(Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the Carnegie Foundation as a signatory to the progressive organizations' letter.)

More than 100 mostly progressive organizations have written an open letter condemning "acts of political violence" after the Trump administration's vow to crack down on left-leaning groups, in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death.

Published on Medium, the letter on Sept. 17 said that the United States is built on "the premise that everyone has the right to express themselves," even when others don’t agree with or like what they say.

"No one should fear for their safety simply for expressing their views," said the letter written by 124 groups, including the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, the Schmidt Family Foundation, backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and the Omidyar Network, funded by the eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar.

The letter also pushes back against the Trump administration's recent condemnation of liberal activists, saying that organizations "should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values."

Last month, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that billionaire George Soros, a major funder of the Open Society Foundation and other progressive causes, should face prosecution, alleging that Soros has supported violent protests. Open Society Foundations called Trump's accusations "outrageous and false."

Their liberal groups' letter comes a week after Kirk, the 31-year-old podcaster and organizer, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while holding a rally in Utah.

Vice President JD Vance, serving as guest host on Kirk's Sept. 15 podcast, claimed that "left-wing extremism" was part of the reason Kirk was killed. Vance pointed to a Sept. 12 article in The Nation calling Kirk an "unrepentant racist, transphobe, homophobe, and misogynist," because of his scathing criticism of the Civil Rights Act, the gay rights movement and feminism.

"I read a story in the Nation magazine about my dear friend Charlie Kirk," Vance said during the podcast. "George Soros’ Open Society Foundation funds this magazine, as does the Ford Foundation and many other wealthy titans of the American progressive movement."

On that same episode, Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, told Vance the Trump administration would go after liberal non-government organizations, or NGOs, and use "every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government" to "identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy" the networks.

Neither the Ford Foundation or Open Society Foundation appears to have given money to The Nation in the last five years, according to The Washington Post.

Many moderate and conservative organizations and nonprofits also signed the Sept. 17 letter including the MacArthur Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the Bush Foundation.

The alleged shooter in Kirk's killing, Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and the commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty.

Trump administration is seeking a crackdown on progressive groups

The group's letter also comes after the Trump administration has threatened to crack down on left-leaning, liberal, and progressive organizations they view as promoting violence and terrorism. Trump has said he has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into charging the protesters with crimes under the RICO Act, which prosecutors typically target those involved with highly sophisticated crime organizations.

"We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give," the letter said. "Attempts to silence speech, criminalize opposing viewpoints, and misrepresent and limit charitable giving undermine our democracy and harm all Americans."

The goal of the letter appears to be to mitigate the conflict between the Trump administration and left-leaning philanthropic and nonprofit groups, given the White House's recent actions against universities, law firms, and other prominent institutions for their views.

"At a moment that is fragile and fraught, we must rise to the higher standard we all collectively desire," the group's letter said.

"Now is a moment for leadership that drives unity rather than sows further division," the letter concluded. "Our organizations will continue focusing on helping people across all backgrounds, geographies, ideologies, and belief systems, to heal, thrive, and live peacefully together, protected by the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liberal groups condemn 'political violence' after Charlie Kirk's death

Reporting by Terry Collins, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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