Booksellers are sounding the alarm over Trump’s anti-antifascist presidential memo.
A group of concerned booksellers recently sent an open letter to the American Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers for Free Expression raising an “urgent concern” about the Trump administration’s NSPM-7 anti-antifascist memorandum. The presidential security memo issued last year
Booksellers have raised an urgent concern over the Trump administration's anti-antifascist memorandum NSPM-7. The memorandum, issued in 2025 following the murder of Charlie Kirk, targets leftist ideas in books, zines, and publications. Booksellers fear the potential criminalization of their industry and urge national organizations to take stronger stances against attempts to criminalize free speech.
The memo broadly defines "anti-fascism" to include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity, allowing for the criminalization of common items associated with left-wing literature and activism. Booksellers are warning that their establishments could be targeted under this broad definition, and they call for the American Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers for Free Expression to publicly address these issues and defend their members from potential prosecution.
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