01What Happened
What the government submitted
On April 4, 2026, the Trump administration submitted its FY2027 budget request to Congress. The FBI’s $12.5 billion spending request contained a line item for a newly operational “NSPM-7 Joint Mission Centre” — a multi-agency unit. The stated mission: “proactively identify networks and prosecute domestic terrorist and related criminal actors.”
First reported by journalist Ken Klippenstein on April 6, 2026. Corroborated by IBTimes UK, New Republic, and HSToday.
What it means
The government is not waiting for crimes to happen. It is building infrastructure to identify people it suspects might commit crimes in the future — based on the belief categories defined in NSPM-7 (see Section 2).
The unit is already operational. The FY2027 budget request funds its continuation, not its creation. It exists now.
02What Is NSPM-7
The directive
Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 on September 25, 2025. It formally retooled the federal counter-terrorism apparatus to target what the administration calls left-wing political violence.
The directive identifies specific belief categories as “common threads” among domestic terrorism targets. These are listed below, verbatim from the official document.
What it means
A presidential directive now classifies a range of political beliefs as potential terrorism markers. The categories are not limited to actions. They describe opinions, political views, and identity categories.
Whether you have ever acted on these views is irrelevant to the classification system. The belief is the marker.
“Common Threads” NSPM-7 Identifies as Markers of Potential Domestic Terrorism
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Support for the overthrow of the US government
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Extremism on migration, race, and gender
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Hostility towards those holding "traditional American views" on family, religion, and morality
The directive does not define thresholds between protected political opinion and investigable conduct.
03The Infrastructure
Newly operational · April 2026
10
NSPM-7 Joint Mission Centre
Personnel from 10 federal agencies, operating under the FBI. Mission: to "proactively identify networks and prosecute domestic terrorist and related criminal actors." First funded in the FY2027 budget request submitted to Congress April 4, 2026.
Nationwide · All 50 states
4,000+
200 Joint Terrorism Task Forces
4,000+ personnel drawn from federal, state, and local law enforcement. Now directed to operate under NSPM-7 — which means they are investigating against the belief categories listed above.
Replaced the Terrorist Screening Center
Threat Screening Center
Expanded mission: "all national security threats." Manages multiple overlapping watchlists separating international terrorists, transnational criminals, and domestic "threats." Being placed on a watchlist does not require charges, a trial, or a conviction.
Under Kash Patel · Since January 2025
300%
300% increase. 67,000 arrests.
Domestic terrorism investigations increased 300% under FBI Director Kash Patel. 67,000 FBI arrests since January 20, 2026 — a 197% increase over the prior year. The administration attributes this to NSPM-7 enforcement.
04“Domestic Terrorists Exploit…”
Verbatim — FY2027 FBI Budget Request, submitted to Congress April 4, 2026
“Domestic terrorists exploit a variety of popular social media platforms, smaller websites with targeted audiences, and encrypted chat applications. They use these platforms to recruit new adherents, plan and rally support for in-person actions, and disseminate materials encouraging radicalization and mobilization to violence.”
That is a description of how millions of Americans organize, communicate, and participate in civic life. Signal. Discord. Telegram. Private group chats. The budget document characterizes the infrastructure of ordinary political organizing as evidence of domestic terrorism.
05Who Has Already Been Labeled
Alex Pretti
Killed by federal officers in Minneapolis. Administration officials called him a domestic terrorist. There was no evidence. The designation was later walked back.
Renee Good
Also killed by federal officers in Minneapolis. Also labeled a domestic terrorist by administration officials. Also without evidence. Also walked back.
The administration has already demonstrated it will apply the domestic terrorism label to people who turn out not to be domestic terrorists. The label has consequences. It can place you on a watchlist. It can affect your employment, travel, and security clearances. It can justify ongoing surveillance. Being cleared after the fact does not undo those consequences.
06What This Means for You — Based on NSPM-7’s Own Language
- Anyone who has posted opposition to government immigration policy — NSPM-7 identifies “extremism on migration” as a terrorism marker
- Anyone who has expressed anti-capitalist views — named verbatim in the directive as a common thread
- Anyone who has organized or attended a protest — Joint Terrorism Task Forces are now directed to investigate under NSPM-7
- Anyone who uses Signal, Discord, or encrypted apps for political organizing — the FBI budget document specifically names encrypted chat as a domestic terrorism tool
- Any organization the IRS Commissioner determines “directly or indirectly finances political violence” — the term is undefined, the discretion is unlimited
- Any nonprofit, advocacy group, or mutual aid network that organizes around any of the listed belief categories
07The Legal Questions
First Amendment — Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
The Supreme Court held in Brandenburg v. Ohio that political beliefs alone cannot form the basis of a criminal investigation or prosecution. Designating beliefs — anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity, views on immigration — as terrorism markers without any conduct threshold may violate this precedent. The directive does not require evidence of any planned or committed act of violence.
Fourth Amendment — ideology is not probable cause
Surveillance based on ideology rather than probable cause of criminal conduct raises serious Fourth Amendment concerns. The Fourth Amendment requires particularized suspicion of criminal activity before government investigation. NSPM-7 defines targets by belief categories, not acts.
What legal experts say
The ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice, and constitutional law scholars have raised alarms about NSPM-7’s lack of conduct thresholds. The core problem: the directive blurs the line between protected political speech and investigable conduct, with no clear standard defining when a belief becomes a threat. That ambiguity is not accidental.
Sources: Ken Klippenstein reporting, April 6, 2026 · IBTimes UK, April 6, 2026 · New Republic, April 6, 2026 · HSToday, April 5, 2026 · FY2027 FBI Budget Request, submitted to Congress April 4, 2026 · National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, White House, September 25, 2025 · Wikipedia — NSPM-7 · Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969) · ACLU — Domestic Terrorism Laws and Free Speech · Brennan Center — “Rethinking Domestic Terrorism”
Last updated: April 11, 2026
This page is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice.
Every claim on this page is sourced to the documents listed above.