Former national security officials and constitutional law experts warn that President Donald Trump’s directive on “domestic terrorism and organized political violence” could lead to government surveillance of people who simply disagree with him.
Trump’s directive, issued last week, links violent acts, such as the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the attempts on Trump himself, to “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
At a time when Trump and Republicans routinely decry mainstream Democratic and progressive views as “extremist,” experts say Trump’s directive opens the door for surveillance of just about anyone outside the MAGA world.