Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is a movement that opposes fascism, as well as racism, xenophobia or homophobia. It emerged in the 1930s in Italy and Germany against the fascist and Nazi regimes, and then spread throughout Western Europe during the 20th century. For historical reasons, anti-fascism in the United States has never had the same weight as in Europe. The first American antifa groups appeared in the eighties, and they did so linked to anti-racism, such as Anti-Racist Action in Minnesota. Furthermore, the first group to use the term “antifa” in the US was Rose City Antifa, founded in 2007 in Portland (Oregon) from a specific group to boycott a music festival organized by the white supremacist group Hammerskins. .
The antifa movement cannot be considered an organization, as it has no structure, members or formal leadership. In contrast, antifa organizes and acts at the local level, and the movement is not even based on a single ideology: it includes socialists, anarchists, communists or anti-capitalists united in their opposition to the extreme right and, particularly in the United States, to white supremacy. Its objective is to prevent the extreme right from spreading their speeches, since, according to anti-fascists, these generate hatred against minorities and are a threat to democracy. To achieve this, antifa resort to non-violent actions with which they try to inform their position, but they also consider the use of violence, which they consider justified to achieve their objective. Their strategies also include identifying and exposing far-right extremists on the internet.
The antifa movement barely had a presence in the United States until Donald Trump’s presidential election in 2016, after which anti-fascist groups became more active throughout the country. In recent years they have participated in actions such as the boycott of an extreme right-wing event at the University of Berkeley (California) in February 2017, and participated in the counter-demonstrations in Charlottesville (Virginia) in August of the same year, confronting white supremacists. American antifa groups are also sympathetic to movements such as Black Lives Matter in support of the African-American community, and have participated in the protests against police violence that broke out after the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 at the hands of white police in Minneapolis (Minnesota).
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
Following his participation in the racial protests at the end of May, Trump announced on his Twitter on May 31 which would designate the antifa movement as a terrorist organization. So far, the FBI has investigated anti-fascists for carrying out violent actions. However, it does not appear that the antifa movement can be legally designated as a terrorist organization in the United States, as it is not a formal organization: two Republican senators had already tried to do so in July 2019 without success. As if that were not enough, US legislation only covers international terrorism, not local terrorist groups, and the antifa movement does not operate in a coordinated manner at the international level. What’s more, singling out a movement that opposes authoritarianism could violate freedom of expression. In short, Trump’s statement has no legal support and seems more like an attempt to point out those responsible for the protests than a feasible proposal.