WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday that officially named Antifa as a domestic terrorist group. The White House said the action was a direct response to the recent murder of right-wing associate Charlie Kirk and a pattern of what the administration considers politically-motivated violence that has been going on for a while.
President Trump called Antifa a “militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government” in the order. He said that the gang was employing “violence and terrorism” to stop free expression and break the law. The ruling says, “Because of the pattern of political violence mentioned above that is meant to stop legal political activity and make it harder for the rule of law to work, I hereby declare Antifa a ‘domestic terrorist organization.'”
A Big Net for a Vague Group
The ruling says that Antifa utilizes “elaborate means and mechanisms to shield the identities of its operatives,” even if it is hard to define the group. It says that the group employs the same ways to obscure where it gets its money and get new members.
The directive covers a lot of ground, saying that U.S. officials can now go after “any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for whom Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support.”
Since his first term, Trump has often vowed to take action against what he calls Antifa, accusing the group for a number of violent crimes, such as the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Critics of the proposal say it might be used as an excuse to go after political opponents and silence dissent.
The Setting: Charlie Kirk’s Death and Violence in Politics
The name comes following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10 at a university in Utah. Tyler Robinson, 22, is the suspect in the shooting and has been charged with murder. Investigators say he justified the crime by saying that Kirk was spreading “hatred.”
The Kirk killing has brought attention back to political polarization and social disturbance, even if violence against people from both political parties has happened in the U.S. in recent years. The name “antifa” is short for “anti-fascist.” It has a history of fighting right-wing groups and breaking the law. People who are part of it generally wear black and say that their violent actions are necessary to protect themselves against what they see as racism and fascism. The movement took part in protests against racist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.