BREAKING: Jeanine Pirro Pushes Bill to Label Soros Protest Funding as RICO Crime, Sparking Free Speech Firestorm

Washington, D.C. — November 11, 2025 — In a dramatic escalation of the GOP’s long-running crusade against billionaire philanthropist George Soros, Fox News firebrand Jeanine Pirro announced Monday she is spearheading a congressional bill to criminalize secret funding of protests under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. If enacted, the measure could classify such financial support as organized crime, enabling swift asset freezes on Soros-linked accounts and triggering a wave of federal investigations into progressive nonprofits.

Pirro, a former New York district attorney turned U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia under President Donald Trump, framed the legislation as a bulwark against “anarchist paymasters” fueling nationwide unrest. Speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference flanked by Republican heavyweights like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), she declared: “For too long, shadowy donors like George Soros have bankrolled chaos from the shadows, turning our streets into battlegrounds for their radical agenda. This bill ends that — classifying coordinated funding of violent protests as RICO racketeering, with overnight freezes on their illicit war chests.”

The proposed “Stop Funding Extremist Riots (SFER) Act” builds on Cruz’s earlier Stop FUNDERs Act from July 2025, which targeted “astroturfed” demonstrations but stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Pirro’s version expands RICO’s scope to include any “clandestine financial underwriting of disruptive assemblies,” with penalties up to 20 years in prison and mandatory forfeiture of assets. Co-sponsors include Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), signaling fast-track momentum in the GOP-led Congress.

The timing couldn’t be more charged. Anti-Trump protests have surged since the president’s mass deportation raids began in October, with “No Kings” rallies drawing millions in cities from New York to Los Angeles. Demonstrators decry family separations and National Guard deployments, but conservatives allege Soros orchestration. Open Society Foundations, Soros’s flagship network, has donated over $32 billion to progressive causes since 1979, including $1.2 million to Indivisible — the group behind many “No Kings” events — according to tax filings reviewed by Fox News. Trump himself amplified the rhetoric in an August Truth Social post, calling for RICO charges against Soros and his son Alex for “support of Violent Protests.”

Pirro, 74, has made Soros a staple villain on her Fox shows, once blaming him for funding the 2016 Charlotte riots to boost Democratic turnout. As Trump’s recent appointee to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, she’s overseen probes into Soros-backed prosecutors and protest financiers, creating a “special projects” unit that staffers say targets liberal donors. “This isn’t about silencing speech; it’s about stopping the Soros machine from weaponizing our democracy,” Pirro told reporters, pounding the podium for emphasis.

Republicans erupted in applause. Cruz, who interviewed with Sean Hannity last week claiming “considerable evidence” of Soros funding riots, hailed the bill as “a defining moment for justice.” Heritage Action’s Steve Chartan added: “It protects peaceful protest while crushing the paymasters of anarchy.” Trump, posting on Truth Social, reposted Pirro’s announcement with: “Finally! Drain the Soros swamp — RICO them all!” The post garnered 2.5 million likes within hours.

Democrats and civil liberties advocates decried it as authoritarian overreach. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called it “a blatant assault on the First Amendment, dressed up as patriotism.” The ACLU issued a statement warning: “This bill would chill legitimate philanthropy and turn dissent into a federal felony.” Open Society spokesperson John Christensen reiterated: “These accusations are outrageous and false. We support fundamental freedoms, including peaceful protest — not violence.”

Critics point to Soros’s history as a conservative boogeyman, rooted in antisemitic tropes of Jewish financiers pulling global strings. From Hungary’s “Stop Soros” laws to Trump’s 2020 claims of Soros-funded migrant caravans, the narrative persists despite lack of evidence tying him directly to violence. A 2024 AP analysis found no proof of Soros “orchestrating” Black Lives Matter protests, yet the myth endures in right-wing media.

Legal experts are divided. RICO, originally aimed at mobsters, has broadened to civil rights cases and corporate fraud, but applying it to protest funding raises red flags. “It could freeze accounts overnight, yes — but at what cost to free assembly?” asked NYU law professor Melissa Murray. Precedents like the 2021 Capitol riot prosecutions show RICO’s flexibility, but courts have struck down similar funding restrictions as unconstitutional.

On X, #SorosRICO trended with 1.2 million posts, split between MAGA cheers (“Finally, accountability!”) and liberal mockery (“Pirro’s Soros obsession is peak Fox fiction”). Viral memes depicted Pirro as a superhero battling a cartoon Soros, while progressive accounts shared clips of her past rants, including blaming Soros for the McCloskey couple’s 2020 indictment.

The bill faces hurdles: It needs 60 Senate votes to overcome a filibuster, unlikely without Democratic buy-in. But with GOP control of the House and Trump’s bully pulpit, it could pass as a rider on must-pass spending legislation. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pledged a floor vote by December, tying it to $2 billion in protest-related damages from 2020.

Broader implications loom. If successful, it could ensnare not just Soros but Koch brothers-style conservative donors or tech giants funding advocacy. “This sets a precedent for presidents to weaponize RICO against enemies,” warned Politico’s Marc Caputo. As protests swell — with 500,000 expected in D.C. this weekend — the measure embodies Trump’s retribution era, blending policy with personal vendettas.

Pirro, undeterred, ended her remarks with a nod to her prosecutorial past: “I’ve taken down mob bosses; Soros’s network is next.” Whether it becomes law or another partisan flashpoint, the bill underscores America’s deepening divide: For one side, a shield against chaos; for the other, a gag on grievance. As winter chills the streets, the real freeze may come from Washington.