The Trump administration will only investigate left-wing groups with a provable tie to violence following the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, an administration official told The Daily Signal.
The focus of investigations will be Antifa-like groups involved in the online conspiracy to assassinate Turning Point USA founder Kirk last Wednesday, the source said.
This comes after Vice President JD Vance and Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, on Monday discussed plans to “go after” leftist non-government organizations, or NGOs, due to Kirk’s murder.
“We’re going to go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages in violence,” Vance said.
“We are going to channel all of the anger that we have over the organized campaign that led to this assassination, to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks,” Miller said.
Left-wing groups that don’t provide material support to violence will not be investigated because criticism of conservatives is protected as free speech, the administration official said.
In a video address the night of Kirk’s death, Trump said his administration “will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”
The alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, appeared to take responsibility for the shooting on the messaging platform Discord. Director Kash Patel said the FBI is “investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.”
If an organization is found to be a material supporter of terrorism or violence, it could lose its legal status, the leadership could be punished, and individuals involved in conspiracy could be criminally prosecuted, the administration official said. Groups found to be committing crimes could also have their assets forfeited.
Students for Justice in Palestine is an example of an organization that could be investigated for inciting violence on college campuses, the official said. At George Mason University, police found guns, ammunition, and Hamas and Hezbollah paraphernalia at the president of the SJP chapter’s house.
If SJP is conspiring to commit criminal acts, the DOJ could investigate them. SJP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on an online form.
The Brandenburg v. Ohio test established a two-pronged test to evaluate speech acts: speech can be prohibited if it is “directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action” and it is “likely to incite or produce such action.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently came under fire for saying the Justice Department would “absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” She later clarified that the “Department of Justice will be unabashed in our efforts to root out credible, violent threats.”
“We will investigate organizations that pursue illegal activities, engage in political violence, violate our civil rights, and commit tax or nonprofit fraud,” Bondi’s statement said.
The Trump administration will protect all free speech, unless it crosses into a call for violence, the official said.
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