WASHINGTON, June 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said Sunday that
the United States would be classifying the loose-knit Antifa movement as a
terrorist group after blaming it for some of the recent spasm of violence in
US cities.
“The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist
Organization,” Trump announced on Twitter, with little elaboration.
The president and some of his top advisors have blamed Antifa and groups
they call “far-left extremists” for hijacking peaceful protests against police
abuses after a black man’s death in Minneapolis.
Nationwide rioting in dozens of cities was sparked by the videotaped death
of the unarmed black man, George Floyd, during his arrest Monday.
In a series of tweets, the US president also congratulated national guard
troops for restoring order Saturday in Minneapolis after days of unrest.
“The ANTIFA led anarchists, among others, were shut down quickly. Should
have been done by Mayor on first night and there would have been no trouble!”
Trump tweeted.
He was referring to Jacob Frey, the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, where
a horrifying video of Floyd’s death — after a police officer kneeled on his
neck — sparked the nationwide outpouring of rage, as well as protests
elsewhere in the world.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even as
onlookers pleaded with him, has been fired and charged with third-degree
homicide.
Antifa — the name is a contraction for anti-fascist — is a secretive
grouping of radical activists that has emerged in recent years, in part in
opposition to racist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
It is not known to have official leaders. Its members, often dressed
entirely in black, protest against racism, far-right values and what they
consider fascism, and say violent tactics are sometimes justified as self-
defense.
The group’s loose, diffuse organization would seem to make it a difficult
target for the terrorist listing.
Domestic terrorist groups, the FBI says on its website, promote “the
unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence … against persons or property
to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”