WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday designating a decentralized movement known as Antifa as a domestic terrorist organizationhowever, it remained unclear whether he could actually do that. Trump denounces antifa for political violence.
The Republican president said on social media last week during a national visit to the UK that he made such a designation. He called Antifa “a sick, dangerous, radical left-wing disaster” and called it “highly recommend” its investigating funders.
The White House announced Trump’s executive order shortly after he left for New York, where he addressed the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting on Tuesday.
There are a few things you need to know about Trump and Antifa.
What is Antifa?
In short for “anti-fascist,” Antifa is not a single organization, but rather an umbrella term for left-leaning extremist groups who stand up or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.
Can Trump designate it as a domestic terrorist organization?
ANTIFA is a national organization and therefore is not a candidate to include on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. Dozens of groups are included in the list, including extremist organizations such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The designation is in part important as it allows the Department of Justice to prosecute people who give material support to the entities on that list, even if their support does not cause violence.
However, there is no national equivalent to that list due to the broad First Amendment protection enjoyed by organisations operating within the United States. And, despite the regular calls, especially after the massive shootings by white supremacists, no singular laws exist today to establish domestic terrorist laws.
The executive order did not specify how he would designate Trump as a national terrorist organization.
What exactly does Antifa do?
According to a 2018 Congressional Research Services report, the ANTIFA movement literature encourages followers to pursue legitimate protests and more confrontational behaviour.
The literature suggests that followers will monitor the activity of white supremacist groups, publish perceived enemy personal information online, develop self-defense training regimens, and force external organizations to cancel speakers or events with “fascist bending,” the report said.
People associated with ANTIFA have attended significant demonstrations and counterarguments in recent years, including in August 2017 the mobilization of white supremacist marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. They also existed during a clash with a far-right group in Portland, Oregon.
Why did Trump label Antifa as a domestic terrorist?
He says it’s a very bad “sick” group. The executive order states that Antifa “will achieve its goal of overthrowing the US government using illegal means to organize and carry out a nationwide violence and terrorist campaign. The order calls for the use of any authority on relevant government sectors and agencies to investigate, confuse and dismantle any illegal activities, including the actions of terrorists carried out by ANTIFA or anyone who claims to act on its behalf.
Trump’s history with antifa
In Trump’s first term, he and his administration chose Antifa as the leader of violence in protests triggered by George Floyd’s murdera black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for a few minutes, and Floyd stopped moving and kept it there after pleading for the air.
The power of Attorney William Barr at the time described “anti-farr-like tactics” by out-of-state agitators, saying that Antifa incited violence and engaged in “domestic terrorism” and that it would be dealt with accordingly.
At the time, Trump denounced antifa in the name of violence, and denounced violent mobs, arsonists and marauders.
He recently began picking Antifa by name again, following on September 10th. Assassination of conservative youth activist Charlie KirkHe was a huge supporter of the president.
In exchange for reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump said that he would pursue ANTIFA’s domestic terrorist designation if such a move was supported by PAM Bondi, the current Attorney General and other cabinet members.
“Yeah, that’s what I do,” Trump said. “I do that 100%. Antifa is terrible.”
He previously sought ANTIFA to be designated as a terrorist organisation during his first term after a skirmish in Portland, Oregon.
