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Trump Threat Raises Fears Over Speech 09/17 06:13
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is escalating threats to crack
down on what he describes as the "radical left" following Charlie Kirk's
assassination, stirring fears that his administration is trying to harness
outrage over the killing to suppress political opposition.
Without establishing any link to last week's shooting, the Republican
president and members of his administration have discussed classifying some
groups as domestic terrorists, ordering racketeering investigations and
revoking tax-exempt status for progressive nonprofits. The White House pointed
to Indivisible, a progressive activist network, and the Open Society
Foundations, founded by George Soros, as potential subjects of scrutiny.
Although administration officials insist that their focus is preventing
violence, critics see an extension of Trump's campaign of retribution against
his political enemies and an erosion of free speech rights. Any moves to weaken
liberal groups could also shift the political landscape ahead of next year's
midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress and statehouses
across the country.
"The radical left has done tremendous damage to the country," Trump told
reporters on Tuesday morning when leaving for a state visit to the United
Kingdom. "But we're fixing it."
Trump has sometimes made similar threats without following through. But now
there's renewed interest fueled by anger over the killing of Kirk, a
conservative activist who was a prominent supporter of Trump and friends with
many of his advisers.
Dozens of nonprofit leaders, representing organizations including the Ford
Foundation, the Omidyar Network and the MacArthur Foundation, released a joint
letter saying "we reject attempts to exploit political violence to
mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms."
"Attempts to silence speech, criminalize opposing viewpoints, and
misrepresent and limit charitable giving undermine our democracy and harm all
Americans," they wrote.
White House blames 'terrorist networks'
Authorities said they believe the suspect in Kirk's assassination acted
alone, and they charged him with murder on Tuesday.
However, administration officials have repeatedly made sweeping statements
about the need for broader investigations and punishments related to Kirk's
death.
Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed "left-wing radicals" for the shooting and
said "they will be held accountable." Stephen Miller, a top policy adviser,
said there was an "organized campaign that led to this assassination."
Miller's comments came during a conversation with Vice President JD Vance,
who was guest-hosting Kirk's talk show from his ceremonial office in the White
House on Monday.
Miller said he was feeling "focused, righteous anger," and "we are going to
channel all of the anger" as they work to "uproot and dismantle these terrorist
networks" by using "every resource we have."
Vance blamed "crazies on the far left" for saying the White House would "go
after constitutionally protected speech." Instead, he said, "We're going to go
after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages in violence."
Asked for examples, the White House pointed to demonstrations where police
officers and federal agents have been injured, as well as the distribution of
goggles and face masks during protests over immigration enforcement in Los
Angeles.
There was also a report that Indivisible offered to reimburse people who
gathered at Tesla dealerships to oppose Elon Musk's leadership of the
Department of Government Efficiency. Sometimes cars were later vandalized.
Indivisible's leadership has said "political violence is a cancer on
democracy" and said that their own organization has "been threatened by
right-wingers all year."
Nonprofits brace for impact
Trump's executive actions have rattled nonprofit groups with attempts to
limit their work or freeze federal funding, but more aggressive proposals to
revoke tax-exempt status never materialized.
Now the mood has darkened as nonprofits recruit lawyers and bolster the
security of their offices and staff.
"It's a heightened atmosphere in the wake of political violence, and
organizations who fear they might be unjustly targeted in its wake are making
sure that they are ready," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the government
watchdog group Public Citizen.
Trump made retribution against political enemies a cornerstone of his
comeback campaign, and he's mobilized the federal government to reshape law
firms, universities and other traditionally independent institutions. He also
ordered an investigation into ActBlue, an online liberal fundraising platform.
Some nonprofits expect the administration to focus on prominent funders like
Soros, a liberal billionaire who has been a conservative target for years, to
send a chill through the donor community.
Trump recently said Soros should face a racketeering investigation, though
he didn't make any specific allegations. The Open Society Foundations condemned
violence and Kirk's assassination in a statement and said "it is disgraceful to
use this tragedy for political ends to dangerously divide Americans and attack
the First Amendment."
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, wrote on social media that
"the murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political
violence" but "Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a
campaign to destroy dissent."
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said "it is disingenuous and false
for Democrats to say administration actions are about political speech." She
said the goal is to "target those committing criminal acts and hold them
accountable."
Republicans back Trump's calls for investigations
Trump's concerns about political violence are noticeably partisan. He
described people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as "hostages"
and "patriots," and he pardoned 1,500 of them on his first day back in the Oval
Office. He also mocked House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi after an attack on
her husband.
When Trump condemned Kirk's killing in a video message last week, he
mentioned several examples of "radical left political violence" but ignored
attacks on Democrats.
Asked on Monday about the killing of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman
over the summer, Trump said "I'm not familiar" with the case.
"Trump shrugs at right-wing political violence," said Ezra Levin, the
co-executive director of Indivisible, in a newsletter.
Some conservative commentators have cheered on a potential crackdown. Laura
Loomer, a conspiracy theorist with a long record of bigoted comments, said
"let's shut the left down." She also said that she wants Trump "to be the
'dictator' the left thinks he is."
Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller and a former administration
spokeswoman, asked Bondi whether there would be "more law enforcement going
after these groups" and "putting cuffs on people."
"We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone
with hate speech," Bondi said. "And that's across the aisle."
Her comments sparked a backlash from across the political spectrum, since
even hate speech is generally considered to be protected under the First
Amendment. Bondi was more circumspect on social media on Tuesday morning,
saying they would focus on "hate speech that crosses the line into threats of
violence."
Trump is getting more support from Republicans in Congress. Sen. Ted Cruz of
Texas and others proposed legislation that would enable the Justice Department
to use racketeering laws, originally envisioned to combat organized crime, to
prosecute violent protesters and the groups that support them.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas wants the House to create a special committee to
investigate the nonprofit groups, saying "we must follow the money to identify
the perpetrators of the coordinated anti-American assaults being carried out
against us."
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