Claim:
In December 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the FBI to identify and list “extremists” in the U.S. for investigation and prosecution.
Rating:
Context
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice sent Snopes a copy of the memo in which Bondi gave these instructions.
In December 2025, a rumor spread that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had asked the FBI to create a list of people in the U.S. who may be “extremists.”
Several posts on X made the claim without specifying what “extremists” or “terrorists” meant to Bondi. One X account shared the rumor, followed by a second post listing groups that might fall in that category (archived, archived):
The rumor came from various reports of an alleged Dec. 4, 2025, internal memo by Bondi. The same day, the reputable news agency Reuters reported on the contents of this supposed memo, without sharing a copy. Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein posted what he claimed was the leaked memo on his Substack newsletter two days later.
The claim was true and the memo was real. In an email, a Department of Justice spokesperson shared the original memo, which matched the document Klippenstein published on his newsletter. You can review the memo the DOJ shared with Snopes below.
“Political violence has no place in this country, and this Department of Justice will investigate, identify, and root out any individual or violent extremist group attempting to commit or promote this heinous activity,” the DOJ spokesperson said in the email confirming the authenticity of the memo.
What the memo says
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Bondi’s memo instructs the FBI to take concrete action to comply with National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which President Donald Trump signed Sept. 25, 2025.
Trump’s memo describes “domestic terrorist” groups and people as “anti-fascist” (or “Antifa”). Specifically, it asks that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Bondi consider those with certain political leanings as “extremists”:
Common threads animating this violent conduct include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.
In turn, Bondi instructs the FBI to identify the following “culpable actors” (emphasis ours):
These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas, including opposition to law and immigration enforcement; extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality; and an elevation of violence to achieve policy outcomes, such as political assassinations.
The attorney general’s memo also outlined some activities that may warrant action from the FBI and the DOJ:
Such acts may include organized rioting, looting, doxing, and swatting; and conspiracies to impede or assault law enforcement, destroy property, or engage in violent civil disorder.
In the memo, Bondi asked that the FBI compile a list of such actors and that the law enforcement agency publicize a tip line to encourage U.S. residents to share information about people involved in these activities. She further requested that the DOJ prosecute the “most serious, readily provable offenses.”
