Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that designates antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization”, reviving a controversial pledge from his first presidency in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing on 10 September and yesterday’s memorial service.
“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,” the order reads.
The president first made the announcement on his Truth Social platform last week, writing: “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. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
The move comes after the killing of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah. Trump blamed “radical left wing political violence” for the shooting, saying it is “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.” No evidence has been presented linking the suspected Kirk assassin to antifa.
Some extremist experts are however questioning the president’s authority to make such a designation. Unlike foreign terrorist organizations like Islamic State, no legal framework exists for designating domestic groups as terrorist organizations due to first amendment concerns about criminalizing political ideologies.
Because of that, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism who has faced Congress as an expert witness on hate groups and extremism, said the move was “ridiculous on its face” and that Trump’s declaration appears to have “no basis in law or fact”.
“There is no domestic terrorist organization list in the US,” Beirich said. “There is a mechanism to declare foreign organizations terrorist organizations, and when that happens there are legal mechanisms to hamper them including such things as material support. But none of that exists domestically and it doesn’t appear there would be a way to apply that designation to antifa”.
She also added that antifa is not an organization with hierarchy or dues, which makes it unclear how it can be declared a terrorist organization in the first place “unless new legislation is proposed or Trump comes up with some extra-legal mechanism that I can’t even imagine”.
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist”, operates as a decentralized network of face-covered street activists rather than a formal organization with leadership or membership rolls. Former FBI director Christopher Wray had consistently characterized it as “a movement or an ideology”, not an organization that could be formally designated.
This marks Trump’s second attempt to brand antifa as a terrorist organization. During 2020 protests following George Floyd’s murder, he posted: “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” No formal designation followed.
And while Trump may not be able to formally designate antifa as a terrorist organization, the administration could prioritize investigations of individuals claiming antifa affiliation, potentially leading to more frequent arrests using existing criminal statutes.
When Trump first came into office, he pardoned Proud Boys and Oath Keepers convicted in the 6 January Capitol attack, marking a contrast in his treatment of far-right extremists versus leftwing extremists.
Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who was convicted and pardoned for his role in 6 January, posted on X ahead of the announcement: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Because I know a few guys”.
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