Feds used ‘domestic terrorism’ as basis for cracking down on guns

The Trump administration revealed a previously classified document detailing the federal government’s past plans to use the specter of “domestic terrorism” to restrict gun ownership.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced she had declassified a document from former President Joe Biden’s administration titled “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism” in an X post Wednesday. The 15-page document revealed advancing “executive and legislative action” such as a ban on “assault weapons and high-capacity magazines” became part of Biden’s counterterrorism vision, which often faced accusations of being politicized.

Federal officials were directed to “rein in the proliferation of ‘ghost guns,’” or unregulated homemade firearms, and “encourage state adoption of extreme risk protection orders” that allow judges to strip gun rights from citizens they deem dangerous, the file shows.

A pro-firearm advocacy group, Gun Owners of America, called Biden’s strategy a “secret plan to eliminate the Second Amendment in the name of ‘counterterrorism’” in a Wednesday X post.

The previous paragraph of the document listed various “intended” goals for the counterterrorism strategy. One was to ensure that “Americans have increasing faith in democracy and government” so they don’t become domestic terrorists. Other goals were to “strengthen civics education that promotes democratic resiliency” and to “increase intervention and care for those who pose a danger to themselves and others.”

The document also reflects the Biden administration’s overwhelming focus on “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (RMVE)” threats, mentioning no other specific ideology as a concern. Biden’s FBI previously came under fire in Congress for applying the RMVE label to traditional Catholic churchgoers as a basis to investigate them.

Gabbard released the file as part of her stated emphasis on declassifying government materials after forming a task force focused partly on the task.

“President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability,” she said April 8. “We are committed to executing the President’s vision.”

Gabbard’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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