Elon Musk on Tuesday (Apr 1) called for the arrest of leaders of “fake” NGOs that receive federal funds. He alleged that they represent a politically connected “uniparty” involved in “money laundering” of taxpayer resources.

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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief’s remarks come amid his efforts to cut annual federal spending by $1 trillion to half the deficit.

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Musk claims fake charities run by Democrats

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“With respect to the non-governmental organizations, these sort of fake NGOs, I think there needs to be a number of arrests,” Musk told Fox News in an interview.

“These are fake charities [run by] mostly Democrats… there’s sometimes a little bit of Republican in there, because they sometimes throw the Republicans a bone to say, ‘Hey, be quiet about this.’ So that’s where you start getting the uniparty thing going on,” he said.

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“But it is overwhelmingly to Democrats, and they give these billions of dollars to NGOs run by Democrats that then go through a whole network of additional NGOs — it’s a giant money laundering scheme. Really at this point, I think the word NGO and money laundering are almost synonymous.”

President Trump’s supporters have commonly used the term “uniparty” to describe politicians of both major parties who hold a similar view on government operations, generally opposed to Trump’s populist agenda.

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While Musk does not have the power to direct criminal investigations, he could influence the idea among Trump’s appointees at the Justice Department and in US attorney offices. 

“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but surely,” Musk said. “I have a maniacal sense of urgency.”

He did not mention any specific NGO or allegedly corrupt leaders.

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Recently, Republicans highlighted a $2 billion environmental grant awarded in 2024 by the Biden administration to a consortium of organizations connected to former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Although she maintains she did not personally benefit financially.

Last week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote on X that the “DOJ/FBI are investigating” that award.

Musk also revealed that he believes an arrest will be made “hopefully this week” for allegedly stealing 400,000 Social Security numbers.

(With inputs from agencies)