Donald Trump has labelled Antifa as a domestic terrorist organisation – despite no US law allowing such a designation.
During his last administration, Trump tried and failed to get the protest group, which has been linked to violence, designated as a terrorist organisation.
It appears this time, he’s buckling down.
In an executive order, he wrote: ‘Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.
‘Antifa recruits, trains, and radicalises young Americans to engage in this violence and suppression of political activity…
‘Because of the aforementioned pattern of political violence designed to suppress lawful political activity and obstruct the rule of law, I hereby designate Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organisation.”‘
Here’s all you need to know.
What is Antifa?
Antifa – short for anti-fascist – is a left-wing, anti-fascist, political activist movement that comprises activist groups, who aim to achieve their political objectives through direct action as opposed to policy reform.
The group have made their presence known at protests around the US, notably at the Charlottesville alt-right protests centred around the Unite The Right Rally in 2017.
Individuals involved in the movement tend to hold anti-capitalist views, and subscribe to such ideologies as communism, socialism and Marxism.
They are known to go a step further than liberal anti-racists by seeking out organised fascist events and trying to shut them down.
They are known to use various protest tactics such as digital activism and harassment against those they identify as fascist, racist, or having far-right beliefs.
Their willingness to use violence also sets them apart from other left-wing activists, although according to a BBC report, some members have denounced the use of force and said they would only resort to using violence as a form of self-defence.
Why is Trump designating Antifa a ‘domestic terrorist organisation’?
Trump has claimed the organisation is linked to the group’s ‘terrorist actions’, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.
In American law, the government is able to label overseas groups, like Al-Qaeda, as ‘foreign terrorist organisations. But there’s no legal equivalence which allows the same designation to be used for domestic groups.
Domestic terrorism is a term which involves those who ‘conduct acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.’
Normally, those arrested on charges of domestic terrorism are individuals, but no groups have ever been designated as such – even the KKK.
So why Antifa?
Trump has long seen Antifa, an extremist left-wing group, as an enemy of his party.
In July 2019, Trump expressed his intention to classify Antifa as a terrorist organisation after the group clashed with Trump supporters and the alt-right following the 2016 election.
He has since claimed this week that he wants to target those who support Antifa – but Antifa doesn’t have a designated leader, known members, or financial supporters.
What has the reaction been to Trump’s decision?
His crackdown on Antifa has been met with praise from the right, but suspicion from the left.
Why now, and why not crack down on other ‘terrorist’ organisations as well, such as the KKK and Proud Boys?
There are fears the designation could spark more violence, with Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who was pardoned by Trump, writing on X: ‘Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Because I know a few guys.’
Others have pointed out that the phrasing of Trump’s order points out that anyone who obstructs Federal Law enforcement, like ICE, while protesting or filming them, could face a domestic terrorism charge.
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