DOJ investigates nonprofits over alleged political violence funding

The Justice Department has begun investigating nonprofit groups that the Trump administration says are involved in organizing or financing political violence and destructive protests, including those linked to Antifa, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.

The efforts involve the FBI and IRS, the sources said, and stem from directives from President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate political violence. The Trump administration has argued that the violence is often carried out by self-described Antifa supporters and could be the result of organized, well-funded campaigns by nonprofit organizations.

“These movements present fundamental American principles (e.g. support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution,” Trump wrote in his memorandum in September, days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man who authorities said had written anti-fascist phrases on his bullet casings.

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President Donald Trump during a roundtable discussion on Antifa in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, October 8, 2025. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s directive came after a series of harrowing ideologically driven shootings, including the killing of Kirk, an attack on a Dallas ICE facility that killed a detainee and the killing of a health insurance CEO. The DOJ also recently obtained convictions of nine members of a Texas Antifa cell for their role in an attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado last year that involved weapons, explosives and attempted murder.

Bondi, in a Dec. 4 memorandum, ordered federal law enforcement to execute Trump’s memorandum, coined NSPM-7, in part by examining Antifa’s funding sources and investigating any tax crimes committed by “extremist groups.”

A spokesperson for the IRS Criminal Investigations Unit confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency is working with the FBI on this matter.

“Pursuant to National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) works with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate individuals and entities that may be financing domestic terrorism or political violence,” the spokesperson said, calling it a “coordinated effort.”

Members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups burn an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, January 20, 2021, in Denver, Colorado. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Antifa, short for antifascist, is a broad term and its members often promote a range of radical views closely related to anarchism, communism or socialism, according to the Congressional Research Center. Trump declared Antifa a “major terrorist organization” last year, drawing criticism from civil rights advocates who said the president was targeting people because of their political views. Bondi’s memo carefully noted that the DOJ would not investigate “solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment.”

One of the sources close to the NSPM-7 investigation told Fox News Digital that the DOJ has ordered every U.S. attorney across the country to designate a federal prosecutor in their office to serve as a “district coordinator” for the cases.

The DOJ urged prosecutors to focus on financing because nonprofits could finance and coordinate domestic terrorism cases, the person said.

Trump calls Antifa a ‘terrorist group,’ fueling fight over free speech and limits on law enforcement

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks as President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House, October 15, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A DOJ spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on the efforts that the department pursues a wide range of domestic terrorism crimes.

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“The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to express themselves in public, freely participate in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice all criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct consistent with Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism,” the spokesperson said.

The FBI declined to comment.