1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I write to demand immediate congressional hearings to investigate the Justice Department's systematic abuse of prosecutorial power under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), issued September 2025, and specifically the operations of Joint Task Force Vanguard, led by prosecutors Brian Lynch and Jason Kellhofer. The evidence of prosecutorial failure is unambiguous. In Minnesota alone, 39 people were charged in connection with a single anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18, 2026. At least 19 charges were dismissed after sworn federal affidavits were directly contradicted by video footage. Under Section 111 (assault on a federal officer), prosecutors charged 38 people. Of 20 resolved cases, 19 were dismissed and one pleaded guilty to reduced charges. One defendant was acquitted in under two hours. This pattern demonstrates that cases lack factual foundation. More troubling, the DOJ is using conspiracy statutes to criminalize protected speech and assembly. Individuals have been charged with federal conspiracy for organizing protests, distributing shields, using encrypted messaging, and performing music at activist gatherings. None of these constitute violence. Yet prosecutors are transforming routine protest tactics into felonies without proving actual violence or harm. The task force's mandate explicitly targets ideology: "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity" and "hostility towards those who hold traditional American views." An Associated Press investigation found that "antifa" appears almost nowhere in actual court records, despite the administration's rhetoric. The government is prosecuting based on a designation it cannot substantiate in court. This extends nationwide. In Texas, nine people received combined 450-year sentences for a noise demonstration. In Atlanta, activists were charged for a 2022 protest years after the incident. The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted for paying informants to infiltrate hate groups. This is not law enforcement; it is weaponization of the Justice Department against political opponents. Congress must investigate whether federal agents submitted false affidavits, convene hearings with Lynch and Kellhofer, and enact legislation prohibiting prosecutions based on ideology. Strengthen protections for protest activity. Establish prosecutorial accountability mechanisms. Defund Joint Task Force Vanguard. The Constitution does not tolerate federal power used to criminalize political opposition. Congress must act immediately to restore the rule of law.