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Donald Trump has called for billionaire progressive donor George Soros to face racketeering and corruption charges for supposedly supporting “violent protests” across the US.
In a post on his social media platform on Wednesday, Trump claimed the 95-year-old Soros and his “radical left” son Alex, who leads the family’s philanthropic foundation, “should be charged with RICO”, referring to a statute usually used to combat organised crime.
“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to ‘BREATHE,’ and be FREE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country!” he added. “That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”
The broadside came after reports in right-leaning news outlets claimed this month that Open Society Foundations, which distributes grants on Soros’s behalf to progressive causes, was funding protests, especially against the Trump administration’s deployment of troops in Washington DC.
A spokesperson for OSF said of Trump’s comments: “These accusations are outrageous and false. The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund violent protests. Our mission is to advance human rights, justice and democratic principles at home and around the world.”
The tirade against Soros — a Jewish holocaust survivor and frequent target of the Maga right — is the latest attempt by Trump to intimidate political foes with the threat of legal action.
In the past few months, Trump has repeatedly threatened to prosecute or jail politicians, including his former presidential rival Kamala Harris and New York Democratic mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani.
He has ordered an investigation into former president Joe Biden and his aides, and suggested a criminal probe into Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and one-time ally.
Last week, the FBI raided the home of John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Trump who has emerged as a strong critic of the president’s foreign policy.
Trump has long reserved some of his sharpest ire for the Soros family, who were among the largest donors to the Harris campaign, spending more than $85mn in the 2024 election cycle. During his criminal trial in New York last year, Trump constantly highlighted that district attorney Alvin Bragg had been backed by Soros.
Trump himself faced Rico charges by state prosecutors in Georgia over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The case stalled after the original prosecutor was removed by a higher court.
Trump’s threat on Wednesday garnered support from Elon Musk, who posted that it was “high time action was taken against Soros directly”. Musk previously blamed Soros for protests outside Tesla dealerships at the height of his unpopular tenure in government.
