Is “Antifa” a Terrorist Group? Should it be Banned?

The Antifa squad members are of left-wing ideologies and a majority of them describe themselves as revolutionaries with anti-capitalist and anti-government viewpoints.

The President of America took it to Twitter,

Antifa a Terrorist Organization?

President Donald Trump announced on May 31st that the USA will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization after the protests fuelled angst across the nation over the death of George Floyd.

Trump’s administration believes that the group is responsible for the violent protests and looting that started in Minneapolis, plus similar protests were also reported from various parts of the country.

On May 29, many protesters gather reportedly around the White House and some of them even pelted stores which resulted in the president’s shelter in those White House bunker. 

According to Merriam Webster, Antifa is vaguely defined as a militant political activist movement that identifies itself as far-left and anti-fascist.

The first known use of the term Antifa was way back during Nazi Germany and is borrowed from German Antifa, short for,

“antifaschistisch ‘anti-fascist’, in Antifaschistische Aktion (multiparty front initiated by the German Communist Party in 1932 to counter Nazism) and in other collocations.”

The members are of left-wing ideologies and a majority of them describe themselves as revolutionaries with anti-capitalist and anti-government views. They dress in black, sometimes covering their face with masks and helmets to remain unidentified from all-right groups and police. They use a variety of tactics to disrupt the event of all-right groups which they deem fascists and the most extreme faction’s members of Antifa carry pepper spray, knives, bricks, and chains.

The far-left group defends the use of violence to fight the “fascist” forces and, according to an AOL report, call it appropriate tactics against Trump’s “unprecedented levels of surveillance, incarceration, deportations, and police brutality and murders against the US Public”.

The History

It gained new prominence in 2017 after it confronted white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017.

There have been several instances when such encounters between Antifa and far-right groups turned violent.

• During a May Day march in 2017, the Antifa protesters allegedly attacked police officers and destroyed property, leading to 25 arrests.
• In June 2019, members of Antifa clashed with Proud Boys, a far-right group, in Portland, Oregon, leaving members of both sides injured.

The group has drawn criticism from many liberal figures for their violent activities and bringing disrepute to anti-fascist movements in the country.

Famous American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky voiced his frustration with Antifa, calling it a “gift to the far right and US State repression.” Speaking to The Independent, Chomsky said,

“The use of force by Antifa in completely unacceptable and also provides some justification for the absurd claim that Antifa is comparable to the far-right forces.”

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