Fracking Study Finds New Gas Wells Leak More

President Donald Trump’s continued policy attacks on people and things he doesn’t like extends throughout his administration. It is on visible display at those cabinet meetings he holds, which are merely hourslong lovefests where secretaries try to outdo each other in their praise for the president. They are sickening to watch.

But we expect this and more in 2026, as the president flails about trying to skirt blame for the lousy economy that’s largely the result of his own actions on tariffs. Whether it be threats to other countries or warnings to Americans, the president doesn’t care. The only things that matter to him are 1) increasing his personal wealth at the expense of the American public; and 2) believing he’s the greatest president ever. On that score, he is deluded.

As a result, the LGBTQ community must continue to remain on alert. We’ve explored the awful anti-trans policies the administration unleashed in 2025. Now that the new year is upon us, the community needs to cast its eyes more widely. In December, following up on a Trump memorandum, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo of her own December 4 to federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies: it’s the intention of the Department of Justice to draft a list of “domestic terrorists.” Apparently, this could include nonprofits and other organizations that promote what Bondi calls “radical gender ideology,” which, in our view, translates to agencies that support the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender and nonbinary people. It also wants to root out “anti-Americanism,” “anti-capitalism,” and “anti-Christianity.”

Trump’s memo was issued in September, immediately following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the memo “gave civil rights groups pause over the potential targeting of political activists, donors and nonprofits opposed to the president.” Domestic terrorism is not an official designation in U.S. law. But the Times noted that the memo cited over two-dozen existing laws that could be used to substantiate charges.

Bondi’s memo also outlines what it says are causes of domestic terrorist activity, including “hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality,” the paper reported.

“Federal law enforcement will prioritize this threat. Where federal crime is encountered, federal agents will act,” the memo states.

And, in what is truly Orwellian, the Times noted that the memo “directs the FBI online tip line to allow ‘witnesses and citizen journalists’ to report videos, recordings and photos of what they believe to be suspected acts of domestic violence, and establish a ‘cash reward system’ for information that leads to an arrest.” This is a frightening escalation that could pit neighbors against each other, or lead anti-LGBTQ online trolls to target organizations, like trans nonprofits, with the goal of severely affecting their operations.

The memo focuses on what it calls antifa-aligned extremism, and the president defines antifa as “a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,” as an executive order stated.

Naturally, Bondi’s memo says nothing of groups that promote violent white supremacy.

All of this is scary, and the LGBTQ community is right to be concerned. We can envision a number of scenarios whereby federal agents or prosecutors target queer nonprofits because of what they do, simply because Trump and his administration have worked to omit diversity, equity, and inclusion from the federal government, businesses, and universities, and sought to erase transgender people.

Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D) of Maryland spoke on behalf of a coalition of 10 state attorneys general last fall, pointing out that Trump’s memo also includes “a threat to investigate ‘institutional and individual funders, and officers and employees of organizations, that are responsible for, sponsor, or otherwise aid and abet’ causes, policies, or ideas that Trump opposes.”

“Among the rights Americans cherish most are our freedom of speech and freedom of association, which the Constitution has guaranteed for more than 200 years, and one of the important ways Americans express those freedoms is through supporting, belonging to, and volunteering for nonprofits and charitable organizations,” stated the coalition, which includes California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Charities and nonprofits are woven into the fabric of American society, in every state and community. Any attempts to target nonprofits for simply fulfilling their missions, no matter their beliefs or worldview, is a gross violation of their and all Americans' First Amendment rights to free speech and free association – which the U.S. Supreme Court recently held 'is especially important in preserving political and cultural diversity and in shielding dissident expression from suppression by the majority.’”

In the Bay Area, with its proactive queer community, we expect people to stand strong and defend any federal pressure concerning nonprofit organizations. Many groups have already started to diversify their funding streams, as federal grants dried up last year, especially in the arts and health research, not to mention HIV/AIDS prevention. In the latter case, some of that funding was restored after the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco Community Health Center, the GLBT Historical Society, and other nonprofits filed a federal lawsuit, which is ongoing.

Different actions will likely be necessary in the new year. With local governments like San Francisco experiencing budget deficits, it’s crucial that city officials recognize the important role nonprofits play in providing direct services to many residents. They, too, need to stand with the nonprofit community as the federal government continues its witch hunt against beliefs it doesn’t like.