Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has once again turned his attention to billionaire investor George Soros. He accused him of funding protests across America. He went further and suggested that action could come under the RICO Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations) Act. Soros’s foundation, Open Society Foundations, has rejected the allegations as baseless.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said investigators may need to examine Soros and his family for possible fraud. “We will look into Soros because I think this is a RICO case against him and others. It is not just about protests. It is more than that,” he said.
The RICO law is a federal tool often used in cases of organised crime. It has historically targeted mafia-style networks, loan sharking rackets and illegal betting syndicates.
Convictions under RICO can result in long prison terms and financial penalties.
Trump’s suggestion marks one of the most serious legal threats he has directed at Soros in recent months.
The billionaire philanthropist has been a frequent target of right-wing criticism. Soros has donated millions of dollars to Democratic causes and candidates since 2020.
American media reports estimate his contributions to be in the hundreds of millions. In 2025, Soros was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors.
Trump has repeatedly described Soros and his son in hostile terms. In a Truth Social post last month, he warned the pair that “the government is watching you”.
In the same post, he referred to them as a “clan of psychopaths”.
The immediate trigger for Trump’s latest remarks was a protest at a Washington, D.C., restaurant he visited. Demonstrators gathered outside the venue, and Trump later claimed Soros’s network may have provided funding.
“This is not spontaneous,” Trump said in the interview, repeating his claim that Democratic megadonors orchestrate unrest.
The Open Society Foundations quickly issued a statement, dismissing the accusations. It said it does not pay people to protest. In August, the foundation had also clarified that it neither trains nor organises demonstrators directly.
While Trump’s words carry weight among his supporters, any formal legal move under the RICO Act would require federal prosecutors to build a case with substantial evidence. The law remains one of the most powerful tools in American jurisprudence, but its application against a philanthropist like Soros would be unprecedented.
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