MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump: Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization

Antifa is “a network of radical left-wing terrorists seeking to overthrow the government,” Trump's government said

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday officially designating Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

The document explicitly names Antifa as a “militarist, anarchist enterprise” that uses violence and intimidation to achieve its goals, including the overthrow of the US government. It also claims Antifa engages in organized riots, assaults on law enforcement, and threats against political figures.

The order instructs all federal departments and agencies to use “all applicable authorities” to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle Antifa's illegal operations, and to take action against those who finance them.

The move comes amid a heated national debate over political violence, with Trump claiming that “most of the violence comes from the left.” However, many legal experts contend that the federal government has no authority to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization. Critics are concerned the order could be used to justify a broader crackdown on political dissent.

Trump had made a similar announcement in 2020 but did not take any concrete steps at that time.

“President Donald J. Trump is right: the problem of violence is on the left. That is why he has just designated Antifa — a network of radical left-wing terrorists seeking to overthrow the government through violence and unrest — as a domestic terrorist organization,” the White House said in a statement, which also lists examples of the “movement's long history of terrorizing our communities,” including attacks on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, police officers, attendees at conservative political events, and Trump supporters.

“Antifa terror is part of the trend of radical left-wing violence that has permeated the nation in recent years, incited by constant lies and vicious attacks on Republicans by unbalanced Democratic politicians, well-funded left-wing organizations, and their allies in the media,” adds the document.

“Antifa as a Terrorist Threat. 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,” Trump wrote in his order.

“Antifa recruits, trains, and radicalizes young Americans to engage in this violence and suppression of political activity, then employs elaborate means and mechanisms to shield the identities of its operatives, conceal its funding sources and operations in an effort to frustrate law enforcement, and recruit additional members,” he further warned.

Hence, “I hereby designate Antifa as a 'domestic terrorist organization',” he stated.

”This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person,” the President also mentioned.