Donald Trump's Designation of Antifa as a Terrorist Organization

Overview

Donald Trump's Designation of Antifa as a Terrorist Organization refers to an announcement made by President Donald Trump on Twitter in late May 2020, which claimed that the United States would be designating Antifa as a terrorist organization. Many criticized the announcement in defense of Antifa, claiming they were simply a decentralized group of people who opposed fascism and bigotry. Others supported the designation, claiming Antifa members were comprised of ideologically driven anti-capitalists who employ violence and property destruction in their protest methods. Additionally, some experts argued the president does not have the legal authority to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization if they were to be considered a purely domestic group.

Background

George Floyd Protests

On May 25th, 2020, Minneapolis Police Department officers attempted to arrest George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, in Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the arrest, officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for at least seven minutes, pressing him against the ground, while Floyd repeatedly said "I can't breathe" before becoming unresponsive. Floyd was then pronounced dead at the hospital.

On the following day, several videos of the scene recorded by bystanders went viral online.

On May 26th, demonstrators protesting Floyd's death gathered at the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, with some of the demonstrators vandalizing the precinct with spray paint, throwing rocks at police squad cars and smashing the glass door of the precinct. In the coming days, other protests occurred across the United States, with numerous reports of violent clashes between demonstrators and police, rioting, looting and property damage.

Donald Trump's Tweet

On May 31st, 2020, Trump posted a tweet^[2] announcing that Antifa would be designated as a terrorist organization in the United States (shown below). That day, the tweet gained over 509,000 likes and 152,000 retweets.

Developments

Online Reaction

Following the tweet, the hashtag #IAmAntifa^[1] began trending on Twitter, with many criticizing the designation and voicing an opposition to fascism and bigotry (shown below, left). Others posted tweets in support of the declaration, claiming that Antifa were violent activists ideologically driven toward anti-capitalism, comparing the movement to violent Communist dictatorships (shown below, right).

Meanwhile, others used images of World War II Allied soldiers in both support and condemnation of Antifa (shown below).

Legal Authority

Many have disputed the president's legal authority in designating Antifa as a terrorist group. On May 31st, Politico published an article about the announcement, which included a quote from Georgetown University's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, stating "there currently exists no legal authority to designate domestic organizations as terror organizations, and any such designation would raise serious First Amendment concerns."

Search Interest

External References