Trump Supports Designating Antifa A Terrorist Organization

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would support designating the antifa movement a terrorist organization in the wake of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week.

In response to a question in a White House news conference, Trump was asked about the assassination and whether he would designate antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

“It’s something I would do, yeah, if I have support from the people back here,” Trump said, referring to administration officials standing behind him, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“I would do that 100 percent,” he said, adding that “antifa is terrible.”

“There are some other groups” who are “pretty radical groups, and they got away with murder,”  Trump said.

He did not provide any specific details about those organizations.

The president said he would also bring RICO, or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, charges against “some of the people you have been reading about that have been putting up millions and millions of dollars for agitation.”

Antifa supporters generally hold extreme political views, including communist or anarchist beliefs. Supporters, who are usually organized through decentralized cells, often favor “direct action” rather than electoral politics or policy reform.

A commonly used tactic involves participants wearing black clothing and masks during protests to shield their identifying features. In many cases, antifa participants engage in violence during demonstrations, such as during the unrest that occurred throughout the summer of 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

The suspect in Kirk’s assassination, Tyler Robinson, is believed to have held leftist viewpoints, say FBI Director Kash Patel and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. He also engraved anti-fascist messages on bullets that were recovered by officials.

Officials have not said whether Robinson was in communication or was associated with any particular antifa groups. The FBI is currently scrutinizing online accounts that are alleged to have shown awareness of Kirk’s assassination before the incident unfolded, a source familiar with the FBI’s investigation confirmed to The Epoch Times on Monday.

Screenshots highlighted by the Washington Free Beacon show several X accounts mentioning the date of Kirk’s assassination, which occurred Sept. 10, and ominous messages. The Epoch Times has not independently examined the screenshots and accounts that were singled out by the Free Beacon.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News that the bureau is currently investigating whether Robinson had other accomplices. So far, no other individuals have been charged in the case.

Earlier Monday, both White House adviser Stephen Miller and Vice President JD Vance said that the administration is moving to investigate networks that organized riots, street violence, and other activities in the United States. At one point, Miller used the term “domestic terror movement” to describe such actors.

It’s not clear if Robinson has an attorney. His court arraignment date has been set for Tuesday.

Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while he was holding a debate forum at Utah Valley University with his Turning Point USA organization. The suspect was captured around 33 hours later, the FBI has said.