrorism and Trump’s “politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with.”

The New York Times reported earlier on Thursday that a senior Justice Department official had instructed several U.S. attorneys’ offices to draft plans to investigate the Open Society Foundations, and suggested possible charges against the organization ranging from arson to material support of terrorism.

On Monday, Trump signed an order calling the anti-fascist antifa movement a “terrorist organization.” That has raised questions as to how law enforcement would pursue what the Anti-Defamation League has called a “leaderless movement composed of loose collections of groups, networks and individuals.”

Federal law enforcement officials already investigate violent and organized crime associated with a variety of hate groups and ideological movements.

The U.S. government does not currently officially designate solely domestic groups as terrorist organizations in large part because of constitutional protections.

Also on Thursday, Trump signed a separate order pushing law enforcement officials to seek the death penalty in some Washington, D.C., crime prosecutions.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on criminal charges of false statements and obstruction on Thursday, a person familiar with the move said, escalating a campaign against a frequent target of Trump’s anger.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt; additional reporting by Christian Martinez and Jasper WardEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Lincoln Feast.)