The greatest threat of domestic terrorism facing the United States does not lurk in shadowy networks or protest camps. It resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald J. Trump, through a deliberate and calculated campaign of intimidation, incitement, and the weaponization of state power against political opponents, has engaged in conduct that constitutes a sustained act of domestic terrorism against the American people and our constitutional order. For these high crimes and misdemeanors, he must be impeached and removed from office.
The Smoking Gun: A Memo Targeting American Ideology
The cornerstone of the case is President Trump’s own document: the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7), issued in September 2025. Framed as a plan to counter “domestic terrorism,” the memo is, in reality, a blueprint for state-sponsored political persecution.
The memorandum chillingly targets Americans not for criminal actions, but for their constitutionally protected beliefs. It identifies “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity” as motivations for terrorism, alongside “extremism on migration, race, and gender” and opposition to “traditional American views”. This transforms political dissent into a national security threat. The ACLU notes this rhetoric is a “deliberate attempt to sow fear and intimidate and silence opposition to the president’s abuses”.
· Target: Civil society nonprofits, activists, and donors.
· Mechanism: Instructions to Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) to investigate funders and leadership of targeted groups.
· Goal: To “disrupt” and “prevent” the president’s ideological opponents through financial surveillance and law enforcement intimidation.
This is not counter-terrorism; it is the terrorizing of political opposition. By directing the immense power of the federal government to investigate citizens for their ideologies, Trump seeks to coerce the civilian population and influence the political landscape through fear—a core component of the definition of terrorism itself.
Weaponizing Tragedy: The Renee Nicole Good Incident
The administration’s readiness to deploy this weaponized rhetoric was on gruesome display in January 2026. After an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen and mother, in Minneapolis, the Trump administration immediately branded her a “domestic terrorist”.
· The Facts: Officials claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle” to run over an officer. However, video analysis and Minnesota officials stated she was attempting to drive away.
· The Smear: Within hours, without an investigation, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the act “domestic terrorism”. President Trump amplified false claims that she had “ran him over”. Vice President JD Vance called it “classic terrorism” motivated by “leftwing ideology”.
Experts universally condemned this as an abuse of the term. Former Justice Department counsel Thomas Brzozowski stated it was a “blatantly partisan effort” that strips the term of all meaning. This incident reveals the administration’s strategy: use the visceral power of “terrorism” to justify state violence and vilify victims who oppose their agenda. It is a tactic of intimidation meant to chill protest and dissent nationwide.
A Pattern of Incitement and Violence
This is not an isolated abuse. It is the escalation of a long-standing pattern where Trump’s language incites and excuses violence.
· Calls for Execution: In December 2025, Congressman Al Green filed articles of impeachment citing Trump for “calling for the execution of six Democratic lawmakers” and making threats against federal judges. These articles gained the support of 140 members of the House.
· Historical Precedent: Trump was impeached in 2021 for “incitement of insurrection” related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The Senate acquittal did not absolve the act; it merely postponed accountability.
· Empowering Extremists: Analysis from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism warns that Trump’s rhetoric and actions risk fueling a “dangerous escalation” and a “spiral of violence” by emboldening both far-left and far-right vigilantism.
The Constitutional Imperative for Impeachment
The Framers created the impeachment power for a president like Donald Trump—one who subverts the rule of law to target his own citizens.
- Abuse of Power: NSPM-7 is a profound abuse of presidential authority. It perverts national security machinery into a tool of political oppression, violating the First Amendment rights of belief, speech, and association.
- Incitement to Violence: His sustained rhetoric—calling for executions, threatening judges, and vilifying opponents as terrorists—creates a climate of licensed violence. It endangers the lives of public officials and citizens alike.
- Domestic Terrorism, Defined: The FBI defines domestic terrorism as acts dangerous to human life intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or “influence government policy”. By using the power of his office to intimidate a civilian population (his political opposition) and coerce a change in the political landscape, Trump’s systematic conduct fits this definition.
The Path Forward
The existing impeachment effort led by Rep. Al Green, based on incitement, is a vital start. It must be expanded to include a dedicated article addressing Trump’s weaponization of “domestic terrorism” as an abuse of power and an assault on constitutional liberty.
Congress must:
· Investigate NSPM-7 and all related directives as a potential impeachable abuse of power.
· Compel testimony on the political manipulation of counter-terrorism agencies.
· Hold a vote on articles of impeachment that confront this unprecedented threat head-on.
To remain silent is to normalize the transformation of the Oval Office into a platform for state-sanctioned terror against political opponents. The Constitution, and the safety of the republic, demand that Congress act. Donald Trump must be impeached.