‘Dangerous’: Trump declares antifa movement as ‘terrorist organisation’ | What is it?

United States President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (local time) that he is going to designate antifa, an anti-fascist movement, as a “major terrorist organisation”.

Ever since he has taken office, Trump has declared several groups as terrorist organisations, including drug cartels. (File/REUTERS)

This comes days after the assassination of right-wing influencer and his ally Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10. Trump’s major announcement on antifa is in line with his administration’s pledge to crack down on left-wing extremism, particularly after the assassination.

Also read: ‘Zero talent’: Donald Trump reacts as ABC suspends ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ over Charlie Kirk remarks

In a heavily worded post on Truth Social, Trump described antifa in his signature all-caps writing style as “a sick, dangerous, radical-left disaster”. He also announced that people or organisations that fund antifa will also be investigated.

“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 in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote.

Also read: Charlie Kirk’s killer Tyler Robinson was ‘fearful’ of being shot by cops before surrender

What is antifa?

The term antifa came into prominence during Donald Trump’s first term as the US President. According to a document available on the US House of Representatives document repository, the term antifa is short for anti-fascist.

Antifa “is not a highly organized movement, nor is it merely an idea. Antifa is a loose affiliation of local activists scattered across the United States and a few other countries,” the document says.

Also, antifa has no official national leadership, “though followers have organized themselves into small, local cells”, according to the document.

This is not the first time Trump has equated antifa to being a “terrorist organisation”. He had made a similar suggestion in 2020 during his first term as well, particularly around nationwide protests in the US after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Trump’s major step against antifa comes days after vice president JD Vance said that the US was “going to go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages in violence” while hosting Charlie Kirk’s show earlier this week.

Ever since he has taken office, Trump has declared several groups as terrorist organisations, including drug cartels. While announcing strikes on boats from Venezuela in international waters, Trump described the people killed in the strikes as “terrorists” and claimed that the boats were carrying drugs to the US.