DOJ Launches Joint Task Force Vanguard to Apply Terrorism Tools to Political Protest Cases

In March 2026 the Justice Department created Joint Task Force Vanguard, led by prosecutors Brian W. Lynch and Jason Kellhofer, to implement the White House’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7). The memo directs agencies to treat anti-government ideologies as domestic-terrorism indicators, and Vanguard has filed federal charges in four cases.

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NSPM-7 follows prior executive directives shaping DOJ focus. The department’s independence—highlighted by interventions during Nixon, George W. Bush and Obama administrations—contrasts with the current expansion of counter-terrorism tools to political protest, a shift noted during Trump administration term.

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Brian W. Lynch, a Violent Crime and Racketeering prosecutor since 2020, has handled Guantanamo and RICO cases. Jason Kellhofer, a career counter-terrorism prosecutor, has prosecuted material-support and bribery-murder-for-hire cases. Both report to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General.

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Vanguard’s four cases are: a South Carolina man charged for flyers with swastikas, a noose and a Totenkopf at a Charlotte, North Carolina Jewish complex; an Oklahoma defendant accused of threatening Senate Majority Leader John Thune; Minneapolis anti-ICE demonstrators charged with conspiring to impede officers, with prosecutors citing 2.5 terabytes of Signal messages and over 20 terabytes of surveillance video; and RICO charges against Cop City protesters Katie Marie Kloth and Tyler John Norman after a state indictment was dismissed. Vanguard describes these acts as “political violence and intimidation designed to suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law.”

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The DOJ says Vanguard’s mission is “enforcing a comprehensive national strategy through investigating, prosecuting, and disrupting entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation,” and adds prosecutions will be pursued “while upholding the cherished principles of the First Amendment.”

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Legal scholar Paul Butler warned that applying “group criminality, conspiracy, racketeering” to protesters “makes less sense for political protesters” than for organized crime. Civil-rights observers note judges’ diminished confidence in the DOJ’s impartiality and say aggressive conspiracy statutes risk infringing First-Amendment speech protections.

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• “It means that they’re looking at group criminality, conspiracy, racketeering, and what that means is that they’re going after tough charges,” — Paul Butler, Georgetown Law professor

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• “enforcing a comprehensive national strategy through investigating, prosecuting, and disrupting entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation designed to suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law.” — Department of Justice spokesperson

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• “While the threat from the virus (particularly to the elderly and vulnerable groups) is real, the fake news media’s coverage is a disgrace and destroyed whatever sliver of credibility the institution still had.” — Brian W. Lynch, former Guantanamo prosecutor

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• “The progressive and mainstream media despise President Trump and his supporters,” — Brian W. Lynch

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State RICO dismissals are on appeal, and federal prosecutors have signaled further investigations into protest-related communications. Observers expect additional Justice Department guidance and possible congressional oversight of Vanguard’s authority.

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