Trump Intensifies Free Speech Crackdown With Threats Against “Antifa”

Latest Trump administration move sparks concerns about free speech and legal implications; the United States has no legal framework for domestic groups to be classified as terrorist organizations

By Peoples Dispatch

US President Donald Trump has said he is designating “antifa” as a “major terrorist organization” in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, sparking major free speech concerns.

“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote on September 17. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”

Trump’s latest announcement caused immediate shockwaves among those part of social movements opposing the president’s political agenda. “Antifa” began heavily factoring into right-wing narratives attempting to criminalize protest following Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. “Antifa” is short for “anti-fascist”, and some individuals and collectives have used “antifa” to broadly describe anti-fascist and anti-capitalist politics – but there is no organized group unifying all of these collectives as Trump alleges.

Trump move sparks legal questions

The Trump administration has also opened up significant legal questions with this announcement, as the United States has no legal framework that allows domestic groups to be classified as terrorist organizations.

“The president does not have legal authority to designate a domestic group as terrorists for good reason, as any such designation will raise significant First Amendment, due process and equal protection concerns,” Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, told The Washington Post.