Weaponizing Law Enforcement: Escalating Attacks On Political Opponents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 25th, 2025
CONTACT
Caitlin Legacki, press@stopgovernmentcensorship.org
Over its first month, the new administration has launched an unprecedented assault on Americans and civil society, using federal power to silence critics, punish opposition, and refashion “law and order” to serve its political interests. From targeting nonprofits and faith-based organizations to appointing extreme partisans and loyalists to top law enforcement positions, the administration is rapidly transforming the federal agencies designed to keep us and our families safe into tools of political retribution.
The media, elected officials, and the public must recognize these actions for what they are: a coordinated campaign to dismantle democratic accountability and weaponize the state against its own people.
“Weaponizing law enforcement is this administration’s next step in using the Government Censorship Agenda to silence, attack, and punish those who do not fall in line with the administration’s extreme agenda,” said Cole Leiter, Executive Director of Americans Against Government Censorship. “This isn’t about protecting the rule of law – it’s about giving vindictive partisans the tools to retaliate against their perceived political enemies.”
How the Administration is Weaponizing Law Enforcement:
Turning the FBI Into a Tool for the Administration’s Political Agenda:
President Trump appointed far-right media personality and MAGA loyalist Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director — a role traditionally reserved for career agents but one that does not require Senate confirmation.
With Kash Patel, a staunch Trump ally, confirmed as FBI director, the bureau is now positioned to serve as an extension of Trump’s political agenda.
Patel openly promoted targeting so-called “deep state” officials in a 2023 book endorsed by Trump, which Trump said he would use as a blueprint to “help us take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government!" Trump celebrated Bongino’s appointment on Truth Social, declaring that Patel "will be the best ever Director" and adding about Bongino: "Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly.”
The New York Times reported that Bongino’s appointment could deepen mistrust among FBI rank-and-file agents. Bongino’s history of extreme rhetoric underscores concerns about his commitment to non-partisanship. During the 2018 Kavanaugh confirmation battle, he declared, “My entire life right now is about owning the libs.”
Interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin’s Unprecedented Effort to Prosecute Dissent:
Martin sent letters to multiple members of Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in what legal analysts called an extraordinary attempt to intimidate political opponents. The Washington Post reported that Martin’s direct inquiries to lawmakers were “highly irregular” and raised serious concerns about free speech protections. Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade noted, “It seems like a fair inference that these letters are designed more to chill free speech than to seek clarification, as they purport to do.”
In a letter posted on social media, Martin assured Elon Musk that his office would take action against individuals accused of wrongdoing or even unethical behavior, stating, “If people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them,” adding, “we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable.”
Strong-Arming the Justice Department to Advance Trump’s Agenda:
Emil Bove III, the acting deputy attorney general, suggested that corruption charges against public officials could be dropped if those officials align with President Trump’s political agenda. Bove made the statement while defending the DOJ’s decision to abandon a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, arguing that the prosecution was interfering with Adams’s cooperation in Trump’s immigration crackdown. When questioned by the judge on whether this rationale could extend to other key officials, such as the police commissioner, Bove confirmed, “Yes, absolutely.”
Elon Musk’s Baseless Accusations of Criminality Against Non-Profits, the Press, and Elected Officials:
Musk continues his pattern of targeting nonprofit organizations, recently accusing the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) – a long-standing organization favored by the GOP – of being “rife with corruption” and guilty of unspecified “crimes.” He has also turned his sights on faith-based groups, alleging—again without proof—that they are “facilitating illegal immigration.” As a result, the administration has suspended funding for these organizations under the guise of “government efficiency.”
Meanwhile, Musk has escalated his attacks on the press, threatening a Wired reporter who reported the names of the six DOGE activists who’d accompanied Musk while he pried into classified servers at several government agencies, saying “You have committed a crime.” Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Colombia Ed Martin followed up by saying, “We will protect DOGE and other workers no matter what.”
Musk also went after 60 Minutes on X calling them the “biggest liars in the world” and saying they "deserve a long prison sentence” without pointing to any criminal activity.
Musk called Senator Adam Schiff a “criminal” on X because of Schiff's opposition to Kash Patel’s appointment as FBI Director. In public comments, Schiff’s opposition to Kash Patel’s appointment was based on his belief that Patel was not qualified to serve as Director.
Expanding Federal Power to Target NGOs:
The Office of Management and Budget issued a vague Q&A referencing “nongovernmental organization that undermines the national interest,” without defining what that means—paving the way for arbitrary enforcement against nonprofits that oppose the administration’s agenda.
Targeting FBI Agents and DOJ Lawyers Who Investigated Trump and Jan. 6:
The Department of Justice ordered a review of FBI agents involved in investigations related to the January 6 Capitol riot and Trump’s handling of classified documents. In response, nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit to block the DOJ from compiling a list of those who worked on Jan. 6 cases. The agents, who remained anonymous in the suit, warned that such a list could be made public, “thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons.”
The FBI Agents Association stated in a memo that Director Patel had promised to appoint an active-duty special agent as deputy director and provide Special Agents facing accusations of wrong-doing with due process, but seems to have broken that commitment.
In a related move, the Justice Department fired multiple career lawyers who were involved in prosecuting Donald Trump, and Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive establishing a “Weaponization Working Group” to review the “politicized” actions of officials who investigated Trump at both the state and federal levels.
Weaponizing Executive Power to Bully Corporations and Non-Profits:
The administration issued an executive order calling for investigations of corporations and non-profits in an effort to pressure them into abandoning their *legal* and existing DEI policies.
This past week, Citi joined a host of corporations ending DEI policies in response to federal government pressure by scrapping their workplace representation goals out of fear of angering the current Administration.
Bloomberg reported Citi is not alone: “Citigroup’s policy shift follows a slew of US companies that have cut back on diversity initiatives in the wake of political and legal pressures. Consulting firms Accenture Plc, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp.and Deloitte have also abandoned their diversity goals citing Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity efforts at federal contractors.”
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