President Trump announced Wednesday night that he is formally designating Antifa as a “major terrorist organization.”
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated,” the 47th president added. The announcement followed Trump’s earlier comments this week signaling his intent to move forward with the designation. “It’s something I would do, yeah.”
“I would do that 100 percent. Antifa is terrible. Also, I’ve been speaking to the attorney general about bringing RICO against some of the people…who have been putting up millions and millions of dollars for agitation,” he told reporters. “These aren’t protests, these are crimes what they’re doing.”
The declaration follows the Sept. 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Authorities say Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, carried out the shooting and now faces capital murder charges. Trump linked the attack to radical left-wing extremism, saying Robinson appeared to have been “radicalized on the internet.”
The president’s move to designate Antifa has drawn reactions across the political spectrum. Andy Ngo, senior editor of The Post Millennial and known for his reporting on Antifa, issued a statement on the announcement.
“At the end of the day, any executive declaration of Antifa being a terrorist organization would be symbolic. It was already declared so by the president during the first administration in 2020 as the violent riots began,” Ngo said.
Ngo pointed out that legal challenges persist in classifying Antifa as a terrorist organization under federal law. “The First Amendment has been interpreted by the courts to stop the government from banning organizing based on ideology,” he said.
“And federal terrorism legislation that does criminalize membership in terrorist organizations defines those groups as being international or foreign,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, Ngo highlighted Trump’s mention of the RICO Act as a crucial tool for combating Antifa’s networks. “With that said, what I do think is more noteworthy is the president mentioning the use of RICO to target leftist groups involved in criminal conspiracies. I think that’s the key to dismantling some of the Antifa networks, which are intentionally decentralized and diffused,” he wrote.
