President Donald Trump has ordered a crackdown on what he calls “left-wing terrorism,” claiming without providing evidence that wealthy Democratic donors are secretly bankrolling violent unrest across the country.
The directive, announced Thursday, places the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Taskforce in charge of the investigation, with agencies including the Treasury Department instructed “to identify and disrupt financial networks that fund domestic terrorism and political violence.”
When asked by a reporter to identify who might be targeted, Trump singled out two prominent Democratic benefactors, George Soros and Reid Hoffman. “If they are funding these things, they’re going to have some problems,” Trump warned.
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The move marks another moment where Trump has wielded presidential authority to pursue political rivals. It comes just weeks after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and a deadly shooting outside a Dallas immigration detention center that left one detainee dead and two others injured. While suspects have been identified in both incidents, no evidence has emerged linking them to broader networks.
Soros’ Open Society Foundation, responding ahead of Trump’s announcement, dismissed the president’s remarks. “These accusations are politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech,” the group said in a statement.
Hoffman, a co-founder of PayPal and LinkedIn, has not publicly commented on the president’s allegations.
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