Trump says he will sign executive order to dismantle left-wing groups he claims incite violence

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By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will sign an executive order this week to dismantle “domestic terrorism networks,” which he has previously alleged are funded by left-wing groups inciting violence against conservatives.

“The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will be signing an Executive Order this week to dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks.”

Trump made the announcement on the same day a gunman killed one detainee and wounded two others at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas. ICE has led Trump’s sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, which has drawn widespread criticism from Democrats and immigration activists.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly suggested, without evidence, that the suspect in conservative activist Kirk’s assassination two weeks ago was part of a broader coordinated left-wing movement.

At the same time, the president has largely downplayed violence from right-wing groups, insisting political violence is a problem rooted in the left. Domestic terrorism experts, however, say political violence is bipartisan and that historically more attacks have been inspired by right-wing ideology.

Trump previously said he had spoken with Attorney General Pam Bondi about potentially bringing charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act against such groups. The law was created to combat organized crime.

Democrats have warned that the administration may be using Kirk’s killing as a pretext to crack down on political dissent. Critics say Trump’s actions are part of a broader pattern by his administration of targeting political opponents, the media, and other critics.

On Monday, Trump signed a separate executive order declaring the left-wing anti-fascist movement, known as antifa, a “domestic terrorist organization” and threatened to investigate and prosecute those who financially support it.

Antifa is a “decentralized, leaderless movement composed of loose collections of groups, networks and individuals,” according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks extremists.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Bhargav Acharya and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)