Trump says he’s designating Antifa as a terrorist organization
By Donald Judd, Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said he is designating the far-left anti-fascism movement Antifa as a terrorist organization, announcing the move on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Thursday morning UK time.
It wasn’t immediately clear what mechanism Trump would use to make the designation, and Antifa lacks centralized structure or defined leadership, making it unclear who or what precisely would be targeted.
“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. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
A White House official told CNN, “This is just one of many actions the president will take to address left wing organizations that fuel political violence.”
Trump — who’s overseas for a formal state visit — signaled the move earlier this week in remarks from the Oval Office following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
A host of administration officials have signaled in the wake of Kirk’s assassination that they’ll be targeting what they claim is a coordinated left-wing effort to incite violence. The moves have drawn protests from some Democrats, who allege Trump is creating a pretext to crack down on dissent or opposing viewpoints.
It was also not immediately clear what practical effect, if any, the asserted designation would have. In his first term, Trump vowed to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, and his then-attorney general, William Barr, said its activities constituted “domestic terrorism.”
But Antifa, short for anti-fascists, is not a structured group, but rather, a more nebulous social movement. And while it is illegal to provide “material support” to groups designated by the government as foreign terrorist organizations, there is not an analogous law for domestic groups.
The term Antifa is used to define a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left – often the far left – but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform, CNN previously reported. The group doesn’t have an official leader or headquarters, although groups in certain states hold regular meetings.
Aside from designating certain left-wing groups as terror organizations, Trump earlier this week also raised the possibility of revoking tax-exempt status for liberal non-profit organizations, and his attorney general has raised the prospect of bringing criminal charges against groups or individuals who are allegedly targeting conservatives.
“Antifa is terrible. There are other groups,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office. “We have some pretty radical groups, and they got away with murder,” he added without citing any evidence or elaborating.
Trump also said he’d been discussing with Attorney General Pam Bondi the prospect of bringing racketeering charges against left-wing groups that he claimed were funding left-wing agitators.
“I’ve asked Pam to look into that in terms of RICO, bringing RICO cases,” he said, adding: “They should be put in jail, what they’re doing to this country is really subversive.”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
