Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo this month advising federal agents to expand operations targeting alleged domestic terrorists.
The Justice Department’s memo, dated Dec. 4, appeared to mark a significant extension of the government’s blueprint to squelch suspected domestic terrorism, as well as broadening the scope of people who could be detained under the new blueprint.
The memo, obtained by the Washington Examiner, includes a directive for the FBI, “consistent with applicable law,” to compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute” domestic terrorism. Bondi additionally ordered the FBI, which falls under the DOJ, to establish “a cash reward system” to encourage the public to report suspected domestic terrorist activity, saying people should be incentivized to provide information that leads to the “successful identification and arrest of individuals in the leadership of domestic terrorist organizations.”
The memo also ordered the FBI to revise its Digital Media Tipline to allow “citizen journalists” to submit media documentation of “suspected acts of domestic terrorism” to federal law enforcement online. And it suggested those who have participated in “violent efforts” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, doxxed ICE, or participated in the “potential unlawful targeting of Supreme Court justices at their homes,” would be among those now scrutinized by the government. The FBI must work with the DOJ to investigate such incidents that took place “from the past five years,” according to Bondi.
“Political violence has no place in this country, and this Department of Justice will investigate, identify, and root out any individual or violent extremist group attempting to commit or promote this heinous activity,” a spokesperson from the Justice Department said.
Regarding expanding targets for alleged domestic terrorists, the memo reads: “For too long, rampant criminal conduct rising to the level of domestic terrorism—e.g., organized doxing of law enforcement, mass rioting and destruction in our cities, violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement, targeting of public officials, or other political actors, etc.—has been tolerated. For some culpable actors, such as certain Antifa-aligned extremists, their animating principle is adherence to the types of extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment listed below, with a willingness to use violence against law-abiding citizenry to serve those beliefs.”
Now, the DOJ says that federal law enforcement “will prioritize this threat.”
The Justice Department also ordered the revamping of its media policy to incentivize more tips on alleged domestic terrorism from the public.
Bondi ordered the FBI to establish recommendations to better publicize the agency’s tip line for submitting tips related to domestic terrorism by the end of the first week of January. By the same time, the FBI must also update the capabilities of its Digital Media Tipline, “in compliance with FBI policy and statutory obligations,” so that witnesses and citizen journalists can send media of suspected acts of domestic terrorism to law enforcement online.
“When individuals witness threats or acts of violence and domestic terrorism, they should be aware that they can quickly report such activities to a central tip line within the FBI. The FBI shall respond appropriately to such tips and use the information to better investigate domestic terrorism,” Bondi’s memo read.
“As investigations continue and potential prosecutions begin, the FBI … shall aim to establish cooperators to provide information and eventually testify against other members and leadership of domestic terrorist organizations,” it concludes.
The latest development from the Justice Department comes after President Donald Trump authorized a number of actions branded as efforts to root out domestic terrorism, citing assassination attempts against himself, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and an attack at a Dallas ICE facility, as well as unrest in Los Angeles and Portland.
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“Political violence is not a series of isolated incidents and does not emerge organically,” read a memo from the president in September that consolidated the government’s power to target alleged domestic terrorists.
“Instead, it is a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns 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,” the memo read.
