According to a leaked memo from Pam Bondi to all U.S. law enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice will potentially treat opponents of President Donald Trump’s policies as “domestic terrorists.” Via Democracy Docket:
The document, which was first published over the weekend by investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein, appears to represent the first attempt to implement Trump’s calls to target left-wing activists and others who protest his administration’s policies as “terrorists” affiliated with antifa, an anti-fascist movement that often serves as a boogeyman for the right.
In the Dec. 4 memo, Bondi instructed the DOJ to compile a “list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism” under U.S. law.
The memo suggests Bondi is working from an exceedingly broad definition of “domestic terrorism” — and an exaggerated perception of the threat it poses. And despite the administration’s denials, the memo suggests it could target Americans based on their political beliefs, not their actions.
“For too long, rampant criminal conduct rising to the level of domestic terrorism—e.g., organized doxing of law enforcement, mass rioting and destruction in our cities, violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement, targeting of public officials or other political actors, etc. —has been tolerated,” she writes.
