Antifa—or antifascist action—is a loosely organized group of activists that’s a powerful force against right-wing ideologies. Their recent designation as a “terrorist organization” by former President Donald Trump has caused intense uproar for good reason. This designation was announced late on a Wednesday evening, leading to renewed discussions about the movement’s history, structure, and implications for civil liberties in the United States. Critics counter that Antifa is not a group in itself, but an ideology that stands against both fascism and authoritarianism.
And the movement started to pick up steam in the United States starting in 2016, coinciding with the start of Trump’s first presidential run. The history of “antifa” first goes back to an anti-fascist slogan in Germany in 1946. Today, it has evolved into a national, decentralized network of organizations and activists committed to staunchly opposing the rise of fascism and far-right extremism. Antifa’s decentralized and often inconsistent structure makes it a challenging target for any formal designation as a terrorist group.
The idea of such an announcement would send his base into a frenzy. Legal experts say it would be unconstitutional to designate an organization like this on domestic soil. The U.S. Constitution allows for the designation of foreign groups as terrorists. It doesn’t give detailed legislation for homegrown groups, like Antifa. The very consequences of such a designation pose serious First Amendment risks.
The Origins and Growth of Antifa
The background of Antifa can be found in the overarching anti-fascist movement, especially in Europe post-World War II. In the United States, the movement grew rapidly. Local activist networks such as Rose City Antifa, which was started in Portland, Oregon, in 2007, were crucial to this advancement. This organization has been vital to connecting and organizing anti-fascist activism across the country.
In recent years, Antifa has been associated, often in inflammatory ways, with anti-Trump protests, anti-fascist protests and other demonstrations. This has repeatedly put the leftist-leaning collective in direct conflict with far-right, and especially Trump-supporting, groups, resulting in violent clashes. In cities such as Berkeley, California, Antifa counter protesters violently confronted pro-Trump demonstrators. As a result, these confrontations raised tensions and brought widespread media attention to the group’s actions and intentions.
Mark Bray, a historian specializing in anti-fascism, explains that “Antifa is a kind of politics, not a specific group.” For one, he points out that it includes a diverse set of organizations and individuals who are unified by their commitment to antifascism. This extremely decentralized structure leaves the authorities without visible formal leadership on which to impose any top-down formal designation of the movement.
Legal and Constitutional Challenges
First, the legal framework governing the designation of terrorist organizations largely focuses on foreign organizations. Trump has asserted that Antifa be designated a terrorist organization. Yet this claim runs into several hurdles as there are currently no federal laws regulating domestic actors. Mary McCord, a former acting assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, sounded alarms about First Amendment implications. She repeated this early in Trump’s first term with respect to a designation.
Bray further contributes to this discussion by noting that it’s inaccurate to even talk about “antifa” in the singular. He contends that it further serves a story that is designed to stifle re-emergent leftist movements. He states, “He is trying to promote the common right-wing conspiracy theory that there are shadowy financiers like George Soros playing puppet master behind everything the left does.”
Bray points out that Antifa groups tend to be under-resourced. They don’t rely on big budgets or dark money – often, they rely on crowdsourced funding chiefly for legal defenses. This truth destroys the premise that Antifa is a secret, coordinated, independent terror network.
Implications of Trump’s Designation
Such a designation by Trump would have profound consequences. It would be used as a pretext for the government to target broader, more leftist movements in larger crackdowns. Bray warns that if this designation is more than rhetoric, it could provide a “blanket excuse for the regime to crack down on anyone to the left of them under the elusive rubric of ‘antifa.’”
Some people noticed when Trump called to investigate the funders of Antifa. He proposed that these financiers should themselves face legal liability. The former president stated, “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding Antifa be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.” This blunt national security approach opens a critical debate about the clash between national security interests and constitutional protections.
As the divide between left and right—identity politics, statues, culture wars—grows ever deeper in the United States, the discussion of Antifa is more necessary than ever. While some view it as a necessary response to rising fascism, others see it as a threat to public order and safety. Now, social media narratives are making this complicated debate even worse. They are trying to connect the violent attacks with Antifa activists and making allegations regarding Tyler Robinson’s harassing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
