- US President Trump designated Antifa as a major terrorist organisation on Thursday
- Trump warned that those funding Antifa will face highest legal scrutiny
- Antifa is a secretive radical activist group opposing racism and far-right values
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he is designating the left-wing group 'Antifa' as "a major terrorist organisation" and also warned that those funding it will be investigated "with the highest legal standards and practices".
This has happened days after Trump's close aide and right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
What is Antifa?
It is a secretive grouping of radical activists that has emerged in recent years. It is not known to have official leaders. Its members, often dressed entirely in black, protest against racism, far-right values and what they consider fascism, and say violent tactics are sometimes justified as self-defense.
Background
Antifa members view themselves as part of a protest tradition that arcs back to opposition groups in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prior to World War II. US antifa activism traces its roots back to antiracists who mobilized in the 1980s while opposing the activities of racist skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neo-Nazis.
Antifa groups in US
Antifa groups in the United States gained prominence following violent clashes between white supremacists and their opponents, including antifa supporters, in Charlottesville, VA, on August 12, 2017.
The groups have been increasingly active in protests and rallies over the past few years, especially ones that include far-right participants.
In June 2016, for example, Antifa and other protestors confronted a neo-Nazi rally in Sacramento, California, with at least five people stabbed.
In February, March, and April 2017, Antifa members attacked alt-right demonstrators at the University of California, Berkeley using bricks, pipes, hammers, and homemade incendiary devices.
In July 2019, William Van Spronsen, a self-proclaimed Antifa, attempted to bomb the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, using a propane tank but was killed by police.
Trump since his first term has ascribed blame to Antifa for various actions he dislikes, from violence against police to conducting the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Trump's previous FBI director, Christopher Wray, said in testimony in 2020 that antifa is an ideology, not an organisation, lacking the hierarchical structure that would usually allow it to be designated as a terror group by the federal government.
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