Following the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, US President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have launched sweeping political attacks on liberal organizations, public figures, and civil society groups, actions that legal scholars and historians warn are signs of accelerating Trump authoritarianism, according to The Guardian's Peter Stone.

Stone states that the killing, allegedly committed by a lone gunman, has sparked conspiracy theories and intensified rhetoric from Trump, who accused liberal groups of fostering the environment that led to the act. While mourning Kirk, Trump has turned his attention to a broader offensive on the so-called “radical left,” vowing to pursue individuals and organizations he claims are tied to political violence.

At Kirk’s memorial, where the late activist’s widow expressed forgiveness, Trump struck a combative tone, “I hate my opponents and I don’t wish the best for them.”

Stone adds that this statement, viewed by experts as deeply unpresidential, added fuel to what scholars describe as an emerging "authoritarian playbook": using an act of political violence to justify suppressing dissent.

Harvard professor Steven Levitsky called the approach “page one of the authoritarian playbook ... You use political violence as a pretext to go after your political enemies.”

Trump also accused progressive rhetoric of contributing to Kirk’s death, stating, “We have radical-left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them.”

Trump targets George Soros, civil society groups

Trump’s response has included renewed attacks on liberal George Soros, accusing him of financing violent extremism. Trump told Fox & Friends that Soros “should be put in jail,” and the Department of Justice has since opened investigations into Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

Soros’ foundation condemned the accusations as “politically motivated attacks on civil society.” Legal analysts say the use of RICO charges against peaceful donors and non-profits is legally tenuous and intended to intimidate political opponents.

Former federal prosecutor Paul Rosenzweig told The Guardian, “Trump’s invocation of RICO to investigate Soros is frivolously wrong-headed… It’s another example of weaponizing the law to target his enemies.”

Read more: Soros donates $10 million to Gavin Newsom's California campaign

Legal experts warn of domestic terrorism overreach

Trump’s response to Kirk’s killing has included designating Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization,” although such a legal designation doesn’t exist under US law. His administration also issued a memo titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence," directing agencies to investigate groups allegedly supporting political violence.

Meanwhile, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, accused the Democratic Party of being a “domestic extremist organization” and pledged action against a “vast domestic terror network.”

Stone says that experts warn that such language sets a dangerous precedent.

According to Columbia law professor David Pozen, authoritarian regimes "seek to undermine independent media outlets and NGOs, dissolve legal boundaries between the state and civil society, vilify critics and marginalized groups, personalize politics, and make dissent more costly.” 

"All of these authoritarian tendencies have been on display in the Trump administration’s response to the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk," Pozen added.

Military use against democratic cities raises alarm

On September 30, Trump addressed hundreds of military leaders, claiming the country faced an “enemy within” and suggesting Democratic-run cities could be used as military “training grounds” to restore order.

The suggestion conflicts with the Posse Comitatus Act, Stone notes, which restricts military involvement in domestic law enforcement. Legal experts called the remarks “dictatorial", especially amid speculation that Trump could use troops during the 2026 midterm elections.

Larry Noble, former general counsel for the FEC, told The Guardian, “A president with dictatorial ambitions declaring that cities are the ‘enemy within’ is contrary to the very principles upon which this country was founded.”

Scholars cite dangerous shift in democratic norms

Stone writes that legal scholars and historians agree that Trump’s post-Kirk rhetoric and policy proposals reflect a deepening authoritarian shift. NYU constitutional law professor Peter Shane warned that Trump is “running roughshod over the laws and traditions that have long sustained a robust American democracy.”

Russell Muirhead, chair of Dartmouth’s Department of Government, added to The Guardian, “Trump’s conspiracy charges convert peaceful political opponents into enemies… Once that’s done, they no longer need to be tolerated. They can be imprisoned—or worse.”

With the Trump administration’s latest executive actions targeting thousands of non-profits and vocal critics, experts warn that the politicization of tragedy is being used to justify a crackdown on dissent, furthering the erosion of civil liberties and democratic institutions in the United States.