Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said he would designate shorthand term for “anti-fascists” to describe the dispersed left-wing groups – as “main terrorist organizations,” a move he threatened during his first term.
Over the years, Trump blamed Antifa on various mistakes, from violence against police to the riot of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, aimed at preventing Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
“I will also strongly recommend that those who build Antifa take a thorough investigation based on the highest legal standards and practices,” Trump Write On Wednesday, regarding the Truth Society, Antifa called “a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster.”
Antifa has no heads or national organizations and is composed of “independent, radical, like-minded groups and individuals”, a 2020 Congressional Research Service analysis.
The White House did not immediately provide details on how to apply the tag.
Although federal law enforcement includes combating domestic terrorism under its authority, the United States does not have a designated list of “domestic terrorist organizations”. Trump threatened Stephen Miller, a senior White House official on Monday, vowed that the administration will strip the so-called “huge family terror movement” related to killing right-wing activists Charlie Kirk.
Ideology, not movement
Critics of the Republican president’s warning that the move could be used as an excuse to eliminate dissent and target political rivals.
Although Kirk is a voice conservative, in recent years, the United States has seen violence against members of two political parties as polarization rises sharply and has easy access to guns.
Antifa-Whos’ name comes from a socialist group in Germany in the 1930s, which is against Hitler-Has, a record of facing right-wing groups and participating in citizen protests.
Its members usually dress completely in black, protesting racism, far-right values and things they consider fascism, and saying that violent tactics are sometimes justified in self-defense.
During Trump’s first inauguration in January 2017, masked Antifa and other protesters smashed windows and burned a car in Washington. Later that year, Antifa also participated in a racist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In June 2020, Trump said he would formally designate Antifa as the same “terrorists” as Al Qaeda and the radical Islamic State group.
But FBI Director Chris Wray responded at a congressional hearing that Antifa was a “movement or ideology”, not a group. Antifa is not one of the 95 “designated foreign terrorist organizations” listed on the State Department website on Wednesday.
Critics say Trump is using Kirk’s assassination as an excuse to combat political opponents. Trump initially proposed the idea nationwide protests against George Floyd for Antifa during violent protests in Minneapolis in 2020.
Posted in Dawn on September 19, 2025
