Lately I’ve had an ear worm that goes like this [70s Dr. Pepper jingle tune]:
♫ I’m Antifa, she’s Antifa, He’s Antifa, we’re Antifa!
Wouldn’t you like to be Antifa too?
Be Antifa, Be Antifascist! Be Antifa, Be Antifascist!♫
Antifa is the word du jour and simply means “antifascist.” After all, one could plausibly argue that it’s every American’s patriotic duty to be antifascist. Right?
Not so fast. On September 22, Trump declared Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” and outlined his rationale. Two weeks later, he held an Antifa Roundtable, where staff and journalists articulated — without evidence — just how dangerous they believe Antifa to be.
Trump’s Executive Order says that Antifa is a militarist, anarchist, well-organized group with the goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and our legal system. Through illegal armed conflicts, riots, and assaults on law enforcement, it is fomenting and executing political violence and terrorism.
During the Roundtable, Trump and friends cast Antifa as radical-left extremists/agitators/terrorists/gangs/thugs/anarchists [choose your noun]. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see myself as any of those. Well, except for occasionally being an agitator.
AG Pam Bondi says Democratic administrations turned a blind eye to Antifa. FBI Director Kash Patel said it has hidden and conspired with prior administrations and built a temple of corruption. To bring down its network, he plans to attack its funding mechanisms.
But the Coup de Grâce was DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s assertion that Antifa wants to kill law enforcement, reporters, and citizens and is as sophisticated as TDA, MS13, Isis, Hezbollah, and Hamas. And she said this with a straight face.
Wow. Pretty persuasive, huh?
What’s a patriotic American to do? For starters, know the facts:
What Antifa IS and ISN’T
Antifa is not a well-funded, well-organized domestic terrorist group. It doesn’t have a network, nor one overarching goal to take down the U.S. Government nor law enforcement, nor even to strike terror into the hearts of Americans.
In fact, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate and extremist groups across the country (and until recently shared intelligence with the FBI), does not list any Antifa/antifascist groups. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
Antifa is consistently described as decentralized groups of individuals, with the unifying ideology of opposing fascism and racism. Today’s Antifa typically also opposes all forms of bigotry, sexism, and anti-union fervor, but especially far-right extremism. Its activists may include anarchists, communists, and socialists, in addition to everyday citizens.
Antifascist groups have been around for decades, initially appearing in post-WWI Italy and Germany before they formed in the United States. Antifascist groups in the U.S. reemerged in the 70s, in response to a rise in neo-Nazi/white supremacist activity. Interestingly, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) stated in their 2020 report “Are Antifa Members Domestic Terrorists?” that although few principles exist across all groups, U.S. Antifa cells have a core purpose of tracking groups with fascist ideologies, including racist skinheads, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists/nationalists – ideology advocated by Trump’s Homeland Security advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s fascist policies. This would explain the rise in Antifa visibility.
Politifact states that Antifa is not an organization with an official membership, leader, or base of operations. Luke Baumgartner, research fellow with George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told PBS: “There is no hierarchical organizational structure. It is primarily a movement and an ideology. And there are no leaders ... no assets ... no bank accounts or revenue streams to go after ...” Any one of us could join or start an ad hoc Antifa group.
Groups tend to form organically, both off and online, often using encrypted channels to plan and coordinate activities. Many have adopted the antifascist symbol, waving the double flag image first seen in 1932 Germany. They typically wear all black and disguise their identities.
Antifa has been sighted in all parts of the country, from NYC to Atlanta, Austin, Sacramento, Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver and others. Photo and video evidence shows groups marching in protests and occasionally vandalizing property or assaulting law enforcement or alt-right group members. They have also engaged in doxing their targets.
Antifa is not always violent. According to the CRS, “Some members are willing to commit crimes, some violent, to promote their beliefs, although much [A]ntifa activity involves nonviolent protest such as hanging posters, delivering speeches, and marching.” Succinctly put, Trump incorrectly paints all Antifa groups as violent when many are not.
Antifa is less of a violent threat than white supremacist groups, according to data from the FBI and DHS. “Days after [Charlie] Kirk’s shooting, the Department of Justice quietly scrubbed a now-archived report from its website finding that far-right extremists have killed more Americans than any other domestic terrorist group,” reports The Guardian. “The last decade in the U.S. has seen a steady drumbeat of mass murders by white supremacists who were radicalized by anti-immigrant ideology...” Indeed, this stokes Antifa’s anti-Trump fury.
Factually draws the conclusion that “organizational ambiguity complicates efforts to measure membership, attribute actions, or design policy responses, because activity ranges from community education and research into extremist groups to confrontational street tactics.”
Just as you can be an environmentalist without spiking trees to harm timber cutters, you can be antifascist without joining a violent Antifa group. But is there danger in aligning with even a non-violent Antifa group?
Dangers of Trump’s “domestic terrorist” designation
Legality
It’s important to note that, although the federal government can designate a group a Foreign Terrorist Organization, “[t]here is no legal mechanism,” asserts Baumgartner, to “formally establish any group as a domestic terror organization.” More important, “there is no associated crime in the federal penal code...” But as we know, that won’t stop Trump from taking extrajudicial action – especially now that he enjoys presidential immunity.
However, if Antifa members violate individual laws, like inciting or participating in violence or vandalism, law enforcement will act. Therein lies the danger: If any of us antifascists are protesting in the vicinity of an Antifa group which chooses to use violence, we may get caught in the crossfire. Literally.
Trump’s designation signals that his administration will devote resources to finding the financial backers of Antifa groups. However, “any actions the administration takes to charge people under a domestic terrorism framework will likely face a ‘robust legal challenge,’” says Faiza Patel, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.
Violating civil rights
The CRS explains that the FBI “declines to designate any organization a ‘domestic terrorist organization.’ Doing so may infringe on First Amendment-protected free speech – belonging to an ideological group in and of itself is not a crime in the United States.” So we’ve got that going for us.
However, “Antifa is sometimes used as a catch-all term by conservative politicians and commentators to include other liberal and left-wing groups that they politically object to,” states the BBC. Plus, “critics argue this approach risks conflating protest, research, and mutual aid with criminal conduct, and raises questions about selective enforcement and civil liberties.” Violations of both are evident in recent videos of ICE and the National Guard.
Casting a wide net
Moreover, the Trump Regime has the ear of right-wing media, who will amplify the so-called Antifa threat to further divide Americans into two different realities.
“If the goal is chilling speech and activism,” Patel said, this is “hugely consequential.”
If all Americans are, by definition, pro-democracy/antifascist, then we are all at risk of being targeted by the Trump Regime as Antifa anarchists. Although by far the largest portion of us do not intend to foment nor enact violence, we are against Trump’s fascism. Thus, the danger is that, if we are in a protest crowd and just ONE of us chooses violence, the National Guard will have an excuse to match or exceed that force.
Then Trump will have his excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act.
Our responsibility
- Amplify TRUTH. Call your reps, and ask them to push back against Trump’s designation – because it threatens the safety of non-violent, peaceful civilian antifascist protestors.
- Share this article and others referenced here, plus videos of non-violent protests.
- Show up at protests and rallies, and if you’re comfortable, use “Antifa” or “antifascist” on signs; there’s safety in numbers of peaceful citizens. They can’t arrest us all.
Law enforcement will now be looking for Antifa agitators at protests. WE MUST STAY PEACEFUL, so they have no excuse to use force. Because we ARE Antifa. Stay safe out there!
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