Shocking new documents obtained by the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reveal that the prominent legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) was falsely labeled a “hate group” by federal agencies as part of a program to monitor the financial transactions of groups deemed potential domestic threats.
The documents expose how the U.S. Department of the Treasury circulated a list of supposed “hate groups” published by the openly partisan Institute for Strategic Dialogue as part of its push for financial institutions to monitor customers for potential domestic threats.
Alarmingly, this list branded the prominent legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and several other mainstream religious and conservative organizations as “domestic terrorists,” effectively targeting them for surveillance by major banks.
The revelation came from the subcommittee’s examination of government overreach, which was uncovered in a report by the House Judiciary Committee.
What is Alliance Defending Freedom?
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
Since 2011 alone, Alliance Defending Freedom has represented parties in 15 Supreme Court victories, including the landmark 303 Creative v. Elenis.
Alliance Defending Freedom Church Alliance and Alliance Defending Freedom Ministry Alliance are ministry arms of Alliance Defending Freedom, offering robust legal defense services tailored to the unique needs of churches, ministries, and other faith-based organizations. Their mission is to equip these religious entities with the resources and representation necessary to confront potential legal challenges head-on in an increasingly anti-religious social climate.
Orwellian surveillance of Americans
According to a 176-page report titled “Financial Surveillance in the United States,” the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) provided major banks with lists of symbols, phrases, and organizations to monitor customers’ transactions as potential indicators of “domestic violent extremism.”
The Judiciary Committee report reveals how, following the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion, FinCEN initiated talks with banks about ways for them to voluntarily turn over Americans’ private financial data to federal investigators sans legal process. FinCEN provided lists of terms like “MAGA,” “gun,” and Christian imagery like the “Celtic Cross” – which was labeled a “hate symbol” – for banks to flag as potential threats.
FinCEN also circulated materials to financial institutions from the partisan Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) that inexplicably labeled mainstream religious and conservative organizations as “hate groups.” One of the groups falsely designated a “hate group” and equated with genuine purveyors of extremism was the legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom.
Despite ADF’s respected reputation for upholding constitutional liberties through principled legal advocacy, having played a role in 74 victories at the U.S. Supreme Court, the ISD’s list maligned the Christian legal group alongside racist and violent groups.
The report states, “The ISD is a left-wing organization that holds itself out as an ‘independent’ monitor of ‘disinformation’ that promotes the censorship of speech it decrees as false or extreme,” adding, “FinCEN’s distribution of the ISD report amounts to an approval of its content, its methods, and its conclusions. Such an endorsement is concerning because the ISD report labels and demonizes various right-of-center groups in America as ‘hate groups.'”
ADF Senior Counsel and SVP of Corporate Affairs Jeremy Tedesco testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Mar. 7.
“This Orwellian surveillance of American citizens has no place in a free society. Neither does the federal government’s weaponization of the financial industry against peaceable religious and conservative groups. Our story is just one of many demonstrating the increased threat of viewpoint-based de-banking,” Tedesco told the subcommittee.
In a statement on Alliance Defending Freedom Media, Tedesco added, “We won’t allow the federal government to treat us like domestic terrorists, nor accept its bullying and Big Brother tactics. The government is colluding with some of the most powerful corporations the world has ever known to censor Americans with mainstream conservative and religious views.”
“This is a direct threat to our First Amendment freedoms. As I testified before the subcommittee today, the real victims of this regime of discriminatory de-banking are the American people. No matter who tries to cancel us, ADF will not be silenced or intimidated,” Tedesco said.
