On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order designating "Antifa" as a "domestic terrorist organization." This was reported by The Guardian, writes UNN.
Antifa is a militant, anarchist entity that openly calls for the overthrow of the United States government, law enforcement, and our legal system.
The move came after the murder of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah. Trump blamed "radical left-wing political violence," saying it was "directly responsible for the terrorism we are now seeing in our country, and it must stop immediately."
As the publication notes, no evidence has been presented to date linking the suspect in Kirk's murder to Antifa.
However, some extremism experts question the president's authority to make such an announcement. Unlike foreign terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, there are no legal mechanisms in the United States to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations — due to the First Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the criminalization of political ideologies.
Trump said he would designate Antifa a terrorist organization18.09.25, 10:56 • [views_3249]
In this regard, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, who testified before Congress as an expert on hate and extremism, said that the move was "absurd from the start" and that Trump's statement "has no legal or factual basis."
There is no list of domestic terrorist organizations in the United States. "There is a mechanism for designating foreign organizations as terrorist, and then legal levers can be applied, including a ban on material support. But at the domestic level, there is no such mechanism, and there is no clear way to apply this to Antifa."
She also added that Antifa is not an organization with a hierarchy or membership fees, so it is unclear how it could even be designated as a terrorist organization, "unless new legislation is proposed or Trump invents some extra-legal mechanism that I can't even imagine."
Addition
"Antifa" — short for "anti-fascists" — operates as a decentralized network of masked street activists, not as a formal organization with leadership or membership lists. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray has consistently characterized it as a "movement or ideology," not an organization that can be formally declared terrorist.
This is Trump's second attempt to declare Antifa a terrorist organization. During the 2020 protests after George Floyd's murder, he wrote: "The United States of America will designate ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization." No formal action was taken then.
And while Trump will likely not be able to formally grant Antifa such status, the administration may focus on investigating the activities of individuals associated with Antifa, which could lead to more frequent arrests under existing criminal statutes.
Recall
On Wednesday, September 10, conservative activist Charlie Kirk died after an assassination attempt. The founder of Turning Point USA was wounded during a speech at Utah Valley University. Shots were fired from a nearby building.
On September 16, Tyler Robinson was officially charged with aggravated murder of political activist Charlie Kirk. The Utah prosecutor will seek the death penalty.