Presidential Memorandum: Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence (NSPM-7)

On September 25, President Trump issued a memorandum addressing domestic terrorism and organized political violence. Find our summary of the provisions in the memo below.

Section 1. Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.

• The recent influx in political violence is not a series of isolated incidents and does not emerge organically. It is part of an organized campaign of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society.
• As such, a new law enforcement strategy is needed.
• These “anti-fascist” violent activities are animated by anti-Americanism; anti-capitalism; anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the US government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility toward those with traditional American values.

Sec. 2. Investigating Domestic Terrorist Organizations.

• Directs the National Joint Terrorism Task Force and its local offices (JTTFs) to coordinate and supervise a national strategy to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation. Directs the JTTFs to consult and coordinate with executive departments and agencies as needed to support the JTTFs’ investigations and relevant prosecutions.
• Directs the JTTFs to investigate:
  • Potential federal crimes relating to the acts of recruiting or radicalizing individuals for the purpose of political violence, terrorism, or conspiracy against rights; or the violent deprivation of any citizen’s rights.
  • Institutional and individual funders, and officers and employees of organizations, that are responsible for, sponsor, or otherwise aid and abet the principal actors engaging in the criminal conduct described above.
  • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and American citizens residing abroad or with close ties to foreign governments, agents, citizens, foundations, or influence networks engaged in violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act or money-laundering by funding, creating, or supporting entities that engage in activities that support or encourage domestic terrorism.
• Directs the Attorney General (AG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute all federal crimes related to these investigations to the maximum extent permissible by law. The AG is also directed to issue specific guidance that ensures domestic terrorism priorities include politically motivated terrorist acts such as organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder. This includes an identification of patterns or other indicia common to organizations and entities that coordinate these acts in order to direct efforts to identify and prevent violent activity.
• Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make available all resources to identify and disrupt financial networks that fund domestic terrorism and political violence, including providing guidance for financial institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports and investigate the funding of these activities.
• Directs the Commissioner of the IRS to take action to ensure that no tax-exempt entities are directly or indirectly financing political violence or political terrorism. The Commissioner is also directed to ensure that the IRS refers these organizations, as well as their employees and officers, to the DOJ for investigation and possible prosecution.
• Directs all federal law enforcement agencies with investigative authority to question and interrogate individuals engaged in political violence or lawlessness regarding the entity or individual organizing such actions and any related financing of these actions, prioritizing certain violent crimes. These include: assaulting Federal officers or employees or otherwise engaging in conduct proscribed by 18 U.S.C. 111; conspiracy against rights under 18 U.S.C. 241; conspiracy to commit offense under 18 U.S.C. 371; solicitation to commit a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. 373; money laundering under 18 U.S.C. 1956; funding of terrorist acts or otherwise facilitating terrorism under 18 U.S.C. 2339, 2339A, 2339B, 2339C, and 2339D; arson offenses under 18 U.S.C. 844; violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.); and major fraud against the United States under 18 U.S.C. 1031.

Sec. 3. Department of Justice Designation. The AG may recommend that any group or entity whose members are engaged in activities meeting the definition of “domestic terrorism” can be designated as “domestic terrorist organization.” The AG is required to submit a list of these groups to the White House. 

Sec. 4. Domestic Terrorism as a National Priority Area. The AG and Secretary of Homeland Security shall designate domestic terrorism as a national priority area and develop appropriate grant programs to allocate funding for law enforcement partners to detect, prevent, and protect against threats arising from this area.

Guidance on NSPM-7

On December 4, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a memorandum, “Implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum-7: Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence” to all federal prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, and Department of Justice grantmaking components.

The memo guides federal law enforcement on the investigative priorities outlined by the presidential memorandum (NSPM-7).

1. Defining the domestic terrorism threat
Domestic terrorism is criminal conduct that occurs primarily inside the United States and involves acts dangerous to human life that appear to be intended to:

• intimidate a civilian population; 
• influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; 
• or affect the conduct of government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping

Criminal conduct rising to the level of domestic terrorism (including doxing of law enforcement, mass rioting, violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement, and targeting of political actors) has been tolerated for too long. Antifa-aligned extremists have extreme viewpoints on immigration, gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment. They are willing to use violence to serve those beliefs.

Federal law enforcement will prioritize this threat, and when domestic terrorism is encountered or suspected, such matters will be referred to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs). Acts of domestic terrorism include:

• Organized rioting, looting, doxing, and swatting (i.e., the tactic of making calls to send armed police to the locations of political figures)
• Conspiracies to impede or assault law enforcement, destroy property, or engage in violent civil disorder

The JTTFs will use all available investigative tools to map the full network of culpable actors involved in the referred conduct inside and outside the U.S.

Particularly dangerous are acts committed by violent extremist groups that threaten both citizens’ safety and ability to self-govern by using violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas (including targeted political assassinations), such as:

• 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
• Support for the overthrow of the U.S. government
• Hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality

2. Common characteristics of domestic terrorists and organizations
Domestic terrorists seek to disrupt the functioning of a democratic society. Many are united by an anti-fascist platform that seeks to combat perceived fascism; to these groups, violence is justified to achieve that goal. This ideology paints legitimate government authority and traditional, conservative viewpoints as fascist.

3. Prosecuting the most serious, readily provable offenses
Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors shall prosecute all federal crimes encountered during the investigations described in Section 2 of NSPM-7. AG Bondi’s memo lists over 20 potentially applicable provisions of law, including 18 U.S.C. § 2339 et seq. – Providing material support for terrorist activity; 18 U.S.C. § 1962 et seq. – Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; and 18 U.S.C. § 2101 – Traveling in interstate commerce or using a facility of interstate commerce to organize or incite a riot.

4. Commissioning review of prior events and information
Within 14 days of this guidance, all federal law enforcement agencies are directed to review their files for antifa and antifa-related intelligence and information and deliver such material to the FBI for review within the JTTFs. The FBI shall investigate matters from the past five years that involved potential acts of domestic terrorism, including the surge of attacks on nonprofits, doxing of law enforcement, coordinated interference with federal employees in agencies such as DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, and potential unlawful targeting of Supreme Court justices in their homes. The JTTFs will use all available tools to identify all criminal participants, as well as those who organize or financially sponsor these participants, and refer appropriate matters to the relevant U.S. Attorney.

5. Identifying domestic terrorist organizations
The FBI, in coordination with the JTTFs, will compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism and provide the list to the Deputy Attorney General. The FBI and JTTFs must adopt strategies that have been used to disrupt entire networks of criminal activity. The FBI will provide an initial report on this directive within 30 days and updated reports every 30 days thereafter, or at the request of the Attorney General.

6. Prioritizing grants to law enforcement partners
DOJ’s grantmaking components will prioritize grant funding to state and local law enforcement for programs to detect, prevent, and protect against domestic terrorism. Within 30 days, each grantmaking component shall provide to the Deputy Attorney General proposals for notices of funding opportunities that prioritize supporting state and local programs to combat domestic terrorism.

7. Disseminating intelligence on extremist groups
Within 60 days of this guidance, the FBI and JTTFs will disseminate an intelligence bulletin on antifa and antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremist groups, including the relevant organizations’ funding sources.

8. Leveraging existing FBI capabilities to identify tips that will dismantle domestic terrorist organizations and activities 
Within 30 days, the FBI will establish recommendations to better publicize the FBI’s tip line for submitting tips related to domestic terrorism. The FBI will also establish a cash reward system for information that leads to the successful identification and arrest of individuals in the leadership of domestic terrorist organizations. The FBI, in coordination with the JTTFs, will aim to establish cooperators to provide information and eventually testify against other members and leadership of domestic terrorist organizations.

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