President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters on the South Lawn as he departs the White House, on September 11, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

As President Donald Trump threatens legal action against his adversaries, particularly after Charlie Kirk’s assassination , he’s repeatedly talked about using one federal law: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO .

Trump wants to bring racketeering charges against left-wing groups he’s accused of promoting violence. Some influential Republicans agree with him and have been pushing to include rioting as one of the crimes that falls under the racketeering statute, a decades-old law once aimed at cracking down on organized crime.

Kirk’s death and the resulting calls by influential conservatives to crack down

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