 "A banner reading 'Antifa' is pictured. Short for ‘anti-fascists’, Antifa is a loosely affiliated network of radical activists who oppose racism, far-right ideologies, and what they define as fascism. File image/AFP")
The US State Department on Thursday announced its plans to designate four European anti-fascist groups as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. The announcement came as US President Donald Trump’s administration plans to broaden its campaign against what it portrays as an international wave of “ leftist violence ”.
In a statement over the matter, the state department said that it would designate Antifa Ost in Germany, the Italy-based International Revolutionary Front, and two organisations in Greece – Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self Defence – as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists … conspiring to undermine the foundations of Western Civilisation through their brutal attacks”.
It is pertinent to note that this is the first time the US has designated Anti-fascist groups as a foreign terrorist threat. Hence, the move would allow American law enforcement to use more aggressive techniques to oppose them. Not only this, the scrutiny could also extend to those deemed leftist supporters of the groups in the United States.
Hence, this would allow federal authorities to use similar surveillance and financial oversight tools against American citizens deemed to support international bodies. “Groups affiliated with this movement ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies, including anti-Americanism, ‘anti-capitalism’ and anti-Christianity, using these to incite and justify violent assaults domestically and overseas,” the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio , said in a statement.
The administration noted incidents such as the use of homemade explosive devices, shootings and hammer attacks as the cause for the listing. The designation would also make financial transactions to the organisation and its members a “criminal act” in the United States.
Quick Reads
View AllTrump’s crusade against leftist bodies
It is pertient to note that the Trump administration has blamed multiple leftist organisations for violent confrontations in the United States in the cities of Los Angeles , Chicago and Portland .
The government’s wrath against these groups intensified, especially after the killing of right-wing youth activist Charlie Kirk . The focus on antifa was first codified in a presidential executive action from September that declared “antifa” a “domestic terrorist organisation”.
At that time, national security experts raised concerns, insisting that the designation is problematic because antifa , which is short for anti-fascist, does not have a clear membership or leadership structure. The European groups are yet to respond to the latest sanctions imposed by American authorities.