By suzanne downing 
On Monday, President Donald Trump followed through with his promise and signed an executive order declaring Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization.” The action, taken just a week after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, reflects his intent to crack down on political violence and left-wing extremism.
The order directs federal agencies to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle Antifa’s alleged illegal operations, including violent street actions and financial backers. For those shaken by the Kirk assassination, the move represents an overdue acknowledgment of the threat posed by radical leftist movements.
Yes, we’re talking about the political cretins of Portland and Seattle, along with George Soros and Hansjorg Wyss.
The designation is unprecedented. US law allows for foreign terrorist organizations to be listed and sanctioned, but no equivalent process exists for domestic groups. That means the order is more symbolic than enforceable.
Still, symbolism matters, and Trump has again demonstrated a willingness to confront the far-left in a way no president ever has.
The reality, however, is that Antifa is not a corporation, a club, or even a registered nonprofit. It is a loosely organized movement without leadership, membership rolls, or central funding. Federal authorities may find it difficult to “dismantle” something that functions more like a guerrilla network or ideology than a structured entity. It has members who adhere to anarchy, socialism, the Democratic Party, and environmental extremist groups.
In fact, Antifa has strong resemblance to the anarchy movement of the 19th Century in America. The most famous American anarchist, Emma Goldman, was a Russian immigrant who became a leading voice for anarcho-communism. The anarchists became strongly linked to the labor movement, and violence was a consistent theme. Goldman was eventually deported back to Russia.
Already, critics on the left are denouncing Trump’s move as authoritarian overreach. But with Trump, opposition is often a knee-jerk reaction: Whatever Trump is for, leftists are against. They’d swallow a case of Tylenol just to defy him and his warnings about the link between chemistry and autism.
In this case, if Trump is against Antifa, the leftists will line up behind the terror group to defend their right to burn, loot, and pillage. This is Trump Derangement Syndrome in action — a strange knee-jerk reaction in which every Trump policy, no matter how defensible, is painted as dangerous.
Another complication is that simply holding an “Antifa” sign or chanting slogans does not make someone a member of a terrorist group. We’ve seen this with the morphing of Antifa and the rise of transgender-linked violence, sometimes labeled “Trantifa.”
Indeed, commercial outfits like Shutterstock sell “Antifa” stock art, vector drawings, and poster material — will that make them complicit in fomenting domestic terrorism? The “what ifs” are endless.
Antifa, by its nature, has no membership to join. This vagueness could become a weapon in court. Leftist activists and the ACLU may deliberately provoke legal challenges by claiming Trump’s order criminalizes ordinary protest, hoping to turn the designation into a First Amendment showdown.
Federal prosecutors will need to be precise in distinguishing violent acts like arson, assault, “swatting,” doxing, and conspiracy, from mere political expression. That is where the real test of this executive order lies.
Trump’s designation of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization is more than a legal maneuver. It is a symbolic strike meant to draw a bright line against left-wing violence. While enforceability is limited, the order puts activists and funders on notice and he forces the debate into the open.
What is clear is this: Antifa is not a normal organization that can be shut down by government decree. It is a movement, and dismantling it will require vigilance from patriots, not just legal tools.
Suzanne Downing moved to Alaska in 1969 and still calls it home, from Somewhere in Alaska.
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Suzanne Downing
I wonder if there is more organization behind Antifa and it is definitely not domestic. Much of the funding, and likely the organizing, is coming from outside our country. Cannot some in depth forensic investigation be done to connect the funders to the organizers to the bad actors? So many of the violent perpetrators (I will not call them protestors) seem to be paid employees. Antifa is indeed a terroristic movement regardless of their organizational status, and any violence, any vandalism or destruction, should be dealt with swiftly, with the perpetrators arrested and held accountable, not just hand slapped and sent on their way. Laws in place need to be strongly upheld and maybe some new laws raising the criminal status need to be put in place. Their actions are certainly not misdemeanors and should not be treated as such. They are committing warfare against our communities and nation. There is no way it isn’t being intentionally organized somewhere.
Andy Ngo—who has reported on Antifa for years made the same point. However, by going after them via RICO charges has a good chance of being effective.
Good point. – sd