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The federal government is targeting nonprofits under a sweeping new “domestic terrorism” initiative

Across the country, nonprofits are under threat.

Recent reporting from CBS News, The Guardian, and Common Dreams reveals that the FBI and IRS have launched a sweeping initiative targeting organizations accused of supporting so-called domestic terrorism. But the definitions being used, covering “extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment,” are so broad that they could apply to almost any form of dissent.

This is not about public safety. It is about power.

According to these reports, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered federal law enforcement to prioritize investigations into groups labeled extremist, opening the door to politically motivated prosecutions. Nonprofit organizations advocating for immigrant rights, racial justice, or LGBTQ+ equality could now face scrutiny simply for opposing administration policies.

Nonprofits are the backbone of American democracy. They feed families, defend civil liberties, and amplify voices that would otherwise go unheard. Labeling advocacy as terrorism does not protect Americans. It silences them.

If this initiative continues, it will chill free speech, waste taxpayer resources on ideological targeting, and erode the fundamental right to dissent.

We are calling on Congress and the Department of Justice to immediately halt this initiative, establish clear and narrow definitions of domestic terrorism with input from civil liberties experts, conduct urgent oversight, protect nonprofits from viewpoint-based investigations, and revoke directives targeting groups without transparent criteria.

The American people deserve a government that defends free expression, not one that punishes it.

Thanks,
Mary