Outrage has erupted in Congress over reports that the Biden administration used FinCen, an entity that was created to look for financial crimes, to target "MAGA" and religious Americans it termed "extremists" after January 6, 2021.

A January report confirmed that the Biden Treasury Department directed banks to search Americans' bank private records for terms including "MAGA," "Trump," "Kamala," and transactions at outdoor retailers and purchases of religious texts.

The administration was searching for persons of interest who may have been involved in the January 6 breach of the Capitol ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.

The searches were found by the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government investigation.

Demanding answers

The searches also included subscriptions to media that could contain "extremist views" or travel to an area "with no apparent purpose."

Senate Banking Committee member Tim Scott (R-SC) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding answers for why FinCen was used in this way.

In the letter, Scott said the surveillance "represents a flagrant violation of Americans’ privacy and the improper targeting of U.S. citizens for exercising their constitutional rights without due process."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) also expressed outrage at the surveillance.

"Government may be watching you"

"Did you shop at Bass Pro Shop yesterday or purchase a Bible? If so, the federal government may be watching you,' Jordan posted on X when the report was released in January.

"We now know the federal government flagged terms like 'MAGA' and 'TRUMP,' to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms," he wrote in another post.

"What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop," he added.

Not a proper use

Republicans are understandably outraged that the Biden administration has spied on Americans' financial records and specifically targeted conservatives and Trump supporters.

As Scott told Yellen, "FinCEN was created to stop money laundering and not to spy on Americans. It was not created for political motivations."

Democrats are constantly calling former President Donald Trump a "threat to democracy," but in fact they are much bigger threats to democracy than Trump could ever be.