Southern Queer Newsroom
In the week since the murder of Charlie Kirk, the American Right has tried nearly every possible tactic to trace the shooting back to trans people. They have not been successful in this endeavor. First, they claimed the shooter was trans. Then they claimed his partner / roommate was trans as a way to claim that he had been led astray from God. Now it seems they are insisting he was influenced by "transgender ideology" (TI) to commit the shooting, which again lacks any good evidence.
To this end, the Heritage Foundation—the far-right think tank responsible for Project 2025— and the Oversight Project released a four-page memo and petition to push the FBI to go after "transgender terrorism." Using the term "Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism (TIVE)," the memo claims the alleged shooter was "brainwashed by a corrosive and disjointed transgender ideology" with the only evidence seeming to be that Anderson's partner is trans. This claim comes from the alleged shooter's mother and has not been corroborated by the partner.
It is important to emphasize that this is a proposal, not an FBI decision or designation. The FBI has been tracking "Nihilistic Violent Extremism" for years, and may apply to the shooting at the Annunciation school, given the shooter's personal history independent of their transgender status. What the Heritage Foundation looks to be trying is tying trans people at large to violent actions with entirely separate motivations.
Analyzing the Proposal
The definition for "TIVE" is deliberately broad. In its entirety:
—Oversight Project, Twitter.
- the belief that violence is justified against people who oppose TI, who decline to support or affirm TI, or who are silent or indifferent regarding TI; or,
- the belief that opposing TI, declining to support or affirm TI, or remaining silent or indifferent regarding TI,
- itself constitutes a form of violence towards people who identify as any variant transgender or gender nonconforming;
- is a true threat to the existence of such persons; or,
- poses an imminent threat to such persons' emotional, psychological, or physical safety, including through self-harm or suicide.
Arguably, this means any person or organization that believes "opposing TI [...] is a true threat to the existence of such persons" may be a "trans extremist." Given that the Trump administration and multiple state legislatures, including Georgia and Texas, have taken actions that threaten the safety and well-being of transgender Americans, this definition could mark any speaking out against it as extremists.
The rest of the memo is a showcase in desperation, as it tries to cover as much of the trans rights movement as possible. It claims, without a source, that "experts" believe 50% of "major" school shootings that aren't "gang related" have been committed by trans people. The authors do not say who these experts are, how they determine what "major" is, or what qualifies as "gang related," and their list of "Acts of Domestic Extremism" includes plots that were stopped before they could be acted upon.
Accusing trans people of committing a school shooting or being overly violent with no evidence is not new to the Right. The Uvalde shooter was accused of being trans, and despite the many claims from right-wing social media stars, trans people are not more likely to commit violence than cisgender people. These two videos from "Edgier Than Thou" creator Malachi do a good job of debunking the claims made by conservatives that trans people commit more violence per capita than any other racial or ethnic group.
It also claims "right to exist," "trans genocide," and "cisgender" are extremist terms. Even basic expressions of transgender rights, understanding of trans issues, and warning against the government trying to force trans people underground are extremist. The memo says that expressing these beliefs does not make someone a "domestic terrorist," saying that unlawful acts need to be taken for that to be applicable. However, "unlawful" does not only mean "violent," and shows a desire in the Heritage Foundation to surveil transgender activists.
What This Represents
The proposal attempts to build off the declaration of Antifa as a terrorist "organization" during Trump's first term. While there was not a giant crackdown on antifascist organizations and movements, there have been instances that could point to relatively smaller enforcements, such as the Stop Cop City movement. The killing of Tortuguita in 2023 by the Georgia State Patrol was followed by arresting bail charity organizers under RICO charges (which have since been dropped), and charging several of those individuals with domestic terrorism.
It is unknown how far this proposal will go with the Trump administration. As it stands, there is no evidence backing any of the Heritage Foundation's claims, and looks to be more concerned with furthering political persecution of their enemies. What scant statistics have been provided have been deliberately created to further their agenda rather than base it in reality. The simple reason for this is that reality does not agree with their feelings. The desperation that comes from painting all one's enemies "domestic extremists" and kicking mediocre late night talk show guys off the air speaks to fear and weakness, not strength.