All year we’ve been talking about Trump’s increasing fossil fueled fascism. Last month, the regime issued a bold, dangerous, blatantly fascist National Security Presidential Memorandum called NSPM-7 or “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.”
The NSPM is clearly intended to intimidate and silence free speech and the freedom of the press, but that’s not the scary part. The most alarming thing about the memo is that it specifically targets groups that speak out against fascism (anti-fascist) and capitalism (anti-capitalist) – two things we do a lot of here at 198 methods!
Employing vague terms like “anti-American,” “anti-capitalist,” and “anti-fascist,” Trump’s order directs agencies to investigate or penalize individuals and groups based on their beliefs rather than their actions.
This is most worrying for nonprofits like us that organize anti-fascist protest and direct action, and for nonprofit news agencies that cover what we do. The memo authorizes the IRS commissioner to strip nonprofit organizations of their tax-exempt status if the administration believes they are “directly or indirectly financing political violence or domestic terrorism,” as well as refer “organizations, and the employees and officers of such organizations, to the Department of Justice for investigation and possible prosecution.”
The stakes are very real. Most nonprofit organizations and newsrooms would be unable to survive if the IRS commissioner were to follow through on the threats outlined in NSPM-7.
We cannot allow for the freedom of protest, of speech, and of the press to be effectively destroyed simply for reporting on the size of a protest, taking a photo of a demonstration, or interviewing a nonviolent activist. Please take action to protect nonprofits from Trump’s NSPM-7!