President Donald Trump said billionaire George Soros, a major donor to progressive causes, should be prosecuted, arguing without evidence that Soros has supported violent protests.

"George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America," the president said in an Aug. 27 post on Truth Social.

"RICO" is shorthand for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a statute used to prosecute organized criminal activity that can include murder, kidnapping and fraud. It's unclear how Trump is suggesting that either of the Soroses violated the statute.

Trump didn't specify which of Soros sons he also wanted prosecuted, but it may be Alex Soros, who – like his father – has a long history of supporting Democratic causes. Alex Soros married Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, earlier this year.

The call for criminal charges falls in line with threats Trump made to prosecute rivals when he was on the campaign trail in 2024.

"INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE' and 'SEDITION' were written in all caps in one meme Trump shared on social media about a year ago, referring to the committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

"It's extremely dangerous for democracy, this idea that the winner just puts the loser in prison, prosecutes the loser," Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, told USA TODAY at the time.

Trump administration investigates opponents

The Trump administration has appeared to put the retaliatory threats into action with investigations into various political opponents and perceived enemies of Trump in recent months.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency headed by a 2025 Trump appointee, is currently investigating Jack Smith, who led two federal prosecutions against Trump that were dropped after the real estate mogul's 2024 election victory. The agency is reportedly looking into whether the prosecutions amounted to unlawful election-related activity.

Smith's lawyers fired back against the reported investigation in an Aug. 25 letter, calling it "unprecedented" and "premised on a partisan complaint."

On Aug. 22, FBI agents raided the home of former national security adviser and fierce Trump critic John Bolton. The bureau said it had court authorization for the search, but didn't elaborate on the specifics of the investigation. The Justice Department has also reportedly opened an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a major civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his business associates.

'Outrageous and false': George Soros organization fires back

George and Alex Soros couldn't be immediately reached for comment, but George Soros' Open Society Foundations, a group that provides grants to various social causes, said in a statement that Trump's accusations "are outrageous and false."

"The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund violent protests," the group said. "We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy."

Contributing: Davis Winkie.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says liberal donor George Soros and son should be criminally charged

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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