Fact check: Have any transgender groups been designated as terrorist organizations by the FBI in 2024?

1. Why the 2024 claim fails: no FBI terror labels for transgender groups

Multiple contemporaneous records from 2024 show the FBI did not designate transgender groups as terrorist organizations. The public announcements and advisories issued by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security in May 2024 warned of possible threats to Pride-related events and LGBTQ venues, but they did not assert any FBI designation of transgender groups as terrorist organizations ^{[2] [3]}. Separately, international actors like Russia added broad items such as the “LGBT movement” to extremist lists in 2024, but that action is foreign and does not reflect U.S. federal designations by the FBI ^[1]. This distinction matters because domestic federal designations follow a different legal and administrative process than foreign lists.

2. What the 2024 FBI/DHS advisories actually said and why it’s different

The May 2024 advisories from the FBI and DHS focused on the risk of extremist attacks targeting LGBTQ events, not on labeling LGBTQ or transgender organizations as extremists. Those documents aimed to alert venues and organizers about potential threats from foreign terrorist organizations or their supporters during Pride Month, recommending protective measures and vigilance ^{[2] [3]}. The notices’ language emphasized threat mitigation rather than criminalizing activism or identity, and there is no evidence in the 2024 record that the FBI created any new designation targeting transgender people or groups that year ^{[2] [3]}.

3. The 2025 proposals that changed the conversation — proposals, not designations

In 2025 several advocacy and policy groups produced memos and proposals urging the FBI to create new categories such as “Nihilistic Violent Extremists” or “Trans Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism.” The Heritage Foundation and affiliated projects pushed for formal FBI recognition of a trans-focused category, arguing it would capture violence purportedly tied to trans activism ^{[5] [6]}. Reporting in September 2025 described internal FBI consideration of similarly named categories, but those reports are about potential or proposed policy shifts in 2025, not retroactive actions in 2024 ^[4].

4. Civil-rights alarm and critiques of proposed categories

Civil-rights advocates and reporting in 2025 warned that making an identity or broad activism a threat category risks criminalizing people for who they are, not for what they do. Critics argued a label such as “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism” would enable surveillance and enforcement against transgender leaders and organizations, conflating protected expression with violent conduct ^{[4] [7]}. These warnings underscore a key legal and ethical difference: targeting actions that break the law differs from categorizing a social movement as inherently extremist, a distinction central to the debate documented in 2025 sources ^{[4] [7]}.

5. Who is pushing the new labels and what their agendas look like

The push for new FBI categories was led publicly by conservative think tanks and oversight projects, notably the Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project, which framed transgender activism as an ideological threat requiring law-enforcement response ^{[5] [6]}. These organizations have explicit policy agendas favoring stricter domestic-alignment of the FBI with certain political priorities. Reporting on these proposals flagged potential political motives to broaden the FBI’s remit into ideological policing, which opponents say could chill civil liberties ^{[5] [6]}.

6. Reporting differences and claims of disinformation in 2025 coverage

By late 2025 multiple outlets critiqued the proposals as disinformation or manipulative framing, arguing the Heritage-led push misrepresented facts to justify an ideological crackdown ^[7]. Other journalism emphasized the practical consequences of a new category — increased surveillance and enforcement against a marginalized community — and documented backlash from civil-rights groups. The coverage reflects a split: proponents claim new labels would address real threats, while critics see an effort that conflates activism and identity with violent extremism ^{[4] [7]}.

7. Bottom line — timeline, facts, and what remains open

The concrete, verifiable timeline shows no FBI designation of transgender groups as terrorist organizations in 2024; federal statements that year warned of threats to LGBTQ events but did not create new labels aimed at transgender activism ^{[2] [3]}. In 2025, advocacy memos and reported internal discussions proposed new threat categories that would encompass transgender ideology or activism, but those are proposals with contested legality and civil-rights implications ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}. The most consequential open question is whether any formal FBI policy will adopt such categories; as of the latest documents here, that step had not occurred.