Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday designating “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.”
The term Antifa is short for “anti-fascism” and refers to a decentralized movement with no headquarters, members, leaders, or formal structure.
In other words, “Antifa” essentially describes an ideology under which one or more individuals take action against far-right, racist, or fascist groups and views.
Trump had stated as early as 2020 that he would declare “Antifa” a terrorist organization, in the wake of the protests and the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing of George Floyd by police officers.
The immediate trigger for now declaring “Antifa” a terrorist organization—fulfilling a campaign promise—was the killing of Charlie Kirk, which Trump attributed to the “radical left,” although there is currently no evidence publicly confirming such a link.
The fact that “Antifa” does not refer to a specific organization but rather to an umbrella movement raises questions about how Trump intends to target those who self-identify as Antifa.
Individuals who describe themselves as Antifa are typically leftists, anarchists, or communists and, despite ideological differences among them, often share anti-government, anti-capitalist, pro-LGBTQ, and pro-immigration views, among others.
Federal law grants the executive branch the authority to designate only foreign groups as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.” The government can freeze their assets and criminalize the provision of material support to them, according to reporting by the NYT.
There is no corresponding legal authority that allows the designation of a domestic group as a terrorist organization, even if Antifa were in fact an organization rather than an ideology.
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
Trump, as well as Vice President J. D. Vance, have claimed that violence in the United States mainly stems from the “left.”
However, studies indicate that the “largest source of extremist violence” in the U.S. overwhelmingly comes from the far right, not the left.
A recent Justice Department study, since removed, found that from 1990 onward, far-right extremists were responsible for 227 ideologically motivated attacks and 520 deaths, while radical left-wing extremists were responsible for 42 attacks and 78 deaths.
