Trump's threat to target 'radical left' after Kirk killing raises fears
he's trying to silence foes
[September 17, 2025]
By CHRIS MEGERIAN, LISA MASCARO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is escalating threats to crack
down on what he describes as the “radical left” following Charlie Kirk’s
assassination, stirring fears that his administration is trying to
harness outrage over the killing to suppress political opposition.
Without establishing any link to last week's shooting, the Republican
president and members of his administration have discussed classifying
some groups as domestic terrorists, ordering racketeering investigations
and revoking tax-exempt status for progressive nonprofits. The White
House pointed to Indivisible, a progressive activist network, and the
Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, as potential subjects
of scrutiny.
Although administration officials insist that their focus is preventing
violence, critics see an extension of Trump's campaign of retribution
against his political enemies and an erosion of free speech rights. Any
moves to weaken liberal groups could also shift the political landscape
ahead of next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of
Congress and statehouses across the country.
“The radical left has done tremendous damage to the country,” Trump told
reporters on Tuesday morning when leaving for a state visit to the
United Kingdom. “But we’re fixing it.”
Trump has sometimes made similar threats without following through. But
now there’s renewed interest fueled by anger over the killing of Kirk, a
conservative activist who was a prominent supporter of Trump and friends
with many of his advisers.
White House blames ‘terrorist networks’
Authorities said they believe the suspect in Kirk’s assassination acted
alone, and they charged him with murder on Tuesday.
However, administration officials have repeatedly made sweeping
statements about the need for broader investigations and punishments
related to Kirk's death.
Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed “left-wing radicals” for the shooting
and said “they will be held accountable.” Stephen Miller, a top policy
adviser, said there was an “organized campaign that led to this
assassination.”
Miller's comments came during a conversation with Vice President JD
Vance, who was guest-hosting Kirk's talk show from his ceremonial office
in the White House on Monday.
Miller said he was feeling “focused, righteous anger,” and “we are going
to channel all of the anger" as they work to “uproot and dismantle these
terrorist networks" by using “every resource we have."
Vance blamed “crazies on the far left” for saying the White House would
"go after constitutionally protected speech.” Instead, he said, “We’re
going to go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages
in violence.”
Asked for examples, the White House pointed to demonstrations where
police officers and federal agents have been injured, as well as the
distribution of goggles and face masks during protests over immigration
enforcement in Los Angeles.
There was also a report that Indivisible offered to reimburse people who
gathered at Tesla dealerships to oppose Elon Musk's leadership of the
Department of Government Efficiency. Sometimes cars were later
vandalized.
Indivisible's leadership has said “political violence is a cancer on
democracy" and said that their own organization has “been threatened by
right-wingers all year.”
Nonprofits brace for impact
Trump's executive actions have rattled nonprofit groups with attempts to
limit their work or freeze federal funding, but more aggressive
proposals to revoke tax-exempt status never materialized.
Now the mood has darkened as nonprofits recruit lawyers and bolster the
security of their offices and staff.
"It’s a heightened atmosphere in the wake of political violence, and
organizations who fear they might be unjustly targeted in its wake are
making sure that they are ready,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the
government watchdog group Public Citizen.
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on
Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept.
16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump made retribution against political enemies a cornerstone of
his comeback campaign, and he's mobilized the federal government to
reshape law firms, universities and other traditionally independent
institutions. He also ordered an investigation into ActBlue, an
online liberal fundraising platform.
Some nonprofits expect the administration to focus on prominent
funders like Soros, a liberal billionaire who has been a
conservative target for years, to send a chill through the donor
community.
Trump recently said Soros should face a racketeering investigation,
though he didn't make any specific allegations. The Open Society
Foundations condemned violence and Kirk’s assassination in a
statement and said “it is disgraceful to use this tragedy for
political ends to dangerously divide Americans and attack the First
Amendment."
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, wrote on social
media that “the murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans
to confront political violence” but "Trump and his anti-democratic
radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said “it is disingenuous and
false for Democrats to say administration actions are about
political speech.” She said the goal is to "target those committing
criminal acts and hold them accountable.”
Republicans back Trump's calls for investigations
Trump's concerns about political violence are noticeably partisan.
He described people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,
as “hostages” and “patriots,” and he pardoned 1,500 of them on his
first day back in the Oval Office. He also mocked House Speaker
Emerita Nancy Pelosi after an attack on her husband.
When Trump condemned Kirk's killing in a video message last week, he
mentioned several examples of “radical left political violence” but
ignored attacks on Democrats.
Asked on Monday about the killing of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa
Hortman over the summer, Trump said “I’m not familiar” with the
case.
“Trump shrugs at right-wing political violence,” said Ezra Levin,
the co-executive director of Indivisible, in a newsletter.
Some conservative commentators have cheered on a potential
crackdown. Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist with a long record of
bigoted comments, said “let’s shut the left down.” She also said
that she wants Trump “to be the ‘dictator’ the left thinks he is.”
Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller and a former administration
spokeswoman, asked Bondi whether there would be “more law
enforcement going after these groups” and “putting cuffs on people.”
“We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting
anyone with hate speech,” Bondi said. “And that’s across the aisle.”
Her comments sparked a backlash from across the political spectrum,
since even hate speech is generally considered to be protected under
the First Amendment. Bondi was more circumspect on social media on
Tuesday morning, saying they would focus on “hate speech that
crosses the line into threats of violence.”
Trump is getting more support from Republicans in Congress. Sen. Ted
Cruz of Texas and others proposed legislation that would enable the
Justice Department to use racketeering laws, originally envisioned
to combat organized crime, to prosecute violent protesters and the
groups that support them.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas wants the House to create a special committee
to investigate the nonprofit groups, saying “we must follow the
money to identify the perpetrators of the coordinated anti-American
assaults being carried out against us.”
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Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this
report.
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