Socialist activists claim the Trump administration has their group in the FBI’s crosshairs again, more than a decade after agents famously surveiled and raided them.
The FBI questioned an Orlando, Florida, activist about the Freedom Road Socialist Organization on Aug. 11, according to Friday statements by the group and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. Both organizations warned against talking to agents if approached and urged notifying those in their networks if they receive a visit.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization has been on high alert for law enforcement scrutiny since an FBI terrorism probe that culminated in home and office raids in 2010. The group managed to evade charges despite multiple prior administrations keeping a close eye on its radical activities.
President Donald Trump is now ramping up investigations and prosecutions against leftist activists using undercover operatives and other methods, sparking renewed worries among activists.
“It’s clear that this is a part of a pattern of ongoing state repression that began in 2010,” said the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, which formed in response to the 2010 raids.
“As ever, their aim is to infiltrate and destroy our movements,” the group said about the FBI. “The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that they are pushing that agenda hard.”
Three FBI offices in Florida and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
The FBI in 2010 suspected the socialist group had provided material support to the foreign terrorist organizations Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, court records show. The case did not lead to charges after public outcry.
After the Obama administration, the FBI continued to mention the group in documents under Trump’s first presidency and former President Joe Biden. One 2020 intelligence report described the socialists’ plans to protest the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville that year, but the RNC ultimately canceled its event.
“FRSO has a previous history of violent activity and civil unrest intended to manipulate and influence the electoral process and public perceptions, particularly playing a role in disrupting Republican and Democratic National Conventions,” the FBI report said.
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Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Friday statement told comrades not to answer any FBI questions beyond confirming their identity, write down agents’ names, ask them to leave unless they have a warrant, and “let people know right away” about the encounter.
“Political repression thrives on people feeling isolated and afraid,” the organization said. “Shining a light on what the FBI is doing and talking to each other takes this power away from them.”