US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would designate the radical left-wing movement Antifa as a terrorist organization.
“I am pleased to inform our many American patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, THE SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT-WING DISASTER, as a MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump, who is currently on a state visit to the United Kingdom, wrote in a post on his social media account Truth Social.
“I will also strongly recommend that those who fund ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” he added.
Antifa is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement. It is not a centralized organization, but a loosely knit network of groups and individuals.
Trump did not initially specify how the designation would work in practice. The Republican president had previously announced a similar classification during his first term.
CNN quoted a White House official as saying that “this is just one of many actions the president will take to confront left-wing organizations that incite political violence.”
Following the murder of influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week, Trump pointed the finger at rhetoric coming from the “radical left.”
