Trump Declares US Left-Wing Movement Antifa a 'Terrorist Organization'

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday claiming to designate the anti-fascist antifa movement as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

It was not clear what, if any, legal weight the order will have, as no federal law allows the president to label domestic terrorist groups in the U.S. Antifa, is a loosely connected network of activists opposed to fascism, and has no official leadership or organization structure.

Experts warn that by designating subscription to an ideology as terrorism, Trump could use the label as a cudgel against any form of left-wing protest activity.

Trump’s claimed designation comes amid his administration’s wider effort to use the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to crack down on political opponents, stifle left-wing acts of protests and destroy nonprofit organizations that donate to progressive causes.

Trump’s order cited no specific laws and did not give directions to specific agencies. It instead ordered “all relevant executive departments and agencies” to use “all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa.”

Potentially to initiate investigations into nonprofits, the order also directed the unspecified agencies to go after those “for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations.”

Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” refers to a decentralized affiliation of mostly far-left activists who oppose far-right groups through various methods, some more extreme and violent than others.

Trump and many of his fellow Republicans have long used antifa as a catch-all designation against protests or speech they disapprove of.

Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah earlier this month. Even before authorities had a suspect in custody, Trump and his allies moved to falsely assert that a vast left-wing network was responsible both for Kirk’s killing and most of the political violence in the U.S.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) last week said authorities believe the suspect in the killing, Tyler Robinson, acted alone and had no information that would lead to additional arrests.

Trump’s claimed designation came after senior White House officials have used similar labels against Democrats.

“The Democrat Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization,” Stephen Miller, Trump’s homeland security advisor, said last month in a Fox News interview unrelated to Kirk’s death.

Monday’s executive order also marked the second time the president has claimed to designate antifa as a domestic terrorism group.

After Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the country in 2020 over the police killing of George Floyd, Trump in a social media post said the federal government “will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”

In 2021, just days before the end of his first term, Trump also signed a memorandum ordering cabinet officials to classify antifa as a terrorist organization in order to bar “Antifa Associates” from entering the U.S.

White House officials at the time did little in response to Trump’s claimed designation or his memorandum, though both actions raised severe free-speech concerns.

Former senior government officials, including those appointed by Trump, have previously rejected the notion of antifa being a group or an organization.

Former FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, said in multiple congressional hearings during Trump’s first term that though the FBI had opened investigations into people who identify with anti-fascism, the bureau considered it to be an ideology.