US President Donald Trump has said he plans to designate Antifa as a "major terrorist organisation," though he provided no details on how such a move would be implemented.
Antifa, short for "anti-fascists," is composed of groups, networks and individuals who believe in aggressive opposition to right-wing movements. It is not a singular entity, and experts have long noted the difficulty in applying terror designations to what is essentially a decentralised movement.
The White House did not immediately explain how the designation would work.
Trump, currently on a state visit to the United Kingdom, made the announcement in a social media post shortly before 1:30 a.m. local time.
He called Antifa a "SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER" and said he would be "strongly recommending" that funders of the movement be investigated.
The post revived a debate dating back several years. In 2020, Trump’s then-FBI director, Christopher Wray, testified that Antifa was an ideology rather than an organisation, lacking the leadership structure that would typically allow for it to be designated as a terror group.
Following Trump’s remarks, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, welcomed the move.
"Antifa seized upon a movement of legitimate grievances to promote violence and anarchy, working against justice for all. The President is right to recognise the destructive role of Antifa by designating them domestic terrorists," he said.
In July 2019, Cassidy and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a Senate resolution to condemn violent acts linked to Antifa and to push for the movement to be considered a domestic terror threat.
Legal experts have noted that the United States does not maintain a formal list of designated domestic terrorist organisations.
Federal law enforcement agencies instead target individuals or networks that engage in acts defined as terrorism under domestic statutes.
The president’s announcement drew criticism from rights advocates who argue that such steps could be used to suppress dissent or label political opponents as extremists.
