On Thursday, September 10th, we sent an open letter to the ABA and ABFE raising urgent concerns about the threat posed by NSPM-7 to booksellers and publishers.
Earlier this year we saw individuals producing and distributing zines convicted of material support for terrorism in Texas. Unfortunately, this attack on free expression has not sent shockwaves through the book industry. It's gone largely unnoticed.
As radical and mission-driven booksellers, we believe it is critical that our industry familiarize itself with the cases of Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Daniel Sanchez Estrada. To take this threat seriously, our networks and membership organizations must prepare to respond forcefully to the criminalization, arrest, and prosecution of booksellers.
Read our full letter below. If you work at an indie bookstore, please let the ABA and ABFE know that you share our concerns!
American Booksellers for Free Expression
CC: American Booksellers Association
Dear ABFE and ABA board members,
We are writing to raise urgent concern about a threat to our freedom as booksellers and ask that ABFE oppose the prosecution of booksellers and publishers under the direction of NSPM-7, President Trump’s “counterterrorism” memorandum that seeks to suppress dissenting political views.
As we continue opposing book bans and other legislative challenges, we must also prepare for the potential criminalization of those in our industry.
Background
National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or NSPM-7, was signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. The memo tasks federal agencies with dismantling anti-fascist networks, which it defines using a sweeping list of beliefs, including progressive positions “on migration, race, and gender” and the rejection of “traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”
The Brennan Center for Justice has stated that “For all its references to violence and intimidation, much of NSPM-7 is squarely directed at speech and nonviolent action by organizations and individuals protected by the First Amendment. One of the targets of the memo is ‘campaigns of… radicalization’—that is, speech aimed at promoting ideas that the administration considers to be ‘radical.’”
This year Trump’s justice department has succeeded in prosecuting individuals for First Amendment activities under the NSPM-7 framework—and print literature played a principle role in the trial.
Following a protest outside an ICE detention facility on July 4, 2025, nine Texans faced charges over a supposed terrorist conspiracy. Dozens of books and zines published, distributed, or possessed by the defendants were introduced as evidence. Two defendants, Ines and Elizabeth Soto, were convicted of “material support for terrorism” largely on the claim that they operated a printing press and ran a book club. Another individual, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, was convicted of “concealing” zines that prosecutors implied, but never demonstrated, were evidence of a crime. The Sotos were each sentenced to 50 years while Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation has called the sentencing a“five-alarm fire for freedom of speech.”
The Prairieland case’s challenge to First Amendment protections has been covered by The Guardian, The Intercept, NPR’s Code Switch, The Progressive, Democracy Now!, and many others.
The Peril to Booksellers
The directives in NSPM-7 combined with the precedent set by the prosecution of individuals in Texas for producing and distributing dissenting literature is a grave threat to our rights as booksellers.
We believe that, if unchecked, this administration could bring similar charges against ABA members under NSPM-7’s stunningly broad definition of “antifa extremism.” Bookstores like ours are in a state of limbo due to our established niche as purveyors of constitutionally-protected progressive, feminist, anti-racist, and/or counter-cultural literature. But the criminalization of left wing literature should also be an immediate concern for general interest bookstores which have an inherent interest in stocking a broad range of viewpoints without fear of government scrutiny or interference.
What Is Needed
As booksellers we have been on the front line of the fight against book bans and censorial government overreach. This work must continue, but challenges to our freedom to read are expanding and we must also now prepare for the potential criminalization, arrest, and prosecution of booksellers. We want to know that our industry advocates are prepared to meet this moment at our side.
Preparedness begins with acknowledging and assessing the threat. We call on the ABFE to examine the Prairieland case, its relationship to NSPM-7, and the implications for bookstores and our customers. We believe that the federal government’s attack on intellectual freedom under the guise of “counterterrorism” deserves to be addressed by the ABFE publicly.
Bullies thrive in an environment of silence and isolation, but bookstores like ours will be strengthened by the knowledge that we do not face this threat alone. The ABA should communicate its intention to defend members from prosecution under the NSPM-7 framework, or equivalent state and federal directives, as a result of bookstore inventory, programming, or speech.
Thank you for the important work that you do on behalf of booksellers and our communities. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to read and consider this call to action!
Sincerely,
Firestorm Books (Asheville, NC)
Autumn Leaves Books (Ithaca, NY)
Boneshaker Books (Minneapolis, MN)
Burning Books (Buffalo, NY)
Charis Books & More (Decatur, GA)
Moon Palace Books (Minneapolis, MN)
Pilsen Community Books (Chicago, IL)
Word Up Community Bookshop / Librería Comunitaria (New York, NY)