When President Trump announced his intention to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organisation, his disregard for the upsurge of white right-wing extremist violence was obvious. So, too, was his objective -quashing political opposition to his administration.
Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is a far-left ideological movement opposed to fascists, neo-Nazis and far-right groups. A loose collective of individuals and local groups, it lacks a chain of command or designated leaders.
Followers of this decentralised movement engage mostly in nonviolent activities such as protesting, giving speeches, tracking fascist groups and hanging up posters. However, Antifa followers, often clad in all black and wearing masks, justify militant anti-fascism action as self-defence of marginalised people against white supremacists. As a result, some have damaged property and physically attacked ideological opponents during protests. None have killed.
In stark contrast, right-wing hate groups have inspired some of their followers to kill 106 people between 2001 and 2016, according to the US Government Accountability Office. In Trump’s first year as president, right-wing groups were responsible for 31 violent attacks.
And yet, not once has Trump called for one of the nearly 1,000 right-wing extremist groups to be designated as a domestic terrorist organisation.
— Read the full article published on June 13, 2020 on Al Jazeera English here.
