As the nation grappled with widespread unrest in response to the death of George Floyd in custody, Former President Donald Trump has taken aim at Antifa, blaming it for much of the violence that erupted. There are a number of largely autonomous groups spread across the United States, forming the “alt-right,” a political movement that relies heavily on police violence and the use of force against police officers. These movements have a long history of a well-known militant presence at protests in the US and around the world.
In a statement, Attorney-General William Barr said Antifa had incited violence and been involved in domestic terrorism, calling it a “terrorist organization” that was being treated appropriately. The better-known, loosely organized Antifa groups in the US include the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People (NOCP), and the International Socialist Organization (ISO).
Trump has blamed Antifa for violence against violent mobs, arsonists and looters. While the Justice Department referred the issue of how to identify members to the U.S. attorney’s office, he told reporters that “Antifa is a big element of the protests.” Trump made similar comments, joining Republican lawmakers in calling for Antifa to be classified as a terrorist organization after the Portland shooting. President Trump tweeted a false claim that an elderly protester who was shoved by police in Buffalo, New York, was “begging” by an anti-fascist group in the United States.
He also made the comments after Antifa supporters clashed with far-right group Proud Boys. Former president Trump again declared that he would classify Antifa as a terrorist organization. Antifa, short for “antifascist,” is a loosely affiliated, left-leaning – and anti-racist – group in the US that monitors and persecutes the activities of local neo-Nazis. The movement has taken the form of local organizations nationwide, particularly on the West Coast, but it does not yet have a unified structure or national leadership.
Former US President Donald Trump has said America considers the far-left group Antifa a terrorist organization. Former President Trump singled out Antifa, calling it “the old left,” despite initially claiming that “many sides” were to blame. While some members are individually anonymous, some groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Rise Above Resistance, are particularly well organized and active. In a tweet, Trump said: ‘The United States of America will classify Antifa as a terrorist organization’. The US organization, known as Antifa in the US, includes autonomous activist groups that aim to achieve their political goals.
As the nation grappled with widespread unrest in response to the death of George Floyd in custody, Former President Donald Trump has taken aim at Antifa, blaming it for much of the violence that erupted. The Trump administration has blamed the far-left group for the violent clashes between protesters and police in Charlottesville, Virginia. Antifa, a largely autonomous group that spreads across the United States, is known for its militant presence at protests and is made up of a broad range of political movements – left-wing – some of which make up a large part of the anarchist and anti-fascist movement in the United States. The movement is known for behaving in many ways, from violent confrontations with the police to the use of force against police officers.
In 2012, Antifa supporters used hammers, baseball bats and police truncheons to storm a Chicago restaurant and attack those gathered. The better-known and loosely organized Antifa groups in the United States include the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People (NOCP), and the American Civil Liberties Union. Donald Trump’s election in 2016 led to an increase in antifa activity in the US, as supporters grew increasingly concerned that fascism and other right-wing ideologies were breaking new ground in American politics.
It received particular attention in 2016 when a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a group of protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one of the protesters. Antifa also made headlines in 2017 in Berkeley, California, where it smashed windows and hurled Molotov cocktails at police officers to stop right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking. In 2020, it made headlines again when Former President Trump blamed the movement for the riots and looting that accompanied the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being overpowered by white police officers after kneeling on his neck for minutes.
In 2018, Trump tried to designate Antifa a terrorist organization, even though the US government has never designated foreign groups as terrorist organizations, let alone have a central structure. The word “Antifa” can be used for anti-fascists, but is still used as an umbrella term for a large number of anti-fascist groups. In the United States, it spread from New York City to Washington D.C., characterized as a movement that has since spread around the world.