Trump recently signed an executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, and directing federal agencies to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle” their operations. However, because Antifa is not an organization with leaders and members, this order serves to threaten anyone speaking out against the government or its policies.
The name “Antifa” is short for “anti-fascist” and originated in the Antifaschistische Aktion group that opposed Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. The term has resurfaced internationally over the last century in response to authoritarian governments, white supremacists, and other far right extremists. Antifa is a term that some activists identify with, and that unites different elements of the left in their opposition to fascism. It is not a centralized, hierarchical organization that could be “investigated, disrupted, and dismantled” as Trump claims.
Many historians and academic experts on fascism have warned that the Trump administration’s policies and rhetoric are mirroring the actions of fascists of the past. In Trump’s second term, we have seen increased xenophobia, scapegoating of minority groups, construction of internment camps, criminalization of free speech and press, prosecution of political enemies, undermining of democratic institutions, and mobilization of the military on U.S. soil. At a meeting last week with Secretary of War (formerly Secretary of Defense) Pete Hegseth and senior military officers, Trump stated that he plans to train the National Guard specifically to “quell civil disturbances” and to use American cities as “training grounds for our military.” This was followed by the promise to send the National Guard to occupy Portland, Oregon, a city recognized for its protest movements and not for violent crime.
As the government’s threats and actions escalate, people speaking out against these policies now do so under threat of being labeled domestic terrorists. We cannot let these threats silence us from standing up and taking action. We are watching as our neighbors are snatched off the streets by masked agents and troops march in the streets hunting community activists. The time for silence has passed, regardless of the threats we face. Now more than ever we need to organize and find strength in the power that we build together.
