I would say NGOs and non-profits have been weaponized for quite a long time
For example, Sierra Club is just the environmental activist arm of the Democrat Party. Policies that Congress will not pass, are turned into lawsuits by Sierra Club against the government. Friendly courts will rule in their favor and force willing Fed.gov bureaucrats to create new de-facto environmental laws
Or when Obama and Holder wanted to promote their racial policies for political purposes and social engineering, they promote/support the creation of BLM.
Of course, such politicized NGOs are excellent money-laundering vehicles as well
lawsuits by Sierra Club against the government. Friendly courts will rule in their favor
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Yes
But there is also infiltrated watermelons in fed agency admin that cave in arbitration and then settles out of court and pays the extortion and court lawyer $$$ to the watermelons.
The latter happens more often than the former.