Multiple liberal organizations join forces in opposition to Trump's potential RICO lawsuits and investigations
More than 100 philanthropies have banded together to defend free speech in a letter issued on Wednesday, following President Donald Trump's announcement of designating the far-left movement Antifa as a terrorist organization. The signatories, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, Greenpeace USA, the Service Employees International Union, and the Open Society Foundations, among others, condemn the use of government power to threaten the First Amendment rights of these organizations.
The letter adds that political violence has targeted individuals of all political persuasions and none. The groups state that they did not commit the murder and that the vast powers of the government should not be abused to threaten their constitutionally-protected free speech and other rights. They argue that it is un-American and wrong to use the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a pretext for weaponizing the government to threaten nonprofit and charitable organizations, perceived adversaries, or any class of people.
Lisa Gilbert, the co-president of Public Citizen, stated that it is unconscionable to exploit the assassination of Charlie Kirk to further divisions and violate rights. In that letter, the foundations defended their work and denounced efforts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize their good work and restrict their fundamental freedoms.
There are no specific organizations mentioned in the search results that have united in response to President Trump's designation of Antifa as a terrorist organization to defend their tax-exempt status or to warn the government about violating their constitutional rights. However, more than 500 nonprofit groups, predominantly left-leaning, have joined together to urge President Trump to stop what they call the "unjustified" targeting of liberal organizations following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Trump and his administration have invoked Kirk's killing to say they will crack down on groups viewed as part of a coordinated left-wing effort to incite violence. The actions publicly floated by the president and some conservatives include revoking the tax-exempt status of left-leaning non-profits and launching racketeering investigations of organizations that have helped coordinate or fund protests against Trump's policies.
George Soros, a billionaire financier and Democratic donor, has been a repeated target of scorn from Trump and the right. The Open Society Foundations, a philanthropic group founded by Soros, is among the signatories of the letter. The letter from the nonprofits follows a similar action from more than 100 philanthropies who banded together to defend free speech.
It is not immediately clear how the administration intends to carry out the designation of Antifa as a terrorist organization. The organizations signing the letter urge the government to refrain from abusing its powers to threaten the constitutional rights of nonprofit and charitable organizations and individuals. They emphasize the importance of upholding the principles of free speech and the rule of law, even in times of political unrest.
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