Feds launch probe to unravel alleged nonprofit funding behind Antifa-linked violence
The Department of Justice has begun investigating nonprofit groups that the Trump administration says are involved in organizing or funding political violence and destructive protests, including those linked to Antifa, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
The effort involves the FBI and IRS, the sources said, and stemmed from directives by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe political violence. The Trump administration has contended that the violence is often being perpetrated by self-described Antifa adherents and could be a result of organized and well-funded campaigns by nonprofits.
"These movements portray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution," Trump wrote in his memorandum in September, days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man who authorities say wrote antifascist phrases on his bullet casings.
Trump's directive came after a string of harrowing ideologically-inspired shootings that included Kirk's killing, an attack on a Dallas ICE facility that killed one detainee and the murder of a health insurance CEO. The DOJ also recently secured convictions for nine members of a Texas Antifa cell for their roles in an attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado last year that involved weapons, explosives and a murder attempt.
Bondi, in a memorandum on Dec. 4, directed federal law enforcement to carry out Trump's memorandum, coined NSPM-7, in part by looking into Antifa's funding sources and investigating any tax crimes by "extremist groups."
A spokesperson for the IRS Criminal Investigations unit confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency was working with the FBI on the matter.
"In accordance with National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate individuals and entities that may be funding domestic terrorism or political violence," the spokesperson said, calling it a "coordinated effort."
Antifa, short for antifascist, is a broad term, and its members often promote a range of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism, according to the Congressional Research Center. Trump declared Antifa a "major terrorist organization" last year, drawing criticism from civil rights advocates who said the president was targeting people for their political views. Bondi's memo carefully noted the DOJ would not investigate "solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment."
One of the sources familiar with the NSPM-7 probe told Fox News Digital that every U.S. attorney across the country was directed by the DOJ to designate a federal prosecutor in their office to serve as a "district coordinator" for the cases.
The DOJ has been urging prosecutors to focus on funding because nonprofits could be funding and coordinating instances of domestic terrorism, the person said.
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A DOJ spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on the effort that the department was pursuing a wide range of domestic terrorism crimes.
"The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to speak in the public square, participate freely in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice the full range of criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct matching Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism," the spokesperson said.
The FBI declined to comment.