cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/5821

The Trump administration's recent efforts to target left-wing groups started with attacks on the Palestine movement, following the strategy established by pro-Israel organizations that worked for decades to pave the way for such repression.

In September, Trump issued an executive order claiming to designate “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization” and a presidential memorandum (NSPM-7) that targets charities and advocacy groups over alleged national security concerns.

These efforts were seemingly driven by the assassination of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, which the Trump administration has continually blamed on the left despite a complete lack of evidence.

“The last message that Charlie sent me … was that we needed to have an organized strategy to go after the left-wing organizations that are promoting violence in this country,” declared White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller shortly after Kirk’s killing. “With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks.”

While Kirk’s death provided the spark for Trump’s recent moves, the administration’s war on the left effectively began with its targeting of Palestine advocates.

Almost immediately upon arriving in the White House, the Trump team revoked visas, snatched people off the streets, detained legal citizens, and launched a McCarthyite campaign against university administrations for allowing anti-Israel sentiment to foment on their campuses.

“We ought to get them all out of the country,” declared Trump, referring to students who protested the genocide. “They’re troublemakers. They’re agitators. They don’t love our country. We ought to get them the hell out.”

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