DOJ Issues Sweeping New Domestic Terrorism Directive: What the Attorney General’s December 4 Memorandum Means for You
Enforcement Edge: Shining Light on Government Enforcement
By
Nicholas Casmier Anway Sam Callahan Eun Young Choi Rachel F. Cotton Deborah A. Curtis Burden H. Walker
On December 4, 2025, U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi issued one of the most consequential internal directives in recent years — an aggressive operational blueprint directing federal law enforcement agencies to implement
National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), which we have
previously covered on
Enforcement Edge. The AG’s memorandum (Memorandum) reshapes how domestic terrorism will be defined, investigated, charged, and resourced across the federal government.
The key message is unmistakable: federal law enforcement will target individuals, organizations, and funders whom the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) contends are “domestic terrorists,” under a definition that links political violence to “anti-fascist” ideologies.
These domestic terrorism investigations are now a centrally coordinated national priority with mandatory procedures and timelines. Below is a focused breakdown of what the Memorandum requires, why it matters, and how organizations should immediately respond.
Redefining Domestic Terrorism
The Memorandum’s directives — like the directives in NSPM-7 — focus on acts of “domestic terrorism.” It adopts a broad view of what falls within that term. The Memorandum specifies that DOJ now views “organized doxing of law enforcement,” “mass rioting and destruction,” “violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement,” and “targeting of public officials or other political actors” as “criminal conduct rising to the level of domestic terrorism.” And it singles out “Antifa-aligned extremists” — i.e., those who “adhere[] to … extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment” — as a “domestic terrorism threat” that federal law enforcement will prioritize. These definitions focus federal law enforcement agencies on individuals, organizations, and funders who may be labeled as Antifa or Antifa-related as primary targets for investigations and prosecutions.
Mandatory JTTF Referral and Full-Scope Domestic Terrorism Investigations
The Memorandum states that federal law enforcement agencies must refer any encounter with or suspicion of domestic terrorism to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) for “the exhaustive investigation contemplated by NSPM-7.” Acts flagged in the Memorandum include “organized rioting, looting, doxing, and swatting; and conspiracies to impede or assault law enforcement, destroy property, or engage in violent civil disorder.” Once an encounter is referred, JTTFs are instructed to use “all available investigative tools” to “map the full network of culpable actors involved,” both inside and outside the United States. This shift in federal law enforcement operations reflects the Trump administration’s whole-of-government approach to targeting Antifa-related groups through coordinated, inter-agency investigations.
Explicit Targeting of “Common Characteristics”
Echoing NSPM-7, the AG focuses on organized groups and networks linked by common characteristics that DOJ associates with Antifa. The AG states that “[m]any … domestic terrorists and domestic terrorist organizations are united by an anti-fascist platform” and that this ideology is the “clarion call” that “connects a recent string of political violence,” including the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The AG further states that individuals, organizations, and funders associated with this ideology threaten “both citizens’ safety and our ability to self-govern” and directs JTTFs to prioritize such parties’ activities for domestic terrorism investigations.
In a footnote, the Memorandum explicitly disclaims investigations based solely on activities protected by the First Amendment. But by defining the “Common Characteristics of Domestic Terrorists and Organizations” in this manner, individuals and organizations that disagree with the Trump administration undoubtedly will be concerned about federal scrutiny.
Aggressive Charging Strategy
Consistent with AG Bondi’s
previous memorandum outlining “General Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations, and Sentencing,” issued on her first day in office, the Memorandum instructs DOJ prosecutors to charge “the most serious, readily provable offenses” in domestic terrorism cases. Additionally, the AG encourages prosecutors to use an extensive set of statutes under Title 18 of the U.S. Code to effectuate this strategy, including conspiracies against the United States (Section 371) and aiding and abetting (Section 2), as well as numerous substantive offenses under Title 18, ranging from assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers (Section 111) to picketing or parading with intent to obstruct the administration of justice (Section 1507).
The Memorandum also directs prosecutors to consider firearms and explosives offenses under Title 26 of the U.S. Code (Sections 5845, 5861); obstruction or disruption in or on federal property under 41 C.F.R. § 102-74.390; and tax crimes where “extremist groups are suspected of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service.” The latter may indicate an intent to focus on the tax-exempt status of nonprofits allegedly involved in such activities. Prosecutors must seek all applicable sentencing enhancements, including the terrorism enhancement under the U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual §3A1.4. Notably, however, prosecution under the Foreign Agents Registration Act is not mentioned, despite its express reference in NSPM-7 as a statute to be investigated.
The long and varied list of statutes outlined in the Memorandum reflects the broad scope of conduct that DOJ will consider when prosecuting domestic terrorism. Consistent with NSPM-7, the Memorandum signals that conduct traditionally viewed or investigated as protest-related or cyber-enabled crimes — such as picketing or parading with intent to obstruct the administration of justice, or online doxing — may be investigated by JTTFs and could be charged using terrorism-adjacent statutes that carry significant criminal penalties.
A Five-Year Retrospective Review — Beginning Immediately
The Memorandum orders all federal law enforcement agencies to review all files from the last five years involving potential domestic terrorism, focusing on “files and holdings for Antifa and Antifa-related intelligence and information.” Those agencies must then collect and transmit all such intelligence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In particular, the AG directs the agencies to examine past incidents involving attacks on nonprofits; doxing of law enforcement; interference with federal employees, including DOJ and U.S. Department of Homeland Security personnel; and potential unlawful targeting of Supreme Court Justices. The Memorandum states that “JTTFs shall use all available tools to identify all criminal participants in these events, as well as those who organize or financially sponsor those participants” for referral to DOJ. Because this directive is retroactive, affected organizations should anticipate both new inquiries and renewed inquiries into previously closed or dormant matters.
Creation of a List of Domestic Terrorist Organizations and an Associated Intelligence Bulletin
The Memorandum also directs the FBI, in coordination with JTTFs, to “compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism” and provide it to the Deputy AG. The FBI is tasked with providing updates to the list every 30 days, with the assistance of the counterterrorism, cyber, and criminal divisions at DOJ and the Criminal Justice Information Service’s National Threat Operations Center. This list effectively is a new national domestic terrorism designation process. However, the list does
not create a statutory designation akin to the Trump administration’s recent Antifa-related
designations of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
Additionally, the AG instructs the FBI and JTTFs to “disseminate an intelligence bulletin on Antifa and Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremist groups” within 60 days. The bulletin must “describe the relevant organizations’ structures, funding sources, and tactics.” The stated purposes of the bulletin are to support law enforcement investigations and to equip policymakers to “understand the nature and gravity of the threat posed by these extremist groups.”
Taken together, the list and intelligence bulletin likely will have a significant chilling effect on the activity of individuals, organizations, and funders whom the Trump administration may view as opposed to its policies.
Prioritizing New Grants to Law Enforcement
Pursuant to NSPM-7, the AG directs DOJ to prioritize grant funding to state and local law enforcement to support programs to “detect, prevent, and protect against domestic terrorism.” This grantmaking directive means that state and local law enforcement also will be incentivized to effectuate the AG’s domestic terrorism strategy.
Establishing a Tip Line to Dismantle Domestic Terrorist Organizations and Activities
Finally, the AG instructs the FBI to, within 30 days, “establish recommendations to better publicize [its] tip line for submitting tips related to domestic terrorism.” The AG further instructs the FBI to respond to tips and use them to investigate domestic terrorism, including by identifying cooperators and confidential informants. Consistent with this directive, the Memorandum requires the FBI to “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 tip line and cash reward system likely will empower whistleblowers who may view individuals, organizations, and funders as Antifa-aligned, and thus significantly expand the potential sources from which domestic terrorism investigations may originate.
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Consistent with the breadth of NSPM-7, the AG’s Memorandum marks a dramatic expansion of federal law enforcement’s efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute what DOJ views as acts of domestic terrorism. Tax-exempt organizations and their donors likely will be a continued focus of these enforcement efforts. Organizations and funders (including those in the nonprofit sector) should engage internal compliance teams and outside counsel to assess exposure and plan for potential enforcement actions that may follow the Memorandum.
