President Trump announced the decision to designate ANTIFA as a terrorist organization through Twitter on Sunday:
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
In earlier Twitter entries, the US President suggested that “radical Left anarchists” under ANTIFA leadership were responsible for the violence during protests in several American cities. The protests were initiated in response to the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of the police.
The US Attorney General William Barr said on Saturday that the protests had been overtaken by anarchist and “extreme Left extremist groups” which have their own agendas. Anarchist symbols and slogans had been written in several protest areas.
Minnesota Governor Tim Welz also noted the participation of external groups in the protests and the local media reported on the activity of extremist groups.
President Trump has previously suggested including ANTIFA on the terrorist organization list, after a series of attacks on right-wing activists in 2019. Trump declared that such a move would “make the work of the Police easier.”
ANTIFA – no command or internal hierarchy
ANTIFA, the “anti-fascists”, is an informal movement of Left-wing militias with origins in Germany. They oppose the extreme Right. They do not have any command or internal hierarchy. The movement first appeared in Poland in the nineties. Polish anti-fascist movements are widely diversified in terms of their actions.
Riots and looting
Protests in response to the death of 46-year old George Floyd, at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, have spread to several US cities. The crowds are holding up slogans against the president, racism and the police. There have been several riots. In Minneapolis itself, shops have been looted and a police station burnt down.
The National Guard said on Sunday that it has mobilized 5,000 of its soldiers in 15 states and in Washington D.C. President Trump believed that if the Guard had been sent to Minneapolis just two days earlier, there would not have been any damage and the police station would not have been destroyed.
The president will not take control over the American National Guard, according to his national security advisor Robert O’Brien. He also stated that if “governors and mayor will require them”, the White House possesses “additional military assets.”
Title image: A protester runs past burning cars and buildings on Chicago Avenue, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn, AP.
