(Washington, DC) - United States President Donald Trump's September 25, 2025, memorandum directing law enforcement to investigate a sprawling, imaginary conspiracy to foment political violence in the United States is a serious threat to human rights and democratic institutions, Human Rights Watch said today. President Trump has ordered federal agencies to search actively for connections tying philanthropic funders and activist groups to a vaguely described effort to foment violence, intimidation, and suppression of political activity.
"President Trump's order mobilizing federal law enforcement to investigate perceived opponents of his administration turns reality on its head," said Federico Borello, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch. "It fabricates a nonexistent plot as a pretext to suppress speech and ideas across the US political spectrum."
In his memorandum, Trump posits a dramatic increase in political violence, driven by "sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence" that aim to suppress speech and force changes in government policy. It presents no evidence to substantiate these claims. The memorandum attributes these campaigns to "self-described 'anti-fascism'" movements that "have developed a comprehensive strategy to achieve specific policy goals through radicalization and violent intimidation." Again, it presents no evidence to support these assertions.
Building off this foundation, Trump alleges that a potentially vast number of civil society and philanthropic actors may be working to foment these "campaigns" in various, unspecified ways. He then directs law enforcement agencies and tax authorities to prioritize efforts to discover prosecutable crimes and other offenses connected to these supposed plots. The memorandum calls specifically for investigations into philanthropic and nongovernmental organizations.
Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Kash Patel, present at the signing of the memorandum, shared plans to target organizations and individuals. Patel said law enforcement would "follow the money" and "properly ... chase them down like the domestic terrorists that they are."
The memorandum comes in the wake of news reports on September 25 that the US Department of Justice plans to investigate whether there may be ways to charge the Open Society Foundations with criminal offenses. The Open Society Foundations, established by the philanthropist Geroge Soros, support a range of civil and human rights activist groups, including Human Rights Watch. Soros has long been a target of the administration's political ire.
"When the US president undermines rights and democratic principles at home, it sends a green light to autocrats everywhere," Borello said. "Concerned governments should speak up about the serious threats to civil and political rights in the United States and urge the Trump administration to reverse course."
