President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization after Democratic and Republican officials pointed to extremist groups and out of town demonstrators as responsible for violent episodes at protests in major cities across the country.
Trump and Attorney General William Barr had earlier pointed to anti-fascist organizers and anarchists as culprits behind the mayhem following the death of a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police. Others said right-wing extremists such as Boogaloo followers, who
hope to bring about a second Civil War, were
pushing for such uprising in the protests.
In a Sunday statement, Barr said the Justice Department is taking aim at "apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law."
The attorney general said that "to identify criminal organizers and instigators," federal law enforcement officials are utilizing "our existing network of 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces."
"Preventing reconciliation and driving us apart is the goal of these radical groups, and we cannot let them succeed," Barr added. "The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly."
There is no domestic terrorism statute and legal authority for the U.S. to designate any domestic organization as a terrorist group, as the Justice Department's domestic terrorism coordinator has said publicly on multiple occasions in recent years.
"As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused," American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi said in response to Trump's post. "There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns."
The Trump administration also took aim at Antifa during the Sunday political talk shows. Speaking with CNN's "State of the Union," national security adviser Robert O'Brien said violence "is being driven by Antifa."
"And they did it in Seattle. They have done it in Portland. They have done it in Berkeley. This is a destructive force of radical — I don't even know if we want to call them leftists," O'Brien continued. "Whatever they are, they're — they're militants who are coming in and burning our cities, and we're going to get to the bottom of it."
Antifa, meaning "anti-fascist," is a coalition of protesters, left-wing activists and self-described anarchists who seek to physically confront and bring down what they deem as the far right. Trump and his administration have long targeted the group, which has made its presence felt at protests throughout his presidency.
...
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,
tweeted the "big story" being missed is that in "city after city we have a rogues gallery of terrorists from Antifa to 'Boogaloo' groups encouraging & committing violence."
"They may not be ideologically compatible but share a hatred of govt & police & are taking advantage of the protests," Rubio, acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, added, saying the demonstrators "don't fit a simple left vs. right identity."
These individuals want to "tear the whole system down even if it requires a new civil war, Rubio said.
...
Speaking with NBC's "Meet the Press," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, said he's
become aware of "very suspicious" people taking part in the demonstrations through video recordings made at the protests.
"The truth is, nobody really knows," he said of who is responsible for the more violent activity. "I talked to people who were demonstrating, they say they think some of those folks are from Minnesota. And they also say some people have come from out of town. What the exact political motivation is unclear at this point. We need to investigate it."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pointed to Walz's comments on out-of-towners in an interview with "This Week."
"Let’s have a look at what really is happening, who is making what, taking what actions," Pelosi said. "But we should not ignore the fact that there is a room for peaceful protests in all of this."
Also on "This Week," Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said the large Floyd protests are happening because people "want bold and systematic change to take place, so that they can feel like their voices are heard."
"This is what happens when people are tired, just marching every single day, just to have their humanity be recognized," she said. "In Minneapolis, we have marched. We have protested. We have organized. And when we see people setting our buildings and our businesses ablaze, we know those are not people who are interested in protecting black lives."
