DOJ Memo Operationalizes Attack on “Domestic Terrorism”
In September, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization.” The order went on to order that “[a]ll relevant executive departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations.” For an analysis of the executive order, including noting that U.S. terrorist designation had previously been reserved for foreign groups, see this International Centre for Counter-Terrorism article.
Then in mid-November, the U.S. Department of State designated four Europe-based organizations as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) and announced the intent to designate the groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), effective November 20, 2025. While not U.S.-based groups, the designation announcement warned that “U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting business with sanctioned persons. It is also a crime to knowingly provide material support or resources to those designated, or to attempt or conspire to do so.”
Finally, on December 4th, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum titled “Implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum-7: Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” (President Trump issued NSPM-7 in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination to authorize investigations into “domestic terrorist organizations.”). The Bondi memo is available here thanks to this story by investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein (as reported by he Democracy Docket). The memo broadly defines illegal activities that constitute domestic terrorism and identifies a list of views that it claims motivates domestic terrorism, “including opposition to law and immigration enforcement; extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality; and an elevation of violence to achieve policy outcomes, such as political assassinations.”
Additional Coverage: The Hill; The Guardian. See also this analysis by Arnold & Porter.