Trump signs executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

The new order requires the Trump administration to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle” individuals and groups associated with Antifa’s anti-fascist ideology, including “those who finance such operations.”

The order does not specify what actions the government will take against this leaderless movement. Federal law enforcement has previously described Antifa as an ideology rather than a unified organization, and the administration has not identified specific individuals or groups it will target.

Designating a US-based organization as a terrorist group is an unprecedented step, as all 219 organizations with this designation from the State Department are foreign.

The announcement drew criticism from Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. In a statement, the Mississippi Democrat called the order an unprecedented action that ignores the greater threat of right-wing extremism.

“Designating Antifa, which has no specific organizational structure or leadership, as a domestic terrorist organization is not only wrong but serves no purpose other than to be an excuse for the Trump administration to suppress dissent, investigate any person or group they do not like, punish their enemies, and label any American they want as a terrorist,” Thompson said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously announced the order, stating that Trump had promised to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization before last year’s presidential election.

Trump’s rhetoric targeting his political opponents has intensified following the killing of Charlie Kirk in Utah earlier this month, an incident that Utah law enforcement officials have described as a politically motivated attack.

In a social media post last week, Trump called Antifa a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and stated his intention to declare it a “domestic terrorist organization.”

Antifa is short for “anti-fascists” and is a general term that encompasses left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.

Trump’s attacks on his political opponents were also featured in his speech at Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday. Trump blamed the “radical left” for the heightened tension following the activist’s death.