FBI, IRS to investigate NGOs for ties to domestic terrorism, Antifa

( Post Millennial )

Agents with the FBI and IRS are working together to create a new initiative aimed at investigating nonprofit organizations suspected of having possible links to Antifa and domestic terrorism.

According to a report by CBS News, Attorney General Pam Bondi in December ordered federal agencies and prosecutors to prioritize efforts to investigate extremist groups such as Antifa. A December 4 memo directed law enforcement agencies to consider potential tax-related violations when groups are "suspected of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service."

"These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas, 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,” the memo read.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told the outlet that, “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 initiative will create a "mission control command center" based at the FBI, where agents from IRS Criminal Investigations will work on one-year assignments. 

The FBI has been ordered to develop a list of groups that engage in acts that under federal law "may constitute domestic terrorism." Additionally, the deputy attorney general's office has been tasked with creating a team focused on investigating funding for Antifa-linked groups. 

Last September, President Donald Trump signed an executive order labeling Antifa a "domestic terrorist organization." The order directed administration officials to investigate "any and all illegal operations" carried out by Antifa-associated individuals, and followed the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It also came a few months after several members of a North Texas Antifa cell attacked an ICE detention center, which resulted in an officer being shot in the neck.