President Donald Trump is now suggesting that people protesting his policies should be targeted with wide-ranging investigations typically reserved for organized crime.
During a Monday press gaggle in the Oval Office, Trump spoke about being confronted by protesters at a Washington D.C. restaurant last week who compared his presidency to that of World War II-era Germany. Protesters were also railing against Trump's federalization of law enforcement in the capital city and calling for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. While flanked by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others, Trump suggested he may prosecute protesters under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
"You can see they're professional agitators. I had one the other night. I had four. All in one group. Total phonies," Trump said. "They started to scream when I got into the restaurant. Something about Palestine ... One woman got up, she just started screaming."
READ MORE: 'House GOP at risk': 2 Republicans won't back Johnson's bill as Trump urges party unity
"She's a mouthpiece. She was a paid agitator. And you have a lot of them, and I've asked Pam [Bondi] to look into that, in terms of RICO bringing RICO cases against them. Criminal RICO," he continued. "Because they should be put in jail. What they're doing to this country is really subversive."
Trump didn't name any particular individuals in his call for RICO prosecutions, but when a reporter asked him if he was considering designating Antifa (anti-fascist action, which the FBI has said is an ideology and not an organization) as a terrorist group, he responded affirmatively. He also insinuated that he was considering giving additional leftist groups the same federal designation.
"It's something I would do. Yeah. There are other groups," Trump responded. "And I've been speaking with the attorney general about bringing RICO against some of the people you've been reading about."
Trump invoking RICO is particularly noteworthy as he and others were charged under Georgia's RICO statute after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted Trump and 18 other co-conspirators for allegedly plotting to interfere with Georgia's 2020 presidential election. The investigation was put on hold after Trump was reelected last November, and is not expected to resume until after Trump leaves office in 2029.
READ MORE: 'Tremendous pressure': GOP senator predicts party will fold over rural hospital closures