Antifa in Seattle Washington. Fox News/Cameron Higby.
President Donald Trump has declared Antifa a domestic terror organization. Fox News. Trump asserted that Antifa is a direct threat to the United States government, law enforcement and the rule of law. Antifa, ostensibly opposed to fascism, has been involved with many crimes and riots throughout the United States. The movement is decentralized with no designated leadership, something that could complicate prosecutions. The designation appears to be related to the death of Charlie Kirk, though the assassin had no formal links to Antifa discovered as of this writing.
My Comment:
I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand this is long overdue. Antifa is a de facto terror group that only has had the success they have because they have intuitional support from both the Democratic Party and many rich donors. Their actions are linked to many murders, riots and general chaos and they really don't have a leg to stand on morally. Though they claim to be opposed to fascism, their actions are inherently fascistic, given they try and silence the opposition and use violence to get what they want.
On the other hand, I don't expect this to actually do anything. Declaring Antifa as a terror group is fine, but as a domestic terror group they would not face the kinds of things international terror groups do, like enhanced spying, bans from banking and even kinetic action. Without those things, I don't see how much changes.
Trump is talking about going after the people funding Antifa and I guess that could help. However, these are communists and are often in small cells that self-fund. Getting rid of some of the funders, like George Soros, might help a bit, but these folks are usually unemployed and doing it for free. It would help, but it wouldn't actually stop the problem.
Of course the fact that the FBI and other federal police will be focusing on Antifa might change a few things. Under the previous administrations, including Trump 1.0, Antifa was allowed to operate mostly freely and almost never faced federal charges. Instead they faced sympathetic state charges that usually resulted in a slap on the wrist at worst, and dismissed charges in most cases. Given that won't be the case I think a few of the worst of the worst will be caught up in the crackdown while the least committed will stay home.
What I do know is that the media is running cover for Antifa again. They are describing it as an idea, not an organization, and some even saying that anyone that is opposed to fascism, which doesn't actually exist anymore, could be caught up on it. This ignores the fact that Antifaschistische Aktion was a historical organization and was a major reason why the Nazis were elected in the first place. Though Antifa is decentralized, it is organized and is a real organization, in the same way al-Qaeda and ISIS are now after much of their leadership was destroyed in the wars of the last decade.
Regardless, folks are seeing this as mostly a symbolic move that won't do much. I think a few people might be rounded up and more than a few sources of funding will be shut off. But the real problem is that neither of those things will get rid of Antifa permanently. Indeed, I can see them going dormant in response to this, well, at least the less dedicated ones. I do fear that the true believers that have nothing else in their life but Antifa will instead double down, leaving the whole thing as a wash.
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