In a move already sending shockwaves through Washington and Wall Street alike, Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a groundbreaking bill that would classify coordinated protest funding — specifically tied to George Soros’s vast global network — as organized crime under the federal RICO statute.
The legislation, officially titled the Restoring Integrity to Civil Order Act, was unveiled late Thursday on the Senate floor. Cruz called it “a long-overdue safeguard against the weaponization of money to destabilize America from within.” What he proposed, however, is far more sweeping than a mere ethics reform — it’s a legal torpedo aimed at one of the most powerful financial empires in modern politics.
“This isn’t about silencing dissent,” Cruz said in his fiery opening remarks. “It’s about identifying and prosecuting those who bankroll chaos under the guise of activism. When billionaires fund destruction, that’s not free speech — that’s organized crime.”
The bill would grant the Department of Justice authority to investigate and freeze assets linked to organizations found to have financed protests or riots that resulted in property damage, threats to public safety, or obstruction of government operations. Under Cruz’s proposal, any domestic or international financial entity funneling money to such groups could be subject to asset seizure, criminal penalties, and civil forfeiture — even before conviction.
But it was his next statement that left both chambers buzzing. “For too long, figures like George Soros have hidden behind philanthropy while underwriting movements that seek to tear this country apart,” he declared. “That era ends today.”
Almost immediately, the reaction was electric. Within hours, political analysts, media outlets, and think tanks were scrambling to assess the implications. Soros, through his Open Society Foundations, has long been one of the world’s most prolific financiers of liberal causes, spending billions to promote progressive candidates, judicial reform, and social movements in over 100 countries. His critics — Cruz chief among them — have accused him of using those funds to manipulate domestic politics and sow division.
A senior Republican aide familiar with the drafting of the bill described it bluntly: “Cruz didn’t write this as a warning. He wrote it as a strike order.”
Sources close to the senator say he has been assembling evidence for months, working with financial analysts and former DOJ officials to map the flow of foreign-linked funds into U.S. political activism. “What they found,” one source said, “was a web of nonprofits, shell accounts, and charitable fronts moving money faster than regulators can track.”
The RICO Act — originally designed in the 1970s to combat organized crime syndicates — allows prosecutors to target individuals involved in a criminal enterprise, even if they didn’t commit the crimes directly. Applying that framework to political financing would be unprecedented — and explosive.
Under the proposed bill, any individual or organization found “knowingly contributing to coordinated acts of civil disruption” could face up to 20 years in federal prison, along with frozen accounts and forfeited assets. The legislation would also compel financial institutions to report suspicious transfers to political or activist groups exceeding $100,000 within a 12-month period.
Cruz’s allies have framed the move as a necessary escalation. “This is about stopping political money laundering,” said Senator Josh Hawley, who immediately co-sponsored the bill. “If you can trace the funds from a protest that burns down a police car back to a billionaire’s account, that’s not activism — that’s conspiracy.”
Democrats, however, were quick to denounce the measure as authoritarian overreach. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it “a dangerous abuse of power aimed at silencing dissent,” warning that it could be used to target legitimate social movements. “Ted Cruz wants to criminalize protest,” she said on the Senate floor. “That’s not patriotism. That’s paranoia.”
Still, insiders say the proposal may have more traction than critics expect. Following the wave of protests that erupted across major cities in 2025 — several of which ended in violence and tens of millions in property damage — public polling shows a surge in support for stricter funding oversight.
Behind the scenes, Cruz’s team is already preparing for what one aide called “the financial equivalent of a nuclear retaliation.” If the bill gains momentum, it could empower federal agencies to immediately freeze or investigate accounts connected to Soros-linked foundations, both in the U.S. and abroad. “It’s a legal first strike,” said one political consultant. “If it passes, Soros’s influence machine could lose access to hundreds of millions overnight.”
While George Soros himself has not responded publicly, a spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations issued a terse statement late Thursday, calling Cruz’s proposal “a baseless attack on civil freedom and international cooperation.” The statement read, “We have always operated transparently and lawfully. Senator Cruz’s attempt to weaponize RICO law against political opposition represents a grave threat to democracy.”
But among conservatives, the move is already being hailed as a defining stand. Commentators on Fox News and Newsmax praised Cruz for “doing what others were too afraid to do.” Jeanine Pirro called it “a direct hit against the puppet master of modern chaos,” adding, “If this passes, the money trail ends here.”
By evening, the hashtag #CruzVsSoros was trending nationwide. Supporters flooded social media with calls to “Defund the Puppet Masters,” while protesters outside the Capitol demanded the bill’s immediate withdrawal.
And yet, even Cruz’s critics admit — this time feels different. “He’s not bluffing,” one Democratic strategist said. “He’s playing for keeps.”
For Ted Cruz, it’s more than political theater. It’s a war of ideology — money versus sovereignty, power versus accountability. And as one of his aides put it late Thursday night, “When the dust settles, either Soros blinks… or America changes forever.”