The Freedom From Religion Foundation is expressing its concern over the deeply authoritarian and unconstitutional language contained in the Trump administration’s newly released 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy.

The document pinpoints secular political groups, transgender advocacy and anti-fascist political activism as potential terrorists while promising aggressive government action against organizations deemed “anti-American” or “radically pro-transgender.”

FFRF, a national state/church watchdog whose membership is largely nonreligious, is concerned about the single but prominent reference to “violent secular political groups,” which appears to stigmatize nonreligious Americans. The document does not define “secular,” a term that can apply to anything that is not specifically religious and doesn’t necessarily refer to nonreligious individuals or groups.

“We know of no current ‘violent secular political groups,’ so it is chilling to see the administration connect violence with peaceful and educational secular advocacy,” points out FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The federal government has no business treating secularism, political dissent or support for LGBTQ+ rights as inherently suspect ideologies requiring surveillance and ‘neutralization.’”

FFRF emphasizes that secular Americans are not enemies of the state. Nonreligious Americans make up nearly one-third of the country, and younger generations are increasingly secular. Our secular Constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of conscience.

Perhaps in its most disturbing passages, the strategy states that “our national CT [counterterrorism] activities will also prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.” The White House document goes on to promise that the administration will “map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations like Antifa, and use law enforcement tools to cripple them operationally before they can maim or kill the innocent.” This kind of language and rhetoric, which is associated with authoritarian governments, dangerously conflates protected political viewpoints and secular advocacy with terrorism and extremism.

The document portrays conservatives and Christians in the United States and worldwide as uniquely persecuted while depicting progressive political movements as looming internal threats. It specifically references “the politically motivated killings of Christians and conservatives” and cites the assassination of Charlie Kirk by “a radical who espoused extreme transgender ideologies.”

FFRF also condemns the document’s ominous embrace of extrajudicial-style rhetoric from President Trump himself, who declares in the document’s foreword: “If you hurt Americans, or are planning to hurt Americans, ‘We Will Find You and We Will Kill You.’”

Americans should be deeply disturbed by a counterterrorism strategy that combines militarized rhetoric with ideological targeting. Counterterrorism powers are dangerous tools, which, as history shows, can be used to target marginalized groups, dissidents and political opponents.

The document has already drawn widespread criticism from national security experts and former officials, who have described it as incoherent, amateurish and politically motivated rather than a serious strategic framework.

The administration’s criticism of “anti-American” ideology could be used to justify expanded surveillance, investigations or suppression of lawful advocacy groups and political organizations. Congress, civil liberties groups and the public should closely scrutinize the administration’s use of counterterrorism authorities to ensure that national security powers are not weaponized against secular Americans, LGBTQ+ advocates or political dissenters.

FFRF will continue to defend the Constitution’s foundational principles of freedom of conscience, secular government and protections for unpopular speech and minority viewpoints.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With more than 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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