The administration is increasingly attempting to scare activists into silence, but progressives are preparing instead.TruthoutBy Marianne DheninMay 14, 2026he White House’s 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy, published May 6, reveals startling new details about the Trump administration’s plans to target progressives. The new memo builds on one issued last September, called the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” Organizers warn the administration’s so-called “America First” counterterrorism strategy represents a threat to human rights, civil liberties, and the ongoing struggle for democracy and are shoring up their work to protect against its directives.“NSPM-7 is a deliberate attempt to sow fear and intimidate and silence opposition to the president’s abuses,” wrote Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Security Project, in a blog post following NSPM-7’s release. But, she continued, “[as] chilling as NSPM-7 is, and painful and difficult though its implementation may well prove to be, it contains nothing that we have not seen before.”
It is worth noting that Truthout is a progressive media outlet. However, the NSPM-7 directive is overwhelmingly focused on what it describes as “violent left-wing extremism”, specifically anti-fascist (Antifa), anarchist, anti-capitalist, and pro-migration protest movements. Notably, it contains almost nothing regarding right-wing extremists.
The Trump administration has given some indications of who it plans to target with these memos, though their vague language casts a wide net. Days before NSPM-7 was issued, Donald Trump signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization, and in a leaked December memo, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi described “Antifa-aligned extremists” as anyone willing to use violence in the service of “extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment.”As examples of supposed anti-American sentiment, Bondi offers opposition to law enforcement, anti-capitalist thinking, “anti-Christianity,” and “hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality.” Meanwhile, the latest memo promises to “prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.” Seemingly, anyone involved in struggles for the rights and safety of immigrants, religious minority groups, or LGBTQ+ people could be labeled anti-American using those descriptions and the Trump administration’s positions.
I have to wonder if I am on a list myself as a former head of a trans-rights organization. One also has to wonder: who exactly gets to decide these designations?
Back in December, before the release of NSPM-7, The Guardian reported:
Internal report shared with Guardian shows FBI has launched cases in 23 regions, some linked to Trump memo on thwarting ‘terroristic activities’Sam Levin in Los AngelesFri 19 Dec 2025The FBI has launched “criminal and domestic terrorism investigations” into “threats against immigration enforcement activity” in at least 23 regions across the US, according to an internal report shared with the Guardian.The two-page FBI document, dated 14 November, says some of the investigations are related to the “countering domestic terrorism” memo issued by Donald Trump in September.Released after the killing of Charlie Kirk, Trump’s memo, known as NSPM-7, called for a “national strategy” to thwart “violent and terroristic activities” associated with “anti-fascism”. It described “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christianity” as threats and cited “riots” in Los Angeles and Portland, referring to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as examples of “political violence”.
The Trump administration labeled peaceful protests in Minneapolis as "violent" and categorized the murdered protesters as terrorists.
“[The FBI document] is infused with vague and overbroad language, which was exactly our concern about NSPM-7 in the first place. It invites law enforcement suspicion and investigation based on purely first amendment-protected beliefs and activities,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project. “People who are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing can be subjected to surveillance or investigation. That imposes stigma. It can wrongly immesh people in the criminal legal system.”
We have already seen this administration go after television shows and news programs that do not cast the President in a favorable light. As Time magazine wrote:
The order, which directs the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to investigate “networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence,” identifies ideological markers such as anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christianity as potential red flags. Rights groups say that language is so broad it risks sweeping in protest movements, advocacy organizations, and critics of the administration.
The First Amendment be damned!
Groups such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have found that the majority of lethal extremist attacks and plots in recent years were linked to far-right ideologies. Examples include the Charleston church shooting, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the El Paso Walmart shooting, the Buffalo supermarket shooting, and, of course, the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Yet, we are the ones being targeted.
The Trump administration claims there has been a "massive surge" in left-wing violence, a point often echoed by conservatives. While this may be technically true in terms of percentage growth, there is a major "but" involved.
Over the last five years (2020–2025), there was an average of fewer than 10 violent acts per year attributed to the left. In contrast, there were between 30 and 70 incidents per year attributed to the right. More importantly, 90–100% of extremist-related murders typically originate from the far-right or white supremacist spectrum.
The most recent memo builds upon the Administration's efforts to crack down on left-wing ideology. Last week, the President designated “Antifa,” short for anti-fascist, as a domestic terror organization. Antifa, however, is an ideology, rather than a unified group.Patel, of the Brennan Center, says the memo derives from the idea that there’s a rise of political violence on the left, “which includes everything from anti-immigration protests to racial justice protests to actual assassinations like that of Charlie Kirk.” The concerns with the order, she says, have to do with its conflation of actual criminal activity with Americans’ right to free speech and protest.
It is worth noting that the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk was not a "left-wing assassin," but rather an individual with a personal and ideological grudge who stated he had "had enough of [Kirk's] hatred." The media described him as a "lone actor."
Ultimately, NSPM-7 ignores the reality of right-wing violence entirely to better fit the Republican political narrative.
