Antifa – short for “anti-fascists” – is an umbrella term that largely encompasses groups who protest against neo-Nazis, fascists and other far-right extremists, particularly at large demonstrations.

Today, the US president posted on social media that he would list the movement as a terror group.

“I am pleased to inform our many USA Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANISATION,” Trump wrote. 

“I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”

It’s not the first time Trump has flagged such a move against antifa, having previously done so in June 2020, towards the end of his first term as president.

However, months later, his then-FBI director, Chris Wray, testified that antifa wasn’t a distinct, organised body.

“It’s not a group or an organisation,” Wray told a congressional hearing. 

“It’s a movement or an ideology.”

Trump didn’t provide any details about how exactly the terror listing would be handled.

Antifa is a domestic US entity and, as such, is not a candidate for inclusion on the State Department’s list of foreign terror organisations. 

Dozens of groups, including extremist organisations like Islamic State and al-Qaeda, are included on that list. 

But there’s no American domestic equivalent, partly because of the protections provided to US organisations by the First Amendment. 

And despite periodic calls to establish a domestic terrorism law, particularly after mass shootings by white supremacists, no singular statute exists.

The designation matters in part because it enables the Justice Department to prosecute those who give material support to entities on that list even if that support does not result in violence.

Trump’s move against antifa comes amid a wider crackdown from the president on what he labels the “radical left” following the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

But critics say the White House is using the shooting as pretext to crack down on dissent and freedom of speech.

“Pay attention. Something dark might be coming,” Democrat senator Chris Murphy wrote on social media earlier this week.

“The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence.

“Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.”

Since Kirk’s murder, Trump has frequently criticised attacks on conservative figures – including the failed assassination attempt on him in Pennsylvania last year – but has failed to mention those carried out against Democrats, such as the assassination of Melissa Hortman in June.

– with Associated Press, CNN