Lawsuit Seeks Records on IRS Implementation of Trump Executive Orders Purportedly Targeting “Antifa”

Wednesday, Protect Democracy, represented by American Oversight, filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury seeking records that would reveal whether and how the agency is implementing President Donald Trump’s executive actions — framed as purportedly targeting “Antifa” — that invoke domestic terrorism authorities to potentially target everyday Americans and civil society organizations opposed to his political agenda.

The lawsuit seeks records concerning guidance, directives, and policies created by or provided to IRS in connection with the September 2025 executive order designating “Antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization and related national security directives. The effort follows the agency’s claim that, after conducting a search, it found no responsive records — a position Protect Democracy rejects as implausible given the scope and significance of the directives at issue.

“Branding dissent as domestic terrorism and directing federal agencies accordingly is one way democracies unravel,” said JoAnna Suriani, Counsel at Protect Democracy. “The IRS cannot be permitted to act as an instrument of political retribution behind a wall of secrecy. Our lawsuit demands the transparency that the law requires and the public is owed.”

“When the government invokes national security authorities as a smokescreen to target everyday Americans and civil society organizations speaking out against the president’s agenda, it raises profound concerns about abuse of power and the erosion of democratic norms,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “The IRS’s claim that it has no records explaining how it is implementing these directives defies common sense. Either the agency is ignoring the president’s orders or it is ignoring its obligations under FOIA to keep the public in the dark about its work. Americans deserve to know whether and how federal tax authorities are being misappropriated to politically motivated enforcement.”

Protect Democracy submitted its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in December 2025, seeking records reflecting any formal or informal guidance, directives, or policies created by or provided to the IRS regarding implementation of the executive order and related memorandum. The request made clear that it did not seek confidential taxpayer information, but rather general guidance governing agency action. 

In January 2026, IRS responded that it had conducted a search and found no responsive records. Protect Democracy appealed, arguing that the agency failed to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that it conducted an adequate search, and that its response did not allow for meaningful evaluation of its methodology. After the IRS failed to substantively respond to that appeal, Protect Democracy filed this lawsuit to compel the agency to conduct a lawful search and release any non-exempt records.

In addition to today’s suit, Protect Democracy, again represented by American Oversight, filed suit against IRS and the Treasury Department last week, seeking records that would reveal whether the White House has attempted to direct or influence the IRS to target perceived political opponents through the tax system. The administration’s actions to date have heightened those concerns, with the president and senior White House officials suggesting that certain universities, nonprofits, and other institutions — including Harvard University — should face scrutiny or lose their tax-exempt status based on their perceived political or ideological positions.