{"id":18476,"date":"2026-06-15T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/?p=18476"},"modified":"2026-06-11T18:40:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T01:40:41","slug":"how-states-may-utilize-domestic-terrorism-statutes-to-prosecute-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/how-states-may-utilize-domestic-terrorism-statutes-to-prosecute-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0643\u064a\u0641 \u064a\u0645\u0643\u0646 \u0644\u0644\u062f\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0633\u062a\u062e\u062f\u0627\u0645 \u0642\u0648\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u0631\u0647\u0627\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062d\u0644\u064a \u0644\u0645\u0642\u0627\u0636\u0627\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0627\u0634\u0637\u064a\u0646"},"content":{"rendered":"

How States May Utilize Domestic Terrorism Statutes <\/strong><\/h2>\n

to Prosecute Activists<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By: CLDC Law Clerk<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On September 25, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7<\/a>) titled \u201cCountering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.\u201d[1]<\/a> In this memo, Trump claims antifascists \u201cportray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as \u2018fascist\u2019 to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution.\u201d\u00a0Trump continued: \u201cThis \u2018anti-fascist\u2019 lie has become the organizing rallying cry used by domestic terrorists to wage a violent assault against democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental American liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump then called on the Attorney General to \u201cissue specific guidance that ensures domestic terrorism priorities include politically motivated terrorist acts such as organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder.\u201d This is a clear directive to tack on domestic terrorism charges in state criminal cases when an activist defendant is charged with simple trespass, minor property damage, or blocking law enforcement from entering a road.<\/p>\n

Thirty-two states and Washington D.C. have passed domestic terrorism statutes<\/a>. These statutes are written broadly and leave room to charge activists who act within their First Amendment rights. These laws typically include felony penalties. As a result, they can be used to investigate, prosecute, and intimidate domestic actors with whom the government disagrees, including protesters, activists, and non-profit organizations.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Domestic terrorism statutes typically include a specific intent element and a predicate offense. In Georgia for example, the specific intent element includes language such as: \u201cintimidate the civilian population of this state or any of its political subdivisions\u201d or \u201calter, change, or coerce the policy of the government of this state or any of its political subdivisions by intimidation or coercion.<\/a>\u201d This language is unconstitutionally vague, overbroad, and can be used against activists who protest within their First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

Moreover, these domestic terrorism statutes include specific predicate offenses designed to target activists. In Oklahoma, \u201cTerrorism\u201d can mean \u201can act of violence . . . resulting in damage to property.<\/a>\u201d Thus, minor property damage could qualify as a predicate offense. In Arkansas, an \u201cact of terrorism\u201d is defined as \u201cany act that causes substantial damage to or destruction of . . . any monument used, owned, or maintained by . . . [the] State government<\/a>.\u201d Thus, an activist who decides to topple a monument of a notorious racist could be charged as a domestic terrorist. In Nevada, an \u201cact of terrorism\u201d can include a predicate offense of \u201ccoercion\u201d which is intended to \u201ccause substantial destruction, contamination or impairment of . . . any building or infrastructure . . . or any natural resource or the environment<\/a>.\u201d Thus, an activist blocking a road or access to a pipeline could be at risk of being charged with domestic terrorism.<\/p>\n

Until 2017, Georgia\u2019s domestic terrorism statute criminalized acts intended to or reasonably likely to kill or injure at least 10 people. After the massacre of nine Black parishioners by a white supremacist in Charleston, South Carolina, the Georgia legislature amended the statute to vastly expand its reach. The new law broadened the state\u2019s definition of \u201cdomestic terrorism\u201d to include certain property crimes committed with the intent to \u201calter, change, or coerce the policy of the government\u201d by \u201cintimidation or coercion.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

In March 2023, amidst the Cop City protests, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin titled \u201cSummary of Terrorism-Related Threat to the United States<\/a>.\u201d The bulletin warns of \u201clone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland.\u201d It then claimed that \u201cdomestic violent extremists (DVEs) continue to attempt to motivate supporters to conduct attacks in the Homeland, including violent extremist messaging and online calls for violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September 2023, the Georgia Attorney General indicted 61 people involved in protesting the building<\/a> of \u201cCop City.\u201d All 61 defendants were charged under the RICO Act. Several defendants were also charged with domestic terrorism. In the indictment, the defendants were alleged to be members of Defend the Atlanta Forest, \u201can anarchist, anti-police, and anti-business extremist organization.\u201d Moreover, they were allegedly \u201cconducting, coordinating, and organizing acts of violence, intimidation, and property destruction in Fulton County, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and other states.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the Cop City arrests, including \u201cunprecedented arrests of organizers at a bail and legal defense fund\u201d in Atlanta, movement lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the Georgia domestic terrorism statute<\/a>. The lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging \u00a0the constitutionality of the 2017 Georgia domestic terrorism statute. The petition argued that the domestic terrorism statute was unconstitutionally overbroad and \u201cattempting by word or expressive action to alter, change, or coerce government policy is a quintessential act of free speech<\/a>.\u201d While the petition was unsuccessful, in September 2025, the Cop City defendants RICO charges were dismissed.<\/p>\n

Domestic terrorism is defined in federal law as \u201cacts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State\u201d and \u201cappear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping<\/a>.\u201d While there is no federal crime of domestic terrorism, defendants may be charged under a wide range of federal criminal statutes. The Trump Regime will whole-heartedly support states using their domestic terrorism laws to charge political dissidents.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/09\/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How States May Utilize Domestic Terrorism Statutes to Prosecute Activists By: CLDC Law Clerk   On September 25, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) titled \u201cCountering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.\u201d[1] In this memo, Trump claims antifascists \u201cportray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18480,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18476\/revisions\/18480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cldc.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}