Trump says he will designate antifa as a terrorist organization

President Donald Trump said he plans to designate the left-wing ideology known as antifa as a “major terrorist organization,” an escalation of rhetoric against his political opponents amid heightened anxiety about polarization following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Politico reported.

Antifa, shorthand for anti-fascists, is an umbrella description for the far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events. It has long been criticized by Trump but he heightened his attacks in a social media post Wednesday while he was on a state visit to the U.K. 

“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,” Trump wrote on X. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”

Trump has previously pledged to designate antifa as a terrorist organization, without detailing the mechanism by which he’d enforce the sanction. Trump made a similar threat amid nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

It’s unclear whether it’s possible for the president to label antifa as a terrorist organization. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray said antifa is “a movement or an ideology,” not an organization, during a Congressional hearing in 2020.