Kristi Noem compares Antifa to terror orgs like Hezbollah and ISIS, says antifacist group is 'dangerous'

On Wednesday, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, compared Antifa to American-recognised terrorist groups like MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State. She said that the loosely affiliated network of antifascist street activists is “just as dangerous” as designated terrorist organisations. The remarks from Noem came as she participated in the White House roundtable discussion.

“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as TDA [Tren de Aragua], as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they are just as dangerous,” Noem said. “They have an agenda to destroy us, just like the other terrorists we’ve dealt with for many, many years.” According to The Guardian, the roundtable comprised several right-wing social media journalists such as Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt and others who cover leftwing protests.

Some of the groups, like Hamas and Hezbollah, cited by Noem are formally designated terrorist organisations that control territory, operate military wings, and maintain command structures. These groups have been notorious for carrying out mass casualty attacks, including bombings, kidnappings and assassinations.

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In contrast to this, extremism experts have long described Antifa as having no centralised leadership, formal membership or organisational structure. The group, which was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Trump administration earlier this year, has been generally described by federal law enforcement as a decentralised movement of activists who engage in protest activity.

The Trump administration’s crusade against Antifa

It is pertinent to note that Noem’s remarks at the roundtable came weeks after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September designating Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organisation”. Days before the announcement, Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who was convicted and then pardoned for his role on January 6, posted on X: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Because I know a few guys.”

During the Wednesday roundtable, US Attorney General Pam Bondi sat next to Trump and repeated his rhetoric against Antifa. “This is not activism, it’s anarchy,” she said. “We can’t and we will not let masked terrorists burn our buildings, attack our law enforcement and intimidate our communities.”

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Meanwhile, the American president also listed examples of attacks against federal agents, which he has attributed to antifa, and suggested that the man charged with shooting Charlie Kirk was a “far-left extremist”. However, it is pertient to note that law enforcement officials investigating the case have not yet established a link between Tyler Robinson and any specific group.

“The epidemic of leftwing violence and Antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade,” Trump said at the Wednesday event. All witnesses who spoke against Antifa during the roundtable were conservative influencers or partisan rightwing journalists, who all claimed that antifa was a terror organisation without presenting any evidence.