{"id":7987,"date":"2026-07-16T21:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7987"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:24:19","slug":"the-brief-trumps-campaign-to-prosecute-the-left-gets-weirder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7987","title":{"rendered":"The Brief: Trump\u2019s Campaign to Prosecute the Left Gets Weirder"},"content":{"rendered":"<script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<br><div id=\"article-content\">\n            \n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-b8cdff88-2105-4dbb-ad03-ba14ce24391b\">Blanche\u2019s Top Prosecutor of Political Violence Marched at Jan. 6<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/exclusive-trump-dojs-top-antifa-prosecutor-marched-with-crowd-on-jan-6\" target=\"_blank\">TPM\u2019s Josh Kovensky revealed yesterday<\/a> that a top federal prosecutor heading up the Trump DOJ\u2019s task force on political violence marched on January 6. At least one image TPM reviewed showed him in an area outside the Capitol that was restricted, but that Trump supporters nonetheless stormed into, a former lead prosecutor in the DOJ\u2019s since-disbanded Capitol Siege Section told Josh. The DOJ told us that the prosecutor in question, Brian W. Lynch, \u201cwas present but never entered the capitol, left the grounds after a brief period, and did not commit and was never accused of any violation of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>This revelation fits into a long line of coverage for us examining how the Trump administration has gone after the left in the wake of Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing last year. And though the task force that Lynch heads up is focused on political violence generally and <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/exclusive-doj-taps-gang-terrorism-prosecutors-to-crack-down-on-political-groups\" target=\"_blank\">has brought at least one indictment of an alleged neo-Nazi<\/a>, it was birthed from NSPM-7, a White House directive instructing law enforcement to treat \u201canti-Americanism, anti-Capitalism, and anti-Christianity\u201d as indicators of political violence. Accordingly, the task force was behind the indictment of 15 anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis last month.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>NSPM-7 and the broader push within the administration to target the left and supposed \u201cantifa\u201d activists in the wake of Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing has produced extreme outcomes, including <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/prairieland-antifa-activists-sentenced-to-decades-in-prison-on-terrorism-charges\" target=\"_blank\">multi-decades-long sentences<\/a> for activists in Texas who were peripherally involved in a protest where one person fired a gun, wounding a police officer. A few of the activists charged weren\u2019t at the protest in question. TPM has examined these cases and others in our <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/creating-the-enemy-within\" target=\"_blank\">Creating the Enemy Within<\/a> series.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The news of Lynch\u2019s Jan. 6 activities comes as Todd Blanche, to whom Lynch directly reports, is seeking Senate confirmation as attorney general. Senators have pushed Blanche to condemn January 6. We\u2019ll see if Josh\u2019s story comes up.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-89367afa-0391-4840-b876-533b2f25d126\">Susan Collins\u2019 ICE Killing Feint<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":1552346,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<div class=\"GalleryImageWrapper\"><h2 class=\"GalleryImageWrapper__Title\"\/><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2146\" height=\"1433\" src=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?w=804\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1552346\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg 2146w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=804,537 804w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=1536,1026 1536w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=2048,1368 2048w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=600,401 600w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=1000,668 1000w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285588704.jpg?resize=98,64 98w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2146px) 100vw, 2146px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">US Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, questions Jay Clayton, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Clayton\u2019s nomination to be Director of National Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2026. (Photo by Ken Cedeno \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The administration put out the word earlier this week, following the ICE killing of 26-year-old father Joan Guerrero in Maine, that it was suspending immigration traffic stops. That supposed policy shift is looking more and more like a mirage to take the wind out of bad headlines.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Stories earlier this week describing the \u201chalt\u201d cited few sources. Neither the White House nor ICE went on record. <\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Tom Homan, the \u201cczar\u201d in charge, seemed to acknowledge it while downplaying it during an interview on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6401147344112\" target=\"_blank\">Fox News<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a short pause just to make sure we\u2019re doing the right thing,\u201d he said. \u201cOperations continue. Arrests are at record numbers. Deportations are at record numbers.\u201d<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Susan Collins (R-ME), up for reelection this year and under fire for her votes to fund ICE without restrictions or reforms, nonetheless <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorCollins\/status\/2077055577297916310\" target=\"_blank\">claimed victory<\/a> for the supposed halt. <\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Yesterday morning, Trump ordered the policy overturned: \u201cThe Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won\u2019t happen on my watch,\u201d he wrote on Truth Social. Trump was worried about looking weak, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/2026\/07\/trump-ice-maine-shooting-vehicle-order\/687927\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Atlantic<\/a> reported. <\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>\u201cPresident Trump and I are on the same page. We want our ICE officers to have all options available to keep them safe while executing our mission of deporting as many illegal alien criminals from our country as possible,\u201d Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/15\/us\/trump-ice-traffic-stops\" target=\"_blank\">CNN<\/a>.<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/16\/us\/traffic-stops-ice-shootings-dhs\" target=\"_blank\">traffic stops have resumed<\/a>. <\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>While Collins\u2019 feint is particularly grotesque, given the lack of accountability it seeks to cover up, this is very much a midterms issue. <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/podcasts\/the-josh-marshall-podcast\/field-of-distortion\/\" target=\"_blank\">Here\u2019s Josh Marshall on that from yesterday\u2019s TPM Show<\/a>: Collins \u201cmight have said, \u2018ok, this is unacceptable\u2019 and really gone head-to-head with the administration over this. \u2026 So when this happened, I was thinking, \u2018Can she pull that off? Can she do that?\u2019 I have great doubts. At this point in her career, Susan Collins has one lane, right? It\u2019s an inside DC lane, and expressing \u2018concerns\u2019 lane. I don\u2019t know if she has the political limberness to pull that off. \u2026 This is about a lot more than electoral politics but its also about electoral politics not least for the fact that whether this kind of stuff continues or not is going to come down to electoral politics.\u201d<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item --><\/ul>\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-dbfd7bec-c6fb-4fa2-9625-678b386f1f65\">Tabs<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-8b7c41b9-cb64-4d38-8bd0-be771a7c7bd1\">Man of the Hour<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":1552339,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<div class=\"GalleryImageWrapper\"><h2 class=\"GalleryImageWrapper__Title\"\/><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7360\" height=\"4912\" src=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?w=804\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1552339\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg 7360w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=804,537 804w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=2048,1367 2048w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=1000,667 1000w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=1200,801 1200w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286288887.jpg?resize=98,64 98w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 7360px) 100vw, 7360px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 JULY 15: Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be Attorney General, on Capitol Hill on July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sha Hanting\/China News Service\/VCG via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It\u2019s Todd Blanche, who seems to have given <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/cornyn-says-hes-undecided-on-blanche-over-acting-ags-response-to-questions-about-slush-fund\" target=\"_blank\">insufficient answers<\/a> at his Wednesday confirmation hearing to convince the hold-out Republicans who, I think, really do want an excuse to vote for him. As <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/morning-memo\/what-price-for-the-soul-of-democracy\" target=\"_blank\">David Kurtz put it yesterday<\/a>, Cornyn and Tillis\u2019 push for answers from Blanche on the slush fund sure looks like \u201cone of those patented Capital Hill smokescreens, where a senator reduces a complicated, wide-ranging, multi-dimensional issue to a single high-profile element of that issue \u2014 then offers an easy way to talk him off the ledge on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-2f34f0fa-ae0f-46d4-a064-d2a0093bb8a6\">Are We at War?<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Yep. Trump is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2026\/07\/15\/us-hits-dozens-iranian-targets-trump-demands-renewed-negotiations\/\" target=\"_blank\">rolling out the threat to bomb bridges and power plants again<\/a>, which seems to be a transparent bid for leverage in negotiations, which he says he is also seeking to reopen. Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s what it seems.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->          <\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n        appId: \"101800829865996\",\n        xfbml: true,\n        version: ' v2.6'\n      });\n      window.fbAsyncInit.__didInit = true;\n    };\n    (function(d, s, id) {\n      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n      if (d.getElementById(id)) {\n        return;\n      }\n      js = d.createElement(s);\n      js.id = id;\n      js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n  <\/script>\r\n<br><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blanche\u2019s Top Prosecutor of Political Violence Marched at Jan. 6 TPM\u2019s Josh Kovensky revealed yesterday that a top federal prosecutor heading up the Trump DOJ\u2019s task force on political violence marched on January 6. At least one image TPM reviewed showed him in an area outside the Capitol that was restricted, but that Trump supporters&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284196926.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}