President Donald Trump officially designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization with an executive order on Monday that came in response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and an apparently growing trend of political violence from the left.
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“Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law. It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals,” said President Trump in the order.
“Antifa recruits, trains, and radicalizes young Americans to engage in this violence and suppression of political activity, then employs elaborate means and mechanisms to shield the identities of its operatives, conceal its funding sources and operations in an effort to frustrate law enforcement, and recruit additional members,” he added.
The order came after conservative commentator Kirk was allegedly assassinated by Tyler Robinson, 22, while speaking at an event on a Utah college campus. Robinson reportedly scrawled Antifa messaging on the bullet casings used in the assassination.
Though Kirk’s tragic assassination and the celebration of his death by many on the left brought the issue of left-wing political violence to the forefront of public consciousness, it is far from the only example.
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In July, a group of 11 alleged Antifa members reportedly planned and carried out an ambush against a Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The suspects were allegedly heavily armed and armored and intended to kill ICE agents.
Though the ambush ultimately failed to kill any agents, suspects allegedly fired on them and shot one local police officer who responded when ICE agents came under fire.
“Because of the aforementioned pattern of political violence designed to suppress lawful political activity and obstruct the rule of law, I hereby designate Antifa as a ‘domestic terrorist organization,'” said Trump.
“All relevant executive departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations,” he added.
According to the White House fact sheet on the order, it effectively means that Antifa will be subject to increased scrutiny and enforcement activities. It also orders an investigation into their funding sources.
The order dedicates more resources to stopping Antifa activities that were already illegal under existing law. It notably does not allow for the arrest of anyone for merely identifying themselves as members of Antifa.
Maine has not been totally free of Antifa-related crimes.
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In May, authorities arrested a Portland woman who identified herself as a member of the Antifa New England “militia” after she allegedly repeatedly harassed law enforcement officials across multiple states, including in Maine, even threatening to murder them.
She also allegedly expressed a desire to murder President Trump.
Maine has also seen an apparent outpouring of support for left-wing political violence from students and teachers celebrating the assassination of Kirk through public social media posts.
One Portland City Councillor, Regina Philips, also appeared to imply that she was celebrating the conservative father’s death in a public social media post made from her personal Facebook account.
