News and Analysis

Feds Equate Typical Conservative Views With ‘Violent Extremism’ In Financial Surveillance, House Weaponization Committee Finds

The feds were particularly interested in purchases from sporting goods stores like Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops that sell firearms.

Megan Basham
Feds Equate Typical Conservative Views With ‘Violent Extremism’ In Financial Surveillance, House Weaponization Committee Finds
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A new report from the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government finds that federal law enforcement agencies asked major banks to monitor customers who oppose gun control and support strong border policies. The agencies equated these conservative views with potential “violent extremism.”

The investigation into the federal government’s surveillance of Americans’ financial activities began in May 2023, after House Republicans discovered that Bank of America had voluntarily turned customer data over to the feds in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol protests.

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